The Stockyards

Time to do some catching up from Spring Break... I LOVED every minute. How awesome is it to get paid AND get time off with your baby? It was an awesome excuse to find little adventures to do with Cadester. So, Grammie, Grandaddy and I packed him up and headed West. To Fort Worth that is. First stop, shopping. Cade insisted on the red cowboy boots and hat, but since he just started walking the day before I figured it would be wise to save them for later on. Of course, now that he's running I wish he had the boots, but we'll survive...for now.

After a Cowboy fashion show, we tried to catch the cattle drive down the main street, but we missed it by minutes. Cade's trying to Saw 'em off, but I told him that's not being a good Texan.

So there was a petting zoo, and at first I was like "eww dirty" but Cade loved it. He was so into the animals and tried to pet them. This is random: I was totally amazed that he started trying to climb the fence. One wouldn't think that's an inherited trait, but where would he have learned that? Good for running from the cops at college parties though.

He spotted the Clydesdales pulling a carriage.

Um, Mommy? I thought you said we could some Joe T's now?

He was amazed by the bling of the belt buckles....

Sweet little man

Last night Cade spent the night at Grammie & Grandaddy's house, Dada enjoyed man time, and I went out with my BFF in Uptown and had a sleepover. I was sad to leave Cade for like a minute, then I hightailed it down for dinner at Mi Cocina (we spotted a reality tv VH1 star!) and some patio time on McKinney Ave. I did have bouts of insane missing him, to which I whipped out my cell and flipped through 187 pics of him. It was nice to sleep in a little and then pick him up after breakfast and just before his morning nap. Genius timing!

Our first nap was coordinated mommy-baby effort on the couch for 1.5 hr. Score! Second nap after lunch was 2 hours of pure bliss, cuddled up in our Lambie blanket. I awoke when the sleeping angel on my chest lifted his head, eyes still closed and sweet grin on his face and then he clapped his hands three times and then nuzzled back down into my neck. I died. It was officially the sweetest thing I've every witnessed in my life.

When we both woke up for good the second time he lifted his head, smiled and laughed and then sat straight up and clapped his hands. He slid off the couch and went straight for the toy bin, looking at me and waving, so I joined him for some floortime playtime. I've been working on teaching him "hug" and we played hug the duckie. He would hug his Easter duck, then give it to me for me to hug, then he would reach for it and he would give it a hug. This went on for a good 3 minutes of hug-switch-hug-switch.

Another favorite game is peekaboo. He will be in his playpen or standing in a doorway and peek his head up for us and then duck down or away again. He cracks up and cracks up. It's so funny. He also loves to hold up a blankie or toy and peekaboo around that too. A man in a restaurant the other morning played peekaboo around his newspaper with Cade and he giggled so much the 3 tables around us could not stop laughing too.

It makes me so proud that Cade is such a happy boy and can make people smile. The wonder of the baby man never ceases to amaze me, from the time he was a little alien creature in my belly to now.

Night bloggies, I'd better finish this wine and popcorn before he wakes up like a madman since I just jinxed the hell outta his good moods:)

Luck o' the Irish!

Baby's first St. Patty's Day!!! Being part Irish we had to rock out the green. en *

Thanks Grammie for the cool shirt! Which led to what I thought was a cool conversation in the shoe department at Macy's, shoe guy said "Hey man, cool shirt. Lucky Charms are the best" to which I replied "Yeah, they're magically delicious." And then, damn crickets and tumbleweeds rolled right past us. Awkward. To shoe guy's benefit, I guess there is a limit to Lucky Charms-isms. Anyways....

We did get some Easter pics with the bunnies at Northpark. No fake Easter bunny for this bebe, we're talking live critters. Cade was in the MOST presh outfit, a little royal blue and green plaid romper and sweet little white collared shirt underneath. It was exactly what I dreamt of last year when I rubbed my prego belly and put my name on their mailing list. (Minus the bunnies eating the decorative flowers and the wooden eggs that Cade decided to throw on the set and make boom noises...AND minus the egg that was 1 inch away from giving the bunny a concussion, but whatev, it was good times) It was pretty much what every mom dreams of, a big crowd of people gooing and gahing over your spawn's adorableness. Being a total ego-mama when it comes to compliments on my baby I LOVED it. And Grammie did too, so I'm not the only psycho who gets off on that. Pics to come.

We came home and ate Shepherd's Pie and sang Irish tunes.

Nevermind. I popped in Tyson's chicken, had Tylenol PM and called it a night. Nick watched the Departed and Gangs of New York to celebrate his heritage. Yay for Daddy! Here are pics from the day.

Dallas Blooms 2010

Could there be a more favorite activity I do with Cade than go to the Arboreteum?! I adore seeing him explore the flowers and taking pictures of him. It was the most relaxing day to stroll around with my baby in his little red wagon. My words aren't enough today, I'll let the pics do the talking.

Okay, would it be a blog if I didn't vent?

Quickly:

1. It was 50-60 degrees today. I saw maybe 50 1-3 year olds in sundresses, shorts, and sandals. Um wtf, Texans?? I'm going to have to mention that you might want to save SOMETHING for the 100+ temps later this summer, and I'm going to recommend you go to the dr for ear infection/cold that you just gave your baby because you wanted sexy warm clothing Easter pics.

2. Hey, little 4 year old twerp. You know how you asked my 11 month old if you could have his green egg? He can't talk, that doesn't mean your answer is yes. AND no, giving him the piece of bark (or dried poop) is NOT an acceptable consolation prize. I'm telling Santa.

3. Yes, I'm going to have to take 20 shots of each pose of my baby. He moves a lot and I like pictures. Get over it.

Spring Break Day #1 = success!

Baby Crack

I caught myself using another teacher trick/behavior modification technique. Okay, first I discovered Baby Cocaine. Usually when I put Cade in his high chair he first gets a little toy, book, or Gerber snack. Tonight the Gerber snack was closest item, so I grabbed the canister and ripped it open, eager to see how well Cinnamon Maple Crunchies would go over. Silly Mommy wondered how cute his face would be when he realized it wasn't the usual Zesty Tomato flavor and instead is more of a Sonic french toast dippers flavor. Silly Mommy thought it was cute the first 4 times he clapped his hands vigorously together, baby signing request for "MORE!!!"

When his chicken and brown rice/green bean jars were heated up (sorry man, you can't sample my potato skins dinner tonight!) I brought them over the table. He took 2 bites, pointed to the Crunchies can and then signed "more". Wow, awesome distal point + request combo! And that's when I, of course, honored his communication attempts and gave him 2 crunchies.

Cuteness end. Cue demon crack-addict baby, enter stage left.

Cade cried and cried and batted away the spoons of meat and spoons of veggies. Chicken puree was in his hair, green beans were crusted on his face. He kept requesting cinnamon Crunchies and would NOT end the tantrum until one ended up his hand. My situation was dire. The kid was like a crack addict pheening for next hit and I was the dealer who was withholding the goods. Whenever I'm confronted by wild behavior at school and I pause, take a deep breath and consider my options. Leaving him alone with the can of Crunchies while I took a hot shower didn't seem like the choice that would earn me diamonds this Mothers Day (always gotta think ahead, sistas!) so I resorted to good ol' Premack Principle. First/Then.

First, spoon of baby food. Then, a crunchie. After one try of this I realized I'd run out of crunchies and rocket Cade's weight to the 2nd %ile if I kept that up. So I broke the Crunchies in half and did First spoon of food, Then Crunchie bite. That little baby was like putty in my hands. Before I knew it, he was eating 8 spoons of food before earning one little Crunchie bite. SUCCESS!!!! My college education paid off! He finished his food, we developed a bond in a stressful situation, and he realized an important life lesson...if you want your baby crack, you gotta pay the dealer's price.

Girl jeans.

Today I was super stoked to put Cade in some cool new jeans I got him. They were size 12 mo, but I got over it when I saw them on the Dillard's sale rack next to the cool 80's style guitar shirt I got him. So these jeans are dark denim, got some cool bright blue threading detail, and awesome detailed pockets, AND they're baby DKNY. I was like "score! baby's first pair of designer jeans, and only $7.99!"

So he went to school rocking the jeans and a Mr. Potato Head shirt, vintage-style AND his cool new Stride Rite shoes. I almost teared up when I told Nick he was wearing his first zip-up pants. My mother-in-law went to visit him for lunch. He had a great day. It was the first day he actually made it through the school day in the same outfit he started out in. (He's a frequent "explosive diaper" kid at daycare....even though they change him every hour. go figure that one out)

I was so excited that he made it through the whole day in his cool outfit. I gushed and gushed to the daycare ladies about how cute his jeans were, and they were a little long but he had them cuffed which is in style and so preppy looking. Then I looked down at him and noticed his fly was undone. Then I noticed the zipper fabric was red. Upon closer inspection I realized it wasn't red but hot pink. wtf?

The whole way home I was rationalizing this to myself. That really makes me mad they used a bright color on the fly. Then I thought Well that's actually pretty fashion forward detailing. Kind of metro of them to put hot pink on a boy's zipper. Way to not be gender-specific Donna Karen. By the time I got home the denial cloud had dissipated and I realized what had seriously happened.

I bought, and sent my kid to daycare in, girl jeans. The bright blue threading detail? Actually could be called "teal". The straight leg style? Actually a girl "fitted". Damn..... I have a cross-dressing baby. Way to drag him out at only 11 months old. So I'll tuck them away. And hope the next baby is a girl.

Mommy Blues

I've got a bad case of the mommy blues. I've been trying to deny it, but little man is turning one soon and I just might die. I can't imagine that I have a one year old. How did time go by so fast?! (probably all those days hoping he rolls over, cuts his first tooth, crawls were NOT smart) Now I just want to slow down, take our time and enjoy just where we are in this moment. This almost walking, almost talking moment. Awesome, he can babble "Mama" and give a super tight hug where he grabs my hair and pulls me in tight, cheek-to-cheek. Pause. That right there. Lets just stay in this moment forever.

So, about as much I didn't want to buy my first pair of maternity pants, I don't want buy my first pair of 12 month baby pj's. I cried as I opened that trash bag and put my favorite little 6-9 month outfits inside. I know it had to be done, he can't go to school in pants that look okay when he's lying on his changing table, but as soon as he crawls they become "baby capris" (no kidding, that's what the daycare ladies called them!) Also, Daddy doesn't get that I just can't bring myself to put away the precious little socks that he wore home from the hospital. Daddy thinks that these socks are still okay for wearing. **busted, love ya honey!**

Anyways, I took him out for a shopping spree with Grammie. As I strolled him around Macy's I teared up again when I realized this was the Macy's Mom and I came to the day after I found out he was going to be a boy. Not getting to buy girl stuff was hard then. Today, not getting to buy the newborn clothes was hard. Today, the tough realization that 12 month clothes are NOT in the "infant section" was really hard. My little man is just a BA-Beeee, he doesn't need to be shopping with those walking snotting 18 month olds!! Oh, and the price jump when your age can now be measured in years is IN-SANE. 9 month old jeans = $15, 12 month old jeans = $30. And then we stopped by to get his feet sized for shoes. My baby is a size 5!!! A SIZE 5!!! I die. His shoe options included laces for god sakes. What's next, a jock strap?! How did he get so old? I die. But I managed to put him in velcros first...

Little Man's Winter

Even though our little man is growing up (standing on his own -- no hands! and walking farther and farther with support) I love this pic because it shows just how small he really is. I have to like him being small because in two months, we're hitting 12 months old! Eeek, a year!

So this last month, it has been hard to blog. Cade woke up two weeks ago with 2 upper teeth cut through, RSV, and double ear infections (from the congestion). I enjoyed two days off work getting to be in full mommy mode and taking care of him. Although my heart broke to see him feeling crummy, I did enjoy him just wanting to be held by mommy. And both grandmas and a grandaddy were quick to offer a day off their work to watch him the following week. He had one day back at daycare then we got a snow day and got more mommy time! By that time he felt GREAT and was back to power-crawling through the house exploring every nook and kranny.

I did take him outside for a minute to snag some snow pics. (note I put the sick baby on the blanket, not direct snow...that makes up for not owning baby mittens, right? I mean it's Texas damnit, where do you find baby mittens?) Yes, since then I have realized that socks would have done the trick, whatev.

He tried to catch a snowflake in his mouth, it was pretty cute, I could not keep the kid away from the windows. This was fine seeing as though I was also amazed at the foot of snow that fell! I should have put on shoes the following morning after this pic to capture the beauty of the thick blanket of snow, but I snuggled my man instead.

So this week we went back to daycare only to get kicked out on Friday afternoon for a mild case of the pinkeye. Freaking amazing how that pinkeye just manifests in a matter of hours, but after a trip to the dr they confirmed conjunctivitis AND a cold. Arrgh, so THIS is what they mean by daycare babies getting sick. I'm still hoping this adds up to immune system of steel by the time we're 3. How do I manage to still feel guilty about leaving work? That part sucks, I won't lie. As soon as I'm home I'm obviously happy to be there, but my soul is just torn between my school babies and my baby baby.

Enough of the struggles of the working mom. Okay, actually one more struggle to vent about. Stupid awesome mommies at daycare. I try so hard to be the perf mom and have it together (part my own fear of CPS and part my competitive spirit to be SUPERMOM)....not this week. So one mom found Graco's genius motorized aspirator that plays 12 different tunes. Cade doesn't so much like aspirators, so the 3 seconds it takes to suck 1/4 tsp of snot from each nostril is well worth the $20 power nose sucker. So, the 12 tunes...I can't quite picture other babies getting calm and entranced by the lullabies, cheerful melodies, and nursery rhyme mix and calmly stay still so their mommies can go to town on their noses. The device does have a button so you can scroll thru tunes to find the one that will stop your baby from thrashing like a Gremlin BUT it lacks an "off music" button. wtf, right? I'll experiment more with it, but so far I likey. Very satisfying to see the snot resevoir fill up.

Here's hoping this is the last of his illnesses for his first year of life. The pediatrician has diagnosed him with "Tough Guy" syndrome. Nick and I get so perplexed because he's so laidback and happy despite his symptoms -- so it's hard for us to tell if he needs to go in for a check up, but she assured us some baby boys are just little Tough Guys, they don't let their symptoms get in the way of playing and having a good time. Anyways, gotta go tuck in Tough Guy and give him another kiss. night bloggies.

Our little cupid

I can't describe or give words to the crazy insane love I'm feeling for my baby boy. So if you're reading this blog and you've been faithful since prego days, you're used to it and you like the taste of my sappy love vomit. Um, thanks. Don't know if I should hug you or get you some Pepto.

Do other moms look at their babies and think OHMYGOD I LOVE YOU! I silently scream it inside myself every time I look at him. His amazement at the piece of leaf that he has crunched into 5 mm of pure joy is so precious to me. I watch him inspecting his little leaf fleck and I cry.

His snicker really gets me. When he first thinks something is funny he gives this little snicker, then it becomes a little longer, like a slight chuckle, then it eventually turns into a guffaw and you might even get a snort if you've been really funny for him. That baby laugh is straight crack cocaine. Dancing in the kitchen while he's in high chair really sets him off. I love that he finds humor in so many things that I would consider big kid humor. He's always been this way too. He notices a slight raise of the eyebrow and purse of the lips as a smartass funny face. He also loves it when something drops and I react with a jump and squeal. Cracks him UP! He does have appreciation for various genres of dance too: ballet, tapping, clogging, ballroomesque twirling, cheerleading "bring it on" dance, and moonwalk all get good reception from this kid.

I'm so excited to see the ways he will make us laugh as he grows up. I LOVE kids, they crack me up so much, and now that I have a kid who already laughs with me, it amazes me. Who knew babies had a sense of humor? I didn't expect it. But I love it. It makes me love him so much. Little cupid. Gotta log off so I can stare at you sleeping and whisper all my hopes and dreams into your tiny ear.

Oh dear.

Siiiiiiggghhhhhh....."Oh dear" is slowly replacing "Oh my God", "Oh shit!", and other fun phrases around the house. Nick & I think it would be funny if Cade had this line in his reportoire. But still, we've just got "Mama" and "Dada" and sometimes "huG". To be honest, the kid is just more concerned with his physical milestones than his verbal skills. Kind of dangerous when your kid silently crawls into another room and opens up a cabinet and is playing with a bottle of Nyquil. Uh, guess we missed that cabinet on babyproofing day.

So the last week has been a bit of a rollercoaster. Last week he woke up with a 100.3 temperature and stayed at JAckFM in the evening when we checked it again. I took him in to the pediatrician, and came out with a diagnosis of RSV, double ear infections, and as he cried on the table during the RSV swab we noticed 2 top teeth poking out. (Tangent about teeth: They aren't his two middle top teeth, they're the secondsies...I have vampire baby. I guess this is okay with the New Moon/Twilight craze...hopefully he gets the two main teeth before the last movie is released!)

I enjoyed two days off with him and being Momma-who-makes-me-feel-better. I tried to teach him about sick couch, but he's too young to control the remote, I had to teach him about daytime time tv and dvr. Poor kid, he'll learn. So this week Lolli, Grammie, and Grandaddy each took a day watching him and today we went in for another check-up and he's all clear for daycare! Hooray!

Now fingers crossed that none of the other feral babies, I mean sweet angels, who go to school with Cade have sick germs tomorrow!