Reflection

Don't you just love the Fall? I love going for walks and drives once the leaves have changed color- it makes me feel cozy and happy for some strange reason. :) But tonight, looking outside has made me think. At first I was thinking about our lovely graveyard view :) and that is what got me started. I realized that I really do complain a lot rather than just be content.

One thing I've noticed about people, me included, is that we have to have the "best". And the "best" almost always refers to material things. Are you wondering where I'm going with this? :)

Well, over the past few weeks I have been quite lonely and homesick. And I've been complaining a lot. Yesterday I was in a sad mood so my sweet husband took me to the mall in the hopes of making me feel better. I shopped and did get a few things, but it wasn't fun. The only fun I had was when I was sitting down with Caden and Jeff having supper. Caden was adorable! He made friends with an elderly gentleman and I really do think Caden made his day. Caden smiled at him, talked to him, showed him things, and even waved bye to him! Just sitting down and having supper made me appreciate the little things. Who cares how we look or how much we have in material things? Who cares what kind of house we live in? Or what kind of car we drive? These things should not matter. And coming back to my fall pictures- who cares if you have a graveyard view? *smiles* In all seriousness, it doesn't matter- does it?

The Bible tells us that we should be content whatever our circumstances may be. Philippians 4:12-13 is the apostle Paul saying this: "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

So as I gaze out the window tonight, I am content. And thankful. I thank God for my family, my friends, and for all the circumstances I find myself in. And I pray that I can keep my eyes on what is important. :) Let's be happy with what we have. Look at Caden- he is such a joyful little boy (when he feels good anyway *grin*). Just letting him out on our balcony fills him with joy. He's only 1 but he's sure impacted my life for the better. And I thank God for him. I pray that we can be as Paul was and be content "in ANY and EVERY situation". We do have a lot to be thankful for.

He's Going to be Smart! :)

I really do think Caden is going to be a very smart little boy. Jeff and I are amazed by all that he can do, and we are especially amazed that he can do what we do. Caden watches us even when we don't realize that he's watching. And we can't forget that.

I have been starting to brush our cats more, and we keep the brush in the bottom drawer in the kitchen. I also keep their toy mouse in there. Well, Caden knows where they are too, and yesterday I was sitting down watching TV and I felt this brush going through my hair! It was the cat brush! Yuck! Caden knew where it was and he knew it was a brush to brush hair. And he'll even go and get the mouse and play with the cats. Atleast someone in this house is giving them attention. ;)

And this morning I was in Caden's room and I heard this sound- it was as if someone was trying to get into our condo. I had just given Caden his toy keys, and when I went out into the main room I saw Caden trying to unlock our bedroom door with his keys! The door was just shut to keep him out, but I was amazed that he actually knew what keys were for! He must be watching us when we unlock the front door. Isn't he a smart little boy? :) And guess what else he did? When he had his morning bath he took his dirty clothes to the laundry room! I am absolutely serious! Jeff doesn't even know to do that! *smiles*

Caden will also watch TV off and on now. He likes this weird show that is on at 7am. A bunch of people dress up in the same color and sing and dance with puppets. Caden watched it for about 5 minutes straight. He NEVER does the same thing for 5 minutes! So he stared and Jeff and I just stared! Hey- we were shocked! :)

I also put up pictures of our little snacker. :) He still has that dreaded runny nose, but he is getting better. For the most part he's been in a better mood. And of course, right as I'm typing this, Caden is starting to have a tantrum because he can't get the top off his diaper rash cream. He is putting his head down on the floor and is sticking his bum up in the air, all while whining.

OK- now he is in bed for a time-out. We have been dealing with this a lot lately. Last night Caden hit me out of anger for the first time. It was a sad night for me. Not really- but I was sad for a bit. I was putting Caden to bed at 8:00 and when he saw that he was going to be put to bed, he gave me an angry look and then hit me really hard just below the neck. Jeff came right in the room, scolded Caden and put him to bed. I was stunned. I still can't believe he did that! Jeff and I never hit Caden so I don't know where kids pick this up. It must just be their nature I guess.

Loving Bath Time

Caden had a good night- a nice soak in the tub and then a nice walk with Mommy and Daddy. :)

He started drinking his milk out of a sippy cup tonight. He hasn't wanted any bottle other than his morning one for days. But he likes his milk out of a cup. Our little baby is not a baby anymore. And he started clapping a few days ago. Jeff and I are proud of our little boy. :)

He's Feeling Better!

Jeff and I are so happy! Last night Caden was back to his sweet, cheerful self and he was having so much fun playing that we let him stay up past his bedtime. Just for 30 minutes or so. :)

Today has been a pretty good day. Caden had his usual naps- one at 9:30 and he is sleeping again now. Kathy, a lady from our church, came over today and Caden was a little grouchy while she was here. It was getting close to nap time and he isn't 100%, so when we were having lunch he was mad and he wouldn't take his bottle (he had already had his lunch). So I put him to bed and, after an hour of talking to himself, he fell asleep. But earlier he was in a great mood. So hopefully he'll still be in a good mood when he wakes up. Don't you love the pictures of Caden playing with Scat, his kitty? And his train set? He's smiling again! :) Just don't blow up the pictures because Caden does still have a cold- if you know what I mean. :)

Spoons, Sulking, and Sniffles

Caden is still a grumpy bear. His nose is still running and no tooth has showed itself yet *sigh*. This morning he had a temper tantrum while Jeff was here and Jeff put him straight to bed. Caden slept from 8:30-10:30. Then we went on a nature walk from 11:00-11:40 or so, and Caden was in no mood for that. He wouldn't walk so I had to carry my bundle of joy (he really was bundled in a ton of layers which made him extra heavy) all the was there and back, with only a little help on Caden's part. We got home and Caden started his tantrums again so I tried to give him his lunch. That just made him angry. So I tried a bottle. That made him livid. I changed him. That made him hysterical. He started kicking me and whining. So back to bed he went. He slept from 12:30-2:30 and now he is awake, but is still grouchy. What can be done with this little turkey? I hope Jeff gets home soon.

PJ Day at the Jones'

Poor Caden. He is sick. He has a runny nose and his stomach has been upset too. Last night he had a little Chinese food and that probably didn't agree with him, but he loved it. :) And the runny nose might be from teething. Come to think of it- the upset stomach might be too. He always gets a little sick when he is teething. He only has 6 teeth, so that is a strong possibility. Caden had a nice bath this morning and then I put him in clean pj's. He is cozier that way. I'm actually in my pj's too! I picked up a shift at work for tonight and one for tomorrow so I'll be napping when Caden does. I can tell he doesn't feel well. I've been giving him Tylenol cold and he's been drinking lots, so he should get better soon. He was sick once when he was 3 months old and luckily that was it. So when he is under the weather he doesn't know what to do with himself. He grabbed Morty (his stuffed elephant from "Auntie" Nicole) from his crib and his soother- his favourite things. Poor little guy. He just wants lots of cuddles from Morty and Mommy. And he got lots of cuddles from Grammie last night. Jeff and I got back from our "date" :) and Caden was asleep on Grammie, holding Morty and his blankie close. He had a good time. Hopefully he'll get better soon.

Go Go Go

I am going to put some pictures up once Caden wakes up. They are cute photos of Caden at the playground a few days ago. He is sleeping right now and TRUST ME- I DON'T want to wake him! :) The crankiness has minimized slightly but it is still there. He went down for a nap at about 11:20 because we took him to Friday Fellowship at Jeff's school and we got home late. He woke up after 40 minutes, took his bottle, and demanded to go back to bed. He didn't even want to have his lunch. So he is sleeping peacefully now and I'll give him his lunch when he wakes up.

When I took Caden to the Dr. yesterday for his 1 year checkup he got a few laughs. First he ran up to this man who was probably in his late 50's and said "Dada". He did that twice! The man was a little embarrassed, and everyone there laughed. And then Caden trotted over to a lady and started rubbing her leg! Needless to say I was chasing him the entire time, and the Dr. was 1 hr behind. Not fun. But Caden is doing great so that's good.

Jeff and I are going on a vacation soon and I can't wait! We are going to be away for 8 whole days. Plans are still up in the air but we know we are going to Kelowna for sure and Grammie and Grampie Jones are going to let us use their condo. So Jeff and I can have a real vacation! And we are taking Caden with us. I think it's fun to take him along. We are going to try and find a petting zoo to take him to and we are going to take him swimming hopefully. Jeff also wants to show me where he grew up. I like to see that stuff because I feel like I missed out not knowing Jeff when he was growing up. I love to learn more about him. :) We might even go to Vancouver because we really want to see Caden's Grammie but we are still trying to see if it will work out. There are lots of other places we'd love to see, but Caden is not car friendly so we don't want to do too much driving. It would take the vacation out of vacation. :)

Well, I had better go. Jeff and I are going out tonight (it's been awhile) and Caden's grandparents are going to look after him. I am excited to go out with my sweetie and I am excited to leave my other sweetie with his grandparents! What?! :)

G-R-U-M-P-Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Caden is giving Jeff and I a bit of a hard time right now. He had his needles a week ago (he was 23lbs, 11 ounces and 80 cm long- 60th percentile for weight and 90th for height) and, being a live vaccine, the symptoms present themselves about a week after the shot. I don't know if it's that, teething, or the fact that I've worked the last few nights, but Caden is so grumpy and miserable that we are going crazy. He hits and kicks me now and when I say "No" or grab his arms or legs to discipline him, he just laughs and hits or kicks even harder. And a few days ago he thought it was hilarious trying to bite Mommy over and over and over. It is frustrating. Tonight I had had enough when he touched the face of the oven twice after being told not to. His hand got hot and he could have been burned. So I took a kicking and screaming Caden to his crib and left him there until supper was ready. He is now sitting beside me enjoying his meatballs, carrots, and toast- all that I had time to make between the irritating screams that our neighbours across town probably heard. If he wasn't so darn cute, I don't know what we would do. And hopefully this "phase" won't last too long. Jeff has long days at school which means long days for Mommy if Caden is grumpy! And yes, I know Mom, Dad, Meredith and Holly-this is payback for me for being an awful child! I know! I've heard it, I deserve it, and now I'm living it! :)

On a happier note- Caden loves his new train set. And so does Daddy as you can see. I actually don't know who likes it better- Jeff or Caden. :) And there is a picture of Caden is his new Pooh pj's from his Grammie, Aleta, and there are also pictures of him in his new blue outfit that Daddy also thinks looks ridiculous. But not quite as bad as the "Cadena" pictures. *lol* :)

Shameless Plug By Jeff!!

I'm running my other blog again! You can see it here.

And by the way, I post my sermon manuscripts at our church website, once they're preached. I'll do better in keeping that one up to date, too....

Meet Cadena

Poor Caden...

Jeff and I took Caden for a walk Sunday night and it was cold so I put him in his elephant jacket that his Grammie and Grampie Jones got him while they were in China. Caden had his new football pj's on and his big black boots. This is just to set the stage. :)

Well, Jeff thought Caden looked ridiculous but I thought he looked adorable! :) A man was walking his dog and stopped when he came to Caden and asked: "Does SHE want to see my dog?" Jeff was devastated! It was funny! Poor Caden. We had to hurry home so we could put "her" to bed! *grin* What do you think? Does Caden look like Caden or Cadena in these pictures? Be honest!

Gifts to Good Use

These are just a few pictures of Caden's new items being put to use. :) His new pj's from Aunt Holly and maybe soon to be "Uncle" Nathan :), his b-ball net from his "Auntie" Cheryl, his new clothes from Kate (the green dinosaur shirt and tan pants. He is sleeping with his new stuffed dinosaur now that Kate got him. The dinosaur giggles when you press his leg and it makes Caden giggle!) and his train set from Mommy and Daddy and his Grammies and Grampies. Oh, and I can't forget his new toothbrush!

Caden's 1st Birthday- Sept 8 :)

These pictures were taken on Sept 8th at Caden's party. :) We think Caden had a really fun day. He woke up and found a train set in the living room. He LOVES trains. Jeff stayed up late the night before putting the trains and table together, and then Caden trotted out and destroyed it the next morning! So now 3/4 of the train set is in Caden's closet and he has a small little track to play with in the meantime. :)
We had a party for Caden at his Grammie and Grampie's house, and his Uncle Mike and Aunt Kim, Uncle Matt, Aunt Holly, Aunt Rebekah, Uncle Stephen and his very good friends Tarena, Nathan, and Cheryl all came. Caden received many gifts, and, although they couldn't come to the party, his Grammie Jones, Aunt Meredith and Uncle Greg, Grammie and Grampie Fairgrieve, friend Kate, and his neighbor Irene and other neighbors Doug and Jean (who watch Caden for an hour while Jeff and I are both working) all gave him something special as well. So when Jeff and I got home after the party we had a ton of rearranging to do in our small place to make room for all of Caden's toys. His favourite toy of the day- are you ready for this- was....... a toothbrush. Yes- a toothbrush from his Grammie and Grampie Jones. It rattled and Caden loved it. Not the train set. Oh well... What can you do? :)
Oh- the pictures of the scrapbook are posted because that is what Tarena gave us. A beautiful scrapbook of Caden's first year. I just put up a few pictures because we love it!