Happy 1st Birthday Baby Caden!

Okay, so he's not a baby anymore, is he? What a fun year we've had with Caden in our lives! He is truly a blessing.



Caden may not look too thrilled about it being his birthday in this picture. However, keep in mind, that he was so excited about it being his birthday EARLIER in the day, that he decided a half hour nap was all that he needed. Turns out that it wasn't enough. So, he was a bit sleepy tonight. Daddy mowed the lawn, which is one of Caden's favorite past times in terms of entertainment, so that was a hit with him. He had his favorite meal of mac 'n cheese. Yum!

At one year old, Caden:
* says several words including: Hi, Dada, Mom, Door, Baby, Tickle
* waves bye-bye, especially when he presses the button in the garage to open/shut the door
* still army crawls - we're certain he will skip the stage in which he uses his knees
* prefers to "walk" around with his cute little hands wrapped around our fingers while he leads us around the house. Favorite rooms include the bathrooms, mostly because his voice echos.
* LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his blanket
* is still a stinker when it comes to napping, although we have been able to pull off 2+ hour naps on the weekends during the past month. Whoever gave the advice "sleep when your baby sleeps" never met our son.
* is showing a stubborn side and is resisting our attempt to transition to whole milk. He's also very skeptical of any new table foods that we offer him. Favorite treats include chocolate shakes and hot fudge sundaes. Oops, were we supposed to wait to offer ice cream until AFTER he turned one? Too late...

Our Little Walker

Here's a short clip of Caden's new favorite thing to do. This will keep Mommy and Daddy in shape!

That's right... We took a trip to Vegas in late June. Kind of an early Anniversary gift to eachother. A good test to be away from Caden for four nights but he was in good hands with grandmas and grandpas (and Lexy too).

During our time there we experienced a wonderful dinner at Top of the World Restaurant at the Stratosphere with a beautiful view of Las Vegas and sunset. We saw the Cirque du Soleil show "O". We both agreed the best show we've ever seen. We also saw a comedian and some other shows, took in time by the pool and, of course, did some gaming. All in all, a good trip!

Caden loves his Daddy!

Miss Nebraska 2011

One of Caden's favorite full-time teachers in the infant room - Miss Kayla - was crowned Miss Nebraska 2011 last night. We are so very excited for her! However, it's bittersweet, as Kayla will no longer be caring for Caden as she'll be tending to her new gig.

The prior Miss Nebraska was crowned Miss AMERICA last year. Maybe Kayla will repeat that trend when she competes at the Miss America pageant in January.

If you are interested in checking out Kayla's blogspot, you can follow it at:
https://missomaha2011.blogspot.com/

Omaha Relay For Life

Caden met a new friend at the Omaha Relay for Life this weekend. No fear!

Memorial Day in Minnesota

Same story, different day. Yes, I'm behind with updating the blog AGAIN.

Caden and I have been battling the flu this past week. To complicate matters, poor Caden has also been battling ear infection AGAIN. We're off to see a ENT (ear/nose/throat) specialist in a few days.

We had a GREAT time to Minnesota over Memorial Day weekend. Caden LOVED playing with Addeson and Hadley. He had big belly laughs when intentionally throwing things off his high chair tray and watching the girls pick them up...repeat, repeat, repeat. This game has not been as fun with Mommy since we've returned home! I don't pick things up as fast as the girls!

Long Overdue Update

I'm finally getting around to reporting our almost 10-month-old's 9 month check-up results! At Caden's 9 month check-up, his statistics were as follows:
* 31.5 inches long (110%) - the average height of an 18-month-old; and by-the-way, pretty much HALF way to my adult height
* 22 lbs., 7 ozs. (77%) - basically, a long and lean machine
* Fluid in his ears and another round of antibiotics...interesting given I had taken him to the doctor TWICE the week before and the P.A.'s we saw wouldn't give him anything...we are headed back to check his ears next week, and if there is still fluid, we're going forward with tubes!
* Between Caden's 6 month and 9 month check-ups, we had been to the doctor's office NINE times. Did I mention we are considering ear tubes?
* no shots (yay!)...a simple finger prick and Caden never batted an eye - tough guy


Although Caden wasn't able to hunt for his own Easter eggs this year, he kept a watchful eye on his cousin, Evan, filling up his own bucket. Next year, Caden will provide a little competition!




We had a nice Mother's Day and enjoyed a yummy buffet at Chances R restaurant. Caden was great and sat in a high chair for over an hour...playing with some toys, but mostly just people watching (like mother, like son).



We enjoyed a visit from Grandpa Ron and Grandma Nancy and Great-grandma Sally the weekend between Easter and Mother's Day. Caden loved all the extra attention.