The Greene Beans

St. George Island 2009

2009-08-23T18:03:00.006-05:00

July 25, 2009

We had our annual beach trip with all of the family on July 25th this year. Things were a bit stressful, as my Grandmother Gigi was in hospice, and we didn't know whether Dad would be able to come. He decided to come down on Saturday, so he and Mom drove down together.

This year, we stayed in Casa Paradiso. It was nice, because the house had enough bedrooms for our whole famiy (which is very hard to do, as we keep growing bigger and bigger!) Rob had to stay at home for school and work, and he met us down there on Tuesday. So on Saturday, I loaded the boys up and drove to Tallahassee to pick Kelsey, Wendell, Emma and Avry up from the airport.

We ended up getting there very early, because I am a stickler for getting places on time, and Caden was SO excited about going to the beach and seeing his cousin Emma!!!

Caden with Emma

After picking them up we headed to the beach. It was just gorgeus. By the time we arrived, everyone was there except Mom and Dad. We headed down to the beach on the first day, and the boys enjoyed themselves. I made Caden wear his lifejacket, despite the fact that he is an incredible swimmer. I was worried about the undertow! Liam was a daredevil, and would walk right into the water! It was a bit scary.

Caden playing on the beach

Liam upset that I put him down!

The week went well, although my grandmother passed away on Wednesday. My Dad had left on Tuesday morning to be with her, so he was able to spend some time with her in hospice as she had wished.

We thoroughly enjoyed eating at the Blue Parrot, carrousing downtown Appalachicola with my sisters and sister-in-law, and generally just sitting on the beach and relaxing! What a great trip!!!

Me, Rob, Liam and Caden -- best group shot of all of us!

Caden Helps Cook!

2009-07-19T09:06:00.002-05:00

Caden loves to help cook. Usually, on the weekend, he and I will make bacon, eggs, and sometimes grits for breakfast! He loves breaking the eggs into the pan. He does a good job, and usually cracks it just enough so I can break the egg the rest of the way!

He is such a good helper.

Here are some pictures from the other day, when he and Daddy were making carrot-mashed potatoes!

A Night Without the Greene Beans

2009-07-11T15:03:00.000-05:00

July 11, 2009

Last night, Rob and I thoroughly enjoyed a night out with friends, without the Greene Beans. Our friend G. had a surprise birthday outing for his wife K.

First, we went out to eat at The Brew Pub. There were two other couple's and K's brother there, as well, plus 2 kids. The Brew Pub brews their own beer. Rob and I are both suffering from colds this week, but we partook of a few home-brewed beers. The Blonde was nice and relaxing! For dinner, I had the sauteed crab claws, and the blackened chicken Caesar salad. It was amazing to sit in a restaurant and peacefully eat food. Usually our restaurant visits go something like this:

"Mommy, I have to go to the bathroom"

"Caden, sit down!"

"Mommy, I knocked over my drink. I need a new one! Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..."

But not last night! It was quite enjoyable, besides the stuffy nose that both Rob and I shared!

After dinner, G. surprised K. with a riverboat cruise. He had tried to get tickets for the dinner cruise, but they were completely sold out for the whole month of July. Instead, we enjoyed the patio cruise, complete with music, and they sung K. "Happy Birthday" too. Rob and I enjoyed ourselves, and the breeze on the Alabama River was fantastic.

A view of the RSA tower and the Renaissance at night.

Rob and I with the Riverboat behind us.

Liam's Walking!

2009-07-09T21:29:00.000-05:00

July 9, 2009

It's official: Liam is walking! He has been taking a few steps here and there for the last 2 weeks, but now he walks everywhere. Last weekend we bought him new shoes. He already wears a size 6 Wide! Big BOY!

He likes his New Balance shoes, and he frequently tries to put them on his feet. He has not been successful at that yet. He also has not been successful at walking in the shoes. He can walk fine barefooted, but as soon as the shoes are put on he picks his foot up too high and falls down. It is too cute! He will learn with some more practice.

Ain't

2009-07-06T19:32:00.000-05:00

Ain't ain't a word, ain't ain't in the dictionary (although now it is!), and we ain't going to say ain't no more.

This is what I told Caden today. I think my Dad told me this when I was I young. All I know is that we weren't allowed to say ain't, and to this day that little word grates on my nerves. Something about it bothers me, and now my child is saying it all the time.

Just today we were talking about another little boy and I said "He's 4 and a half, just like you."

Caden looks me in the eye, his big blue eyes glinting and his hair curly from the humidity and says "He ain't 4 and a half."

Ughh--is it best to ignore?

Liam loves his blankey!

2009-06-25T19:52:00.000-05:00

Liam is a baby after my own heart (I slept with my blankey until college!). He absolutely LOVES his blankey. He has some beautiful blankets, such as the green one my Aunt Lynn made for him, however he likes a blue and white cotton blanket. Here are a few pictures of him with his blankey:

Father's Day 2009

2009-06-23T20:58:00.000-05:00

Father's Day 2009 was fairly busy. I let Rob sleep late, while I attended to the boys. Around 8:30, I sent Caden to wake up Rob. He didn't do it nicely by crawling into the bed and cuddling next to him, no, he decided to walk into the room and shout "DADDY, GET UP!"

After his rude awakening we gave Rob his first gift, a pencil holder with a photo of the boys on it for his desk at work. He liked it, but I think he was more excited about receiving his "real" gift later that day at Big Mommy's and Big Daddy's house.

After doing a few things around the house that morning we decided to head on over to Big Mommy's and Big Daddy's. They were excited to see Liam and Caden! Caden's cousins soon arrived, and they were in the pool almost immediately. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera died so I didn't get any pictures of the day. Rob did his favorite things on Father's Day: 1) Grill and 2) watch the Red Sox game.

Shortly after the kids pulled themselves out of the pool, we opened presents. Not only were we celebrating Father's Day, but we celebrated Mom's birthday and Kaileigh's birthday too! After everyone opened their presents I showed Rob his gift. He was surprised that I bought him a smoker, but he was also a little disappointed that I didn't buy him the flat-screen tv he's wanting for years. There's always Christmas....

Here's a picture of Rob (and Caden) with his smoker. The thing is a monster. Rob is excited to cook with it this weekend. This morning, he said, giddily "Lauren did you know I can cook with wood in the smoker?" So exciting!!! Somehow I think a BBQ may be planned rather shortly...stay tuned.

A Fun-Filled Saturday!

2009-06-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure how we're going to get through this summer. It has been HOT! This past weekend we had a lot to do.

On Saturday, I took Liam to Gymboree Play and Music. He had a great time. He is cruising a lot now, and I'm sure he'll be off and running away from his brother, in no time!

After Gymboree, we went to Caden's last t-ball game. It was 10:30 in the morning, but the heat was already stifling. One of my friends said it's like living in an oven, and seriously, that is what it was like. The coaches, god love 'em, decided we would play just 2 innings, mainly for the sake of the parents who had to sit there in the heat. We received Caden's group photo, which is a classic, with the kids looking bored and none of them smiling at the camera! His solo photo was great, and Coach Jimmy said he was very photogenic! Then, BIG MISTAKE, Coach Jimmy gave Caden his trophy...since this was the last game of the season. Well, after that Caden wanted to have nothing to do with t-ball. He sat in the grass, and moped. He hit the ball and walked slowly, like a snail, to the base. Then he parked himself beside my chair and wouldn't move. I was intent that he play the last game of the season so I insisted Rob take him out to the Outfield. Rob basically dragged the kid out there, sweat pouring from both of their brows, and they stood in Right Field. Almost instantly, one of the Blue Jays (the other team) hit a ball directly towards Caden. He ran, but not hard enough and Sierra ended up getting the ball. Well Caden had a complete and utter meltdown, nose running, tears mixing with the salty sweat, and that was our last day of t-ball!

After t-ball we had an hour before our play date with Gibson and Caden H. (Mommies had fun too!) at Dreamland BBQ and the Splash Pad. I told Caden he had to stay on the couch to rest, and I even called Gibson's Mommy, to tell her we might not be able to make it, but Caden shaped up!

Dreamland was a bit nuts. The only table was right next to the Waitress Station, and the kids kept running and playing, banging spoons, ripping sugar open and eatting it. At one point, Caden was trying to open a packet of mustard and ended up squirting it all over his face. It was hysterical, and I would have taken a picture but he immediately started to gag and I thought he would throw up. He kept saying "Disgusting!" over and over again! So funny!

After Dreamland, we walked down to the River Walk and over to the Splash Pad. It was a long, hot walk in the 102 degree heat. By the time we got there, the boys were ready to splash and so were we, but unfortunately we weren't dressed appropriately. Oh well, the boys stayed cool, and we suffered in the blazing sun! Caden, Gibson, and Caden H. loved running through the water. Towards the end of the play date, a train came by and Caden and Caden H. started running off towards it. Tina yelled to Caden H. to come back and asked him where he was going. He says "Caden and I were going to run and catch the train!"

We had such a great time that day! Driving back in the car, Caden struggled to keep his eyes opened. He kept saying he just wanted a fruit snack and some water. He literally fell asleep as I was taking a right into our neighborhood. Luckily, Daddy woke him and he had his beloved fruit snacks before he hit the sack at 4 PM. He was so exhausted he ended up sleeping through the whole night.

Wart Removal

2009-06-13T10:04:00.000-05:00

If this blog is still up and running years from now, I'm sure that Caden will kill me for sharing this story. Here we go:

Some background on this: Caden has a nasty little wart underneath his nose. It has been there for about three months, and I made an appt with the dermatologist so that they could take a look at it, but they can't get us in until August.

So anyway--I went to the eye doctor today and ended up getting out early. I decided to go ahead and get Caden. I arrive at the school and his whole class is on the playground, but he is not there. I immediately was concerned.

I went up to his after school teacher Miss Kailyn. Caden is not in trouble (thank goodness!) But Caden H., one of Caden's friends, pulled Caden's wart off his face and it was bleeding a lot, so they sent him to the office, and they were in the process of calling me about it.

I get to the office, and Caden is sitting there. His face has stopped bleeding, and the wart is completely gone! He smiles and says "Hi Mommy!"

We got in the car and I asked him what happened and this is what he said:

"Caden H. and I were playing doctor on the playground. Caden was the doctor and I was the kid. Caden H. asked me if I had anything that bothered me. I told him my wart was bothering me. Caden H. said let's just pull it off. So I let him pull it off!"

I asked "Did you cry?"

Caden says "No I didn't cry, but it hurted a lot!"

The kid cracks me up. I can't believe he let Caden H. pull it off. Now I just have to put Compound W on it and hope it doesn't come back. Miss Kailyn says maybe Caden H. will be a doctor, if so I don't think Caden will be a returning patient!

It's been awhile, but we're back

2009-06-12T20:01:00.000-05:00

Last post: December. Today, June 12, 2009. What many things have happened since December?

1) January: We move into a new house. Welcome Home!

It looks pretty in the snow, doesn't it? This picture is actually from March, when we had our 2nd snowfall in 2 years here! Pretty amazing! My child may actually end up knowing what snow is, even though we live in the South!

2) March: We take a trip to New York to attend Pamela's wedding! It was amazing. We loved seeing everyone, and the kids enjoyed the trip as well. Caden thought the big buildings were amazing, but none of us were fond of the dirty subway. I was able to see my cousin Caitlin too which was great. I was also able to meet up with my good friend Katherine and her son Danny. We went to the "dinosaur" museum with them, and then spent some time playing at their apartment. It was great to see her and Danny!

3) April: Liam turns 1! The year went by so fast--bittersweet. My baby is growing up. He is still not walking, just crawling and cruises. He thinks it is funny when he lets go and stands by himself without holding on. He often claps his hands. He says "buh-buh," "ball," "car," and "Caden." He still loves cars, and he chooses to play with them over almost all other toys. He and his brother are now partaking in sibling rivalry quite frequently. Oh--the years I have to look forward to!

4) May: Caden finishes K3. Where has my baby gone? Caden is done with K3, and ready to move on up to K4. He is an amazing kid! He loves Science, animals, and swimming. He has a thirst for knowledge and loves to learn. I cherish the time we have together at night when we snuggle in his bed, and I read him a book. He is fiercely independent which sometimes frustrates his mother and father, but, I'm told eventually it will be a wonderful quality.

5) Caden starts t-ball. World of Organized Sports: BEWARE! Caden has now arrived. He is naturally left-handed, yet he wants to bat and catch right-handed. The first few practices, he stomped off the field because his glove didn't fit. It is slowly getting better. He now says he likes to go to t-ball. I think it also helps that the team is made up of kids who go to his school. He loves batting, but he doesn't quite get the concept of teamwork. He'd like to catch every ball that is hit, and no matter how many times I try to explain the concept of sportsmanship, he just doesn't get it.

That's the wrap!

Christmas 2008

2009-03-22T21:07:00.001-05:00

December 25, 2008

This was Liam's first Christmas. Caden wanted a bike, and he wanted a lot of super heroes, plus a red Power Ranger. I had to work on Christmas Eve, but we were able to leave early at 12 PM. We went over to my Mom's house, Chris, Leisa and the kids came over, and we began by opening the presents from Mom and them. We called Allison so that Kiersten and Big Daddy could read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to Rowan over the phone! We had a wonderful time being all together that night!

Caden had a wonderful time opening presents, and everyone had a great time eating and singing Christmas caroles.

We went home so we could get the boys in bed. Caden went right to bed, anticipating Santa Claus' visit and all the toys and candy he would receive the next day!!! His eyes were huge when he saw the toys that Santa brought him, including his Big Boy Lightening McQueen bike and his Super Heroes. Liam also really enjoyed his Fisher Price Jungle Set. He sits and plays with it for hours!

All and all it was a wonderful Christmas! In the afternoon we went over to Big Mommy and Big Daddy's and Caden rode his bike around the circle with his cousins. They all played well, and we had a great time too!

Thanksgiving 2008

2009-03-22T20:47:00.000-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving at Mom's house with Allison, Jeff, Rowan, Marge, Frank, Chris, Leisa and the kids. It was a nice quiet Thanksgiving. Rob made the turkey, and Mom made turfuki. At one point the turfuki went rolling off the counter and onto the floor! It actually tasted pretty good, but I really enjoyed the turkey Rob made!

Liam enjoyed a few bites of turkey, cranberries, dressing, etc. He is a very big eater!

Caden enjoyed the turkey, and that was about it!

Caden's 1st Play!

2008-11-18T20:45:00.000-06:00

November 8, 2008

For Caden's birthday, my Mom got him tickets to "Charlotte's Web." We took him and his cousins to see it. He did ok. They did not have an intermission so we had to get up and walk to the bathroom in the middle. I think the play would have been more fun if there had been music. Overall, Caden did well.

Afterwards we went frolicking in the park with the kids. They have statues that we always played on as kids. Caden, Kaileigh, Kiersten and Kyle enjoyed playing on the and mimicking the faces that they were making!

Caden turns 4!

2008-11-18T20:41:00.000-06:00

November 5, 2008
Caden is now 4 years old! It is hard to believe how quickly time goes by. Four years ago, my baby was born in Bethesda, MD. He was so small, and we looked forward to the future. I remember wondering what he would look like as a little boy. I remembering wondering what sports he would like, what he would be like, who he would look like. And now, here we are. He is a big boy. He loves swimming, running, jumping, rhyming. He has the best sense of humor, and we love him so much!

Halloween!

2008-11-12T21:10:00.000-06:00

October 31, 2008

Well our Halloween didn't go off as planned! The boys were both sick. Liam had a virus and Caden had a sinus infection. Mommy was sick too! :-( Still--the kids both looked cute as a peacock and a Dragon!

Caden, Braxton and Drew at the Halloween Party

In the morning, I took a few hours off of work and went to Caden's school for his Halloween party. I had volunteered to bring some food and to help out with the party. I was feeling sick though, and unfortunately I don't think I helped as much as the other Moms there, but I did have a good time seeing Caden's class! After the party, I took Caden to Rob (who had the day off with Liam), and he took him to the doctor. Caden had a runny nose for about a week, and we were pretty sure it was a sinus infection by that point!

Caden the Dragon--with Sinusitis!

We were going to go to Trunk-or-Treat at Caden's school, but we didn't want the baby to be out in the cold.

Liam, my little peacock!

I ended up staying in that night with Liam, and Caden and Daddy went Trick-Or-Treating for about an hour. Caden had a great time, although he didn't get that much candy! Oh well, less for Mommy to eat! :-0

Liam Update

2008-11-12T20:56:00.000-06:00

Well the last month, Liam has just been sick. He has had an ear infection, a virus (he is still hanging onto the cough), and he has had pink eye. I either gave him the pink eye or got it from him. I'm not sure which. He has started sitting up. He eats rice cereal, and he eats all of the Organic Gerber's Size 1 and has started eating the Size 2 jars. He also started eating puffs recently. It is so funny to watch him gum them and try to chew them with his 2 little teeth!
Liam had his 6 month appointment on the 20th. He weighed 16 lbs 13 ounces which was in the 55th percentiled. He was 27 inches long--75th percentile. He had to get several shots, including the DTP and HIB boosters, as well as the flu shot. Poor baby! I am fairly sure that he picked up the virus while waiting in the Waiting Room to be seen. There were several coughing babies there, and Liam came down with the virus a few days later! All in all, a good month with a lot of growing for Liam!

GiGi's 95th Birthday

2008-11-12T20:29:00.000-06:00

October 12, 2008

We went to Nashville for my Grandmother's 95th birthday. Her birthday isn't until October 22, but we felt like we would celebrate it early. Caden, Liam and I stayed with my sister Allison. Rob had to stay in Montgomery, because he had school on Monday.

My Dad's relatives came from all over. My cousins came from Kentucky, and we had people come to the party from Florida, Alabama (of course) and as far as Hawaii. On Saturday, Mom and I drove up with the boys. The trip wasn't bad, except for the last 30 minutes, Caden was just tired of being in the car.

We arrived at Aunt Susan's and had dinner, talked with relatives, and chased Caden around while he had a lot of chocolate and no substanial food! GiGi opened some cards and got a beautiful crown for her 95th birthday!

On Sunday, we had the actual party at the Clubhouse. We ate, of course, and we each told GiGi a story we remembered and loved about her. It was a lot of fun, and it was good to see all my relatives!

Andrea also met Liam for the first time!

Another Caden milestone...

2008-10-09T20:42:00.000-05:00

Caden's hitting so many developmental milestones this year. A few days ago, he began to add on his hands. He can add numbers up to 10. He can also add and subtract objects in front of him. He can subtract on his hands as well. I was so surprised to hear him do this in the car the other day.

He has also memorized several sums. For example, he knows that 4+1 = 5 and that 2+2=4, 3+3=6 without having to count on his fingers! Its so amazing to me to see him picking up on things so quickly!

Play Time

2008-10-05T19:36:00.001-05:00

October 3, 2008

Liam enjoyed some play time this weekend by himself and with his brother. Caden had fun pretending to be a baby. His imagination has just taken off! Here are a few new pics:

Liam's Baptism

2008-09-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

September 28, 2008Liam was baptized this past Sunday at Grace Episcopal Church. My Mom bought him the beautiful antique Christening Gown that he wore for the baptism and the little French bonnet.

He did well through the church service. Rob's mom, Judy, came down and she enjoyed holding him. Another couple's son was baptized (the mother was too!) at the service. The church was packed, and the music was quite beautiful.

Liam did not cry when Father David put the water on his head and then the oil for the cross. He just looked around curiously.

Perhaps the most memorable event of the Baptism was the other girl's father passing out! During the last few minutes of the Service, my mother-in-law noticed that the man needed medical attention. She called it to my Dad's attention, and he ran over to help. He had no pulse, but it quickly returned. Someone called 911, and they came within minutes. They took him to the hospital, and we heard that he is doing much better today.

Silly Glasses!

2008-09-28T21:29:00.000-05:00

September 2008
Allison gave us some green glasses at Rowan's birthday party. The lenses fell out, and now the whole family likes to wear them without the lenses. Here are a few pics. Sorry guys--I refused to put them on! ;-)

Football and Fun!

2008-09-28T21:21:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks have been busy at work and busy at home. Liam is growing well, and he is getting his front bottom two teeth. The one on the left is partially in. You can't really see it in the pictures yet, but I'm sure as it comes up more you all will be able to sneak a peek!

We went to the Homecoming Football game (Saint James vs. MA) on Friday, September 26. It was our 2nd game of the season. We had hot dogs, popcorn, and a lot of fun! Caden enjoys playing with his friends, Gibson and Drew, while Rob and I try to keep them from falling off the bleachers. It is a lot of fun to hang out with the other parents at the football game, and Rob and I enjoy taking Caden to them. Liam went for the first time this week. He cried at first, but then decided it wasn't all that bad. He just looked at everything and took it all in! He loved when Drew, Gibson and Caden were doing silly things and laughed out loud every time he would see them!

We don't know who won the game, because we had to leave at Half Time because Caden was exhausted!

S-T-O-P

2008-09-20T09:08:00.000-05:00

September 17, 2008

"S-T-O-P, spells Stop Mommy," Caden said while we were driving home from Big Mommy's house. "How do you spell STORE?"

"Sound it out," I said.

"Sssss, Tah, O...S-T-O..."

I had to help him with the rest. Caden can now spell stop, the and go. He recognizes the word STOP on the STOP signs, and every time we read he recognizes the word "the." We started putting the sight words on the fridge, thanks to my sister Kelsey's recommendation, and he has really taken off! It is amazing to see their little minds start to expand!

We have also started reading Chapter Books. We read one chapter a night before bed. Last week we read "Catwings," and this week we're going to read "Superfudge."

Caden is Growing Up!

2008-09-13T07:23:00.000-05:00

September 12, 2008

It is amazing to me how quickly kids develop. Last year, Caden didn't know his alphabets or all his numbers, and now he knows them all. I came into the kitchen the other day and Caden had lined up all the letters from A-Z on the fridge. He then told me what each letter was.

At Caden's school they do a new letter and sound each week, and it really has resonated with him. When he sees an "S" he tells me what it sounds like. He can also tell me what a lot of words start with just by hearing it said. Next step is Sight Books!!!

Cute story: Yesterday, we were driving home from Big Mommy's house, and Caden said, "Look Mommy--the sun is setting! I love it when the sky looks orange when the sun starts going down!"

He is becoming such a big boy! It amazes me every day how much he knows.

Liam tries solid food!

2008-09-13T07:04:00.000-05:00

Liam trying cereal for the first time-sorry for the fuzziness!

September 6 -- September 13, 2008

Well I decided to give Liam solid foods this weekend. He has been intently watching us eat, and he seemed ready. He absolutely HATED the rice cereal and screamed on Saturday. I was going to wait and feed him some more next week, but I decided on Sunday that I would try it mixed with pears. He LOVED it!
Since Sunday, we have introduced peas too. He has a mixed reaction about those. He sort of looks like he will throw up at first when I put it in his mouth, but then he swallows it. He opens his mouth very wide for food and gets excited when I get it out!

Do they have swim team for 3 year olds?

2008-09-04T05:56:00.000-05:00

Caden is such a swimmer. Now at 3, almost 4, he jumps into the pool, swims in the deep in, can swim all the way down to the bottom of the shallow end, andgenerally loves swimming. The other day I was watching him swim, and he was doing the side stroke. I hadn't even showed him how to do it. The kid just loves to swim.

I really cannot wait to get Caden into some kind of sport, because he just is so energetic and seems very athletic to me.

Rowan's Birthday Party

2008-09-02T21:20:00.001-05:00

This is the sight of a 1 year old having his first bite of refined sugar! We went up to Nashville for Rowan's first birthday this weekend. He had a wonderful time eating the cake. He didn't blink when everyone there (about 35 people) sang him "Happy Birthday," either.

Liam enjoyed himself. My Mom had cataracts surgery on Thursday, and she hadn't seen Liam for a few days, so she held him a lot at Allison's house. I think she was going through withdrawls. He is such a good traveler. He slept fine in the tiny hotel we stayed in. He stayed on his schedule the whole time. I have said it before, and I will say it again, that he is the easiest baby! I just hope it stays that way!

Caden's time in Nashville consisted of chasing after Rowan, arguing like an old married couple with Jeff's niece Ryan, and salivating over birthday cake whilst Rowan was being sung too. It is hard for a 3 year old to wait patiently for birthday cake! Caden did well though. He was very good on the trip, and he said he had fun eating the chocolate cake and ice cream and couldn't wait for his birthday! He also serenaded Rob and I at a restaurant with "Happy Birthday to Rowan," in preparations for that evening's festivities. How funny!

We also were able to see my grandmother, Gigi, when we were there which was great. She met Liam for the first time. She held him for a few minutes. She will be 95 in October, so we were glad she was able to see Liam. She enjoyed the birthday party, and as always it was good to see her!

One half week of school...

2008-08-22T20:00:00.000-05:00

and Caden gets sick. Yes, that is right, Caden came down with strep throat on Tuesday. I actually think he was getting it over the weekend, because he was so tired all weekend long.

On Monday after school, Caden was eating at my Mom's house when we picked Liam up, and I felt his head and noticed he was hot. I took his temp and it was 100.3 (just low-grade), but he never has a fever. I told my Mom I thought he was coming down with something.

Well, Tuesday morning he woke up crying and upset. He said he didn't feel well and that his head hurt. Of course, I think the worse thing. To me Fever+Headache=Meningitis. Well he was miserable all day at my Mom's house. I have no sick time, so I wasn't able to take time off. :-(
Rob called and made a doctor's appt for him at 1:15, and they did a quick strep test that came back negative.

Well Wednesday he woke up in a much better mood, but it quickly faded. I got the call from the doctor's office around 11 AM that his lab work had come back and he did have strep. Thank goodness for antibiotics though, because after just one dose he was running around like the wildman he is!!!

He is all better now, and he went back to school today. They only have to be on the meds for 24 hours, and then they aren't contagious. I think he was happy to be back in his routine, and he actually got 3 stickers at school today, and he only has to get 2 more to get a surprise out of the Treasure Chest!!! How exciting!

Liam is 4 months old!

2008-08-18T19:44:00.000-05:00

August 18, 2008

Well Liam had his 4 month appointment today. I can't believe he is 4 months old already. Crazy how fast time flies.

Here are his stats:

Height: 25.5 inches (75th percentile) -- Caden was 25 inches at 4 months.

Weight: 15 lbs 4 oz (62nd percentile) -- Caden was 14 lbs 7 oz at 4 months.

Head: 16 inches (don't know the percent but I'm betting it is around 25th or so)

He laughed when the doctor listened to his heartbeat, and he absolutely LOVED the mirror right next to the table he had to lie on. He smiled and giggled at the baby in the mirror, not knowing it was himself of course. Then they gave him 3 shots which was so horrible. He screamed a lot. Afterwards, I had to go back to work, but my Mom said he went to sleep and he slept the rest of the day! I know his little legs are sore, but he is doing ok now.

As for solids...I told the doctor we were going to hold off until five-six months and he was fine with that. I don't think Liam is that interested in food yet, so I don't think this will be a problem.

Liam at birth (2 days old)

Liam at 4 months

Montgomery Zoo

2008-08-17T10:28:00.000-05:00

August 16, 2008

We went to the zoo this weekend, and we had a wonderful time. We left early on Saturday, mostly because we thought it was going to rain, but also because if you get to the zoo early most of the animals are up and out.

The first stop was the snake house. Caden wasn't wasting any time getting there either. He sprinted past the Spectacled Bear (Mommy's favorite), the monkeys, the alligator, and the Maned Wolves. Daddy and Mommy made Caden wait a few minutes by the maned wolves as we watched one of the wolves take a drink, and then a fight ensued. It was neat!

Caden loves the snakes, lizards, frogs and dragons in the snake house. His eyes light up when he sees them. He knows that he cannot touch a snake unless a knowledgable adult tells him it is ok. He is still looking forward to seeing the snake at his new school, as they did not go to the Science Lab this week.

After the snakes we made our way around to the Llama. He stuck his head out and looked right at us. About this time, a zoo employee came up to us and told us not to get too close b/c the llama spits. We backed up, butI got a few good pics of him in the meantime.

Then we decided to go ahead and take the train ride. Caden was already getting tired and was a little moody. He enjoyed the train ride though, and Liam had his first ever ride on the train. I have to say he wasn't too enthusiastic about it, but he didn't cry!

We decided we would go see the Elephants next. We stopped to look at the big open area where the Zebras, Bantangs and other animals roam. I Batang came right up to the area where we were standing and began eating the leaves. Caden was amazed by it, as were we. It was so neat!!!

After that, we stopped by the playground. Caden and Daddy played for awhile while Liam snoozed in his carseat. Check out the pics of my three kids!

Our last stop was the otters. Caden absolutely loved these guys. They came right up to the water and basically smiled at you. They were so neat!!! It was a fun day, and we came home for a nice long nap. Caden ended up not falling asleep until 3 in the afternoon, but then he was down for the night! I think after his week of changes he needed to rest and catch up on a little sleep!!!

Caden tuckered out at the end of the day.

Caden's First Day of School!

2008-08-13T20:24:00.000-05:00

Caden with me right before school

Caden with his new teacher

Caden started Pre-K today at Saint James! We were so excited. I decided to get up early and drive him to school. This meant a finely tuned orchestration of driving one kid to Big Mommy's and then promptly jumping back in the car to drive to Caden's school. But, it all worked out!

They only had class until 10:30, so I walked Caden in, put his bookbag in the bookbag box, showed him his cubby, and then found his name on the table. He was a little clingy, but finally he sat at the table and began looking at a number book (he is really into numbers right now!). I kissed the palms of his hands (as instructed by the teacher) and left. Apparently they read a story about a child who was told to kiss the palms of their hands when they missed their Mommy and Daddy. So cute.

Caden also has to wear a uniform this year. He looks so cute in it. He is one of the smallest in the class, and I think the uniform makes him look so tiny! He walked right into the classroom wearing his Lightning McQueen bookbag though.

When I picked him up he was so excited to see me, and he told me that "Mrs. Browning was nice!" She also gave him Smarties, so he was very pleased with the candy aspect of it all. They took a tour of the school, introduced each other, and read books today!

We will see how he does tomorrow, because he will be there all day not until just 10:30!

Caden meets his Pre-K 3 Teacher!

2008-08-09T08:23:00.001-05:00

August 8, 2008
Well, Caden is starting a new chapter in his life: School! After having some problems with his daycare this summer, we decided to go ahead and enroll him in a local private school. They have a Pre-K3 program, complete with after-school care, so he will be able to be there all day. The greatest part about it is that 4 kids from his daycare are going to attend there, and one of the kids is in his class! I know he will like that.

On Thursday, we went to meet his new teacher, Mrs. Browning. Caden calls her "Mrs. Brownie." The Pre-K3 classrooms are all centered around a "pod," which is basically a big playroom. Caden walked in and made a bee-line for the Thomas the Train table which is located in the pod. I literally had to pry him away from the table so we could make it to his classroom to meet "Mrs. Brownie."

We walked into the classroom and there were 2 other children and parents there. The children were clinging to their parents. Well, Caden, with his little outgoing self, walked right in started looking at the books, found the blocks, and began playing.

Mrs. Brownie came up to us and said "What is your name?"

He looked at her and said, as easy as you please, "Caden Stanley Greene!"

I was so proud of him for not being shy. He felt right at home there.

Then Mrs. Brownie said, "Well tell me a little bit about yourself. What do you like to eat?"

He looked at her with a big smile and said "McDonald's and candy!"

I was a tad embarrassed, but I had to laugh, because those are his favorite foods besides peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Well Mrs. Brownie said "My girls love McDonald's. Would you like to take us there sometime?"

Caden looked at her and said "Um...maybe I'll take you there next year."

It was so funny. He really felt comfortable there. I'm glad he will start there this year and have a structured academic environment. I do think that Mrs. Brownie will have a lot of trouble pulling him away from that train track though!

Our Trip to St. George Island

2008-08-02T08:12:00.000-05:00

July 19-26, 2008

After going back to work for three weeks it was time for a vacation! My whole family, Mom, Dad, Kelsey, Allison, Chris, husbands, wives and kids all decided to go down to the beach! Mom and Dad rented Pieces of Eight, which we used to own. Mom was excited to go back there, as she has missed the house since she sold it. The problem is it only had 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, and 19 people were going to be staying there! Yikes!

When we got to the beach on Saturday, the weather was beautiful. Mom cried when she saw the house and the view from the front porch. But, things had changed and the new owners had not kept the house up as well as Mom and Dad had. After throwing our suitcases in our room (we got the twin bedroom), we opened it up and quickly found our bathing suits. Caden got dressed up in his swimsuit, his swimshirt, swim shoes, sunglasses, hat and life jackets. Fully dressed--perfect for that hot Florida sun. I put Liam in his swimsuit and swimshirt, and I lotioned both of them up.

When we went in October, Caden had refused to get in the ocean, because he was scared of the water. This time, he jumped right into the ocean. The waves did bother him some. He would say "Those waves are mean and keep knocking me down." The life jacket helped with that some, because even though Caden can swim well, we were worried about him getting swept away.

The baby enjoyed his quick dip in the water. He only went down one other time during the week. I was too worried about him getting sunburnt!

It was a wonderful week, connecting with my sisters and brother again. All the kids played, sometimes well together, other times not. Rowan was a doll and is getting so big! Unfortunately, my camera broke while we were there, so I have absolutely no pictures of the sand, ocean, and two little boys out there! I was able to get a few pics of the kids inside the house. I think the camera problem has something to do with the light sensor, as every picture taken outside was completely washed out!

All in all, we had a great time, and Caden behaved so well. On Friday I came down with a stomach bug which was unfortunate. It took me 5 days to get over, but now I'm feeling better. The kids never came down with it, thank goodness!

Liam Laughs Outloud!

2008-07-15T20:58:00.000-05:00

A BIG milestone today for Liam: He had his first big belly laugh. I wish I had gotten a video of it. I'll have to get one soon. I was doing his bedtime routine, complete with lotioning him up. I had just taken his clothes off and decided to do "The itsy bitsy spider." I made the spider climb up his tummy and tickle him under the chin and he just laughed so hard! It was so cute!

Another GREAT Milestone: Liam has been sleeping through the night for the last week! He sleeps usually between 7-9 hours. It is wonderful. I knew he had the weight to be able to do it! He continues to be a chub!

July 4th

2008-07-05T10:06:00.001-05:00

We had a wonderful July 4th here in Hot, Hot Alabama! I had my first week back at work so only having a 4-day work week was nice.

On Friday, after work we went to the Biscuits Game. It was a lot of fun. Caden enjoyed playing on the playground and sticking his face into a funnell cake! We bought him a mini-bat, because he is so into baseball lately, and he has been playing with it all weekend! Unfortunately the Biscuits lost to the Mississippi Braves. The fireworks were nice though!

Yesterday we went to the YMCA with Leisa and the kids in the morning. Caden had a great time swimming and Rob thoroughly enjoyed the water slide. I wish I had the camera to get pics of Rob trying to race Kaileigh down the slide! Pretty funny!!!

My friend Cassidy from high school was in town, so I hung out with her and Alyson in the afternoon. I introduced them to Liam, and they both took turns holding him. He thanked them by falling asleep in their arms!

I had my first girl's night out in awhile and went out to Chili's with Alyson and Cassidy. After that we met up with Charmaine, Melissa and Cecilia at a local bar to see the Velcro Pygmies. They were great and it was a lot of fun. One of these days I'll be able to hear again!

Liam is 2 months!

2008-06-22T09:44:00.001-05:00

Liam is 2 months old already. How time flies. He is a little chunky monkey too. He really loves to nurse, and I'm hoping he will like food and not be as picky as Caden.

Here are his recent stats:

1 month -- 10 lbs 8 ounces and 22 1/4 inches long
2 months -- 13 lbs 8.5 ounces and 23.5 inches long. He is in the 94th percentile for weight and the 75th for height, so it looks like he really will be a BIG boy!!!

This month we hung out at my parent's house while they went to my cousin's wedding and then on an Alaskan cruise! We had a great time. Caden swam almost every day--and he is now doing it again without his blue floatie. We also spent a lot of time at the YMCA with Leisa and the kids. Caden is growing by leaps and bounds. He is now really interested in numbers. He counts all the time. He is also starting to write his name which is great!!!

I am going back to work on June 30. It is bittersweet. I know I will enjoy going back, because I will start a new position in the credit department, but it will be hard to be away from Liam. I am glad that my Mom will keep him, and he won't be going to daycare yet.

Liam's Milestones
3.5 weeks -- Liam rolls from stomach to back
6-7 weeks -- Liam smiles in response to a smile and coos back at me.
9 weeks -- Liam laughs when I do "Creepy Mouse."

Caden Milestones
April 2008 -- Caden dresses himself. He can take his clothes off and on now by himself.
May 2008 -- Caden swims on his own.
June 2008 -- Caden can hit a baseball thrown to him with a bat.

Caden is super athletic. He loves to run and jump. He also loves gymnastics.

Brotherly Love

2008-05-18T17:35:00.001-05:00

The last few weeks have been hectic to say the least. Having a 3.5 year old and a newborn is rewarding, fun, but TOUGH. Caden is doing well now, but at first he was not as gentle as he could be. He had some jealousy issues, but we worked with him. We began to put him in time-out or take a toy away any time he hit, kicked, bit, etc. anybody. After we took away his racecar for one night he became amazingly sweet to his little brother and has not regressed in that regards yet. Of course, we still have to watch him when he is with his brother.

So much has happened since Liam was born. Kelsey came to visit with her girls. That was a lot of fun. We hung out at the pool most of the time! Then we had Aunt Karen come to visit as well. She loved seeing Caden and Liam, and she had the bonus of being able to attend Caden's Music Program at his school! She seemed to enjoy herself!

This week Allison, Jeff and Rowan stopped by for a quick visit on their way to the beach. Rowan is growing like a weed and is adorable to boot!!!

Here are a few of Liam's stats:

Birth -- 7 lbs 15 ounces

Discharge Weight -- 7 lbs 9 ounces

Six Days Old -- 7 lbs 7 ounces

Thirteen Days Old -- 8 lbs 4 ounces

We are going to the doctor for his 1 month appointment. I am sure he is over 9 lbs. He is quite a little chunker and loves to eat. His nickname is Buddha, because he looks bald (even though he is very blonde and has quite a bit of hair) and he has the chubbiest little tummy! He also rolled over for the first time at 3 weeks old! He will be on the move before we know it.

Caden is still holding strong at 31 pounds and he is starting to develop such a little personality. He is into Thomas the Train these days and will play for hours with him or with his blocks or Legos.

Liam has Arrived!!!

2008-04-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

After being on bedrest for a month with pregnancy induced hypertension and preterm labor symptoms, my OB GYN decided to induce me at 37 weeks. Liam made his arrival on April 18, 2008 at 6:41 PM. He weighed 7 lbs 15 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Thank goodness he was 3 weeks early! My doctor said he would have been a 10 pounder if I had gone to 40 weeks!!!

I am feeling much better now that I can get up and move around. I've already made it out to stores and restaurants. I love not being cooped up in the house and lying on the couch 24/7.

Caden is adjusting to the baby. The first week was hard, because Caden really is trying to get a lot of attention. He loves the baby and always wants to see him, but then he will pinch his arm or try to poke him in the eye. We have to tell him over and over again to be gentle. This weekend he seems to be doing better with it. Rob and I have been taking him on individual outings. I took him to Target to get more diapers, which he seemed to really enjoy. Plus, we had a lot of visitors yesterday which was a nice distraction for him!

Liam is a good baby so far. He loves to EAT!!! He likes a pacifier and he has already had his first bottle of breastmilk. He drank it like a champ!!! He only wakes up every four hours at night which is wonderful for a newborn.

Our Trip to the Northeast

2008-03-02T20:51:00.000-06:00

Rob and I decided to take Caden up to visit Rob's family and my sister before the next Greene Bean is born. In Massachusetts and Rhode Island, they have a February break and since my sister, Rob's sister and Rob's Mom are all teachers it was the opportune time for us to go.

We flew out of Birmingham on Saturday morning. Thanks to my Mom for driving us up there. Caden was extremely excited about the plane flight. He does not remember all the traveling he did as an infant! He did very well on the airplane. I brought lots of activities such as crayons and coloring books, books, toys, food, etc. Caden kept himself busy on the first flight. He enjoyed looking at the window and only said once that he was afraid we might fall!

We stopped at BWI, and I told Caden that he had been born there! He was a mess at that point because it was around noon and we didn't have time for any food. We made the second flight, and he promptly fell asleep after whining about not being able to hold his melting Reese's peanut butter cup.

When we got to the airport, Kelsey picked us up with the girls. Caden immediately noticed the snow. He played with it even though it was icy. He was thoroughly impressed with the snow.

Caden immediately became Emma's little dog. He followed her around the whole time, did "nastics" with her (this is what he calls gymnastics), took baths with her, and they even shared a bed. We had a great time playing in the snow there. We ate a great fish meal and Kelsey and I had a great time talking and just hanging out. Plus we went shopping a few times, and I stocked up on some summer clothes for Caden and the new baby.

After spending a few days with Kelsey, Rob's brother came over and they went skiing. Kelsey drove Caden and I down to Rhode Island to visit Rob's family. We had a wonderful meal the first night of pork with all of Rob's family. Rob ended up going to band practice with his brother.

The next day we took the boys to the Bass Pro Shop--my second trip! They enjoyed looking at the fish and the stuffed animals.

Caden enjoyed playing with Alex and Jason, his older boy cousins! He LOVED their toys, especially the blocks and also Alex's little toy action Buzz. We ended up going to the Disney Store and buying one before we left, because Caden just could not give it up.

We also were able to see Rob's grandmother, Gigi, and that was great. She seemed to be doing well, and she loved seeing Caden!

We went to the Providence Children's Museum which was great. Caden loved the bones. He played with the skull and the vertebrae for awhile. He also loved filling up the trucks with these little soft rubber stones!

The last day there, they ended up having a snow storm and Caden loved playing in the snow. He didn't like it when it got into his eyes though!

Christmas

2008-01-27T07:19:00.000-06:00

Christmas Eve:
We went over to Big Mommy's house for Christmas Eve. My work let out early at noon, and Rob had taken the day off. We came home played for awhile, and then met the rest of the family at Church for the "Children's Service." Kiersten, Kyle and Kaileigh each had a role in The Christmas Paegent. Kiersten did a wonderful job singing and led the choir well with her voice. Kaileigh quietly said her angel role, and the whole church became VERY quiet so they could hear her. Unfortunately, Rob's role during church was to take Caden outside and eventually to the nursury because Caden just would not sit still. Oh well: maybe next year.

After church, we went to Big Mommy's house for dinner. She made Italian Wedding Soup and it was wonderful!!! We also opened out presents from Big Mommy which was great. I received a lot of maternity clothes. Rob received Biscuits tickets and some Gin. Caden got a sleeping bag, a yellow Tonka truck and roller skates which he loves! Caden did well, but he was ready for bed when we got home. He did wake up a record, 7 times, and kept asking if Santa had visited! It was definitely his first Christmas where he understood what was happening!

Christmas Morning: Santa visited during the night! He brought lots of goodies for Caden, including a new doll that he could practice being sweet to! Caden absolutely loved the Diego Rescue Center that Santa brought him as well. He carries that little Diego everywhere with him. It as all but replaced Lightening McQueen.

We had a fun time playing at home in the morning. Caden had mostly candy for breakfast and after being so overwhelmed with all the new toys he had a meltdown and took a nap. We went over to Big Mommy's for dinner. She mad a roast and Christmas potatoes! My favorite. Caden did well there playing with his cousins. It was a wonderful Christmas and so nice to be with our family during the holiday!

Late Arrivals -- Zoo Lights

2008-01-26T07:52:00.000-06:00

December -- We took Caden to the Zoo Lights around Christmas-time. He loves animals so we opted to pay the extra money to get into the zoo for an hour before-hand. They had two new babies, a rhinoceros and an elephant. The rhino was so cute. He was running around everywhere.

Caden thouroughly loved the zoo, even though we basically ran through it to be able to see most of it within the hour before zoo lights start. They put the animals up around 4:30 and some were already up when we arrived there at 4. The Elephants were standing by the door waiting to be let in!

We went on perhaps the coldest day of the month, so Caden was bundled up really well. After the zoo closed we had to wait about an hour for the train ride. We went to the little cafeteria and had a soft pretzel, and then Caden ran around in circles in the cabana for about half an hour. Santa Claus even came to get some food, and took off his red jacket to show us that he wears a white undershirt and red suspenders under his coat. Caden was thoroughly terrified of him.

The Zoo Lights were beautiful, but I didn't get any good pics of them. Caden loved it and it turned out to be a really fun night!

New Baby Boy...

2008-01-19T08:19:00.000-06:00

So we are having a new baby boy. We found out on December 17th. Caden, Rob and my Mom went to the ultrasound appointment with me. Caden was not that interested in it, but since then every time he sees the ultrasound picture he will say "Look there's my baby brother!"

The baby was measuring about a week ahead still and my due date is somewhere between May 1st - May 10th although my OB GYN is still going with my original May 10 due date. I hope he comes early since my parents will be going on vacation at the end of May.

November...

2007-11-30T20:21:00.000-06:00

Maybe I should make this a monthly blog...

November was busy. Caden turned three on November 5. It is amazing. I had about two weeks of telling people he was two before I remembered that he was actually three. His birthday fell on Monday, and we had to work of course, so we woke up that morning and sang him Happy Birthday. That night, we gave him his birthday present, the tee-ball set we had bought him. Then he was able to play it for a few minutes before the sun went down.

We also took Caden to Nemo on Ice on November 3rd for his birthday. He absolutely loved it. He watched the people skate around and loved it. He thought it was great. The seats were a little bit high, and I almost had an anxiety attack getting to them!!! Luckily, the arena was not sold out, so we were able to move down. We got out of there only spending $30 on useless toys that cost $5 to make and lasted about 2 days once we brought them home. Not bad, considering we only paid $15 for our tickets.

After Finding Nemo, we went to The Cheesecake Factory with my friend Cecilia. It was good, and Caden thoroughly enjoyed his bananas and ice cream sundae. We saw a man propose to a woman while we were there, and she accepted! It was funny, because all the waiters and people in the restaurant were watching them out the window (they were sitting on the terrace).

On November 10 we had Caden's birthday party. Rob's Mom came down for it, and Caden loved seeing his Grandma. We also bought Caden his Big Boy bed, which he loves. The party was great. We had a few people over, a lot of food and cake. The kids all ran around outside and played with chalk and play-doh. The weather was wonderful for November--in the 70s! Couldn't ask for a better day.

Caden, of course, missed his nap. After everyone left he opened all his presents and then quickly fell asleep on my lap. He didn't even realize that he was sleeping in a new bed until he woke up in the middle of the night!!!

Our biggest accomplish of the month has been POTTY TRAINING!!! As you can tell I am extremely excited about this!!! The week before Thanksgiving I put him in underwear and we never looked back. Even with a trip to the zoo and a birthday party that weekend we managed to pull it off with just a few accidents. By the next weekend he wasn't having any accidents! We are so excited!!!

Thanksgiving in Nashville was great too, and Rowan is growing like a weed. We missed Kelsey and Chris and their families, but it was wonderful to see Aunt Susan and Gigi and all my cousins and their families. Caden loved Megan who is nine, and followed her around and wanted her to pick him up all the time!!! He also played great with Corbin.

Now the month is wrapping up, and its almost time for Christmas...time to get started on the shopping!

Three Years of Caden...

2007-11-03T17:59:00.000-05:00

Caden will be three on November 5...Monday. I cannot believe it. I was looking through my photo albums online, and I thought I'd post some pictures of him over the years.

It is hard to believe that he has been here for 3 years. I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday. I woke up at 5 AM that morning having contractions. I told Rob that he could go to work, because most likely it would be awhile. I called my Mom, who was upset, because her plane wasn't flying in until the next day. By 2:30 in the afternoon, Rob and I had a mostly bald 7 pound 11 oz little boy. Luckily, my Mom was able to get an earlier flight the next day, so she was able to see her new grandson before he was even 24 hours old.

The first year flew by. Between the sleepless nights, the constant diaper changes, the first smiles and giggles--before we knew it Caden was 1 year old. A lot happened that year. We moved so that I could stay home. Rob got a new job. Caden just grew in leaps and bounds. By six months he was crawling and right around his first birthday he started walking! He would say "All done," around 10 months because he just didn't like to eat. This picky-ness is still a part of his personality, and I attribute it to the fact that Rob is such a picky eater. We had a big birthday that year, with about 25 of our closet friends and relatives and their CHILDREN. It was wild, and Caden unfortunately was not in the best mood. We did realize on his first birthday though that Caden LOVED sugar. He had a cake which was his first taste of processed sugar, and since that time he hasn't turned back.

Caden's second year was full of changes too. We had a great time doing playgroups, story time and meeting lots of great people. We met some of our best friends during that year--some whom I thought Caden would grow up with. However, in September we decided that we would move back home. Plans were made, and I got a job, and we ended up moving in October. Caden loved being around Big Mommy. It took him awhile to adjust to daycare, but now he LOVEs it! His vocabulary expanded by leaps and bounds. He was saying a new word every day. He used to love this book, and every time we read it he would point out the "Jack in the Box" and say "Jack 'o Box." It was the cutest thing.

This year Caden's growth and maturity has been amazing. He talks in full paragraphs all of the time. He has fears of monsters, specific likes and dislikes, and he even has "best friends" at school. It is amazing to watch how he transferred from a little baby into a child. He is getting bigger every day. Our biggest challenge this year has been discipline, but we are working on it, and Caden is starting to respond more and more. His favorite toys right now are Diego and CARS. He carries Lightening McQueen around everywhere we go (I can't even tell you how many times I've had to replace him!). He says the funniest things, and he loves to be the center of attention. We are having a party for him next weekend, complete with a CARS cake, and some friends of ours and their children. Grandma is even flying in for it! We know we will have a great time, and this will be the first of many more birthdays to come!

Caden's Third Halloween!

2007-11-01T18:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was Halloween. We had a great day. Caden has been asking when he could trick-or-treat for about a month now. The child LOVES Candy! We had decided he would be Tigger, mostly because we had a hand-me-down Halloween costume that fit him. He was all set to be Tigger and about a week before Halloween he wanted to be a lion. He was a lion last year, so Rob and I convinced him that Tigger was just as great, because Tigger was a tiger and could roar too. That seemed to be enough for him.

Halloween morning, we got up and Caden dressed in his costume. They had a parade and trick-or-treating in the hallway at his school. I attended, and it was very cute to see all the kids dressed up. Caden's little girlfriend, Hannah, was wearing a Dorothy costume. She kissed Caden about three times and told him she loved him. It was so cute!

After school, we headed up to Chris' house to trick-or-treat with Kiersten, Kyle and Kaileigh. Josh was off trick-or-treating with his friends. Rob finally made it there, after taking a detour to see the county prison (he kept going instead of turning left). Caden did a good job walking most of the time. At one point, Rob put him on his shoulders, but then Rob promptly walked Caden right into a branch of a tree. Now Caden has a few scratches on his nose. It was quite funny though.

He wracked up on the Halloween candy--so we will be chowing down on some yummy chocolate for quite awhile. Caden's favorites this year seem to be suckers and sweet tarts.

and baby makes 4!

2007-10-23T18:06:00.000-05:00

So we are adding a new member to our family in May. We will no longer be a family of 3, instead we will be a family of 4. Caden is not so excited yet, but I know once the baby is here he will be fine. Plus, I am not showing at all so I know it is not entirely real to him yet. We are excited about the new addition to the family!

Today we had the ultrasound, and they moved up my due date to May 5. I am now 12 weeks and 1 day pregnant. Check out the picture, and let me know whether you think its a boy or girl! I'll tell you in a few months when we find out!

St. George Island

2007-10-21T10:40:00.000-05:00

We went to the beach this week. I took a week off of work which was wonderful. My parents went up on Saturday to spend a few days alone before Caden, me, Jeff, Allison and Rowan came up.

We drove up on Tuesday. Unfortunately it was raining when we got there. My Mom still took Caden down and they walked on the beach for a bit. He loved running up and down the beach. We stayed in a three bedroom house. Caden and I stayed in the loft. We had to go up a spiral staircase to get there, and luckily Caden learned very quickly to be careful. There was a bathroom upstairs which was nice, because I couldn't imagine having to climb down those stairs blurry eyed in the middle of the night.

We had a great time. The first night Mom made shrimp which was delicious. Caden had lunch meat, because he would not eat the shrimp. He had a wonderful week of eating whatever he wanted, fruit snacks and candy mostly!

The next morning we woke up and made our way down to the beach early. Caden played in the sand a lot and ran up and down the surf. He was afraid of the water though, and he wouldn't even get in with me holding him. It was unusually rough for the whole time we were there, except for the last day.

Jeff's parents came up that day and we all went to lunch at The Blue Parrot. I had an oyster loaf which was great. Unfortunately, Caden was very tired from his day on the beach, and he threw a fit, complete with putting his Lightening McQueen car in the hole in the middle of the table. At the end of the lunch, we had to move all the plates out of the table and fish the car out. Caden was then happy, but promptly fell asleep in the car, much to our relief.

We also went to the bay one day for Caden to see the fiddler crabs. They are little crabs that crawl all over the place in the swampy area right next to the bay. We got there a little late, so there weren't many out there, but he was able to see some, plus we saw a huge blue crab in the water too, and we found many hermit crabs which Caden was clearly impressed by. He also found a cane fishing pole which he pretended to fish with! It was so cute.

One morning we woke up before the sun rose (7:20 AM), and we were all sitting on the front porch watching the sun rise. Caden was in a pull-up on the porch with us. Next thing we know, he's headed down to the beach. He started running on the beach as fast as he could. Both Mom and I ran after him, but he was too fast for us! Finally he stopped running and waited for us, but he must have gone at least a mile! I can't wait to get this kid into sports.

Baby Rowan has gotten so big as you can see from his picture! He is smiling and giggling now and is just so adorable! We had a great time with him too, holding him, rocking him and trying to make him smile all week long!

All in all it was a nice trip to the beach--just a little too short!

October Overview--So Far

2007-10-13T17:47:00.000-05:00

This month has been eventful to say the least. We have been very busy, going on trips, seeing friends, and now getting ready to go to the beach. Rob and I have barely seen each other this month, as he has not been able to go out of town with me, and now he is out of town in Rhode Island and I haven't been able to go with him.

Caden is growing like a weed too. His 3 year appointment will be next month and we will get to see how much he weighs and how tall he was. He seems like he has been putting on a lot of weight lately which is good. His appetite has increased too which is a good thing, because he has never been a good eater.

At the beginning of the month we spent a weekend in Nashville visiting Rowan and Allison. Aunt Kelsey also flew down to see baby Rowan so that was a treat. Caden had a hard time with jealousy issues. He mostly ignored the baby, but he had a hard time listening to me when I told him no that weekend. I know he was jealous when I held the baby so that is going to be really hard when our next one comes along in May. Rowan is getting so big! I think when I see him at the beach this week he will be a chunky little guy.

This weekend some of my friends came into town for the Montgomery Academy reunion. We went to the football game on Friday night to see them. It was fun, but I did not get to socialize a lot because Caden was so busy running around and away from me especially. Lois, Stacy's Step-Mom, offered to watch him for a little while which was really nice. I was able to talk to Stacy, Andrea, Leslie, Courtney and Caroline for a little while. It was nice.

Today we went over to Stacy's to watch the football game and socialize a little bit more. Caden was great and he played in the backyard for a long time! He loved it. He also played with his cars, while we all chated. Baby Ethan was asleep so we didn't get to see him very much. But I was able to see Susan and Marshall and they looked great!

Funny things Caden has done/said these few weeks:

Rob was going to spend the night at my Mom's house on Wednesday night because he had to go to the airport in the morning. Rob and I hadn't told Caden he was going to the airport, because we knew Caden would be upset. My Mom said "Daddy's going to be riding on the airplane tomorrow!" Rob said "Shh don't tell him that!" and My Mom said "Why?" Then Caden said "Because I'll throw a fit!" We all thought it was the funniest thing!

Caden's Idea

2007-09-30T18:57:00.000-05:00

I was out of town all of last week, at FACTs school for work. Financial, Analysis and Credit Training. It was hard to be away from Caden, but I think every parent needs to do it sometimes. It was nice to have a break from him, but I was certainly glad to see him when I got home.

Well, I came home on Friday, and went to my Mom's house to pick him up. He greeted me with a huge smile and hug and wouldn't let go of me for about three hours. Mom and I decided to go to Panera for lunch.

We were eating at Panera. (Caden just loves their Broccoli Cheese soup) and Caden said, "Mommy I have an idea!"

I said "What kind of idea Caden?"

and he said "Its a Purple Idea." End of story. He kept saying this all day. Of course, today he changed it to "Its a Brown Idea." I have no idea where he gets these things from.

He also has really learned his A, B, Cs and his 1,2,3s. He can count all the way to 20 with little prompting. He knows when he is holding 1, 2 or 3 toys. And today, we were watching Noggin. They were talking about the letter B and Zee (the little blue bird on the cartoon) said "Can you name some things with the "bah" sound, and Caden immediately said "Bah, Bah, Brown!" He was so proud of himself.

September 1, 2007

2007-09-04T19:18:00.000-05:00

This post is not about Caden, but I don't have another blog so I'm writing about my life here too. You all will just have to suffer through it! ;-)

This weekend one of my friends, Susan, was married to her fiancee Marshall. We went to the wedding on Saturday night. The wedding was in an old church in Wetumpka with beautiful ceilings and amazing stained glass windows. The ceremony went well and they combined the Methodist religion and the Jewish traditions in the ceremony which was really neat.

The reception was at the Civic Center. The food was wonderful and the chocolate cake was to die for! I had dinner with Ashley's parents while I waited for my friends to come from taking pictures with Susan.

Rob had a great time having a few gin and tonics. He liked the food as well, although he felt the roast beef guy was a little stingy. I told him to just go back for seconds.

Unfortunately, none of my pictures of Susan and Marshall came out. I will just have to wait to get those from Stacy. Mine were all too dark, and when I tried to lighten them the quality deteriorated. But, Susan's dress was gorgeus, and you could just see how much she and Marshall loved each other as they said their vows and had their first dance together.

The best thing about the wedding was seeing my friends again. It was amazing to see that everyone had a significant other with them. Stacy and Amir were together, and they had left their 8 week old son Ethan with Stacy's Dad and Step-Mom. I met Ashley's new boyfriend Mark who was very nice. I also met Andrea's boyfriend Sam, who was upset that Auburn was losing (even though they pulled it out by then end of the night!) I caught up with Allie and John as well, as they had come up from Louisiana.

It is great to celebrate with people that you love and you've known forever. It is great to see everyone getting married, having children, and establishing themselves in their lives. I hope that we all keep in touch like this for many more years to come.

Leslie--we missed you, but I had a great time talking to your parents!

Caden's New Cousin

2007-08-29T19:15:00.000-05:00

Caden's new cousin, Rowan, was born yesterday 8/28/07 at 9:34 PM. He weighed 5 lbs and 14 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. He is doing well.

We can't wait to go up and see him next week. Uncle Jeff called him Ro-ro in the video, so Caden asked if he could hold Baby Ro-Ro. He is adorable, and we love him already. Now we're just ready to meet him!

Allison is doing well and my Mom says that Jeff is really attached to the baby! His family and my parents are up there helping them out.

Soccer, Babies and Life in General

2007-08-27T21:14:00.000-05:00

Rob and his soccer team played on Sunday against a team called "Racing." Apparently only five of their players showed up. They were pretty upset about half the team missing. Rob was goalie again, and he even came out to play the field a little bit because they were down some men. They scored 4 points this time. Final Score: 4-17. Poor Rob--but he seems to be taken in stride and like a good sportsman as well which is good.

Today is the 27th, and I worked all day. It was a non-eventful day at work. I called my Mom and my sister Alli. Alli had another ultrasound today, and they will induce tomorrow, the 28th, at 6 AM. Hopefully, I will have a new baby nephew by nightfall tomorrow night!

Kelsey started her first day of work too and seems to enjoy it. I spoke to her a while about how to control a 2 year old. I think I might be investing in some literature on various discipline methods that will work. Lately, I don't think anything works with Caden--but hopefully he will realize eventually that he won't sit in time out if he behaves. We shall see.

I spoke to my Dad tonight too, and he is getting ready to travel up to see Alli and the new little one. We will be dog and cat-sitting and we will probably sneak a few dips in the pool when we're over there too!

This weekend one of my friend's from middle & high school is getting married in Wetumpka. It will be nice to see all of my high school friends again. Plus, I get to meet Stacy's baby Ethan, and I am super excited about that! I can't wait to hold him!!!

My Little Artist

2007-08-26T09:18:00.000-05:00

Caden absolutely loves to paint. We have all sorts of paints, all of them washable of course. The other day, we decided to paint and Caden used his paintbrush, but also his hands and his feet. He really had a wonderful time. I helped a little too.

I also had a small paint set with these little figurines to be painted, and Caden loved doing that as well. It is amazing to see what makes him happy and what he likes to do as he gets bigger and bigger every day.

Yesterday,

we also bought a pre-school workbook so that he could learn his numbers and alphabets. Caden already knows all of his colors.

The workbook is great, because he can use crayons, markers and paints to do the activities. His attention span is still a little short to do some of the numbers and letters, but he will grow into doing those. He finished 2 pages of it yesterday on the colors and did a great job!

High Heels, anyone?

2007-08-25T18:57:00.000-05:00

Today, Caden and I drove up to Birmingham to see my friend Cecilia. I went to high school with her, and she recently moved to Birmingham after getting a job at Regions, our competitor! I wanted to see her place and also see my friend Marie from high school, who I hadn't seen since I ran into her on the highway our freshman year in college.

She lives in a beautiful apartment building in Birmingham. It is a spacious two bedroom with wood floors. They were still unpacking, and while Cecilia got ready we sat around and talked to Marie and played with their new puppy. Caden also proceeded to dump all the change out of a pink pig piggy bank that Cecilia had completely filled up. I asked him to fill it up, and this was actually a good deversion for him while we were waiting. By the time we left for lunch, he had painstakingly put all the coins back into the piggy bank.

We decided to go to Nabeel's for lunch, a Greek restaurant, in Homewood. After a wonderful lunch of gyros, grape leaves, hummos and chips, and one screaming child, we stopped back by their apartment for a quick diaper change, and then headed on to the Summit for shopping.

Cecilia was looking for a new brown pair of shoes for work, so we went to Parisians. They were having a huge shoe sale, but she didn't see what she wanted. She picked up some fancy red shoes, and here comes Caden saying "I want to try those on!" He loves high heels and he often gets into my closet and walks around our house with them (as you can tell from the picture above). So, he took off his crocs, and put on the bright red high heels. He started walking up and down the aisles of Parisians and everyone was staring and laughing at him. Several people remarked that it was so cute. One couple was amazed at how well he can walk in heels.

Restaurants and 2 Years Old

2007-08-24T19:10:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I wonder what possesses Rob and me to go out to eat with Caden.

Tonight, after a long day of work Rob and I did not feel like cooking. We came home, and Caden was in just the best mood. He let me change his diaper, but did not try to go potty, and then we decided to go off to Kabuki, the local Japanese place.

We had Hibachi, because Rob refuses to eat sushi despite the fact that I keep telling him how good it is. He refuses to eat much, and this is one thing that unfortunately Caden has inherited from Rob.

Well we go to the restaurant, and it was already packed at 6:00. They sat us immediately though, next to a couple with a 7 year old girl and a 13 year old girl. Caden sat between Rob and me in the highchair. Things started out well, because we had brought along poptarts to persuade Caden to be good and eat something. Well, he finished the poptarts in a few seconds flat, and then it was downhill from there.

About the time we ordered, another couple came and sat down next to Rob. Perhaps, I feel the worse for this couple, who had left their 2 year old at home so they could enjoy a nice, quiet dinner out on their anniversary.

Caden was extremely scared of the fire, and he kept hiding which was fine. Then, he got interested in the chopsticks. He played with mine and then threw them on the floor. Then he played with his Lightening McQueen and then threw that on the floor. This was all before we had finished our salad.

Things looked up when our hibachi chef came. Caden loved it when he clinked the utensils, and he told the chef that he wanted to try (of course Caden's request was not granted). Then the fire came, and we quickly covered Caden's face. When we took the cover off, the chef squirted water at him, which shocked him and made him scowl, which everyone at the table laughed at.

About this time things went way downhill. The "I want to go home and I want to go outsides," started streaming from Caden's mouth. We felt like we were silently urging the chef to cook faster, as he piled fried rice, veggies, and steaks on our plates; Rob and I were in a race to finish so we could avoid the all embarrassing meltdown.

But, alas, we could not avoid it. About four bites into my steak, Caden started saying he wanted to go outside. When Rob explained that Daddy and Mommy had to finish eating first, Caden began to scream, ear-piercingly on the top of his lungs, and I think the whole restaurant looked at us. Luckily, our table was child-friendly and they all smiled and nodded knowingly.

Rob quickly ducked outside with Caden, while I finished up and paid the bills. At this point, I thought the whole meltdown was done, silly me.

I paid and talked to the couples next to me, then went outside to find Caden doing laps on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant and the nearby stores. I believe this child should start cross-country running right now! Anyone want to sign a 2 year old? Well, I was ready to go and I said "Caden, why don't we get ice cream now?" Well he said no, and continued to run. Both Rob and I said it was time to go, and he threw a major fit. Getting him into the car was fun. Ever heard of the "stiff as a board baby," because that was Caden tonight. Plus, he hit me, which made me even more upset than I already was. Then we told him he couldn't have ice cream because he didn't listen, and he cried all the way home. Poor kid.

So, maybe going out in the long run isn't easier than staying in. At least at home, Caden can color or watch TV, or run laps around the living room while we're cooking. The food is good when you go out, but if you can't enjoy it then why go?

Long Time No Post!

2007-08-23T21:06:00.000-05:00

Well I haven't posted in a long time, and I felt like updating my blog. Almost everyone who reads this will know that we have moved to Alabama.

Caden is going to be 3 in November! Isn't that crazy? He is in daycare, and he's doing very well. This summer he has reached a lot of new milestones. He is swimming without floaties. He's starting to potty train too! It is great, because at this point I'm really tired of changing dirty diapers.

Caden has adjusted well to being in daycare. He has some great friends, and we've met some great people here too. One of Caden's favorite thing to do after school is to watch Rob play soccer. Rob is on an indoor soccer team with his job. They play on Sundays and sometimes on Wednesdays. Caden will stand right next to the window and say "Go Daddy Go!!!" It is the cutest thing.

Two year olds are full of energy! I don't think Caden stays still for more than 1 minute of a time. His favorite pastimes are running, playing in the pillows, jumping off our furniture, and painting all of his body parts when we go outside to paint! He thinks that all paints are meant for your hands and feet, but hey, you can only be a toddler once huh?

Things that happened this month:
Beginning of August: My Mom broke her foot, had a cast, and recently had the cast removed. My friend Katherine's son, Danny, was born.

August 16-20th: Grandma came to visit from Rhode Island. We had a great time hanging out, showing her how Caden could swim, looking at houses, and visiting Old Alabama Town.

Mid-August: My sister Allison was put on bed rest. She is due in September with her 1st, a little boy! She is now going to be induced next Tuesday August 28, so we are all looking forward to her new little bundle of joy.

August: My sister Kelsey got a job as a teacher aide. She starts at the end of the month!

Rob and his team, the Colonial Cosmos, ended up losing all 3 of their games. I think they are in the wrong soccer league. This last game they scored 2 points, I just won't mention that the other team scored 13! Yikes! (He'll probably be mad I wrote this!)

Thanksgiving and the Following Days

2005-12-03T21:53:00.000-06:00

So after our night of little food, we woke up on Thanksgiving early realizing that we needed to cook a little bit more for the 45 people coming. Allison had made black bottom cupcakes (my usual creation) the day before, but she and Kelsey had altered the recipe a little bit (much to my dismay! ;-)).

Allison had to make more, because all 50 that she had made the day before were gone! So, she made about 50 new ones with the correct recipe, and Kelsey made another squash casserole. Aunt Emily brought her FAMOUS squash casserole and Aunt Monica brought a wonderful corn casserole. Mom, of course, made the turkey and the ham.

While all the cooking was going on, I kept Caden enertained. He had some much fun running all over Big Mommy's house and trying to climb the stairs. He especially liked going outside to see all the trees, and occasionally going to see the horses down the street.

Someone ended up making deviled eggs, and I spoiled my appetite eating it. Caden LOVED the green bean casserole and the corn casserole and ended up eating a lot of that. Unfortunately my camera batteries died that day, so I don't have pics. :-(

Thanksgiving was great though, and I thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with my cousins, especially playing HORSE at the end of the night.

The day after Thanksgiving, we watched a great slideshow of Grandpa and the whole Kelso family. It was very emotional for my Mom and my cousins.

Kelsey enjoyed reading to Caden "Good Night Moon" and she got a kick out of the fact that he could find the "kitty cat" in the book. He can now say "Meow" when you ask him what the kitty says too!

We had a semi-traumatic day that Friday as well. Caden fell and hit his head on the edge of a chair, and he got a very bad hemotoma. It grew and grew, and we joked that he was growing a horn! I felt bad about joking about it, but it was better than crying, right? My Dad says "Boys will be boys, and boys will fall down!" I guess its true.

The rest of the week, any time you said "head" he would grab his head. Too funny! So he has that body part down now!!!

Pre-Thanksgiving

2005-12-03T21:44:00.000-06:00

Wow...I haven't written in a long time, and I have soo many updates.We just returned from Alabama where we went for Thanksgiving.

After Allison and Jeff picked us up from the airport on Tuesday, November 22nd we promptly went to Big Mommy and Big Daddy's house (otherwise known as my parents!) They had dinner waiting for us, and it was yummy. I love my Mom's roast.

The next day we went up to Deatsville to see my niece Kiersten, her sister Kaileigh, and their parents, Chris (my brother) and Leisa go to their awards ceremony for karate. Kaileigh (who is 5) got her Yellow Belt Junior Dragon I think. Chris and Leisa got another band for their brown belts, and Kiersten (my 9 year old niece who is pictured to the side) received her 1st degree black belt.

Caden did well sitting on my lap for part of the ceremony, but once the belts were handed out he decided he wanted one too, without all the work! He struggled to get one, but I did my work chasing him down!!!

After Kiersten received her black belt, she did a demo with the Demo Team she's a part of. It was amazing. She can kick her legs almost above her head!!! She also did a jump and broke a board! It was soo cool. She is one awesome little girl!!!

Wednesday when we arrived home, many of the relatives had arrived. My Mom's whole family came because they wanted to be together because of the recent death of my grandfather. When we got home, all the Aunts and Uncles were there and they "ooed" and "awed" over Caden. We had what was left of the red beans and rice and went to bed. Of course, Caden missed the food b/c he was too tired from his day of trying to steal black belts.

Caden is 1!!!

2005-11-07T12:25:00.000-06:00

On Saturday, Caden turned 1 year old! I can't believe he has been in our lives for a year already.

He woke up at 12:15 AM on Friday night, and I sang "You Say its Your Birthday" by
the Beetles to him. Rob thought that was funny, because his mother always sang that to them on their birthdays growing up. I didn't know that. Looks like we are carrying on the tradition!

My Mom had been here for a week, and we had prepared the house for the party, bought all of the food, and the cake...YUM! Rob's Mom, sister Katie, sister-in-law Christine, grandmother Edie, and nephews Alex and Jason arrived around 2 PM on November 5. The boys were extrememly excited to have toys to play with!!!

We ended up having about 25 people at the party and 8 children. Caden was miserable at the beginning of the party, so I put him down for a nap and he slept until about 5:30 PM. When he woke up, he was starving so we decided to do the cake!

We put him in his high chair, and brought the cake out, and everyone sang Happy Birthday very loudly! Caden just stared at them, but when everyone stopped singing he burst into tears!!! Poor Baby!!!

He loved his cake, as you can tell in the picture above. Thank goodness for Oxi-Clean! I was able to get all the stains out of his outfit.

He received a lot of gifts, and we really enjoyed having all of our friends and family over to see how big he is gotten, and how special he is in our lives.

Sleeping: Take Two and Look who's Walking!

2005-10-26T16:13:00.000-05:00

Well Caden has slept through the night the last 2 nights!!! Yay for Caden. I am thankful to get a full 8 hours of sleep. He wakes up happy, but he has decided to forego his morning nap, and takes a 3 hour afternoon nap. I don't know if that is normal at this age, but it is working for us.

I think he is getting a tooth too. He constantly has his hands in his mouth again, and has been unreasonably fussy the last couple of days. That could be a combination of a bunch of things. I recently took a part time job at Old Navy, and I work both weekend days, which I think is a bit hard on him. My Mom says that he remembers when I was gone when he was little. Who knows, but he is super clingy because of it!

On other fronts, he is starting to walk more and more. Today we did Borders Story Time, and took about 12 steps towards a truck book that our friend Eskil had! He managed to wrestle it from Eskil, so I ended up buying it for him! He is so cute when he walks. He looks like a little penguin.

Things are going well with Rob and me too. Last night we watched "Hotel Rwanda" (thank you Netflix!), which was a great but depressing movie. Rob is really benefiting from me working. It is giving him more time to bond with Caden, which is great.

We are expecting my Mom this Sunday, as we prepare for Caden's 1st Halloween and 1st birthday party. Rob's Mom, sister, and nephews will also come on Saturday (November 5) morning for Caden's birthday. We'll have about 25 people here for it, and we'll probably grill out and of course have a yummy cake! I can't wait, but I'm a little sad Caden is turning 1. He has gotten big so quickly!

Caden's Words

2005-10-21T22:16:00.000-05:00

Lately, Caden has been talking a lot. He says Ma Ma, Dada, nana (for nursing), dog, cat, down, and All Done.

His new favorite words are "All Done!" He is going through a eating strike right now, and as soon as I put him in his high chair, he says "All Done!" A lot of times he doesn't even take one bite. It is so funny!

Today, we went to the mall with our friend Danielle and our friend Kyle. We ate at Chik-Fil-A and then played in the play yard. Caden took a lot of steps without holding on. I think he is finally getting the hang of walking! It is so cute, because he takes these little tiny steps, and he doesn't look that sturdy!

This weekend, Daddy is going to watch Caden while I start training at my new part time job. That should be an adventure!!!

Pumpkin Patch Adventure

2005-10-16T00:26:00.000-05:00

Today, Rob and I took Caden to Reynolds Farm so we could pick out a pumpkin.

Reynolds Farm is in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, about thirty minutes away from us. Its a pumpkin patch, complete with a hayride, animal farm, and a playground for the kids.

Before reaching the farm, we went out to eat at Antrim Family Restaurant in Greencastle. It was very good, and Caden ate green beans for the first time in about two months, and he actually acted like he liked them. I had the fried chicken (quite in the Southern tradition), and Rob had prime rib. We had plenty of leftovers, so I didn't have to make dinner tonight.

Upon arriving at Reynolds Farm, we took pictures of Caden in front of some of the pumpkins that were set out. Unfortunately shortly after boarding the hayride, the camera died, so we didn't get any pictures of Caden actually sitting in the pumpkin patch.

Caden loved the hayride, but mostly stared at the tractor. He is enthralled with farm machinery, and I have NO clue where he gets that from. He loves this Baby Einstein "Baby MacDonald" video, and today was probably neat for him since he actually was able to see the things on the video.

He stood up on the hayride, and clutched his hand on the wooden railing while I held him, and just stared at the tractor. It was so funny. He also ate a little bit of hay.

Quickly after descending the tractor, Rob and I found the perfect pumpkin in the patch. It is long and skinny, and we are going to carve it with a very scary face. We will let Caden play in all the mushy insides too, if he wants.

After we came back from the hayride, I showed Caden the animals. They had sheep and goats that you could feed through a tube, but you couldn't touch. I was glad, because I was a little bit worried about him getting e.coli, and they didn't have any disinfecting soap on the premises.

Then, we decided to trek home, because the kiddo was ready for the nap. After everything was over, we ended up with one tall, skinny pumpkin, two little baby pumpkins, three goards, and some apple cider. The apple cider was actually from Smithsburg, MD as Rob noted on the car ride home.

All in all, it was a great day, and we'll probably start going there every year as a tradition.

Caden's Halloween Costume

2005-10-09T14:44:00.000-05:00

Well it has been raining here for two days now, and we have gotten bored. The cold weather has come in, and it actually feels like Halloween will be here sooner than later. We haven't gotten a pumpkin yet, but the playgroup and I will go to the pumpkin patch for hay rides and pumpkin hunting this week if the rain stops.

I put Caden in his Halloween costume today. He was not too pleased as you can tell from the photo. I think he looks adorable in it, and he actually will keep the hood on his head which is a major feat.

He is battling a cold or allergies. I finally gave in and gave him some Benydryl Allergy and it seemed to clear up his runny nose. The good news is, he finally slept through the night last night. We were so excited! Then, he didn't wake up until 8 AM, and he was in the best mood ever.

Hopefully he'll have a good night tonight.

New Shoes

2005-10-07T22:16:00.000-05:00

Now that Caden is starting to walk (although he hasn't progressed much), I decided to buy him some shoes.

We went to Stride Rite, and his foot was measured. He wears a 5 Wide, but I believe they are a little too big. That's okay with me though, because that way they will fit longer, and its not like they are falling off his feet.

They are called Baby Sven's and they are brown with one velcro strap. They look very European and are cute with his clothes. I didn't want to get him the plain white ones, although we may end up getting a pair of those later.

Now that we have the new shoes, I am just waiting for him to practice walking a little bit. We went to our friend Shawn's today, and her son who is 10 months was walking all over the place. I was a little glad that Caden wasn't walking, because at the mall Nick (Shawn's son) just wanted to get down and walk the whole time. I guess I will be in Shawn's boot soon.

Interesting thing Caden started yesterday 10/6 -- puts hand on mouth and makes noise like a Native American (or Indian). Its pretty darn cute!!! :-)

Sleep like a Baby?

2005-10-05T11:37:00.000-05:00

Honestly--where do they come up with that phrase? Sleep like a baby...

Most babies I know don't sleep well. They either don't nap or they don't sleep through the night.

Caden has napping down great. He will take a morning nap and an afternoon nap. But most nights he wakes two to three times to nurse. I mean, come on, you're not a newborn Caden! I'm honestly at a loss for what to do. Last night he woke, and I thought I'll just let him fuss. Well an hour later he was still fussing, and he didn't stop until I nursed him.

How will I ever wean this child??? I don't know if he isn't getting enough solid food during the day. This could be the reason. He needs to eat at night because he's not getting the calories during the day. But, the kid is picky.

The two things that he will eat A LOT of, as we found out in Alabama are refried beans and rice. Refried beans, of all things, my kid likes those. Talk about dirty diapers.

Maybe I will start giving him more snacks to encourage excess calories, because honestly I'm tired of functioning on little night time sleep. I guess I could always nap with him too like I did when he was a newborn.

At this rate he'll be nursing until he is five...

Don't let the picture fool you--he probably woke up about five minutes after it was taken!

October 4, 2005

2005-10-04T22:48:00.000-05:00

We just got back from Alabama where we visited Big Mommy and Big Daddy.

Another friend of ours was married in Macon, Georgia, hence the reason for the visit. Jon and Jenn had a beautiful wedding. The reception was great, and Jon had the coolest Groom's cake that was shaped as a suitcase. It seems like only yesterday Rob and I were getting married...

Caden loved visiting his Big Mommy and Big Daddy. He swam in the pool. He thinks he is such a big boy, and he moves his arms and his legs. He splashes and giggles. I love watching him swim. We went out and bought a little innertube for him to sit in after we had a scare with gulping down too much water. He liked being in the innertube as well.

We hit some milestones while in Montgomery...

September 30 -- Caden took 4 steps unassisted.

Of course, when he took those four steps, Caden's Momma cried. LOL. He has also started saying "Ma Ma" about as much as he says "Dada." That's great, and it makes me feel better! :-)

He is pointing at everything, and when you ask "Where is the fan?;" he will point up. Also, he will point at the Gerber baby on the baby food jar when you ask "Where is the Baby?"

I can't believe how big he is getting--its amazing.

We were also able to see Chris and the kids while we were in Alabama. Caden had a wonderful time chasing his cousins around, although the kids really wanted to pick him up all the time.
Caden has a much too independent spirit, and he doesn't like the idea of being held down!

Now we're back in Hagerstown, and getting back into the swing of things.