Easter Eggstravaganza!

Ok, I know I am a week behind but I have been busy!

What a difference a year makes!

Our Easter weekend starting out in a very interesting way. Wanting to leave early on Thursday I worked early and late on Mon, Tues and Wed in order to allow us to be out of town by 3:30. I got home, we pack the car, including Kaden and Molly buckled in, Elmo playing and then as we pull out of the driveway we hear a terribly screeching noise. Half the garage door is coming down and half isn’t…not a good thing. After some attempts to remedy the situation we ended up causing one side of the garage to come off completely. Fantastic. I begin calling numbers while Jon unloaded Molly and a crying Kaden who wanted to watch “ELMO!” After calling 3 places, only one could come Thursday night, but it will be an hour and a half…pushing our leaving time to 6:00. The time we would have left anyway had I not gotten off early.
Anyway we now have a silently moving garage door which is great.

My plan for getting to Abilene early so that Kaden could get to bed early so that we could easily leave for Monahans the next morning was thwarted. He did go to sleep easily but was awakened and cried for about an hour at midnight. He never does this…ever…. After everyone, including Molly, tried to rock him back to sleep..... he would go to sleep but as soon as a muscle twitched to lie him down he was up and screaming, I finally got in bed, which was in the same room as him, and just sang for about 10 minutes. This seemed to appease him and he finally went to sleep.
We….I….. awoke the next morning at 6:45 to get ready to head to Monahans to visit Papa Jack. Thank goodness for the portable DVD player. ELMO…..is not my friend…at least not when I watch the same 3 episodes approximately 5 times. However, it was better than screaming. The whole 3 hours there Kaden’s eyes didn’t even blink slowly….fun right. We had a great visit. He played “outide” and visited with Papa. After a failed attempt to get him to nap he finally collapsed in my lap. This never happens! He slept almost an hour but my bladder could wait no longer, I tried to switch him to Daddy but he woke up. Another napless trip back filled with more Elmo and the 2nd viewing of the “arf arf movie” (101 Dalmatians) We made it back around 10. Another late night! This time he did go and stay asleep…until 9 the next morning! Halleluiah!

Saturday was Aunt Allison’s birthday. We started off the morning with French toast, ham and eggs for her birthday breakfast. It was enjoyed by all!
We then had Kaden’s first Easter egg hunt as a trial run for the big one later in the afternoon.

The eggs had Elmo on them, double bonus so he did enjoy finding them. It took a little while for him to figure out that the green paper inside was a good thing, Mommy and Daddy helped him hold it. He liked holding them and wasn’t so sure about putting them in the bucket but eventually got down the routine. Around 1 we went to the Church of the Christ Eggstravaganza.

They had a big slide which he loved


















and a train ride which he didn’t.







Aunt Allison got the pleasure of taking that little ride. The driver was whipping them around like it was rollercoaster. Mommy was very happy to miss out on that fun time. We were so involved in the big slide that we almost missed the small kid egg hunt…Kaden did manage to get a few “chalk eggs” as we call them. He happily opened it by himself and munched away while we tried to encourage him to pick up more. Oh, well!

After a quick trip to the park and a visit to a family friends birthday party we headed home for a much needed nap! Daddy joined Kaden in napping, while I went shopping with Allison. Big sale at Dillard’s.
We concluded the day with a family dinner for Allison’s birthday. Kaden ate lots of broccoli cheese casserole…until the second helping was a little hot, this kid doesn’t like hot food. He played with Uncle Brent, Aunt Kris and the rest of the gang and entertained us all with a viewing of “Boo!” (Blue’s Clues). After another while of refusing to go to sleep, I joined him for a serenade and he finally went to sleep.

We went to the early service with mom (8:15). Kaden looked precious in his little vest and tie. He was a good boy in the nursery and got lots of compliments on his new outfit. After a quick nap we went my cousins’ house for another egg hunt and a big lunch. Kaden discovered his new favorite toy. The trampoline. He had a great time jumping and being flipped by daddy! For his third and final hunt of the year he did much better. He would pick them up and drop them carefully into the basket. He should be a pro next year. We finally returned home around 7:30 on Sunday. Kaden went to bed early and Mommy and Daddy collapsed. It was fun weekend but boy was it busy!

Mommy's cousins!

For more pics visit www.kadenrhodes.myphotoalbum.com

Random Quips

Kaden is talking more and more everyday. It is crazy to think that a few months ago he was pointing and grunting. Here are a few cute random stories.

After being in Abilene for Easter weekend Kaden’s schedule was ever so slightly off. We arrived home around 7:30 on Sunday, gave him a bath and then put him to bed. He fussed for a while and we were watching him on the monitor. Pretty soon he was throwing a big fit for a while when he just sat down defiantly in his bed. Now he had eaten some French toast on the way home and when I offered dinner he refused. So at this point I didn’t know if he was hungry or what. I didn’t know whether or not to go in because after sleeping in the same room with us for the weekend, he was starting to get in a routine of waking in the middle of the night. Then I notice he didn’t have a blanket. Now he doesn’t have a particular blanket that he sleeps with. We have made sure that he didn’t get attached to any certain one, but he likes to have a blanket. Mostly he wads it underneath of himself, doesn’t quite understand the cover up concept yet.
Anyway as we were debating whether he was hungry or missing his blanket we hear a direct response from the Munchkin. Sitting defiantly straight up in bed we hear one of his new favorite words “Cold…cold!” (pronounced “code”) needless to say we couldn’t resist, he got a blanket and a Danimals drinkable yogurt. (these are awesome by the way) After receiving both he went straight to sleep. This boy knows what he wants.


After getting dressed yesterday morning Kaden was walking around playing of course with Elmo. He walked over and put him on his dump truck. Then he looked at me and said “Elmo, ridin!” So cute!

Before bed we usually read some books. Last night Kaden pulled out his Eric Carle alphabet book. Curious to see if he was retaining any information I pointed to the first page and he said “A!’ (Please imagine this being said in a thick Texas accent. So cute!) I pointed to the next and he said “B!” (again cute accent)
Then I pointed to the c…he say “Car!” (another favorite word)
Impressed I asked “no, what letter?” he says “Cookie!”
Ok, we know these were most likely lucky guesses but impressive none the less!

Another phrase we hear these days is “Outide!Outide! (Outside)” This boy loves playing outside! This is quickly followed by “Unt ide! (Want ride)” This is usually in reference to either his “Way (Wagon) or his four wheeler. He doesn’t have a word for it yet just points mostly.

Much like his mommy, he loves to get the mail. He excitedly walks to the mail box with me when we get home. He then holds out his arms to receive and carry it inside.

On the way to Abilene he was getting tired…since we didn’t arrive until nearly 9. I worked early everyday to allow us to leave early. As we pulled out of the driveway at 3:30..the garage door broke. So 2 ½ hours and $150 later we finally headed out. Good news is our garage door now opens very quietly. He was trying to keep himself awake by any means possible. Including shaking his head, babbling, etc. Finally he started saying “Mama!” over and over. When I would ask him what I wanted he would just giggle. We now play this game with him by calling his name until he says ”yeah?” then we say “never mind”. He thinks it’s hilarious. Someday we will probably regret teaching him this game but it is so funny to watch his sense of humor develop

He is also expanding his palette.... to purple crayons. yum!

JON'S DIFFERENT NAMES!

Free Counter

I question the methods that are used to get these! If I were going to change my name I would never use these methods but here is what I came up with. -JON

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car):

CDF150

(This sounds like I am in a bad StarWars cover band)


2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe):

Phish Food Flip Flop

(I am not sure that this gives me any street cred)


3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal):

BLUE HIPPO

(This just makes me sound like I am sad about being fat)

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born):

Stephen Lubbock

(I am pretty sure that this character would never get a girl because he would be the dumb west Texas hick)


5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name):

Rhojo

(I think that is Klingon for Dog... Btw I know that I am making both a Star Wars and Star Trek joke at the same time and it is probably looked down on by respective fans of each but that is the point)



6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink):

Green Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper

(I am sure that if anyone had to call for me the by the time they got my name out the super villan would have finished their diabolical scheme and gotten away)


7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers):

Steve Jack

(This would make a perfect name for the guy in the pit crew but never the driver)



8. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy):

Escape Sour Patch Kids

(If you are visiting strippers named Escape Sour Patch Kids you are about 5 seconds away from Chris Hansen walking through your door and telling you you are on to catch a predator)



9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):

Hendrix Hono lu lu

(This weather guy would definately be the weekend early morning shift that only really "morning" people could stand)


10. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower):

Fall Chrysanthemum

(I don't think that the Russians are too worried by a guy named Fall Chrysanthemum. I am very sure that he would never be a double 0 and pretty sure that he could never make it into the CIA or NSA.)



11. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing rightnow):

Banana Underwear

(THIS IS NOT A CARTOON THAT I WOULD LET MY KID WATCH! BUT WHILE WRITING THIS POST I HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RULES AND THIS IS ALL I HAVE ON)


HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):

Pop Tart Red Oak

(This is the hippy that likes the Idea of being a hippy but still likes the comfort of modern life... and when no one is looking he litters.)


This just goes to show you how sometimes the rules set you up to fail!

Just for fun on this blustry day!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet, current car): Fluffy Endeavor

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite type of shoe): Phish Food Slippers

3. YOUR NATIVE AMERICAN NAME (favorite color, favorite animal): Red Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born): Jill Abilene

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 of your first name):Rhoan

6. SUPERHERO NAME (2nd favorite color, favorite drink): Green Tea

7. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers): Leo Carl

8. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent,favorite candy):Princess Chocolate

9. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Jones Jackson

10. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Christmas Rose

11. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing rightnow): Orange Watch

HIPPIE NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Wheat Chex Magnolia

17-17th month Kadenisms!

1. Kaden was so funny this morning. He had on his monkey pajamas so of course he was telling me what they say “ee Ee”. I noticed the pants had bananas on them so I asked him what monkeys eat, showing him the shorts. I was thinking he would pick up on the “Nana’s” but he ok course said “cookies?” I am telling you he can’t stop thinking about them!

2. If I sing “How much is that Doggie in the window? He will fill in appropriate “arf, arfs” so cute! I am working on getting it on film.

3. Typical conversation:
Kaden do you want to play
“NO!”
Do you want juice?
“No!”
Do you want to read?
“No!”
Do you want a million dollars?”
“No!”
You want a cookie?
“Cookie?”

4. He associates Allison’s dog (Hallie AKA Bobo ) with panting because she is always chasing him. If you ask him what Molly says he say “arf!” But If you ask him what Hallie says he say “huh huh” (I don’t know how to type a panting noise). Anyway he of course associates Hallie with Allison so if you say Aunt Allison is coming over, or if he sees her, he will pant. We think it is funny; Allison would like him to go back to calling her “Ason”.

5. Another cookie story. Kaden had to get his ears cleaned a few weeks ago because they were trying to check the ear drum for infection and his right ear had a lot of gunk. He, of course, was screaming bloody murder as the doc held him down,( He hates being restrained!) amongst the screams I heard a very audible “Mama, Dada…..cookie!”

6. His new favorite animal name he can say Is Hippo pronounced “Ippo, Ippo!”

7. He finally knows what cows say. We worked on this for weeks coming home from Ms. Joyce’s house; there are usually a few out. Last week I asked what does the cow say and he said “Moow!” So cute!

8. He now insists on feeding himself. Which I must say is nice! He is getting really good with a spoon!

9. Whenever Jon and/or I put him down at night we usually sing him a few songs. If he is really fighting, it he will start yammering nonsense every time I start to sing. It can’t be that he is not enjoying it…right?

10. He loves to bump heads, he says”bonk!” he thinks it is hilarious but I must say he bonks hard!

11. He throws away his own diapers…most of the time. He had a stinky one the other day; it was in a bag, which he insisted on carrying around the living room for several minutes. When Jon finally took it away, he cried! Can you imagine?

12. He can tell just by looking whether you are handing him juice or milk. Amazing since the cups aren’t’ see through but somehow he knows if I am trying to slip him milk when he wants juice. He doesn’t even have to taste it. It is amazing really…ESP maybe?

13. When we leave we usually say “Bye, Molly”. The other morning we were leaving. He walked through the door, stopped, turned around and said “bye bye, Molly”. It is amazing what they pick up on!

14. At Rio Mambo the other night, awesome brisket tacos by the way, he saw me dip my chip in hot sauce before eating it. He then refused to eat his chip unless he got to dip too. You can guess the look on his face. Though not as funny as when he decided to bite into the lemon from Jon’s tea. ;P

15. He loves to ride the vacuum. It is funny!


16. Two weekends ago we went with Courtney and her little girl Hannah to get pictures taken. He was kissing all over Hannah, she is 7 months. Now if you ask him “Is Hannah your girlfriend?” He says “Yeah!”……. I think we are in trouble!

And finally….
17. He is obsessed with dragging shoes, his and ours, all over the house! It is amazing I can still find pairs!

Who loves you Baby?

I do! Thanks for 9 amazing years! Everyday I love and respect you more. You are a wonderful husband and amazing father. Kaden and I are so lucky to have you as a part of our lives!

Then

May 1999






and Now

January 2008

Chapter 5 ……I Want to Hold Your Hand!

(Still working on pics)
We were officially a couple which generally consisted of us hanging out as a group with various friends. I don’t think we had our 2nd official date until June! Anyway we had been dating about a month when P, Jason’s girlfriend at the time, starting asking me if we had held hands. Having little, ok no, experience in this department I was unaware that we were tragically behind on this next step in our relationship.

We had come close a few times..

Like when we were at the Easter Pageant for Pioneer Drive. All night we both kept our hands on our knees beside each other. I kept waiting for him to grab it but he never did, chicken…we still joke about this today!

After this P made sure to talk to Jon that he needed to get on with it and hold me hand already. It was almost Easter, a month and a half after our 1st date. Jon came over to bring me my Easter present, The Rugrats movie and a Chuckie (From Rugrats) balloon. I had a healthy obsession with the Rugrats! Funny show! My little cousins were visiting and we were swinging on the porch swing. We were going kind of high and when I reached out to grab my cousin who was in front of us, Jon reached out and grabbed my hand. Cheesy right..but I was like finally! That same night he put his arm around me while watching Rugrats…how romantic!

BTW……We did go to Prom together….and that’s not all…

2 weeks before prom Jon informed me that his current date had told him to go ahead and go with me since we were now dating. I was so excited but then I found out later that he kind of dumped her at the last minute. Oops! Turns out she told him it was ok but he had better marry me! Well looks like it worked out!

Prom plan 2 was in full swing. Our original dinner destination fell through and we were now having dinner at a friend of my mom’s house. There were about 12 couples planning to come over for pictures and catered dinner. I was excited to have my dress ready and even found matching hair clips! Wednesday before prom I got the best news of my life, to that point. Jon called about 9:30 pm., I was, of course, asleep, and told me that due to turning in his paperwork late he had not been accepted to A&M. he was of course upset but it became blatantly obvious to me at this point that God was calling the shots and he wanted us together. It was great to know that we would be following similar…if I hadn’t already mentioned, Jon’s 2nd choice, where he had already been accepted, was Baylor!

Almost time to go home so more tomorrow!

Chapter 6 First Kiss

Chapter 4….The First Date

The next day at school somehow news had traveled fast. It seemed that everyone knew that Jon and I were going out. At the time Jon’s day was known as one of the stricter teachers. I had multiple people ask “You are going out Mr. Rhodes' son?” I have to admit by this point he was growing on me. However, he was still planning on being an Aggie, so I wasn’t planning on it going any where. Friday drew nearer and I still knew nothing about the plans. On the way to government on Thursday I finally asked him what the plan was. He said we were going bowling and to dinner. Sounded fun and I figured both places would have lots of others around, besides we were doubling with Jason so that would help keep the conversation going also.

Side note: I later found out that on the day of our date, Friday, Mr. Jonas pulled Jon into his office and gave him speech.
“I hear you are taking out Ms. Rynders?” said Jonas.
“Yes, sir”, said Jon.
“Well just know that if I find out you weren’t a gentleman, opening doors, etc. you will be in trouble.”
I thought this was so funny and sweet that he was being so protective!

I remember I gave a friend a ride home that day and we were talking about the date. I again got the speech about “Mr. Rhodes’ son?” I was of course nervous. I was 18 and this was going to be my first official date! I wasn’t sure what to wear but didn’t want to dress too nice since we were going to be hanging out in a bowling ally. By the way if you ask Jon what I wore. He still remembers! Anyway I remember sitting in the living room with my dad waiting for Jon to show up. When he finally showed up at 7:00 I opened the door and he says “Well, it’s just you and me kid. P is sick so we are on our own.” I remember felling shock and horror all at the same time. What on earth were we going to talk about!

He decided to take me to Red Lobster. Fancy for Abilene! I remember that I ordered chicken strips. I loved their pasta but had read Teen and knew never to order pasta on a date, especially a first date. Jon, however, didn’t know this trick and he, of course, ordered the pasta. He picked at it mostly because he quickly figured out that it was a bad idea to cover your face in pasta sauce on a first date. We both daintily picked at one cheese biscuit, Lord knows I could have eaten the whole basket. The good news was we had good conversation, little awkward silence but a lot of it consisted of him telling me about things he had done with friends the last time they came to Red Lobster. I was glad that I knew most of them or I would have really been lost!

Next we were going bowling. Well it just happened to be the weekend before spring break which Jon hadn’t considered. He had planned to go to Hardin Simmons bowling ally because it was smoke free. The only problem was. It was closed....so we had to drive all the way back across town, a whole 10 minutes, to go to Abilene bowling Lanes. It was swamped with people and we had to wait an hour. Great, more down time. There were, of course, other people there from school and they were attempting to razz us but Jon gave me his attention. I remember us having a lengthy conversation about Shania Twain’s song, that don’t impress me much. He hated it; I liked the beat but he thought it was crazy that she compared being a rocket scientist and having a car as the same thing...etc. etc. Silly but still kind of cracks me up. We bowled 2 games and he beat me both times, you would think he would have let me win at least once. Then we had to leave because he had a midnight curfew. Never having a curfew I definitely seized the opportunity to tease him about it. He walked me to the door and we hugged. I liked him but was still stuck on impending graduation.

Fast forward to the next day. A mutual friend was having a birthday party that we were both attending. We were kind of awkward around each other and everyone was of course bombarding us about how things went? Jason asked me every five seconds “Did you have fun? Do you like him?” etc, etc” I told them that I had fun but we were going to be living in different towns in 2 months…….

Fast forward again to Tuesday…I was going to New York for Spring Break with the dance team…FYI; I was not on the team…just going for fun because I had several friends who were. We were scheduled to meet at school at 4 am to head to Dallas to fly out. My mom and I were both going so she had driven us to school. When we pulled into the parking lot to unload I look up and there was Jon. Standing by the van holding a care package for me. I was shocked but so happy at the same time. It finally clicked that he liked me. I am a little slow ok! He had snuck out of the house just to see me off. I gave him a big hug and then he left. When I was in the van I looked through the bag that included candy, Mad Libs, and a sweet note telling me what a good time he had. One of the girls on the bus that I barely knew said “Wow, you have a really nice boyfriend!” “Thanks,” I said. That was it, we never discussed it, I never thought about it again. I just knew that we were supposed to be together. We never had a DTR talk but when we got back from Spring Break we both knew we were official.

Epilogue: The following year, Jon recreated this date to celebrate the first anniversary of our first date. Crazy thing was, the same people we saw at the bowling ally the first year, were there the 2nd year also. BTW...this time we polished off the whole basket of bisuits and he still didn't let me win at bowling!

Coming up next Chapter 5 Hold my Hand!

Chapter 3: Growing Friendship (sorry this is a long one)

*** I have had requests for pictures, I will do my best to drag some out and get them scanned and added ASAP!*****

January started off about the same. Jon was still “flirting” and I was still annoyed. Towards the end of the month the rehearsals for senior musical, Guys and Dolls, began. I tried out for a small part, mission band…hey I got to crash Cymbals, who does dream of getting to do that, and Jon was, naturally, playing one of the main characters, Big Jule…. I often teased about only wanting the part because his lines always get a laugh….attention grabber! Because I was not in the VIP character list we often didn’t have rehearsals together but we did discover that we had more common friends than we thought.

Turns out his new, well behaved, God fearing friends were people that I had gone to elementary school with, then he went to middle school with them and now we were all at the same school. It was fun reconnecting with these old acquaintances and it gave Jon and I more time to get to know each other. He always managed to track me down to sit next to me when we had a break in rehearsal and one night he must have been desperate because he asked to copy my notes from A&P, I should have known it was a ploy to hang out but he came over to my house. BTW…he also took this opportunity to let me know that he already had a prom date, a friend of his that they had decided to go together since neither was dating anyone. Really encouraging, huh. After hearing this I decided it was silly to pursue the relationship because we were both planning on going to different school, him A&M and me Baylor. I did let him come over and copy my notes, but he sat in a rocking chair while I sat on my bed and paid more attention to my favorite show,….er…can’t help it I still love it! We did chat some but I was still not sure, also I still didn’t know he liked me. I just thought he was using me for my notes.

The musical practice continued and we chatted and hung out. Every time a scene would end he would appear. I somewhat began thinking that he liked me but wasn’t sure enough to come out and ask. The last week of the show Jon’s good friend Jason started asking me constantly “Do you like Jon? Will you go out with Jon?” I was again annoyed thinking what are we 5? I finally told him “If Jon wants to ask me out, he is going to have to do it himself!” The show was over and I figured we wouldn’t see each other no more than at our A&P classes. I was wrong.

He started spending his office worker period hanging out with me in the yearbook office; I was yearbook editor so I had an extra period of yearbook at the same time he was “working” for the speech department. By this time we were at least friends and when he told me he had Chili’s gift card and asked if I wanted to go to lunch I said sure… He will tell you this was a date…I just thought it was free lunch. Never the less, when we returned to the cafeteria people noticed. I went to my band nerd table and he went back to his cool kid table. Everyone was asking “Did you go to lunch with him?” I acted like nothing was weird and said yeah. By this time, Jon was also walking me to my class after A&P. He had an off period, but would walk me to Government every day.

The following Tuesday I was sitting at home at 8:00, already in my pajamas, talking to Meghan on IM, she was at Baylor by now... The phone rings and I see Jon’s name come up. I am shocked and considered not answering it but I did. Little did I know it would be the call that would change my life. He asked what I was doing and of course not wanting him to know that I was in my pj’s and seriously considering hitting the hay soon, I just said playing oh nothing, playing on the computer. Eh then asks if I want to get a slush from Sonic. Now in the bustling town of Abilene this is one of the few “hang out places”. I was usually in bed by 9 and couldn’t imagine what kind of people go to Sonic at 8 PM but I said sure. From the moment he picked me up I don’t’ think I took my hand off of the door handle, at first I didn’t notice I was doing it and then I kept it there just in case I needed to escape. I figured we were literally just going to get a drink and be done but then after we ordered he turned the car off and then the radio. I was dreading having to come up with conversation and I was assuming, after my discussion with Jason, that he would be asking me out soon. We sat there for about 40 minutes, no mention of a date; I figure he had chickened out. I think my knuckles were white from gripping the door handle and my hip hurt from jamming into the door. I was trying to stay as far away as possible. I knew what boys want, I had seen every after school special out there ;)

As we start to head back home Jon starts to talk about Jason and his girlfriend at the time. He says “they want to go out dinner on Friday, do you want to go?” I had barely said “sure” when he immediately turned his attention to a car being pulled over. “Sucks to be them!” he said. He never said anything else about the date. To me that is…..To be continued.
Chapter 4….The First Date

Chapter 2: Fall Semester

Where last we left off Jon and I were entering our senior year of high school. I was down about 60 pounds from my freshman year when I first met “pimp spray” and noticed on the first day that he was paying way more attention to me than he ever had before. I, of course, remembered him from English and knew that he was Mr. Rhodes’ son but also knew that he still ran in a preppy group (no offense to those of you who were members of his group). As fate would have it our last names put us in the same row as Jonas always started the year in alphabetical order. Being Rynders I was, of course, positioned behind Mr. Rhodes. Almost immediately we had confrontations. You see even though I am tall almost all of my height is in my legs. Therefore sitting down I have very little height to work with. Jon though it was hilarious to sit up tall, as his height is all torso, and block the overhead. I didn’t mess around when it came to school work so needless to say I wasn’t amused. He claims to this day that he was “flirting” I called it driving me crazy.

You see in my 18 years of life I never had a boy show remote romantic interest in me, which was fine by me, I had always enjoyed being friends with boys but dating was way too much drama. Perhaps this is why I didn’t recognize the so called “flirting”. The last straw was when he colored on one of my papers with a purple map pencil. Anyone who had Jonas knows that this is the “forbidden color” in his classroom. He had a Latin teacher that he couldn’t stand that always wore purple, therefore, he hated that color and it was never allowed in the classroom. This destructive coloring gave way to me popping him with a rubber band. Needless to say Jonas quickly separated us to opposite sides of the room. Can you imagine me having to separate from someone?

As the next 6 weeks approached he continued to talk to me any chance he got. I thought he just wanted to copy my lab group’s answers because of course we were the smart ones in the class. Again he claims he was “flirting”. He describes it now as the push the girl you like in the dirt and pull her pigs tails type of flirting, romantic, I know.

When it came time to start the 3rd six weeks and once again change seats I cooked up a little joke. Jonas always let us request where we wanted to sit. Jon was, of course gone on Friday attending one of his numerous debate tournaments. So I took the liberty of requesting a seat for him, at the back lab table…all alone…he he. I will never forget Jon coming into class on Monday and scouring the seating chart looking for his name. It was after the bell had rung and he was still standing at the front podium that I realized that Jonas had actually granted my falsified request. He looked at Jon and said “Mr. Rhodes you requested the back lab table, so that is where I put you.” Jon got this look on his face of complete disbelief, he of course is anything but a loner had no desire to sit by himself. But he did and it was hilarious. Every so often we would hear him call from the back, “Can I come up there now?” He sat there for the whole class period and it was hilarious. To this day he claims it was longer than a day but I know the truth.

One last story to finish up this chapter. This is the story of the moment Jon said he knew we were meant to be. There was a church camp happening in the summer that was so popular that every year people would line up the night before to get a chance to sign up. Jon and his friends had camped out on Thursday night so as to be there first thing Friday morning. When the sign ups finally started Jon was running to the window to sign up when he slipped on some gravel and fell and hurt his hand. Fast forward to class that day. I notice Jon has a rather large bandage on his hand and is moping and whining about it hurting. I asked him what happened and after laughing got a while. I said “Well there goes your date for Saturday night.”

Now if you don’t get that joke then you probably don’t have a big brother. I, however, do. Jon was shocked that I joked so nonchalantly about such a taboo topic and knew that I was his kind of girl. Not the world's best indicator but whatever works.

Spring semester coming up in Chapter 3.

BTW weight update!
As of yesterday I have lost 20 pounds! Woo hoo! Only two more days of rabbit food! Then I will have to start being good with real food. We will need extra prayers!

No, No, No, No, Don’t mess with my heart!

Ok you notice the repetition of No in this title…this also what can be heard at our house currently. Kaden’s favorite word and answer to every question is “No!” Even if he really wants it! Unless of course you ask him if he wants a cookie then it immediately is “Cookie? Yeah!” this word is slowly making me crazy. I read in my What to Expect the First Year that this is a normal stage and they will soon out grow it. The problem is it could last 2 more years! AHHHH!!!

We have already moved to almost daily swats and/or timeouts. I don’t like doing this but I can see in his eye that he knows exactly what he is doing. He will look at me when doing something he shouldn’t be and then said a defiant “No!” he gets a three count and will sometimes straighten up but when he doesn’t he gets a swat. The power behind it would barely injure a gnat but he can be quite dramatic. He has started getting smarter though..I have seen him twice in the last few days swing his arm back like he was going to hit and then he will smile big and say “tickle, tickle” instead.

Stinker…tried and true.
I know you can’t imagine this face acting that way….but trust me…he doesn’t just look like Dada ;)


For a while now we have not allowed him to get things by screaming or pointing he must and can say “please.” He also must say “down” to get down from his chair. He does well with these but will still sometimes throw a fit when put at the table to eat. We have found ignoring him works well when he is screaming and he will soon be eating completely forgetting that he didn’t’ want up there in the first place. I also can’t stand throw yourself on the floor fits. He will lie down and start to fit, an immediate three count starts and he either gets up or gets a swat. 2 out of 3 times that his happens he will just get up but the other times he gets the swat. He will figure it out eventually.

The whole process is of course made more difficult by the fact that we are not the primary caregivers. Sadly he spends more time at Mrs. Joyce’s house than with us…..being a working mom. Super sucks! (Sorry had to throw that in). Luckily he hasn’t started sassing there until recently so hopefully now we can all get on the same page. HMM……perhaps that is why he has cried the last 2 days when I picked him up…that’s the breaking my heart part……He knows Mommy isn’t afraid to swat. Well don’t worry….I have now empowered Mrs. Joyce to swat and timeout as she deems necessary. Perhaps Two “Mama’s” will be better than 1!

Here is my dilemma…how do I stop the “no”? If you have any advice, help me out! I might go crazy if it continues for 2 more years! I love that sweet boy and want him to stay sweet. I would hate for him to be the kindergartener that drives some poor teacher crazy!

Dear Lord, please give us the strength to be good parents. Give us patience and wisdom to survive these early terrible 2’s. Help us to be consistent so that we can get these unwanted behaviors under control. Amen

Chapter 1: In the beginning….

Well it is March. It is hard to believe that Spring is almost here. I still remember being in fifth grade and thinking that life was moving at a snails pace. Now I long for more time in each day. As I think back to 9 years ago, I realize how much my life has been blessed and how much it has changed. This as some of you know is when Jon and I started dating. March 12th, will be the 9th anniversary of our first date. Some of you have heard the story and some of you don’t care but I think it would be a fun topic to blog on for the next few days so here goes

I think I should start by giving you a little back ground on the two of us. We were both raised in Abilene. I was born there and Jon was born in Lubbock. I lived on the same street in the same house my entire life until I went to college. Jon lived in the same house from 4 years on. I have 2 older sibling and Jon has 1. We are, indeed, both the babies of the family. Though few of the typical stereo types fit. Well for me anyway. :)

We grew up less than 5 miles from each other but never knew each other until our freshman year in high school. I will never forget my first impression of him… Rude, loud, obnoxious, attention seeking…etc… (Though some of these qualities still apply they are in a more endearing fashion.)
At the time, he ran with a crowd that cared more about being cool than serving the Lord. He had been a trouble maker in middle school, everything from drinking to stealing a car for the weekend. Hard to imagine I know.
I was Miss Goodie goodie….only visiting the principal for candy rewards and always bringing home straight A’s.

Our first meeting was in Mrs. Pugh’s 9th grade Honors English class. He was such a jerk I thought doing anything to get attention. My first real memory was one day in our journal writing we had to answer the question…if you could invent anything what would it be. Jon’s answer “Pimp spray, so I could get all the ladies.” I will never forget that. Problem was he wasn’t getting any ladies and I wasn’t getting any men.

I don’t think we ever spoke that year or the next when we had History together. In fact we didn’t even know we were in the same class until we discussed it after we started dating 2 years later. It was all because of another class, Anatomy and Physiology taught by Mr. D.R. Jonas. Greatest teacher ever! By this time Jon had cleaned up his act and I was looking much healthier. More on that in Chapter 2.

Hoppy Easter

 

You would nver guess by looking at this angelic face that for the majority of the shoot Kaden was attempting to escape! He kept ooching forward on the table trying to get away from the cudly fur ball that he was dying to look at every 5 seconds while we were waiting. The moment it came near him he starting screaming no and scooting away from it. Hence the basket.... It is truly amazing how a child can want something so badly and then when he gets it wants nothing to do with it...hmmm maybe it's not just children.
Anyway we had a fun filled day at Northpark mall and did manage to capture a cute pose. Luckily we weren't five minutes earlier because the people in front of us had to reshoot...after the kids were already changed...oops. We met up with Hannah and Courtney who also got some adorable shots. Kaden had nothing but love and kisses for Ms. Hannah. When asked if she was his girlfriend we got a resounding "Yeah!"
We had a fun day and Kaden actually ate 3 full meals..it was a big day indeed! Hope you enjoy the shot and if you get the chance stop by North Park and take your own Hoppy Picture!