random ramblings...

~ My heart has been so full lately.  I often look at Cayden playing, Brock swinging, and Lynlee bouncing and wonder "how can I be so blessed?" 

~Lynlee has recently started "talking" a lot.  She swung in swing for 30 minutes the other day, just talking and laughing to herself.  SO ADORABLE. 

~Cayden has been talking a lot lately.  He still uses one word phrases...but it amazes me that he can tell a story with one word phrases, hand gestures, and facial expressions , and I can understand exactly what he is saying!!

~Jesse has been doing some trucking on the side for the local farmers.  He took a Thursday and Friday off a few weeks ago.  Cayden went with him all day Thursday. Jesse got up early and left on Friday morning (6:30.)  I fed the twins and as I was walking back to our room from the nursery, I noticed a little boy was perched above the bed rails in his room resting his head on his folded arms.  I thought if I didn't acknowledge him being up that maybe he would lay back down.  No sooner than my head hit the pillow I hear " momma up daddy truckin."  I got up and explained that it was way to early to get up and that he could come to bed with me for awhile (he never sleeps with us, so it was pointless.) I closed my eyes and "peeked" at what he was doing laying on my chest.  His arms were folded and he was resting his head on them, staring at me.  He then poked me gently in the face and said again "momma up daddy truckin me."  I called Jesse and put Cayden on the phone "daddy truckin me??"  He had the saddest tone in his voice during all these small conversations.  It melted Jesse's heart, and the semi was back in minutes to pick up its' passenger!!

~I read "Goldilocks and the three Bears" the other night to Cayden.  In an attempt to see if he really pays attention to books, I asked him several questions after I was finished reading.  "What happened to baby bear's chair."  With a giggle he says "broke."  "How did it break?"  "oops."  "What did the little girl do when she saw the three bears?"  He screams and covers his mouth then says "wun" (run)!  SO CUTE!

~ I was rocking Lynlee, and Cayden wanted "up" on my lap as well.  He climbed up and gently patted her on the back and said "pitty" (pretty.)  He then reached up and put both hands around my cheeks "momma pitty." You want to talk about a boy melting my heart.  He is growing up so fast!!

~Brock and Lynlee have quickly outgrown their baby bath.  I have been rushed for bath times in the last few weeks, so the other night, I put Brock in the bumbo in the tub with Cayden (Thanks Mrs Howard for the idea!)  Cayden was so excited!!  "Brock bath me Brock bath me"  After Brock's bath, I passed him off to Jesse and Lynlee got to join the fun as well!! 

~Up until about a week ago, I was getting so frustrated trying to discipline Cayden.  He was not at all affected by time outs or spanking.  In fact, he would laugh at you for doing either one.  (Talk about ROTTEN!)  However, this past week, he has been the sweetest, most well behaved little boy.  All I have to do when he is misbehaving is ask him if he wants time out or a spank (depending on what he is doing), and he quickly stops misbehaving and says "no no no."  He will sometimes offer a hug and "sorree" (sorry) as well. 

~Cayden has been repeating and imitating EVERYTHING...watch out mommy and daddy!! I asked him for a kiss the other day....he came running full speed, tongue out and wiggling, and said "momma, daddy kiss!!) Oh my word!!!

~The twins are finally starting to ride in their car seats without crying the entire trip!  Hallelujah!!

~Cayden moved up the to the "twos" at church recently.  After his first day in the new class, he came running up to me afterwards with a color sheet "ma ma ma"  I have dreamed of the "first" drawing for me.  I was brought to tears.  

I know this post was all over the place, but I want to remember these small conversations and feelings.  I have found that as good as I think my memory is, details from a few years ago are already starting to fade!!  

A little slice of Heaven outside my picture window.....

Preface:  We had to have our youngest boxer, Nala, euthanized earlier this month.  This was a very painful decision that had to be made.  The day we said "goodbye" was very rough.  I cried A LOT!  We told Cayden that Nala was going to go live with Jesus and Bubby (our name for Braxton), and that Bubby would take care of her until we all go to Heaven.  *Note...Cayden has never really spoken about Heaven.
  
The other day, Cayden was playing quietly by himself.  He walked past the picture window in our living room, stopped, stared intently for a short while, and continued playing.  Several minutes later, he came to me (rocking in recliner in front of window) and said "hold me."  He rarely wants to be held (though it has become a daily occurrence lately.)  I gladly swept him up and began rocking.  He had a very serious look on his face as he continued to stare out the window.  I glanced out the window to see if there was a rabbit or cat in the yard, but I saw nothing, so I went back to watching the TV.   He probably stared out the window for 2 minutes, and then looked at me and said "lalalala" (Nala.)  Our conversation continued like this...

Me: "No honey, remember Nala is in Heaven now."
Cayden: (Pointing out the window and very serious) "mom, Heaven. Bubby"
Me: (very concerned and intrigued)  "Where is Heaven?"  
Cayden:  Pointed out window. 
Me: "Do you see Nala and Bubby?"  (asking just to see his response.)
Cayden: "Nala tree bubby swing." then looked at me "mama cry"
Me: (tears welling up in eyes) " Is Bubby swinging, and Nala playing?"
Cayden: nodded head "yes" and climbed down to play. 

I don't really know if he saw Nala and Braxton, but I am going to hold on to this memory forever.  It warms my heart to think that there is a little slice of Heaven right outside my picture window....

Cayden is TWO!

I know we hear it all the time, but "where has the time gone??"  It just seems like yesterday that I went into the operating room filled with anxiety and anxiousness to meet our baby boy.  I never imagined the amount of joy that fills my soul from this boy.  He is very much ALL BOY!

~ He loves tractors, trucks and trains! 

~ He loves to be outside with his daddy.
~ Morning kisses and nighttime moochies are some of mom's favorite things.
~ He is a great big brother! 
~ He loves reading books. 

" boots on, keys, hat, truck!"  He thinks he is ready to go!!!



~ He will imitate just about anything... hooking tractor up to equipment, "fixing" things, and even peeing like daddy (yes, he dropped diaper and peed on floor while dad was going!!!)
~ He has finally started talking A LOT.  He has one two-word phrase that he says numerous times a day..."boots on."  Like I said, loves to be like daddy.  He just started saying "daddy truckin" too. 

~ He sleeps in a big boy bed. Usually 11 hours a night and a 2 hour nap. (Yes, he removed diaper and fell asleep!!)
~ Pretty good eater. 
~ 18 and 24mo clothing.
~ Size 4 diaper
~ 27.9lbs and 31.5in

~He has recently showed interested in dressing himself...and undressing!!

We just love this little guy to pieces. God truly blessed us!  Happy Birthday Cayden Matthew!

Twins' first camping trip!

Yes, call us crazy.  We decided to take a camping trip when the twins were a little over 2 months old.  They were in full colic mode as well!  We borrowed a RV for the weekend and went camping with my parents.

 We were able to take Cayden out on my dad's boat while grandma watched the twins...Cayden loved the water.  He took a long nap in the beating sun...I kept reapplying sunscreen every 30 minutes!!

 It really stormed hard the second night, so we had movie night in our camper.

   We didn't do a whole lot, but it was a nice weekend getaway. 

 

~4 months~

What a difference a month makes.  Brock and Lynlee are happy babies now!!  They are both sleeping in their own cribs in the nursery now (9/16/11).  They both sleep 9-6, eat, sleep 6-9 (I know, I am BLESSED!!)   Both babies are big happy spit-uppers.  We go through lots of clothing and sheets.  They had their first overnight stay at Papaw and Nana's (9/3/11 with big brother Cayden.  I can't even begin to tell you how full our hearts are.  Individual Stats....

Brock Adam

~ We call him "Mr. Personality."  He loves to smile, giggle, and FLIRT! 

~Nickname: Brock-a- baby, brother bear.

~Eats 4.5- 5 ounces 5 times/day.  He would rather flirt than eat. 
~Rolled over on 9/26/11 belly to back.

~0-3, 3 month clothing

~Size 1 diaper
~ 12lbs 8 oz 23in (nearly 2 pounds heavier than Cayden at this age:()

Lynlee Grace

~Recently started cooing A LOT! 

~Nickname: sister susie, inwee (Cayden's pronunciation!), pretty girl

~Eats 4.5-5 ounces 5/day  She is a great eater!
~Rolled over on 9/24/11 belly to back.

~NB, 0-3 clothing

~Size 1 diaper
~12lbs 3oz 22.2in

PS..I was very shocked that they were so close in weight...she seems much tinier than him.  Also sad that they are nearly 2lbs heavier than Cayden was at this age.  Where are my babies going??

Zoo Trip

We took Cayden to the Indianapolis Zoo on September 23.  I woke him up and got him all excited about going.  We quickly dressed, grabbed some milk and a breakfast bar and headed out the door.  We were five minutes from the zoo, when Jesse and I heard a gagging sound in the backseat.  I turned around just in time to see projectile vomit coming towards me.  We quickly made a turnaround and headed for a local Meijer (had to call sis-in-law to help us find one.)  Cayden puked again prior to getting to Meijer.  I kept asking him if he was ok, and he kept saying yes.  He was covered in puke, his car seat was saturated, and our car potent!  I stripped him down and ran into Meijer to get new clothes.  Jesse completely disassembled car seat.....he had to take the seat to the garden department and hose it out!!  After Cayden was dressed in new clothes...he was like a new kid.  He was as happy as could be while jumping all over my car and saying "zoo, zoo, zoo."  Jesse and I assumed that the rush start to the morning, milk, and motion in car attributed to the sickness. 

We headed back towards zoo, and the rest of the day was WONDERFUL. Cayden was particularly fond of feeding the ducks and giraffes. In fact, we had to go thru the giraffe feeding line TEN times. The trainer gave us three bonus sweet potato bites the last time thru. She said that she hadn't ever had a kid go thru that many times!!! We got several videos of him feeding the giraffe (I will attempt to upload one!!) 

Despite our crazy start to the day....we enjoyed our time with our big boy!! 

~The Party~

I can't believe Cayden turned TWO this past week.  We had his party over the weekend, and he had so much fun.  We had a construction themed party this year.  Cayden loves all things boy, so the party theme was a perfect fit for him. 

~Invites~

~ Party Here!!~

~Goodie Bag~

~Fill Dirt~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAYDEN MATTHEW!!