Happy Easter

This is been a great weekend with a perfect combination of friends, family, rest, fun, and accomplishments. On Friday evening Cadie stayed with DD and Big John (Grant's parents) and Grant and I went to the Mavericks game with Grant's brother Austin and his girlfriend Katherine. Go Mavs! On Saturday morning we had brunch at the Walsh's to celebrate Big John's birthday and then Grant, Cadie and I went to the Dallas Arboretum for pictures with Erin Fletcher (http://www.erinfletcher.com/). I think she got some great pics. Saturday afternoon my friend Lindsey Coffman came in town and we spent time together and went to dinner. Grant did a few project around the house on Saturday evening and then we watched a movie together and made it a fairly early bedtime.

Cadie slept today until 8:30am with only one wakeup during the night! I rushed in there when I woke up at 8am to check on her because she has never slept that late. She was sound asleep on her stomach. She is moving around more in the bed and I think she is better able to get comfortable. We had a family breakfast at home and then went to a great Easter service at Highland Park Presybeterian. We came home after church and have been chilling at the house.

Cadie and Big John playing on Saturday morning.

Lindsey and I agree that Cadie could pass for Lindsey's daughter. They both have big blue eyes, blond hair, and fair skin. Sorry Linds, you can't have her!

Dad, Cadie, and Mom on Easter.

Cadie loving her Daddy.

Don't report us to CPS

My wonderful mother-in-law Dawna predicted a few months ago that a time would come when I would not want to be there for Cadie's every whine and whimper. That day happened last night. At midnight Grant and I had changed Cadie, given her medicine, fed her, and rocked her. We then put her in her crib, she dozed off, and we went to sleep in our bed and turned off the baby monitor! I woke up at about 4am and turned it back on, but going 4 hours totally cut off from her was a huge step. And guess what - she survived! Shocking, I know :)

She slept until 7:30am this morning and when I went to wake her up she was her normal happy self. I hope she didn't cry a lot, but I also know that in order to be good parents Grant and I have to get sleep so it was time to compromise.

Cadie always sleeps with her face mushed up against her bumper. My friend Laurel suggested that I give her some stuffed animals in the crib and she prefers her frog, Lili Mae, which she always holds.

Puddle

If you get grossed out by the mommy stories about bodily functions then just skip this blog entry.

So I am figuring out all this working mommy stuff and I have had a ton of funny things happen already. My role at work is very challenging but so far my working mommy learning curve is much steeper than my job learning curve. Each day I have had a crazy event but today's was especially funny to me. Pumping at work is just plain difficult. Mommy's are meant to be with their babies and running to pump from stressful conference calls just doesn't facilitate milk flow. I often have to close my eyes and try to relax. Today I was closing my eyes to relax and I looked up and I did not have all my equipment set up properly and I had a puddle of breastmilk in my lap! Hmmm.... I thought about a few courses of action but in the end I just cleaned up the best I could and then walked around for about an hour looking like I had wet my pants. Sorry, no pics of the puddle :)

Sick

This Saturday Cadie got sick for the first time. I think it is allergies, but we are going to the dr. tonight at 8:30pm just to make sure. She has a runny nose, cough, and watery eyes. Grant and I have felt so bad for her all weekend. We have stayed up with her, put a humidifier in her room, have tried to keep her hydrated, etc. We are exhausted! These are some funny faces from today while she played in her exersaucer. She loves it, even when she is sick.

Back to Work

We made it! Week 1 back to work went surprisingly well. It was a short week since I went back on Wednesday which helped. We did have a few bumps in the road but overall I feel confident that things will work out just fine.

I have so much to be thankful for after this week:
1 - I felt like I had never left. The work, the people, the routine all felt very normal.
2 - I am SOOO thankful for my awesome friends who stepped in to help with childcare. The plan is for Cadie to stay Tuesday - Friday at Grant's grandmother's house (her name is Mitzi), but there were some uncontrollable issues that came to light on Thursday that prevented Cadie from being there today and next Tuesday. My wonderful friends are my Plan B and Emmy came to the rescue today and Cadie did great at her house. Emmy watched Cadie today and my friend Laura is watching Cadie next Tuesday. You guys are the best!
3 - I am a bit of a baby hog and I think Grant is going to enjoy the opportunity to be more involved. He stayed up with her on Wed. night, took her to Mitzi's on Thursday, and was a super dad!
4 - All my supportive friends and family who helped encourage us this week. I so appreciated the prayers, words of encouragement, and supportive emails (Michelle Garner, Laurel Holler, Laura Dickinson, Susan Hamm, Lisa Tulk, Nicole Potoshnick, Lyndsey Osgood, co-workers who welcomed me back, etc.).
5 - Mary Randall who fixed us 2 meals this week so I didn't have to worry about cooking. She even did desserts!
6 - Knowing that God will be watching over Cadie and that He loves her more that I ever could, and when she can't rest in my arms she is always resting in His.

Things that didn't go so hot:
- Migraine on Day 1! I have gone 6 months with Cadie at home with barely a headache but my first day back at work gave me a killer one.
- No working out. I don't exactly know how to fit working out in my new routine.
- It is worth it because Cadie gets sick with formula, but pumping at work is a major pain.
- Missing Cadie. While she did great and I think I did pretty good too (only 1 good cry on Tuesday night), I did miss her very much.


Cadie and I on our swing after I got home on my first day back. Cadie and I hang out on the swing in the front yard almost every day.
We have the BEST neighbors. Kristin and Chuck live right beside us and are a huge blessing.

We have tons of great kiddos in the neighborhood. Lauren is holding Cadie. She lives directly across from us and is so sweet. She comes over and plays with Cadie all the time. She is going to be a great babysitter.

Grandpa Ron & Grandma Nicki to the Rescue

My mom and dad came in town this weekend and it was such an incredible blessing. They stayed up with Cadie Friday night and I only got up to feed her and then handed her right back to them. Then, on Saturday night they stayed at our house with Cadie and Grant and I went to a nice hotel for the evening. Grant and I got a couples massage, went to dinner, and didn't talk about one single thing of significance - it was great. We were able to get to bed pretty early and just let our minds be free for a night to simply enjoy each other. This was an especially kind thing for my parents to do because they said Cadie was a pill on Sat. night with lots of fussing and crying.

After 2 good nights of sleep I feel like a different person. I just hope I can get Cadie sleeping better because things seem to go downhill fast.

Here are some recent pics:

Cadie with Uncle Austin, Uncle Preston, and Katherine last Tuesday at the Walsh's house.
With Dad at Olive Garden last Wednesday night. I love how tiny she looks in that high chair.

Swim Lessons

OMG - the most hilarous thing ever! Cadie and I went to her first swimming lesson this past Saturday. I loved it more than she did, but I think she had fun too. A 6-month old swimming is just too funny and cute for words - these pics don't even do it justice.Singing a song and spinning on the floating mat. She was the only one who really can't sit 100% on her own yet so I kept a hand on her.Ridiculous but so cute! Cadie floating on barbells.

She was already kicking and was totally fine going back and forth between her teacher and me.