A Star is Born

Here's some footage from Caden's Christmas Program on 12/8/11.

Little Lion King

Happy (belated) Halloween!!!

Yes, we're still alive

Is there ever a blog post that I don't start out apologizing for how long it's been since my last post? It's called a toddler, people. He keeps me hopping. I'm lucky to find time to brush my teeth every day. I don't sit around watching TV and eating bon-bons at night while procrastinating on my blog updates. Really, I don't.

I am Caden's favorite escort. With the help of my hand (finger), he leads me all over the house and all over the yard. We don't stop until we pass out at night from exhaustion - both of us. One of these days he'll start walking without asking for my hand and then I'll miss these days, so you won't hear me complaining in the meantime.

Did I mention Caden had ear tube surgery on July 5th? Pretty sure I missed informing you of that. Reference paragraph #1 for my excuses. We took some pictures of our groggy little guy as he came out of surgery - still feeling the effects of the anesthesia. Somehow the right ear tube became "blocked" with mucous that didn't drain properly 6 weeks after the surgery. The surgeon attempted to clear it with ear drops and antibiotic (infection in the middle ear to complicate matters), but with no success, so we headed back to have a second surgery on Sept. 16th to "re-do" the right tube. So far so good with the new one! Aren't his Looney Tunes scrubs adorable?

Caden's recent interests include clocks and American flags. He can spot these items from miles away. We have a few small flags that he will carry around with him all day long. He's very patriotic. He's also has the typical boy interests, such as lawn mowers (his parents may be the only people on the planet who can actually interpret when he's saying this word), cars, trucks, buses and tractors.

Caden was holding steady with 6 teeth for the longest time (well, since his first birthday), but in the last week, he has been sprouting teeth like crazy. Speaking of crazy, I stuck my finger in his mouth in attempt to conduct inventory. It was a brief attempt; hence, only an approximation of roughly 4 or 5 new ones.

After ear issues that lasted for months, combined with recent teething, we were thrilled that Caden slept for 11 hours STRAIGHT last night. It was pure heaven. It was the first time I entered into a deep enough sleep to spark a dream in months. It was wonderful. I dream of more nights like last night.

After much prompting from my husband, I joined Facebook about a month ago. You'll be pleased to hear that I'm ignoring Facebook as much as I've been ignoring this blog. Sorry for those of you who had high expectations that I would actually use it. Maybe when Caden turns 18. No promises.

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/