First Haircut

   In addition to getting a Christmas tree, we also took Caden to get his first haircut a week and a half ago! The owner of Casey's barbershop who cut Casey's hair back when he was a boy offered to give Caden his first haircut for free, which was super nice!    I debated for a long time when the was the right time to do this.  Parts of Caden's hair needed it and other parts were fine.  Finally, the front part just got too much for me, so to the barber we went.  Per the barber, Caden did pretty well.  He had to sit in his Daddy's lap, which we expected.  The barber gave him a sucker, which gave a few seconds of entertainment/distraction and slightly blue lips.  Back of his head went well, he was just curious at what was going on back there.  Front of the head was another story.  Little guy did not like being forced to sit still, so that's when the fussing started.  Thankfully, when you don't have much hair, the cuts don't take long either!  Wow, how clipping off some hairs makes a child look so much more grown up!  My baby boy looks like this little person (sniff, sniff).
   Once the final product was complete, I realized how badly this kid needed a trim.  No craziness in the front or back and no hair over the ears anymore.  The barber was sweet enough to give Caden a certificate too (of course saved a few hairs for the baby book as well! 

BEFORE shot,
Crazy hair of various lengths

Sweet Mr. Larry cutting Caden's hair

 

And he's off!  His hair looks so much better!

Another after shot!  Love this boy!

 

"Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men."

1 Corinthians 1:25

Christmas Tree 2014

   Better late than never on this post! Between Caden and I being sick and the craziness of this holiday season, there has not been time to write.  Almost 2 weekends ago, we got our Christmas tree.  Our family tradition is to have a real tree (I love the smell, nothing like it!) and we go to a tree farm to chop it down.  Before we went, Casey and I discussed how big of a tree we were going to get and where it would go in our house.  We both agreed that our child would not be able to handle the temptation of a tree (fully decorated or not) or presents out in the open, and rather than have to endure constant policing and chastising when a wrong is done, we opted to put it out of direct contact of little hands.   So that way everyone could still enjoy it, it made more sense to do a smaller tree that could go on top off an end table this year.
   What a difference experience this was last year.  Caden was a couple weeks old last year and Casey and I would take turns staying with him in his car seat while the other went in search for the "perfect" tree.  This year, Caden was mobile and loved exploring the farm!  He particularly enjoyed playing with broken tree branches or the yard stick given to measure the tree.  With a little one, time is of the essence, so after just a few minutes of searching we found our tree for 2014!



Dec.2013



Dec. 2014



Taking his role of "helper" seriously

  

Finished product!

 

 

 

"He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light."  John 1:8

 

 

Thanksgiving 2014

   This Thanksgiving took us out of town to visit Casey's side of the family.  We traveled to Marble Falls on Wednesday to stay with Casey's grandfather.  On Thursday we drove to Kerrville to spend Thanksgiving with his aunts, uncles, and cousins and then back to Marble Falls.  On Friday, we drove back to Houston.  While the food and family time were wonderful, the not so wonderful was having a sick baby through it all.  Of course, this would happen when we are out of town and when the pediatricians office was closed.  Caden had been experiencing a runny nose for a couple days, but nothing too terrible so we attributed it to allergies since so many others were having the sniffles too. 
   When we arrived to Marble Falls,  Casey noticed that he felt warm and you could tell that his overall demeanor was that of one who did not feel well.  Our poor baby's temp got us to 104.5 that night (scary!)  We did Tylenol, wet cloths on his back, cool baths, and as much liquids as he would drink.  Lots of prayers too!  So thankful for having a 24 hr. nurse line through our pediatrician to answer our questions and give us suggestions on how to help our little guy!  Sleep was of course rough (which I knew wouldn't be great since we were out of town, but being sick added a whole nother element)  By morning he seemed better both on the fever and attitude, so since he only had a cold we decided to still travel to Kerrville to have Thanksgiving.  It went pretty well for having a child that didn't feel well.  Let's just say that the sweet family portrait I was hoping to get didn't happen.  With a rough nights sleep for all 3 of us combined with a sick kiddo, that was not something I wanted to remember with a picture down the road.
   Thanksgiving evening brought back his fever even with giving him Tylenol every 4 hours, but it only went to 103.5 that night, so at least we seemed to be heading in the right direction.  Friday we headed back home.  We hated to leave our happy place, but were anxious to get our baby back to his home and in his own bed.  Caden's fever seemed to be gone and he seemed to be feeling better though he was still congested.  Colds are no fun, but I think they're way worse for babies since the only medicine you can really give them is Tylenol.  Little pooper is a fighter and beat this cold after a few days.  Our Thanksgiving was not what we had planned, but we are still very blessed!
   While there are many things our family is thankful for, we are very thankful for God healing our sweet child.  Hope your Thanksgiving made you reflect on the abundant blessings in your life!

Yes my child is wearing no pants or shoes in Home Depot. 
Don't judge.  After fussing in my arms, I was willing to try
anything to get him to stop crying.

Poor baby felt awful Wednesday night. 
He just laid on me still, which is not like him.

Enjoying Thanksgiving lunch.

My tiny waisted boy can't keep his pants up!

Family Fun outside!

One of my favorite pictures
with my sweet Caden! 
Watching the Aggies play LSU!



"Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." Psalm 100:4 



THE BIG ONE!

   The past couple weeks have been busy, which has left little time for blogging.  On the plus, I have several ideas for posts, just need to make time to write them out.  So, our adorable blessing turned the big ONE on November 18th!  What a year it's been!  To see how his personality has developed in these 365 days is incredible!  This child is one that is always active and on the go!  He loves to climb anything, throw/kick balls, play with anything with wheels, and "reading" books (more of flipping through the pages quickly, but we are thrilled he is finally showing interest!).  His Daddy is still his favorite person, and he's a carbon copy of him in the looks department.
   We had Caden's birthday party with a few family and friends the weekend before his birthday (and before his 12 month appt at the pediatrician) and boy did this little guy make out like a bandit!  He got so many toys that he won't be getting hardly any at Christmas (downfall of having a birthday almost a month before Xmas).  It was so special to have so many people over at our house who love Caden so much!  We did a cars and trucks themed birthday party because this kid is obsessed with anything that has wheels (I feel this kid has it in his genes from both sides!)  We served BBQ to our guests and of course cake and ice cream!  Based on the tiny samples of sweets Caden has eaten and how he usually feeds himself, I knew he would be pretty excited about the cake.  Those that know Casey know that his favorite kind of cake is yellow cake with chocolate frosting, so I thought the perfect choice for his mini-me would be the same.  Like father, like son he LOVED his cake!  Our son was so sweet to feed both of his parents some cake too.
  His actual bday was a very chilly day.  Casey took the day off and we were able to spend the whole day together as a family, which was nice and I hope its a tradition we can continue until he starts school. We planned a trip to the zoo, but with the weather we opted to take Caden to the children's museum and then to a hibachi place for lunch.  My child loves fire (which makes this Momma nervous) so I figured he would really enjoy watching the chefs cook in front of him, and he did!  Overall it was a successful day that ended with some more cake!
  Thoughtful mom that I am scheduled his doctor appt for the day after his birthday.  Little guy got 4 shots and bloodwork, so that no is fun to do on your actual birthday!  Poor kiddo was pretty angry by the end of his appt!  Praise the Lord, everything went great!  Pediatrician said we were doing everything perfectly! (sweet music to my ears!!!) Here are Caden's stats:
Weight: 20 lbs, 9.6 oz. (38%) compared to 7 lbs. 7.5 oz. at birth
Height: 30 in. (57%)  compared to 20.25 inches at birth
Head Circumference: 18.54 in. (79%)

It's crazy to see how much he has grown into this little person in one year, that I'm excited to see what this next year holds!  Caden John we love you to pieces and are so glad God gave you to us!  More pictures to come, but here are a few to get started!

Love this kid!

The birthday boy!

Fascinated with fire! Oh my!

I'm honestly kinda thankful this is the last of
the monthly stickers.  Getting a good picture is so difficult!

Everyone needs to eat cake on their actual birthday too!

So mad that I let the nurse give him 4 shots
and then poke him again for blood work!



"I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." Psalm 9:1