hug ex at it's best

thanks to Lizzie... we have pictures out on the tarmack... and yes... it was COLD out there!
at least one of us got to sleep some... it was like Christmas eve the night before... too excited to sleep... and a teething baby didn't help. oh well... at least he got a nap! And for the record, he was a super sweet boy all day!
ok, i know you can't see it very well, but the word "HOME" is there... promise! (sign credit to Lizzie for helping me design and paint it! oh and Caden for lending us his little hands to paste on there in red... even though he smeared the paint and it's hard to make out! Ha!)
yup, still blue!
He's home, he's home, he's home! Praise the Lord Almighty... the wait is over! :) I can't imagine the difference in Michael's life now that he's hanging up his MRAP for a dirty diaper... many thanks to aunt lizzie for all the pict ure taking and EVERYTHING else she did/helped with! couldn't have done it without her!

crib antics

some new cuteness

yup

without a doubt, he is looking like me. there are pics of him with my grandaddy that look just likepics of grandaddy holding me as a baby... will try and find those at some point...

until then... here's a clip...

over due

sorry for the delay on these... now that he's mobile... my time is spent chasing him around the apartment...

yes!

we are back online! Charter came this morning and set up the internet here at the apt. I couldn't take the lack "connection" anymore. Though, gonna have to take the computer in to the shop to get all cleaned out. (Yes dear, there is Iraqi dust and sand all over this poor computer!)

A few things to clear up...
-Gmommy and Gdaddy stands for Grandmommy and Grandaddy... I just don't like to type it all out if I don't have to.

-I have no idea who Hotdog is...

-i'm hungry... must find food!

Will get some fresh pics up asap. now that the monkey is mobile... i find myself chasing him around the apt. makes for some fun pics.

sock monkey

So today was his first Halloween. And of course this meant he had to dress up. (Baby, I know you wanted him in a ninja outfit... but i figured you two could be matching Ninjas next year... and that would be best). So this year, he was my little monkey... a sock monkey to be exact. (Though, with credit going to Kathryn Sloan, he wore his camo ghosts shirt all day, and did his costume for a bit this evening... many thanks to Gmommy for the costume). I will try to get some pics with him in his ghost shirt later... I don't know why I feel down on that one today. Oh well. Sorry.

Oh, and after much deliberation, Lizzie put some bleach in the hair and now it looks much better. While these pics aren't the greatest of yours truly, I am much happier about my hair color. It was too golden... now it's got more white in it. Much much much better.
i should sell this shot to Snickers!

we're back...

So here we are... back online. I will try and get some new stuff up here so you can see what the little monkey has been up to for the last few weeks... So here goes...
Oh, and I got a hair cut today... and spontaneously decided to color it as well. I am still not sure how I feel about it. It's a little more golden that what I wanted... I may go back and have her touch it up a bit... we will see though. Will try and get a picture of it for you, so you can give me your opinions, a little later. In the mean time... here's the monkey...
The cousins hanging out...
Seeing Great Gmommy and Great Gdaddy... always good times! :)

Olga and I took Caden and Titus to the Honeysuckle Hill Farm pumpkin patch this past Sat. It was good times! Next year, they will both be older and hopefully be able to enjoy it more. But it was fun for us! :)

phone's dead

ok, so i went to Katie's several days ago... and left my cell charger at the apartment. then we packed up to see Great Grandparents in Lexington. And still don't have a charger! Sorry... if you are trying to call... i will be back in touch with the world tomorrow when i get home. i am sorry! i love you!

take the last train to...

Clarksville...
yup, off to TN as of this morning. Won't have computer access for over a week. Call me if you need anything or just want to talk. :) Love to you all!

Uncle Brian... I don't know if you can see it, but he's in one of your Harley shirts... and lookin' good!











This is the first time my toes have been painted since I found out I was pregnant... so pretty... Caden keeps staring at them.







Aunt Lizzie making us dinner tonight! Yummy!

more pics...

... who could possibly resist putting them in the mouth?



this is a pic of our new kitchen table and benches... will get a shot of it once i get it into the apt next week. hopefully it will fit! we will give it a major cleaning in the next few days, once the rain stops and we can take it outside.

and of course, the bear must be eaten...

stylin' in the Puma's

Aunt B... please notice the shoes upon this boy's feet! Guess what fits? Oh yea, the shoes that you got in the largest size! Good thing you didn't get them any smaller... this is the perfect time to have him wearing them... :) Thank you!

celery anyone?

So here are a few shots from last night. He just wouldn't be calm and let me finish my green lemonade/carrot juice. And as soon as he saw the celery in my hand, he just had to have it. So I let him take it... and naw on it a bit... :)






And this was from this evening, after his bath... He had been nibbling on his toes all evening... but just wouldn't cooperate when I wanted to get a pic of it. Oh well... maybe I will catch him in the act later...

a few more fun shots...

it is truly amazing that not even 6 months ago, we were here... I love this pic of Michael and Caden.










While we may have gotten a smile out of Niki, Caden just wouldn't behave... oh well, his facial expressions he got from me... hands down.






This just reminded me of all those cool shots by/of Bethany, that she has taken of herself... He's starting early!







Love the generational side of this pic. With the aged hand of Great Grandad and the youth of Caden...











And just because his favorite thing is to eat his own hands... I thought I would share it with all of you! :)

add MD to the list of states travelled to

So we took a worldwind trip to MD this week... aunt lizzy, caden, and myself...
we went to see great grandad. it was the coming together of the generations... the greatest generation and, well, whatever they decide to call caden's generation. (x and y are already taken... so will they be z? time will tell)

we also dropped in to see niki for lunch on our way out of town. she and caden make the silliest faces!

just for giggles

who needs to take a nap?

Oh... forgot to mention last weekend... he finally rolled over from his back to his belly. Though, he seems to prefer going from his belly to his back, and does that little move all the time now...

So yesterday, I laid the little man down for a nap in the middle of the afternoon. He was fast asleep when I laid him in his crib. On his belly, facing away from the door. Here's a pic to give you a better idea... note the location of the gorilla... :)


After just a few minutes, I was getting ready to run out to the store (Gmommy and Aunt Lizzie were going to keep an eye on him). I went in the room to get my shoes... and this is what I saw... (sorry it's so dark, but turning on the lights woulda distracted him)...

for your viewing pleasure

So here are a few still shots and another video of last night's adventure in food discovery...

dinner will never be the same

I know that I said I wasn't going to start the little monkey on solids before he was 6 months old or at least sitting up in a highchair on his own. But... in the recent weeks, he's been showing the classic signs of being ready to jump toward solids... So... Last night, I mashed up some banana for him for the very first time. (ok, so i gave in). Since last night's foray into solids went so well... I decided to go ahead and make the investment. So today, I gave in some more. Gmommy and I took the little monkey shopping for his new highchair. It's amazing... they don't make highchairs like the one I had as a child... for that matter, they don't make them like the ones I used when babysitting for people 10-20 years ago. So after some serious comparison shopping and discussing the pros and cons with Gmommy... we settled on this wonderful orange chair. I have to admit, it's going to be the most colorful apartment now, thanks to all the baby gear.
This evening, after getting the chair all put together... the boy took it for a test drive. With his Caden monogrammed bib and his mommy holding his infant spoon in hand, we went for the ever mushy banana. The videos speak for themselves. Liz and I laughed and laughed. She was trying so hard to keep the camera from shaking while she was laughing. (and i think the background noise was the dryer. sorry about that). And in case you are wondering what the green stick like thing is on the tray... it's a stalk of asparagus. Yes, Gmommy took the monkey for a walk outside while I made dinner this evening, and he came back with asparagus in hand (or rather, mouth). He likes to "chew" on them. I know, this breaks the cardinal rule of only one new food at a time... oh well. He's his mother's son... he likes raw asparagus.
His list of foods at least tasted/sucked on to date:
Banana
Peaches
Lemon
Watermelon
Asparagus
Carrot
Pinapple (juice from fresh slices, and no, he didn't drink it... i only dipped his spoon in it and let him put his spoon in his mouth... which he does very well on his own. though, i don't foresee him getting it into his mouth with actual food on it any time soon... at least i don't want it to be any time soon)
And I think that's it. Yea, guess I didn't really wait. Oh well, he is enjoying all his new discoveries... even the lemon slice... which he put back in his mouth several times. :)