Big Picture

Trying to get Cayden's 11 month photo has been, well...trying. He is all over the place. Looking back I should've tried putting him in a chair from the beginning, maybe that would have been easier. When he was smaller, he would just sit there all nice and comfy while Momma snapped away. To get a full body shot now, means you will be shooting in from the back because he is on. the. move.

My mom got Cayden a tent while we were away this weekend. I guess that is the big news! Heath and I got away for two full nights! It was wonderful. I really missed Cayden, but it was so nice to sleep-in, and read, and shop, and eat without having to worry about nap schedules, diapers, meltdowns, sunscreen, etc.
I have had maybe two nights sleep since Cayden was born, so I figured I would probably sleep easily. Did. I. Ever. After eating an early dinner, Heath and I went back to the hotel, and I literally layed down on the bed, fully clothed, and passed out at 8. What fun am I? Oh well. It was still nice.

BTW- Cayden did great without me. sniff. sniff. He slept pretty good the first night, not the best the second. But apparently never cried, or screamed out my name. That's good. He's a great baby, but deep down inside you really want them to miss you in a way that says they can't live without you. He did. He just wanted to show me what a big boy he was. Sniff. Sniff.


It's three weeks until Cayden's birthday. I may have a panic attack.

11 Months

I'm a little behind with this post...surprise, surprise. AND I don't have a picture to change at the top yet. The ones I took today just aren't good enough. So, I will try again tomorrow, and see what happens. I basically need perfect light, and a little boy who will sit still for two seconds. Fingers Crossed!

There is so much going on for this post...It's bananas!

 Cayden likes to crawl everywhere. And try to fit into any place. I was loading the dishwasher the other day, and heard some grunting. I looked down and this is what I saw. He tried with all of his might to get out, but I eventually had to just lift the walker off of him. I took the picture first though.

I have been out of school for a month and it is Fabulous. As I had planned all along, we have spent quite a bit of time with Millie and Kristin. I LOVE IT. Our kids are basically on the same sleep schedule, so afternoon play dates have been working really well. It is so funny to watch these two over the past 11 months.

Play time gets a little aggressive.

We played in the baby pool once, but it didn't last too long. Millie was more interested in walking around the yard than sitting in a luke warm pool!

Our new friend: The Puff Cup. It goes everywhere we go.

Racing down the patio as fast as he can go.

Millie let us borrow her walking toy to aid our endeavours into walking. He would rather flip it, and contemplate how it works.

Our new game. He loves playing with toys on the hardwood floors. He now loves deliberately tossing things under the chair, laying on his stomach to reach them, and then letting Mommy swoop in to save the toy. Rinse. Spin. Repeat.

Piglet loves hugs. Or bites.

Okay, so Cayden is 11 months old. One month until the Big Showdown. I am in full blown birthday planning mode. Pinterest will be the death of me. Too many ideas. I want it to be fun. Cute. Pretty. Pinterest worthy. I'm shallow. Or my mind has been warped into thinking that my life needs to be pinned. Ugh. There is a part of my brain that knows I'm insane for trying to be like these things I see, but the other part of my brain says, "Sure! You can do it!"
(This is the same part of my brain that allows me to believe that I'm crafty.)


What has the Little Man been up to:

1. Since being home with me everyday he has decided to become a napper...GASP. I know! He has been taking (knock on wood) 1-2 hour naps in the morning. This is the same boy who would take ONE 20 minute nap a day one month ago. I think he likes his bed. Or I'm really boring, and sleeping is better than hanging out with mom. :o)

1a. His afternoon naps vary. Sometimes he takes them, sometimes he doesn't. Really it depends if we get out of the house. If we do, he doesn't. If we are hermits, he does. Cantankerous little fellow.

2. He slept through the night! For two nights. It's progress in my book! At least I know he is capable of doing it.

3. He is in the process of cutting three upper teeth. Nice. I believe this is why #2 isn't working for us full time yet.

4. Today he started really using his "bottle" sign. AND he started waving bye-bye and blowing kisses. This kid blows my mind with how quick he is picking up on things.

5. We have a part-time walker. I say part-time because he prefers crawling...it's quicker. But just today, he took about 10-15 steps between Heath and I. He will walk small distances, but I think we will have a walker by his birthday.

STATS:

Cayden is weighing in around 25 pounds. He is moving up to 12-18 month clothes, and even some 18-24 months. Size 4 diapers during the day, 5's at night. I think he is roughly between 31-32 inches long.

 This was my best shot from today. It's a little blurry so I don't want to post it up at the top.

What Cayden Likes: (Idea stolen from Kristin)
* Pulling Hair.
* Putting little things, inside bigger things.
* Pulling lids, or anything, out of cabinets.
* Going in the Cat Room (Laundry Room)
* Puffs and the Puff Cup
* The Pool
* Pointing and "talking" to stuff
* Looking at his picture wall...of himself.
* Dragging the magazines out and ripping pages.
* Eating stuff off the floor.
* Green Beans. The small, cut-up ones. He goes to town on those bad boys.
* Climbing. Anything. Everything.

Dislikes:
* The Prison, most of the time. If he's mad, he'll stand there and throw all the toys over to the other side.
* Textured baby food. He'll eat people food, but try to put some new baby food in the mix,  no sir.
* Peas

Really he doesn't have many dislikes. This weekend was Father's Day weekend. We spent a lot of time at the pool. It was nice. Cayden and Millie made their DaDa's a sign to hang in their offices. It featured their hand prints and a message stating, "Best Dad Hands Down." Kristin came up with the idea...she's crafty.

On a different note. The quilt. Believe it or not, I am actually done with the quilt top. Now I just have to quilt it, but that's the easy part, right????? I will post pictures when I'm done. Heath still thinks it's ugly, but he does commend me on the construction of it. I already have another quilt plan in the makings.

Does anyone else see this pose as something that a 1920's pin-up girl would do. Maybe it's just me.

I think I talked about everything that I wanted to mention. I will try to update more often. Geez. You think being at home full time for the summer I would have extra time. But there's Cayden. And then Heath. And then the quilt. The party planning. Books. Pool time. Millie time. Sleeping. Housewives of New Jersey. And cleaning....

Warrior Dash

About six months ago I convinced five teachers to sign-up for the Warrior Dash. I must have the power of persuasion because I, myself, have no physical skills, whatsoever! We all trained for the Dash, in our own way, but as June 2nd approached I began getting a little nervous. I knew that I could not run a 5K. I have no upper body strength, except that which requires me to haul Cayden around. Needless to say, my expectations were low. My goals went in this order:

1. Don't Die. (#2 on the waiver for says that you could get seriously injured or die).

2. Finish the race. No matter how long it takes.

3. Don't get hurt. No broken ankles, or arms, etc.

4. Attempt all the obstacles.

Heath, Cayden, and I went to Tulsa Friday. We did not get a restful night of sleep. Cayden went to sleep 2 hours past his normal time, and then cried off and on, until I finally put him in bed with us. He has NEVER slept in our bed for an extended period of time. He slept a little better, but not great. The next morning we were off, and thankfully Heath's mom watched Cayden so we didn't have to take him out to the Dash.

This is our "Warrior" pose. Inspired by Greg.

Like stretching is going to help me. HA!

Tebowing? Streching? A little of both?

 The Dash consists of a 3 mile "run" and 12 obstacles. If you aren't familiar with the Warrior Dash you should check it out and see what the obstacles are! There was lots of climbing, cargo nets, balancing on small boards, etc. Really the worst part were the STEEP hills!! UGH.

One of the last obstacles. The one performing the Plank Maneuver at the top is me!

 One of the final parts to the race is jumping over fire! Caity and I knew we wanted to jump with style and grace, so we agree to try some leaps, instead of just jumping!

Look at that physical prowess! I think I could be the poster child for jumping over fire!

WOW! Even better!

I love this one of Janet!!

 After you jump over fire, you plunge into a mud hole that is about 3 feet deep. To make sure that you totally submerge yourself, they put barbed wire about a foot above the water level! I jumped in and literally swam to the other side! It was great!

Sharon after the mud hole!

I survived the Dash! WOOT! Woot!

Our "After" pose. Exhausted. Spent on Energy. Covered in mud.

Well, I completed ALL of my goals! We weren't fast, and that was okay with me! We didn't run the whole course, but we were there to complete, not compete!
I have to say that I am really proud of myself and our group. We started as a team, and finished as a team. There was a lot of encouragement along the way, especially for those who get stuck at the top of a climb, and need some help getting over (me!). The one obstacle I am most proud of though was the rope wall. Basically its a flat wall with some small ledges. You have to pull yourself up a rope to get to the top, and then climb down the other side. I really didn't think I could do it, but I DID!

We are definitely doing it again next year!!!

Thanks to Heath for taking all of the great pictures!!!