Spring Break

Well, this March marked Susie's final spring break as a student. Since she had just finished her dissertation draft she and Cade came along with me on my business trip to Charleston, SC. I know, it's a tough place to go on business, but someone has to. With all the traveling I do, it was so fun for me to have them come along with me one time. There's a big difference between coming back to an empty hotel room and coming back to your family.

I may have alluded to this in past posts, but Cade is a super independent kid. He rarely wants help, and usually gets cranked when you try to help him. He's very headstrong and wants to do it himself. Guess where this quality was put to good use? We had a small suitcase and he loved getting to pull it around just like daddy with his big suitcase. This killed two birds by alleviating the need to pull one suitcase and carry one child all at once. It had been a while since Cade had flown. We fly a lot less now that Cade's over two and we have to pay for his ticket as well. He had a blast seeing all the different airplanes. I'm becoming more and more of a Southwest guy as they continue to do such a better job of making the customer feel important than other airlines (a whole post in itself...or just follow me on Twitter for a month or two). In the Southwest wing of the Nashville airport they even have a large area like an indoor park for kids to play on. I'm not sure who's plane the pilot in the background was flying, but I have to say we were already questioning his decision making ability by his choice of nap location.

For the most part Cade was a very good boy when it came to sitting in his own seat and keeping his seat belt on. Sometimes it's hard for a two-year-old to sit still for so long, but we were very proud of him both heading out and coming back.

One day Susie and Cade went to the South Carolina Aquarium. What a great time they had. Here's a picture of Cade petting an alligator.

Getting ready for the 4D theater at the aquarium.

Just can't come up with a caption for this one. Trying to incorporate too little sleep, not enough coffee, turning the boat straight into the reef, and a lack of respect from the rest of the crew, but nothing's coming to mind. Anyone got anything?

One evening we took a carriage ride in downtown Charleston. It's really a very interesting city with a lot of history. We even heard an interesting story about the city's first elevator and the slightly fuller figured president Taft. Cade got a kick out of the mules that pulled us around (not literally, which is good of course).

Another evening we went to the beach on Isle of Palms. The water was pretty cold, so Cade kept busy by chasing the seagulls around. They wanted to stay close in case we had some food, but definitely didn't let Cade get too close.

So there was this small laptop board for keeping your laptop off your lap (to prevent burns). This board had a couple elastic bands on it to hold leaflets and the channel guide on it, but Cade found a different use for them....or maybe his daddy did. Either way, we had fun.

That Friday night when we got back we took Cade to his friend Emmie's second birthday party. It was held at a gymnastics gym, and it was the perfect venue for little kids to run around and jump in the foam pit and bounce on the trampolines. We were pretty amazed that he didn't cram a cupcake in his mouth before he was supposed to or anything like that.

Cade really is a big fan of birthdays. He sang the birthday song very well and very loud and made sure everyone around him knew who's birthday it was.

Can I brag on my wife for a minute? She had a kid a couple years ago and then had knee surgery last year. This year she's finishing her Ph.D. AND training for a half marathon. He she is finishing her first race in a number of years, a 10K here in Owensboro. She almost ran too fast for the camera and finished at a sub-8:30 pace, which is super amazing. Now if we can just get my ankle better I'm looking forward to trying to keep up with her. My goal is to run the half marathon in May with her.

Happy March

Here are a few pictures from over the last number of weeks:

Cade's first dental appointment went super! We kind of prepped him a little that he needed to climb up in the chair, open wide, and hold still. So when we were called back he walked right up to the chair and said, "Gotta climb up in the chair!" He did great during the exam, and then immediately asked for his special toothbrush. The dentist got the box of kids' brushes out and he picked a Cars toothbrush. Right when we got home he asked me if he could brush his teeth. It's still a struggle at times, but since our trip to the dentist's office he's been much better at brushing.

Something we've started doing when we can is going to the kids workshops that Lowe's holds every second or third Saturday morning. Cade likes putting on the apron and goggles and building whatever the project of the day is.We went to a hockey game in Evansville with our friends Derrick and Allie. Cade doesn't yet understand that he really shouldn't smile when he's being held by a Red Wings fan, but he still has time to learn. Here's Cade with the mascot.I've been traveling a lot lately. Here's a picture of a pretty cool central Florida sunset (of course the picture doesn't do the real thing justice) and one of downtown Chicago one night right after takeoff.

One of our favorite things to do with Cade in Bloomington is to go to a place called the Wonderlab. Cade's always been a fearless climber, and now he's big enough to climb the Grapevine Climber. This thing is over two stories high and goes from the floor to the ceiling on the second floor. The staircase winds around it so you can stay fairly close to your kiddo. He was by far the youngest kid in the climber (it's designed for kids four and older), and I was especially proud when another parent would comment on how well he climbed for a little guy. He actually got quite a few comments that day. :) Here's the view from the second floor looking down.

And here he is all the way at the top!

I have a nerf gun that I bought a couple summers ago for a youth game at the church. Cade has since found it and figured how to load and fire it. Our rule is that he can't shoot at people or pets, and he generally follows that rule pretty well. But he doesn't always hit what he's shooting at so it's imperative to stay alert when he's playing with it.

In other news, Susie is doing a great job of progressing toward her Ph.D., having just scheduled her defense date. So if you think of it between now and April 18th, say a prayer for her as she pushes to finish up the writing portion of her dissertation (or ishertayshun, as Cade says) and begins to prepare for her defense. She's working hard and is almost done! We're all very excited for her.