29 weeks and a little good luck!

Hello everyone! We have enjoyed the winter and the ups/downs of the temp, but are definitely ready for spring already! Mark has been having sinus issues the past couple days and we are hoping that it is just the change of weather and not the flu! No offense, honey, but it is a good thing Caden and I are on our way to Florida to give you a few days to get better! Caden and I leave Sunday morning around 6am on a flight to Ft Myers, FL. Unfortunately we have a connection in Atlanta, so I am hoping for good weather, open seats, no delays and a happy baby! I just don't want to be the lady on the plane that nobody wants to sit next to! Wish me good luck! My parents are already down there and will be picking me up from the airport so that is a relief. Mark will be joining us on Wed evening. I am sure there will be a few funny stories out of this little trip, so stay tuned to hear all about it! Here are a few pics from the past week or so.

My mom's bday was this past Wednesday, so we decided to take a picture for her! Boy was that tough to keep Caden from eating the sign! He cannot resist the sound of the crinkling paper!

When Mark and I took our trip up to ME, NH, VT before Caden was born we picked up this baby spoon at The Bowl Mill in VT. Sadly, the company will be closing after over 100 years of service. We love our bowl, tongs and the baby spoon that we got there and are sad to hear the news. And you can see below that Caden does enjoy the spoon!

Here is a picture of the final cake in my cake decorating class. Yes, it is a little cheesy with the "I love you" but with no birthdays or anniversaries or anything I couldn't think of what to write on the cake! After I return from Florida I will be starting Course 3 (2nd isn't offered in March) which will teach me Tier cakes and Fondant so look for some fancy cakes to come!

We were at Dave/Clarice's house for Scot's bday dinner last Sunday. Here is a pic of Izzy and Maddie performing a musical for me. The cat and the horse did a fantastic job, they are such good jumpers! These girls are hilarious and are really starting to grow into their own...it has been so fun watching them grow up! They are such good big sisters to Payton!

Caden wishing Uncle Scot a happy bday!
Dad and Caden waiting to chow down

Here is Caden at 29 weeks!

28 Weeks

I love this picture, it looks like he is playing a guitar or dancing or something.

Little piggy - Caden eating his prunes/apples
Caden is really loving his food now. I don't know if he is going through a growth spurt or what, but man can take those Stage 2 foods down! He has moved on to Oatmeal cereal now and really likes that for breakfast followed up by some fruit.

Sleepy boy in his carseat


Caden was helping mommy pick out ribbons for Addyson's blanket the other day.
He really enjoyed all the colors and textures.

Welcome Millie!

One of my friends from OU and also from AmeriCorps just had a little baby girl! Congrats Frank and Julie! Your little one is adorable! Welcome Ludmila Ann Griffiths, or Millie.

She was born on 2/12/09 at 2:55am, 6pounds and 19 inches long.

Trip north

We made a last minute decision to go up and see my family this past weekend. It was a whirlwind trip as always, but we enjoyed every minute of it! After 6 months of traveling up there, this was the first drive that Caden did not enjoy. Usually we drive straight up there with no stops, unless Mark drinks too much coffee then we have to stop for him to go to the bathroom. The Envoy pulled over somewhere off of Rte 30 for an "emergency" feeding session and for the whole carload to go potty (nia included!). Then we were on our way again. We drove up on Friday after Mark got out of work and made it over to Amy and Joe's around 8pm. Thanks for the delicious stirfry you guys, and for keeping Joey up to see us and play a little bit. He is amazing at crawling and pulling himself up...Caden was taking notes on the crawling bit.

Saturday we enjoyed a lazy morning/afternoon with the everybody and then went over Corrie & Shawn's for dinner and drinks.

Midway through the party we went over to see my cousin Anthony and his now fiancee, Maren! Congrats! They just got engaged on Wed or Thurs of last week! We are so excited for you guys and cannot wait for the celebration!

Caden, Shawn and Corrie

Corrie with Maddie and Scarlett

Karen, Me, Mark, Caden and Shawn
(oh and Karen is not prego...she has her MiniDoberman, Sophie, in her sweatshirt sleeping.)

On Sunday, my Aunt Marie and cousin Laurel came over to my parents house for a little bit. It was great to see them and enjoy a little lunch and a few laughs.

Here is Jen, Mark, Laurel, Brian and Caden...we were watching him try to crawl.


Caden trying to figure out the crawling thing

My Aunt Marie (my mom's sister) and Caden

I couldn't resist putting this video up tonight! Caden absolutely cracked me up on Monday. At lunch he realized that he could make a loud noise by slamming his toy down on his high chair. It was so funny to watch his face go from serious and concentrating and then he would get startled by the noise he just made and laugh! I can watch the video over and over again!

27 weeks!

Here is little Caden! He has really been sitting up well lately. And now will get on his hands and knees almost instantly after we lay him on his belly. The only problem now is that he has realized that he is able to crawl forward, but just cannot figure out how to make it happen! Soon buddy boy, you are growing too fast!

Caden has always shown interest in the camera, but now he watches the camera and will smile for the pictures! Works out pretty good for me, now if I could just make sure that he continues to do that in the future!

Here is a little photo shoot we had after bath one night.

I started taking a cake decorating class at Hobby Lobby 2 weeks ago and here is my first cake that I decided to dedicate to Addyson Reed. It is nice to get out of the house and give Mark some "Daddy and Caden" time together.

Welcome Addyson Marie Reed!

Jeff and Kyley Reed welcomed a beautiful baby girl to the world on 2/6/09. Addyson Marie Reed was born at 4:37pm and weighed 7lbs 11oz, 19inches long. We cannot wait to meet her, she is so cute! The family is doing well and enjoying their new addition!

CONGRATS!

6 Months old!!

I cannot believe that Caden is 6 months old today, where has the time gone. Well, I guess the first two were an emotional blurr between getting used to our new life with the little one and figuring out what day it was due to lack of sleep. He has been a complete joy. Yes, there were times when I thought I was losing my mind but the good times definitely outweigh the difficult times. And one thing I kept telling myself was..."it won't last forever". I do remember a few nights in the beginning when we were up late at night trying to figure out what Caden needed, but instead of a meltdown I realized that as long as his needs are met (& he is not sick of course) that I will just rock and hold him. There will come a time that he doesn't want his mommy to hold him all the time...so until then, I will enjoy every chance I get...regardless of the time of night. He has been a wonderful baby, we are so lucky and don't ever overlook that!

We love our boy!

Today we went to visit Dr Wilimitis for his 6 month checkup. Here are the stats.

Weight = 16pounds

Height = 26 1/2"

Head Circ = 16 1/2"

He has now figured out how to get up on his knees in the crawling position which is really great! Of course he doesn't quite understand how to move his arms/legs forward. soon.