2 Months

Today Mr. Kaden turned 2 months old.Time is flying by! Here's a little update on Kaden so far:

Stats: I took Kaden to the dr last week cause I thought he sounded congested. (Turns out I'm just a paranoid mommy!) When they weighed him he was 11 lbs and 4 oz. We go for his 2 month check up next week, so I'll update his weight and length. I can tell you this...he still loves to eat, so I'm sure he's growing just fine! You can see in some of the pictures he's developing little rolls. I love it!!

Sleeping Habits? For about a week, he was sleeping through the night. He'd sleep for 7 or 8 hours. But, that only lasted a week. Now we're back to waking every 4 hours. I usually bathe him, feed him, then put him down. He sleeps 4 (or 5 if I'm really lucky) hours, then wakes up to eat. He is really good about eating, and going back to sleep. He's not a great napper. He takes catnaps. Very rarely does he take a long nap...unless I'm napping with him. If I lay him in my bed and lay down with him, he'll sleep for a good 2 hours.

Eating Habits? Every 3 hours during the day, unless he's napping. Then he might go 4. At night, it's every 4 or 5 hours. I'm looking forward to him sleeping through the night. I'm also ready for him to not be eating every 3 hours. It's hard to get a lot done. Feedings are going by faster these days. They usually only last 25 or 30 min. That's better than 45 min.

New tricks? He is all smiles. I know for sure he's smiling for real, and not just passing gas. I think he recognizes familiar faces, and he's usually the happiest when he's just eaten or waken up. He's also starting to make cooing (sp?) noises. It's almost like he's trying to talk back to you. He's very strong, and can just about hold his head up without help. He's starting to enjoy his toys more. He has a play mat that he wasn't too interested in at first, but now he's getting to where he'll lay under it. Right now, he just hits the rattles on accident while he's waving his arms around, but soon I think he'll be reaching for them.

Doctor Visits? I took him in last week because I thought he sounded congested, and I noticed he had a little cough. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't something to be concerned about. Yes...you can call me the paranoid mom. That's basically what the dr told me. She did say he had a little nasal congestion, but his lungs were fine. We go next week for his 2 month appointment. I'm not looking forward to his first round of shots!! :-(

General Observations?  He's still referred to as a "momma's boy." He started getting pretty fussy in the evenings around week 6. I was praying hard that it wasn't colic. I think he's getting better now. Not sure what all the fuss was about, but I'm glad he's getting over it. He also went through (and still kinda is in) a stage where he just wants his momma. That's ok, I don't mind....but dad gets his feelings hurt every now and then. He still LOVES bath time!! If we can't figure out how to make him happy, we stick  him in the bath. It works every time!! He also loves to be outside. When he gets fussy, we go for a walk. It works almost as well as bath time. It's good for Micah & I too. We've been walking in the evenings. My favorite thing about him right now is his smiles. It's so fun to talk to him and watch him respond with smiles and silly faces...and even try to "talk" back. We're loving every minute with our sweet boy!!

Too many pictures??

Is it possible to take too many pictures?? I'm just curious because I have a feeling I'm going to be classified as one of those crazy moms that always has her camera out. I mean, just today, for example, I took about 100 pics at our 4th of July celebration...and there were no fireworks or anything. Those were just "hanging around" pics. There's something about having a baby that makes you not want to miss any moment. I feel like I want to capture every new moment or experience, and I'm sad if for some reason I go off and leave my camera. Good thing these days we have the iPhone. A lot of my pics have been captured on my phone. Oh well, I guess I'll just be crazy!! When you've got a face like this to capture, it's hard not to be!!

Special gifts

Kaden has been blessed by so many friends and family with tons of gifts. Even before he was born, we were set & ready for him to come. We've been blessed in not having to buy any diapers, wipes, soaps, lotions, etc. so far. We are very grateful for everything that he (we) were given by friends and family. There are a few gifts I want to show off though. Kaden was given several homemade blankets. I love blankets, and I think these are extra special cause they were handmade with love.

The first two were made by one of my very good friend's (& college roommate) mom.

This colorful blanket was made by my Granny, Kaden's Great-Granny. She came all the way from Arkansas to meet him after he was born, and brought him this blanket that she had made.

This last one was made by my Nana, Kaden's Great-Nana. I think it's so cute. I was really surprised to get this one. She had told all of us that she wasn't doing any more sowing because it was getting to be too hard on her, but she work long and hard on this one for me. I was very excited to get it.

There's something extra special about a handmade gift (especially from a Grandma). We'll treasure all of these!!!

This isn't a blanket, obviously, but I love this!! My Aunt had this painted for Kaden. I love this Bible verse, and it's extra special when it's personalized!!

Happy 4th of July!!

Check out these cool cupcakes. I'm going to be honest, I stole the idea from a friend (thanks Amber!). I had fun making them, and was so proud...until I showed them to my husband. This is how the conversation went.

Me: Look hunny, aren't these cool. Do they look like fireworks?

Micah: They look like spider webs.

Me: What?!?

Micah: Yeah, they look like fireworks.

Men!!! They're no fun! Anyway, I had fun making them, and I think those that had one enjoyed eating them! Happy 4th of July!!!

(It's not the best picture. I forgot to take on before I left my house, so I took one once we got to our destination. However, they had already traveled and been dug into. You get the idea though)

4th of July

4th of July is always a big family reunion with the Gilbert family. For as long as I can remember, we've gone to my Aunt Joy & Uncle Kerry's house to celebrate. We eat tons of bar-b-q, hang out with family, eat more bar-b-q, and those who stick around long enough usually end the night with games and sometimes even fireworks. This year was a smaller than normal crowd, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. In fact, I really enjoyed this year. Maybe that's because the highlight of this year was showing off the newest member of the family. Today was a big day for Mr. Kaden. He met lots of family that he hadn't seen before.

I think the proudest was our cousin Cole. He was excited to meet Kaden, and announce more than once throughout the day that Kaden was his cousin.

He also got to meet my cousin Shelley (Cole's mommy). Shelley is a special cousin to me, and I was excited for Kaden to finally meet her.

My Nana (Kaden's Great-Nana) anxiously waited for her turn to hold one of her many great-grandkids. When Kaden was born, my Nana was sick and her doctors told her she wouldn't be able to see him for a couple weeks. She was not happy that she had to wait to meet her newest great-grandson. So, she's made up for the time she had to miss holding him.

Cole & Nana watch Kaden's big yawns. Meeting new family, and being passed around can wear a boy out.

So, he took a little nap. Check out the cool red, white & blue blanket. I'll share a story on that in the next post.

When he woke up, he was all smiles and ready to hang out with the family again. He was such a trooper!

Grandma & Papa were so proud of their grandson!

I only put one on here, but Micah & Kaden were good sports. They let me take several pictures of Kaden's first 4th of July.

However, all the pictures and family eventually just wore him out. He was so good today. It can be overwhelming to meet new people and be passed around and kissed all day. But, he was such a trooper! I think he's loved in the Gilbert family!

I hope you had a great 4th of July however you celebrated! Micah & I are very blessed. We're grateful for our freedom! We thank God first, and the men & women all over the world who sacrifice their lives for our freedom! God Bless!!

Blogging

I realize I haven't blogged in a while. I was on such a role, and then I quit. I had a little accident with my laptop. I knocked it off the chair, and it went crashing to the floor. Good news is it still works. Bad news is half the screen is shattered, so I can't really use it. So, if I want to do anything I have to sit at the desktop. Kaden doesn't let me do that much. So, I'm keeping track of things I want to blog about, but I haven't got to them yet. Just wanted you to know I'm still here. Hopefully I get caught up soon!

I have to brag a little...

I have to brag just a little on my little sister. Well, she's not really little anymore. May 23rd, Daisy turned 14. She's little compared to me, but I can't believe she's going to be a Freshman in high school!! I have to brag, because Daisy has always been one to march to the beat of her own drum. She doesn't really care what people think; she just does what she wants to do. Times are changing, and so are kids. A lot of kids don't enjoy the fun of being a kid anymore, they grow up too fast. Not Daisy though. Most teenagers her age are watching shows like "Pretty Little Liars" & "MTV." Not Daisy, she likes "Sponge Bob Square Pants" & "Looney Tunes." Most teenage girls like to hang out at the mall or get their nails done. Not Daisy, she's likes to hang out at her big sister's house (me), or she's perfectly content at home. And, for their birthdays, most teenage girls ask for new phones, iPods, or the latest gadget. Not Daisy, she asked for....

A water slide. That's what she wanted for her party. So, today at 10:00 in the morning, a water slide was delivered to my parent's house, and all day long kids (and adults) of all ages were sliding down the water slide. Then she requested grilled burgers & smores for dinner. That's it. That's what made Daisy's birthday a success!! My dad & I were laughing at how innocent & naive she is. But, at the same time, we're glad it's that way. I'm sure eventually she'll grow in to being a teenager. She'll probably be into boys, etc. But for now, we like that she's so sweet & innocent.

Kaden chillin in the backyard with all the girls.

Flipping on the water slide.

Smore time!!