Caden's First Finger Foods

6 Months Old

Well, Caden recently had his 1/2 birthday and is enjoying being 6 months old. The doctor says he looks good but she wants us to fatten him up because he has dropped down to the 27th percentile for weight. Not too bad but he started out in the 80's so she wants to keep him chubby. As you can see, he is much happier now that he is old enough to do more on his own. He is eating solid food (if you call mush in a jar solid food), sitting up on his own, and scooting. I really think he will be crawling soon but for now he gets where he wants to go by rolling or scooting on his belly. He likes to make sure that he is the center of attention so he does a lot of screaming and squealing. He is definitely not a quiet baby.

Cory is still at home with Caden for one more week. It has been a learning experience for them both but we are all really glad that he was able to stay home for so long (our bank account is especially glad). Although Cory's happy to go back to work he's going to miss hanging out with the little baby man. He is really excited about the new ideas he has for work and hopes to improve the success rate for students at school. Between implementing all these new ideas, keeping up with his job, working on his masters, and taking care of Caden he's a little busy. But we know that it will all pay off in the near future.

I am enjoying being back at my school and working with all "my kids" again (after three years with the same students they really start to feel like they're mine). I'm learning what it means to be a working mom - balancing teaching, yearbook, fundraising, diaper changing, feeding, cooking, laundry, and cleaning leaves little time to do much else (especially sleep). Of course it's all worth it and I wouldn't change it for the world, but it's definitely a learning process. Poor Max certainly doesn't get as many walks as he used to.

Lastly, Barack Obama won all four states in the primaries today! Yes We Can!

The Tale of Two Babies

Caden has recently discovered his vocal chords and makes sure that everyone in the neighborhood knows it. We took a video of him happily "talking" in his jumperoo.




Five minutes later.... Caden's evil twin arrives...

Hello Again...

Well, it's been a long time since our last post and I take full responsibility (this is Sarah, by the way). Yes, Cory has officially transferred the family blogging duties to me. Between working from home, taking care of Caden during the day and preparing to start his master's program, Cory decided that he didn't have time. We are now learning the value of the precious little time we have to do "other things" that don't involve diapers, crying, or bottles.
So, here's the update...
Caden is 5 1/2 months old now. He is eating solid food, almost sitting up on his own, and laughing a lot. He has become a very happy baby and is getting the hang of sleeping through the night. He still wakes up once or twice, but usually goes back to sleep fairly easily. Cory is thankful of this since he is now the one getting up at night. Caden enjoyed Christmas (mostly the wrapping paper) and slept through his first New Year. :) We really enjoyed our 2 weeks off for winter break - my Dad and Carol took us to Utah for a weekend where we got to tour Bryce Canyon and spend some time in the snow; we spent Christmas with Niki and the grandparents-in-law; my Mom came to visit for a few days; and we caught up on sleep.
Cory is still at home with Caden until mid-February. He is doing a great job as "Mr.Mom" and balancing work with baby time. Last weekend Cory took the GRE (Graduate Entrance Exam) and passed! I helped him with studying and was VERY thankful that it wasn't me that had to take the test... but, Mr. Smartypants passed with flying colors so he starts his Master's next week! Good luck with that. :)
I have been back at work for 5 weeks now and although it's nice to feel productive and engage in some "adult" conversation, I still miss Caden every day. I'm sure Cory is sick of me calling everyday at 11:00 but I can't seem to make it through the day without checking in on the little baby man. Working full time and being a mommy full time is difficult, but it's definitely worth it. I just need to remember to find a few moments to update this blog and keep you all posted.
We hope you all had a wonderful holiday season!
Sarah

Basic Ideas Behind Photo Sharing Online

Eating Solids for the First Time

Caden had his 4 month appt recently and here is the update. Oh yeah, its his first attempt at solid food. Haha

4 Months Today

Caden baby turns four months today. We are on the eve of my third week of staying home with him. Its been tough. He isn't the easiest baby. Very needy and demanding. We are in the process (as of yesterday) of changing some things from Sarah's time at home. The baby is in the habit of crying and being rescued immediately. He hasn't learned to do much by himself or to deal with frustration very well. So implementing a new strategy there. He also hasn't been on a nighttime routine. Normally he eats right before he starts to get tired and then if he doesn't fall asleep during the bottle, we walk him around until he passes out in our arms. Tonight we are trying something new. Moved the glider upstairs into his room, so feeding him up there, rocking him, reading a book, and putting him into his crib before he falls asleep. This may all sound a little boring, but believe me, its anything but that at our house in the evening. Will keep you updated if it works.

Leslie flew out this weekend to visit. Her friend ran in the Vegas marathon today so she had double the reason to come to town. She is going to work with Sarah tomorrow. Speaking of tomorrow, I'm taking Caden to his 4 month doctor appointment and he gets shots, weighed, stuffed, and baked. Or something like that.

We put our fake Xmas tree up yesterday. Well, I didn't, I worked while Leslie and Sarah decorated. The house looks festive although we are missing presents under the tree. We normally wrap our presents and put them under our tree until its time to mail or give them out. Not doing that this year. After 2 months of Sarah not getting a paycheck, we won't be able to give presents to anyone except the 6 youngsters in the family. We will be sending out cards with a family pic in the next week, so you can be looking for that in the mail.

I'm working from home and going to campus once a week until February. It was really nice to go to work last Friday and laugh and complain with the other teachers. It was fantastic to see some students. I definitely miss the interaction. This is the first job Ive ever had where I miss being at work when I have a day off, a long weekend, or even the summer. Strange.

For posterity:

• The New England Patriots are 11-0 and going for #12 tomorrow. They are the best regular season football team Ive seen in 27 years of watching football. They should go 16-0, hopefully.
• Evel Knievel passed away at 69. Died in the back of an ambulance on the way to the hospital. He's lucky he lived this long.
• Saw No Country for Old Men which should win best picture. Its about getting old, and hitmen.
• Also saw Into the Wild, that movie REALLY affected me. I hope Emile Hirsh gets nominated for best actor. Sean Penn blew the directing though, probably wont be in the best picture category but close. Makes me want to visit Slab City.