Dearest 2009,

I am very sad to see you go. You brought us so much joy and accomplishment 2010 will be hard to match up to you. With Cain turning 1 brought so much new and exciting adventures, from walking to speaking complete phrases. He brings sunlight to everyday and seems to have a very strong impression on others, we cannot go anywhere without someone commenting on how cute he is. He loves to help around the house (especially putting the laundry away) and he loves daily hygiene like flossing, shaving, and putting on deodorant. His favorite topic is tractors and who sits in them. He is his happiest when he is with his daddy in a tractor.

This definitely was the year for the corn. Chris and I got to spend a week in February in beautiful Maui with his company and even though it was scary to leave Cain, Chris and I very much enjoyed the relaxation. In June Chris set off to Paris for work, where we learned a bunch about agriculture from around the world and he even received an award for being the Best Sales Person in North America. Not long after he came back, the whole family flew out to Indiana for Chris's company kickoff and there we got to see him receive Corn Salesman of the Year. Chris also planted some corn this year with his dad and even though he put in long days and there was a lot of stress we are very thankful that he got it all out before the blizzards of 09 came.

I was very blessed this year to quit my job and be able to stay home with Cain. Even though I was very happy to spend time with him, I started to fear that with all my concentration on him and Chris that I would forget about myself. So in April I decided to train for the Chicago Marathon, it was one of the best decisions I ever made, it gave me therapy and time for me. In October I finished that Marathon 12 minutes under my goal.

Now after all the we have been blessed with this year, 2009 wanted to give us one more gift, an addition to our family. In July 2010 we will welcome a new baby brother or sister for Cain. Today we had an ultrasound and our little bean was active and we think he or she was sucking her thumb.

So thank you 2009 for blessing Cain, Chris, and I with so much.

Happy Halloween

I think I have a Project Runway Star

Cain had a little phase where he wanted to dress himself. I thought only girls did this but I guess that is not the case. I can't deny him the outfit because than he tries to put it on himself and he works so hard that I just have to give in.






He would not put these underwear on when he did not have a diaper on but he really wanted them on after we got him dressed.

Cain's Old but New Toy

Chris's Dad has been planning on getting Cain a John Deere Peddle Tractor all summer because of Cain's obsession with tractors. He had a new one all picked out up at the John Deere Implement Store but he had to wait till the Bethany Fair was over to get it. Well in the mean time he came across a "Men's Only" garage sale and they had an old John Deere Peddle Tractor for sale. It was all cast iron and in pretty good condition so he went ahead and bought it for Cain. Cain was excited when he brought it to our house, he can't reach the peddle so we have to push him which puts a little strained on the back. Since it was so old it did need a little bit of a paint job so Chris and I went out and bought green, yellow, and black. We were so excited while we were painting it because it started to look brand new. We tried to research it on the computer to see what year it was. Since it has a yellow iron seat we were able to see that it was made before 1972 when they started making the seat black, which we think is pretty stinking cool. We also got an idea to make it look like a pulling tractor so we had a decal made for it and guess what it says "Raising Cain." That was going to be our boat name but that is a lost dream.

Sign word of the week "Bath"

Today was Cain and I first day of Sign Language Class at the Tech school. Cain knows a few signs but I was very interested in doing something together with other kids his age and learn some manners signs. We were supposed to bring his favorite toy (tractor and horse), his favorite book (today it was a truck book), and we threw in his bear for moral support. Well right before we left Cain spotted his new trick or treat bag and he insisted on taking it too. So I loaded all his stuff in there and he carried it to class and back. When he got to class he did really well, he learned the word of the week right away which was bath and he did a really good job of showing off his own signs and words that he knows. The only thing he would not do was "please" and "thank you," so we are making that our homework for this week. This is kind of funny and inappropriate but when I was little every time someone let out gas everyone would put their thumb to their forehead and the last one to do this ate it (I know very disgusting), so I was doing this with Cain today whenever he let out gas and he would laugh, well when we went to class she taught us that the sign for "dad" was putting your thumb up to your forehead, I don't think I will be confusing Cain with the two different meanings because they really go hand and hand. :)

Chris's Big Weekend

Chris had a really big weekend so far. On Thursday he turned 32 years old. Cain and I were scrambling to try and get his Birthday ready but we kind of hit some snags. The boots he wanted were not in stock, the Schwan's man did not bring the Marshmallow Swirl ice cream I had ordered, and he found the sketch I made for his surprise Birthday cake. His boots still are not in, I literally ran the Schwans man down on Friday to get his ice cream, and I continued with my cake but I added a high school picture to it which made it an even bigger surprise.

On Saturday we went to the Northwest Missouri Fair in Bethany to watch a pig show and while we were there Chris got suckered into participating in the Ultimate Farmer Challenge. Chris had to do a lot of manual labor but we left with 3rd place and $50. I told him he was great because he beat out all the guys that were a lot younger than him.

Bye Bye Pacifier

Chris and I have been talking since Cain turned one that we needed to get rid of the pacifier. Since he was 10 months old he usually only had it at night but it still bothered me that he was not learning how to relax on his own and Chris hated the fit he threw when he could not find it. The doctor is the one that gave us the final push by saying it was time and it could take up to 2 weeks before Cain forgot about it. He also said to throw the pacifiers away so we don't break down and give it back to him. On Tuesday night we decided that we would try putting him to sleep without it, after a 1/2 hour of the most saddest sobs I have ever heard I decided that this was not going to be a trial run this was going to be for good because I did not want him to go threw that again. After he finally cried himself to sleep, he woke up at 3 in the morning and Chris layed with him till morning. Since than it has been great, he still looks for it when you put him in crib, he sounds so funny because he repeats "uh-oh" 5 hundred times. Last night he woke up but we let him cry himself back to sleep, I layed there in bed after he went to sleep cuddling the blanket that I have slept with since I was born and realized that if my baby was being so strong than I needed to be too, so after 29 1/2 years I stuffed my blanket under my bed and vowed to put it in a safe place in the morning.