3 Months Old

Our sweet Cade is three months old! 

Here are your three month stats:

• You weight 14lbs.,14oz. 
• You are 25 inches long *We're not sure how accurate these measurements are.  We had to do them ourselves since you didn't have a 3 month check-up.
• You wear size 2 diapers and 6 months clothing.
• You eat every three hours - we think you're eating around 3-4oz. a feeding.
• You sleep anywhere from 5-7 hours a night.  We think you're a pretty good sleeper!  You get that from Mommy.  :)
• You still sleep in a cradle in our room.  Sigh.
• You are still a very happy, sociable baby and smile lots and lots.
• You coo a lot and enjoy "talking" with others.
• You really love to suck on your hands - particularly your right thumb and will pull anything you can into your mouth.
• You will grasp things we put into your hands and hold on for a bit. 
• You hold your head up very well by yourself and are starting to pick it up a lot better during tummy time, which you still do NOT like. 
• You love to be read to.  You will sit in your rocker, look at the pictures and listen intently. 
• You stare at your kicking feet and at your hands.

This monthly birthday was a very special one because GJ was here to celebrate with you!  We love you soooooo much Baby Cade!  More about GJ's visit to come.... 

Back to Work

Well, it's official.  Maternity leave is o-v-e-r.  Our last week at home together was quite a busy one!  Cade went to meet Ms. Debbie, who will be taking care of Cade in a couple of weeks while Todd and I are at work.  It went very well.  We dropped off his supplies, put his diapers, wipes, clothes and toys in his cubby and spent some time with Ms. Debbie and Cade's new friends.  Ms. Debbie carried him around the whole time we were there and it was comforting to see her in action with him and the other kids.  As much as I hate to leave him with anyone, I feel good about where he's going which is an incredible relief.  Todd and I also went out to dinner for Valentine's Day Cade-less, which meant we had to leave him with someone else for the first time.  Our good friends Ali, Austin and Olivia were very gracious to watch him for us.  We also had Cade's 3 month pictures taken (a little early - he'll be 3 months old on Friday) and went to Puckett's Mill so my class and teacher friends could meet Cade.  They were ECSTATIC to see us and could not get enough of him.  I was lucky enough to catch them outside during recess so we didn't have to go into the germ-infested school.  YUCK!  Todd also got a new car to replace the totaled one.  We found that we were surprisingly attached to the old car as it was the car we had when we got married, during my pregnancy and when we brought Cade home from the hospital.  We are slowly but surely warming up to the new one.  And finally, I finished the second of five courses for my master's program.  It was a very demanding class so I am so, so, so thrilled to be finished with it!
I have mixed feeling about returning to work tomorrow.  I'm, obviously, heartbroken to have to leave Cade and this sweet time we've had together over the last 13 weeks behind.  But, I am somewhat ready to see what "real life" with Cade will be like.  And as difficult as teaching can be at times, I have realized that I still love my job and I've missed it.  I used to say all the time that I didn't understand how teachers with children did their jobs.  Ready or not, I'm about to find out.   

Angels Do Exist

Last Saturday Todd gave me a call while I was getting a pedicure to say that he was going to get a pizza.  We were going to make brownies that night and he wanted to know if I wanted ice cream to go with the brownies.  As Saturdays are "Daddy days", he had Cade with him.  Anyone who knows Todd is aware that his quick trip to pick up ice cream will mysteriously turn into an hour long adventure...love you Todd!  :)  I told him that Cade needed to eat and that if he was going to also stop for ice cream he needed to bring Cade home so I could feed him.  We debated about whether we really wanted the ice cream before he finally decided to drop Cade off and stop for it.  So, I met him back at home and took Cade upstairs to feed him.  Within 15 minutes the phone rang.  It was Todd saying he had been in an accident.  No one was hurt, but Todd's car took a pretty good hit.  I'm sure that Cade would have been okay had he been in the car, but we were so thankful that he wasn't.  So, I want to give a little shout out, one of many more to come, to Cade's angel up above.  We ask that you continue to keep this sweet baby healthy, happy and SAFE! 

Sad about Dad's accident...

But so glad that everyone was okay!

We're down to one car for now.  With Todd working two jobs and needing the car all day and night, I haven't left the house since Sunday when we went to celebrate Superbowl Sunday with Ali, Austin, Olivia, Sandy and Mike (in case you're wondering Cade, the Giants won your first Superbowl and Madonna performed the halftime show).  Needless to say, I have a serious, SERIOUS case of cabin fever right about now.  At least I have Cade here to keep me company. 

Beautiful Day

Today was such a beautiful day - 70 degrees in February!  Cade and I went to the park to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather.  It was his first time being outside for any significant amount of time and though his likes and dislikes are still somewhat of a guessing game at this point, I think he really enjoyed it.  While we were out today I realized a few things.  First, a gaggle of geese can be incredibly intimidating.  I swear if those guys could have asked me for my wallet I would have given it up without a fight.  So scary!  Second, people are very kind to women with babies.  This makes me happy.  :)  Third, nature is so wonderfully beautiful.  I think we become somewhat numb to the simple beauty around us because we see it day in and day out.  As I said, today was the first time that Cade was really outside aside from sitting on our deck occassionally and I was trying to imagine what it must be like to look at things through the eyes of someone who had never seen it before.  It must be overwhelming to say the least.  And last, the world is infinitely better to me because Cade is in it.  Love you C-Baby!