Merry Christmas!

It's strange to think that at this time last year Caden was in the hospital. It was so much fun to have him home with us to celebrate this year. I enjoyed watching his excitement as he ran around and played with everyone. I hope you all had a wonderful day as well. Merry Christmas!

14 months

The last month has gone by so quickly with the holidays. Caden continues to amaze me everyday. Here is my list of Caden's new discoveries.

1. He noticed his first "bobo." When you ask him about it, he points to the spot on his hand and says "bobo." I know this is the first of many bobo's he will want to show off.
2. He can point to his eye, nose, and mouth. Even more fun for him is to point (grab, squeeze) at the features of the person holding him. He started saying "eye."
3. He still loves to dance. Right now he is really into "Frosty the Snowman." Auntie sent him a musical Christmas card. He walks around the house with it and dances to the song.
4. He loves people. Everywhere we go he makes it his mission to make as many friends as possible. He will do whatever it takes to get someone's attention. At the mall he played peek-a-boo with anyone that would look his way. When we go out to eat, he says "hi" to the people at the table next to us. Last week he got the lady behind us in line to play ball with him. She was running into the aisle to catch the bouncing ball. I could go on and on. I love this friendly quality about him.
5. He LOVES going outside. I know most little kids do, but this was the first month that he actually seemed to care. I know that we will spend a lot of time outside from here on out.

Snow!

It snowed today! Well, it was a little snow mixed with sleet, but it still counts! We took Caden out to see the snow. He was happy outside until he actually touched it. You can see how much he liked it by the picture!

Barney Dance

13 Months

It's time for my monthly update! I don't think I can possibly share all of the many changes and accomplishments Caden has made over the last month, but I will share some favorites.

1. Caden has gone from taking a few steps to full on walking. He still walks like a cowboy with his legs apart. It's so cute!
2. Words. Lots and lots of words! Caden talks nonstop. This past month he started saying some new words such as cook (cookie), thank you, chip, no, Mamama, shoe, shirt, and Jack (ja).
3. Cookies! Cookies have become a staple around our house. Caden likes to stick one in his mouth and then hold another one in his hand. Then he teases Hailey by putting the cookie in her face and then running off. He manages to play chase with her for a while before she steals it. Then he comes back to me to ask for another one. The cutest part is that he laughs when he teases her.
4. Caden is in love with a doll. He takes such good care of it. When he sees it he says "Oh" lovingly. He rocks it, pats it, gives it a pacifier, and feeds it. Then he'll put the doll down and play with cars and blocks. But after a few minutes he goes back to tend to the baby. It makes my heart melt to see him be so sweet to the baby.
5. Barney and Sesame Street are Caden's favorite television shows. He finally became interested in the TV. This is helpful during his chest PT because it entertains him while he sits there. He loves the Barney theme song (to the tune of Yankee Doodle). No matter what room he's in or what he is doing, he stops to come watch and dance along.
6. Caden had his yearly tests done a few weeks ago. He had a lung function test, chest x-ray, abdominal ultrasound, and a bunch of blood work completed. Everything came back clear! This is very exciting news! We are thankful for a wonderful report.

Happy Halloween

Last year on Halloween Caden was having surgery. So I am calling this Caden's first Halloween! He was an adorable Houston fireman, just like his daddy. We had a lot of fun going to the church carnival with Star, Stephen, Madison, Jackson, Hope, Mamama, and Papa Joe. The next day Caden got to dress up again and go to the Trick or Treat Trail with the Slafka's and the Thompson's. It was a great weekend!

Caden is 1!

Today is Caden's first birthday! I can't believe our little boy is already one! I feel like we have so much to celebrate this year. It is strange to think that this has been the most difficult year of our lives, but yet it has been the most joyful as well. We are so thankful for Caden and how the Lord has blessed him in so many ways.

Yesterday we celebrated Caden's birthday with a monkey party at our house. He had so much fun playing with friends and family and getting lots of attention. And of course he loved eating cake!

Playing with Cars

Every day there is something new. A couple of days ago Caden started saying "Hi." Yesterday I taught him how to blow kisses. And last Saturday he started playing cars like a big boy. We went to see Star's new house that morning. Caden had fun playing with Jackson while we were there. When we got home, Caden started pushing a car around the living room (the correct way) and repeatedly said "Vroom! Vroom!" Up until this point, Caden's only interest in cars was to chew, shake, or throw them. I watched him for about 10 minutes as he maneuvered his way around the living room. It almost brought me to tears as I realized that my baby boy is becoming a toddler. Thank you Jackson for teaching Caden how to play cars!

Hurricane Ike

I have so much to say about the past few days. I could write about our roof damage, being without power, or staying up all night during the storm. These are all topics that many people are talking about right now. But truthfully none of these things stand out to me as the most memorable moments of Hurricane Ike. When I think back on this experience, I will remember my grandmother.

My grandmother's nursing home had to evacuate and she was transported to my parent's house. For many people this would not be a major issue, but Grandmama has not been doing well and is on hospice care. She is confined to her bed, has dimentia, and is completely dependent on others for her care. At first the thought of caring for her seemed overwhelming, but it turned out to be a blessing. It gave us an opportunity to spend more time with her as she nears the end of her life. We had many sweet moments, sad moments, and silly moments with her over the past few days.

The thing is, the sad moments were sweet at the same time. Grandmama had the opportunity to say her goodbyes to us, and we were able to do the same. It was touching to me to hear her communicate with my mom. She was calling her "sweetie pie" and had many loving things to tell her. She even reached out to hug my mom several times, and she hasn't been able to lift her arms. It's the perfect example of a mother's love for her child. It doesn't matter what age you are, or what condition your health is in, your love for your child will never diminish.

Another thing that I will remember is how much joy Caden brought to her every time he came into her room. She seemed to light up each time she saw him. She kept making up cute little names for him and would try to be silly and play. One time she asked us to sit by her in the bed so she could interact with Caden. That was special to me because I haven't been able to be that close to her since she entered the nursing home.

The most memorable thing to me is how she expressed her love for Jesus Christ. Even in her state, she praises His name. She has been praying and singing songs to Him. My mom asked her if she sees Jesus. Grandmama said, "Oh yes!" Then she asked her if she was going to heaven. She replied, "Oh yes! Beautiful!" Then she raised her arms in the air and said "Hallelujah!" and started to sing "Oh How I Love Jesus." What a wonderful example she has set for me. I pray that I too will have the kind of relationship with Christ that she has. The kind of relationship that not even dimentia can alter. The kind of relationship that will shine brightly for others to see until the very end.

Please pray for my family and grandmother as she continues to stay at my parent's house.

10 months

My little boy has made it to the double digits already! It seems like a lot has changed over the last month. I am really enjoying this age. It seems like he makes a new discovery every day. Here is my famous list of things I love about Caden at 10 months.

1. He learned a third new word. Early in his 9th month he learned to say, "Uh oh!" This is extremely cute because he leaves a big pause between the Uh and the Oh.
2. He learned a fourth new word. A couple of weeks later he added "dog" to his vocabulary. It actually sounds more like "dag." He was playing in the living room and Hailey (our dog) walked over towards Caden. Caden reached out towards her and said "dog." Then he started chasing after her while repeating "dog" over and over again.
3. He still calls me Nana (pronounced like Mama with an N). I've learned to accept this as my name (for now anyway).
4. His first tooth finally came through at the beginning of August (it's the bottom right). You can see 3 others that are about to pop out.
5. He still talks non-stop.
6. He LOVES to eat. If he sees anyone eating, he gets very vocal about wanting something too. Right now he is most interested in table foods. He loves tortillas, bread, ice cream, cake, and bananas.
7. He's cruising. He can walk around the coffee table or from object to object with ease.
8. He is standing up unassisted.
9. His favorite game is chase. He crawls by me and squeals and then crawls as fast as he can. He'll pause to look back and make sure I'm chasing him and then squeal again and take off. The cutest thing is when he does this to Hailey.
10. He loves to sing and dance.
11. He has a big belly! I am so thankful that he is putting on weight. At our last visit Dr. Moore was really pleased with his progress. He is in about the 25% in weight and in height. The doctor finally said that Caden was all caught up! I have been waiting a long time to hear that!

Relaxing in Palm Beach

We just got back from Palm Beach! A vacation that had the potential to be crazy with a 9 month old turned out to be quite relaxing and enjoyable for all of us. Our days basically went like this: pool, beach, nap, pool, beach, nap, dinner, bedtime. Well, it was a lot more pool than beach. We already knew that Caden loves swimming at the pool, but it turns out he doesn't really like the sandy beach. His favorite things about the trip were spending hours in the pool and making lots of friends. I had no idea that a 9 month old could have so much fun on a vacation. It was a great first family vacation!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that Caden's first tooth FINALLY came through during the trip!

*If you look closely at the second picture, you can see Caden waving at Nathan in the pool. In the third picture, you can see Caden's tan line on his arms.

I Love Swimming Pools

Caden is enjoying swimming this summer. Whether it's his baby pool or a big pool, he has a great time splashing in the water. He'll play in his baby pool for about an hour playing with toys and crawling around in circles. And in a big pool he likes to be on his tummy so he can splash and kick as if he is swimming. He doesn't even mind getting his face wet. He is definitely a water baby.

A Few of My Favorite Things

These 2 pictures represent 2 of Caden's favorite things to do right now: eat and stand.

What can I say? This boy loves to eat! He is aggressive and noisy with each bite. We actually feel bad feeding him in public sometimes because he draws a lot of attention with his squealing and lion roars. After much practice, he finally figured out how to feed himself fruit puffs a few days ago. This is a major accomplishment and help. Now he doesn't have to "ask" me for another one every 2 seconds.

A couple of weeks ago Caden gained the ability to pull himself up to stand. Now that's all he wants to do. It's fun to watch him because it's like he is rediscovering everything from a new point of view. Whenever he has the chance, he will pull up on whatever he can find to test it out. The problem is that many of the things he chooses are not sturdy enough to support him. At least he finally figured out how to sit back down instead of just crashing.

8 months

Caden turned 8 months yesterday. It seems like he has changed so much over just the last couple of weeks. He is definetly in a new phase. We've enjoyed watching him discover new things and become even more aware of his surroundings.

1. He started crawling on Memorial Day. Now he has perfected it and is all over the house.
2. He started pulling up. He has perfected pulling up to his knees. Now he has started pulling up to stand, but is unstable once he gets to his feet.
3. And I'm sad to report, he has discovered a new "word" and it's not Mama! He has learned how to make the "n" sound and babbles away. It sounds like he is saying "Nate Nate" which is what our nieces and nephews called Nathan when they were little. So of course Nathan is gloating about his second "word" if you want to call it that. :)
4. He also has much more of an opinion about things lately. He wants a specific object or person badly and will fuss or whine to communicate it.
5.And it's official, he is a Mama's boy! I don't know if it's his age or the fact that I'm not working now, but he is definetly attached. He crawls over to me and tries to "paw" up my leg. And often he will fuss until I am holding him. Once he's in my arms he instantly transforms from fussy to happy as can be.

Patty Cake

Patty cake, patty cake, baker's man.
Bake me a cake as fast as you can.
Roll 'em up, roll 'em up,
Throw 'em in the pan!

Bike Buggy

The Bike Buggy: This is one of those purchases where you stop and think, "Will I actually ever use this?" It turns out the bike buggy has been a favorite around our house. We use it almost every evening. Caden loves to ride in it! He loves being outside and he finds riding to be relaxing. So relaxing that he almost always falls asleep.

Summertime

Wow! I can't believe the summer is finally here! School didn't actually let out until last Thursday the 5th. This is the first year we've gone all the way to June since I've been teaching! Speaking of teaching, I'm officially no longer a teacher. Well I guess you can't ever stop being a teacher, but I won't be returning next year so that I can stay home and be a mommy! I'm so excited about it, but I have to admit that I'm a little sad, too. I really enjoy teaching and will miss it. I'm looking forward to the summertime. When I think of the summer, I think of spending lots of time with friends and family, grilling, swimming, going on vacation, going to the movies, reading, shopping, and sleeping late. I'm sure this summer will be different with a baby, but I'm looking forward to the changes and new adventures Caden will bring.

Great Strides

Last weekend was the Great Strides walk for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. We were happy to have a good team of about 25 people join us at the walk. Our team raised about $2,500! This far exceeds my original goal of $500. Over $700,000 were raised for this one walk alone! That makes Houston the number one walk site in the nation.

Thank you to everyone who walked and donated towards the organization. Your love and support means so much to our family. It is encouraging to know how many people God has placed in our lives to join us on this journey.