8 Months

     So hard to believe in 4 months that Caden will be a year old!  My baby is looking more like a toddler and less like a baby, which is both sad and exciting!  What a month this past one has been for the little guy! He started crawling and can get anywhere in the blink of an eye!  It took him a little while to discover the stairs, but once he did, it's usually the first place he goes, either there or the fireplace (both now have gates on them).  We also have our bottom front teeth, which made their entrance about a week apart (which was not so fun for the Hixon house, but we survived.)
     Caden also went to his first VBS at church, which was special to me.  I have such good memories of all the VBS's I attended, so it was neat (and also surreal) to see my child have this experience too!  Sure, he was just in the nursery this year and will be next year too, but that''s fun too playing with friends and watching the play they put on each year together.  I love that VBS is a way for us to serve together as a family.  Casey records the play each night so people can watch it online, I always help/teach in one of the kid's classrooms (this year it was the 3 year olds), and soon Caden will be in the classroom learning more about God's word. VBS was 4 days with it starting on Sunday, so by Wednesday we were all beat!  The little pooper did pretty well, considering we got home well past his bedtime each night.
     Caden did get something we weren't expecting from VBS, a virus! (Explains the awful lack of sleep Thursday night and the fussiness on Friday)  Poor little guy had a 102 fever that Friday night (which was also his 8 month bday, sad!) and did not feel well.  He just would lay there on me with this sad, glazed look on his face and was very fussy.  Of course this would happen on a Friday after the pediatrician's office was closed.  Thankfully, our pediatrician is part of a group that offers after hours care during the week along with weekend appointments.  Thank you Texas Children's Pediatrics!  Strep test was negative, which meant little man had a virus:(  Casey and I took turns with him in the recliner since sleeping in the crib was a no-go, which meant sleep at the Hixon house was not great for anyone. Sunday marked the beginning of our happy baby returning, thank goodness!
     Since we made an unplanned field trip to the doctor, we got to see how much you weigh.  Caden is now up to 18 lbs. 2 oz.!(33%)  You are eating baby food like a champ, and have yet to spit out anything we've given you.  Finally, you have graduated to size 3 diapers and 6 months clothes.  You are so vocal these days (there is some of your Momma inside there!) and have babbled ma-ma and da-da, but since that is just babble I'm not cheating and counting that as talking.  Your favorite thing now is to throw up both your hands and have us say "Yay!"  It makes you so happy and you're so proud of yourself.  You can crawl at lightning speed, but you really like standing up and walking sideways while holding on to something.  It's so neat to see your personality coming out and to watch you learn to do so many things!  That smile still melts our hearts!  Each month, it is getting more and more difficult to get you to sit still for your picture!  Here are some of our attempts and some other snap shots of events this past month:

Ready for his 1st VBS!

How each night of VBS ended for Caden

Caden crawling for the 1st time!

Giving the sick baby in the mirror a kiss!

"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  Psalm 139:23-24

4th of July Weekend!

     What a wonderful holiday weekend it was at the Hixon house!  We started the celebration early on Thursday night by going to The Cheesecake Factory for my mom's birthday.  On the 4th, we had a pretty laid back morning/afternoon before we went to the next door neighbor's house for a party that night.   We thought Caden would sleep through the fireworks like he did at New Year's, but little guy woke up briefly during the middle of it all.  He seemed quite upset at the time, so I thought maybe if I took him outside (which he LOVES) that he would love all the pretty colors/lights and forget about the loud noise.  Major parenting FAIL!  Poor guy cried some more!  Thankfully though, I was able to get him back to sleep even with the fireworks continuing on, and he remained asleep for the rest of the night.  Big props to whoever invented the video baby monitor because it allowed these parents to keep an eye on our little guy, but also enjoy some fireworks outside!
    Sunday was nice because we went to church, but the rest of the day was not as much fun because of dealing with a CRANKY kid who did not want to take a nap and just really fussy.  Thank goodness, that attitude was temporary because he seems much happier today (perhaps a 24 hour cranky virus if there is such a thing?).  Casey took Monday off, so we took advantage of some extra family time and went to the Blue Bell factory in Brenham.  Both of my boys had never been! Caden is almost 8 months old, so I understand, but poor Casey had never gone either.  So sad! Glad we fixed that one today.  Caden was a trooper and really enjoyed the tour too!  He loved putting his hands on the windows that looked down into the factory.  He even got his own ice cream too!  Not that much of course, but couldn't let him miss out on some delicious Blue Bell!  Back to Houston we went and dropped off the little guy with Grandma for their Monday play date together.  Then Casey and I went to Double Dave's (pizza rolls, yummmmmmmmmm!) for a little lunch date just the two of us, who both got to eat with 2 hands at the same time! (It truly is the little things you appreciate as a new parent!)  Here are some pictures to recap our fabulous holiday!

Happy Birthday Mom!

What a hunk, indeed!

Major meltdown began right after this picture
 and I feel did not end till bedtime!

So in LOVE with this boy and picture!

Our little ice cream family before we demolished it!

Could these 2 look anymore alike?
They are even making the same face at me!

Hard to tell from the picture, but he LOVED his
vanilla ice cream and kept begging for more!

Father/Son picture in front of the Blue Bell truck of course!
My boys love cars! 

Me and My Little Guy!

Happy Hixon Family!

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7