Bubble Mowers and Bunk Beds.

We were out and about this weekend, looking for a solution to the soon-to-be bed problem in our house. We were thinking about maybe doing bunk beds for the boys, and Caden can just use the bottom bunk for a couple of years until the new baby is ready to move into his room. Well, we still haven't completely decided, but we think we are going to build Caden a bed, and then build an identical one when we need it. I found some plans online, and I know how crazy we sound. Paul and I are actually accomplished Do-It-Yourserlfers, and decent woodworkers, so I think we can get it done.

Depending on how it turns out, I'll post some pics. LOL

While we were out, we stopped by babies r us. It was kinda fun to see all the new baby stuff they have out, and how ridiculous some of it is. It reiterated the fact that we have everything we need, and not to buy anything. :) We did, however, find a really cool bubble mower that was only $15.99! I had a 20% off coupon, so it was like $13 or something. We put him down for a nap when we got home, and put it together. When he got up, he saw it, and I thought he was going to faint. :) He screamed like a crazy boy and ran to it. He didn't push it fast enough to make the bubbles work for a while, so we had to show him. Once the bubbles started, he was in love. He won't even take a bath if it means being away from that thing. It's sweet, and a great buy for anyone with small children.

I'll try to get picks of it on too. :)

Funny boy!

From Caden's Myspace page... (yes, I copied and pasted... I'm lazy today)

I'll give you some background first...I'm pregnant, right?

So, I like to eat cereal every morning. (If I don't, I'll starve by noon) My favorite is Lucky Charms. I like the marshmallows. :) The thing is, so does Caden. So, I try to eat my cereal before Caden gets up in the morning, or he'll stick his whole hand in my bowl and "fish" for the marshmallows. Kinda gross, and he won't stop till they are all gone. :)

Well, this morning I was almost done, and I heard him start "talking" over the monitor. I knew he was fine, so I waited until I had finished my cereal. I got up, walk across the house, and open his door. Caden has known for some time now how to take off his diaper. And this morning, he was standing up, sans diaper, with his winkie through the crib bars... peeing all over the floor. I think he was aiming for his diaper (that he threw out of the crib), as the pee was concentrated around it.

I thought it was just a little bit on the rug, so I got a small rag and started wiping it up. Once finished, I stood and walked closer to the crib to pick him up. Well, the little bugger must have "changed directions" cause the majority of the pee (hee hee) was directly underneath the edge of the crib... and my my foot.

He was so proud, it was so funny.

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Caden got a haircut last night on the way to Nonny and Grandpa's house. He was so still and quiet through the whole thing. He didn't squirm at all, and he actually thought it was pretty funny for most of it. He cracks me up.


His little hand didn't move for a long time. He was concentrating. lol



Caden's sweet little smile! The lady thought he was something else!
That's when she started in with the buzzer. :) Can't help but laugh out loud when I see this one.



I thought I'd add in the mower one, cause he was pushing it around at my mom's. That was a few weeks ago, and he is now obsessed with lawn mowers. He has a name for it, but it doesn't make any sense. He gets so mad if we pass one and he doesn't get to push it around. We went to Lowe's the other day, and they had a huge row of mowers out front. Caden about lost it, he was so excited!

He also has a new thing about helping me clean. Saturday is my "deep clean day" and he always likes to help. I have since filled a squirt bottle with water for him. I keep it with the other cleaning bottles above the sink, because he thinks his is "for real" that way. He gets his bottle when I get mine out, and he gets a rag. We both spray stuff and wipe it down. He usually does the cabinets or the floor, and I do the counter and the top of the stove. He actually sprays and wipes it down. He also has a thing about vacuums. He loves them. We have a small vacuum that I use for the hard wood, and if I let him, he'll push that thing around all day. If we go to Walmart, and pass the vacuum aisle, he freaks! Screaming and pointing at those marvelous things. LOL


He loves to help you empty the dishwasher. He'll hand you one utensil at a time... knives removed first of course. It takes forever to empty the dishwasher that way, but he likes to help.


I caught him on the laptop the other day. It was turned on, but he got to the Internet all by himself. He's amazing! :)








Just like Top Gun :)

Just a cute picture.


On another note... we went to the sonogram yesterday. I've posted pics and the findings on my blog.

Caden's friend Dylan

Baby Dylan was born on Friday last week, and has either Truncus or Aortic Valve Artesia . He goes in for surgery tomorrow (Wednesday) morning. Please visit their page and just let them know that you are thinking about them and sending prayers their way.

Thank you!


russcindyg.blogspot.com

Graduation!!!

Sarah (the therapist) came today, while I was at work. Paul called on my lunch break to inform me that on the next visit, Caden is going to graduate! I am so excited! I think that's the best birthday present I've gotten so far. Awww... I think I'm going to go home and be there for the "graduation." That's so cute! I wonder if he gets a little hat. Probably not, but it'd be cute! I will try to remember to take pictures, I've been really bad about that lately.

I don't know yet when it is, I'll have to ask Paul. She said he's all caught up now. It's a miracle, from where we were just 15 months ago. Her first visit was May 14th, 2007. He's come so far. I'm so proud of him. I'm going to be a mess at his kindergarten graduation... LOL

Results...

So, we went in (a little late) for his appointment today. They made him wear an ankle bracelet and everything. Well, they did the ultrasound on his groin first, and he did great with that. He didn't bother her, and when she turned on the sound to hear his pulse, he just looked at the monitor and watched. Then we had to take his shirt off to do his neck, and that wasn't so great. As soon as he saw the wand, he started freaking out. He didn't cry for long once it was on his neck, but the sight of it scared him, I think. Thankfully, the neck part didn't take as long, and she took the results to be read before we left.

The Dr. looked at them and decided that there is no evidence of any clot anywhere! I had a feeling that after months of lovenox and over a year of daily aspirin that it would dissolve. I'm pretty happy about it. Not a huge deal, really, but exciting none the less.

Appointment

So... Thursday, Caden and I go to Wesley for an appointment for an ultrasound. Not the kind you are thinking... :)

When Caden had his first surgery, 17 months ago (WOW) they had an Art Line in his Femoral Artery in his left groin. Well, he only had it in for a week or two, but it created a blood clot. He also had a smaller clot in his right neck from one of the IVs.

If you remember, we gave him lovenox (blood thinner) shots in his thighs twice a day for months after coming home from the hospital. We went back to KC last summer and they did an ultrasound on his neck and groin. They decided he didn't need to be on the lovenox anymore, but instead we started giving him a low-dose aspirin everyday. Well, that's been about a year now. When we went to the cardiologist in June, I asked her about how long he should have to take that. So, she decided that after his lung popped back open, and things were going better, that we would schedule another ultrasound and see if we can stop the aspirin. Of course... it's the cheapest drug he's on, so that's not the concern for me, it's just that I want to make sure that the clot truly is gone before we stop giving it to him. I don't want it to get dislodged and travel through his body.

When we went last summer, they said that they were unable to find the one in his neck, and the one in the groin was smaller than it was previously. Hopefully that trend continued!!!

I will let you all know how it goes.

Finished!!!

I forgot to tell you all that we finished our basement. I have been really lazy lately (I'm blaming the baby, lol). Anyway, we finished the basement about a week and a half ago. As soon as we got the carpet in, we couldn't help ourselves. We were so close. So, we built some shelves in the corner for the fancy new TV and DVR. It looks pretty good down there. Except for the humongous weight machine in the corner that a certain someone thinks he's actually going to use. ;) Oh well, if we took it apart, it would take up most of the space in our storage room. I haven't taken any pictures of the finished product, but I will try to remember to do that tonight or sometime soon.

Have a great day!

Ticky Ticky Ticky!

Caden's new and favorite game is tickling people. He'll walk up (or crawl over) and stick out his index finger. Then he'll start to tickle you wherever he can, and he says "Ticky ticky ticky" It's the funniest thing I think I've ever seen. He gets this look on his face too, that's just perfect. Like he's waiting for you to laugh. It's hilarious, and you can't help but laugh. His favorite place to tickle is your stomach, after he lifts up your shirt. He did that to Paul the other day, while they were sitting on the couch together. Caden lifts up your shirt just high enough to see your belly button, and then he sticks his finger in it, and goes to town. It's so funny.

Paul's Dad and step mom came over last night, after she had watched him for the afternoon. We ate dinner and were playing with Caden. He is getting so good at walking! It has literally been a few days, and he's ready to walk full-time. Which is great, cause daycare will be cheaper when he is walking! If you ask him to stand up, he will... by himself in the middle of the room. And then he'll just start walking. Sometimes he has to start over again, cause he doesn't have good balance, but he's doing amazing! He's getting to where he wants to walk more than crawl. He walked all over the house last night. He didn't like the transition from the carpet to the tile too much, but he kept on going. I will have to get video of it, if I can ever figure out how to get it on my computer. That's been a struggle for me. :(

Walking better!

Right when you start to not think about it so much... bam! He's actually doing a lot better with it. He does it without really thinking anymore. It used to be that you'd hold his hand and pull him so that he'd walk. Now, you hold one hand, and he's pulling you, telling you where he wants to go! He's started standing at the ottoman, and just walking over to his toys. I haven't counted, but I'd say the most he does in a row is about 20 steps. He knows when to slow down, and how to pivot (slowly). He was sitting the other day by the chair, and instead of crawling over to the ottoman and then standing up, he put his hands on the floor, stuck his butt in the air, and stood up... and started walking!!! I couldn't believe my eyes! It was amazing. He's getting to where he realizes that that is just as fast, if not faster than crawling. The therapist told us to hold a washcloth, and let him hold the other end. That way, he feels like he's holding something, and we can let go without freaking him out so much. That works, but sometimes he notices that you aren't holding on anymore. He is still crawling most of the time, but he is just building his confidence right now. Have a great day guys!

Carpet!!!

So, if you didn't know, we have been "working" on finishing the basement. We gave ourselves to Thanksgiving to get it done, so it seems that we are right on schedule! Just kidding. We went to Lowe's and ordered the carpet, and then they measured, and then we had to go pay for it, and then we waited for almost two weeks for them to call and schedule the install. It was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, and he called me at 8:30 in the morning, saying he was on the way. So, why do they even schedule it? If they are just going to come whenever they want? Sooooo annoying. The whole carpet-getting process took about 2 months. Yep. Good thing our deadline was far out!

It looks great though. Of course, Paul felt the need to go out Monday night and buy a big TV for the basement. He "wanted to make sure the kids would have something to watch down there." Isn't that sweet??? Heehee. So, the second (third) living area should be completed within a couple of weeks. We need to paint and put up the trim, and paint the finishing touches, but I think we are scarily close to being done. I am soooo excited!!! There has been furniture (coffee table, love seat, arm chair etc.) in the office for 2 months now, and you can't even walk around in there.

We are actually going to move the office downstairs and turn that room into the nursery, so that Caden doesn't have to give up his room. I don't want to give up the guest room, either. It seems like when we have company, we REALLY have company. So the basement will probably be used for people to sleep too. I will post pictures as soon as I get around to it.