Family Fun Day

It's no secret that I hate it when Matt works nights. I don't sleep well at all... I just don't like being here without him. But the good thing with his new schedule is that he is off every other weekend. We have NEVER had whole weekends together so this has been such a treat for Caden and I!! I'm a little late posting this but we had a family fun Saturday and we had a blast!! And a very tired little boy at the end of the day!

We started with a drive around the neighborhood. 

Then decided to play with our water table and swimming pool. Caden thinks it is more fun to run around and find all the dirt he can though!!

We also had to visit with Nana and Pop's dogs!!

Matt managed to catch him briefly for a picture!

After all the fun outside we went inside to cool off and play some hide and seek!! Caden decided to wear his baseball cap for our game!! I also couldn't catch him long enough to put a shirt on him!

Then we grilled hotdogs for lunch. Shortly after, I gave Caden his milk and he passed out while I was rocking him! And this NEVER happens anymore. As soon as he turned 1 he stopped letting me rock him to sleep so this was a very special treat for me! So special that we took a picture! Ha!

Once he woke up we played around the house and then had dinner with my parents. Then we took Caden to the playground and he had a blast!! He wanted to slide over and over again! He isn't scared of anything!!!

 And he was all smiles while he was swinging too! The higher we would swing him, the more he would squeal!

It was such a fabulous day spend with my favorite people!! The smile on Caden's face can and does absolutely melt my heart. His giggle is to die for! I am the luckiest mommy ever!

Silly Boy

Life is busy. Matt's schedule has changed so he is back to the night shift for awhile. Sigh. I'm not a fan. Neither is Caden. I don't think either of us is used to him not being home with us every night. But we are making the best of it and we are so thankful that Matt is such a hard sleeper and can sleep through us playing all over the house while he sleeps during the day!!

Caden is learning and doing new things every week. Over the past week he has discovered climbing. Right now he climbs up our rock fireplace and gets so excited once he is standing on the ledge! He also has no fears. The higher we swing him, the faster we push him and the more he can hang upside down the better! 

And he has become such the little ham!! He has the cutest little smile he gives me when I ask him to smile!!

Doesn't that just melt your heart?!?! (Sorry for the blur, the camera on my phone isn't the best... obviously)

His favorite time of day is still meal time... and snack time!! I think he wakes up early from his nap some days simply because he knows snack time is next!! And once again gives me his cheesy smile!!

This silly boy has stolen this mama's heart for sure!

Water baby

Caden loves the water. He loves anything to do with water. I am almost positive bath time is his favorite time of day. 

We recently got out his new Bob the tomato water sprinkler. He had a blast!!

He doesn't mind at all when his clothes are soaking wet and he is covered in dirt!

 

Then we took him swimming at our neighbors. He loved his boat and loved being in the water!!

He loves his boat so much he likes to sit in it in the middle of the living room and read his books!!

Mischievous little boy

Caden is more and more fun every day. He is also getting more and more mischievous. His favorite game in his room is to pull out all of his clothes from his dresses. The below picture was done in the amount of time it took my to go throw a dirty diaper away.

He also loves to play in my bowls in the kitchen. He loves to have it all over the kitchen floor and bang them with a spoon or spatula. I promise he has lots and lots of toys!! He would just rather play with mommy's things!

Feeding himself is his new favorite time of day!! In the past I usually fed him with a spoon but lately I have tried letting him become more and more independent.  I love watching him learn and do new things.

Caden also gets very excited while I cook dinner and get it in the oven!! He patiently waits!

And its crazy to think this time last year Caden was so small!!

 And now look at him 1 year later!!!

Hold me mama!

Caden has been fussy lately. And when I say lately, I mean constantly over the past few days. I'm beginning to wonder if he is cutting his 1 year molars. Actually, I did not even realize they cut molars this young, but Shelly mentioned her son cutting his and it caused me to do some research. He's started drooling lately and running a low grade fever but he isn't very willing to let me look in his mouth. He has just been so clingy and fussy. Normally he is always on the go, and never sits still! But over the past 4 days he has let me rock him and has been content spending some of his day in my arms. And he is always reaching up for me to hold him. I love that he wants to be with me all of the time but it was definitely difficult to get anything done that I couldn't do holding a baby!

Matt was out of town this weekend so Caden and I spent lots of time together, just the 2 of us. I had forgotten how tiresome it is when he is so fussy and I don't have Matt's help to count on. But we rocked and played with his toys and rocked some more. We also swung upside down and threw Caden on the bed. He loved it!! And he giggles so hard while he's hanging upside down! His little laugh just melts my heart every single time.

Caden normally only takes 1 nap a day, anywhere from 2-3 hours but on Sunday he took 2 naps. That morning we didn't go to church since he had fever so we were rocking and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (the only TV show that will actually hold his attention for a small amount of time) and the next thing I knew Caden was asleep. I was pretty tired myself so I decided to take Caden in my room and we could take a quick nap together. He slept for about 45 minutes and he started moving around. He slowly opened his eyes and I could tell he was confused about where he was. Once he saw me he sat up real quick and looked around, smiled really big and started clapping!! I'd say he was pretty happy to get to nap with mama!

Overall, we had a good weekend but we were both so so happy when Matt drove up!! A certain little boy had a huge grin on his face!!

Birthday Party!

It has been 2 and a half weeks and I am finally sitting down long enough to write all about Caden's birthday party!! Unfortunately I was so busy that I didn't take any pictures with my camera so I was depending on other peoples pictures. I finally managed to remember to get my mom's so I could post some pictures!

We had so much fun and I was so excited for his "big day"!! Caden didn't seem to mind all the attention either!

Caden has such a wonderful birthday party with a lot of his friends and family! All grandparents and great-grandparents were able to make it! Caden'sUncle D & Aunt M came with their sweet girls, Aubrey, Ainslea, and Lyla. This was Caden's first time to meet Lyla and he seemed to like her a lot! 

 Aunt KK came along with his cousin Chloe and her mom Courtney. His friend Buck came with his parents Brian and Christine. Uncle Bobo came along with his mom, sister, and her sweet baby Anniston.

 

My lifelong friend Ashley and her mom came and it meant so much to me! Also my friends Dee and Heather came!! Those 2 girls are some of Caden's favorites!

 Caden had so many gifts to open and he liked to walk around and show what he got!! He got books, clothes, all kinds of toys, and a piggy bank!

Caden's cake turned out perfect!! God has truly blessed some people with amazing abilities and the lady who made his cake is definitely blessed. We loved it!!

Caden also loved his little cake!!

Overall it was such a wonderful day spent with friends and family. It was also such a bittersweet day for this mama. I love that my little guy is growing and healthy but it has gone by so fast. I feel like I say this all the time but time is absolutely flying by. I want to savor every moment and remember detail from every memory we make. I thank God every single day for my family. I am a blessed woman.

1 year!!

Caden turned 1 year old on Saturday. This has been the most challenging yet most incredible year of my life. This little boy has brought so much joy and I have fallen in love in a way I never knew was possible.

I love sitting back and watching him play and interact. I love the way he gets so excited when his daddy gets home from work and he just hangs all over him while he is taking off all of his stuff. I love that as soon as Caden hears his bath water running he takes off and stands by the bathtub and squeals until we put him in the water. I love that he is so affectionate and gives big open mouth kisses all day long!!

Caden has never met a stranger. He will go to anyone, and I'm not sure that is always a good thing. He has such a sweet disposition and is still very sensitive. I am hoping he will toughen up a little with age! And he loves other kids! He plays a little rough, he likes to grab little girls pigtails and ponytails, but he does it to be affectionate! We are working on teaching him to play sweet!

Caden, at 1 year you are:

• weighing 25.5lbs
• 29 inches tall
• Wearing Size 4 diapers (pampers are our favorite)
• Wearing mostly 18-24 month clothes but still wear a few 12 month stuff
• Size 5 shoes
• Have 7 teeth and currently cutting 2 more
• walking EVERYWHERE!! and starting to run!

• completely weaned from nursing 2 weeks ago
• Drinking 2 6oz bottles a day. One before your nap and one at bedtime. We will start switching from a bottle to a sippy cup this week 
• Have tried switching over to whole milk and even 2% but it upsets your tummy. We are in the process of working with Dr. Ricard on what to try next.
• Still love your binky. It is reserved only for nap time and bedtime
• Normally taking 1 nap a day around 12:30 lasting anywhere from 2-3 hours
• Go to bed around 8:30 and wake up anywhere from 7:30-8:30 the next morning. You very rarely wake up during the night.
• Saying dad, dada, mama, and Nana

• Are becoming all boy! You like to bang on things with anything you can find!
• You favorite toys right now are toy cars with the race track, your ball,telephone, and anything that play music!! You love to dance!
• You take Elmo with you anytime you ride in the car
• If we go on a car ride for longer then 20 minutes you normally fall asleep

• The absolute joy of my life and have stolen this mama's heart!

My sweet Caden, I couldn't imagined how the first year of your life would be. You have stolen my heart every single day, multiple times a day. The moment I heard you cry I became a different person. My life and my choices are no longer about me, but about you and what is best for you. You have such a captivating smile and your laugh melts my heart every day. Your daddy and I love you more then you will ever know. This first year has been amazing and we cannot wait to watch you grow and learn more in the coming months and years. My prayer is that you keep your sweet spirit and grow to love Jesus. Daddy and I love you sweet boy. XOXO- Mommy