gorgeous weekend.

It was a gorgeous weekend in Denver and we took full advantage! We made sure to be outside as much as possible and enjoy the amazing days. Sadly, this beautiful weather has gone away for a bit, and we are expecting a high of 6 tommorow. I'm learning that Denver's weather is a bit biploar and leaves you not knowing what to expect next.



~the view on the hill of the "purple mountains"


~our favorite park in Stapleton was completely packed for a friday morning!


~practicing handstands.




~opening up a Vday gift from Uncle Larry and Aunt Gloria, a new favorite toy!








~reading on the floor, brining his entire bed onto the floor!

~and this is kaden a half hour after we put him to bed....he was completely mesmerized by his new toy.

linky love.

~love this hopeful message.

some blog crushes and fun linky love for this fabulous friday...


why you’re privileged: perspective from the dark side wow. I so needed to read this today. you do too!

nienie. This mama is such a brave and inspiring soul. If you haven't read her story yet, it's absolutely a must read!

Interesting article on princess culture.

I so wanna have a mustache party.

new cooking blog I found and I am so smitten with these yummy cookie recipes! check out these peanut butter bacon cookies!

I heart owls and will force my son to heart them too.

I love owls. My mama collected them, and over recent years, I have developed an intense love affair with them as well. Kaden is in love with pinecones. Above you may see that we made some little pinecone owls, or you may not....they kind of just look like little creepy deformed birds, but I am going to go ahead and tell kaden they are owls.


~In search of pinecones for his collection...and also telling me to "put camera away mama".







~In the art room at Lil Monkey Bizness, I love watching him paint....such sweet innocence.



~kaden got his new potty in the mail today. He already has a killer throne that was made in Amish Country....it was gifted by Grandpa Miller and it is just too pretty to poo in! Our hope is that eventually he will use that as his primary toddler potty, but in the meantime, we thought it would be good to teach him on one similar to the one he will have at his daycare. He immediately grabbed a pilllow and renovated his *throne* into a little cozy armchair, and demanded I try out his new potty first.

linky love.

~first time at hobby lobby, our new favorite hangout. We only knocked over two ceramic bunnies while testing out every single pinwheel. We'll see if they let us in again.

So many of the blogs that I follow do this, and I wanted to jump on board! You know when you find something amazing and you just absolutely NEED to share it with others...you so get it. enjoy!

I spend way too much time reading blogs...anything related to parenting, psychology, cooking, whimsical randoms or even celebrity trash, I soak em up!

I have been following this amazing blog for some time now, and I feel the need to share it with the world! Not only is she an inspirational mama, she has a beautiful way of seeing the world. I secretly want her to be my BFF. check her out here.

I need to figure out a way to do THIS for kaden.

I love this girl's tattoo necklace. And her blog is pretty amazing as well!

this is a must read!

This girl makes me so happy and always brightens the day with her incredibly whimsical photography.

and for all you busy mommies with picky little ones, or someone looking for a new yummy recipe...here are some links to some new favorites that even a certain little man that will only eat waffles gobbled down!

Benchiladas

Crock Pot Saucy Pork Chops

Tilapia in the crockpot

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

and yep, all but one is a recipe for the crock pot. I would die without my crockpot!

happy weekend everybody! hope it is lovely for all of you!

fun with balloons.

~ I just love his laugh at the beginning of this.....so priceless. And that couch, definitely the most hideous looking thing on the planet and the piece of furniture I'm most in love with. We have way too much fun jumping on it, throwing the cushions all over the place, and last week we found a smooshed banana under a cushion. I love toddlerhood!

*family time*

It's so rare that the three of us have a whole day together and absolutely nothing on the agenda. We had an awesome day just playing around and doing a lot of giggling.

We started playing at the purple park down the street....it was a gorgeous day, almost 60! Have I mentioned lately that I love Colorado? The sun shines so bright, and even on the snowiest days it doesn't feel so super duper cold because of that beautiful sunshine!









After kaden's nap, we hit up *free day* (I am a little obsessed with free days, such a good excuse to get out and explore something new!) at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Kaden and i had been in the summertime, and the flowers were so beautiful then, and being a winter day today, I wasn't sure what it would be like....it was just as beautiful.





~checkin out one of Henry Moore's sculptures.





~gorgeous luna up above!



~my camera just doesn't catch sunsets the way I wish it would!



~love this.


~it took him about 10 minutes to fully realize what this crazy foreign instrument is used for!


~a first taste of...


~milkshakes and cheeseburgs. yum!


and a raging tummyache for ALL involved....

*please don't grow up so fast*

~a blueberry smoothie stache.

We reached a milestone I wasn't quite ready for this weekend....kaden has decided he is part monkey and has been climbing out of his bed in the morning. On Friday morning, he didn't even cry, I just woke up to the sweet sound of little feet pitter pattering across the floor, and then the sweet face of my little man saying "climb down. get up." I was hoping it was a one time thing, but sure enough for his nap that day, he was bound and determined to get down, and he fell and hurt his mouth on a toy. This is why there was a mass consumption of smoothies for the rest of the day, hence the beauty of the shot above.

We spent Saturday evening at Mamaw and Papaw's house, celebrating Uncle Brian and Aunt Suzanne's happy birthdays, which are within days of each other. Molly came too, and is becoming a BFF of kadenmonster. It's always a good time when we all get together!




~kaden's favorite new hiding place, mamaw's pantry closet.


~sharing is good.


~feeding molly a treat! I love the puzzle piece randomly stuffed in his hoodie.


~enjoying his first taco




~helping Uncle Brah and Soooooozanne blow out their bday candles!


~super impressed with daddy's juggling skillz.


~and Uncle brah's skillz as well!


~snuggly little sleepyhead.


~zebras playing in the snow.


~We also have been getting so much use of our zoo membership that we got as a gift for Xmas. Kaden and i just stopped by to say hello to some of our "friends" the other day. The giraffes were inside eating and they were so crazy close and GINORMOUS up close. Kaden loves giraffes and had a ceramic little giraffe with him. He has amazing aim.....and that my sweet little boy threw his giraffe right inside the cage! I was thinking "fugettaboutit", but after seeing him so sad, I climbed under the guard rails and stuck my hand in their cage and saved the day. Mother of the year or ridiculously stupid crazy lady? You be the judge! How dangerous are giraffes anyway? They seem pretty harmless!


~rainy day at the park? nope. kaden is just slightly obsessed with umbrellas.

My cousin Jena emailed me this oldie but goodie of my Mama and my Auntie Marge (Jena's mama). I wanted to post it because 1) how pretty are they? and 2) It is so rare to find pics of my mama...I think there are 10 in circulation TOTAL. She despised the camera, and I have about 200 pics of her with her hand over her face....and 3) this saturday was the anniversary of the moment that changed my world forever...and I want to celebrate how blessed I am to have had her as a mother for as many years as I did.


~Perhaps they are not the stars, but rather openings in Heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.