Easter 2011

This Easter we spent our time in Round Rock with my side of the family. My side of the family is always a bit crazy as we have 3 children (and Caelin on the way!). So, never a dull moment in the house and the volume is always loud enough for Papa to hear (even without his hearing aides). We had a picnic at Lake Pflugerville on Friday where Aunt Mendy and Charles seemed to enjoy the playgrounds more than Cade! After the picnic, and a nap we attempted to do a family adventure (all 9 of us!) to the movie theatre for Earth Day. Disney had published a one day movie called "African Cats". This was Cade's first movie adventure and it lasted about 15 minutes. The same amount of time as his snack. :) Cade has never been a "sitter", more of a "mover" and "talker". So, this combo doesn't exactly fit the rules of the theatre at this point. I thought he would like the movie as it was all about animals...but no such luck. Then, we spent the afternoon playing at Nana/Papa's before enjoying Nana's roast and trimmings. It was super yummy (my fav meal EVER).

On Saturday, we did nothing. It was amazing! We lounged by the pool, ate lots of sweets, colored eggs, made rice crispy treats, and drove Nana and Papa crazy. What more could one ask for? After all naps and happy attitudes were in place, we loaded up the gang and went out to dinner at the Longhorn Cafe. Caelin was loving the fried pickles and sweet potato fries! The night was topped off with bath time for Mackenzie/Cade and homemade snow ice cream by Uncle Chris (He had saved fresh snow in their freezer for us from a few months back!). It was an eventful but relaxing day with a lot of laughs!

Finally, Easter Sunday came. We all woke up early and headed to Church with the kids. This was an adventure in itself. We attempted to leave Cade in childcare, but he quickly learned these are not his "normal" Sunday Teachers. As we sang about 10 minutes into the service, there appeared my lil man's name scrolling across the screen. We quickly picked up our red faced angel and took him into the service (that lasted about 10 more minutes before he was ready to run around). After the service, we went back to Nana/Papa's for an amazing brunch all prepared by Aunt Mendy/Uncle Chris. We also saw our Easter baskets and hunted for eggs. It was a beautiful day and one we will always remember.

As much as we do the typical Easter things (color eggs, bake, Easter egg hunt, Easter baskets, etc), Easter to our family holds a very special meaning of our Savior, Jesus Christ, rising from the dead. I could go on and on about how blessed Charles and I have been personally by the love of Christ, but this post would turn into a book. I can only give thanks for what we have and live our lives according to his word. One AMAZING blessing that I am always reminded of around this time was the Easter of 2007 when we were in Round Rock. Charles and I had been trying to have a baby for a while by this point. We prayed constantly that we would "lay an egg" on Easter. Although it did not happen in our timing as we had hoped, we now have a beautiful son and another miracle on the way. So, as I think about what God has done for us, I am always reminded of his faithfulness. In HIS time, the desires of your heart will be given (Psalm 37:4). So, I say PRAISE THE RISEN LORD for all his blessings upon our family! Happy Easter to all!

Our Babymoon

Here we are again and taking a much needed break from reality to just relax, Charles and I only. Gam-ee and Gramp-ee took Cade on a special trip to Hondo, TX to visit Aunt Laura "Lala" and Uncle Larry. They had a wonderful time as we saw in lots of picture texting back and forth! Cade got to be the center of attention all weekend long and be spoiled, what more could he (or I) ask for? With Cade in perfect hands, Charles and I (Baylor too!) headed out to Fredericksburg, TX for a weekend away. A co-worker of Charles' (The Bodiford's) was SO GENEROUS and let us use her home for the weekend! We were so blessed. Their home is beautiful and perfectly set in the middle of the hill country where you can see a million stars and it is sheer silence except for the wildlife. A piece of Heaven on Earth in our eyes. We took the opportunity to enjoy all of life's simple joys: watching/feeding animals, eating smores at night by the fire pit, going to bed early, sleeping in, walking around the property, and laughing at Baylor trying to figure out the cows!

We also went into town and visited Trade Days (we got a rocking chair for Caelin's room!), Wildseed Farms (peach ice cream of course!), E Candle Factory, and walked along the shops on Main Street. Saturday night we got all dressed up and went to August E's for a special dinner. I had scallops/risotto, and Charles had steak/shrimp/quail. It was so yummy!

Needless to say it was a weekend to remember. We feel so rejuvenated and rested...now Caelin can come anytime (well in a few months!). Thanks again to Gam-ee/Gramp-ee for spoiling Cade and for the Bodiford's for opening up their beautiful home! We are so blessed to have such special people in our lives!

Caelin's in the LAST TRIMESTER!

We made it! We are officially in the last Trimester with Caelin! She is growing and moving ALL THE TIME (is this an indication of what's to come?). Cade continues to point to my belly when we talk about Caelin and give my belly kisses. He is such a great big brother.

To celebrate the start of the 3rd Trimester, Charles' parents took us out to dinner! Not to mention, we also got a 3rd Trimester gift!! We got a little girl doll made with love by Gam-ee. Her insides were a pack of diapers, and she even had ruffles (made of money!) on her onesie. Gam-ee is so creative! Here's what the doc said at my 7 month apt:

My BP: 102/70

My Weight: up 7 lbs this month (not so good), up 19 lbs total thus far (not so bad)

Caelin's HR: 140's

Other tests: urine tests a lil high in protein, got Rhogam shot (boo), and finished the glucose test (which we should find out the results this week)

I also start going to the Doctor every 2 weeks now instead of monthly! That means she is almost here! Doc also gave me the paperwork to register at the hospital, so that will be our next step this week. :)

Here's what she's been up to according to BabyCenter.com:

"This week your Baby weighs 2 pounds and is about 14.5 inches long with her legs stretched. She is sleeping and waking at regular intervals now, opening and closing her eyes, ad perhaps sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, her brain is very active now. While her lungs re still immature, they are capable of functioning with a lot of medical support if she were to be born. She may also be having regular hiccups now, so enjoy the movements."

Weekend Fun

This was such a relaxing weekend with the family. We started off Saturday morning going to Starbucks for breakfast as usual and then went to a new bounce place called "The Bouncing Bear". We knew Cade would love the bounce place as he could be rough and tumble all he wanted. Mommy/Daddy liked the fact that it is only $5 per kid (adults free) and you can stay as long as you like! Cade played hard for about 1.5 hours, and I am not sure who had more fun...Daddy or Cade. Even Caelin got to slide down a few of the slides! Then, when we got home, Cade flew his kite a little and then took a much needed nap! After Church on Sunday we did the usual grocery shopping (Cade LOVES to do the "computers" for the fruit/veggies at HEB). We put the codes in and then he will put the item on the scale and hit the green "go" button (print). Then, his job is to put the sticker on the bag and on we go to the next item. He is so funny! I think we might go broke buying out all the fruit/veggies at HEB! We laid around the house playing inside/outside all afternoon until it was time for Daddy (AND CADE) to mow the yard. Cade was too funny with his own mower following Charles everywhere. It warms my heart to know that Cade adores Charles like that! He has always been a Daddy's boy, and I pray he grows up to be JUST LIKE his perfect Daddy! What a great weekend it was!

Our Little Hero is almost 20 months

Wherever we are, Cade continues to be a barrel of laughs. It is nice to be reminded that life really is about the smaller things and taking time to do all the things you often think, "I'm too busy for that!" For this constant reminder, he is our little hero. I can't believe in less than a week he will be 20 months old! Cade enjoys: anything related to trucks (the bigger the better), the yogurt place and picking out his own toppings (which is usually sprinkles and gummy worms), feeding the ducks at the park and then chasing them into the water, running around in his big boy underwear, and tormenting Baylor with hugs or telling him "No-No". Baylor takes it like a champ most of the time, the rest of the time he just hides under our bed. Although Baylor always reconnects the friendship at meal times! Cade is adjusting well to his big boy bed and stays in it all night. On occasions he is found to have climbed out and been sleeping on the floor by the door, but this has only happened a few times. With regards to potty training, at Gam-ee's house and our house, he is in big boy underwear. He will say "Uh-oh" or answer yes if asked to go to potty. He uses his potty about 8-10 times during the day between both houses, but we are still working on the poo-poo. In public, we stick to diapers (we'll get there). He can pick out our cars in parking lots (this is SO HELPFUL to me) and will point to our house when asked. He also has started yelling "back" and pointing if we leave somewhere he is not ready to part from. Recently when we pull up to the house he will say "icky ana"...meaning our neighbors Ricky and Hana. He loves playing with them, especially their backyard. On our scale at home he is just over 33 pounds. I need to measure his exact height, but it is close to 3 feet tall. He will also point and kiss my belly when asked, "Where's Caelin?". He is really just a joy to be around and makes us smile constantly. Here are a few random pics of Cade...our little Hero.