Caden's 1st Birthday Party

I'm back!  Things have been busy and stressful for me lately so I've been away from blogging.  I have so much to catch up on though so here we go...

Caden turned one on July 22, 2011.  We had a party for him at Cody's parents house that weekend.  It was a Dr. Seuss theme and we ate hamburgers for lunch and some people went swimming.  Caden is a much loved boy because he had quite a crowd (almost 50 of us, plus 6 other babies).  Of course we were running late to show up at the house and start getting things ready because in true Lacy form, we forgot the hamburger meat at our house and had to turn around and go get it.  We showed up right on time and Cody and I were running around trying to get the burgers made (which is more challenging in a crowd), then I was so busy trying to talk to everyone that I never even really took pictures and the few I did take came out awful.  So I apologize for my poor pictures.  Thankfully my SIL, Tamie, got some really good ones and is going to send me a CD of them later.

Diana, Kim and Sarah all drove in from 3 or 4 hours away.  They seriously love Caden so much!  Diana will even 'talk' to Caden on the phone on a regular basis... Cody just shakes his head.  I have the best friends!

Melanie, Dusty and my grandpa



Caden's 1st "Cindy cake".  Cody's mom makes the best cakes (taste and looks).  Not only are they amazing, but I love that someone in the family does it for us.  She even made our wedding cakes.

Sarah, Bryan and Caroline

Gigi (my mom) and my grandma







So maybe he wasn't happy the whole time...



Caden's new rocking bull from Gigi and Pop

Cody and Jason... boys will be boys

Kache and Caden

I had everyone write a short note for Caden in this book. 



The last gift Caden opened was from me and Cody and was matching 'Thing 1 and Thing 2' shirts for Caden and his new little brother/sister that will be here around March 13.  No one at the party knew we were expecting (except Kim who only knew because she came to visit the weekend before and could kind of tell) so it was really our way of telling everyone at the same time.

Cody and I really hate this kind of attention so neither of us really like telling others we are pregnant because people tend to make a big deal about it.  Does that make us weird?  We usually just approach it was a casual comment snuck in the conversation somewhere.  For example, when we were pregnant with Caden, I walked in my parents house and my dad was sitting there drinking whiskey and coke.  He rarely drinks so when I was teasing him about it, I asked if it was good time to tell him I was pregnant. 

Anyway, we wanted to tell everyone at once (learned that the hard way with Caden) so this was the best way to do it.  The problem was that when we held up the shirts and said "to match his new little brother or sister" we didn't exactly act excited so most people sat there in silence wondering why no one is saying anything.  Once Cindy asked if that's what we were telling them, then everyone started yelling/clapping.  Since Kim was the only one who knew, I had her run the video camera of all this.  It was funny to watch us flash the shirts real quick, sit in awkward silence, hear  Cindy's confirmation, hear all the screaming, and then my dad who was sitting next to Kim, looks straight into the camera and says "wait, what?!?!" 

Anyway, it was a great day.  Cody, Caden and I have been blessed with amazing family and great friends.  (More on pregnancy later)

Caden 12 months

Weight: 23lbs 12 oz (50-75%)

Length: 30 inches (50-75%)

Head Circumference: 18.5 inches (75%)

My big boy!  Dr. Yap actually started laughing so hard when he picked you up to test your reflexes at your 12 mo checkup because he was surprised at how heavy you were.  His actual words were, "oh my gosh mama, you're carrying around a tank!  This boy is solid!"

You LOVE attention, and will go to anybody.  You do get a little weirded out in crowds and unfamiliar areas though. 

You're a little chatterbox but still only say a few recognizable words (dada, Bailey, thank you and you have said Mama ONCE.  You sign milk, more, and all done...although sometimes I think you get them a little mixed up.  We're still working on teaching you the signs for "No" and "Stop", but you usually end up laughing at us when we try. 

You still LOVE to eat almost anything.  Ms. Bettye at daycare told me that 2 days after you started crawling you figured out that if you sit below the high chairs that other kids were in, they would occasionally drop food.  I wasn't even surprised :)

You enjoy digging though Pop's pocket.  He taught you how to use a pen by writing on your hand (thanks, dad). 

You LOVE and I mean LOVE music and when you hear it you grin from ear to ear and dance like crazy.

You pull up on anything/everything, cruise along furniture, scatter our pots and pans all over the house, walk if holding on to something/someone with one hand and can stand independently for about 2-3 seconds.  So far you have only taken one step without holding on.  You want so badly to walk without holding on but can't seem to get the confidence.

You enjoy swimming in Nonny and Poppy's pool.  You kick those little legs like crazy and love the water.

You have definitely learned how to throw a temper tantrum.  The good thing is that it doesn't happen too often yet. 

We love you more than words can express.  It's amazing to see you learn something new every day.  I love how you turn that head to one side when we're playing/eating and flash an ornery grin at me--it's almost like you've figured out that you're adorable and have learned to play it up. 

NOT our best picture.  Oh well, it beats my self-timer attempts on my camera.

"He got it from his mama..."

My Aunt Cindy text me this picture of me and my dad and told me she figured out where Caden gets his lip pushing-out thing from. I got a good laugh out of it anyway.  I'm guessing I was about 4 years old in this pic???? Maybe he will outgrow it before then. 

I should've known better...

I miss the days when that pee spot was much smaller.  This just reminds me how much my little guy has grown up. 

Caden 11 months

My sweet Caden, I cannot believe you are 11 months old!  You finally starting crawling (at about 10 months).  For a while you would just roll everywhere you wanted to go.  Then you finally figured out how to crawl, but even that you do in your own way.  You crawl "army style" and not on your hands and knees.  You have a fascination with Bailey's water bowl and play in it the second we take our eyes off you.  Your feelings get hurt by our tone when we tell you "no" so we're working on teaching you the signs for "no" and "stop". You walk if someone holds your hands or you have a toy to push and laugh the whole time!  You LOVE to eat almost anything.  You also try very hard to feed yourself with a spoon but can't quite seem to get the hang of it. 

You have such a wonderful personality.  You're very good natured (unless sleepy or hungry) and you crinkle your nose when you're having lots of fun.

Your tongue is your source of power--it's out any time you are concentrating, thinking, walking, etc. 

You've always pushed your lips out since you were just weeks old, but it's recently become a very common occurrence.  I'm not sure why you do it, but it makes me laugh every single time.

 You really get into pushing those lips out when you are angry.

You're first word that you intended to say was "Bailey" which actually sounds like "Gay-Gee".  You say it to any 4 legged animal you see (not just Bailey).  You're a little chatter box.  We just can't make out much else you say. 

I love walking in your room to wake you up and see that crinkle nosed grin and to hear you laugh as you start to stand up in your crib.  You're don't cuddle as much as you did when you were younger, but you're very easy to get to sleep as long as you are at home in your bed.  At weddings, parties, or hanging out with friends, you are such a good sport and usually never whine or cry a bit.  Everywhere we go, someone always comments on how great of a baby you are because you are so laid back.  You will, occasionally, throw a bit of a tantrum with us at home.

We thank God for blessing us with you!

"Sometimes I wish I lived in airstream..."

My front door view may not be a beach but it sure not too bad.

I love music.  I would usually rather sit in listen to music rather than watch t.v.  I can get lost in it and find a way to make almost any song meaningful to me.  Wouldn't it be great if music broke out during epic moments in our lives like it does on t.v.??  Too bad my singing is AWFUL...

I happen to LOVE Miranda Lambert's 'Airstream Song'.  Wouldn't it be great if we really did all live in airstreams, with a simple life?  I think we have a tendency to get wrapped up in the materialistic things in life and start lose sight of what's really important. 

For example, my current complaint...when are we going to buy nicer furniture and get rid of the stuff we have been using since we were young kids?  Or, wishing we could replace our gross carpet.

The reality is that although our house is small (and kind of ugly) we actually have everything we actually NEED.  And even if we did have the new furniture and carpet, we then would probably find other things we wanted. So like the song says, I'd always be unsatisfied...

Sometimes I wish I lived in airstream. Wouldn't it be great to be so simple?

"Sometimes I wish I lived in airstream homemade curtains

Lived just like a gypsy.

Break a heart, roll out of town

'Cause gypsies never get tied down

Sometimes I wish I lived on a mountain

Drank from a stream

Instead of a fountain

I'd stay there, top of the world

But I was born a red dirt girl.

Unbridled, or tethered in tide

the safety of the fence or the danger of the ride

I'll always be unsatisfied

Sometimes I wish I lived by a pier

In a lighthouse with a chandelier

I'd watch everybody's ships come in

And then I'd sail away with them

Unanchored in a storm

or safety on the shore

If this is all I need

Why do I want more?

Sometimes I wish I lived in airstream homemade curtains

lived just like a gypsy"

At least it wasn't E-Coli...

As it turns out, Caden had Salmonella when he was sick last week.  There are about a million ways he could have gotten it.  There's no treatment for it.  Just have to let it run it's course (which seemed to only take about 3-4 days).  He never acted like he felt too bad, just had bad diarrhea.  This poor boy sure is sick a lot.

In other news--we have a new dog.  This is Jake (aka Curly).  He showed up at our house/barn one Friday (we think someone dropped him off) and by late Saturday morning Cody had him in the yard with food and water.  We think he's less than a year old.  He does puppy things like chews up his collar, gets out of the yard, and digs.  Hopefully that all won't last long.  He's a good dog though and Bailey has someone to play with while we are at work.

Bailey and Jake

Baller

This video is a little behind.  Caden was actually 9 or 10 months old here (he hit 11 months yesterday).  This boy loves playing ball. 

It's apparent you're a parent when...

...you're collecting diarrhea samples out of a saran wrap diaper.

Caden may have E coli.  Anyone know how you collect watery/mucusy/bloody baby poop?  I was told to get saran wrap and line the inside of his diaper with it so none of it would be absorbed.

Then I had to pour/scrape the content into this grey container (while trying not to get it EVERYWHERE).  I then filled the containers and kept them in the refrigerator (Ick!!) until I was ready to take it up to the lab.  It's a messy and disgusting process with a baby that is crawling all over the house.  At least if I ever have to do it again I should be a little more efficient.  We should know the results of the culture in about 3 days. 

Why, oh WHY did I not let Cody stay at home with Caden today?

That thing is still alive?

This morning was a traumatic one.  It started off as a normal morning of getting ready for work.  I put Caden in his car seat (at the last possible minute to leave my house), then I opened the front door and hopped in the drivers seat.  As I grabbed the handle to pull my door closed I see a spider right next to my hand.  Of course it wasn't just any spider, it was the mother of them all...a tarantula!

Those of you who know me, understand that I have a pretty intense fear of spiders (just not quite like my phobia of vomit).  It's not that i'm afraid of getting bit, or that some of them are poisonous.  Its simple the fact that they have 8 legs and it CREEPS.ME.OUT.  The bigger the spider, the more I hate them.  I may have grown up as a country girl but I will get dramatic in a hurry when I see a spider.  I don't even like looking at pictures of them.  Tarantulas are the worst!  I know they are harmless but they are huge, hairy, and they can jump. 

Anyway, I let out a scream, jump out of the car and run around outside like a crazy person feeling like they were crawling all over me.  I look back in my car and the tarantula was still there, slowly moving its hairy legs.  Oh my gross!  Now what?!?!

Only thing I knew to do was call Cody who was already at work.  This is how our conversation went....

Cody: Hello?
Lacy: I CAN'T GO TO WORK TODAY!
Cody: What? Why?
Lacy: There is a tarantula in my car.  IN MY CAR!  I almost touched it! I can't go to work because I don't know how to get it out! 
Cody: (starts laughing)...That thing is still alive????
Lacy: What did you just say?  YOU KNEW IT WAS IN THERE?.......

I'm leaving off the rest of that conversation because I'm not sure it's appropriate.  I don't get mad very often, but that sent me way past mad.  Caden and I could have had a serious accident if I were driving down the highway and spotting that thing with me.

Luckily the spider was on the inside part of my door.  I wasn't about to get close enough to it to knock it out or smash it.  So how did I get to work?  I got a water hose and flushed him out from about 15 feet away.  I didn't even care that I was getting the inside of my car all wet (Cody will be cleaning it this weekend now).

I didn't even find out how or why there was a tarantula in my car for about 5 hours.  I was too mad.  As it turns out, Cody was driving my car yesterday to work.  He saw a tarantula on the road and decided to pick it up and take it to work to scare another guy who hates them.  Yes, Cody is that guy... Once he got to work he couldn't find the spider.  So he left his windows down all day while at work thinking it would either die in the car or get out.  He never saw it again so he ASSumed one of those happened. 

I could have killed him if he weren't the father of my child.