Baby Garage Sale

My friend Shauna was cracking me up yesterday. Shauna lives about 5 houses down from me and had her baby girl, Avery, 6 weeks after I had Cadie. We were "off like a herd of turtles" for a field trip to Ikea. It was 100% successful with no meltdowns from the moms or the babies. We spent about half the time shopping and half the time in the mothers room feeding, changing diapers, etc. We had the girls sitting on the sidewalk in their seats while we unloaded and Shauna said it looked like a "Baby Garage Sale" - so hilarious.
The girls are just too cute! Avery was better behaved in the car than Cadie. Maybe Avery will be a good influence on her. Cadie explains to me every day how much she dislikes the car seat.
At this very moment Cadie is in her room crying up a storm. She has been sleeping in her swing since she was born and it is time to sleep in her crib. She is having none of it. Let me know if you have any tricks!

Early Bedtime

This is the first day I have ever put Cadie to bed early. This isn't that extraordinary since I only instituted her 9pm bedtime the first week of January. However, she has been very cranky all day and only took a little catnap while we were waiting in line to get her passport (never know when we will need to flit off somewhere). She went to bed pretty easily so I think she was exhausted. She is so engaged now with people and her toys that she is just wearing herself out with all the excitement.

Since she was a newborn I have put her on my bed while I fold clothes. I talk to her about all the different types of clothes, and I throw clothes at her and she loves to swat at them. This week I have been packing up her 0-3 month clothes and getting out her new set of 3-6 month clothes. I can't believe she is so big! This is a little newborn hat that she never actually wore and now it is getting packed up. She was sitting on the bed helping me organize all her clothes. So helpful :)

Weekend Update

We had the most wonderful weekend. My parents came in town last Wednesday and stayed until Saturday evening. The weekend was full of many projects and I know my mom and dad went home pretty tired. We had a wonderful time together and I am so blessed by their love and support. We ate at Cheesecake Factory on Friday evening and this is my Dad holding Cadie during dinner.On Sat. evening Cadie spent the time at John and Dawna's and we came back home on Sunday so tired. She stays very active at their house and always sleeps great when she gets home. She fell asleep in the car seat and didn't want to wake up at all. I finally had to get her up to eat and get ready for bed.

Brushing Teeth

Cadie had her gums brushed for the first time this morning. She was sitting in the Bumbo seat which she only enjoys for about 5 minutes at a time. Here is the progression of events which all took about 2 seconds.

I feel pretty chill in this Bumbo thing...
Hmm, am feeling a bit annoyed...
This thing is torture...
AHHHHH! I must start screaming at the top of my lungs because I am convinced I will die if I have to stay in this thing one more second!!!

Smiling

Today I am incredibly thankful for Grant. Last night Cadie was up at 3am, 5am, and 7am and I had just about had it. I took her downstairs at 7:30am to Grant while he was still asleep in the bed and just dumped her in his arms. I went straight upstairs and went to sleep and he didn't call me to come get her until 9am. It made all the difference. Apparently he played with her a lot while he got ready for work because she was pretty tired by the time he gave her back and she took a nice morning nap. Grant took this pic while they were playing this morning.
It warms my heart when she smiles and laughs. She is getting much more interactive with people, toys, and the world around her. On Monday she played with Max (1 year) and today she played with Ella Bray (2 years) and Cadie is just fascinated with other kids. She watches them so intently.
We ventured to the grocery store for the first time together this morning. I carried her around in the sling and she did just great. She was still tired from playing with dad so she dozed a lot.

New Year

Wow! What a holiday season. We hosted Grant's firm's Christmas party at our house, I was in Kansas City Dec. 3-6 and Dec. 16-28 with family, had a Sip and See in KC on the 20th, wedding shower for my sister on Dec. 22, sister's wedding on Dec. 27 (also Grant's birthday on the 27th), New Year's party for 30 friends at our house with a full dinner... Today I am just hanging out and it feels so great. Well, I am taking down the Christmas decorations and cleaning, but it still feels great just to be at home.
Cadie in her "Baby's 1st Christmas" candy cane outfit from Grandma Nicki.

Yesterday Cadie started playing with her toys! It was so exciting. It is kinda funny that I found it so fun, but when you see your first baby start to do new things it is just amazing. She discovered her hands about 2 weeks ago and loves to look at them and suck on them. Now she has discovered toys and loves to grab for them and shake them around.

Sip & See

My mother hosted a "Sip & See" on Saturday in Kansas City and it was a wonderful event. For those that haven't heard of a sip and see, it is a come and go party for friends and family to come meet the new baby. Cadie was a doll the entire time and let everyone hold her. So many people took the time to come meet her which was very meaningful during this busy time of year.

Cadie has been sleeping about 10 hours a night with ~2 breaks for eating or cuddling. I feel so much more rested with her new sleeping pattern.

We are busy for the rest of the week preparing for my sister Courtney's wedding on Saturday! I am so happy for her and her fiance, Ryan Gallet. CJ is going to be an incredibly beautiful bride. This is Courtney holding Cadie last night.

Everyone, including Cadie and the cat, loves my mom!