Winter Days At The Park

Well, the winter temperatures are sure here but that won't stop us from doing what we love-playing outdoors!

We decided to take Caden to the park for the very first time and thankfully the weather stayed beautiful-cold, but beautiful! These are my favorite kind of winter days-bright sun, crystal clear blue sky, and a little crisp. We thought we'd try out the swing to see how Caden liked it and...hooray! He loved it! He also loved the slide, although it took him a few rides to show his excitement!

We can't wait to go back!

All bundled up and ready to go! Even showing his two bottom teeth!

First time on a swing...he loves it!

First time on the slide...a little unsure, but he seemed to like it, too!

It's Been A Looonnnggg Time!

Wow! I can't believe how fast time flies! Caden is already 8 months and I have missed two months worth of postings! Truth be told...I had taken a ton of picture on my phone and every time I went to upload them, I couldn't figure it out so I just set it down for another day and look what happened! So, here is the scoop on our little monkey!

What is Caden doing? Well, what isn't he doing! He is so much fun! This new phase is our favorite so far! Caden is super active, very animated and loves to chit chat with us. I even think he likes to sing with me! As I have been dancing around the house singing Christmas songs (my favorite!), he likes to chime in with long drawn out notes! It is so cute! He is sitting all on his own and able to reach for toys and then sit himself back up. He is very musical! He started out with the drums (a pot and wooden spoon) and has now advanced to playing the tambourine! He even hits it on his leg as he shakes it! So talented! He rolls all over the joint! We have to watch him carefully because one minute he is in the middle of the family room and the next he is under the coffee table! Still not crawling, but I think it is because he loves to roll so much! The minute we set him on his tummy, he starts rolling around! He has started lifting his hiney and reaching for things on his tummy, but not scooting yet. He loves to eat! We decided to start off with just veggies since him mommy doesn't love veggies much! He seems to love everything we give him, even cauliflower! I have been experimenting with making food. It is so easy and I LOVE that I know exactly what is going into his mouth! We really haven't had many sour faces with new veggies...he just eats it up! We did try pureed turkey on thanksgiving...not a fan. Today we tried pureed chicken breast with avocado. He seemed to love it! Tomorrow we'll try pureed chicken with carrots! He loves carrots! He reaches and grabs for everything, especially if he really wants something. He can even bend in half in your arms to reach for something good. He loves to go shopping. Sitting in the grocery cart is one his favorite things to do. He is the biggest flirt! All the ladies stop to talk to him and he gives them the sweetest grin! Oh, and he has two teeth to show off, too! I think our favorite things right now is how happy Caden is. He is constantly smiling. He smiles when we walk in to his room to get him up, he smiles when we walk into the room after a long day of work or just being gone for a few mintes, he gets excited and starts to wiggle when he thinks something good is coming...he is always smiling and we love it! He just seems to love life and all that it has to offer so far. We love him so much!

He is getting so big. At his 6 month apt, he was 19.5 lbs and about 26 in long. I'm sure he is much bigger now! He is flying through 9 month clothing and I can't believe that I have started to entertain the idea of pulling out some of his 12 month clothes! Where has this year gone?

We are trying to soak up all of the joy that Caden brings to our lives. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving, surrounded by family. We are really looking forward to Christmas. We decorated the tree and house last weekend and Caden loves all of the lights and ornaments. We have been reading a lot of Christmas books each day getting him nice and ready for the big day! I even broke out the cute penguin Christmas shirt grandma Bobbie bought for him, today!

Okay! I will try to be better about posting more frequently! I just need to learn how to upload the hundreds of pictures from my phone!

Happy Holidays!

Here are some pics from the last couple of months!

Happy Halloween!

Our sweet duckling

Halloween in my classroom

Green Beans

Yummy carrots!

I love Daddy!

Getting ready to go for a jog with mommy

He loves to go for rides in his stroller-cozy warm

Loves to give kisses

Playing with aunt Danielle, Brady and Alex

Thanksgiving morning

"Got cha!"

First taste of meat-Thanksgiving turkey!

"Well, we tried!"

Playing with his best buddy Sophie

Decorating for Christmas

Just a boy and his tambourine

Good times, Great Friends

Last Saturday we went to visit our Friends Justin, Stacey and Asher at their new house in Maple Valley.  It's been to long since we've seen them but it's great to get together.  Their new house is so nice! 

Asher and Caden are buddies!  Asher is 10 months old and Caden is 7 months.  It's pretty fun to watch them interact at these early ages.

 Caden LOVED Ashers toys!

 Asher however appears less-than-impressed by Caden's affection

These little guys are so much fun!

Off To The Pumpkin Patch!

Wow! It is already October and we have not posted for a looonngg time! So sorry about that! Caden has changed so much and is doing all kinds of new and exciting things...that post will come in a few days when he turns 7 months!

In the mean time, we are loving the fall. The weather has been pretty good-especially these last few days. This weekend was gorgeous! We thought it would be a perfect time to head off to the pumpkin patch. We met up with David's cousin, Jana and her husband Eric, along with  their adorable children Noah and Liam for some pumpkin fun.

We are new to this experience, so we just kind of went with it and had a blast! We saw a lot of farm animals, pumpkins, horses pulling a wagon, and even tried a corn maze...until we cheated and snuck out because it was way past Caden's nap time and he was letting us know it!

We are really looking forward to the holidays. We are going to dress up Caden for Halloween and bring him to my class party. We are debating between a duck or a dalmatian...we shall see!!

Happy Fall, Everyone!

"Mom, all the other kids were jumping in this hay pile. Why am I just laying here?"

"Ohhhhhhhhh. Haaaaaaaay"

"...good texture..."

"Okay, I'll be honest.  I thought this was going to taste a lot better!"

"I want this one... and this one!"

"Oh wait, never mind, I just want my toes"

"Hey Dad, I'm sitting on a pumkin and I'm falling.  Little help here"

 Just a boy and his Pumkin.  (Liam is winning)

"This grass is still green..."

"...maybe it will taste better"

"I love Mommy!"