Happy Thanksgiving!

I usually do not post twice in one day, but I had to share these pictures.

This smile makes it all worth it!

We also had two new firsts this evening - clapping hands and the next picture says it all.

My boy is growing up TOO fast!

We have another tooth!

That's right! Caden cut this third tooth (I believe over the last day or so). Ryan was laying on the floor with him this morning and notice he cut his upper right top tooth. I remember him biting down and *attacking* his toys the last couple of days, but he didn't seem any more cranky than a normal day. Haha! He most certainly was not as bad as when he cut his first tooth last month. I almost cried when Ryan said he saw another tooth. He is just growing up too fast. I even packed up all of his 6 month clothes today too. His dresser and closet are pretty much bare now. He has enough clothes to last him until he is 12 months, but they still feel empty compared to how many clothes we had before.

Today is Caden's first Thanksgiving. We are headed over to Ryan's parents for dinner. I LOVE turkey dinners. Two years ago I had the flu at this time, so Thanksgiving was a bust for me. I'm thankful I'll be able to eat my turkey this year. Maybe not in peace - but I'll get to eat :) I'm also so thankful for my son. He is the most wonderful gift I'll ever receive. Thank you God for blessing Ryan and I with such a miracle. I'm very thankful for my husband as well even though sometimes he is a nugget ;) He works hard every day on very little sleep and rarely complains. I don't know how he does it some days. I love you honey!

I'm thankful for my parents and wish they lived closer. It gets harder every day with them being out of state. With Ryan working so much and needing to sleep when he gets home I miss adult company and conversation. There have been so many times I wish I could just pack up Caden and go for a visit or even stay there for the night where I could "catch a break". I've been wishing more these days that I had a sister here with me. Don't get me wrong my MIL and SIL have been wonderful since the day Caden was born and I am very grateful for them as well. My MIL stayed with me in the hospital after Caden was born because Ryan had to work. (Yeah, he didn't get not one day off to be with us which I thought was totally rotten of his boss.) My SIL came over to visit and even did some grocery shopping for me after we came home. I know I can always call them if I need them, but there is always that feeling of guilt. I just simply feel bad for asking. Why you ask? I just do....

Well, I'll update later with some pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner. I bought Caden some sweet potatoes and turkey for the special day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

32 Things That Change When You Are a Mom

A friend of mine sent this... So true!

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.
2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid.
3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.
4. You respect your body ... finally.
5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.
8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.
9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.
12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)
13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.
15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom
2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous
3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte
4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom
5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne
6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye
7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous
8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda
9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom
10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom
11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom
12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara
13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey
14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom
15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom
16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona
17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

Holidays and the NY

Holidays are fast approaching and will soon be gone. We will be spending Thanksgiving with Ryan's family and our tickets are bought to fly out to see my parents for Christmas. I'll be leaving first and Ryan will follow a few days later. Thankfully I only have one flight with Caden alone. He was pretty good last time, so I'm not too concerned.

I'm pretty excited about the new year. My best friend Nina is due March 2nd. I keep telling her to enjoy all the sleep she can get right now. Ha! She has NO idea. You can never be prepared no matter what anyone tells you. That is what I learned. Caden will be one in April. It feels like April is right around the corner, but we still have 6 months of winter left in Michigan so that part makes it feel a little longer. Ryan's cousin is getting married next October and if all is going well Ryan and I will be trying for our second baby after her wedding. There is NO way I am standing up in another wedding pregnant. I was so exhausted at Nina's wedding. We ended up leaving early and I feel like I missed a lot.

Caden is doing GREAT! He is still getting up on all fours and rocking more and more. He is still waking up once a night though. I want to let him CIO, but with me working it's just easier to nurse him and put him back to sleep. We've been working all week on getting him to fall asleep without being rocked and I think we're on to something. In fact, he kicks and jerks his legs if I try to rock him now. I'll rock him at night while we say our prayers as he is struggling and then lay him down with his lovey. I'll pat his butt for a minute and walk out of the room and he falls asleep all on his OWN! Yay!

Yesterday I took down his swing. We couldn't turn it on anymore because he would sit straight up and hold on to the tray like he was on a roller coaster. I didn't want him falling forward out of it. I didn't want to pin him down with the harness straps either. I know he would have hated that. It was bittersweet. I actually had tears in my eyes because he is growing just too fast. He cannot use his bumbo seat anymore either - crawls right out of it!

Mia and Caden are becoming friends. He smiles every time Mia gives him any attention. Last weekend I made Mia sit by Caden for a photo shoot. She prefers to love Caden on her own terms, but I caught this on camera. It makes my heart melt every time I see Caden's smile when Mia is near him.

Happy 7 months!!

Happy 7 months Caden!

I can't believe you are 7 months already. It seems like I just gave birth to you yesterday. I look back at your newborn pictures in amazement of how much you have grown. You are sitting up all on your own, army crawling (and boy can you move!), getting up on all fours and rocking - I'm sure you'll be crawling in no time and keeping us busy.

Mommy and Daddy are SO incredibly in love with you. You amaze us each and every day and we thank God for the miracle that you are. Mommy and Daddy had no idea how much you would change our perspective on life and how truly amazing it really is. Thank for that.

Love you bunches!

Mommy and Daddy

XOXO

My First!

It's not as perfect as I would like it, but hey not bad for my first one.


Edit: I made one more :)

Crawling! We are almost there!

Caden just started getting on all fours and rocking back and forth. Crawling is just around the corner!

Here is a video of his attempt to crawl. I couldn't get a video of him on all fours, but he does the army crawl pretty good!

Thursday Nights

Thursday nights seem to be Caden's night to sleep. Last night he slept for 10 straight hours! Whoo hoo!! Last Thursday he did the same and two Thursdays before that he slept 8 straight hours. I actually slept last night too! I was exhausted.. the week just caught up with me so I went to bed as soon as Caden was asleep.

I wish he would keep this up.... He has only slept through the night 5 times in his little life so far.

Yay for sleep!

He is growing up too fast!

By no means am I (or should I say we) ready for another baby, but I do miss being pregnant. I miss feeling Caden move inside me, I miss resting my hands on my belly, I miss the anticipation of labor and meeting my son for the first time. This was me right before we left for the hospital the night before Caden was born.

Caden only minutes old

and now nearly 7 months old!!

Caden's first cookie

Trying to drink like a big boy (with the cap on!) haha! He does take sips from my water bottle now and he gets mad if I stop. Quite the temper, I'll tell you.

Here is a new bath time video in his new tub

I LOVE his laugh!

Caden's rash wasn't a rash.....

Caden broke out in what I thought was a rash all over his back two weeks ago today, which was also two days before he came down sick. I did have the doctor look at it when I brought him in while he was sick. She thought it was a heat rash and should clear up in the few days. After almost two weeks his "rash" was not showing any signs of improvement. In fact, it was spreading and looking worse - really dry and it appeared that it was probably itchy. I ended up taking him back to the doctors yesterday. They believe he has eczema! Poor baby! He must have been so itchy for the last two weeks. I knew I should have called sooner. I have to use hydrocortisone cream on it twice a day for a week. If it still does not show any signs of improvement after a week I need to take him back. I also need to use a mild soap and lotion on him moving forward. The doctor gave me some samples of Cedifil (s/p?) which I used last night.

I also lowered Caden's crib last night. I know it is just a matter of time where he'll start pulling himself up and they do these things over night. Did I mention he slept through the night last night? I think that was Caden's Happy Anniversary gift to us. Or maybe he liked his crib lowered or the lotion made him not so itchy? Either way he can keep it up ;) He went to bed around 8:30pm last night. I woke him up to feed him around 5am before I got ready for work. Ryan sent me a text around 6:30am saying he woke up all smiles. I was so sad that I didn't get to see his morning smiles, but I know he needed his sleep.

Did I mention that Caden gave me kisses last night too? It was the cutest thing in the world. He did this on Monday too. Ryan was holding him last night and I walked by them and asked Caden for a kiss. He reached out and pulled my head to his face and gave me an open mouth kiss on my face. It makes my heart melt every time he does this. I love you too my sweet baby boy!

Not me! Monday

This weekend sure did go by fast, didn't it? I never want my weekends to end. I love being home with Caden and Ryan. Saturday was Ryan's birthday. We had a wedding to attend (my best friend's brother). We got there around 7pm, but the bridal party did not show up until after 8pm. While we were waiting I most definitely did not go through all the pictures of Caden in my phone over and over again. I couldn't help myself. I missed him terribly that night. My friend Nina (groom's sister) is 6 months pregnant. She was standing up in the wedding and look absolutely beautiful. She has such a glow to her that I definitely miss. We have a joke that Caden's future wife is in her belly.

Everyone was pretty hungry and anxiously waiting to eat. I felt like I could eat a horse. I did not think about sneaking by the buffet to grab a bread roll. Finally a few people said some words. The mic was handed to the maid of honor and there she pulls out two 8 x 11 pieces of paper. I did not think to myself "you have go to be kidding me?! I'm starving girl!" She was reminicing about every memory her and her sister shared and repeated the word 'awesome' more times than I ever wanted to hear. In all honesty, she loves her sister and she just doesn't want to let go of what they have. It was really sweet looking back, but at the time I did not want to bang my head on the table. By the time we ate it was near 9pm. I most certainly did not fill my plate as if I was eating for two and I was not the first one done with my food at the table. Not me!

We didn't stay long after dinner because Ryan wanted to have a few drinks for his birthday out with his cousin and a few friends. I did not secretly wish he would rather go home and veg. We went out, we made it, and I did not go through all of Caden's pictures once again at the bar. I mean how could I not?

Happy Halloween

Halloween was a busy day with a rough night of sleep. As I thought Caden woke up at 2am and did not want anything to do with sleep until 4am when I gave in and brought him to bed with me. After two hours of trying to let him CIO I couldn't take it anymore. He didn't cry for 2 hours straight - it was on and off. I let him cry for 10 minutes and would go in and rub his tummy. I even picked him up a few times to rock him, but every time I put him down he cried. When I finally brought him to bed he slept until 6:45am. Of course the dog woke me up at 5am to go outside. It never fails, Mia does this every time Caden has a night like that.

We were out of the house by 8:30am to run errands and we went to the Chiropractor. Mommy was in need of serious adjustment. Caden had his 2nd adjustment too! He just smiles at the doctor and lets him do his thing. After he took his nap Ryan and I took him to get his 6 month pictures done. He did good for the first 3 pictures, but after that it was downhill - he just would not cooperate. I'm happy with the 3 that came out though. He looks like such a little man.
By the time evening came around I was just exhausted. I didn't make it over to my SIL's house to see my nephews all dressed up. It was a beautiful Halloween. The weather was great for the kids. I always remember rain or snow and freezing!! It reached 70 yesterday!

Last night Caden did really well sleeping. I actually got just over 8 hours of sleep. He went to bed around 8pm and woke up at midnight to eat. I fed him and put him back down. He cried when I laid him down, but I had to use the bathroom. By the time I was done, which was literally 2 minutes he was fast asleep. He didn't wake up again until 5:30am. He stayed up until 7am and didn't wake up until 8:30am. He is now down for his second nap of the day. I'm really liking this :)

Here are snapshots of Caden in his costume and a few others. You can see his two bottom teeth - especially in the last photo!!