kaden is three months old today!

Dear Kaden,

Today you are three months old!

Where did the time go? Time seems to be going by SO fast! I want it to slow down, but at the same time I am so excited to see what happens next. You bring such joy to our life, it's so hard to imagine that you have only been here such a short time.

You are starting to lift your head up a bit more, and you are even liking tummy time more too (thanks mamaw and papaw!)You smile bightens up the whole neighborhood, and your laugh is music to my ears. You LOVE books, and you are still loving all of your rainforest friends on your mobile, your super BFFs. You have started sleeping through the night, (with one wake up, yay!) and now that mommy has let go of everything she has read in her 7 books, and just followed her own heart and instincts, we no longer fight over naptime, and we are both much happier. You love to be snuggled close, but if at all possible, you want to face the world while doing so, so that you don't miss a THING! The car rides are still a little rough for you, but they have gotten better, and your face only turns a shade of light pink rather than purple....this is progress. Right now you are loving slurping on your entire hand, and your vocabulary has increased to include gooos and gaaaaas! You are so incredibly interested in faces, and curious about the world around you!

I can't wait to see what new things we will learn about you THIS month!

love,
your mommy

smores. ocean air. rest. and wonderful family time...

I know it has been a while since I have posted, and I continue to say that won't happen...but then there I go again! We spent this past weekend hanging with kaden's mamaw and papaw! We all had an awesome time, and chad and I even went camping in malibu for one night to catch up on some much needed rest and ocean air. Kaden loved playing with mamaw and papaw, I have never seen him laugh SO much! After they left for the airport today, it broke my heart to see him look around for them when he woke up from his nap. We can't wait to play with them again soon!

some monday randoms

ferocious little bear










I like to torture my little nugget with photo shoots

a day of firsts

It has been a few days since I have written, and I feel horrible, as my intention was to faithfully blog each and every day!

I took the nugget out for some shopping today as the little chunker has outgrown most of his clothes! I can't believe he is wearing 6-9 months and he is not even 3 months yet! I mapped out our shopping itinerary, pumped two bottles of milk in case it took longer than expected, grabbed an assortment of toys to distract the little man, and turned the static on the radio in the car(I find this is one of the only thngs that calms him in the car!). Because we had so many places to hit, I decided to take the freeway. I have not taken him on the freeway yet, and for those that know Los Angeles, it's impossible not to. When we go to see his pediatrician in Burbank, instead of taking the 5 minute freeway drive, I opt fo the 35 minute side street route. I am not worried about my own driving, but I feel incredibly anxious about all those OTHER crazy drivers. So this was his FIRST first today! And it was fine, and put him to sleep a lot faster than the stop and go of taking side streets!

So after all of our shopping, I had one more stop to make at Trader Joes. I attempted to feed him one of the bottles I packed, and amateur mommy apparently didn't heat it up enough after taking it out of the refigerator, and kaden made a grossed out face after his first sip. I sat in the back of my car in the Trader Joes parking lot and nursed him in public (if you can call the backseat of my car "public"). I definitely need to invest in a "hooter hider"! It was also my first time breastfeeding without my brestfriend! It's amazing I could even figure out how to hold him right! Kaden finished his lunch and we attacked Trader Joes and then went home and did some intense playing before it was time for bed.

His new favorite thing is his play gym, especially his chimes
He absolutely goes to town on these chimes! I bought them separately and he loved the sound of them so much I put them on his gym. I am going to try to videotape him as soon as I figure out how to make more room on our flip camcorder!

Daddy also made Kaden laugh his first real belly laugh! It was so awesome! Such music to my ears...

Also, just cause I am eating this at the moment and feel the need to share! I made this amazing recipe today I found on one of my favorite blogs, Love Deliciousness
It is so so easy and super yummy! Here's the recipe below:


Taco Bake
Makes 6 large servings

1 lb ground beef or turkey
1 packet taco seasoning
15-ounce can tomato sauce
8 ounces medium shell pasta
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
8 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.

Spray bottom of 9x13 pan. Put pasta in bottom of pan.

Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta. Spoon ground meat mixture over this. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving.


enjoy!

Happy St Paddy's Day!

We had a very chill and lazy St Paddys Day today, and we both slept through the anticipated story hour at the library we had meant to attempt for the third week in a row. I did manage to have a photo shoot in the adorable outfit that mamaw sent for him! The adorable booties were the sweetest gift from mamaw's friend!

smiley little leprechaun












how cute are these booties?

scrumtiousness

Kaden's auntie Jena Gabina came over this weekend, and took some amazing shots of the little man! I put up a few of my favorites, but you can check out the amazing collection here. so many amazing shots!


We took Kaden on his first farmers market adventure yesterday. We had always gone to the Hollywood farmers market on sundays near our old place, so we thought we would check out the market in our new neighborhood! This one had so many fun things for kids, much different than the "hipster" market that we were used to in Hollywood. There were pony rides, a petting zoo and even a Thomas train that you could ride around the neighborhood! We bundled little man up in a hat and sweater and double layers to ward off the nippy 65 degree air, and then gigled when we noticed all the other kids with shorts and tees.

bumbo love

I have been itching to get little kaden one of these bumbo chairs since the beginning of my pregnancy! Not sure why I held off for so long, but I finally just ordered one off the internet, and it came today. He loves to sit and look out at everything and I am constantly looking for new ways to help him do that, so I thought this would be pefect! Kaden is still struggling with holding his head up, and who can blame him...how are you supposed to find your neck muscles under all those precious rolls? So he needed a little help while sitting in his new bumbo, but I think he enjoyed the experience as a whole!

party in my crib all night long...literally

It's no secret that the little man struggles with going to sleep, both for naps, and NOW at night as well. I have read endless books on sleep, and at this point I am looking for anything to make the nights a little bit easier. Out of desperation, I decided to invest in the baby crack machine to see if this might lull the little man into peaceful rest. A friend nicknamed it this after her little one began sleeping through the night at 4 months, primarily due to this gem of a machine. This spa lullaby machine is so sweet-it plays 3 songs in addition to the heartbeat, ocean waves and rain sounds, AND has a projector for a light show like no other. Our crib is starting to look a little like Disneyland, and at night the two light shows we have for him could give SpectroMagic at Disney a run for it's money....
stay tuned to hear how it goes...


here he is checking out the newest addition to his theme park....

poor little bubba

Today we had kaden's two month doctor's appointment, where he had to get 4 vaccinations (!!!) I cried even before they came in with the needles. It was awful, I never imagined you could feel so much pain when it is not actually happening to you. Little Kaden tried to be brave, and daddy was incredibly brave and strong to hold him during the whole thing. He seems to be ok, although I am taking his temperature every half hour (who is neurotic? me? no...) and it is steadily rising. Let's hope it doesn't get any higher than it is, or mommy will have a heart attack.

The doctor also was surprised at how "fussy" he was. I hate that word and I don't want him to be called that....I like to think that he is just extremely EXPRESSIVE! We talked about the possiblity of him having colic, but it looks more like it may be a slight case of reflux, and we may start medicine in a week to see if it helps him.
He also is a lil chubster for sure, weighing in at 14lbs and 2ounces, and 24 inches long. He is in the 95th percentile!

agoraphobia

Kaden does not want to leave our cozy little nest. Everytime I try to take him somewhere lately he hoots and hollers and let's everyone know how he feels!

I decided to attempt to go to the library with him again today, in hopes of finding a certain book. We went into the super quiet and peaceful library and I approached the information desk to inquire about where I might find this book. I could hear little kaden starting to protest, and then he let out a loud and clear scream. I told the librarian we would be back and scurried out, did a few laps around the library in hopes of kaden slipping into dreamland. After I was sure he fell asleep, I went back in looking for the book. Little man wasn't havin it, and let out a yell like nothing you have ever heard! We left again. We re-entered and scurried out of that library FIVE times, only to find that they did not even have the book!
This pic above was taken when we got home... there's such a satisfied little expression on his face!

the many faces of mr kaden

I apparently cannot stop taking pictures of this little man. We had an exciting day today trying to capture his many different personalities.

Daddy and his mini me

kaden and daddy playing horsie together on a sunday afternoon. kaden still is looking miserable as he is super duper sleep deprived. I had a hard time getting a perfect picture of his tee, but if you can't read it it says "my dad's band rocks", and was a wonderful gift from uncle tobe and aunt kerry!

easy reader....captured!

chad took this video the other night of kaden wanting to read with me.

I know I have not posted much this weekend, we have been tackling some of the little man's sleep issues, and it has definitely been a struggle. We all had a restful night last night, so we are hoping we are back on the good foot...at least for now.

bad things are bound to happen...

when you dress your son in leg warmers.

I bought a few pairs of these baby legs that are all the rage, and I think even I am starting to realize they are a bit ridiculous (esp for boys!).

I put these on my little guy before going for a walk, cause I thought his legs might be a little chilly. Kaden can't figure out if he likes walks yet. He stared at the sky and the side of his stroller for the first half of the walk, and then screamed bloody murder on the entire way home, with me running like a crazy woman with the stroller to get home as fast as possible.

I parked the stroller at the house and rushed to get him out of it....in doing so, I somehow managed to bump his little head on the metal umbrella we happened to be standing underneath. He screamed like nothing I have ever heard before, a heartwrenching painful scream. I rushed him upstairs to our cozy nest (meanwhile the two neighbors that barely speak english are screaming "baby ok?" "maybe he is wet?") calmed him down, checked him for bumps and bruises, which thankfully were nonexistent. I called the pediatrician, and she said to just keep an eye on him...and that's exactly what I did. I held the little guy for a good 7 hours, and every once in a while I would walk in front of the mirror so that I could check out his head while holding him, and make sure his breathing pattern was normal. Neurotic? oh yes....I am starting to realize that motherhood+klutziness=insane anxiety.

I think I will leave the baby legs off from now on.go for shorter walks.and remember to breathe a little more often....

kaden and his super cozy pants

I recently discovered this adorable baby site that has the COZIEST clothes for tiny ones. They don't have a huge selection, but the colors are fun and I think I may be getting a pair of these precious pants in every color!

easy reader

kaden and I have been having reading time in the afternoons...he absolutely LOVES Dr Seuss books! He talks and ooooohs and aaaahs and kicks his legs and shakes his fists. I have attempted to take him to storytime at the library twice now, but both times he has had an emotional meltdown upon entering the peaceful and quiet library. I think he is comfier in our cozy little cave at home. I'm not giving up though, I will so keep trying!

some randoms

I have been trying to take pictures every day of the little man and his many expressions...these are just a few "recents" that make my heart skip a beat 1,000 times...

how is he two months already?

today is mr kaden's two month old birthday and I am amazed wondering where the last two months went. I think I was in complete shock and awe of the entire experience, and just now I am able to finally take a look at him and understand that he is the little nugget that was growing in my belly all along...and I find myself absolutely smitten by this little man.


kaden had a tough day on his two month birthday....he had an intense sleep day yesterday, and because of it, he forgot to take naps for the majority of the day, and by the time I got him ready in his two month old outfit, he was NOT having it, and had this little look plastered on his precious face.




he has grown up so much over the last two months, he has such a little personality already! I can't imagine how he will grow in the next month!