Pumpkin Patch

Relaxing in the hay!

Playing in the tractor tire!
Head in the clouds!

Crawling the tire!

We had such a beautiful day and Caden and I wanted to be outside. So after calling a couple friends to come out and play and nobody could, I decided to take the little man to the pumpkin patch. Mark and I took him two years ago, but being so little he didn't remember it. We had a blast!!! We got to have a hay ride and Caden thought that was so cool! He kept saying, "Momma, look at that one...do you like that one?". After our hay ride was over we got a wagon and headed out into the field. Of course, as soon as we get a little ways away Caden has to go potty. When we get back out in the field from going potty, then he has to go poop. So, needless to say, we were out there a while! Caden and I would go out into the field and find some nice pumpkins, bring them back to the trail, line them up, and then pick out our favorite two. We ended up finding two very nice pumpkins to take home! After we picked our pumpkins, Caden wanted to play on the playground there. It had a maze out of hay, tractor tires to climb on, a huge sand box to play in and a huge pile of hay to climb and jump on! Our little man had so much fun! On the way home Caden wanted to stop by Nana and Papa's house to show them our pumpkins.

Taking a Hay Ride

Looking for pumpkins

Ride 'em cowboy!

Mom, this is a green one!

Look at the pumpkins we found!

First ER visit...

The same day that we got Zoey, Caden got a concussion. What a day...let me tell you! While caden, mom, and I went out to get Zoey, Mark and dad worked on the tree house. So, after we went to the pet store to get her things, we headed out to my parents house. Dad made his famous ribs for dinner and so we were all so excited about that! Caden decided that he wanted to go swimming even though the water was cold! He was just having a great time jumping off the side of the pool when all of a sudden he popped out of the water crying hysterically. When he jumped into the pool he hit his head on one of the steps of the pool. I knew it had to be bad because Caden NEVER cries like that, and when I couldn't get him to calm down it scared me. Finally he calmed down and we sat down to dinner. He started having short term memory loss and so we thought we would wait for a few minutes and see if things got better. He couldn't even remember getting Zoey. When he looked down and Zoey and said, "Momma, whose puppy is that?" I knew it was time to take him to the ER.

On the way to Children's Mercy I really started thinking about how lucky I am to have such a healthy boy. I have learned throughout my illness that every moment in life counts. When this happened, it just made that even stick out more in my head. When it is your baby, you just worry about the worst that could happen. I held his hand the entire way there and just wanted to hold him when I got there. I was totally numb with fear and had a hard time realizing what was going on.

The ER doc that we saw was actually one of my moms docs from her office. It was really reassuring knowing the doctor personally and knowing that Caden was getting the best care possible! Caden did fine on all of his neuro tests and Dr. Olson decided that he had a mild concussion. So, that night we had to wake him every two hours to do neuro tests on him, and check his eyes to make sure that everything looked ok. We had mom come over to spend the night with us since she is a nurse and has the knowledge of what to look for when we woke him up. What a night...a crying puppy in the kennel for three hours straight and waking the little man up every two hours! Needless to say...we were all took a great nap the next day! He woke up fine the next morning and has been doing great ever since. After knowing what the outcome could have been, I feel so blessed that I have a healthy boy!

Our new baby girl!

So, Mark and I have been talking about getting a puppy for a while now, and we finally did it! I have always wanted to get a Shih Tzu because that is what I grew up with and Mark didn't really have a preference. We looked at Morkies, Teddy Bears, and Yorkies, but we ended up getting a Shih Tzu! We got the name of a wonderful breeder about 30 minutes South of us whose love is Shih Tzu's and has been breeding them for 25 years. Mark and I had a date night and decided to drive out to meet the breeder and she the puppy she had left. We both fell in love with her, but didn't want to get her until Caden had seen her. So, the next day mom, Caden, and I drove back out to the breeder's house and took our baby girl home. We started off naming her Ebby (short for Ebony), but no one could remember that, so we decided to name her Zoey. She started off being black with a few gray patches, but now she is mostly grey with some black patches! She is adorable!!! Zoey has fit into our family so well and we love her so much! We are still working on the potty training, but I know that takes time, and so I have learned to have patience with her. She is totally a mommas girl though and I love that! Caden loves her loves to play with her. When Mark gets home, she gets so excited. Just like Caden, she runs to the door to greet him!

Right after we picked Zoey up!

Sleeping in bed with Caden
Riding in the car on the way to Aberdeen

Holding his new puppy!

One of my favorite pictures of Zoey!

Tadpoles

Nana and Caden love spending time together outside at their house. Mom was mowing one day and she saw some baby tadpoles. So, she asked me how I would feel if she let Caden catch some tadpoles and take them home as pets. I was totally up for it, and he was excited! So, mom and Caden took the afternoon and went to the pond in search for tadpoles. Of course they found some, and Caden was so excited! They took a big bucket and filled it with about 20 or so tadpoles and then put them into a smaller bucket for us to take home. I couldn't believe that the boy who didn't want to touch a worm was totally into touching the squirming tadpoles! He is growing so fast and now loves to be touching all kinds of creatures...kind of makes me nervous! The next day I took Caden to the pet store to buy some tadpole food and he fed them every night! He really enjoyed them until the water really started to smell. Then, not only was Caden done with them, but momma and daddy were too! So, a week later we let them go back into the pond! They all were still alive, so we did a great job taking care of them while we had them. Hopefully we will be able to see them next year all grown up!

Momma...look at what we have!

Moving the tadpoles!

Holding the tadpole!

His tadpoles!

Starting School

On August 20th Caden had his meet the teacher day at school. He got to take his backpack and all of his supplies and have a somewhat "normal" day. The parents got to stay since this was just a "practice" day more or less. He got to pick out the outfit that he wanted to wear and if I might say myself...he did a great job doing that! He is so handsome! I can't believe that he is old enough to be going to preschool!!! It blows my mind how fast time flies!!! He did a project where he traced Mark's hand and then put a heart in the middle of his hand. That way he always had a comfort object to go to if he was missing mommy and daddy! Then they added a family picture to it to make them feel even more comforted.

Looking mighty fine!

At the school getting ready to go inside!
coloring daddy's hand that he traced!

Circle Time!

Caden's first day of school was on August 25th! He was so excited about going to school! The night before we were laying in bed and he said, "mommy, my teacher is really pretty"! He loves both of his teachers and loves going to school! He gets to pick out his clothes the night before and enjoys getting to have a say in what he wears. He is really becoming independent and wanting to help with everything! When I took him on his first day he didn't even shed a tear! He was so excited and was all ready to join his friends as soon as he walked in the classroom! Mommy did great also...no tears on this end either!!! I think that since I had him in VBS it was a little easier for me to let him go for a couple hours! So far he really loves his teachers and classmates! He loves telling me what they had for snack, what they learned about, and what he played on at recess! Every morning when I go back to pick him up, he is all smiles and enjoying his time with the other kids! I love that he goes to school at our church also! That really makes it want him to be in church with his friends!

First day of school picture!

Starting to work on his Fruit Loop Necklace

Working well!Momma, I'm going to taste this! MMM!

Daddy's Softball Game!

Mark's firm has a softball team that plays once a week. I decided one night that I was going to take the little man out to watch his daddy play some ball. He really enjoyed it! I only took him to one game this year because Mark didn't play in a lot of the games, and the games that he did play in were mostly 8:00 pm games. Caden was really excited about being able to go and watch Mark play softball! He sat in the bleachers and kept yelling, "Go Daddy Go"! And every time that Mark got up to bat Caden would try to have a conversation with him. It was so cute! Caden was really excited because there was a ball that came back over the fence and he got to go under the bleachers and get it! He thought he was all that because he got to give the ball to the pretty girl on daddy's team! I have a feeling that we have an athlete on our hands because he LOVES sports...just like his daddy!

Watching daddy hit the ball!

Watching from the top of the bleachers!
Concentrating!

Just being a monkey on the bleachers!

Mayo Apt...THREE YEARS CANCER FREE!

I had my last Mayo Appointment on July 28th and I got the "All Clear" again! It is such an amazing feeling to here those two words together! I am now THREE YEARS CANCER FREE!!! I am no longer having CT Scans, instead we are doing MRI's because Dr. Grothey is concerned about the long term effects of the radiation on my body. This is the second MRI that I have had and they have both been smooth sailing. So, hopefully it will keep up that way! Dr. Grothey also said that since I have been cancer free for three years now, he thinks that it is time to remove my port! That was such great news to hear! It is very bitter sweet...that might sound weird, but my port is the only thing that I have left that has any reminder of my cancer and my chemotherapy. So, this is like getting rid of my last safety net! It is so exciting! Not sure when that is going to take place, but I am hoping in the next month or so! I will keep you posted as I know more! Thanks for all of the continued thoughts and prayers!