Father's Day and Summer Fun

http://picasaweb.google.com/chrisklay08/CadenSOneYearPictures?authkey=Gv1sRgCImFk82Plc24_AE&feat=directlink

The above link has my adorable one year pictures on it that cousin Kristin took of me. We are working on making it a slideshow, but if you click on the website above, you will get to see me!

Jenny's sons Mason and TJ


Mason is just a few months older than me. He's a little squirt too. Just look at that face...he has cute stinker written all over it!

Happy Summer! It's been a fun few weeks of summer vacation so far. I love having Mommy home with me all day. She always keeps me busy and we are settling into our routine. On Wednesdays, I go to Jenny's house. Jenny will be my new daycare provider in the fall when Mommy teaches part-time. Jenny has 5 children (all but Mason are in school). She will watch me, Mason, and a little neighbor girl during the school year. I have been to Jenny's twice now. The first time, I cried the first three hours. I don't know why I cry because Jenny is so nice and a lot of fun. Mason is a great, little buddy too. Her other children are home during the day so I get lots of attention. Mommy thinks I am having separation anxiety and hopefully this will go away real soon. The second week at Jenny's house, I only cried for the first 2 hours. Luckily, Jenny is patient and understanding of my tears. Mommy keeps begging me to stop before we get kicked out of daycare (Jenny promises this is just a stage and NOT to worry!!) It is probably a good thing that I will have visits to Jenny's this summer so that I am more prepared for fall daycare.

Mommy loves this picture. She was making something to eat, and when she turned around, I was checking out the food in our refrigerator.hmmmm....decisions, decisions

"What are you looking at?" PS I usually don't have my pacifier in my mouth. I must have picked that up somewhere in the house without Mommy seeing me. My nuk is just a bedtime "treat" for me now. Mommy dreads the day she has to take this away during the night, but threatens to do it by the end of summer.

I must be eating one of my favorite foods. I have been very picky lately, causing stressful times during meals. I am a good eater when I want to be or when I get my favorites (grilled cheese, fruits, crackers, Graduates and juice and definitely not vegetables). Mommy has responded to my pickiness with a "Grandma-ism" by stating, "Than I guess you will just have to be hungry today!" . I wonder if she realizes that she is saying this to a one year old?

One of my favorite summer time activities is playing in my new sand and water table. I usually pick up the large tower in the middle of the water section, take the lid off, and take a big drink of the warm water that just sits in the table (I know you probably think this is gross and all, but I love it!) Liberty, also loves my water table because she drinks water from it too! What smarties we are.

I decided that maybe she had a good idea on how to drink water out of the table, so I gave it a try too. I had my first McDonald's outing last week when we were out running some errands. We didn't go to the one with a playland in it, which I am sure we will get to one of these days. I wanted to eat the cheeseburger whole, but Mommy and Daddy kept breaking it apart. I threw a little tantrum (minus the throwing myself backwards on the floor), so they decided to just let me win this time (to save themselves the embarrassment). I loved the fries in ketchup the most. No wonder so many kids are chunky these days!

Cheeseburger and fries=One happy boy

Luckily, I didn't choke and really make a scene

Onto Father's Day.... this was Daddy's 2nd Father's Day with me and we started our morning with a breakfast for him and some presents. I was being a good helper with the gifts.

I gave Daddy 3 pairs of pants for work, a pair of shorts and a matching shirt, coasters that we can put pictures inside of, the new Dave Matthew's CD, a picnic/beach blanket (this was a gift that Mommy really wanted so she bought it and gave it to Daddy), and a 3 pack of Buffalo Wild Wings sauce. Of course, he also received lots of cuddles and fun-time from me too!

I am sure Daddy will not like the angle of this shot. Sorry about that! You can tell Daddy dressed me in this picture because he put me in my monster onesie without any pants. We were supposed to go to Stillwater to go on Papa's pontoon, but the weather was overcast and chances of rain. Instead, we went to Great-Grandpa's house in Woodbury for a little BBQ and to visit with cousins and family (of course, Mommy forgot to take pictures until the very end). I did get a few pictures with Papa and my Godfather, Jimmy.

I was getting pretty sleepy by late afternoon... I think Papa has a pretty dark tan! The life of a retiree!

Going night-night on our trip back

A few other tidbits... I am not doing the separation thing before bedtime (thank goodness) and have fallen into a good bedtime routine. I am in bed at 7:15 and wake up at 6:15. Mommy and I then go for our morning run and I still take a morning nap around 9:00. She is hoping I can get down to just one nap a day, but for now, I am pretty tired by mid-morning. Also, I am walking with my lion and car walker all over the house. I took my first step without any help on Monday, which was very exciting. Mommy and Daddy think I will be walking on my own within a month. I have also mastered the stairs (I will include a picture of that next time). My question for all of you Moms is how do you deal with a fearful baby near pools and lakes? I used to LOVE the pool at the YMCA and now HATE going by water, even my little kiddie pool. Mommy signed me up for 3 separate weeks of swim lessons and is dreading it. We will be up at the lake this weekend and I have a pool party this afternoon. Mommy threatens to just put me in the water and let me scream until I know it is OK. Any advice would be great!!! Here is a little clip of me walking, which isn't the best clip, but you will at least get a glimpse!

Finally, my b-day pictures!

My birthday invite that shows my growth from month to month. Isn't it amazing how much I have grown and changed this year?!?!

If you haven't seen my blog entry from earlier this week, page down. We ended up with a computer virus, so after two days and a bit of money, we are officially up and running again. Whew! As promised, I am now writing about my birthday, since many of you have asked how it went. First of all, I had a monkey themed birthday party, since I love monkeys and Mommy and Daddy say I act like one. My invitations went out and this is how they looked (minus our address and phone number, thanks to the fun airbrush option .... no worries Grandma!)

Since my official birthday was on Wednesday, we just did a small party at our house with Grandma Lois. We had Papa Murphy's pizza and Cold Stone Creamery cake. It was my first time eating these delicious options, so it made my birthday even better!pizza=happy boy!
I am now a fan of Cold Stone Creamery (Mommy said I was a fan when I was in her belly too)

I think Mommy was confused and thought it was her birthday. Why else would she blow out MY candle??

"What is this interesting, cold stuff?"

My first taste of ice cream...

I LOVE ice cream! I sometimes would shake and scream thanks to the freeze headaches. Mommy, Daddy and Grammy would just laugh when I had one of these. I guess I did eat my cake a little fast, but it was the b-e-s-t!

Now I know why birthdays are so great! I opened a lot of wonderful gifts. Mommy and Daddy gave me this mailbox toy, a remote control of my own, a huge ball,some clothes and jammies, and (I can't remember what else...)

Ahhh! Here was my favorite gift of all. A sweet card that Mommy read to me. I think she cried a bit while reading it. Grandma gave me some really cute outfits, a book and CD, and money for my saving's account (always a great option!)

Since I was a little wound-up, Grammy thought she would help me out by playing airplane, pat-a-cake, and "so big" with me!

Next up... my birthday party. Please don't feel bad if you didn't get invited. We decided to invite family members who were close by. Mommy and Daddy said I will have lots of parties with my buddies when I get older. For my party, we had people over to visit, eat sandwiches and other foods, open presents, and celebrate ME! We had at least 30 people at our house, which made it busy and a bit like a zoo. Mommy feels horrible that she was not a good paparazzi this day and only took a few pictures.

Just me and the guys hanging out (cousins Sam and Camden... notice that Camden's arm is stuck in my ball popper! See our concern written all over our faces!!!)

Whew! Got it out. Back to playing with my guys.

Opening more wonderful presents (Mommy still thinks it is her birthday. See her opening MY gifts?!?!) I received cardboard building blocks, a sand and water table, money for my college fund, books, clothes, beach towel, maracas, cars, more toys, a trip to Hawaii (just kidding)... Thanks everyone!!!My most unique gift was a gun. Yes, you heard me right and the picture above is proof that I am not making this up. How many one year old's get a gun for their birthday? Mommy is cringing right now. The story is, Great-Grandpa gave me a family heirloom, a rifle from a Great-Great-Great Grandpa (the gun is like 100 years old). He figured I would be a hunter someday, and carry-on the family tradition. Daddy and Mommy thought this was a very special gift and they will be taking care of it for me until I can hunt (Mommy says that means I will be at least 30 years old). Anyhow, it was a gift that Great-Grandpa thought of on his own and presented it to me. How cool is that?!?!

Mommy's friend Jeannie made me a monkey cake filled with REAL bananas and also she made cupcakes with monkey faces and some cupcakes with banana runts on top. They were DELICIOUS and adorable at the same time! She even made me my own monkey cake and I ate almost the whole thing!Hmmmm.... the best thing I have ever tasted was this cake. I think this picture says it all. Jeannie is going to make me the poster child for her cakes with this photo. After eating my cake, I immediately went into the tub for a good scrub. Liberty, enjoyed eating the cake on my high chair (Mommy had to remind Daddy that dogs can die from eating chocolate). Everyone laughed and loved watching me pig out on my cake. The shirt I was wearing is ruined, but it was well worth it!

Great-Grandpa Bud was able to leave the nursing home for a bit to come to our party. It was so nice to see him! In this picture is great-auntie Judie and great-auntie Janice and you can see part of my auntie from GA, Erin, wearing the brown dress.

Great-Grandpa John and Great-Grandma Helen also came. Great-Grandma hasn't driven for 15 years, but Great-Grandpa didn't pass his driving test the day before (sore subject) so Grandma decided to drive. Thank God they made it to our house and home safely! That's dedication!

Mommy apologizes that she didn't take many pictures. Some of our guests included my auntie from Georgia who was in town, my great-grandparents, cousins, grandparents (welcome home from Florida Papa and Sharon), and my aunts and uncles. Mommy is hoping to get some of the pictures that everyone took to add to her scrapbook pages (hint, hint). I look forward to my 2nd birthday and THANK YOU to everyone who sent well-wishes, cards, and gifts. I had a great day and love being ONE years old! Love, Caden

Now that I am one...

Hello! Sorry for the long delay in posting a blog entry! Mommy has neglected me these past two weeks as she has been finishing up her school year and packing for her new school (the one she is job-sharing at). It has been really, really, busy, so I am going to do my birthday post separately from this one.

Mommy said, "Goodbye" to giving me bottles. She is very sad about this big change since this is one of her favorite times of our crazy days. If you ask me which one I prefer.... I think the picture below says it all!

Goodbye to the powder stuff that costs $25 per container!

Cousin Kristin came to take my 1 year pictures and it didn't go so well. I was so partied out from the day before that I was fussy and crabby the whole time. Kristin promised that she had some cute pictures (the first picture in this blog is a sneak peek of some of the pictures), so Mommy is keeping her fingers crossed. I will post more of my one year pictures on the blog once Kristin is done editing them (she might have to cut a paste a smile from a happy baby.... just kidding!) On her way back home to Winona, she ended up in the ditch! What a way to end a busy day! Luckily, Dan and Daddy were able to help her out and get her back on the road. This is the first time someone has ended up in our ditch, but I am sure it won't be the last (steep sides!)


Katie and I had a great time the past three weeks of Mommy's school year. Congratulations to Sara, my daycare provider during the school year, who had her little man last Thursday. His name is Evan Chase and was almost 9 pounds!!! I hope to meet Evan this summer for a playdate. Anyways, back to Katie... she took me on daily runs in the stroller and spoiled me a lot. Mommy promised to keep up with the routine and attempt to take me on daily runs in the jogger too. Today is day 2 of her vacation, and still no run. She is blaming it on the rain and icky weather.

Me and Katie

It was time for my dreaded doctor's appointment. I knew I was going to get jabbed this time, but little did I know there were 3 shots and also a blood draw. It was my least favorite appointment to date. Here are my stats... I weighed 19.7 pounds (I went to the doctor a few days later because Mommy was certain I had an ear infection, but I didn't. During that appt. they weighed me and I am officially a 20 pounder). I am 28 inches long. All in all, I am in the 10% for both my height and weight and 25% for my head size. I don't think I will be in the NBA with these stats and it looks like I am following in my parents footsteps. Thanks Mom and Dad!

Dr. Van de Loo humored Mommy and her scrapbook addiction

My favorite nurse, Shannon. She has taken care of me since my preemie days.

My ride home, facing forwards! Mommy turned the camera around as she was driving and snapped this picture. I sure am a happy guy after all of those shots. I think I was just so happy to see out the front windshield. Technically, I should have been rear-facing, since I wasn't actually 20 pounds, but Daddy had already turned my seat around assuming that I would be. Don't report this, please!

I am going through separation anxiety (Mommy said to please email her with any advice). I stand in the corner of my crib and cry for Mommy or Daddy to come and cuddle with me. My usualy bedtime of 7:00 has now extended to 8:00. We are working on this, but it has been a bit stressful around here in the evenings.

Here is a final, silly picture of me eating some of my favorite foods. I HATE baby food and will scream the minute I see a jar. My favorites include cut-up foods such as fruits, grilled cheese, string cheese, chicken, corn, sweet potatoes, graham crackers, cereal bars, cereal, and anything that isn't green (aka green veggies).


Mommy wanted to add this picture as a "shout-out" to her friends and K-Ballers (kickball team). This was her last day teaching and it looks like they had some fun. I think I was in bed during this picture and Daddy was on Caden duty. Happy Summer everyone. More blog news with my birthday pictures will follow today or tomorrow!