Secondhand

I love buying things secondhand. I found a great kitchen for Caden a couple weeks ago. And I did all his Christmas shopping secondhand. I've gotten him a gazillion books from the thrift store (best place to find board books in great condition and really cheap!) and some more books, wooden puzzles, a walker/rider, and a booster seat (ok, so that's not for Christmas) from Craigslist. The stuff from Craigslist totalled $18!

Babyhood is the perfect time to buy secondhand: babies outgrow things quickly, so things are hardly or never used; babies don't know or care that their things are used; and people are so desperate to get rid of their baby stuff that they sell it for cheap or give it to you for free! The only thing you have to be careful about is to make sure the stuff meets current safety standards.

I also love buying books for me and kitchen/household items secondhand. I only buy shoes if they're brand new and clothes if they're not faded, ripped, or stained. What do you like buying secondhand, if at all?

A Spook-tacular Weekend

After working during Halloween two years ago and missing the festivities last year, I was set on making the most of Halloween this year. Friday night was the ward party. There were games for the kids followed by trunk-or-treating. Caden did the cake walk and won a mini cupcake which he gobbled right up, minus the frosting.

He also did the fishing game and got a glow bracelet and the ball toss and got a pencil. The rest of the time he was just interested in stepping on and off the sidewalk to the grass. He thinks he's so cool because he can climb small steps.

Justin took him trunk or treating while I passed out candy; then we switched. There were no desserts at the party (seriously!) so we stopped for treats at the gas station afterwards and watched the rest of Harry Potter 4 at home.


Justin is Indiana Jones, I'm a witch, and Caden is a bat.



Saturday Caden and I went to a Halloween baby shower. It was too hot for him to wear his costume, but I wore mine. I was the only one besides the hostess and a couple little girls.

Monday we went to a sugar-free Halloween party; Justin met us there straight from work, so he didn't dress up. I helped with the games. The kids had a lot of fun. Caden got to taste apple cider and liked it. I made whole-wheat blueberry muffins that I actually liked (not a fan of blueberries).

The campus party started later than we thought, so we went there next. We took Caden trunk-or-treating again. The rest of the time he spent on the playground--you guessed it--stepping up and down the sidewalk to the sand. He loved the taste of cotton candy Justin gave him.

He had a lot of fun playing and was sad to leave. Overall, it was a great Halloween!

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.