Toddler Talk

Caden has started to babble a lot more these days. He has conversations with himself and with us ~ I just wish I knew what he was saying. If only I could get into that little mind. Regardless, this was too cute not to share.



and look who is finally pointing!!

Weekend Wrap up!

We had a pretty good weekend full of eating and playing. What could be better for a 1 year old, right? Caden even slept past 7am the last three mornings! (We'll overlook Thursday night when he woke up for an hour and wanted nothing to do with sleep.)

Our last few weekends have been all about the family time, which I love so very much. It gets me through the hectic weekdays full of getting up early, working, rush hour traffic, and pure exhaustion.

Here is our weekend in so many words.........

Eating..

Scaring Mommy by being a little dare devil...

Watching Daddy cook dinner....

Swinging at the park - he has never liked the swing until today!

Playing in the wood chips...

Looking for a new adventure with Daddy...

Found one!

and another!

Eating again....

*************

On a rather serious note, please pray for Stellan. He is in the hospital again struggling to stay out of SVT. Please pray that the new drug regimens the doctors are trying will work and keep Stellan's SVT at bay until he is old enough for the open heart surgery he will eventually need.

You can read more about Stellan's story by clicking here.

Picture and Video Share!

I had some really great pictures of Caden from last weekend, so I thought I better get these posted before another weekend comes along.

I just love his little face when he is eating his cheerios - usually first thing in the morning. He just seems so toddler-like in these pictures. I know he is a toddler and all, but it just seem to happen over night. It makes me sad how fast he is growing up, but excited at the same time. I could just eat this little guy up. He definitely has me wrapped around little chubby fingers.

We had a VERY nice visit with my grandpa on Sunday too. He is doing so well and was very happy to see his great grandson. Excuse Caden's tears. He had only taken a 30 minute nap earlier that morning and was so overdue for another nap.

This one is actually from Wednesday - just because he's cute!

A few months ago we put away Caden's push lawn mower toy because he seemed to have lost interest in it. I decided to pull it back out from the basement and I am so glad I did. He has not stopped pushing this thing around the house, man alive is he good at it.

Here is a video I took of him when he was only 9 months old.

and now look at him go!

Amazing.

Wordless Wednesday

What kind of July is this?

Do you notice anything strange about this picture that was taken today?

All bundled up in fall attire and it's suppose to be July?! The clouds in the back and the wind reminded me of late September. I will admit it is nicer than the hot sun when pregnant. We were going to take Caden to the park, but it looked like it was going to rain. Instead we took him over to the common area in our complex to run around and visit our swans.

He found some paper on the ground and gave it to Daddy to throw way.

Happy as can be just walking around with his Daddy.

I think someone looks a little mischievous in this picture. Don't you think?

Remember this post about my swans? Apparently I forgot to update when the eggs finally hatched. It was only a few days after we got home from our vacation. They are just little fuzz balls here. They even made our local paper last month.

Now look at them! They bigger fuzz balls! I can't believe how fast they've grown. (Like all babies I guess). I imagine they'll be leaving us soon and heading for the lake across the street.

The Daddy is sitting behind them as usual. He is VERY protective. Although he didn't seemed bothered that we were there, we still didn't get too close.

And Mommy - she is so beautiful!

Happy 15 Months (& prenatal appointment)

Today marks 15 months old and 13 weeks for his brother or sister. Today is also the first day of of my second trimester.

It's hard to imagine that we have a 15 month old and another on the way. As always Caden is just a joy and we are so proud and blessed that God chose us to be his parents. He continues to be an active little boy. Always on the go and always getting into something. His new word these days is cookie, but he doesn't say it all that clear. He gets the C and kie... He will actually go over to the cupboard with his cookies and reach up saying "c-kie" I WILL be getting that on video this weekend. It's so stinkin cute.

Over the last few months Caden's separation anxiety from me has gone from crying hysterical to crying for a few seconds. This typically happens when I drop him off in the morning before work. By the time I reach the door or sometimes my car he has already stopped. I feel so much better knowing that. He does give the best cuddles before I leave though. I get as many as I can before I have to leave for work.

We are still on two naps a day. He generally takes a longer morning nap and usually an hour nap in the late afternoon. Occasionally he won't fall asleep in the late afternoon and sometimes it makes for a rough night.

I was hoping we would get Caden in the pool more often this summer, but the weather has been pretty cool. Most mornings I am driving to work with my heat on and it's mid July! It's ridiculous!

Time for some pictures and milestone progress:

Most babies should be able to . . .
Toddle well - Yes
Say up to five words - Mama, Doggy, Kitty, Cookie - okay, so he is one short. No big deal.
Climb stairs - Yes, but with Mommy or Daddy right behind him
Like to look at books and turn pages - Yes
Laugh at funny things - All the time

Some babies will probably be able to . . .
Walk well or runs - Yes
Draw lines - Hmmm, not sure we have tried this
Say no and shakes head - Just shakes his head no
Like to sing - I'm not sure he actually sings, but he could be and I just don't know it
Follow simple directions - Yes

Some babies could possibly be able to . . .
Walk up stairs - No
Want to help around the house - Haha! No!
Remember caregiver and separation anxiety lessens - We are getting there
Respond to verbal requests without signals of any type - Yes

::

I had my monthly routine prenatal appointment today. I've gained 1lb in 3 weeks and a total of 11lbs during my first trimester. Not too bad, but I've gained 5 more lbs than I did with my first trimester with Caden. With Caden I was 136lbs and now I am 148lbs. Yikes.

This little bugger was hiding again and I almost thought we would hear the baby's heartbeat. It turns out this baby is really low in my abdomen and we did eventually hear the most amazing sound in the world. The baby's HB was 158 - nice and strong. I go back a month from today.

Reflecting back...

I’ve been reminiscing in my head lately about our life before Caden. Even though it was a short time ago it feels like a lifetime ago. If that makes sense. I remember our only “priority” (besides work of course) was trying to figure out what we would do on the weekend. Which of our friends we would hang out with, what bar we would go to, what to wear, what movie we would see, ect. Life was simple, but not all that interesting. Although I am glad that Ryan and I waited to have children, so we could figure out the whole marriage thing – I would not ever want to go back to life before Caden. Our lives our hectic now. Our heads spin, we forget to do things, our home isn’t as tidy, there is more laundry, dirty diapers, a baby teething who doesn’t want to sleep. Even through all that our lives are fulfilling. We are happier than we ever could imagine. Seriously, how couldn't we be happier - just look at this face..

His likes and dislikes

Caden is turning into a fine picky eater. Yes, he is. He used to eat or at the very least try anything we served him. Especially baby food – the only thing he didn’t like to eat was peas and he is still that way today. Just like his Daddy. He was doing really well with table foods, but over the last month or so he has learned he can spit out his food that doesn’t taste good to him. That means ALL greens fall right back on the highchair tray or better yet – his lap! We try hiding the greens or mixing them in, but this little booger can find the piece in his mouth and manage to spit only that piece of his food out.

His favorites (as of now anyway):

Grapes are his number one favorite
Blueberries
Strawberries
Pears
Eggs
Grilled cheese
Goldfish
Arrowhead cookies
Spaghetti

That is not all that he will eat, but hose are his favorites.

His dislikes – what he will actually spit out and scream if you keep trying to feed him:

Peas
Green beans
Broccoli
Peanut butter and Jelly – I think it’s actually the jelly he doesn’t like
Peaches

But he’ll try dog food : / Silly boy.

Last night he refused to eat his chicken with our without broccoli as well. He ended up having diced pears and goldfish for dinner. I guess that is okay every once in a while, right?

I just love him to pieces though. I just eat him up every day! He KNOWS that he has his Mommy wrapped around his little chubby fingers.

Surprise!

Ryan and I have had a little secret for some weeks now, and I’ve wanting to blog about it but that would have ruined our secret! I’m starting this post and when the cat is out of the bag, I’ll post it.

We are expecting #2! This took us by surprise, but we couldn’t be happier. We were only off by 5 months when we wanted to try again. What’s five months in the big picture anyway? I’m due January 25th, based on when I believe I ovulated or January 22nd based on my last cycle. An Aquarius baby. I guess I’d rather go with the earlier due date. So, January 22nd it is.

When my HPT was positive I almost fainted at first. I was more worried about what Ryan would say, so I waited a day or two before I told him. I knew Ryan’s first thought would be our home and the living space. We live in a two bedroom townhouse, which is already starting to get a little cramped. We have put our condo up for sale, but if that falls through we will manage. At least we have a roof over our heads. I was right about Ryan’s first concern. I know him too well. It didn’t take him too long to get past that he was actually really excited. I was so relieved.

This pregnancy is a little more intense than Caden’s so far. I’m just as exhausted as I was with Caden, but I’m having aversions to most foods. Maybe it’s not aversions – I’m just SICK to my stomach majority of the day. Nothing sounds good to eat and every time I do eat I feel sick afterwards. If I’m not feeling sick in the morning then it will happen in the late afternoon early evening. It doesn’t seem to go away until I’m in bed and then I’m starving! Of course.

I’m seeing a midwife this time around and I couldn’t be happier with my choice. I’ve already had an interview with her and I just love her. One problem though. She is looking to retire from delivery babies before this one is due. Boo. She said she has another midwife in mind that she is hoping will join the practice and take over.

: :

I haven’t come back to writing about pregnancy #2, and now the beans have been spilled! I am 11 weeks pregnant as of this posting date. I had my first check up with my doctor on June 24th. It was the regular routine; pee in cup, get weighed, check uterus visit. Unfortunately, we were not able to hear the heartbeat (HB), which I know the chances are slim this early. Either way, I still wanted confirmation. I needed to know that everything was okay before I told everyone. I asked for an ultrasound and she had no problem with my request.

I had my ultrasound on June 29th. I saw our tiny little baby. So perfect. The baby was squirming and kicking his/her legs. The baby’s HB was 158 bpm. He/she was measuring exactly to the day confirming my due date of January 22nd.

January seems so far away. Summer just started and in a way it’s almost over. Summers in Michigan are just too short. Knowing this will be my last pregnancy on top of not being completely ready for another child, I do not wish this time to go by fast. I’m sure my thoughts will change when I’m 30+ weeks. I’ll be ready by then I’m sure.

We are just taking one day at time for now. Living life as usual and enjoying our son, Caden.