goodbye cherry street.

~so ready.


It's about time that we say goodbye to this crazy little neighborhood. From the moment I spotted our little place while perusing craigslist, I had a feeling that this place was going to be special. And oh yes it was! It's no secret how much I adore this wonderful city, but we truly landed in the strangest neighborhood I have ever known. After spending ten years floating around Los Angeles, I thought I had my share of strangeness. I was very wrong.

Things I will truly miss...

*easy access to Wash Park. Eh....but now were only a few blocks further, I can deal!

*my "moon shows" through the skylight. I loved lying on the couch and just staring at the gorgeous luna some nights.

*free entertainment. see below.

I am not sure why there has not been a reality show made about this apartment community...standing out on the balcony has been my main source of entertainment for the past eight months.

The characters that I will slightly miss, if only for their entertainment value...

~The woman that would keep her son on a leash and tie him to the fence, I appreciate the fact that she has either seen the error of her ways or that DFS made her stop doing this.

~The woman that lives downstairs that cooks random crock pot meals for the strippers at Shotgun Willies.

~The random gangster looking types that would knock on the door late at night looking for the person that used to live here.

~Young boys beating each other up with bats while lounging by the poolside.

~The woman that is 7 months pregnant and chain smokes heavily each day.

~The creepy old men that appear to be drunk from early morning until they pass out on the lawn.

~The ravers downstairs who very well may burn down the apartment complex, thank you for re-introducing me to techno, such a joy!

~The growers that live next door to us who turn the faucet on and off 712 times a day to keep their "plants" nice and healthy.

I will drive by often, (ok not really THAT often) and I will smile when I think of all the stories that we have made at our first place we called home in this incredible city.


~my boys at my beloved Wash Park


~playing at Wash Park at sunset.

In other news, Kaden LOVED his new daycare. I guess third time IS a charm! I asked him tonite what songs he sang at daycare today, and he busted out into a tune we couldn't quite make out....until we heard "put your right foot out". He was so happy when we figured it out, he did a full choreographed dance to it. Too precious!

hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

fast shoes and melody monday.

Amidst all the chaos that is happening in our world right now, I thought we needed a good carefree day at the zoo. It was a gorgeous day, and we had such a fun time! Afterward, Kaden cracked me up with his commentary on the way home...
"New house, New school, New fast shoes." New fast shoes are some hand me downs from his cousins that we just discovered fit him perfectly, and he believes they make him run super fast.


~running through target in the tp aisle with his "fast shoes" on.






~baby anteater, kaden's new favorite friend at the zoo. he has a thing for anteaters.


~peacock making his way to the potty.


~first experience with chocolate puddin'




~love this action shot of him at the mall...he just likes to go there and do laps.


~totally has daddy's taste in shoes.


~Bri came over for our very last cozy fire on cherry street.



On a side note, I absolutely love so many aspects of my job....working with children and adolescents is quite inspiring, and they teach me so much each and everyday. What I am not a fan of, is the monotonous paperwork, which seems to come hand in hand with any mental health position. At my previous job, I lived for pandora, and listening to music while I attempted to trudge through the endless pile of paperwork. At my present job, I was saddened to find that the agency blocked pandora, along with so many other music sites. I was so happy to stumble upon project playlist just the other day at work. A little music can completely change your frame of mind at work. This is my zen like playlist for when I am having a heavier than normal work week. Hope it adds a little zen to your day!

third time is always a charm.....yes?

~trying to stay positive!

I don't have any fun new pictures of Kaden to add to this post...because we were a little tied up with frantically searching for a new daycare option. Um, what happened to that amazing new daycare that we found you say? The one with the bunnies and the animals and the super loving woman to take care of him? Ah, that one. Things are not always what they seem. She decided that after the 5 days he had with her, that it wasn't going to work out. I received this message in an email, which leads me with a sick feeling in my stomach, but also wondering what could be wrong with my sweet little boy that he is not a "fit" for this seemingly wonderful place. He always has a difficult time saying goodbye to us, but that seems pretty normal, espcially when a little one is just getting comfy at a new place. I could not believe that the little guy that I believe fills my life with such joy is suddenly getting *booted* from his daycare. She had said that she just didn't feel her place was babyproofed enough for him and felt that he was unhappy there. After a lot of processing with Chad, a lot of anger, and scared and helpless feelings, we came to the conclusion that maybe it's for the best, and she is possibly a bit loopy anyway.

We decided to try something a little different this time around, and go with a childcare center. Up until this point, I always felt like the In Home daycares were a bit more personal and loving, but that has not been the case with our last two experiences, so let's switch it up a bit. We discovered a place that looks like it may be a good fit, and I wish I had a camcorder with us for when we visited, and Kaden walked into the two year old room. All of the other kids gathered around him and sized him up. It was really sweet, and Kaden was so completely curious about them! He has never had the experience of being in a place where he was surrounded by other two year olds, and I think he might really like it. I feel horrible that we have to make this decision so fast and there's no time to really transition him there, and then we are moving next week too, so THAT is going to be another difficult transition for a little dude that is not a fan of change.

Could definitely use some positive energy right about now! If you happen to have any extra, send it our way...


and now for some friday linky love and blog crushes...

I made these fun little roasted chickpeas this week. yummy.

incredibly important post about smiling.

I love this DIY jewelry organizer frame. This is on my must do list!

Can you tell I am desperately seeking my crafty alter ego? Look at all these fun DIY projects!

26 quick and easy smoothie recipes. yes please.

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

I have a crazy crush on Adele (thank you Kristi!). I absolutely cannot get enough of her. This video completely touches that part of your soul that gives you crazy goosebumps. And I love so much that she has a rubberband ball just like my hubby on one of her bookshelves.



happy weekend everyone!
xo

a healthy dose of random for your wednesday.

*teehee, I just now realized 4 hours after posting this, that it is in fact, Thursday. oopsie.


~fun at cherry creek mall. we wanted to take kaden to the zoo and we insisted we go to *mall* instead. he gets that from mommy!


~getting revved up to do one of his fancy pirouettes.


~kaden was slightly OCD about this bike, due to the fact that Snow White was one of the princesses featured on it. He talked about the bike for the next 2 days.


~grubbin down on our peanut butter/banana sammies while watching the snow melt away.


~peanut butter teeth.


~we made this pink playdough for vday. I have tried a few other playdough recipes that I didn't love, but this one was perfect!


~completely obsessed with escalators.


~love this!


~ridiculously random. made me smile!

xoxo
jenny

happy love day.

~my valentine.

One of the pleasures of parenting is being able to reconnect with the wonder of things through the eyes of a child. I feel like each new holiday that comes along offers a new magical experience for all of us, and I am looking forward to what's around the bend...

happy love day from us to you!

*a few little twists and turns*

~brave boy taking a turn on the "scary slide" at monkey bizness, holding on for dear life to his precious little reindeer.

This past week we have made same little and big changes, and we are about to have a few more twists and turns along the road! It's no secret that I haven't been super crazy about Kaden's daycare since he started going there 5 months ago. I wanted to give it a chance and see if things got better, and I felt guilty about pulling him out after he had had such a difficult time adjusting in the first place. Finally we decided to try something else this week, and it turns out it was an awesome choice for the little man! Kaden is incredibly smitten with his new place and his new friends. So much so that he doesn't want to leave when it's time to pick him up! The kids are all very sweet and the women that cares for them is incredibly nurturing and amazing with kids, I feel like he is in such good hands and learns so many wonderful things. His vocabulary has improved so much just in the week that he has been going, and he can't stop talking about how much fun he has there. Along with two little rescuse bunnies, they have a dog and are working on getting some chickens and a dwarf goat for the backyard, kind of like a little urban farm. Kaden thinks it's Disneyland!

We also found a new place to live! We kind of stumbled upon the new place (which is only about a mile from where we are now) and we move in two weeks. So happy to be moving out of this unsafe neighborhood and leave behind frequent calls to 911 and the fire department. Our new place is ginormous, has a finished basement, washer/dryer and huge yard! We are really hoping that after a year or so we will be more in a place to buy a home, but for now it just makes more sense for us to rent. I think it will be a really good move for us and we are super excited about it!

Kaden is putting together the sweetest sentences. Everything that comes out of his mouth makes me smile. My favorite thing that he said earlier today...deep thoughts by Kaden Redwood.

"Mommy, Dopey nice, not scary guy. Mickey Mouse too. Unk Brah too."

some *linky love* for your friday....some blog crushes and fun things I have stumbled upon!

First off, check out my incredibly talented cousin's latest photoshoot, so much fun!

I saw this and I desperately want to copy this in our new place! How cute!!!!

I shared this article with a few parents I work with, but I thought it was too good of an article to not share with you all!

Kaden and I are going to make this banana bread when we get home from our playdate this afternoon!

And this is such a fun twist on valentine's day treats! YUM!

and please do stop by and check out my friend Kelly's blog The Six of Us! She is an old friend from long ago who I adore who has an incredible knack for writing, and her blog is inspirational and a fun read for all!

and can someone please fill me in on who this is? This video constantly pops up when we are watching sesame street videos on youtube and kaden has a mad crush on her (must be the pink hair).

happy weekend everyone!


stolen from the amazing notebook doodles.

*our weekend in photos*

~helping little simon find his *cozy spot*



~enjoying a superbowl snack.





I had truly forgotten how much fun winter could be! Ask me in April if I still feel lovey dovey about it...


~his first run down the "little hill".




~scoping out the "big hill" with the big boys.




~cousin jack giving kaden his bath. jack is kaden's super BFF.


~justin bieber hairdo.



Kaden had his first breakfast at Cracker Barrel. To my shock and dismay, he had no time for the hashbrown casserole OR the fried apples. what?! Oh but the checkers...YES! he was smitten.

silly daddy.

This video got cut off a bit at the end, but it was too cute not to share...

a case of the ickies and linky love.

Poor little Kaden has been feeling icky all this week. A gnarly cold ear infection and a fever equals not a happy little man and LOTS of Disney movies. We have watched Snow White a skadillion times this week, and I'm at the point where I feel like a horrible mommy for ever letting him watch it in the first place! What a scary movie that is! He talks incessantly about "the scary guy" who tries to stab snow white, and becomes deeply concerned when Snow is "hurt" at the end of the movie. I have tried to introduce him to Alladin and Cinderella, but he is not having it. He likes the terror of Snow White. Thank goodness for Mamaw who brought over Jungle Book yesterday....that seems to be running a close second to Snow and I'm hoping it will push her out of the top spot soon enough.

Earlier this week (before he was feeling horrible) we took him to the Museum of Nature and Science which is becoming one of my favorite spots in Denver!



~how fun to have THIS guy's job!


~kaden wasn't too sure about him at first, but slowly warmed up to the dinosaur.



~playing in the space station.



~snack.


~not too happy about TRex disturbing his peaceful snack time.


~reading his new favorite book *The Napping House*

It got soooooo COLD this week! We had temps around -12 at night. It was so cold we had a snow day from work, not because of the snow, but just because it was so brutally cold!

~the inside of our windows even had snow and ice on them!



~helping daddy "dust off his car".

This video makes me smile...there is something about his sweet little voice saying skeleton
that gets me every time.






and in keeping with my new friday tradition, here is some linky love!

This guest post on one of my favorite blogs is so perfect and spot on! I wish I had read this when kaden was a mini nugget....I think I was incredibly caught up in the anxiety of being a new mommy and trying so hard to get it *just right*.

I am trying so hard to be frugal and not buy new random treats, but if i could I have a moment of weakness I may absolutely have to splurge on this and this!


and in the yum-o department, I made this the other night and it was fabulous! Annie is becoming one of my go to's for tried and true tasty recipes! I also made this for nugget as he was feeling so under the weather, and it was was SO good! I will definitely make this one again soon, perfect for the cold weather! And I'm making this for the superbowl, it's becoming my go to recipe for shindigs, so yummy!

I love this DIY Valentine printable from Naturally Sweet. Such a sweet idea!

happy weekend everyone! cheers to tasty superbowl treats!