caden repeats words.... and an update on my 36 weeks appointment

I can't believe it! I actually got Caden on video repeating words after me - one right after another. It's funny how you forget what words your little one knows once you have them on video asking them to say them.

Two things to note: When I ask him to say "uh-oh", he throws his sucker on the ground first. Also, he always says "boom" after spinning in circles and falling on his bum. I couldn't get him to say "boom", but he did spin in circles with a little dance to follow.



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Yesterday was my 36 week appointment with my midwife. BP and Adisyn's HB were great. I only gained 1lb in two weeks.

I'm dilated to 1cm and 50% effaced. I'm showing signs of progress two weeks earlier than I did with Caden, but it really doesn't mean anything. She said it was normal with your second baby and I could go earlier than my due date, but I could also go past January 22nd. Only time will tell, right?

My appointments are weekly until she arrives!

36 weeks pregnant:

christmas 2009

was unbelievably busy this year, but was also LOTS and LOTS of fun! Ryan and I had some time off together, which just completed how nice it really was this year. We were on the go visiting family and friends for the last five days.

I took over 100 pictures in two days and as much as I want to post them all, it's obviously not going to happen. We did manage to catch a Caden with Mommy and Daddy shot before we left for Ryan's aunt's house on Christmas Eve.

and a few other cute moments....

I felt like a kid again Christmas Eve and Christmas morning for that matter. I couldn't wait to get home and put all of the Christmas gifts under the tree.

I was the first one up on Christmas morning around 6:30am. The rest of the house (including the animals) slept until almost 8am. That is almost unheard of for Caden. I do think he was pretty wiped out from the evening before.

He didn't even notice the presents under the tree. He was more interested in the ornaments and lights on the tree as usual. I am going to miss that. Every morning once he came out of his room he would stand by the tree saying "please" for me to turn on the lights.

Overall, Caden did pretty well opening his gifts. He was so interested in the first toy that we had a hard time getting him to open the next gift. I ended up opening his last gift because he had no interest whatsoever.

He was a tad bit cranky Christmas morning too - can you tell by the look on his face?

He took apart EVERY little piece of his kitchen and tossed it all on the ground.

Soon after we opened gifts at home we headed over to my sister-in-laws house for breakfast and more presents. Caden sure was spoiled over there too!

and for my favorite shot of the day.... over at Grandma Lori's for dinner Christmas night. Could he get any cuter?!

Christmas Eve

I really thought I would have updated more seeing how I've been off work for a week now, but I seriously have not had much time available. Between shopping, wrapping, visiting family and the normal routines there has not been a whole lot of time. I've been off work since last Thursday and it doesn't even feel like it. I sure could get used to being a stay at home mom though. I am actually really looking forward to my 8 week maternity leave!

It's been a great week so far and it's only Christmas Eve. We still have lots more visiting with family and of course Santa is coming! I am so giddy about Christmas this year for Caden -- I feel like a kid again myself. He doesn't understand the whole concept yet, but I'm sure by next year he will. I cannot wait for tomorrow morning to see his cute little smile when he opens all his gifts.

Since I've been off work, Caden has learned a few new words. It's almost every day he is saying something new -- I just love it. So far this week he has said: cheese, please, blue, balloon, green, and my chair. Cheese and please sound the same and so does blue, balloon, and boom for that matter.

I've been having a really hard time capturing a good picture of this non stop moving little boy. However, I did capture one cute picture as he happened to be running past the camera with his famous smile.



A friend of mine stopped over for a morning visit the other day with her 9 month old, Nina. I can't believe she is already 9 months old. Caden was 10 months old when she was born and Nina will be 10 months old when Adisyn arrives. Crazy. Caden and baby Nina had a good time playing together as you can see.



Our son loves Dora. LOVES Dora. He is a Dora addict.
Sometimes he goes into a trance watching his girlfriend on TV.



Will be back to post all about Christmas Day! Hope everyone a very blessed and Merry Christmas!

34 week appointment

All went well with my 34 week appointment today. I even got a surprise ultrasound! There were no doctors around and the ultrasound tech had some time to spare, so she gave me a free lookie-see at our baby Adisyn. I can't believe how different the pictures are when you are farther along.

She is broken up in two different shots. The left side of the picture are her legs and you can see her foot and all five toes! The shot to the right is her side profile. Her face up against the uterine wall, so it is hard to see.



Overall my appointment went well. Adi's HB was ranging from the high 130's to the low 140's. BP was great and I only gained 1lb in two weeks!! So much better than the 7lbs I gained the two weeks prior.

My next visit is in two weeks and then I'm weekly with my appointments until she arrives. I will be full term on New Year's Day. I'm not expecting to go early, and hoping she stays put for at least a couple weeks in January. I cannot believe she'll be here soon! It feels like such a short time ago I tested and found out I was pregnant. Sheesh!

decorating the christmas tree...

Caden has a few ornaments that we let him play with (and a new one seems to get added to that group each day). He gets a kick out of decorating the tree his way.

See?

I think he does a fine job. Don't you?

Caden came down with a cold this weekend. He was really sneezing and had a runny nose on Saturday. He's been really nasally today, but I've seen him worse off. I'm hoping he is just fighting something off and it won't get any worse tomorrow. I really need to make to work every day this week considering I'm off for almost a week and a half. I'm also hoping I don't catch this bug either.

Fingers crossed my lil boy gets better quickly and Ryan and I stay healthy.

just chillin

the tree is up!

We finally put up our Chistmas tree this past weekend, and Caden is obsessed. Aren't they all at this age? Ryan was still putting up the lights when Caden woke up from his nap. While I was changing his diaper he could see the lights and could not wait to get out in the living room. He was over the moon excited with the lights and all the ornaments.

He is doing rather well with the ornaments. There are 3 of them that he is allowed to play with it and he is getting the hang of it. He was taking them off and using them as a telephone saying "who?, who?", but now he is just takes them on and off and claps when he gets them back on the tree.

We have a stuffed Santa that Ryan's aunt bought for Caden. We asked him "who is this Caden?" and he replied with "ho, ho, ho". I cannot believe how quickly he learned this from the last two visits with my mother-in-law.

Sunday morning the lights went out on the tree. I couldn't for the life of me figure out where to even start. Caden kept saying "uh-oh, uh-oh", which then turned to "ba-byes" and then into an all out stomping fit when he realized I could not get them back on. Thankfully Ryan woke up and came to the rescue. We just need to replace the bottom strand of lights, so all lights above are now working.

Here is Caden taking it all in once we were finished.

Excuse the dog's butt in the background, but this was the only good shot of Caden saying "hi" to the lights. (on = hi and off = ba-bye)

I was working on a photoshoot for our Christmas cards this year. I'm rather disappointed in my "newish" camera I bought. All the sudden I am getting horrible glares, not to mention I still can't figure out all the darn settings.

He looks so handsome in his Christmas outfit!

words....

I've been thinking lately about how many words Caden can say. A part of me thinks he should be saying more -- probably because I've read somewhere that he should be saying 20-50 words at his age. He babbles a LOT - he is trying so hard to have a whole conversation with you, but you can't make out anything.

As of now he is only saying about 15 words with the newest word being "help".

doggy
kitty
thank you
bye
ba-bye
hi
who
da-da
ma-ma
mine
up
help
duck
uh-oh
cookie

He does use all these words at the appropriate time too, so that's a plus. I'm not worried he is not up to 20 words, but at times I wish he could say more. At least to communicate what he needs/wants so these screaming fits might lessen.

Mrs. Tammy is now watching a 2 year old who is a non-stop talker. She is like the energizer bunny when it comes to talking. Cute as ever. I have a feeling Caden may start talking more in the near future from listening to her talk so much. Time will only tell.

**edited to add "cookie" - he reminded me a few days later.

can you please pass the energy my way?

my silly, big boy

He keeps growing up on me. I can't even take it anymore. Between learning new words, playing differently (in a learning sort of way) with his toys, to his strength, I am just in awe of this little boy. Every week I see a more "grown up" Caden moving about.

Every now and then Caden will "hide out" with this snacks. That is if he is the only one eating a snack.

Over the weekend I put some chips in a bowl for me and some in a bowl for him. Turns out he wanted to eat from my bowl and I was NOT allowed to eat any more.

He has a new favorite way to drink his juice too!

and out of nowhere he started to build tall "castles" with this legos. He previously would choose one size/shape lego and stacked them as high as he could. He is now using EVERY piece of his legos to build. After he uses EVERY lego he will push the "castle" down and say "BOOM" although it sounds a lot like "VROOM".

Here is my lil man watching Dora (his new favorite) in a bucket (literally).

Everyone tells you that your children grow up right before your eyes. Man alive is that ever true. I am so thankful that I have held onto every moment with Caden for as long as I could and we have so many more memories to build together.

give thanks...

There is so much to be thankful for in our lives. Our family, friends, children, good health and life. I've never really taken the time to be so thankful for all the things in our life until Caden became a part of our lives. He has opened up our eyes in a new way, and I count each day of our life as a blessing. We may not live in a big house or have tons of money, but we have our family, friends, and each other. We have a healthy toddler and a daughter on the way. We are alive. We are living each day to the fullest. That is what is most important. Why wouldn't we be thankful?!

Our Thanksgiving started off like any other typical day except Daddy was home from work! Actually he has been home for the last two days, but sadly has to return tomorrow. I've really enjoyed having him home with us two full days in a row. That very rarely happens.

Caden started his day by hoarding his toys in his favorite chair that his Auntie Cole and Uncle Matt gave him.



and then admiring his hard work...

We ate, played and watched some Dora; Caden's new favorite. He will actually cry if I put on Mickey Mouse or some other cartoon because he wants Dora. Silly boy.

After a pretty good nap we were dressed and ready to head for a great turkey dinner with Ryan's family.

I am just in love with this new outfit I found for Thanksgiving Day.


Ryan finally got him to smile by giving him a few "high fives"..

For the most part Caden behaved himself running between me and Grandma. We didn't even attempt for him to eat any turkey knowing what a picky eater we have created. Oops.

a few melt downs came about.....

until Grandma filled his spoons with whipped cream..

Can you see how excited dear Daddy was about that?!


Ryan did join in on the fun and they both enjoyed their desserts, and so did I. (I would have loved seconds and probably would have if I didn't just gain 7 lbs in 2 weeks).

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Over the last week our lil man has learned a few new words: there, up, and mine. He uses the latter quite frequently. Everything is "mine" including the hair on Mommy's head. He has this thing about pulling a strand (just a strand) of my hair out of my head.

He also learned to drink from a straw out of a juice box yesterday. It made me a little sad to see him walking around with a juice box. All grown up... *sigh*

"32 week" appointment

Today was my 32 week appointment with my midwife.. although I am not technically 32 weeks until Friday nor did I see my midwife. I was expecting to see my current midwife, Debra, but I met my new midwife instead. Debra is retiring from delivering babies and found a replacement. I was so darn tired at my appointment today I can't remember her replacements name. Note to self - pay attention next time!

Overall I did like the new midwife. She was a little spunky with her red hair, stylish glasses and black combat boots. We talked about what to watch for as it relates to preterm labor, however, I have no concerns of that happening. I carried Caden until 2 days before his due date and hoping to come close with this one. I did advise her I have no interest of being induced unless of course it is medically necessary. She felt the same as I thought she would. I did, however, tell her that I would ask for an epidural. She feels pretty strongly that I can do without, but will go with whatever I ask.

My BP was 122/80 and Adi's HB was ranging in the 120s-130s. I think she was sleeping again. The midwife was happy with both. Now let's talk about my weight gain. "Holy weight gain!". That is not something you want to hear from your midwife, but that is what I heard. 7 lbs in 2 weeks! Since my eating habits have not changed she really believes it is water weight and will continue to watch it.

Other than my weight gain the appointment went well. I go back in 2 1/2 weeks and then it is weekly appointments after that.

31 weeks and 19 months...

31 weeks....

Only 9 or so more weeks until little Adisyn arrives. Wow. Just wow. I know this last 9 weeks are just going to fly by between Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. I’ll actually be full term come my birthday, January 2nd. I am not expecting Adisyn to arrive that early, but you never know. My guess is actually January 17th. Caden was born on April 17th, so I’m thinking she should arrive on the 17th too… seeing how 17 is my favorite number and all.

I’m really starting feel the exhaustion of the 3rd trimester. I do feel pretty good in the morning, which is when I try to be the most productive. Come lunch time I’m ready to crash although I just can’t sleep no matter how long I lay there. I’m sure once Adi is here I’ll have no problem taking naps. Fingers crossed she’ll snooze when Caden naps.

Speaking of sleep this weekend would have been a great for napping since my lil man is Mr. Sleepyhead. Thursday night Caden slept 13 hours. He has never slept straight through past 8am. He then took an almost 4 hour nap! Although he didn’t sleep as long the next night he did on Saturday night until this morning; 12 hours! He must be going through a growth spurt. Instead of Caden waking me up this morning it was the dog. Only the dog faked me out. She whined at me to get out of bed and I assumed she had to go outside. Nope. She wanted my spot in bed. Rotten little girl.

I woke Caden up on Saturday just before he hit the 4 hour mark. Doesn't he look like he could have slept another 2 hours?!



This morning (after my dog kicked me out of bed) Caden woke up shortly after I came downstairs. He talked for a few and then was quiet. It turns out he was working hard to take his socks off. Apparently this little man does NOT want to wear socks. He’ll pretend to put them on, but you if try and help WATCH OUT! Like my mom said, one day I’ll walk into his room and he’ll have taken off every article of clothing including his diaper. Fun times.

He tries so hard to get his socks back on....

Our lil man turned 19 months last week. Despite the tantrums I do really love this age. He understands simple directions and can communicate what he wants/needs to some extent. He is saying new things every week. I will forever be amazed at how quickly babies grow up.

Caden is currently stuck on “hi” and “bye” although he does not wave. I’ve been waiting for this boy to wave for 10 months now and I’m finally giving up. He says “hi” and “bye” to everything. Actually, everything is a phone to him. Anything from a banana, to a spoon, the end of the plug to my blow dryer, the heating pad setting, the cords to the blinds, to a magnet on the fridge is his phone.

I couldn't get an exact picture of his ear on the heating pad remote, since he is such a squirmer but here he is saying "hi".

19 Month Milestones

Most toddlers should be able to . . .
Feed self with spoon and fork - Yes
Run well - Yes
Brush teeth with help - Yes
String more words together to make phrases or puts together pairs of words - He continues to try

Some toddlers will probably be able to . . .
Know when something is wrong - Yes
Say 20 to 50 words - No
Form recognizable sentences (two or three words) - only "thank you", but we are not hearing this as often anymore
Take off clothes - Just his socks (see above post)

Some toddlers could possibly be able to . . .
May show signs of bladder control - No
Brush teeth and washes hands without help - No
Draw better circles and straighter lines - No
Name several part of his or her body - No, but he will point to his body parts when asked where they are

caden's friend

We had gorgeous weather this past Saturday. It's amazing how the sunshine and warmer weather can brighten your mood. I was feeling great on Saturday and couldn't wait to take Caden over to my bestie's house to play with her nephew Sam. He is about 8 months older than Caden and the cutest thing ever! It just amazes me to think that Caden will be talking like Sam in the near future. Well, I hope so anyway.

Surprisingly enough the boys wanted to sit together and I was able to capture one good shot of the two of them drinking their juice and enjoying some goldfish.



We had a little outside time too and Caden got to ride on Sam's "beep" as he likes to call it. Honestly though, Caden was more interested in pushing the "beep" from behind than actually riding on it the right way. That's my boy for ya!



The boys did really good together when they did interact. Caden is still in the stage where he gets stuck in "Caden world" and just plays on his own with toys, books, or whatever else he finds amusing.

: :

I was finally able to get my laptop going wireless, so I don't have to be stuck upstairs if I want to surf the Internet. We recently discovered Dora the Explorer episodes on YouTube and it's Caden's new favorite show.

He looks like such a big boy here at the kitchen table by himself.

Overall my lil man is doing great. He is eating better and sleeping through the night. Yay! His eye teeth are coming in and he has been as sassy as ever, but we are getting through it. He hasn't had any teeth come through in 4 months, and what a nice break that was. I'm looking forward to going through the whole teething process again with Adi. *insert sarcasm here*

Speaking of Adisyn... I need to come up with a new name for my blog. Currently it's named "Mommy's lil man"... I've been pondering this for a while, but cannot think of anything. If you have any ideas, please do share!

Perfect Appointment

Today was my 30 week appointment, although I'm not 30 weeks until Friday. It was an uneventful appointment which is great! My BP was 104/80 - perfect! Adi's heartbeat was 148 bpm - perfect! I passed by glucose test - perfect! I'm measuring on time - perfect! I gained 5lbs in 4 weeks - not so perfect.

My appointments are now every 2 weeks until I hit 36 weeks and then it's every week until she is here. I cannot believe how fast this has gone by. Yikes!

our 5th anniversary

Today is our 5 year anniversary! I cannot believe Ryan and I have been married for 5 years now and together for almost 7 years. Insane, but just absolutely wonderful. I think of where we started and through all our troubles and where we are now.

I have the most amazing, loving, strong husband I could ever ask for. He is my rock, my partner, my friend, my lover, my life.

I could not imagine my life without him, and I am so thankful he chose me to be his wife.

Caden's first fever..

My poor lil man came down with his first fever yesterday in his whole 18 month life. I woke him up to get him ready to leave as I had to work and he was burning up. I know that having a fever means that your body is fighting an infection and it's actually a good thing, but man oh man did it scare me at first.

His fever was up and down all day in between Motrin doses with it's high at 101.4. I was not expecting such a happy playful baby, but he surprised me. The only time Caden became fussy was near the time the Motrin was wearing off. All he wanted to do was cuddle with me then and I had no problem whatsoever with doing that!

Thankfully he woke up with no fever this morning and Ryan said he was an absolute angel all day long.

See for yourself - he was feeling just great today!

He even had some fun brushing his teeth!

I received an email today and found everyone of these to be true. It's funny how a child changes so much in your life, and all for the better.

42 things that change after you have a child...

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 (from BabyCenter)...

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 mom5.

"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
18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution. — Anon.
19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys
20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.
21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon.
22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"! — gummismom
23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect. — japanese_macaque
24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom
25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!" — Anon.
26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor
27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo." — littlehulk2008

happy halloween and more!

Happy Halloween! Isn't my little turtle just adorable?! It was Caden's first year trick-or-treating. He did so great and we are so proud of him. We took him over to Ryan's brother's house for an evening of fun. We made it all the way around the block and probably would have kept going, but Mommy and Daddy were cold. Caden held his bag and a few times said "tank you" even if it was after we walked down the driveway.

I cannot believe how much our lil man has changed since last Halloween.

6 months old....

1 year later at 18 months old...



Caden's cousins just love him to pieces. It's quite wonderful to watch them together. Although I couldn't manage to get a photo of the three of them, I was able to get Ethan and Christian together.

Off to start trick or treating with Daddy and Mommy trailing behind..

With falling back an hour after Halloween it felt a little out of place going out while it was still light outside. I did enjoy it much better as you could actually see the kids Halloween costumes. We did have a fun filled evening and Mommy and Daddy now have bag of candy to enjoy :)

::

Friday was the start of my 28th week - 7 months and the start of my 3rd trimester. I cannot believe I'm in my last trimester and Adisyn will be here in 12 weeks. It's amazing how fast this pregnancy has gone by. It does make me sad that this will most likely be my last pregnancy. It was a rough go in the beginning with all the morning sickness, but I'm trying to enjoy every last minute of it. I would love to have a third child, but with costs of having a child it is just not in the books for us. Unless of course we win the lottery!

I've been feeling pretty good except for some lower front abdominal pressure that landed me in labor and delivery last Tuesday to get checked out. Everything turned out just fine, thankfully. The doctor believes the baby could have been laying in an awkward spot or most likely that I did not drink enough fluids. I'm keeping water with me at ALL times now.

I'm really looking forward to meeting our little girl in January. She is going to be just perfect.

::

On a final note - Happy birthday to my wonderful and amazing husband! I love him so VERY much and I am so grateful for him. I hope he is enjoying his day of golf out with his buddies. It turned out to be a nicer day - even though it's still a little cool.