Kamden goes fishing

Justin, Kamden, and grandpaw went to Hoover for an afternoon of fishing.  There is nothing like 3 boys bonding in the great outdoors!

Kamden learned to drive the boat.

Grandpaw taught Kamden how to cast and reel the fish in.

Is there a speed limit on the water?

Kamden's 1st fish!

And another fish

Safety City

Kamden with Officer Dross

Kamden spent his first two weeks of June going to Safety City at Robert Frost.  He learned about bike safety, water safety, and gun safety.  He also learned when to call 9-1-1.  He was very proud to get his police badge the first week for knowing his phone number and address.  He got to ride a school bus to the fire station.  They traveled to station 113 and saw where the firemen slept and ate.  He was amazed that their kitchen had 3 refrigerators!  His favorite part of the two weeks was riding a bike around the "city" following all of the traffic laws!

Kamden and Brooks driving through the city.

Learning how to cross the street

Singing a safety song at Graduation

Graduation

Cousins at Safety City Graduation

Frankie the Fire Hydrant

PC, the Patrol Car, and Officer Peachey

Sparky

Love this pic with Officer Peachey

The Heart of Africa

It was a cloudy evening with a threat of rain, but we decided to go explore the new Africa exhibit at The Columbus Zoo.  And it was one of the best decisions.  There were very few people there.  We even got to park in the first spot in the first row!  And the animals were so active.  The Heart of Africa exhibit is awesome!  Camels, zebras, ostriches, cheetahs, lions, monkeys, and giraffes are the animals you will encounter.  Kamden loved playing the airplane that they have as part of the exhibit, and that allows you to get close to the lions.  A giraffe walked right in front of us to get a bite of hay....I could have reached my arm out and touched the top of his head! And Justin came face to face with a monkey who was intrigued by his camera.  It was so much fun!  And Kadence loved to laugh at all of the animals!!!

Two lions sleeping on the wing of the airplane.

Kadence looks like she is giving a lion roar!

Kamden's 5-year Doctor Appointment

Height:  43.25 inches

Weight:  40 pounds

 

Today was Kamden's 5-year doctor appointment.  It was definitely different from his other appointments.  They did a vision screening where he had to read a chart of different objects (flag, star, circle, etc) from down a hallway.  They also checked his hearing.  He passed the vision and hearing screens without any issues.  Then why doesn't he always hear when I ask him to do something...must be that selective listening. 

He had to get shots too.  Three of them to be exact.  We tried to prepare him, but it was still heart wrenching when he started screaming and crying as the nurse was giving him his shots.  I am so glad Daddy was there to help him and I go through it.  Daddy is always our rock!

Everything Kamden did today was to prepare him to start Kindergarten in the fall.  I can't believe how fast he is growing up.  He is a caring, fun-loving kid who is also very polite and well behaved.  He has the best memory, and can learn things very easily just by hearing about it.  Want to test him?  Give him a number and ask him which Nascar driver drives a car with that number.  Ask him what team a Nascar driver is on or ask him to read any race track off of a sheet of paper.  He can answer every single one of them....and he learned it all just by listening to and watching Nascar races.  I hope these skills stay with him as he goes through school. 

Field of Heros

This weekend marked the 6th year that Westerville has hosted the Field of Heros.  This is an opportunity to honor one's heros by purchasing one of 3.000 flags that are on display for the Memorial Day weekend.  In the past we have bought a flag to honor my grandfather who passed away in August 2009.  He served in the Air Force during World War II.  And Justin's mom bought him a flag three years ago to commemorate his rookie year as a Westerville Police Officer. 

Memorial Day 2009-Grandpa's Flag

My sister and I decided to honor Tammy who has always been one that we have looked up to as we have grown up.  She was always the most positive person around.  She is our personal hero, and one that we miss every day. 

Mom, the kids and I with Tammy's flag

This year's Field of Heros included a special tribute to Public Safety Personnel.  Kamden and I decided this was an appropriate year to honor our personal hero, my husband and Daddy to our two Ks.  And, my in-laws decided it was a good year to honor me, the wife of a police officer....Thank You!

Our hero!

If you have never been to the Field of Heros, make sure you check it out next Memorial Day weekend.  It is awesome to see the 3,000 flags. 

Corporal Greg LeValley's rendition of Amazing Grace on the bagpipes brought me to tears at the Closing Ceremony.

Kadence is 9-months old!

This petite princess turns 9-months old today!  

Weight=17 pounds, 5 ounces

Height=27.5 inches

She has had a busy three months since our last update on her.  Mommy has made her home-made baby food and she likes anything I give her.  She has eaten advocado, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, pears, bananas, and mangos.  She is also getting good at picking little pieces of food up with her finger and thumb.  The doctor gave us the okay today to basically give her whatever we are eating (though we are still gradually introducing the high allergen food like berries, eggs, fish, and peanut butter).  I am hoping to make her a better eater than Kamden. 

In the past month, Kadence has figured out how to get around.  At just over 8 months old, she was creeping around with her feet and elbows, and on Mother's Day she started to really crawl.  And just this week she has figured out how to sit up on her own!  She loves to play with whatever Kamden is playing with, especially his Nascars!

Just like many girls, Kadence is also a talker.  She constantly babbles, and will imitate sounds like Da-Da.  And she loves to shake her head no.  Today, she actually waved to Kamden and to Daddy before she went down for her nap!

Saying Good-bye to Spark Preschool

Kamden's teachers, Mrs. Kaiser and Mrs. Willison

After two fun years of learning at Spark Preschool, I can't believe the time has come to say good-bye to them.  This was the last week for Kamden to be in Preschool.  We saw him go from being the clingy boy who cried every morning at drop-off at the beginning of last year to walking in confident, ready to learn and play with his friends.

He has learned to write his first and last names, and he knows how to write every letter of the alphabet.  He can easily count beyond 100, and amazes us with the adding and subtracting that he already knows.  And he has picked up on reading simple words (and every NASCAR race track name). 

As we drove by Spark Preschool tonight, Kamden mentioned that he was sad that he no longer went there.  When I asked him why, he said he was going to miss all of his friends.  But we reminded him that he will be meeting new friends at his new school.  We have already been invited to our first elementary school function....the Kindergarten Ice Cream Social is next week at Mark Twain!  And Kadence will be at Spark in two short years!

Kamden, Noelle, Ainsley, Emerson, Layla, and James

Kamden and his best buddy Ainlsey