Picnic in the Park

Once I saw the forecast for the rest of this week, I had the grand idea to have a picnic. And who better to have a picnic with than Mills and Syd - and of course their momma. 

Cayden has a new love of Subway, it just happens to be right next to Chickfila. For our picnic today samiches were just the ticket. We met Mills at a nearby park. It was beautiful outside and my vision of sitting on a blanket eating our food would have worked out except that this particular park has a water draining problem, so the grass and much of the play area was wet and muddy. 

This did not stop these two. They both were magnets to standing water, whether it be on a stair, a slide, or underneath a swing. They had a great time, and it really was a good idea. I think we'll have to do it again. ** Thanks to Kristin for sharing her pictures. 

I almost forgot - Cayden suffered a small bloody nose at this expedition. He tripped and face planted in the grass. I didn't really think anything of it (great mom, I know). I told him he was fine. A few minutes later we look over and he has blood running out of his nose. No worries! I wiped it up and he was fine. 

Rainy Days

"and Mondays always get me down." Who doesn't love The Carpenters? Honestly, I really love rainy days. Especially in the fall. There is something about the rain and it being a little darker in the house that I find comforting. Mondays - I used to loathe them, but since becoming a SAHM (stay at home mom) I guess there really isn't much of a difference between Monday and Thursday. 

Beckham turned 7 weeks on yesterday, and Cayden will be 25 months tomorrow. Crazy. 

Updates: Cayden - He is still up to his usual antics. He has recently stopped napping. Not every day, but a few times a week he will not go to sleep. I leave him in there for up to an hour and a half. (Right now, he is in there saying, "Me Me Me") I figure that at least he is getting some "quiet" time, and I get some down time as well. Cayden doesn't realize it, but in just a little less that two weeks he will be going to Mother's Day Out two times a week. Woo hoo! I know this will be good for me, but I really think that he will love it. I'm a little worried about his behavior considering he's never really done anything like this before, but I'm sure after a few visits he will be fine! He continues to do well with Beckham. We haven't really had any incidents of too much squeezing or anything.

Beckham: We are still trying to decipher this allergy thing. We went for a two week check on Friday, and there was still blood in his diaper despite my cutthroat efforts of eliminating any and all dairy. We are starting to think he may actually be allergic to something else completely. His Dr. had us go to the hospital to draw some blood so that they can screen for several different allergies. I hope to find out something soon. Let me just say that taking a 2 year old and a 6 week old to get lab work done was terrible. I spent more time trying to keep Cayden out of the hazardous material box and trying to keep him from pilfering lab supplies than anything. Poor Beckham had to be stuck twice in order to get a sufficient amount of blood. 

At a little over 6 weeks, Beckham weighed in at 12.6 pounds. Yowzer! The doctor isn't super concerned yet about this allergy because he is gaining weight so well. Let me say that I have never been more aware of what I am putting into my body. It is not fun. I really, really, REALLY want some chocolate chip cookies and milk. And maybe a malt shake from Sonic. And some Raisinets. I really like dairy products. 

In the last couple of weeks, we have been able to meet up with Mills a lot. 

Mills and Cayden started holding hands. It really is cute. Mills definitely wears the pants in this friendship. She wants to hold his hand, and feed him goldfish. In the two years that they have been together, this is the first time that they really are playing with one another. At Little Gym they scream for each other. Today the hand holding at the gym was met with lots of oohs and aahs. I guess they are pretty cute. 

 Chasing each other is fun too. When you aren't holding hands.

 Beckham is starting to smile quite a bit. I can't say that he is on any sort of schedule now, but he has given us a few nights of 6+ hours of sleep. I'll take it!

 Beckham at the park. He mostly sleeps. And then he wakes and wails because he's hungry. He's always hungry. Always.

 Cayden likes the opportunity to have his picture taken with Beckham. 

 It was all going well...

Someone decided to crowd the other. I think we know who this was. 

Update on the Big Move: We are set to move at the very beginning of January. We are just in the initial stages of figuring stuff out. Everything is still just beyond the point of having to actually do something. Everyone has their passports, and we will soon be applying for Visas. We have to areas that we are looking at living in, but I'm hoping that Heath has the chance to go down and scope it out beforehand. We are excited to get to spend the holidays with our families this year. Next year we may not get to, or at the very least, it will just be really different. I'm sure I'll have more news in the next couple of months. It's weird to think that while this blog will still be about us, it will be about us in a different country, hemisphere, etc. 

Beckham is one month!

It's amazing that it has already been one month. Four weeks ago we were just getting to meet Beckham and now is has definitely found his place in our new family of four.

Here are his pictures from the first four weeks. Breast milk has done his body good...at least with gaining weight. 

You can kind of see it in the one month photo, but I'm pretty sure he is starting to smile. How did I forget all the new things that babies do?? He's been such a good, and very laid back baby, I might have gotten used to him just sleeping and eating. But now, I think we are going to start seeing personality shine through.

We have had a slight issue as far as diet goes. Last week while I was running errands with Cayden, Heath noticed some blood in Beckham's diaper. He immediately called the doctor who said for me to stop eating dairy and spicy foods. It seemed to help, but I've noticed some trace amounts this week. So we have a doctor's appointment scheduled. Selfishly I would like for them to say it's the spicy food, and not dairy. That stuff is hard to eliminate. I know I could take the easy route and stop breastfeeding and find some dairy free formula. But I know that he's getting a lot of benefit from nursing. SO, out with the dairy. BTW- Did you know that Oreo's don't contain dairy products? Then again, who can really eat Oreo's without a giant glass of milk....ugh. 

I would love to post about how Beckham is already on a schedule and sleeps through the night. But we have been a little more relaxed with him, and I haven't really started thinking about schedules. 

* Beck is now wearing size 1 diapers. My kids gain weight quickly, those newborns weren't going to last long. 
* He's now fitting into his 0-3 month stuff.
* Eats 100 times a day. Not really, but sometimes it feels like it. Really he's pretty consistent with every 2 hours. If he sleeps awhile, I can make it go to 3. Because of his constant eating, there is no telling what he will weigh!
* Sleeps really well. He's currently sleeping in the swing at night, and after the 2nd or 3rd time he wakes, he sleeps in our bed. (Gasp! I know. Keep your thoughts about forming bad habits to yourself.) Most nights he will give me a 3-5 hour stretch. There is a huge difference between waking after two hours, and waking after five...wow! 

 Cayden is getting much better about not man-handling Beckham. It gets a little worrisome because when Beck is on the floor or on the bed, Cayden wants to sit right. next to him. So close, you couldn't fit paper between them. 

 I believe his head was mid fall. Don't worry - I caught it. Having two kids makes your reflexes SUPER quick. Having kids not only gains you a superior 6th Mommy Sense, but a nice pouch of flab on your belly. Too much info?

I did this impromptu photo shoot in about 5 minutes. Obviously I would have dressed Cayden in something other than jammies, but it turned out great! When Cayden saw that Beckham had a sticker on his onesie, he wanted one too. So to save all the stickers I will need in the future, I found the three week one. He thought it was sooooo funny to stick it on Beck. Silly kids. 

Fun Fact about Beck: If you see me out in public with both kids, know that I am armed with multiple sets of clothes, and I slew of diapers and wipes for the little one. It NEVER fails that he poops while we are away from home. In the car. Check. Walgreens. Check. Target. Check - I was actually without an outfit for the last one. Thankfully my mom was with me. She changed him in the car, and then we bought an outfit. I think they thought she was weird bringing a new baby with only a diaper on into the store. There I was in the children's dept. ripping a tag off and dressing my kid. Poop happens. For Beckham the world is his oyster. 

Dear Beck-

My how you are growing! You have the softest feet and the most kissable face. You have established your place in our family with ease, and how lucky we are that you are with us. I can't wait to see the changes you make in the next month! I am doing my best to keep you dairy free, and hopefully you will start to feel better in the next few weeks! Thank you for making our family complete!

We love you!
Mom and Dad

Cayden's ParTaaay

We had Cayden's 2nd birthday party this past weekend. We had chosen not to have it on his actual birthday because it was too soon after Beckham had arrived. I wanted to enjoy the party and not be seated in the corner unable to move, or unwilling to move. 

I really didn't have a plan so much this year. I had found a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse cake on Pinterest, and also some invitations to match on Etsy. That was about as far as I had gotten. A few days before the party, a friend had mentioned balloons, and I thought, oh yes, that will cover me in the decorating department. I'll just scatter them about and be done. This laid back attitude proved to be a stroke of genius. 

Here is a snapshot of the balloons. I also cut out some Mickey Mouse silhouettes for added flair. 

Here is the birthday boy. All dressed up and playing shy while his guests arrive.

Rick's did a great job on the cake. Here is the original, and this is their version. I could have had it done exactly with the fondant and all, but I really don't like fondant. And I'm kind of cheap. 

 We sang Happy Birthday to him. He wasn't a fan. 

 Heath assisting with the candles. He had a fear that there would be a hand print in the cake or a glob of spit if we let Cayden do it himself. 

 "Chock" "Cake" 

 He began screaming (probably induced by the butter cream frosting) and Millie LOVED it!

The last photos are of Mills and Cayden. Hanging out, as if they are actually sharing the toys. It's just cute to see them together!

Heath had the task of picking up the balloons. I told him there were 20. I just didn't realize how big some of them were. Like this GIANT two! or the giant Mickey Mouse head. I got a text that said I owed him for picking them up. HA!

Cayden's birthday was a huge success. Those balloons provided endless entertainment, as well as party decor. Everyone had a good time, and it was nice for everyone to help us celebrate this crazy kid!

Cayden is Two!

There have been several times over the past few weeks where Heath and I have been in awe that Cayden is turning two. Trust me, in the beginning we thought time had stopped and we were never going to get past the no-sleeping baby stage. And then, here we are. Our first boy - Our first baby is now two. 

Here are a few pics from the past year. 

Here he is calling the Hogs! He has gotten much better at this and is fully prepared to cheer them on this fall!

At the pumpkin patch. One of my all time favorite pictures of him. 


Cayden had his two year doctor appointment on Tuesday. He is currently 32 pounds, which has been pretty consistent over the past few months. I can remember a time when he was tipping the scales every month. He is 35.75 inches tall. Both put him in the 95th percentile. Which basically means he's bigger than most two year olds. Most people when they see him think he's three. What can we say? Future football player? I think so!

He wears 2T-3T clothes. It really depends on the brand. He's still in size 5 diapers. 

Likes: Chocolate Milk - by far. In fact, if you ever give it to him, he won't eat anything with it. Max and Ruby (UGH), Peppa Pig, Henry Hugglemonster, Trains, throwing stuff, lawn mowers, Target, Chickfila, DQ, books, iPad, Little Gym, screaming, testing his parents, trying to squeeze his brother...

Dislikes: This one is hard because there really isn't too much that he doesn't dislike. Hear No - He gets in trouble for whining when he his told No.

Abilities: Running, Recognizing letters and numbers, most colors, memory recall.

 Here he is today. "Cheeeeeeeeese!!!" With all the enthusiasm in the world. 

Running. All. The. Time. Nonstop. Energy Ball.

He saw the column outside and apparently thought he could attempt to climb it. 

This is crazy for me to look at. Mentally you know that your kid is growing, but because you see him everyday you just don't notice it as much. And then we went to measure him on Sunday, and there it was. He has grown 6 inches in the last year. What?! 

** Since having Beckham, Cayden sees me nurse him. Usually, he'll walk up and say "Eat." Not that he wants to eat, but that Beck is eating. He really likes the breastpump. Just another machine to him. The other day I was pumping, and he walked into the bedroom with one of the pumps. He lifts his shirt and sticks it over his belly button. He then takes a nursing pad and sticks it down his shirt. I really wish I could have gotten a picture of this!

**One of Cayden's favorite people is my cousin Alex. He's 14 and in Cayden's eyes a ton of fun. I guess the other day Alex was trying to get him to say SHIP, because Cayden doesn't really pronounce the end of words. You can imagine the giggles he was getting. 

Cayden - 

Boy oh Boy! It's hard for us to imagine that you are two! You are fully of energy, determined, persistent, and good natured. While you may not listen to your parents all the time (ever), when you are around your friends you really try to share and be nice. Two years has brought so many changes that I can't really imagine what the next year holds for you. We love your smile, and the way you say Thank You, and when you say Love You, Night-Night. Those are the best. We hope that you grow to love your brother more each day, and that you continue to be the best you. 

We love you!

Mom and Dad

Beckham's Newborn Photos

We've used Calotype ever since Cayden was born. We had his newborn photos, 6 month, and 1 year family pictures all done by them. I have never been disappointed in what they were able to capture, so it was a no-brainer as to whether we would do the same for Beckham. Once again they did a fantastic job, and even when I thought there was no way for Julie to get any decent shots of Cayden (because he was being a pill), she got some of my very favorites. 

Beckham was a gem. He slept when he was supposed to, and participated as fully as he needed to. My mom and I tried to lure/persuade/beg/barter/bribe Cayden with yogurt melts, cars, climbing on a ladder, stories, songs, chocolate chip cookies, iPhones, etc. It took every one of us putting on our best circus act in order to get Cayden to pause as he was running around like a crazy person. And for those wondering, the cookies didn't come out until the very end so it wasn't like he was hyped up on sugar...just natural energy, lots and lots of energy. 

 Beckham was so serene and good. Maybe this will be a foretelling of his personality...

 This guy kills me. LOVE him and this photo. I am totally biased but I think the Gap could use a new toddler model....this guy!

 Screaming...sure, whatever works. 

"Pose with Beckham, Cayden. Kiss your brother on the head." Or just rip his hat off of him. Yes, we will forever be working on - Be nice- Be Gentle - Soft - Don't Squeeze - Don't throw stuff at him - Don't kick.