Looking forward

I am so excited for our trip tomorrow. We are going to Michigan for my cousin's wedding. We will be staying with my Grandparents- so Kaden's Great-Grandparents. I am excited for the family that I grew up with to get to know my little boy. I lived in Michigan until I was 13. My cousin -that is getting married- and I were in the same first and third grade class together. My grandparents used to take us camping in the summer near Lake Eerie. It was so much fun! I loved growing up with my cousins. I am sad that Kaden is so far from his. Hopefully eventually we will live close together again. They are little enough now- his cousins aren't even born yet, but soon- that we have a little time for life to bring us closer again. Until then the holidays will be spent together. I'm excited for this Christmas when the cousins will meet for the first time! Kaden will be ten months and they will be about three months. Great time to meet. they won't remember it but the pictures will be awesome! :) Any way I better go- lots to get ready for this trip!

Some of my favorite pictures

Mother's day

I feel special! It's cool to be a mom. Hard- but very very cool. Today was a good day. Matt uploaded pictures for me and he prepared dinner(we had Raclette) and cleaned up afterwards. He did his best to make it a special day for us. Kaden gave me lots of cute smiles today too. He had a long "conversation" with Matt in his low voice- it was so cool!
Last night we went out to dinner for our anniversary. We left Kaden with my cousin Karalee and her family. I am so thankful they are nearby. I trust her completely with him. That was necessary for our first date out without him. We kept teasing each other about calling to see how he was doing. We refrained and were rewarded with his smiling face when we returned to pick him up. He behaved very well for them. Sounds like he may even have behaved better for them than he does for us. :)
Back to Mother's day- I am looking forward to seeing my Mother and Grandmother this week in Michigan. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of my extended family actually- at my cousin Kathy's wedding. I am blessed to come from a family of strong and wonderful women! They are excellent examples to me in the love and service they give and have given to their families. Next week will be so fun! I am excited to introduce Kaden to his extended family. He has quite a legacy to live up to.

Happy boy

Today Kaden was happy again! OK- so the photo doesn't show that but read on and you'll understand why... I think the anitbiotics are finally working. He smiled most of today! It was so fun. I couldn't take my eyes off of him all day. The antibiotics are working against his poor system though too. He had diarrhea that just dripped down his legs. Gross I know.. but a fact of life. I was over at my cousins and had forgotten to pack an extra outfit. She gave me all of her baby boy clothes so she was scrounging around for something for him to wear. It was hot so I didn't mind having him just in his diaper... but she found one of her daughter's doll outfits for him to wear. We almost out him in a dress. :) She found a onesie top for him to wear. It had pink and purple flowers on it. I took pictures. He is crying in some of them as he became impatient with me taking pictures. So he will look appropriately disgusted at wearing flowers. :) Kaden is grabbing more and more at toys and blankets. He is growing up so quickly. I am feeling much more sane as we are interacting more. He's so much fun. I am so thankful that I get to be here with him each day and that I get to hangout with my cousin and get some adult interaction each day as well. We are having fun.

We took Kaden in the pool today. He was kind of iffie about it. I think it is still a little cold for him. We took video of him. :) He sure does look cute in his swim diaper and shirt. We put a hat on his bald white head too so he was well covered. It felt soooooo good to go swimming. I've been craving it. We can see the pool from our porch and every time I lug Kaden up the three flights of stairs I look at the pool and wish that I could just jump in. It's been hot and he's 13 and a half pounds already. Hopefully I will get in shape soon.

Our anniversary

Four years! Congrats to us! We will celebrate this weekend since Matt works late every night. This feels like it is going to be a good and special year. I'm excited for mother's and Father's day this year because now it means something even more. The last couple years in church they have given me the mother's day gift and I have never felt right taking it. Not that it was anything huge- but this year I can take it with pride. We have entered that phase in our lives. It is a good phase. So in honor of Mother's day and our anniversary I want to take the time to write about how wonderful my husband is because he helps me be a better Mother and wife every day.

He is so patient with me! He never complains- probably because when he does I bite his head off for it. He has a patient quiet way of calming me down when I get snappy. He doesn't let me get away with it. Every day he reminds me how much he loves me as he works so hard for our family and happily comes home and works hard here too. Matt makes our family the first priority. It's because of his hard work and willingness to make sacrifices that I can stay home with Kaden. He is so excited to come home to us every day. We look forward to the weekends together. He makes our house a home with the peace and love that he brings to it. I love watching him with Kaden. Matt loves to make him smile. Kaden smiles when he hears his dad's voice and for a few hours each night he will pay attention to no one else. I can feel their strong bond and I look forward to it getting even stronger as Kaden interacts with us more and more. Basically I could not ask for a better Husband and Father. He's perfect for us because he makes us better.

Now I better go- gotta give Kaden his medicine and then we are off to run errands.

May 2006

Life is good. Kaden is smiling more and more. He's starting to grab at things- mostly his blankets. He enjoys tasting his clothes a lot. In sad news- he has his first ear infection. He likes his antibiotics and tylenol too. He sucks on the dropper! We feel lucky that it is easy to get him to take his medicine. I think he is going to have a sweet tooth. Kaden likes taking baths. We are excited to take him swimming this summer. We think he's going to love it.

We're still busy unpacking and with the normal daily stuff. My day is spent with Kaden- trying to get stuff done and get enough sleep and enjoying his many expressions. I've started teaching my Cousin's son Language arts again. That gets me out of the house and helps me feel productive. I also like to walk in the park across the street. It has a one-mile trail around it. The weather has been great for it. Matt is still working hard at Motion Theory. He just updated his website with all of the commercials he's done. www.falloftheedge.com - check it out! He's been contacted by a headhunter about a full-time position at a company near where he is working now. We are hoping that it comes with excellent benefits. We should know more by the end of the month. That's pretty much it for us right now... I better take a nap now while Kaden is sleeping.