Baby Ninja, Little Buddha

Every parent knows each child is special ... but when we saw Cailin quickly catch 3 flies with her tiny fingers this past week we finally realized she must be part Ninja!


When Braden worked for a few days to catch one fly and then burst into racking sobs because he had injured it - we realized he must be part Buddhist Monk!

Yes I do like phosothop - but at least the fly stories are real!

Baby Shoes

I don't think I could call myself a legitimate "mother of two" unless I did something ridiculous like forget to blog about Cailin walking. (Hooray - I'm officially in the club...) Cailin walked (consistently and for increasing distances) 3 days before turning 11 months old. Thank goodness I DID remember to buy her some shoes ... eventually!

Cailin's first real pair of shoes (above) - after an experiment with cute flowery shoes that cooked her little feet like an oven (below)!

Early Morning Art

Proof that Braden's dino art skills continue to grow - and that he never actually gets dressed.

Butterfly Birthday - Cailin is 1

For Cailin's birthday we decorated with butterflies , balloons, paper lanterns and Cailin wore a pink pair of butterfly wings. There was a butterfly hunt (kids used colorful butterfly nets to gather candies with butterfly wings that were scattered all over our back yard), a game of musical presents, and water fun for the kids. We ate pulled pork sandwiches (that roasted for almost 20 hours), fruit kabobs, cookie fruit salad, chips with avocado/salsa dip and pink lemonade. Cailin's cake was the talk of the party (just SO cute - thanks CoreyEllen!). And we learned that although she had not had chocolate before, she loves it! (That's my girl...)

Cailin got more presents than a 1 year oud could possible need. We gave her a small kitchen that she and Braden can play with together. Our family gave her some foods to go with the kitchen, a few soft ponies, books, a stuffed dinosaur, and lots of cute summer dresses.

What fun to be 1!

Milk JUg Cuddle

You know how kids sometimes do things that just make you laugh and you have to get them written down for memory sake in spite of how crazy it makes you seem to your friends and family ...

For whatever reason, both Braden and Cailin have LOVED cuddling with milk jugs in the grocery cart.

Cailin finds love at Sams Club one morning...