One half week of school...

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!

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

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!

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!

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

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!

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

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!

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

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!!!

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

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

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

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...

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...

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...

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!

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!

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

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!