8 months

I am a few days late updating about Caden's 8 month milestone but better late then never! This has been a month of sickness for Caden. But it has also been a big month of new things! He has such a sweet disposition and loves to be around people! So far he is very passive around other kids and watches them in awe!
He is up on all four's the majority of our day and rocking back and forth and sooooo close to taking off. And he wants to sooo bad! I feel like he will be crawling all over any day now! Hearing myself say he is 8 months old makes me sad. He won't be my "baby" much longer but quickly approaching the "toddler" years. I am determined to savor every single day.

My sweet Caden at 8 months you are:

• Wearing 12 month clothes, some 18 month
• Size 3 shoe & diapers
• 22 pounds (95%) and 27 and 1/2 inches tall (59%)
  
• Shaking your head no to everything- no matter what we ask you. It's hilarious!
• Nursing 4 times a day
• Eating 3 "meals" a day. Your favorite foods are sweet potatoes, green beans, peaches, & bananas
  
• Loves snacking on puffs, yogurt melts, cheeto puffs
• Loves your sippy cup with apple juice diluted with water
  
• You have 4 teeth. The 2 front & bottom middle
• Love having your teeth brushed! You giggle the whole time!
• Says mama on occasion. Mainly when you are upset
• Sleeping from 8:30 until 8:00 most days
• Still waking up at least 2 times a night
• Sleeping in your crib the first half of every night. Then in your bouncer the remainder.
• Napping much better and I think it is because you are so busy playing that you are more tired.
  
• Normally taking 2 naps a day. Your naps range anywhere from 1 to 2 and a half hours.
• Clap your hands and smile all the time!
• Very social. You love to be the center of attention
• Went on our first "road trip" and you did wonderful in the car!
• Love swinging and playing outside
  
• Definitely a mommy's boy
  
• An absolute delight.
  

Caden Andrew, I love watching you play and learn new things. You are very determined. You fill my life with absolute joy. Your daddy and I sit and talk about you at night and the new things you did that day and we are always saying what a blessing you are and how we cannot imagine life before you. You give the sweetest hugs and the biggest open mouth kisses. I pray God continues to mold you into a sweet loving little boy. I love you more then I can express! XOXO- Mommy

Never ever

Before Caden was born there were many things I would "never ever" do. I said my house would never look like a day care or play room, however, I find my living room scattered with toys throughout the day. I said Caden would never sleep in bed with me, but I am desperate for sleep so I have, at times, snuggled him beside me so I can get a little more sleep. I also said I would never let him "cry it out" when he won't sleep, and so far I have held true to that statement but I am holding on only by a thread. I am exhausted and he has got to learn to soothe himself for sleeping or he may be 2 still waking up for his mommy 3 times a night!

With that being said we have had a rough couple of weeks for sleeping around the Kerr household. For some reason Caden has been waking up 2-5 times a night. And I am just not sure why. He has also been really fussy this week which is unusual for him. Nothing seemed to satisfy him for the past few days. This morning when I leaned over to kiss his sweet head and pick him up he was burning up. I knew immediately he had a pretty high fever. I called the doctor and off we went, again. Poor guy has an ear infection. She said it can take 4 to 6 weeks to fully recover from RSV and all of the congestion has settled in his ears. So, that explains that fussiness and hopefully all the night wakings. We are starting an antibiotic and hopefully he will be feeling better soon. I know he feels awful because he has sleep off and on all day. Very unlike him!

I will post about our Valentine's Day sometime soon, hopefully this weekend. And once he starts feeling better hopefully get some pictures of my happy boy smiling again!

Flying by

Things have been so busy lately. The days have seemed to be flying by. Last week was back to normal. I went back to work and Caden had his normal schedule of staying home with Matt on Monday, my mom kept him Tuesday, and he went to Mother's Day Out Thursday. He also took great naps last week! He normally took 2 two hour naps every day which hasn't happened in months.

Matt was in Ft. Worth all weekend for the Navy so my mom and I went to the movies Saturday afternoon. I haven't been to the movies in almost a year so it was a nice chance to get out of the house and do something new. Caden's great grandmother, "Nonnie" came over to keep Caden and loved every minute! When I got home she had just put him down for a nap and he woke up 2 hours later!

Yesterday we went to church and then came home to play. Dee came over for awhile to hang out and Caden showed her his new trick! He now rolls from room to room, and rolls fast! He also leaned in to give her a kiss and bit her nose instead!! I couldn't help but laugh but we definitely hope this isn't becoming a habit!

And last night when Matt walked in the door Caden lit up! He loves his daddy. And I love my sweet family. Matt and I have become closer then ever over the past few weeks. It really is true that I fall more in love with that man every single day.

On the mend

After a very long week Caden is finally getting better! I was feeling so discouraged on Wednesday because we weren't seeing any improvement at all but he has slowly made some progress over the past few days. Nights are still the worst, our poor little guy keeps waking himself up coughing. One thing that hasn't wavered, not even a tiny bit, is his appetite. He ate like a champ, like nothing was wrong! His has also taken better naps the past few days but I think it may be due to him not sleeping well at night. He even fell asleep in the middle of playing in his exersaucer.
Although he hasn't felt well he has become a lot more mobile this week! He rolls all over the room. The days are over where I can leave him playing in the center of our bed while I am putting laundry away or getting ready in the morning. He is trying so hard to crawl but just not there yet. And it seems he is getting frustrated that he can't get to where he wants to go. I have a feeling he will be crawling within a month so the top of my to do list is get plenty of rest now!!

Caden has also started using his sippy cup very well this week. He doesn't quite understand having to tip it back when it isn't completely full but if it is full to the top he can drink out of it all by himself!

This afternoon I got Caden out of the house for the first time since Monday and went next door to my parents house. I needed to go to the grocery store but didn't want to take him since he isn't 100% yet so he played with Nana while I was gone. She took him out to swing for awhile and she said he was so excited! He laughed and squealed and she said the higher she pushed him the more he would laugh! We may have a little dare devil on our hands!

And in exciting news, tonight is Matt's last "night" to work!! Yep, he goes back to the day shift starting Wednesday!! Caden and I are soooooo excited to have him home with us every single night! We celebrated with apples and bananas with our cereal tonight!