Cayden's 1st Halloween

Get ready for cute overkill! Cayden has many nicknames, as I have discussed in previous posts. One that really seems to stick is Turkey. Like, "Oh Cayden, you are such a Turkey." After perusing the costume possibilities...the Turkey won out! Purchased in the smallest size possible 6-12 months, it proved to be Ginormous. Like the awesome parents we are, we stuck him in it anyway! Anything for a photo opp, right? It lasted just a few minutes, but here he is!!


Once we figured out that he wouldn't be wearing it out in public without a major meltdown, we improvised. One chocolate brown onesie to the rescue!


We knew our stops would be few. Cayden decided to only nap for 1 1/2 hours ALL day, and we thought he might just go ballistic if we dragged him all over creation. So we narrowed it down to two. We went to Jennifer's house, and the turkey was a hit.
Our first stop was just down the street at Camilla's house. Everyday there something more I love about our neighborhood. Camilla living down the road will be fantastic as they grow up. It is great to have a couple like John and Kristin to go through the journey of parenthood with, and Camilla is pretty much the same age as Cayden (8 days apart anyway).

Here are the two future BFF's in their costumes. It's hard to tell from this photo, but Camilla looks so dainty compared to Tank, aka. The Turkey. Of course the giant feet and turkey head gear don't help his cause. It was a great first Halloween!

Why have I been so busy?

It seems like its been so long since my last post! What have I been doing? Well, for starters last week was parent/teacher conferences. The first night they lasted until 715, and the next night until 515. It makes for a looong day. Add getting ready for our 3rd Annual Halloween party, and it was a frenzy around here. Thanks to some awesome family members, we were able to get our house mostly unpacked, and cleaned! The weather is starting to really feel like fall. Getting up early in the morning and dropping Cayden off, we realized we needed some fall/winter gear, so I got him this Milk hat. It's cute, but in the 5-8 minutes it takes for us to get to the babysitter, it usually falls into his eyes causing him to cry and scream even more than just the regular ride. Yes, he still hates the car seat.

Things seem to be changing so quickly for him. He is now using size 2 diapers. The 1's and 1-2's just aren't big enough. We got the scale out again last week, and he is weighing in at 15+. We go back to the doctor in two weeks for his 4 month appointment. I am definitely interested in his stats, and what the doctor has to say about it! Sleeping is still troublesome. About three weeks ago we started putting him in his crib...and after several days of him waking every two hours, we broke down and started sleep training him again. After an entire weekend of crying, we caved and put him back in his rocking lounger thing. The little stinker went to sleep from 8-1 and then 1-6. Only for two days though. He is back to his semi-routine. Sleeping from 8-12 or 1. And then up every two hours after that. The one thing I know is that we must get him back in his crib.
Another change is that he can roll from back to side pretty well, and is on the cusp of stomach to back. His head control and strength is awesome! He is wearing 3-6 month clothes, and occasionally 6 month stuff.

We held another photo shoot today. He has started playing coy with people. This is close to the look he will give you before he buries his head in your chest. I can tell he is going to be a flirt.

This is a keeper. It will most definitely make it to the Cayden shrine that is forming in our entry way.

Halloween Party 2011: Each year we throw a Halloween party. This year it was a mad dash to get the house ready...but we made it. As usual Rick's did a fantastic job on the cake. We went with the Haunted House. Which reminds me...we didn't get to go to the haunted houses this year. Last year we had so much fun! It is crazy how much can happen in a year! At this point last year I was pregnant and didn't even know it!

We try to be creative with costumes. Last year we had talked about a Chris Farley theme. This year, we made it happen...at least for one person. Once Heath caught sight of The Lunch Lady, he knew this was it. After a quick search on the internet, we found most of what we needed.
Hoagies and Grinders, anyone? Navy Beans? If there was a prize for best costume, he would have won. I ended up ditching my costume half way through the night...except the leg warmers and headband. Those leg warmers may become part of an every day outfit.

Heather, Brandy, and Heath. I'm not sure how many glasses of wine into the night they were...but it was a quite a few. The party was a hit, and I think everyone had a good time. Tomorrow night we are actually handing out candy for the first time is YEARS. We live in the kind of neighborhood where you do that sort of thing. In fact, we were even Booed tonight. Honestly, I am so glad that we moved here. I like that there are a lot of kids around. It will be great when Cayden grows up. Speaking of the little devil - we will be trick or treating a few people tomorrow evening. I'll post picks of his costume later!

Three Months

Someone turned three months old on Friday! And someone else turned 30 on Thursday! We celebrated today by having an all day photo session. At least it seemed that way because Cayden was on FIRE with cute poses. It's hard for me not to want to take his picture all the time, and then when he is cooperating on top of it all...It was a great day!

Here we are! The birthday pair! Of course he won't look up at the camera when you want him to.

This week, I feel like a lot has happened. Unpacking boxes...not so much. But watching Cayden get stronger and learn new moves has been very exciting! Heath put together his jumperoo yesterday and Cayden loves it! His teeny tiny toes barely touch the ground, but every now and then he gets a good jump in. I know it will be one of his favorites!

My mom came into town on Friday night to watch Cayden while we went to dinner. It was nice to get away for a few hours! Dinner was a blast, and reminded me a little of my former, pre-baby self. I even, gasp, had a glass of wine~ Cayden had his first "stranger" cry. My mom got here, and went to hold him...Cayden's bottom lip puckered out, and he started crying. It was the most pitiful thing I have ever seen. He warmed up to her later, but I think she was a little heartbroken at first.

On Saturday we fought the crowds at the Crap (Craft) Fairs at the JQ Hammonds Center. Let me just say that God knew what he was doing when he gave me a boy. I would be so poor if I had a girl. Craft fairs are generally geared towards girls...lucky me, and my wallet. We did find a few finds while there. The frog in the picture, we named him Frank, is a new friend. Cayden really likes him. Likes to hold him, chew him, slobber him...

The weather was really nice today, and I wanted to get Cayden out of the house while the sun was shining! He is starting to grow into his sunglasses!

Flash forward 80 years, and this is Cayden sitting in Boca Raton, FL, in a retirement community.

One of the things he is doing really well this week is holding his head up. Tummy time is paying off!! He can stay like this for several minutes. I know I am biased but we pretty much have the cutest baby EVER.

Here is last month's picture.

And here we are at 3 months. Notice Frank? I was snapping away, Cayden was laughing, and then all of a sudden he saw Frank. It's like he already knows who he is.

He is growing so fast. I said last week that he is really close to rolling over, and he is. Any time we are on the floor, I have the video camera ready. His head control is awesome, and everyday I ask him to say Momma. He has yet to comply. He does; however, say "mom" when he is crying. At this point, I'll take it! When he grabs at stuff, it immediately goes into his mouth. Everything is covered in baby drool. We are still having trouble napping during the day. Sleeping at night has become an interesting routine, for him. He usually is down around 8, and then sleeps til about 1 or 2. He wakes, eats, and is back down. Nice, right? It's at this point that he decides he wants to eat every 1.5 to 2 hours. We aren't sure if he just isn't eating enough during the day or what, so we caved and gave him rice cereal last night. It didn't change his routine. We will try it for a few more days, and see what happens.

Cayden Bug~

You are the greatest gift we have ever known. It's amazing to me how much our whole world changed, and how we wouldn't give it up for anything. I love watching your many faces, and wondering what you are thinking. We look at you and just hope that you love us just a smidgen of how much we love you. We love watching you grow and learn new things. Standing on our laps is your new favorite past time, and when you do you smile, laugh and look at us, and I fall in love over and over again. I can't wait to see what the next month holds for the three of us. Thank you for being our little man!

Love, Mom and Dad

30

I think he is saying, "Happy Birthday Momma!"


He's the best gift ever!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's in the box!

We are finally in the house, at least 30% of our stuff is "in" the house. Moving day came and by the time the movers got our stuff from our apartment to the house, we had decided that the garage was as far as they were getting with the rest of our stuff. Thank goodness Heath was back from Chile to help deal with the situation! So most of our stuff is still in the garage, in boxes. Let me tell you, finding time to unpack with an almost three month old is very difficult. And to make matters worse...the neighborhood garage sale that only happens in the fall and spring is next weekend. I MUST get rid of some stuff. I am going to be an unpacking machine for the next week....as long as Cayden lets me.

I'm pretty sure he gets cuter with every click of the camera! Most of the time when Heath asks where something is, "It's in the box is my response!" Of course, Cayden's stuff was the first to get in, and unpacked, and settled. I had to relearn how to take care of him...you remember "The Chair?" Well, in the apartment everything I needed was within a 10 foot area...now it's across the house, and not so easily, or lazily, accessible.

Speaking of Cayden, because I know that's why most of you are reading this. I went back to work last week which meant no more days of hanging out with my little man. It was hard. I didn't cry, because I knew he was in a good place. Lord help me, if he was in daycare with an unknown person..ugh. We are going through a transition time. He is getting used to hanging out with Jennifer each day. I think he may even have more fun with her. They traced their hands as an art project one day, and they watch the neighbors from the dining room! My transition hasn't been as smooth. The first day was a shock...Why did I leave Cayden to hang out with 8th graders? As funny as it sounds, each day when I go to pick him up, I think..."Did he get bigger?" I'm dealing with it fairly well, though I definitely have some days where I feel extra guilty.

Cayden is doing all sorts of fun things now. He is really starting to grab things, and hang on tight, including my hair! During tummy time, picking up his head is becoming easier, as well as tucking his knees and pushing. He is "this" close to rolling over! If only he could figure out that he needs to push with his arm! He is even ticklish! I havent' seen it yet, but Jennifer discovered it on Friday!

These are the good things. Unfortunately his napping is not any better. 45 minutes...tops! Since moving his sleep is a little rockier. He still goes to bed around 8, sometimes waking around 11-12. Waking again at 3, around 5. I'm not getting down in the dumps about it yet. We are going to go back to Sleep Training soon. We have not been consistent at all, and have found ourselves back to the Pacing Game.

Knitting class is going well. I am working on a cowl scarf thing, and it looks pretty good. I'll post pictures when its complete. It's a very relaxing hobby to have after a tough day dealing 13-14 year olds.

He turns 3 months this week. I found my measuring tape "in a box" and will be sure and measure Cayden this week. Now if I can find my bathroom scale, I might be able to add a weight stat in there too. I'm not holding my breath.