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.