Christmas - round 3 and 4

Mark and I thought we would leave early, around 6am or so when Caden woke up to see Santa. Turns out he was beat as well and didn't get up until about 7:15am. So although we could have left at 5:30am(waking the baby up), it was nice to have a few more hours of sleep before we got on the road again. We made it no problem to my parent's house because the weather in Ohio this xmas was unseasonably warm. We had a fabulous lunch (kudos to the chef) at the house with everyone and then opened gifts afterwards.

My fam! Mom, Brian, Jen, Mark (with Santa hat), Joe, Amy, Joey and my Dad in the front. Caden was napping while we ate.

More pics of the boys with their elf hats and Grandpa Joe.

Grandpa Joe and Caden with his Santa pants on.

My boys in their footie pajamas

Our friends Kelly Foley and her mom Kathy came over for a visit and to meet lil Caden.

Sad to say that this is the only pic that we took at the Francis fam xmas. Caden was laughing and chilling on Daddy's belly. Below is a video of him laughing. I need to get some more pics from Clarice and Michelle, hopefully they got more than I did! We had a great time seeing Liz, Ryan and Elle who were up from SC. It seems that they brought the warm weather with them, since it was 65 degrees on Sat. It was fun to see Maddie, Izzy and Elle running around looking at all the gifts. The joy of Christmas through a child's eyes. Scot and Amanda are expecting #3, another girl, very soon! We cannot wait!

Here is Caden sitting in his big boy chair and xmas gift.

20 Weeks

Here is a picture of Caden at 20 Weeks!

Christmas - round 2

What a whirlwind week it has been. But we wouldn't have it any other way...we just love to see everybody so the driving is definitely worth it! We continued our celebrating Xmas eve with the Francis family party in Russia, almost all 84 people were there! It was great to see all of Mark's side, the kids are getting so big and multiplying ever year. Thank you Grandpa Francis, we had a great time! Here is a pic of Scot with Izzy and Caden at the party, the only pic I took the entire night. Great. :(

After the party we went to Marge and Tom's in Versailles for a Christmas with them. I will have to get some pictures from Michelle since I apparently did not get the camera out. We returned home around 12:15am, unpacked the car and then repacked the car for the trip back up to my parent's house on xmas day.

Christmas - round 1

The LaGuardia family xmas party is the Sunday before Christmas, so we decided to drive a lot and see as many people as possible! We drove up to see my family on Sat morning, went to the LaGuardia family party on Sunday and then Mark took Monday off, so we stayed over another night at my parent's house. Usually we drive back to Troy after the party so we cannot stay very long, but this time we were able to stay later and chit chat with everyone. On Monday my dad babysat Caden for a few hours while we hit up some deals at the outlet mall. (oh, and some last minute xmas gifts)

Here is my Aunt MaryEllen with the boys.

My cousin Stephanie's son Jordan thought it was absolutely hilarious to try and sit Caden in this chair and put the Santa hat on him. He couldn't get enough!

Here are some pics from Saturday night. My Mom/Dad picked up this costume at Babies R Us and we couldn't resist putting the babies in the outfit and also with their xmas striped elf hats. Here is Amy with Joey

Here is our little chicken! He is just getting ready for Poultry Days 2009! (For those of you that don't know about P-days, check out the website http://www.poultrydays.com/)

I love Caden's expression in this picture.

Here are the boys with their hats. Joey is getting ready to pull his off!

Caden was working on his 2009 planner with Grandpa Joe

19 Weeks

Caden at 19 weeks!

He is talking/jabbering all the time now and loves to roll from tummy to back. While on his back he has also been arching his back and digging his heels in...maybe he will start rolling the other way now!

This is usually how we find him in the morning, sleeping with his hands behind his head. It really cracks me up!

Caden has been taking more interest in us while we are eating/drinking. Any cup/water bottle, etc he thinks is his bottle. Here he is trying to drink out of our Nalgene water bottle.

If you know Mark, you know how much he loves music! He is starting Caden early on the music and dancin'! It is a little dark. Also, anytime Caden sees the camera he will zone in and stare. Laugh and enjoy!

Babysitters and "Don't move an inch!"

Eric & Mary Stucke got married in Findlay this past weekend which allowed us to have our first overnight trip without Caden. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time and maybe even drank a little too much.

My sister and her husband came down to visit on Friday and then to babysit on Sat night. They were wonderful and Caden was on his best behavior...ok, he was so excited that they were here that he forgot his schedule and didn't take his nice long nap on Sat afternoon. I think Jen/Brian were looking forward to getting a nap themselves...but instead enjoyed spending more time holding Caden. Thank you so much Jen and Brian! We love you! It was hard to believe that we were so relaxed about leaving him for the evening. After over 4 months of taking care of our little boy it was bazaar to not have to care for him for 24 hours. It is amazing how much we love that little boy. Although tired, I couldn't wait to see him when we got back.

And it wasn't until we got back that I had my recurring dream/nightmare that Caden is lost in the sheets in our bed. Yes it may sound funny, but my poor husband may be sick of it by now. I woke him up Monday am around 2am because I swore that Caden was in our bed. After turning on the light, lifting up the sheets and telling Mark not to move an inch, I realized that yes I am crazy and yes Caden is still in his crib fast asleep. I look forward to the time when I don't have these dreams anymore.

Again, thank you Jen and Brian for watching Caden. We appreciate the fact that you drove down here to spend some time with him and chit chat with us for awhile. See you soon!

18 weeks

Here is our big boy! Getting bigger everyday! He has been rolling over quite a bit lately. Now that he knows what is going on, it doesn't startle him so much anymore. Nia and Caden with our tree. It is hard to get a pic of them close together. So I just have to work the angles now.

Caden chillin' in the bumbo

When I went to get Caden up from his nap today this is what I saw...his little hand reaching out from under the bumpers. It just cracked me up. I wonder what he was thinking when I touched his hand but he could not see me yet.

On Tues this week we went to go see Matt, Krista, Miles and Scout down in Centerville. Thank you for having us over guys, we love the new house. Caden really enjoyed your new couch and tv setup, he thought he was a big boy and living the life!

Caden (18 weeks) and Miles (6 weeks)

It is hard to believe that Caden was that small a few months ago.

Matt and Scout, but no pic of the new mommy :(

Next time Krista!

Caden just started eating rice cereal. Every day he does better and better with swallowing the cereal. Also there is a video of him eating as well.

I finally got a picture of Caden rolling over in his crib. Its a little dark.

17 Weeks

17 Weeks old

We went to see Dr Wilimitis today for Caden's 4 month well-check. According to the doc he is doing good and has no complaints. He gave us the go ahead to start cereal and fruits/veggies!! I am so excited!!! Maybe in a few weeks I will regret the excitement when the food is on the walls/floor, but for now I cannot wait! The shots were not as bad as the first time, but he still would rather do without them! The oral one wasn't so bad, he actually enjoyed it! But then it was followed up by 5 pricks to the thighs! Yikes! It is hard to watch the little ones go through that. But at least you know that they won't remember. For those of you that are anxious to know his stats....here you go!

Height: 24 3/4" (50%)

Weight: 14lbs 5.6ounces (50%)

Head circum: 16" (15%)

Again, he told me not to worry about his pea sized head...it is only because we (Mark and I) do not have big melon-heads which only means that...we wear small hats! So for all the grandparents, do not worry the Dr has assured me that it is okay.

SPORTS NEWS FLASH!!!

If you get a chance watch Notre Dame vs. Stanford in Women's Soccer at 4:30pm today on ESPNU/ESPN2/ESPN360.com. It is the Semifinal for the NCAA Championship. If Notre Dame wins then they will play on Sunday in the Championship Game! Cheer on ND and my cousin Rose #15! This is the only picture that I have (or could find) with my cousin at ND. She is behind me along the fence watching the ND men's soccer team last year.

Turkey Day!!!

WEDNESDAY:

On Wednesday we went to Dave & Clarice's house to greet Ryan, Liz and Elle! Here is Caden with his Uncle Ryan (unfortunately I do not have a picture with Liz holding Caden).

Uncle Scot, the mustache and Caden

Caden, Me and Aunt Michelle

He almost always wears a bib now due to the excessive amounts of drool! We had an early Thanksgiving dinner with Marge, Tom and Michelle in Versailles.


I love my Aunt Michelle! You cannot see it but his shirt says "I drool" with a dog on the front. Isn't that the truth!

THURSDAY / TURKEY DAY!!

Before we left to go to the Piqua Country Club for Thanksgiving lunch with the Francis clan we stopped at Dave and Clarice's to see if we could get a good picture of all the kids in their xmas outfits. They did pretty good...the key is to keep taking photos. 1 out of 50 has to look good or should I say decent.

Uncle Eric and Mark

Mommy and Caden

Elle (18months), Izzy (2 years), Caden (almost 4 months) and Maddie (4 years)

FRIDAY:

We went to visit my family in Aurora, OH and left Thursday night. After an entire day of running around, noise, and no naps...Caden finally crashed on the way up to Cleveland mid-meal. His "schedule" was a little messed up this weekend, but he enjoyed seeing everyone. Grandma Ginny, Caden and cousin Joey below.

I had to put this one in because it looks like little 8 month old Joey is waving.

Aunt Marie and Joey

Uncle Joe and Caden

Everyone watching football...even Caden!

Yes, that is Nia. Of course she made the trip with us! Here is a pic of Mark and Nia, brother Joe and Molly playing in the snow. Unfortunately we missed the majority of the snow...a lot of it had melted by the time we got up there.

SATURDAY:

My mom's side of the family came over to Aurora for "Stacky-Uppy" day on Saturday. Sadly, I didn't get any pictures of them on our camera. My Aunt Marie and cousins Laurel, Bryan, Kim and little Sydney came over for a visit. We had a great time, ate too much of course, and played Catchphrase.

The newylweds posing for a picture. Jen/Brian were married Oct 18!

Uncle Brian and Caden

Grandpa Joe was singing "I want a hippopatmus for xmas" and Caden just couldn't stop talking. (I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video, sorry)

Grandpa Joe and Joey

Absolutely love the hat!!

My mom was rolling the ball to Joey and he thought it was hilarious.

Nia with her xmas bow and being a good girl. She was great on Saturday.