Monkey boy

I took a lot of pictures with my Video camera today. The quality isn't quite as good as my digital camera but it is pretty close. I took some face shots of Kaden just after his bath. Also he grabbed his Dragonfly by the toes and hung it above him so he could play with it- I took video and pictures of that. plus I took lots of pics of him sucking on his toes. I wanted to take those close up to get the tangle of all of the limbs. I think some of them turned out pretty cool... I'm learning hopefully. They came out darker than I expected though- so I will need to photoshop them. Ignore the mess behind Kaden. That I am avoiding. Most of it is his toys. Some of it is clean laundry. I have lots of excuses- no good ones of course. :) Hope you enjoy the pics.

First kiss

I got my first slobbery kiss from Kaden! Matt was holding him and I was sitting in my computer chair. Kaden was leaning over and Matt was leaning him towards me even more. Then he reached out his hands and grabbed at my forehead with his mouth wide open. He drooled all the way down my face! It was so gross and wonderful at the same time! A perfect and typical first kiss.

Kaden has now repeatedly gotten his feet in his mouth. I got video of him today sucking on his toes. Before he would get his toes to his mouth but he couldn't really suck on them- usually his hand was in the way and he would suck on that and let go of his foot or he would try and get both feet in his mouth at once. Now he is sucking on his toes. Good boy!

Kaden is so social. I have to talk to him all day long. I don't mind but sometimes I think I look pretty silly in the store. today I was asking his opinion on everything at Costco. It was cute because he gave me a smile everytime I asked him what he thought of something. Lots of people stopped me to say how cute he is too. What can I say- I agree. :)

Works for me

So I bought a fabric shower liner at Target for ten bucks that I love! Because it is fabric it goes through the washer and dryer beautifully. It is also midew resistent. Basically I expect to get a lot of use out of it and it will look great the whole time too! Yay for easy products. I also but one of those pads you kneel on in the garden for a buck at Target. I use it for kneeling beside the tub when I give Kaden a bath.
Kaden has become quite a whiner lately. Often he is bored. He's been sick lately too. The two things that seem to help are - applauding and cheering for him- that makes him jump harder and smile in his jumper- and taking him in the bathroom- he loves the mirrors and the lights in there. He's funny because he will complain and cry but he won't stop playing with whatever he is playing with. Sometimes it is hard to tell if he is just talking at his toys or if he really needs a change. When he starts getting too loud I change whatever he's doing. He gets frustrated a lot at his uncoordination. Hopefully he will gain some patience because he is trying mine. I don't expect a ton of patience but a few minutes of play before getting frustrated as opposed to the few seconds it takes him to get mad at his toy now. He really is a pretty easy going baby- he's just becoming to smart for his little body.

jumpin jumpin jumpin

We bought Kaden a Jumpster ( a doorway jumper) last weekend. When we first set it up he seemed unsure of it. The third time we put him in it however he went to town jumping all over the place! We are so proud of him for figuring it out- of course he is meant to figure it out. It's still cool to watch though. He loves jumping up and down and our arms were getting pretty tired so we are glad to have this new toy for him. Plus it means that I can spend some time on the computer while he does it since it goes in the door next to my desk. I can get in some good IMing time so that I get to talk to an adult every day. :) I want to figure out Photoshop elements and Dreamweaver(a website program). It will probably be in just little spurts of 10 minutes here and there but it's more than I had before. :)

grabbing his toes at Disneyland

We went to Disneyland on Monday with my brother Matt and his wife Danielle. While I hated the crowds I understand why parents of any age child take their kids to Disneyland. They can ride any ride that doesn't have a height requirement- which is most of the rides. It is truly an amusement park aimed at kids. Adults are there for supervision and to buy food. All of a sudden It's a small world makes sense- it is meant for 3 month olds. Kaden slept through that one but we heard of another three month old who enjoyed it. It also feels like an airconditioned ride- that part is for the hot tired parents. Do not take little kids to the Honey I shrunk the kids show- it is too loud. Kaden didn't like that one. He enjoyed the jungle cruise and the carousel. Disneyland is set up with the parent swap for the big kid's rides. that meant that my bro and his wife waited in line while we waited with Kaden. Then they came out and watched Kaden while we went through the exit sowed our pass and got directly on the ride. Excellent! so we didn't spend all day waiting in line for one ride. It was great. Also they have fast passes- you get one of those and come back later in the day to have max about a 15 minute wait. Even though the park was full we didn't wait in line longer than a half an hour all day. We chose not to wait in any lines that were longer- but we still rode all of the rides that we wanted too. I want to go back for Kaden's b-day in februaury- we should have less crowds then.

Kaden is now grabbing both of his feet. He has gotten his left big toe in his mouth a few times. He thoroughly enjoys that. He is also taking his pacifier in and out of his mouth and entertaining himself that way. On the down side of things he has learned to kind of yell/scream when he wants something. He is getting very good at sounding angry. He is a stubborn little guy. He is starting to reach for things more and more. If it is not within his reach he will grumble at you until you put it there- he seems particularly interested in boxes- his wipes and the box my nursing pads come in. So fun to watch him grow and learn.

my addictions

I love the dollar store and the craft store. I gave in and went today. I just love to wander around. I don't feel guilty buying things at the dollar store. I like their board books. They have some in both spanish and english. I also found some rub on alphabet letters for scrapbooking at the dollar store. :) And four baby washcloths for a dollar. I bought rocks to go in vase to bring color to my living room. I realize though that once Kaden starts walking those will have to go away for awhile. He is pretty mobile right now. He scoots himself across the floor on his back. He can't sit up- he can't roll over- (though it won't be too much longer before he is doing both of those things)- but he can scoot himself into the couch and get himself stuck. He tends to play with his toys with his feet first and then his hands. Such a monkey boy. I finished a cute scrapbooking page of the first smiel we caught on camera. It's adorable of course. I am trying to take pictures of it to post but I'm not sure how to do it and get close enough to see detail and yet far enough away to see the whole page.... Hopefully I can post it eventually. I finally finished his birth announcements. Now I just need to mail them out.... Maybe you'll get one soon. :)

Matt's new job

So Matt has taken a full time position with a company called Method. You can check out their work at www.methodstudios.com. He is excited because they seem really excited to have him work there. Also because they do a lot of photorealistic work which he wants to gain more experience doing. They have worked on movies in the past i.e. The Ring. Mostly they do some of the best commercials in the business. We are excited for the health benefits. Matt signed a one year contract with them so we'll be here at least that long- though I expect a lot longer since this is where the work is. We are going to have to budget carefully to make this job work but I think career-wise it is a good move for Matt. The best part is that he doesn't start until the 26th and his project at the company he's at now wraps on Friday. That means a week of him home!!!! Woohoo! My honey do list is growing as we speak. Don't worry I will let him have lots of rest time and play with Kaden time. My own honey do list is growing as I think of what I can do while he watches Kaden. :) That I know he won't mind.

New connections

I think it is so cool and so funny how once you have a kid everyone else with a kid will come up and talk to you. It's such a change in social dynamic. I can get advice or smiles from anyone now. When we were at Venice beach a couple purposely swerved through the crowd to talk to my mom in law and I to compare notes on babies. They have an 8 month old girl. She weighs about the same as Kaden but looked a lot smaller. Kaden is our chunk. :) Everywhere we go people tell me he is beautiful and we meet others with babies of a similar age. Biased Mother that I am I agree that my baby is beautiful and usually silently think that he is cuter than the other baby I am meeting. I am enjoying the new reason for social interaction. Especially since other reasons for social interaction i.e. work or school are no longer a part of my life. I need to take some baby and mommy classes.... we'll see.
Kaden is fun. All he wants to do is jump up and down in our laps. Mentally I think he is running around the room. Physically he is just starting to grab his feet. He is mentally way ahead of himself. He is fun to watch catch up. We clap for him when he rolls over and then sometimes he will forget to grumble at us for putting him on his tummy. He is growing up way too fast.
Their may be job news for Matt tomorrow... We are excited and nervous about the opportunity. It will put us on a tight budget but give us the benefits that we need.... Also Matt will get more of the kind of work experience that he wants... so.... I will update when things are for sure...

Big weekend of firsts

Kaden is so fun and funny! While Grandma was here he rolled over for the first time, started laughing, and pulled himself from almost prostrate in Grandma's arms to sitting up. He rolled over because we gave him tummy time which he HATES. He won't roll over everytime we put him on his tummy though- often he just starts throwing a temper tantrum. So he doens't have it totally down yet but he can do it. He's so cute when he laughs- he's given us a short ha here and there but now he's starting to laugh- not just one ha. I can't wait to hear more! He is always trying to sit up now. I think that is one that he will be doing on his own soon. He's getting so good at lifting and controlling his big head. :) Well he's complaining so I better go- complaining is an art form with him! He's very good at it.

Since we got home

My mother and Father in law came into town this week! It has been a lot of fun. My father-in-law was only here for dinner on Wednesday and Thursday but it was a good time. Kaden appropriately gave smiles and interacted. He's very vocal. He also showed off his strength by wanting to stand all the time. He can't do it on his own yet of course but it doesn't seem like it will take him too much longer to do it on his own(a few months more just like most kids). He's so strong and determined. :) Of course it would help if he learned how to sit up first. We went to Korean BBQ. It is so fun. There is a grill in the middle of the table and you grill your own meat. Delicious! The beef bulgogi is the best. It was a fun experience.

My mom-in-law is staying here through this weekend. It's been great fun! Friday we went shopping for Kaden and got hima mobile for his bed and some toys and some clothes. He's so fun to watch with his toys. He's so focused! (can you tell I think he is perfect?) Friday night he slept for 7 hours in a row!!!!! I need to take him shopping and wear him out like that more often! It was great! Yesterday was the best! Matt had to work so Gayle and I went to Venice beach and walked along the beachfront road there. All the artsy street vendors and performers were there. We had fun studying all of the different types of art and taking with the creators. Gayle found some neat prints for her house and gifts for the whole family. I got a cool necklace and Matt got a gorgeous snail(in memory of his demo reel). I love that kind of shopping- very unique. After Matt got off of work we went to the Getty Museum. It's gorgeous. The architecture and the view are art work in and of themselves. My favorite parts were the Dutch/flemish painters and the impressionists. We got to see works from Rembrandt, Renoir, Monet, Manet, Cezanne, Van Gogh and more. They are more impressive in person than in a book- especially the impressionists who look better from a distance. It was cool to go from seeing current artists on the street to masters of art in a museum. Some of the street vendors held up better than others. :) The trends were very different. After the museum we met up with our friend Chuck for dinner. He was in town for business. It was great seeing him! He has two daughters that are allowed to marry my son Kaden. Either one not both of course. If only arranged marriages still existed... of course at this point we are more picking out in-laws than daughter-in-laws- although we know that his daughters are and will be awesome because their parents are awesome! :)

That about sums it up for me right now. This has been an excellent weekend. Time at the beach and the museum makes me think California is a good place. It also feels a little like summer- which I love as well. This weekend was a nice mini vacation for me with all the things I love- family, good food, and good activities.

I'm back

Busy busy days. We went to Michigan for a week for my cousins wedding. It was a lot of fun. My cousin even managed to have a few hours to just spend chatting with me the day before her wedding! She is awesome! It made the whole trip worth it. She teared up when she first saw my son. We grew up together until we were thirteen and we are only three weeks apart. I kept wanting to call her and her brother and my other cousin Kaden's aunts and uncles instead of cousins. We were all that close as kids. Her wedding was beautiful. The weather had been awful but it cleared up perfectly so that she and all of us could be comfortable during the outdoor ceremony. I am so glad that she has found a wonderful man to marry. Weddings are happy! I am so glad that I got to go and spend time with her and show her my baby.

I also got to see my best friend from Fourth grade. We hadn't talked at all in four years. We hadn't seen each other for 9. But it was just like we had never left each other. We caught up on our lives- big things for both of us- she has a two and a half year old daughter now! :) We got to introduce our kids and I took a little video. We reminisced about our childhood. She told me about all the changes to my old house and neighborhood. She is a truly amazing person. Truly one of the kindest and most giving people that I have ever met. She is so wonderfully happy and grounded. She kept me sane through Junior high and even managed to make it a positive experience. Now we have each other's e-mail and I hope that we don't go through 9 years of relative silence again. She is someone I always want in my life.

The trip to Michigan was great. I got to see some more old friends- ones who've known me since birth. I've moved around so much it's fun to go back to those roots and connect with people who've known who you are from the very beginning. I love hearing what we've all done with our lives too. I know some really awesome people who have their heads on straight. They know what is important in life. I feel blessed.

On our last day there we went to the amusement park Cedar Point. Matt loved it! He went on a ride that accelerates from 0-120 in 4 seconds. That made the trip a vacation for him too. I mostly went on the old rides- very nostalgic for me. :) The Gemini was the first roller coaster I went on. It was a kind of coming of age thing in my family. My mom always took us on the roller coasters and my dad took us on the bumper cars. Kaden behaved really well the whole day. He is such a wonderful even tempered baby.

So overall I would say the trip was a success. Kaden was shown off well and we enjoyed ourselves.