We're Back!!

So it has been literally MONTHS since I last updated the blog. Life just took over when I went back to school and then the holidays came and went and the blog got lost in the shuffle! I really want to keep it up though because not only does it allow family and friends to stay updated on our life, but I think it will be really neat for Cade to read someday or for me to look back on. Like a journal of sorts.

Anyway, since I last wrote, Cade has obviously changed and grown so much. He is such a little human now. He sits up and rolls around like a mad man. Not crawling yet, but he sure does get around when he wants to. At his last check-up he weighed 15 pounds, 10 ounces and was 26 inches tall. A huge difference from his birth weight of 3 pounds, 7 ounces! He is growing so quickly and becoming so much fun. He gets so excited when Papa or I get home and the smile on his face when he sees us is enough to melt you.

What else....Oh food! So I started offering him solids in November. I made and froze sweet potatoes, butternut squash and carrots and he has tried them all at this point. Not really into it though! Every morning I get him in his chair, put his tray on, put his bib on and he gets so excited (not sure what he thinks is going to happen) but when I offer him the food he rarely opens his mouth, but has more interest in playing with the bowel and spoon. It feels like a waste of food and energy sometimes, but I figure one of these days he will want to eat it. For now I am happy with him still getting his food from me. I gave him some puffs to play with while I was making dinner the other night, but he still hasn't developed the pincer grasp and can't figure out how to get them into his mouth. It is pretty funny to watch. I put one in his mouth to see what he would do, but he gagged. Guess he isn't ready to eat food yet!



Just the other day he woke up and started saying "dadadadadadadada." Now he says it all the time and it is adorable. Of course you instantly want to think your child is brilliant and saying Dada way earlier than any other child, but we know he is not because we refer to Chris as Papa. I can't wait to hear him start saying that and mamamamamama :)

No teeth yet either. I didn't get my first tooth until I was 11 months old and I'm not sure if that sort of thing is hereditary or not, but he may not have them anytime soon. He does seem to be teething though as he always has his hands in his mouth and has been much fussier than normal lately. Who knows!

As for me, I am officially a college graduate which is wonderful because going to school with a baby is hard!I have been trying to start the new year off to a good start. Staying organized, exercising and eating better food are all some of my goals this year. I really want to make good habits for our family so that they come naturally to Cade and being active and eating good food are part of his life growing up. Chris feels the same way and he has also started running and eating better. We have been going on family walk/runs whenever we can and Cade loves to get outside so we are all happy.

We will have a busy year I suspect as we will be down in San Diego twice in the coming months for Cade's consultation and surgery. In addition, we are still up in the air about where we want to live right now. We may move, we may not....stay tuned!

It is working!

So I have been trying to figure out this whole be-a-good-mom thing and get things done around the house, stay on top of my homework, find time to eat right and exercise and not go crazy. It seems to be working!

Today Cade and I went for an early morning walk, took a nap together, made thank you notes and sent them out, filled in his baby book, showered, dressed and even put make-up on, made a dentist appointment for me, a hair cut appointment for Chris, finished my work for my online class (two hours early I might add) and everyone is happy and fed.

Everyday gets easier and Cade will now take a nap in his swing after he falls asleep nursing so it helps me get things done! Life is going well :)

As a side note: Cade is still growing and now wears 6 months clothes! He has almost rolled from his back to his belly twice now and eats his hands daily. He is still working on holding onto and getting a toy to his mouth, but almost there. He smiles and laughs at almost everything and is generally a happy baby. He and Papa spend four nights a week together while I work now and have established their own routine that works well for them. They play guitar, watch football and go for a walk every night. Cade goes to sleep right at bedtime for him and they are both happy....therefore, I am happy.

A Big Day for a Big Boy!

I was in the basement yesterday afternoon and came across Cade's little seat for the table and also a kneeler to use when I ever gave him a bath in the real bathtub. Up until yesterday he sat in his swing when we ate dinner, but is never really happy about it. He has also been coming in the shower with me because it is so much easier, but I don't know how clean his cracks actually get. I brought both things upstairs and set them up and Cade loved both! He sat in his chair at dinner and LOVED it and LOVED his bath in the big tub :) Here is video proof

"What are these?"

So Cade has discovered his hands. It is the cutest thing ever! He always has them in his mouth now and started noticing them this week. He looks at them with awe and curiosity and has gained much more control over them. I just recently started putting the little bar with hanging toys on his bouncy chair when he is in it. This week, he not only took great interest in it, but has really been working on batting at the toys. It is so fun to watch him develop those skills.

Also new this week, he is so much more aware of what is going on around him. He watches our every move and gets upset when he loses sight of us. He is aware of loud noises now too and gets a fat lip and starts to cry if a motorcycle or other loud noise goes by. It is so neat to take him out for a walk because you can literally SEE the connections being made in his little brain. He watch everything closely and turns his head at each new sounds.

Earlier this week, he received his first vaccination. I had gone back and forth about whether or not we would do them at all and decided on a few. We will be using our own schedule though, which means he will receive only one specific shot at a time. He got his first TdaP on Thursday last week and survived! He barely even cried and had no adverse reactions that we were aware of. I was more upset than he was! He will get one a month for the next few months.

He is amazing.

3 Month Update

So Mr. Cade is now 3 1/2 months old and growing rapidly. To begin with we went to his check-up this morning and he now weighs 10 pounds, 11 ounces and is 22 inches long! That is a weight gain of 7 pounds 4 ounces since birth and he has grown 4 inches since then! He is still only in the 3rd% in height and weight, but his doctor said because Chris was small as a child, he probably would be too.

Cade is amazing and is changing so much everyday. I love being his mama! He is getting so strong and almost completely holds his head up now. He smiles all the time and started to coo and almost giggle. If we lay next to him on a blanket he will talk for 10 minutes. He finds his Papa to be hilarious. He still has to wear mittens on his hands because every time we take them off, he destroys his face. I am waiting for the day that he has more control of his hands so he can see them! He has just begun to get his hands to his mouth and the poor little guy has no idea what they really taste like!

We just got home from our first family vacation. We went down to San Diego to see family and friends for 2 weeks. Cade met soooo many people, who all doted on him and wanted us to leave him there. It was neat to see how many people love and care about him. It was the first time Chris and I had been home together since we moved to Chico 2 years ago and man was it nice! We spent so much time together and most of it was stress free and fun. Cade went to his first soccer game (though he slept through most of it) and despite loads of sunscreen and shade, got his first sunburn. His mama felt horrible :( Other than that it was uneventful in a good way. We relaxed, hung out with family and friends and Mama and Papa got some much needed time alone going out to dinner and a baseball game. Thanks to Grandma Rawson and Auntie Lizbeth for that :) He did pretty well in the car ride there and back with only a few meltdowns. I don't blame him though since it took 10 hours and it was all spent in his tight car seat. Hopefully next time we can just fly down there.

So after 4 months of being out of work and time spent undivided with Cade, I had to return to work last night. I was excited to be back at work because I love my job so much and missed the girls, but I was not entirely happy to be away from Cade. He and Chris have a special relationship already and it helped ease my nervousness, but I still worried that he might wonder where I was or why I was gone. Silly, I know, but I can't help it. We all survived though and Chris did an awesome job having never been alone with him for that long before. Cade only had a few moments and was happily alspee on the bed when I got home. Back to work again tonight with fingers crossed that it goes just as well.

Full of Smiles

So I know I already said he smiled last week, but now he does it quite often and yesterday he even giggled with excitement when he was about to nurse :) For those of you without Facebook, I had to share the cuteness!

As a side note: Went to the doctor yesterday and he weighed in at 9 pounds 4 ounces. He has also been on an iron supplement since he left the hospital, but his hemoglobin levels were great yesterday so they might take him off of it next appointment.

Temper, Temper!

Cade found his voice today :) Lately (the past week or so) he has become very fussy when he is not asleep and I think it is just because he is getting older, but not old enough to really stay entertained by anything for long. In between sleeping and eating he wants to be held, but also wants you to be walking around. Sitting while holding him does not cut it. Though it may sound like this would get old (which it does) I simply put him in the Moby wrap and he is happy.

Anyway, the point of this blog is about his voice. Instead of fussing or whining, or even crying...he now screams. The first time he did it today I thought maybe something was hurting...it was that loud. He was fed, changed, clothed, wrapped in a blanket (but not too hot) and the only problem apparently, was that I had put him down! It was so loud and angry that Chris and I couldn't help but laugh. He was literally yelling at me for putting him down! Sooo funny! In addition, he has also figured out when I am going to put him down and starts to scream as I am in the motion of leaning over. As soon as I get my new camera (with video) I will post a recording of his lovely sound.

Bedtime for us both...