Caden at the gym.

Santa Baby...

Caden loved Santa! More then any of the other children. She reached for his beard and glasses, chuckled when he tried to pull away and smiled for the camera.

Caden is very active, loves to jump in her "jumpy", loves books, "Violet" her leap frog friend and blocks. She is a very good eater; some of her favs include: chicken, peaches, spinach, sweet potatoes and bananas. She eat everything! I have yet to offer her something she didn't like...I think she gets that from her dad :)

Looking forward to Christmas. Sadly, the hubby has to work, but we will make due. He will get to see her in the morning opening her gifts from Santa and at dinner- the two most important times of the day. Looking forward to my sister-in-law coming to celebrate with us. Though I am going to miss my brother.

While eating is easy, Caden still feeds throughout the night and has been sleeping pretty terrible. No teeth. Just terrible sleep :/ I am sure it will come to an end soon. Until then, I stay caffeinated and artificially "pepped".

Fun with a 'stache.

It's on tight.

Starts to come loose.

Uh oh.

And Ziggy takes it off and runs away with it.

New toy.

1 month catch up.

Boy, a month goes by really fast. Caden is approaching 6 months! It seems like not that long ago I was 6 month pregnant.

Stats~

Caden is rolling over (both directions) not crawling, but can maneuver herself in a circle by spinning (using her legs to push), can sit up without assistance (but not for a long time or unsupervised), loves her binki (pacifier) when going to bed, loves Ziggy, and to eat. I make Caden's food, we both seem to enjoy this! Her favorite foods are peas, bananas, apples and butternut squash. Caden catches her longest ZZzzz's between 7:30pm-1:30am to 2:00am. I have tried to keep her up longer to have her sleep later, but she is ready for bed at 7:30pm and I don't fight her. She has her 6 month appt Nov. 10th.

Picture recap of a Sept. 29-Oct 20, 2010

Caden getting ready for Halloween.

Helping mommy with laundry.

First time tasting watermelon.

Trip to LA to see Alex (turns 21 on Halloween!!)

Caden LOVES books (Christmas hint, thanks Lynn for the hand me downs!)

Hemingway (Alex's yellow lab) and Caden

Sleepy time

This girl moves allllllll over in her sleep!

Caden's 1st concert

Last Sunday, 9/26, my mom, Madison, Caden and I enjoyed a FREE concert at Golden Gate Park put on by Alice 9.73. Lots of good performers!

We got ourselves a shady spot :)

Caden enjoying some love from grandma~

Laying on blanket with mom~

ink

New ink for mommy...

DJ has an appointment Monday!!

Cereal Video

Cereal!!!

Caden had her 4mo check up yesterday and the Dr. gave us the "go ahead" to give her cereal!

Waiting...

Excited!!

So gooooood!!

Check up info:

Caden weighs 12.42lbs and is 25 1/4in long; she is reaching all her benchmarks and the Dr. noted she is VERY STRONG!

Bass Lake/Yosemite

Being spontaneous, we took Caden to Bass Lake/Yosemite, thanks to an invite from our dear friends DJ, Mariela and Brody.

The water was nice but there was a lot of cloud cover and breeze so we didn't get all the way in~

3.5 hour car ride, I think I read this 10 plus times!! She loves it when I read to her and LOVES HER COW! I think I need to find another one so one is always in the car and one is always at home.

Coconut Flour Banana Muffins

Made these today and they were delish!

Banana Nut Muffins (gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian)

makes 12 regular sized muffins

2 ripe bananas, mashed
7 eggs
1/2 coconut milk
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 coconut flour, sifted (this is a must -- coconut flour clumps easily)
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray muffin tin with cooking spray. Combine the bananas, eggs, milk, agave, vanilla and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, combine the sifted coconut flour and baking powder. Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until all lumps are gone. Then, fold in the nuts. Pour evenly in muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before transferring to a rack.

Caden follow up sleeping

Caden is sleeping in her crib and doing well! I am happy to say she is sleeping from approx 8pm until 3am, then wakes up for some food and a diaper change. Then wakes up around 5:30a for her "binkie" and gets up to start her day around 7am. Though there have been some wonderful mornings when she has stayed asleep until 8:30am! We are doing well creating a schedule, it's not perfect, but at least it's semi predicable.

Sleep

Caden doesn't sleep in our bed but she does sleep in our room. I decided I should look up when she should start sleeping in her own crib and was astonished to find out some people start this as early as 2 weeks. Caden is 13 weeks today and I haven't started this. I am nervous. We have monitors, but I am still nervous. Plus, lucky me, Caden still doesn't sleep through the night...last night she woke up every 1.5-2 hours! Just like when we brought her home from the hospital. I am thinking that it's so easy with her right there next to the bed for these constant wake-up feedings but concerned she might not feel comfortable in her room alone if I keep putting it off. Perhaps I will start putting her in there for naps and on Sunday when we are both home we will introduce night time sleeping in her crib....not looking forward to it.

Growing girl

Caden will be 11 weeks tomorrow, time is flying by!

Stats:

At birth Caden weighed 6lbs 10 oz; on Monday Caden weighed 10lbs 12.2oz! 4lb increase!

At birth Caden was 20in long, Monday Caden was 23.5in long! 3.5in growth!

I am still 5lbs from my pre-prego weight! I can't seem to shake it off, I have been stuck as this weight for 5 weeks tomorrow! I suppose I could add some extra running in my workouts and cut out the dairy free desserts...maybe I will just run :)

Caden and I went to our very first mommies/babies group today and had a really good time. Many of the moms/babies went swimming but I was a little nervous with the wind and it being so early in the morning (10a), so Caden and I hung out in the shade looked at the shadows of trees and only got our feet wet. It must have been a good time for her cause she passed out!

Nico (Rowlett) and Caden at the mommies/babies group~

Nico has a pretty cool Mo-Hawk, I am not sure what Caden is thinking :) But if that's a smile, she smiles like her dad!

Giveaway

To commemorate my Half Marathon back in Feb, I am hoping to win one of these. So cute compared to the giant medal the organization hands out at the end...

There are other pieces you can enter to win, including some unrelated to running, check it out:

What do we have here? Why YES, it is the sweetest little necklace right now in my collection! I am very happy to announce my first giveaway and a partnership with fivecherries! Rebecca of fivecherries will send the lucky giveaway winner one of the adorable necklaces from her Etsy shop! If you're training for (or have completed) a half marathon or full marathon, I definitely suggest her 13.1 and 26.2 necklaces! What I love the most is that these craftsy charms are made out of SCRABBLE PIECES. I know, right? I love Scrabble. And running.

Here's a little bit that you should know about Rebecca:

"My name is Rebecca, I'm 31, and I live in Southern California. I've been married to my husband David for 11 years. We have five kids (thus the fivecherries): Kylie 8, Larkin 7, Matthew 6, Madeline 4, and Nathan 2. I ran track for one year in high school, then didn't run again until after our third child was born in 2004. David started running in 2008. Over the past few years, David and I have raced several times a year including one triathlon, a bunch of 5ks and 10ks and two Ragnar Relays. Then this year we decided to try the longer distances. He ran a half marathon in March, then in June we traveled (without the kids!) to Seattle for the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon where he ran the marathon and I ran the half. I loved the half and we're both planning to race in the Santa Barbara half marathon in November. We're hooked. I love sharing a love of running with the love of my life."

Thank you Failed Muffins for the Giveaway!

Caden's First 4th of July

To celebrate the 4th we went to the parade in Novato then BBQ'd and swam at my aunt's house. It was a great day!

Great Grandma and Grandma~

Ziggy~

Daisy~

Dad, Aunt Eden and Caden~

2 months old!

I can't believe it has been two months already! How times flies...our little girl is already looking different, more alert and loves to smile!

From Babycenter.com~

How your baby's growing:

Your baby can tell the difference between familiar voices and other sounds, and he's becoming a better listener. He can also show you that he's in tune with his environment. Notice how he looks to see where certain noises are coming from.

An ongoing conversation (although seemingly one-sided) can help your baby develop his sense of place. He may even watch your mouth as you talk, fascinated by how it all works. You'll be amazed by his ability to communicate with a growing repertory of coos (musical, vowel-like sounds), smiles, and unique cries to express his different needs.

I am 5lbs from my preprego weight, but have been stuck here for 2 weeks! I am not dieting, just watching what I eat and have cut out dairy due to Caden's digestion. I guess I could stop having non-dairy ice cream for dessert and get the 5lbs off :/ BTW before you think non-dairy ice cream is gross I challenge you to taste Coco Bliss, IT IS DELICIOUS!

June Recap

Geez who is in charge of updating this blog?!

What a crazy month and I can't believe it's JULY!

Photo recap of June:

Caden was Baptized and DJ 's 1st Father's Day~

(Godparents Madison and Carl)

DJ's dad was in town and met Caden for the first time~

Wine Tasting with the family (Sad, Logan is leaving us today for Texas)~

Hand Stands at the Winery~

Day trip to SF~

(Too cold for Caden and grandma, they waited in the car)

June is going to be Busy...

Caden is doing well. We are looking forward to many event things this month!! She is going to meet her Grandpa Roger, Grandma Maria and Uncle Michael for the first time (visiting from the East Coast)! On Father's Day she is going to be Baptized; she will meet her Great Grandpa Dick for the first time on this day as well.

I could not be happier with Caden. We are starting to have a routine! I love her smiles, even when they are at 3am! Since I am not working, Caden and I share many special moments throughout the day; we water the plants together (she LOVES to be outside), pet Ziggy, go to the gym, nap, have skin to skin time and of course feedings. I have become so used to holding her that when she sleeps or others hold her, I begin to miss her.

Here is one of her photos we took recently~

Bath time take 2

This went a lot better then last time!!

1 month

There are a few things I never thought I would do when Caden came along...

1. Miss so many days at CrossFit.

2. Tell myself "that wasn't ENOUGH puke/spit up for me to change" (who wants to do more laundry?)

3. Pee with her literally attached to me.

4. Breastfeed in a parking lot (and to top it off I wasn't wearing nursing appropriate attire...GET IT?!)

5. Sing in public (yes, I know it's bad and I don't care as long as she stops crying).

6. Dance in public (no music needed).

It will be one month tomorrow- Do I dare dream of what is to find it's way on my list?

Tomorrow Caden will be one month old. She is now sleeping between 3 and 3.5 hours at a time during the night, which is WAY better then the 45min/1.5 hrs she was giving me last week. I am sure I just jinxed this and she will be back to her old ways. I believe she takes over the house the most during the night- change her in the kitchen (she loves to hear water running and it keeps her somewhat sleepy and puts us back in bed quicker), nurse on the couch and then rock her if she still fusses in her room all to end with her sleeping in her bassinet next to the bed in our room! There are times when she doesn't go right back to sleep after this circus and instead fights sleep for up to an hour.

We have finalized her Baptism! DJ and I are both very excited. Plans seemed to fall into place, she is going to be Baptized on Father's Day, one day after DJ's dad arrives here from the East Coast.

And lastly, we took some 1 month photos today. This was WORK! She soiled 3 diapers, screamed until the photographers begged for breaks (yes, more then one) and nursed 4 times (all very quick; with so much stimulation she never completed her meal until the 4th time)...I am curious as to what we will come up with. I am hoping to have shots good enough to have invitations to the Baptism made plus announcements to send to family out of state. All those pictures and the DIVA is now napping :)

Dad and Caden

Dad shows Caden how to use a drill...

She slept through the demo!

Caden's First Bath

Caden had her first bath and was less then impressed...

Though, like any girl, liked getting her hair done~

Make it stop!!

2 weeks

From Babycenter.com

How your baby's growing:

Your womb was a warm and cozy environment, and it takes time for your baby to adjust to the various sights, sounds, and sensations of life outside your body. You may not be able to detect much of a personality just yet as your baby spends his time moving in and out of several different states of sleepiness, quiet alertness, and active alertness.

The only way your baby knows to communicate is by crying, but you can communicate with him through your voice and your touch. (He can now recognize your voice and pick it out among others.)

Your baby probably loves to be held, caressed, kissed, stroked, massaged, and carried. He may even make an "ah" sound when he hears your voice or sees your face, and he'll be eager to find you in a crowd.

Caden is doing well. She likes to pick up her head and doesn't want me to try to help her. She loves to be held facing you so she can see your face or outwards sitting up so she can look around, no cradling. We aren't too sure what color eyes she has yet as they are very grey; I think they might turn blue though. We tried to go on a walk yesterday, but she wasn't in the mood, she prefers to be held then pushed. She enjoys sitting in her swing and looking around. Caden also loves to be read too, really she just likes to hear me and her dad talk :) Yesterday she went to the gym to look around, she enjoyed it, but we stay too long and she turned into a 2 headed monster- we quickly came running home!

1 week and 2 days old

From babycenter.com

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's eyesight is still pretty fuzzy. Babies are born nearsighted and can see things best when they're about 8 to 15 inches away, so she can see your face clearly only when you're holding her close.

Don't worry if your baby doesn't look you right in the eye from the start: Newborns tend to look at your eyebrows, your hairline, or your moving mouth. As she gets to know you in the first month, she'll become more interested in having eye-to-eye exchanges. Studies show that newborns prefer human faces to all other patterns or colors. (Objects that are bright, moving, high-contrast, or black-and-white are next in line.)

I can't believe how different she looks in 1 week!

-How old? 1 week 2 days

-How big is baby? 6lbs 10oz at birth, 6lbs 5.5oz at first check up (up 1 oz from the initial weight loss)

-Sleep? Sleeping quite a bit during the day but eats a lot at night...

-Best moment this week? Lots of visitors and many meals being brought over.

-Belly button? Fell off on day 5; not sure where it went though....Ziggy?!

-What I miss? I thought I would miss feeling her move inside me, but having her here is so much better!

-What I am looking forward to? Nothing, every day is a gift. I am cherishing everyday with Caden.

-Weekly wisdom? None. Thankfully no one is pouring their opinions down our throats- yet.