Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to all the men in my life!

Cody and I are so fortunate to have fathers who have been such amazing examples for us to follow.

Cade has the best "Pops" and "Bud" around!

I have to give a huge shout-out to my husband for his very 1st Father's Day.

I've been with my husband for almost 10 years now, and married almost 4 of them. I still remember the look on his face when I told him I was pregnant. I'll never forget how happy he was to find out we were having a healthy baby boy. But nothing made me love him more than the day Cade was born, when he took so naturally to caring for him. Seeing such awe on his face over something we created was truly amazing.

Every day I watch him with Cade, and I see so much love.

Fatherhood is the only thing that could ever make Cody act totally silly. The only thing that could get him to sit in the floor for hours making faces and noises just to see a little smile or hear a laugh.

I take advantage of every minute with Cade this small, because although I know he will always need me, it won't be long before Daddy is his best friend.

Happy Father's Day Cody!

We Love You!

Road Trip

Last week was so busy, I'm just now finding time to sit and write about it. Cody had another rodeo, this time in Memphis. Because I have no vacation time built up, I had to schedule myself to work my 3 shifts in a row (which I never do). And OF COURSE, this would be the week that Joint Commission decided to show up at the hospital for their inspection. If you work in healthcare, I'm pretty sure you're cringing right now.
Luckily the stars aligned and I managed to not see any of the inspectors. Wednesday evening I let out a huge sigh of relief when I left work!

Cody left for the rodeo on Thursday, but I wanted a little time with Cade so I drove separately on Friday morning. Memphis is only a 3-hour drive from where we live, but I could see potential disaster trying to take Cade by myself...like having to pull over whenever he threw a toy in the floor and started whining. Or worse, what if I had some sort of car trouble and needed to stop? Not fun. So Cade rode with Cody's parents, who came down Friday afternoon. Of course he slept the whole way.

We were ready to go snatch him up when his parents got there. We brought him to our hotel for a while so they could go eat with Cody's brother who came in from New Orleans. Cody wanted to show him off :)
Cade spent the night at the hotel with his grandparents, and they brought him to the rodeo the next day. He did pretty well, although I'm sure it was a lot to take in. He never really napped there, so when they headed home that afternoon he slept the whole way back.

Cody was so glad he came, especially since not many people from his work have seen Cade. And I learned that they all refer to Cade as "Him" because Cody never says his name, he just always calls Cade "Him" when he's talking about...him. So all weekend the guys were all saying "How's Him doing?" and "Are you ready to see Him when you get home?"

Our next few weekend trips will be Cade-free, since he's too young to go riding at Brimstone and it's too hot to have him on the lake all day. I'll miss "him" on our trips, but I'm definitely looking forward to them.

Because I need a vacation, and a margarita!

Cade {4 months}

Sweet Cade is 4 months old!

Every day with this little guy is so much fun...and I love watching him change.

(He becomes more like his Daddy every day)

What's New?

Cade is (mostly) sleeping through the night now. Occasionally (like when Dad works late and Mom is the only one at home) he wakes up between 2 and 4 for a feeding, but most nights he sleeps from 9-6. I would love for him to sleep until about 7, but he's been waking up since 6 am pretty much his entire short life, so I think I'll just have to deal.

He's rolling over much more, still from back to belly. He doesn't stay on his belly long enough to attempt rolling off of it onto his back. However, he is starting to tolerate tummy time better now. He at least has more patience for it.

He's holding his head up so much better, which makes it way easier to hold him and do something else. But don't be fooled, he'll still wait until you least expect it and fling himself backwards or slam his head into your front teeth and then throw a fit. Like last week at church when he busted my bottom lip.

Still eating all formula, averaging a 4-ounce bottle every 3 hours or so. I've tried increasing the bottle amount to hold him over longer, but that didn't work.

And holy cow...we have hands and know how to use them! It was seriously like Cade just looked at a toy one day and thought, "I like that ball, I think I'll pick it up and cram it in my mouth." Now he's grabbing everything he can get his hands on!

14 pounds 10 ounces (33%) and 25.5 inches long (68%)

We can start cereal now! Hellooo hot mess express!

Favorite Things:

• Summer Infant Activity Seat: We chose this over other infant seat because it's transitional, and essentially a toy as well. The outer ring (which is removable) has a snack tray and toys attached. It has an insert (that's removable) for when baby is smaller. It also straps to a regular chair and functions as a toddler booster seat. Now that Cade can hold his head up well, he can sit in it for short periods of time and play.
• O-Ball Rattle: This is the first toy Cade could hang on to. It has all those holes he can fit his fingers in, and it's soft (think back to some jelly sandals, that's what it feels like) so when he tries to eat it his gums don't suffer.
• Trend Lab Burp Cloths: My favorites! They are thick and hold up well in the wash. One side is terry cloth and the other is cute fabric :) I'm a sucker for cute fabric. Since Cade is a drool factory, we always have multiple rags on hand.
• Babyganics Insect Repellent: Who wants yucky chemicals on baby? No one. I didn't feel comfortable with a label that said I could spray it on infant clothing, but not on their skin. Ew? This spray kind of smells like furniture polish, but it's made from natural oils so it'safe for baby.
• Hand and Face Wipes: These are worth mentioning again. We keep a pack on hand at all times, especially now that everything goes in Cade's mouth.

Ever notice that baby toys are also excellent cat toys?