Birthdays, skating, and pig play

Well Lonny survived Sunday night despite Kaden's declaration of murderous desire! As expected, Lonny left for Blaine on Monday. Unexpectedly, he got to come back home Monday night because his company decided he was needed at a Seattle job more than the Blaine job. Lonny's worked overtime every day this week so far...and with impending deadlines it looks like more overtime is in the forecast. While it's great for the bank account, Lonny's really tired and missing family time! At least we got to see him more this week than we expected to! I made him a nice dinner: steak with mushrooms & onions, asparagus, and (from the deli) twice baked potatoes. So yummy! He goes back to Blaine for tomorrow and Friday. :(

Kaden and I spent Monday with my sisters Bizzie and Misty, and I got to see all of my local nieces and nephews. (Jacob & Brianna in AZ...we miss and love you!) My new nephew Kyler slept almost all day...tiny babies feel so good to hold! Kaden as always had a blast with his cousin Dakota (and calling her by her middle name when she was doing stuff she wasn't supposed to!). It was Bizzie's and my mom's birthday on Monday, so we got to celebrate with Biz, and called my mom who's temporarily in AK helping care for a relative. Kaden loved singing happy birthday! He's getting pretty good at it too! By the end of the day he was telling me it was his birthday too...wishful thinking I guess!

Even though it's not his birthday yet, he is always making progress at something. Now I am thinking that I should just keep him naked all the time. If he's naked, he uses the potty like he's fully trained. But if he has a diaper on, he doesn't care at all. He just goes in his diaper and will rarely use the potty. He doesn't even care if he's wet or dirty...he never has! So I think for now I'm just gonna have a nakey boy running around. Also today he wanted to put on both of his skates instead of the usual easily-balanced one skate. So we put on his helmet and knee pads, and both his skates. He kept them on long enough for a picture, but then took them off saying "I'm all done skating. Too slippery!"

One constant struggle we have had is tooth brushing. K hates brushing his teeth. Today he really wanted to go play outside, but it still wasn't enough incentive to brush! He just decided to stay inside and not brush. He has a toothbrush and toothpaste he picked out, and he likes the flavor of the paste...but still you'd think we were trying to pull teeth instead of brush them! Any suggestions?

Are you ready for a laugh? (Sorry Kaden I know this will embarrass you at some point!) Several months back, Kaden had a piece of toilet paper stuck between his butt cheeks. So he pretended he was a pig, and was running around saying "I'm a pig! Oink, oink. Oink, oink." (This is definitely not a good halloween costume!) He didn't want to let me take the paper away, and he kept wanting to 'be a pig' for a couple days. But for 3 or 4 months, no more mention of it and I had completely forgotten about it....until yesterday! We were in the bathroom and he ripped off a piece of TP and said "I want to be a pig!" Not realizing how he wanted to be a pig I said, "Okay, piggy. Oink oink!" Then he started trying to put the TP down his diaper to put it between his cheeks! I have a son with an imagination which is great. But I think now it's time to make him a pig costume that doesn't include TP and bare cheeks!

The blog begins: tears and laughter (and homicidal urges?)

Welcome to my blog! You may be wondering why I started one. Well, so many times since Lonny and I have become parents, we've said "we have to write that down!" and  we rarely do. Tonight, Lonny said it again....so let the blogging begin! I can fantasize that this blog will be exciting, that it will make you laugh and cry, and keep you on the edge of your seat just waiting for the next entry....but let's be real here. We are a little family with a pretty ordinary life, and I'm not the greatest at imparting laughter and tears. But I hope that the people in my life will bring some form of entertainment to my writings. At the very least, this blog will let me look back and remember the daily happenings and musings that I'll probably otherwise forget. I titled it Olsen Family Journey because the everyday events in our lives are the steps in our journey through life. Lonny and I have had quite an experience just getting to where we are today, and with Kaden in our lives, I hope that the Olsen Family Journey will bring us much happiness throughout our lives.

Disclaimer: I'll tell things how I remember them. I'm not trying to take creative liberties. If something doesn't match up to your recollections and it's bugging you, or if you remember more details about something....feel free to add your two cents!