Wonderful Afternoon

I am just about to head to bed after a completely self-indulgent afternoon. It has been wonderful! After church and lunch, Cadie stayed at the Walshes and I ran some errands, took a nap from 4-8 (yes 4 hours! I was exhausted), and then I just finished watching the Sex in the City movie and eating popcorn for dinner. Ahhh - life is good.

Now that Cadie is fully mobile, she is in total exploration mode. This week she has learned how fun it is to pull all Mommy's shoes out onto the closet floor, climb up on the fireplace, pull the trinkets out of the hutch in the entry-way, climb up with stairs (bottom to top in less that 60 secs), search for stray cheerios on the kitchen floor, etc. While it is a joy to see her discover new things - she is a handfull! She has been fighting her naps like a champ and so far she is winning. I talked with John and Dawna this evening and they said that Cadie wouldn't a good nap at their house today either. I hope she gets a good night sleep tonight and I am so thankful for John and Dawna and how patient they are with Cadie.

The current love of Cadie's life (maybe besides mama and Cheerios) is a worm/caterpillar given to her from Aunt Whitney. Here is a video of how dedicated she is to the worm. She has not quite mastered the art of standing up with the worm in her hand so she often drops him, stands up, and then reaches down to pick him up so she can have him while she walks around furniture.

More pics with the worm - eating, crawling, sitting, going for a walk - there is nothing worm doesn't like to do!

Happy Father's Day

Cadie spent her first day today in the Highland Park Presybertian nursery. She, of course, did wonderfully and enjoyed looking at the other kids and playing with new toys. She is the kiddo in the exersaucer with a pink shirt. Dawna, my wonderful mother-in-law, went with me to drop her off and then John, my wonderful father-in-law, went to check on her during the service (I didn't ask him - he just wanted to) and then reported back that she was having a ball. When I dropped her off I was happy that a wonderful family friend, Beth Phillips, was in the nursery so I knew Cadie would get some extra hugs.

Since Cadie didn't get a good morning nap she was a bit fussy in the afternoon, but had a nice nap with Dad.Cadie and I swing in the front yard almost everyday. Although these days she can't sit in my lap for long - she just wants to get down and crawl around. I love this adorable outfit from our good friend Kelly Ganzberger.

A little More About Samuel

I didn't have time to post the full story the other day, but I wanted to share more about the miracle of Samuel Thomas. My sister, Bethany, has had a heart-ache for a baby for quite some time - maybe two years. She and my brother-in-law, Nathan, were not having the easiest time getting pregnant and my mom and I knew the desire of Bethany's heart was to have a child. Bethany has had some significant health issues which complicated the situation even further. I believe 100% in the power of prayer, but often I find myself praying in general terms ("Please take care of my family," "Thank you for health"...), and not necessarily for specific requests. In about June of 2008 my Mom and I decided to pray specifically for Bethany to conceive in Aug. We prayed daily for Bethany's health and for her to get pregnant in Aug. It was constantly on my heart and mind.

Bethany made a trip to visit me in Dallas in November 2008 to meet Cadie for the first time. In the car on the way home from the airport I asked her if it was going to be hard to be around Cadie knowing how badly she wanted a child of her own, and she said, "It won't be too hard since I am going to have a baby!" I almost wrecked my car! I was beyond excited, and guess when she got pregnant - AUGUST!!! God is so good! It was a clear reminder to me that He is fully in control and that we can bring any request before our Maker.

I love you already Samuel Thomas and can't wait to meet you!

Cadie has a cousin!

On June 4th at 4:17a.m., after about 13 hours of labor (I am so proud of you Bethany!), Samuel Thomas Chapman was born. He was 20 inches long and weighed 6 lbs. 8 oz.

Samuel had a rough start. He didn't breathe right away, so they intubated him and rushed him to the neonatal intensive care unit. He only needed the intubator for about forty-five minutes, and he is doing great now. He spent a few days in the NICU, but doesn't seem any worse for the wear.

Bethany tells me he is a sweet, little boy and I am just dying to meet him! They live in Washington, D.C. and I hope to get up there by August.

Walsh Country Club

Cadie showed off her new skivvies and sun hat at baby Dylan's one year birthday party a few doors down the street. She enjoyed checking out his new floatie and she told us she wants one of her own.

After the birthday party, Mom and Dad decided to give Cadie a private swim lesson since she officially graduated from WaterBabies last week. We did some of the same exercises she learned in her swim class. Here is a video of her kicking skills while swimming underwater:

Here are a few pics of Cadie exploring underwater in our pool:

All in all, Saturday was a nice and relaxing afternoon at the Walsh Country Club!

Kansas City Kisses

We saw so many friends and family in our short time in Kansas City. I wish I could have gotten pictures with them all! But here are a few that I managed to capture.

Cadie with the adorable Souan girls, Vivian and Samantha. They loved Cadie so much and were giving her lots of kisses. The bottom picture is their mom, Leigh Marie, breaking up a loving session that was getting a little intense.

Cadie with my grandma Jack. Grandma made up the cutest song for Cadie and sang it to her while we were there, "Cadie, Cadie, here is a lullaby for you. Here from the tips of your tiny toes, here to your cute little button nose. We love you. We love you, yes we do."Cadie with my Dad's sister, Aunt Kathy. We had dinner with Aunt Kathy, Uncle Mark, and friend Shanna on Saturday night. They made the most delicious dinner and made me feel so special.

The Wheel Have Totally Fallen Off!

I had the most crazy 24 hours starting on Wednesday evening. Wednesday afternoon our flight left from Kansas City to Dallas at 5:15. Cadie was a pill on the flight, and then due to storms and tornados in Dallas, we were diverted to Oklahoma City. They didn't know how long we would be on the ground in Oklahoma City and they were not able to get my stroller due to security. I was so tired and knew I could not carry Cadie and our stuff around the airport so I made them bring me a wheelchair and then I plopped Cadie in the wheelchair and put our bags on top of her so she couldn't launch herself out. As we walked around the airport people were giving us the funniest looks - something like "Is that a crippled baby in a wheelchair?" I just smiled at them.

When we finally got back onto the flight after 9pm, Cadie was so beyond tired that she was screaming bloody murder. She dumped her Cheerios all over the floor and I just let her crawl around my feet and eat them. I know, I know. Totally gross... Anyway, she managed to crawl under my seat somehow and look up at the people behind us. I heard them say, "Here comes trouble..." so I figured it was time to coral her again.

I got Cadie to bed just before 1am but she was fussy all night. I had meetings that I really needed to be at in the Dallas office on Thursday which is why I came back on Wed. evening. Even though I was exhausted, I got myself up and got Cadie ready. We headed to the garage and it was partially flooded. AHHHHH! We stepped through the puddles and headed to Grandma's. We arrived at Grandma's and her voice was gone with Laringytis. Some types of laringytis are not contagious but some are. I knew that Cadie was going to be difficult and with Grandma not at 100% I decided not to leave her. Cadie and I headed back home and I took my conference calls from the office with Cadie playing in our loft. She did ok, but did manage to fall and cut herself right beside her eye. Finally Dawna (Grant's mom) was able to come to the rescue and she picked up Cadie at about noon so I could finish my workday.

Those are just the highlights, there is more that won't fit into this blog. That being said, I am thankful for:
- The nice people that put up with Cadie on our 100% full flight
- Wheelchairs
- Immune systems (even with all the gross stuff Cadie does she has never been very sick)
- Ability to work from home
- Dawna


Cadie chillin' in the chair with her arms propped up.

Gross Motor Skills

Wow! Cadie is a mover and a shaker - wonder where she gets it?! Standing in her crib, crawling into everything, pulling up on furniture - she is a whirlwind.

We flew to Kansas City on Saturday afternoon and Cadie was such a wiggly worm on the plane. Much better than crying, but it was still a challenge. It was a packed flight and we were sitting next to a very large man with very dark hair. This meant that he had dark, long armhair which Cadie really loved. I was so embarrassed because she kept reaching over and stroking it and then would try to pull on individual hairs. The poor man just tried to pretend he was sleeping and I tried to keep from laughing.

Cadie with a sleepy face standing in her crib after her nap (in the new KC crib from grandpa Ron).

Cadie likes to feed herself and a lot of times I let her. You can see the spoon in her hand and this is a combination of green peas, yogurt and I am not sure what else. I usually have her cleaned up by the time Dad gets home but he walked in on the middle of this and not sure he thought Cadie should be feeding herself :)Cadie exploring the underside of the exersaucer.Cadie and mom swinging in the backyard.

Happy 8 Months!

Grant is reading a book called "Don't Stop the Carnival" and he read a passage to me the other day that really touched me.

"Tell me something, Norm. What's it like to have kids? I mean really, all sentimental gop and double-talk aside."

Norman thought for a moment. "How is it? Well, I'll really try to tell you. Of all the years of my life, and I mean childhood, and then playing the field as a guy on the town with the show girls, and then marrying a woman I still love, and having a million laughs with some of the nicest and smartest people in New York - of all that time, what I liked most, what I can hardly bear to think about because it was so sweet and now it's all gone, was the years from the time Hazel was born until she was five. It was heaven, every moment of it. It was heaven just changing her wet pants. It was heaven making her laugh and telling her stories while I fed her pureed carrots. Even the pain when she would spike a fever, was all right, because it was about her. There's been nothing else like that love for me - not ever - and I don't even know if I'm peculiar or if it is common, because you don't read much about it. Maybe that's because there is no adventure in it. It's just pure whole love permeating your body, and I'll tell you something, I'm a very big fan of sex, but to me it's minor-league fun compared to that love. And that's all I can tell you about having kids."

Happy 8 month birthday Cadie. Thank you for bringing a love to our lives that is heaven on earth.

Creepy Crawler

I love Cadie's tippy-toe crawling. Sometimes she does a face plant if she doesn't have her arms locked. Cadie does her fastest crawling while chasing the remote control car that Dad uses to tease her. When the batteries on the car are dead he sometimes uses a laser pointer and she likes chasing the red dot almost as well as the car. Dad wasn't home from work yet, but here she is going after a toy.

Cadie slips and slides on our hardwood floors. She pushed herself under the bassinet in our room which she thought was pretty funny.