Justin

It's been a while since I've talked about my husband! He recently got a promotion at work, which included a pay raise and teaching private golf lessons. He is very stressed out, however, due to coworkers and management (they have yet to replace the head pro, who moved to Carlsbad). Justin is also taking five classes and has a lot of homework. He has one semester left with only three classes before he is done!

Caden's Cuteness



Eating spaghetti for the first--and last--time.

Caden's cuteness never ceases. Remember he learned to say "uh-oh"? Now he's learned when to say it: whenever he or I drop something. He's really good at imitating now. He copied my playing with his truck, saying "hroom" instead of "vroom." I taught him to raise his arms up high to mean "pick me up." And all our hard work cleaning up his toys every night before bed for months has paid off. He knows that clean up means to put away the toys and he helps now. It's so cute! He's also started clapping when we say "yay," something we didn't teach him. He is a very observant child. And mischievous. Church is torture now. Gone are the days he would sit contentedly in my lap and play with toys. He's into climbing everything. We took him to the park for the first time on Monday. He was mostly interested in the dirt. I took him again Friday. Some four-year-old boys were running around, and Caden got so excited. He wanted to run with them so badly, but they were too fast and not interested in playing with him. We returned Saturday for a baby shower and he was excited by all the boys riding their bikes. He wants to be a big kid so badly! 

He has progressed to one long nap in the early afternoon. The timing is still off though, because he still is tired by dinner and we have to keep him up to ensure he doesn't take another nap and stay up late. However, he refuses to sleep in the crib. He used to nap in the crib during the day without waking, sleep in his crib for a few hours at night, and then sleep with us the rest of the night. Now he wakes up during his nap and won't go back to sleep unless I lie down with him. I'll sneak off, he might wake again later, and I'll have to cuddle him back to sleep (as I wrote this yesterday, he slept in his crib for two hours!). But he sleeps for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours total. At night, he rarely lasts more than half an hour in his crib before wanting to go to bed with us. I don't know what happened.


The step stool is one of his favorite toys.

 Caden's tastes are unique. Musically speaking, he doesn't like pop or rock or R&B. He loves disco! Truly his mother's son. Whenever I play some boogie tunes, he gets excited and starts spinning in circles. As for food, he still likes baby food. I feed him Beechnut stage 3 meals. The solid foods he does eat are mostly mushy (oatmeal, yogurt, cheese, applesauce, berries, cereal bars), though he does like rice, tortilla chips, corn tortillas, and popcorn. He's a picky snacker too. His tastes change weekly, but he always likes his rice puffs. In his birthday post I said he didn't like the cupcake, but I think he may have a little sweet tooth. At Friday night's ward Halloween party, he had a mini cupcake and gobbled it up! Except the frosting. And last night he eagerly nibbled at a mini rice krispie treat he got from trunk-or-treating.

Caden is my little cutie and I love him so much, even though I admit he sometimes drives me crazy!

My mom caught it on camera!

Read on my giveaway blog an update on infant potty training.

First Birthday Party

The first Saturday in September was Caden's first birthday party. My mom and sister came earlier in the week and my dad drove up for the weekend. We invited some families from church. It was a simple party: food, balloons, presents, and cupcakes and ice cream. The theme was monsters: I bought the tablecloth and plates for 97 cents each at Wal-mart and made construction-paper monsters to put on the walls. Caden's outfit says "Daddy's little monster."

I made cupcakes and frosting from scratch. I rarely bake, and usually from a box, so this was a huge step for me. The cupcakes were dense and the frosting was too sweet. Still, I was very proud of myself!

Caden wasn't too fond of his cupcake. I forced some in his mouth, but he didn't like it. I can't complain about having a baby who doesn't like sweets. That's fine with me!

We got him him the hammer and nails and a felt toolbelt with tools from IKEA. He got lots of toys from my parents, lots of clothes from all Justin's family, and books, a DVD, and clothes from his friends.

Little Miss Indecisive

Remember my post on purse shopping? Well, shortly thereafter I decided I didn't like my purse. A few days later, when I finally had the car and time, I went back to Kohl's and looked at my second favorite again. I transferred items from one purse to the other to compare the feel. I still didn't like the small outer pockets of the other one, but liked the larger interior, cuter style, and cheaper price. I decided to get it. I went to customer service to ask about their exchange policy since I had used a gift card and coupon. The lady said I would have to return the purse and then buy the other one. The gift card money would be given back as store credit, but I still needed another coupon; the one I had gotten in my email had expired a day earlier. I left with the original purse. To my delight, a few days later I received another coupon. I went back to the store, this time Justin also with me and Caden, and did one last check before I bought the purse. Of course, I changed my mind again. I decided the purse I bought was definitely more comfortable and the big pockets were so convenient. After all that, I kept the original purse, and I love it now too.

I haven't been this indecisive in a long time! Ever since I got married, I have been really good about shopping quickly and only buying things I am 200 percent in love with. I don't know what happened this time.

"Provo, UT Girls"

Man, I miss BYU! I wish I had gone to more Divine Comedy shows.

First Birthday Photos

We decided to take professional photos of Caden for his first birthday since we didn't do newborn ones. We got them done at JC Penney. Here are the collages with the best poses.

He had a red mark on his cheek from a bump or something that he got the day before the shoot.

Don't like the way I look, of course. I love the kissing one.

Outfit from Grandma and Grandpa Nishimoto. The pants were a little big. Overall, a good experience and cute photos.

Purse Shopping

I had been looking around for a purse the last few months. The one I have I love, but it is four years old and faded, and the strap is about the break. And I wanted something a bit bigger.

I got in the mail a couple weeks ago a $10 gift card to Kohl's. I had checked a Kohl's recently not to find anything, but last Thursday I decided to check the one close to us since I had the gift card and a 15-percent-off coupon. To my surprise, I found many I liked. But not loved. While I am trying to be more stylish, especially in accessories, practicality is my weakness. None of the purses had all the features I wanted: size, style, organization (the biggest factor), and price. I got it down to four:

1. Chaps purse in leopard print. Gorgeous. Very sophisticated. Too small. Side pockets lacked a closure--items may fall out easily. Pricey.

2. Nine & Co. purse. Similar exterior design and shape as my current purse. Plenty of compartments. Great price. Zippered main compartment; wanted snap. Too safe in style. Not easy to retrieve items while holding Caden.

3. Nine & Co. purse in black, not silver, which is a little too out of my comfort zone. Very stylish (love the rouching), large, compartmentalized, easy to reach inside. Great price. Outside pockets way too small.

4. Apt. 9 purse in black, not ugly tan. Slightly smaller than aforementioned purse but same interior design. Outside pockets large enough for water bottle (I always have one with me). Very comfortable. Not as pretty and a bit more expensive.

I finally narrowed it down to the last two. They were basically the same in design, just slight differences, the biggest being the style. Of course, practicality won. I got the last one because it was very comfortable and could hold a water bottle and sippy cup. I'm still getting used to it. It's much larger than my previous purse. I still like the third purse better, but I know I would not have been completely happy with it either. I'd rather be unhappy with style than function, which is why I did not choose that purse. Which would you have chosen?