Follow-up

So last night, we got Caden to bed, but he awoke shortly thereafter. We let him play for another hour, I rocked and sang him to sleep, and took him straight to bed with us. He slept great all night. Of course, I woke up frequently out of habit, but I did get rest. Then today he fell asleep on the way home from errands for both his naps and stayed asleep for an hour and a half each time. I'm thinking (and hoping) Zombie Night was a one-time thing and that whatever was the problem has passed. And if not, I bought teething gel (I'm sure it's not an ear infection). I guess I'll find out tonight!

On another note, I see that none of you have entered my current giveaway! Perhaps because you were unaware of it. The prize is a cute brooch/hair clip in the color of your choice, a $13 value. Go here to enter before it ends on Friday!

Night of the Living Zombie Mom

If anyone wants to be in a real-life zombie movie, stop by my house. I play the leading role, with cameo appearances by Justin. Caden plays the screaming victim. I have no idea what is up with him! We were doing great with sleep day and night. Then a couple weeks ago teething pained him, which made him wake frequently and cry, but he would easily fall back asleep. Now nothing will console him, and I don't know what is bothering him. Last night I was up for 2 hours. He went to bed really early and slept for nearly 3 1/2 hours before waking up, but after that it was a nightmare. I nursed him to sleep and he slept for an hour. Then I got him back to sleep again, but he woke up 20 minutes later. Then for the next 2 hours he wouldn't stay asleep. Every time I put him in his crib he cried. I took him to bed with us but he was wide awake. I let him fuss in his crib for a little. Then I took him potty to see if that would help. I finally got him asleep and tried laying down with him on the couch. He woke up crying miserably. Ok, that usually works. So I tried falling asleep sitting up with him in my arms. I couldn't, and he was wiggling in his sleep, so I tried lying down again. Nope. He freaked out again. I lost it and just started sobbing, which woke Justin up. He sent me to bed and took Caden, miraculously getting him to sleep and putting him in our bed without Caden waking up. Even after all that, Caden woke up at his usual 6:30. I nursed him back to sleep, but he only slept for another hour.

I am not a happy camper. Today, I tried getting him down for his morning nap. As usual, he fell asleep easily, but woke up after I put him down. I was not repeating last night, so I said, "Too bad!" and didn't try again until 1 p.m. when he was really cranky and tired. I am not playing anymore games with him! If he doesn't want to stay asleep even after I indulge him with nursing and rocking and singing, then I am done! He either doesn't get to nap until later or he can fall asleep on his own. I still haven't decided what to do about night time though. I'm thinking if he is as ridiculous as last night where nothing will please him, then the only thing left to do is let him cry it out. I hope it doesn't come down to that because that will drive me insane as well!

Sunglasses and Peaches

Recently I sorted through some boxes and found a couple old notebooks a former high school friend and I wrote in to each other our freshman year. Yesterday I started reading them, and all I have to say is wow, I was such a weirdo! The notes are pretty lame. We talk about the same stuff and inside jokes over and over and over. It's really annoying and pointless. And I realized how incredibly not funny I was. I think I tried too hard. I wasn't comfortable being myself so I would try to emulate the fun characteristics of my friends and fail miserably. Anyway, I'm going to finish reading the notebooks just for fun and then throw them away!

Oh, yeah, Sunglasses and Peaches were our nicknames (I was Peaches). I have no idea how they came to be.

P.S. from Caden

Mommy forgot some stuff:

• I love to rock back and forth violently in the exercauser. I can't wait to ride roller coasters!
• Sometimes I laugh by clearing my throat. I make a lot of funny noises; I like the sound of my voice.
• I like to lean my head sideways to the left and make Mommy and Daddy copy me. I like when they copy my sounds too.
• I am very ticklish!
• I love bath time and especially being naked. Who needs clothes?
• I can drag myself forward now. Mommy says I look like a little crippled boy.
• I hate having my face and nose wiped, so much so that I throw a tantrum whenever Mommy tries.
• I can walk if you hold my hands.
• I love playing underneath things. No matter how much Mommy moves me, I always go back under the table to play. I try to go under the futon too, but I always hit my head.
• The easiest way to get me to sleep is to bounce me up and down. Mommy used to do that on the edge of the bed, but found that bouncing on the exercise ball is much easier.
• I like to bite Mommy while nursing and then laugh when she taps my cheek to get me to stop.
• I like to watch basketball and golf with Daddy. Mommy's shows are b-o-r-i-n-g.
• I am my mother's son: I love to dance!

I'll let you know if I remember any other wonderful characteristics about my cute little self.

Back to Caden

Ok, I've been spicing it up for a while. Time to take a break and update on the baby.

Caden loves food! He likes almost everything we've given him. Yet he eats depending on his mood. Sometimes he gobbles everything up, other times he's not interested. When he does eat, his initial reaction is always the same--confusion--but once he swallows (which usually takes him a few spoonfuls to remember how to do), he wants more. He started out on rice cereal for a few days and green beans for a couple days, but the rice cereal stopped him up, so I quit solids for a week until he was normal again. Now he's back to eating and was introduced to banana by Grandma a couple weeks ago. Next he had avocado and pooped out guacamole! He's also had peas, carrots (another one that went right through him), and pears (only one he doesn't like). His favorite by far is green beans.



Caden is a fat little guy. He still hasn't figured out crawling, but gets closer every day: he rocks on his hands and knees like crazy and gets onto his toes. He can scootch backwards and in a circle and he's an expert roller. The second you put him down on his back, he rolls onto his tummy. Getting dressed and diaper changes have been a challenge ever since. When he rolls on the floor and bumps into something he gets upset. He hasn't figured out just to roll back the other way. Sometimes he'll force himself to still roll over regardless of the barrier; takes a lot of shifting his body. He loves to stand up and try to walk. Justin thinks he will skip crawling and go straight to walking.

Caden also discovered splashing a couple weeks ago, but isn't consistent about it, thank goodness. A few weeks ago he starting sitting in the shopping cart. I love not having to cart around a car seat anymore! Currently he's into patting everything. Put him on the bed--he pats the bedspread. Put him on the couch--he pats the seat. Put him in the highchair--he pats the tray. Weirdo. He's also in a scaredy-cat phase on top of his separation anxiety phase. Things he used to love scare him now: the vacuum, my hair dryer, the hand mixer, and other noises. The only noises that don't scare him are the washer and dryer.

Caden loves to play with paper. He crumples and rips it to shreds. I have to be careful if I'm holding him and an important document at the same time. Other favorites are the shower curtain and water bottles. His absolute favorites are wires and the TV remote--such a man! He also likes his exersaucer, particularly the long plastic piece that he chews on and the steering wheel (again, such a man!). Lately he's been doing this evil laugh. It's so funny.

I love this little baby so much and can't believe he's growing up so fast. The first month was slow, the next two were normal, and these last few have gone in the blink of an eye. Next thing you know I'll be writing about his first birthday!

Go here for more photos.