What a Week!

Kaden & I have had a busy week! (Well, Daddy too!) First, Lance and I both went back to work this week, so we are exhausted getting back into a routine. I am exhausted mentally and physically after this week of teacher in-service and leaving my sweet boy again. It's not any easier now than at eight weeks old!

Last Saturday, Kaden & I attended a baby shower for one of my dearest friends, Christy. She is expecting a baby boy, Brennan Gage, the middle of September. I HAD to get a picture of her! She is just as cute as can be pregnant! I do remember thinking how un-cute I felt at that point in the pregnancy though.

Here's her cute cake, farm animals...


And her diaper cake...


Here she is fixing her plate!!!


Kaden & I with Christy...


Christy and her youngest daughter, Kinlee, opening gifts for baby Gage...


Kaden sat in the floor and played like a good boy the whole shower...





Kaden's J.J. bought him a walker last weekend, this picture captures his excitment!!!





This is my big boy all dressed for church last Sunday morning...



This is Kaden in church with his Granddaddy (my Dad)...





And, this is Kaden taking his FIRST big boy bath without the infant tub! He LOVES bath time still! However, this was WAY too hard on me so now we are using a toddler bath chair/seat. It works great!



Look at that RED hair!!!

Whew! Thank Goodness it is Friday night, it has been a LONG week, and school starts on Monday...

Mean Face!

For about a week now this is the face and reaction we get from Mr. Kaden!





He is TOO funny these days and we are laughing and enjoying him more than ever now!

I can not begin to tell you how much Lance and I have enjoyed our time home with Kaden this last month, it has been truly priceless, and we are both dreading getting back to the grind, which will be Monday morning for me.



Look at this cute picture of our boy! (My mom took these three photos, by the way!)

Back to School and other good news!

I know this may come as a surprise to some of you who thought I'd be staying home with Kaden this fall, which I wish I could do. But, here in the real world most of us can't afford to be home with our babies even when we want to desperately. So, Kaden will be off to J.J. and Nana daycare, and I'll be back with the same school district as last year. My school district goofed on their 'paper trail' this spring. The board of trustees never sent me a renewal/non-renewal contract agreement. And, according to education code laws you have to give written notice 45 days prior to the last day of instruction. I never received anything. If the district fails to do so, they must employee that teacher again for the following school year at the same capacity. Which is what I presented to the superintendent on Thursday morning. I also contacted my teacher association for support. The superintendent and my principal BOTH contacted me today with my job for the coming school year. I will be teaching Title 1 Math and Science (3-5 grades) on my Intermediate School Campus. They couldn't put me back in the same position (teaching 5th grade Language) because they hired the lady who long-term subbed for me while I was out on maternity leave to teach in my position. Anyway, I went and fought for my position, and I won! YAY for me! I am SO PROUD of myself for standing up for my job! We DESPERATELY needed the income and benefits for Kaden and myself. And, I want and DESERVE my job!

Lance was also hired on by a local company this week. He will be HOME EVERYDAY with Kaden and I!!! YAY!!!! I am so excited and so thankful this week. God has just blessed us so abundantly this week.

I am in love with him...

I never knew I could love someone so much or be so in love. Oh, how I love and cherish each and every day with you Kaden Angus. Here's our latest Mommy photo shoot!










This is Kaden's new thing of the week, wrinkling up his nose into this face...











This is my favorite...





After breakfast this morning...

Our Week and a Recipe

This is Kaden and his friend, Mason, who stayed with us last Thursday during the day. It was a trial run day for me to see if I think I can handle two! I have volunteered to keep M this fall while his mommy goes back to work. This is a little bit of their day:



M in the bombo chair, M is three months old.



M doing some tummy time and K playing sitting up...



Here's Kaden Scooting himself around, he isn't crawling yet, but sometimes he kind of scoots himself the same way as to crawl under Daddy's recliner. . .



This is my littlest Aggie fan! This hat belonged to Chloe when she was little and it got passed on the other day to K...







The little leather shoes he has on with the puupy dogs on them came from one of my BFF's Catherine and her 1 year old daughter Adeline. They are SO cute and handmade from all leather, and K can't take them off because they have elastic in the ankles of them. We are LOVING them! They are called wiggies! They are the first pair of shoes K has really been able to wear.

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TATOR TOT CASSEROLE

Ok, this is one of my favorite weeknight meals, and it is SO easy. So easy, in fact, I made it while K and M napped on Thursday afternoon. Pretty quick and easy!

1 lb. ground hamburger meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1 package frozen tator tots
shredded cheddar cheese

Brown hamburger meat and drain fat off. Return meat to the skillet our low heat add cream of mushroom soup and 1 can of water with 1 cup of sour cream, stir until combined well. Pour into a 9X13 baking dish and top with frozen tator tots. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then top with cheese bake 5-10 minutes loner to melt cheese. Enjoy! It is YUM-O!!!

YAY for Mommy!

I am SUPER excited! Kaden slept in HIS crib, in HIS own room last night! This is a HUGE step for me. I did, however, sleep in our guest room bed which is right across the hall from Kaden's room and not in my bed at the other end of the house last night. I just feel like it's too far away from me right now! Ha! Will I ever be able to let go? I got him to sleep and moved him to his crib at 10:30 p.m. and he slept until 6:30 a.m. in there all alone without waking up. We had a bottle at 6:30, and a diaper change, then he slept until 9:45 a.m. I'm SO EXCITED!!! Now, I didn't sleep that much or that well last night. I went in to check on him until about 11:30, then slept until about 3, went to check on him, 4:30 went to check on him, 5:30 went to check on him, 6:30 he started waking up and making noises and I went to get him up! Kaden DEFINITELY has to have the bumper pads in his crib because he kicks, rolls and turns ALL night long. Every time I went back in to check on him he would be in a different position facing a different direction. He's busy, even in his sleep!



Yesterday, we went for Kaden's 6 month well visit.



His ears are both clear again, thank goodness! He weighs 20 pounds exactly. (90%) [See ya'll, there ARE babies BIGGER than him!Ha!] He is 28 inches tall. (90%) And, his head measures 17 1/2 inches (75%).







He is doing GREAT! He did so good with the shots today, after the first one he didn't cry until she started the second one, then the third and fourth had to be quick! He did get a little upset, but I had his blue bear and bottle ready to go as soon as she got done so he got over it quicker. I HATE shot days, it stresses me out! I think us mom's should get rewarded on shot days. He is sitting up all alone now, rolling over completely any and every way, and attempting to crawl.




He LOVES to eat his baby food, and we have had meat puree for three days now at dinner time with his veggie and fruit desert. He is such a Good eater!


After the dr appointment we had to stop at Costco to buy formula, but we also found Kaden a great new toy! This Mr. Potato Head has the ENTIRE potato head family in it. However, we will not be opening it for him ( the little pieces) for a LONG time, but he Loves the big Mr. Potato Head and he is playing with it pulling the face parts off already. And it was $18!!!





One of my BFF'S, Leah and her boyfriend come by Monday to have lunch with us. She had a job interview in the area, and it was great to see her. When we got back from eating Kaden was crashed out, so here's just Leah and I:




Lance and I are both still on the job hunt. Hopefully, things will turn around soon for us. Our house is coming along though, we've had lots of time to work on it. I'll do a post when we finally finish!

I still have several friends and family members in need of prayer. My little sis, Tonya, who lost her husband and brother a couple of days before Kaden was born. She is really struggling with being alone and having to make a lot of difficult decisions and deal with difficult situations right now. She really needs our prayers. My little cousin, Kim who lost her baby the same day, and her daughter Chloe as they struggle to live without Montana. Things do not seem to get any easier for these folks, and I just really really appreciate all of you who continue to ask about them and pray for them. Also, I have a good friend who's mother is battling cancer and they need our prayers as well.

Half a Year Old

Already? That's right, our precious Kaden Angus turned six months old today. Time truly flies when your having a BLAST! Here's our little man today at 6 months old:







Remember this bear from his one month old picture? Can you tell how much he has grown in 5 months?






Kaden you are rolling everywhere and anywhere you want to go. You are sitting up all alone and you play so well. You are a baby food eating machine. We started you on your 5 month birthday on peas, and from there we have eaten all sort of things including: sweet potatoes, squash, pears, applesauce, peaches, and carrots. Last night we gave you pureed baby food meat for the first time, you ate chicken last night and tonight with mixed harvest veggies and some prune/apple juice and water in a sippy cup. Today you held the sippy cup all by yourself for the first time and drank from it. YAY! You know how to do it already. You refuse to eat you rice cereal now unless I mix fruit in it! You are still getting 5-6 bottles per day and rice cereal. You are wearing size 3 diapers still, and your wiggling all the time is making it hard to get diapers on you! You can still wear some of your 6 months clothes, but they are getting snug and you are mainly wearing your 6-9 months still. 9 months isn't far away though. Your eyes are still blue and we love them. You can say "ma ma" and I think that it just sounds so sweet!

Playing with Mr. Bear in the grass today:








Playing with Daddy tonight:



Happy 6 month birthday baby, you have changed our life and made your Daddy and I so proud! We love you!