Baby Shower for Our Niece, Sophia Elizabeth!

That's right, Casey and I are expecting a niece ANY DAY NOW!  We were hoping she would follow in her cousin Caden's footsteps and come a little early, but per Casey girls are always late and this little lady is no exception!   God has his perfect timing for her to make her entrance into the world, and I can't wait to meet her and hold a newborn baby again!
     It's hard to believe that over a month ago we hosted a baby shower at our house in honor of Sophia's upcoming arrival!  Caden and I went on so many errands, which was nice because it gave us a bunch to do, but preparation for this event definitely took longer with a little one in tow who was always wanting his Mommy!  Such a sweet helper! 
     We ended up having around 20-25 people, so it was a full party!  It was so much fun though and Sophia got so many things!  Playing hostess (with the most-est of course!) I slacked on taking pictures, plus some of them were saved on my old phone (so they are gone), but I was able to get a hold of these pics.   Look for more pictures when Sophia Elizabeth Hixon arrives!!!

Our house has never seen so much pink!

 

Clothes line of baby clothes for Sophia along with pictures of
her Mommy and Daddy as kids (This girl is going to be BEAUTIFUL!)

Some of the wonderful family/friends that came

Sophia's presents, girl did GOOD!

More  guests and decorations!

 

So true!!!


"The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2

11 Months

     Sorry for the long delay in posts, but the laptop was in the shop for a few days getting fixed, so I couldn't write anything even when I did find a few, brief free moments.  Our sweet little guy is now 11 months old!!  Well we have now said goodbye to crawling and hello to walking everywhere!!  He can walk with pretty good speed these days so I'm sure running is just around the corner.  I'm going to miss the days when he doesn't have to hold his hands out to stay balanced as he walks.  With this increased mobility means this kid can get away from me fast and walk off.  This includes taking your Mommy's cell phone and putting it in the toilet because the bathroom is pretty much one of your favorite places!).  Sadly, my phone could not be brought back to life, but we were able to get a replacement phone in a couple days thanks to having insurance.
     This past month also marked another milestone I thought would take longer to reach, saying goodbye to the bottle!  At your 6 month pediatrician appt, the doctor told us we could start introducing sippy cups to you with some water in them.  We had a couple different kinds, but quite frankly Caden could have cared less about them.  He was more interested in using them as a chew toy than getting liquid from them.  I even put formula in them instead, and while that went somewhat better, he would take a couple tries and be done.  I kept trying here and there, but after many failed attempts, I took a break.  Fast forward to his 9 month check up, where the doctor says by 12 months he needs to be done with bottles. Okay great, now its time to get serious because I felt this was going to be a long battle. 
     I saw other kids his age and even younger using sippy cups without any problems, so now I start to feel like a Mom failture in this department. I tried another brand of sippy cups (Munchkin brand) and got one with the really soft nipples like his bottle (I'm certainly not going to buy more than one until I see that it works even if it is a pain to clean and reuse so often).  At first it seemed like before and this was going to be a bitter battle, but then one day he started using his new sippy cup with no problem.  Once he did a couple feedings back to back, I just kept using that same bottle and never looked back.  It's just another way of Caden telling me, I will do it, but on my time, so don't worry Mom!
     Caden's up to 6 teeth now!  This latest one was a bit of a doozie with someone having some super cranky moments, but like the previous ones, we are surviving this one!  The days of just sporting a diaper around the house are pretty much over as our little guy has figured out how to take it off himself and streak around the house!  While it's a cute sight to see this little bottom walking around the house, it's also way dangerous!  To preserve our furniture and floors, the kiddo must be diapered and clothed at all times!
     He's finally started to say "Ma-ma" and not have a meltdown at the same time.  Of course "Da-da" is still his favorite word and this kid could not be any more of a Daddy's boy!  I know he loves his Mommy, but his Daddy is his best friend that he lights up to see and laughs so much more when he is around.  The other day this week I asked Caden if he wanted his "Da-da" to come home and he replied "Ya".  So sweet!
    This little guy is our world and blesses our lives infinitely with each new day!  He loves playing with balls, playing hide and seek with the pillows on our bed, and going outside.  Can't believe next month will be your first birthday!  While I'm a little sad to see it come, I also can't wait to celebrate our sweet Caden!!

These monthly pictures are nearly impossible! 
I'll be in honest in that I'm glad there's only 1 more month of these.

Walking free around the house after ripping his diaper off

Best $3 spent!  We love throwing and kicking the ball!

Teething torture!

Who would have known that hours later you'd be in tears and super fussy
because of your new tooth that is coming in?!

Just chilling in his crib and playing with the monitor

"But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble."  Psalm 59:16

Pumpkin Patch Fun!

     This past Saturday was another first for our sweet Caden, his first trip to a pumpkin patch!  With a mid November birthday, this little guy just barely missed Halloween and visiting pumpkin patches.  What a difference a year makes!  From inside my tummy to walking all over everywhere, this kid is growing up fast!
Caden loved the pumpkin patch!  We went with my cousin who has a son about 5 months older than Caden and her family, so it was a blast!  We visited a place not too far from our house called Halter Inc.  The rest of the year this place operates as somewhere children can come enjoy the benefits of therapeutic horses and other farm animals, but this time of year they also have a pumpkin patch with tons of fun activities for kiddos!  There's a petting zoo, pony rides, etc. for super cheap!  Kids under 2 are free (Sweet!) as well as adults (Sweetness again!) and the kids over 2 are $5 each.
     Caden liked getting to explore and touch all the pumpkins, and one of his favorite things was sitting on a tractor (future farmer?, Perhaps, I mean this child looks absolutely adorable in his overalls!)  He fed some goats, pigs, and a llama.  He even stole some of their food for himself (sad to admit he actually did this twice!).  At our neighborhood's National Night Out they had a couple of police officers with horses there, and Caden was a little scared of these large animals (in his defense there is a substantial size difference), so I wasn't sure how the pony ride would go, but he did GREAT!  He loved sitting in the saddle and didn't cry once.
     Such a neat place to visit!  A few little showers didn't stop us from having a wonderful time!!

Our little pumpkin with one BIG pumpkin

Caden loved getting to touch all the pumpkins

Sweet cousins and friends

Such a Casey face who does not want to take another picture

Me and My little guy!

To say he LOVED the tractor is an understatement

Daddy with his Mini-me!

Loves being in the driver's seat!

Feeding the goat!  Apparently their food looked appetizing
to Caden because he took a few samples for himself.

Our first pony ride!

Taking the pony on a walk thru an obstacle course with cousin Cheryl!

Fascinated with this pumpkin

My sweet baby looking so grown up!

Picking out his own pumpkin with his Daddy

Caden and Spencer with their pumpkins!

The result of too much fun at the pumpkin patch!

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."  Psalm 73:26

10 Months!

     That's right this little guy is in the double digits now!  So hard to believe how fast it has gone by!  In my typical fashion, I'm posting this when the next month is already halfway over.  What a month it has been for this kiddo!  He went from taking his first couple of steps to his Daddy to now walking on his own all over the place!  This Momma was not expecting him to walk so soon, but I guess I really shouldn't be too surprised.  I could see in his face that his motivation in crawling was to get from one place to another so he could pull himself up to a standing position, so why wouldn't this kid want to get from one place to another faster standing upright?!  He stills crawls quite a bit, so we're not walking 100% of the time, but it amazing to see how much progress this kid makes each week. (This was the case a couple weeks ago, but now our little guy walks at lightning speed sometimes and there's a lot less crawling.  Crazy how fast that changes!)
     You are up to 5 teeth now, so we are making some head way in filling up the mouth.  I finally have gotten you to eat 3 times a day (most days), and you are eating table food like a champ!  Yogurt and fruit are probably your favorites, but you're still not too picky! (Hopefully this continues, but I am realistic to know it will end at some point)
     "Da-da" is your favorite thing to say/babble and you pretty much do it all day long.  I try to get you to say "Ma-ma", but you just  say "Da-da" in response.  Such a little stinker! Right now the only time you will say "Ma-ma" is if you're having a melt down or crying, but we'll get there one day where you'll say and be in a happy mood!  You've learned what the word "No" means and you are not a fan of it at all!  At first you would just pause what you were doing and then proceed to do what you weren't supposed to be doing, but recently you've actually started to stop the taboo action and not get into any trouble. Most of the time, you keep on doing what you want, and then get upset because you got in trouble.  Life is so hard sometimes!
     You are still an early riser usually waking up at 6, and then there's some days when you decide the 5 o'clock hour is a great time to start the day (I greatly disagree with this, but that does not seem to bother you at all).  Thankfully, you still will give me a couple naps each day, sometimes 3 if you're really worn out.

Sitting still for pictures is pretty much
next to impossible for this guy!

Caden loves to pull out the cabinet with all the plastic
tupperware and containers.  He enjoys it, gives him something to do
so I can do dishes or cook dinner, so we plan to not put
locks on this cabinet and have renamed it "Caden's cabinet"

My little cleaning partner.  I look forward to the day he can
actually help clean up his messes!

     Caden, you seriously are a little cutie and watching you grow up into this little boy is amazing to see!  I love getting to stay home with you and be able to make so many memories together!  So glad God gave you to us!!

"Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise.  Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."  Proverbs 19: 20-21