Just things.

I've definitely been slacking on the blog front lately.

Life got in the way!

Cade is busy busy all the time, so I use every nap time (when he decides to take one) to cook, clean, and catch up on things around the house.

Anywho...we're enjoying summer around here, so I hope you all are too! I'm not a hot weather fan by any means...I'm already counting down days to October. That being said, I do enjoy the pool (or any body of water) and watching Cody play softball. I'm debating on a zoo trip soon, since Cade now likes being in his stroller for longer than 10 minutes.

Bonus points to the husband who switched crews at work and is now off on Fridays! More fun time for us!

Our Tennessee weather has been nuts lately. We went on our riding trip to Brimstone last weekend in East Tennessee, and I almost froze. Seriously. It rained all day Saturday and even in pants, a t-shirts, and a full rainsuit I was still shaking. Sunday when we got home? I was busting a sweat getting our stuff in the house because it was humid and almost 90.

You'd think living here my whole life would make me used to it, but you can't really get used to unpredictability :)

We were looking rough...but hey we were just trying to fit in with the locals ;)

July is passing by so quickly. I thought it would be our busiest month this year, but September is making me rethink things. On top of weddings, baby showers, cookouts, and another riding trip, Cade will be starting daycare. I'm not too anxious (yet) but I'm excellent at worrying about things in the way distant future. For now I'm trying to focus on July and what's coming up in August. First things first!

Cade's 6 month pictures are August 16th and I've got to figure out what he and I will wear. Since my husband seems to have a never-ending supply of solid-color polo shirts I'm not too worried about him. I was going to put Cade in a white polo and a pair of plaid shorts, but that leaves me with two problems.

1. His shorts are just too big, and I don't think a few weeks is enough time to fill them out.

2. I'm absolutely sure I own nothing that will match.

(Totally sarcastic, but if I convince myself it's true, it's an excuse to go shopping!)

Hope your summer is fab and you're staying cool!

Cade {5 Months}

Happy 5 Months Baby!

My little guy is not so little anymore! No doctor (no shots!) this month so if I had to guess his weight, I'd say 15 1/2-16 pounds right now. We are wearing mostly 3-6 month clothes and shoes, although he is moving into some 6 month clothes and before long we'll need 6-9 month jams. Our problem with clothes is that when shirts fit him, the matching shorts are too big. By the time the shorts fit, the shirt is too small! So seperates are our friends. He's still wearing some of his 0-3 month shorts. Cade is just so long. Not off the charts long, but I guess long in comparison to his weight.

What's New?

Lots!

We have 2 teeth! Woohoo! Cade's bottom teeth starting peeking through around Week 19, the right one first and the left one a day later.

We're trying to eat some cereal and baby food every day. Cade doesn't seem to like rice cereal, so I've been doing a little oatmeal mixed with some fruit. We've done apples and now we're working on bananas :)

Cade is not much on laying down anymore, so his playmat is becoming old news. He'll still lay on it for a while in the mornings, but quickly rolls over and amuses himself with looking around (especially now that he really notices Chloe).

I borrowed an exersaucer from a friend and it is a life-saver! Cade will hang out in it for about 20 minutes right now, which is long enough for me to get some cleaning done/make-up on/breakfast made, etc...

He's still napping pretty good, averaging 2 good naps during the day (around 9 am and again at 1pm) and if we're lucky he'll take a cat nap around 5 in the evening.

Around Week 18 we started laying him down in his crib awake at night. I was pretty good about putting him down drowsy, so we thought we'd give it a shot. Lucky for us (so far!) Cade is doing well. He will roll around in his crib for about 5 minutes and then start whining. At that point we give him his paci and it's usually an immediate snooze-fest! He went for a week waking up and crying whenever he'd roll on his stomach, but now he just stays asleep on his belly. Once he figures out how to roll from belly to back, we'll be in business! 

I'm also transitioning him from napping in his swing all the time to napping at least once a day in his crib. This is mostly to prepare him for daycare in September, where he'll nap in a pack-n-play.

Cade still loves being outside, and we've been in the pool some. He's good for 15-20 minutes right now. He's getting to the point where he doesn't love being held for long, so I think he'll do much better when he's big enough to sit in a float. I can't wait until we can get out on the lake!

Favorite Things

Little Teethers Oral Pain Relief Gel: I don't necessarily prefer this to Orajel or any other brand, it's just what we had and opened up first. It seems to do the trick pretty quickly. However, sometimes I think the numbing sensation freaks Cade out. So I really love...

Hyland's Teething Tablets: These seem to work really well. I use to at a time, although I think you can use up to 3 or 4. I tested one out (nothing goes in his mouth that I don't try first) and they really do dissolve instantly. They're 100% natural, and while they don't numb, the ingredients are supposed to soothe irritation and discomfort.

Evenflo Exersaucer: This is not the exact one we're using, but almost identical. Cade is very interested in it so far, and I think he'll enjoy it even more once he's strong enough to bounce in it. Anything that will keep him occupied long enough for me to eat or shower is a winner!

Happy Lights Bear: A friend of ours had one of these for her little girl, so of course we got one too! Cade loves this little bear. It's especially good for keeping him entertained in his carrier while we're at the store or in the car.

A&D Ointment: Not very exciting, but I love this stuff. When Cade had those days when his teeth were coming through and he was dirty every 2 hours, his bottom got red quick. After 1 day of using this, I noticed a huge difference in his skin. I've been very careful about keeping it on him at night when he's in his diaper for so long. Right now I definitely prefer it to diaper rash cream. It's easier to clean off than creams, which in turn is easier on his skin.

We're still loving our activity seat, swing, Jeep stroller, and diaper backpack from last month!

We're looking forward to many things!
6 month pics are scheduled for August.
 I'm looking forward to him sitting up on his own so we can transition him from a carrier car-seat to an upright car-seat. His carrier is getting heavy to tote around!

I have a feeling it won't be long at all and he'll be sitting, scooting, and crawling around.

Add baby-proofing the house to my list of things to do.

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?