Monday, February 23, 2015

Valentine's Day 2015

   This lovely day of love was busy for the Hixon house, but I'd say we all enjoyed it thoroughly!  It started off with this Momma getting to sleep in, which is always a welcomed treat.  Then my sweet baby boy walked into the bedroom to give me a single rose.  Melt my heart!  Caden and Casey went on from there to cook us pancakes for breakfast.  Yummy!!!  Everyone got some Valentine goodies that put smiles on their faces.
   I had to leave my boys for a few hours around lunch to help throw one of my very bestest friends a baby shower.  I'm so glad she was able to come down from Dallas so we could shower her and her little boy before he makes his arrival in March!  It's going to be amazing to see both of us being the mother little boys and I can't wait to see them playing together.  Excited to meet you Forrest!
   After the baby shower was completed, I swung by Double Dave's Pizza to get some pizza and pepperoni rolls for our dinner.  I had told Casey awhile back that I did not want to go out to any restuarant the entire weekend.  Last year when Valentine's was on a Friday, we went out the day after and still waited a couple of hours, so I did not want to repeat that again.  Since calories don't count on Valentine's (humor me), we indulged in some Double Dave's and then once Caden was in bed, enjoyed some s'mores on our fire pit in the backyard.
   It was a busy, but low key day. It was perfect.  Love my boys and each day I feel blessed to have them in my life.  Here's to making each day filled with love!!!

Caden helping Daddy cook breakfast

So happy to help in all the action!

Valentine presents for all!

One of my handsome Valentines hard at work
 
My beautiful BFF Laura

Best friends from birth

My little Valentine showing off his
muscles to all the ladies!

"Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

First Weekend Away

   So in mid-January marked Casey and I's first full weekend away from our kiddo!  Caden had done just one night away at his grandparent's house several times before, but at almost 13 months old we had never done 2 nights in a row!  This Momma ain't going to deny she needed the break.  With multiple episodes of illness and Caden starting a habit of waking up during the night again, I was needing some R&R to recharge. 
   I may have shown too much excitement in Caden's presence because the week of this much anticipated getaway he gets sick AGAIN (December dealt him an upper respiratory infection and ear infection, New Year's was a bacterial infection).  Took him to the doctor just to make sure that it was only a cold and nothing worse to give us parents peace of mind to go out of town still.  Thankfully it was just that, and he was at the worst of it, so come Friday when we would be leaving he would most likely be on the upswing.
   Friday I'm hoping I can get Caden to take 2 naps for me because he had been napping pretty well that week, but of course the day I need to get a bunch of stuff done that I can't do with him awake, he sleeps like 30 minutes in the morning and maybe an hour in the afternoon.  Of all days, my child decides to start the attachment phase.  Seriously, this couldn't wait until Monday to start?!  I'm convinced my child knew his parents were going somewhere without him and that we were looking forward to going without him, so he made sure he made his Mommy feel guilty!  I could hardly put the boy down and forget leaving the room without him without massive crying and tears!
   So I'm thinking once we get over to the grandparent's house that he goes over to once a week he'll be fine.  He loves going over to spend time with his grandparents one afternoon every week and they have a dog who is an angel to Caden!  Plus, he even had the bonus of seeing his Uncle Joel who came into town for the weekend!  But the tears and clinginess continued, so I left their house listening to my baby cry his eyes out.  This was not how this was suppose to go in my head, far from it!  Like any mother who hates to leave their crying baby (much less one that is not feeling well), I cried on the way home in the car.  That kid is good, he got to me.  Thankfully, Caden's crying (and mine too) were short lived.  My mother in-law sent me a picture of him later happy as can be playing with their dog.  What a stinker.
   Our marriage retreat was beyond wonderful, we had a great time together learning about the 4 seasons of marriage and what we need to do to keep our marriage enriched and thriving.  The speaker we had was the new Marriage & Family minister our church has hired, and after hearing him speak I'm excited to see what great things God is going to use him to do for our church.  It was great to get to spend so much quality time with Casey, just chatting about whatever.  We had gone last year to the marriage retreat as well, but we also brought 2 month old Caden with us, so this was our first year kid free and what a difference that was.  We stopped at a Mexican restaurant in Waller on the way up and at another table another baby was crying.  Before kids, I probably would have started to get annoyed after a minute of it, but now I just tuned it right out.  I knew it wasn't my child screaming, so I just continued happily eating my meal with 2 hands and enjoyed not having to be in that parent's shoes.
   My lovely mother in-law sent me pictures the whole weekend of my sweet boy (who I did miss terribly).  He had so much fun with his grandparents and Uncle Joel, which did my heart good to see.   Caden even took a nap during church, which he NEVER does for me, but I'm glad he does for his Grandma. Spending a weekend learning how to make our marriages even better, made me even more grateful for the amazing, godly man the good Lord placed in my life.  Thanks for asking me to be your wife Casey, best decision ever!!!
 

And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exits and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."  Hebrews 11:6

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Christmas 2014

Well it's only almost 2 months since Christmas, so that's not to terrible to finally blog about it right?  Even if it is, here I go!  We didn't go out of town thankfully!  After dealing with a sick baby over Thanksgiving and getting over an upper respiratory infections in our house, I was glad to be staying put.  We did travel a bit between our two families and had the traditional Christmas meal 3 times over 2 days, but it was absolutely wonderful!
     Caden was so much more involved this year!  He didn't fully unwrap a lot of his presents (got tired of having to work at it so hard and sitting still), but he loved ripping off the bows (including gifts that weren't his own!)  Since this little guy has a November birthday and got an insane amount of toys from his party, Casey and I opted to get him no toys and buy him practical things he needed.  No lie, the kid had a toothbrush holder in his stocking.  Our rationale was that at this age he just likes to unwrap the gifts/play with the boxes and this is probably the only year we can get away with getting him things like a mat for his bathtub and clothes.  Plus, we knew his aunts/uncles and grandparents would get him some fun toys.   Santa agreed Caden had been good this year and brought him a power tool set, so the little guy had something fun to unwrap on Christmas morning at home.
     By the end of Christmas Day, our family of three was happy and full.  Here are a few pictures to highlight the holiday season:
2013
 
2014 (can barely fit in there,
wow what a difference a year makes!)

Wish it wasn't blurry, but loving his bean bag chair from
Grandma & Grandpa!
 
Stockings full of goodies for all!

Caden getting some help from his Daddy on
Christmas morning

Helping his Pawpaw load the Nerf gun

Hixon Family Christmas Photo 2014


Caden giving the dog a treat through the doggie door at
my parent's house
 
"May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and once voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."  Romans 15:5-6

Pictures with Santa


I'm such a bad blogger!!  The business of the holidays plus Caden being sick has not allowed me much time to blog.  Since its February and Christmas holidays seem like a distant memory, allow me and my bad blogging habits to take you back in time.  Despite myself not feeling 100% some of this time, our holidays were great!  It was great to compare this Christmas season and last with Caden.  In 2013, he was barely a month old and this year he's walking all over the place.  Meeting the big guy in the red suit was also a different experience compared to last year.
     Seeing Santa in 2013 was a total breeze!  Caden slept the entire time and it was easy to get a picture.  This past Christmas went pretty well, but not quite as easy.  With Caden's mobility comes the dislike of sitting still even if you've got a white beard and a red suit.  Combine that with a dirty diaper on top of needing a nap, results in no smiles for pictures and wanting to get down on the ground to roam where he wanted.  The lovely photographer was able to get some good shots though, so that made this Mommy happy.  I couldn't get the photographers pictures to upload on blogger, so these shots are ones I took with my phone.
Dec. 2014 (1 yr. old)


Dec. 2013 (Caden is 3 weeks old)

"So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.  For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh..."  Galatians 5:16-17