Hey... That's MINE!

Of all the toys Kaden can choose from—the exersaucer, his floor mat, various books, the teething ring, monkey man, soft rings—he seems to be drawn to Schatzi’s ONLY toy. 
On any given day, toys are scattered across the living room floor and he can somehow locate Schatzi’s nasty nyla-bone.

I think this bone is the reason he has perfected his army crawl/creep.

Schatzi must know the bone is solely hers because she snatches it away when he gets too close.

She finally had enough and moved out of Kaden's reach. 
This game of creeping, reaching and relocating continued this afternoon for a solid 20 minutes- not bad for a dog & a 7-month old.

Don’t worry: I washed his hands, AND thank God for pacifiers (this could be a whole new post)- the reason to which the bone doesn't make it in his mouth.

Making Baby Food

Over the past year we have received a TON of great baby gifts, but I would have to say that my new FAVORITE gift is the Beaba Babycook Baby Food Maker as well as several baby food cookbooks.

I’ve been itching to use this as it has been sitting in the cabinet, but I have finally been able to break it in over the last month.
I typically enjoy cooking for Ben and myself, and I have found that it has been fun making concoctions for Mr. K. Not only is it way cheaper than buying jarred baby food, the Babycook is incredibly easy to use & I like having the satisfaction that everything he eats is healthy & fresh and free of added sugar & preservatives.

So far, Kaden doesn’t eat very much so I have been making batches of food (cinnamon applesauce, sweet potatoes, peas, etc.) and transferring it to baby food trays (ice cube trays with lids) to toss into the freezer.

At night I usually take about 30 seconds to put a couple cubes into teacups to thaw in the fridge to be used the following day.

A few cinnamon-applesauce cubes from the freezer.

Bowl of sweet potato portions.

Plane Trip to St. Louis

I have to admit that I was anxious about flying with Kaden from Amarillo to St. Louis by myself, but he did remarkably well! Once we made it through security (I had NO idea that you had to break down the stroller & put it through the x-ray machine one-handed!) all went relatively smooth. Our flight from Amarillo to Dallas was only ½ full, so I took the advice from Julie and the stewardess said that it was fine to bring his car seat on the plane. We headed to the far back and had the entire row to ourselves, which was SO nice for taking off/ nursing!

We did it!  I'm such a proud mama... no crying!

Grandma Claire picked us up from the airport and we spent the next several days at her house in Warrenton.  Kyle came & spent the night too.

Lovin' the long hair!

Unfortunately the day we arrived my best friends’ mother, Betty Shaw, passed away after her 7-month battle with leukemia. I can’t imagine losing a parent or what their family was going through, but I am glad I was able to be there. IF there was a bright side to this story, my mom was able to watch Kaden while I went to be with Jennifer & Jessica and attended the funeral on Sunday.

Dad came to Warrenton to pick us up and we drove to Columbia to the Rag Tag theatre to see Kyle. 

The next morning Kaden & I got the chance to ride around the farm with grandpa. My absolute FAVORITE quote from grandpa: "Although he's perfect, he's not quite as beautiful as my five were." Classic grandpa.

Snapping on jammies and onsies has become quite a task since Kaden is in perpetual motion whenever he's awake.

Although it was a good trip and we got to see a lot of people, I’m thankful to have my own bed & room again. During the past few nights, I’m not sure if I actually got ANY sleep as Kaden slept in the same bed with me. I was constantly waking up to his little noises and his drifting towards the center of our small bed, or in fear that he was going to roll off the bed, was too hot/cold or that I was going to smother him with the comforter.

Spring is Here?

I know it’s premature to get excited about spring, BUT…

two days of rain and warm temperatures & suddenly the grass is turning green and my bulbs are emerging. 

I can't help myself from being excited!

6 1/2 Months!

• At your last appointment with Dr. Fletcher, you weighted in at 15.8 lbs. and measured 27” long. (According to the growth chart, you are in the 25th percentile for weight, and 75th percentile for length… long & lean like your daddy!)

• You babble and entertain yourself in your crib before crying out & definitely seem to be a morning person.

• After a week, you’ve finally warmed to the idea of solid foods. So far you like sweet potato, sweet peas, avocado, brown rice cereal, and banana-oatmeal. You eagerly lunge at the spoon and in doing so, you end up with a lot on your face!

• Still no teeth, which is great since you’re still nursing.

• When I put you in your crib, you like to watch your rainforest mobile and fall asleep on your stomach.

You put your pacifier in your mouth, then tuck your hands underneath your tummy and fall asleep.

• Speaking of your pacifier, you LOVE your nuk!
Your daddy and I are totally fine with this… if Kaden is happy, we ALL are happy!

• You typically go to bed around 8:00 p.m. & stay asleep until around 4:00 a.m., for a quick feeding and a much-needed diaper change. You then nurse yourself back to sleep until around 7:00 a.m. when your dad brings you to our bed as he gets ready for work.

• A lot of people say you look like your daddy, while others say you look like your mommy. I’d say you’re a good mix of the both of us.

• You’ve suddenly started pursing your lips together to make spitting noises.

• You LOVE being naked and beam every time I take your clothes off. You’ve recently started flipping over while I try to put a new diaper on you.

• You enjoy being in the bathtub and playing/biting your rubber ducks. You also enjoy it when I rub lotion all over your body when you get out.

• Instead of hating your tummy time, you now seem to enjoy it as you roll back & forth and roll off your floor gym. You can spin around on your tummy and inch forward by using your elbows. I can count on you to entertain yourself on the floor for a solid 20 minutes.

• You like riding in the car and looking out the window from your new, forward-facing Britax car seat and have adapted remarkably to being “on the go” as we typically leave the house at least once or twice a day.

• You definitely enjoy being around people and are very flirty with the ladies at the gym and at the grocery store. You smile all of the time—especially when people talk to or smile at you.

• You can be soothed by singing. It really doesn’t matter which song because any song can do the trick. The “Calm & Relaxed” song seems to work wonders though. 

We love you more than we ever imagined possible!