Napa Trip

Hi there, everyone ready for the tricker treaters banging down their door tomorrow. It is such a fun holiday for the kids and adults alike!

Well, Kyle and I returned home from Napa, CA last Sun and I am just now getting a chance to update you on our trip and pictures. We had a great time. It was the perfect opportunity, Kyle had to go down for a class, so Kayden and I tagged along and visited Grandma Sally, Aunt Sissy and Uncle Charlie. We flew in last Wed and luckily Kayden was awesome on the flight. Kyle and I were both nervous, but he slept right threw it. It was perfect. Then Thur we all got up and Kyle headed off to his class while Kayden and I stuck around the hotel until Aunt Sissy picked us up. It was fun to see how much of the room wasn't child proof! LOL. So, once Sissy got there, Kayden and I were off to Napa. Unfortunately this time, though, Kayden did no sleep through the travels, he screamed pretty much the whole 1.5 hours to Napa. That was awesome! Poor Sissy, I felt bad, no one wants to hear a baby screaming, let alone for over an hour. It was stressful, but we made it. Got to Napa and had a great visit with Grandma Sally, Sissy and Uncle Charlie. Gram and I had a perfect opportunity to chat and have a good time. She showed me her craft room and her projects she has done and is currently working on. She also sent me home with some dish towels and Christmas decorations. Too cute.

Once Kyle's classes were over he made the long drive to Napa, too bad for him, it was Friday night traffic and it took him a little longer than 1.5 hours! But he persisted and finally made it. It was great to see him. So the rest of the weekend we just visited and enjoyed each others company. Gram turned me into a baseball fan, I know, can you believe it? Go Giants! They have currently one two out of the three games against the Rangers. Hopefully the Giants will win the next two games and be crowned World Series Champs!

While we were in Napa, Kayden experience his first pumpkin carving! Uncle Charlie grows pumpkins, so he decided it would be fun to carve one with Kayden. Kayden wasn't too into pulling out the guts of the pumpkin, but he sure did enjoy watching.

Well, Sunday came way too fast and it was time for us to get home. So, we left Napa, and boarded a plane. Kayden didn't sleep a wink this time, but he was perfect on the plane, he played, had fun with the window blind, who knew pulling the shade up and down could be so much fun and we read books. Once the plane landed, Kyle and I counted our blessings that we had another disaster free trip!

Here are some too cute pictures of our trip.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch today with Cindy, Christy and Charlie and had a great time. Kayden loved walking around the patch, just looking at all the people and all the pumpkins. He had a great time pushing the wheel barrow and picking up the beauty bark and gently placing it in the wheet barrow. It was a lot of fun. Kayden was a big hit in his frog costume, everyone loved him. We hope everyone is enjoying their Halloween season. Here are some pictures.

It's Been a Rough Couple of Weeks

Hey there, sorry I didn't update you on how Kayden's 1 year check up went. It has been a little crazy over here lately. Kayden has his one year check up two weeks ago and the appointment didn't go so well. He didn't gain any weight, he actually lost a little, so now he is down to 20.6 lbs and is 30 inches. Grew three inches which is great, but the dr. was a little worried about his weight loss. So, she decided we should so some labs to check a few different things, including his thyroid, liver, vitamin levels, etc. The day of his appointment he got four shots, he didn't like that at all. I'm so grateful that he doesn't remember those! Anyway, the dr. recommended we don't get his blood drawn that day, he had had enough poking for one day, we should wait until the following day. So, we left the dr's office and were on our way home. The rest of the night was fine, Kayden was a bit cranky, but who wouldn't be after four shots. Luckily, he got over that by the next morning, unfortunately though, that was the day we had to take him in for his blood work. Thankfully, Kyle was able to go with me. He was leaving that afternoon for California. So off to the lab we go. We get there and get back to the little room and Kyle goes to sit in the chair with Kayden and instantly Kayden starts screaming and there is no calming him down. The technician goes for his right arm and tries to draw blood, but it isn't coming, so she pokes him again and again, and still nothing, so she moves onto the other hand and luckily that was successful. Poor little guy was still screaming. Once they were done, they put bandaids on his arms, but Kayden wasn't going to have any of that, he was going to show them, he rips off one bandaid and it takes some work to get another one on. So, anyway, that was that and now we are onto the next day, Kyle is gone and I'm home for the next four days by myself. That morning, Kayden wakes up with a cold. That sticks around for about a week and then he gets a growth on his leg, I keep an eye on it, looks like a clump of blisters, but doesn't seem to bother him, he doesn't cry, squirm, or show any other signs that it is uncomfortable, so I just leave it. Then last Thursday Cindy says Kayden's belly button looks a little red. Huh, really, I hadn't noticed. The next time I go to change Kayden's diaper I noticed! His belly button was super red and it was stinky. So, I called the dr. and made an appointment for the next morning. Yup, sure enough his belly button is infected and the dr has no idea what the growth on his leg is. So, she sends us home with a prescription for an antibiotic ointment. Got that filled and off to the house we go. Get home and everything seems fine, then Friday night he gets red spots all over his stomach. Kind of concerned, but not totally concerned. And now we are on Saturday morning and the red spots seem to have spread even more. They are now on the back of his neck a couple on his face. He isn't feeling well, he's cranky, he has three teeth coming in, he isn't eating and he just isn't really feeling well. So, we spend the day at home and the spots continue to get worse. By Sunday I am worried, so I have Cindy take a look at them and she recommends calling the 24 hours nurse. So, I did that, and the nurse couldn't really help me, she consulted the on call dr. and that dr. said to stop the medicine, although an allergic reaction to that specific ointment is rare, they aren't sure what the rash is from, so stop it from now and make an appointment first thing in the morning. So, Monday morning, we wake up and get an appointment. Go to the dr. for the third time in two weeks. She takes a look at the rash and says there isn't really anything they can do about it, it is just a viral rash, it isn't an allergic reaction to the medication (thank goodness). It should go away in 4-5 days and just like she said it would, it did. It is pretty much nonexistent now. So, that is what is going on with Kayden, being one is tough work. Hope everything is going well with everyone. Take care.

Kayden's 1st Birthday!

We had a great time celebrating Kayden's first birthday. His great papa and nana come up from California, as well as, his great Aunt Cathy! We all had a great time celebrating his big 0-1 birthday. Kayden also did so well over the weekend with having everyone here. He hardly took any naps, he had cameras flashing all around him and he was in good spirits the whole time. He can be such a trooper. Kayden got a lot of great toys, and he can't wait to dig into them all. Now it is time to go through his old toys and pass on the ones that might be a little too young for him. Everyone warned us that he would get an abundance of toys, but Kyle and I had no idea until Saturday. I take him to the dr. tomorrow for his big 1 year check up. I'll keep you posted on how that goes. I still can't believe he is already one, the time really does fly. Since today is his real birthday, we thought we'd extend the birthday fun by going out to dinner. We took Kayden to Red Robin and had family meet us there. We weren't sure how he'd respond to the birthday singing, but he was fine with it, just a little confused I think, not really understanding why there are a bunch of people standing around him, clapping their hands and singing to him, but he got over that really fast when we fed him ice cream!

Here are some pictures of the birthday festivities.

New Landscaping

Ok, so this post isn't about Kayden, although I'll throw in some pictures of him with our new landscaping! Kyle and I hired some people to update our lawn and put in some new plants and trees. It looks great, so great that I would like to share it with all of you. The crew did an amazing job. It looks so beautiful.

Enjoy.

Our muscle man trying to lift up the rock!

Kayden 11 Months

Well, Kayden turned 11 months today. Since my last post he has learned how to walk every where and he is beginning to get fast. By his first birthday he should be able to run a marathon! He has also learned a few words, he can say dada and has been saying that for awhile now, probably 2 months. Last weekend was his first time saying mama and you know how excited I got with that one. He also says "yeah" a lot.

To date he has four teeth on top and on bottom and I'm pretty sure he is working on his one year molars, he has been chewing on everything, including the cats tail, if the cat wasn't so fast, her tail might an inches or two shorter.

Kayden loves playing in his pool. We have recently had really warm weather so we've taken advantage of it and gone out to play in the pool.

I'm working on things for Kayden's first birthday party, I'm really excited for it. We have family coming up from California and we are all super excited to visit with them. Here are some pictures of Kayden taken today and one taken in the pool! Enjoy.

Kayden 10 Months!

Sorry for the delayed post, I've been pretty busy lately. Kayden turned 10 months on July 20th, almost a week ago. He is so much fun right now, he thinks he is pretty funny and laughs at himself, as well as others. Some of his favorite things are to play peek-a-boo and to walk with his lion. He has this little lion that he can either sit on and get pushed around on or you can make it to where he can hold onto a handle and walk behind it. He thinks that is pretty funny. He gets going pretty well on it too. On Sun. we went to our friend, Austin's, first birthday and had a really good time. Because the weather was so hot, our friends had their pool up and Kayden loved it! He couldn't get enough of it. We have a little pool and Kyle filled that up a couple days ago so I've put him in there the last day or two and he has a good ol' time.

Well, here are some pictures of him taken on his 10 month birthday and then some others of him playing in the pool at our friends house. Hope you enjoy.

First Steps!

Kayden took two steps twice within 30 min. last night. I was so excited to be able to witness it. You should have seen me, I'm pretty sure my excitement scared him, but I just couldn't help it. It won't be long before he's running!

Helping Dad Fix the Chair

Kayden was "helping" Kyle fix the glider I got for my shower last year. The lock on it broke, so when you're rocking, the lock will clunk into place and stop you, it got very irritating so Kyle did a temporary fix on it until we can get the warranty taken care of. Here are some cute pictures of Kayden helping.Hey dad, I found what is wrong, it's this piece right here, this it he piece you need to fix! Dad, I'm telling you, it is this piece right here, this is the piece that is broken.Told you, Dad. Nice job. Now it is all fixed, you can thank me later.

Our Weekend Trip

Last weekend Kyle, Kayden and I went on a weekend trip and had a great time. We stayed in a small town called Grapeview and rented a beautiful house overlooking the water. The view was fantastic. When we arrived we took a minute to go outside to admire the view. I happened to look up, and probably 20 feet above Kyle's head was a bald eagle. It was so neat to see one so close. We also saw lots of jellyfish in the water and a large group of ducks, Kyle and I counted and there were 25 of them just swimming in the water following the one in front. I wish Kayden would have been a little older so he could have realized what he was seeing. He just kind of looked and me and Kyle when we tried to show him. He doesn't really get it yet.

In addition to seeing the wildlife, we went to a farmers market and a flea market, but fun all at the same time. Other than doing some driving around, we just stayed at the house and enjoyed our time there. It was nice and peaceful. We loved going to bed at night seeing the water and loved waking up to the same view in the morning.

Here are some pictures of our trip.