Since I became a parent...

Here is a random blog about things I do now as a parent:

1. What channel is constantly playing at my house? CNN? NBC? HGTV? Nope. Disney. Oh yes. I am well versed in Good Luck Charlie, Shake It Up, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Chuggington. The list goes on. The really embarrassing and sad part is that I find myself enjoying some of these shows....and singing their songs. Which brings me to #2.

2. I get songs stuck in my head. Songs like "The Hot Dog Song." If you know what I am talking about, you are singing it right now. Hot Diggity Dog!

3. In my former life, I might have been grossed out by bodily fluids. Not now. Drool, check! Spit up, check! Poop, check! Pee, check! Boogers, yep, those too! I put on my big girl pants, and have passed the gross out tests!

4. When I'm in public..... I am no longer embarrassed by farts. Cayden does it, and they often smell like a dead person. It's gross, but what can you do? He's obviously not bothered by tootin' it up in large groups.

5. Pre-Baby we could be found at Bonefish almost every weekend. Bonefish is really not a "baby friendly" environment. We have taken him there once and it went fine, but we are no longer frequent fliers. Our restaurants of choice must meet the following criteria: They must be fast. They patron population should be at a minimum. Close to home in case of a meltdown. These are baby friendly qualities.

6. Traveling any where is gauged by nap times. Did he just wake from a nap? Should he be going down for a nap? Is he napping now? These are important because nobody wants a screaming baby in the car for any length of time. Gone are the days when you can just hop in the car and go!

7. Going to WalMart is a chore. Even more so than before. Trips are quick. If you don't have a list, then you are doomed because you WILL forget something. The mind is not wired to think of things you need, while telling your baby, "It's okay! We're almost done! Just a few more minutes!" You always need a list.

8. Staying home is easier than going any where. Refer to #7. A sandwich will do for lunch and dinner, if it means not going to WalMart. The amount of items you need to go any where is intense. Diaper Bags with extra outfits, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, etc. If you are staying anywhere for any period of time you also need a sound machine, bouncers or other various entertainment pieces.

My life has changed dramatically, but darn it if it isn't all worth it!

Giggles

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Our Little Turkey

As you have seen from previous posts, Cayden is our little turkey. Although it would have been fitting to put him back into the turkey costume for Thanksgiving, we let him be his cute self this week. Before I get into all of Cayden's happenings, I thought I would post a little about what Heath and I are doing.

The entry way in our house is begging for some photos...mainly of Cayden. I knew when we moved in that I wanted to create a photo wall. Dead center is the canvas print we have of Cayden, because lets face it, he is the center of our world. In my semi-anal mindset I wanted to get a visual of the wall before I started hammering in the nails. As I was trying to fall asleep last night, I had a moment. Oprah would call it an A-Ha moment. Anyway, I thought that I could create the "frames" with painter's tape. I could move them around, and get everything just right before I put holes in the wall. I think it turned out pretty well. It gives me the basic idea. Thanks to Heath for helping me with my madness.

My knitting obsession is still going strong. I have made a cowl scarf, and a purple hat like the green one above. The purple one had some serious flaws, but this one seems to be going pretty well. Sometimes I feel a little old ladyish with my new hobby, but when you look at all the fashion forward patterns online, I don't care!

Here he is. It's what you have been waiting for; it's why you have read the blog this far!

He is the sweetest thing. Honestly, he is happy 95% of the time. It seems that the past few days he has been a little fussier, especially at night. I'm not sure if we are keeping him up too long before bedtime, or what, but so far tonight he has been awake and crying more than he has been asleep.

This year for Thanksgiving we went to my mom's house. This meant an overnight trip. Our first. It was only for one night, but I am sure that we packed half of the house. Bouncer. Bumbo. Boppy. Diaper Bag. Endless supply of diapers and wipes. 1/3 of his wardrobe. Bottles. Breast Pump. (Anyone else notice all the things that start with B?) Burp Cloths. Formula. Frank. Taggie Blanket. I'm sure we could have brought much more! The trip went well. Cayden was pretty content...at least until bedtime. He woke up around 2, and decided to hang out with my mom for an hour before going back to sleep. Thanks to both mom and Heath, I got about 5 hours of straight sleep. It was nice.

Here is the little stinker. I think we were trying to get him to take a nap.

Since Thanksgiving is all about the food...we started giving Cayden cereal. We have been putting cereal in his bottles at night before he goes to sleep, but this week we started to thicken it up and use a spoon. The first time he was really unsure. The last few times though he does open his mouth for the spoon, unfortunately he hasn't quite mastered swallowing it once it's in there. I can see why feeding babies food takes forever!

He is getting much better at things. He is a better grabber. He sits assisted really well. He has a new fascination with people's faces. He loves to reach out and touch you, or stick his fingers in your mouth. On a side note: My mother has gone present crazy for Cayden. I'm not really surprised. I, myself, have purchased a gift for Cayden already, and have decided that I don't need or want anything this year. He is gift enough. Cute little thing. I think we'll keep him.

Four Months

Time is flying by. It's hard to believe that just four months ago Cayden was so new, and tiny, and so fragile. Now it seems like he changes so quickly, and is trying and doing new things every day. We had our four month doctor visit today, and Heath and I went in armed with a ton of questions. What can we do for eczema? Why does he dig at his ear with his fist? What is the diagnosis for his flat head? and many more. She was great at answering our questions, and seemed pleased with Cayden's growth. He is officially weighing in at 16.2 pounds (75th percentile)! It really wasn't as much as I thought. She said that he is growing steadily, so nothing to be concerned about..and No, I do not have a giant baby. He is 25.75 inches long (75th percentile) and his head is 16.75 inches (60th percentile). He had two shots as well. UGH. It is the worst. The look on their face basically makes you feel like the worst parent, ever. On a positive note, we got the green light to start introducing whole wheat cereal. Once he has grown accustomed to that, it's on to fruits and veggies!

Here he is at one month....

And at 4 months! That smile you see. It's pretty much the best part of my day. He is a happy baby for the most part. He is still wearing 3-6 month clothes, and really they fit fine, except in length. Things always seem too short. We are a big fan of footy pajamas. Really footy anything since baby socks do. not. stay. on. No matter what size of sock, they always come off. He has moved into the #2 diaper size, and I think he will be here for a bit.

New things:

* He is rolling over. He doesn't do it often, but he can.

*He loves his bouncer. At first he just hung out in it, feet barely skimming the ground. Now he can bounce! And the cutest part...he shifts his weight and feet from side to side, so now he has figured out how to rock the bouncer.

* He has starting echoing, or mimicking things. I make this sound where I suck in my breath, and then give him kisses. He started sucking in his breath too!

* He is discovering his tongue. He likes to stick it out (thanks to Heath for teaching him this).

* Anything he can grab onto, goes into his mouth.

* Lots, and Lots of drool.

Finally...He is sleeping in his crib. I know I'm not supposed to put things in the crib, but we figured out that he really likes to feel snug and secure. This is why he liked sleeping in the lounger. I knew I had to recreate that feeling in his crib, so I took two bolster pillows and put them at the front and back of his crib, and then put the sheet on. Now he sleeps in between them, and he seems to do pretty well. He is not sleeping through the night, but he is going for longer periods. Usually he is in bed by 730ish, and then he is up around 12 or 1. And then after that it varies. Sometimes its every 2-3 hours, sometimes he goes five....

Jeans are cute. They are not practical. Although the unbuttoning of pants is a common sight after Thanksgiving, we unbutton for comfort while sleeping.

Dear Cayden,

Is it possible to love someone more and more each day? You smile, and giggle, and my world is perfect and complete. You are growing up so fast, and learning so many new things. I know it will be no time before you are crawling, and walking, and eating solid foods, and although I can't wait, I can wait. I want to savor, enjoy, and remember each and every minute. With the holidays around the corner, there is nothing more I could want or need. I am thankful God gave me you, and He knew you are perfect for us. Thank you for being the best present. I can't wait to see what you do next.

Love,

Mom and Dad

He rolled over!

We set him down for tummy time and he rolled over like he had been doing it for months! Of course I didn't have the camera ready! I finally caught it!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

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!