John, Christel, Kaden, Avery and Baby Girl on the way



Friday, November 13, 2009

Kaden turns 6 Months!

Kaden turned 6 months old today! He is getting so big. I was looking threw some old pictures and couldn't believe how small he was and how his facial features have changed! We don't go to the doctor until the 24th..my guess is that he weighs 18.5lbs and is 28 inches long...so we will see!Kaden is very active and alert. He is interacting with people. He likes to be a show off when we go out, he will smile and laugh at strangers. It is really funny, he gets really excited. He smiles a lot and it is easy to get him to smile. He laughs out loud now. He doesn't do it a lot but is starting to do it more. Kaden likes to play on his back and is tummy for short periods of time. He prefers to sit up or stand up. He has rolled over only a few times, but rolls on his side all of the time. He can turn himself all the way around in a circle on his back and on his tummy. If you go to pick him up while on his back and put your hand out and ask him if he wants up he will pull his hands up towards you and gets really excited...i love it! He also can lift himself up from laying down with helping only one hand.Kaden has found his toes. He likes to grab them and play with them. He hasn't got them to his mouth yet, but I am sure that is coming soon. He does a good job picking things up, although he will shortly drop them. He can get things into his mouth. It is easier for him to put soft items in his mouth over harder items. He has a strong grip and loves to always have something in his hands. It is usually a burp cloth!Kaden is exploring vegetables in his diet. He eats cereal and formula. I am barely hanging on to nursing. He only nurses 1 or 2 times a day for like 5 minutes. My original goal was 3 months and then once I got there I had a new goal of 6 months! So now it is just a mental thing to stop. Kaden has only had 3 vegetables so far...squash, peas and sweet potatoes. He didn't like the squash or peas, but LOVES the sweet potatoes! The next vegetable we are going to try is green beans. Kaden does a really great job eating off a spoon. He even opens his mouth now ready for me to put it in. It is really funny if I wait a second because he will open his mouth really wide and try to find the spoon, it is really cute! He is also doing a good job of drinking water from a sippy cup. He seems to really like it!
Kaden has been sleeping a little better in the night. He will sometimes wake up a couple hours after he goes to bed and then usually again at 4am. He wakes up for a bottle at 5am then goes back to sleep until 7:30am or so. He usually gets a pretty good nap in the morning and then some smaller naps in the afternoon. He is ready to go to bed between 7:30-8pm. His favorite position is sleeping on his side. I think he sometimes wakes himself up when he rolls on to his back and that is why he cries or wakes up from a nap. He still likes to be held to fall asleep, he likes to barry his head in your arm.Kaden likes to play in his car bouncer. He likes to swing. He LOVES being outside! His favorite toy right now is a Winnie the Pooh cloth book. It makes a crinkling noise which he loves and he likes to chew on it. He likes anything with noise. He can recognize voices and if he doesn't see one of us he will look around the room to find us. He will turn his head in the direction the noise is coming from and looking what it is.Kaden is pretty much wearing 12 month clothes these days. He has some 6-9 months things that fit, but the 12 month look much more comfortable. He is still in size 3 diapers, but I am sure that will change soon especially since I just bought a jumbo box of them!I am pretty sure Kaden is teething and I know I have said that for a while now, but I can't explain it any other way. Particulary his sleeping habits, but also the fact he is drueling like crazy, gnaws on his finger constantly, gets slight fevers and his gums are swollen and I think I feel something but I am not sure. It is hard to see because his tongue is always in the way.
We put Kaden's knees under him and he will just stay still.
He is starting to try to move his hands a little bit...but after a few seconds...he ends up like this...To sum it up....he is the best little guy ever!

Reflection

I can not believe it has been 6 months since Kaden was born! I remember just a year ago we had told our friends and family we were expecting. It all seems still so new and yet so long ago. It has been an amazing experience to see Kaden grow, develop and become his own person. I know it is corny, but life is a true miracle.

I am so glad to be now playing the role of mom. I can't believe how fast it all goes. People always say, "they grow up so fast," but you can't comprehend what they mean until you go through it. Now I just try to enjoy every moment to fullest even when he is freaking out and I don't know why because I will blink and he is in a different stage. I look forward to creating memories and experiences with Kaden.

I can't believe how much life completely changes after having a baby. Things just don't matter the same anymore...it is all about them (but in a very good way!). I want to do the best for him and give him all I can and make the best decisions for him. I love how he makes everything worth it. I come home and there he is, I wake up (or he wakes me up) and he is there..it is such a special feeling.

Kaden has helped me to relax a little. It doesn't matter that there are dishes to be put away or that there is dust on the coffee table because there are more important things to do like...play with Kaden! And for anybody who knows me that is a big deal! Of course I still make sure I get to those things, but they are definetly not the priority everyday! I look forward to Kaden continueing to cure me of my OCD!! :)

I have to give a big thank you to John. Life wouldn't be this awesome with Kaden without him (well...duh!) John is an extraordinary dad and husband. He is great with Kaden. He definetly can be a Mr. Mom! He is always there when I need it the most and will just take care of things. He always knows what I am thinking. I truely appreciate him and all he does for us.

I am excited for the next 6 months and all it brings!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Vegetables...yuk!

Kaden had his first vegetables yesterday. He had squash.And he is not a fan!
He was good..he gave it a good 5-6 bites and then decided it just wasn't going to work and would just spit it out. John tried again today and same thing. Guess we will have to try a new vegetable! He did makes some pretty funny faces!
These are just a couple random pictures to show how big he is!This outfit is a little big...but come on...it is 12months! We have basically moved to all 12 months. There are some 6-9 month onesies that work, but for the most part we moved on!

Monday, November 2, 2009

A Treat for Kaden!

Kaden got his first taste of teething biscuits today. I figured his gums have been bothering him so much and he likes to knaw on real bread, so why not! The timing was right because he had a very rough day today...lots of sad crying!He LOVED it! He went to town on it!

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Kaden 1st Halloween!

Kaden was a FOOTBALL for halloween! (I know poor kid...can we shuff anymore football down his throat?!)
He was absolutely adorable. I was suprised how he didn't mind his costume. I thought he would hate it!Where did my feet go?ASU Football Fans!He did get a little fussy after a while, but once we took the head piece off he was much better!
Kaden's first Trick or Treat!
He went for the peanut M&M's..he is our son!
Going to get more candy! Kaden not sure what the heck is going on!Much better!
We went Trick or Treating at my brother and sister in laws. Here is Kaden and his only cousins Jenna and Cora.The big group!
After trick or treating in the neighborhood, we went to their block party. Kaden needed to take a little cat nap on the way over. He did really great. At the block party he was into the halloween lights...he just stared! He stayed up until 9:30pm and then crashed on the car ride home. It was a fun night!

Happy Birthday John!!

October 29th was John's Birthday! We celebrated by going to Olive Garden (I know, weird pick for John!) with Kaden and my sister Suzy! We came back to our house for presents and cupcakes!Kaden really wanted a cupcake and he tried hard to get one and got some chocolate on his fingers. Present time...what is it?A razor scooter!!!! John has really wanted one. He walks about 10 minutes to work in the morning because he refuses to pay $1000 to park at work, so he parks down the street. Now, he can get there sooner!Kaden was very excited for the packaging (since I order it online)!Kaden was going nuts in the paper!Birthday Photo!Of course we had to go outside and try it out right away. You would of thought John was a little kid on Christmas morning! He loves it!Everybody had to have a turn! I will admit, it was really fun! I was suprised how fast and smooth it was. I thought it would be more work!Go Suzy Go

Winter is here...well maybe!

The weather has finally started to cool off. Kaden didn't have any warm clothes, so I decided he needed some new clothes. We went shopping and guess what size we needed to buy....12 MONTHS!! Yah, that is right, he has pretty much grown out of his 6-9 month clothes! This cute outfit is from his Aunt Suzy!

What a cutie! It actually got really cold this week...the high was in the 60's (I know, some of you are laughing!). It got so cold in the house at night we had to turn on the heater for Kaden. He woke up crying and his hands were freezing, of course I took him to our bed and warmed him, poor guy! But I guess winter was not here to stay since we were in the 80's this weekend!