How Time Flies...

I can't believe how fast these kiddos grow up!

Cade and Izzy's first date (about 4 weeks old)



Now:


Holding hands already?!




For the life of me, I could not get them both to smile at the same time. Oh well. Cute little stinkers.

9 Months!

Cade turned 9 months old last week! He is...
*17.6 lbs
*26.8 inches
*giving kisses and "fives"
*says 'mama' all of the time
*LOVES his sweet potatoes (his nose and ears are starting to turn yellow from eating them so much... the Dr. told me that if I keep it up, I will turn the bottoms of his feet orange).
*Is not even thinking about crawling/scooting
*starting to stand up holding on to furniture
*has three teeth on bottom and four on top



So, I'm trying to encourage Cade to crawl, so I lined up his favorite puff cereals in front of him... he was so annoyed... he just looked at me like "What the heck, mom? Why do you have to make things so complicated?!"

I'M A NEW WOMAN

I am happy to say that last night, Cade slept from 11:00 pm until 8:30 this morning!!! I don't think that I have had more than 3 hours of sleep at a time in the past 9 months, so a WHOLE night without him waking up?! I feel amazing!! Thanks to everyone for your suggestions! We tried different things every night for about the past two weeks, and hopefully, we've got it figured out now. I started feeding Cade rice cereal at night instead of in the morning, and I also started feeding him formula. I think that he just wasn't getting enough in his tummy to hold him over. Not only is he sleeping better at night, but he's napping better too... he used to never nap for longer than 45 minutes, but for the past 3 DAYS he has taken a 2 hr nap at noon, and a 1 hr nap at about 4.

Let me tell you, it is a GREAT DAY in the Murphy household!!!

Cade's Favorite Things

Two of Cade's favorite activities are 1- poking at my eyes, and 2- pulling out my earrings. Here he managed to get away with both, and he's happy as can be.

My Sweethearts

I'm so lucky to have TWO wonderful guys in my life that I love MORE than ANYTHING!

The Man Way

Russ always watches Cade while I work in the mornings. The other day, I came home and found Cade like this.... I asked Russ what had happened. He said that he couldn't find a clean bottle, so he gave Cade a sippy cup of juice (Cade can't drink out of a sippy cup yet). Russ was working on his computer in a chair next to Cade, and looked down a few minutes later to find Cade holding the sippy cup upside down, watching each drop of juice splash down on his chest. So, Russ cleaned him up by stripping him down and giving him his 'woobie' and a blanket. Apparently this was comfortable for Cade, he fell fast asleep, after kicking off the blanket of course.

Maybe I just need to take a lesson from my husband on getting my baby to sleep... let him sleep naked?!

Help Please!!

So, for the last four days, Cade has gotten into this thing... he doesn't want to take naps all day, and if he does go down, he wakes up 45 minutes later. I put him to bed at 7:30, then he wakes up at 8:15 and doesn't want to go back to sleep until 11. I was thinking that maybe I just needed to get him onto a 1 nap schedule (he has been taking two/day)... so I kept him up all day except for a 1 hr nap. He went to bed at 7:30... and woke up, ready to play at 8. I put him back in bed, and he cries and cries (tearful cries) until I pick him back up. He's grumpy, I'm grumpy... we need help!

Cade's First Word!!

Cade just said Mamma!! Ok, it was more like "ah-ma", but I know what he meant.

8 Months

Cade turned 8 months old yesterday. I can't believe how fast he's growing. We went to the Dr. yesterday, and he is 17 lbs., 7 oz! He is sitting up really well now, is doing a lot better at eating and sleeping (thank goodness), and every day he grows more and more curious about the world around him. He wants to hold/eat everything he sees. He is so full of life. He always has a smile on his face and gets so excited about everything. His favorite things to do are to look at himself in the mirror (he laughs and laughs, and then tries to eat his face in the mirror, it's so cute), and to play with dad's XBox controllers. If he sees a cell phone or laptop, he dives for them, literally. I love him so much. He is such a sweetheart.


I had to put this picture up... Cade always sleeps just like this... with a pacifier, his little teddy bear, holding his blanket with his right hand, and his head jammed up against the crib railing on the upper left corner of his bed. He will not sleep any other way. If I put him to bed on the opposite end of the crib, he manages to scoot over to his favorite spot. He definitely knows what he likes!

Russ Jr.

Everyone always says that Cade looks a lot like Russ. I've really never been able to see it though. I've never thought he looks like either of us, I've always just thought that Cade looked like Cade. When we were in Atlanta, I was looking through some of Ann's pictures of Russ, and I can't believe how much they look alike. So now I'm a believer. Cade looks like Russ!

Christmas in Dixie

We got to visit Russell's family in Atlanta this year for Christmas. We had so much fun. It made me realize how much I miss the South... short sleeve weather on Christmas day, tons of yummy food, and most of all, lots of time with family. I was really nervous about how Cade would do on the plane trip out, but he was amazing. We actually had to try to get him to stop laughing at one point because he was squealing (with delight) so loudly. He had a few rough times, but all in all did really well. Cade's Nana and Papa spoiled him (and Russ and I too) rotten (par for the course). We got there late Tuesday night to find that Nana had borrowed a crib and some toys for Cade, and had diapers, wipes, and baby food all waiting for him. Ann had also bought groceries to accommodate my dairy free diet (Cade has a milk protien allergy). She is so thoughtful! We're so thankful for her.

CHRISTMAS #1:
We had our family Christmas at home before we left. We have always had a little Christmas with just the two of us at our own house on Christmas morning, and we want Cade to be able to have Christmas morning memories at home, so we had Christmas a little early. Besides, with all of the luggage fees these days, who can afford to pack Christmas? We had a lot of fun with just the three of us. I'm so thankful to have such a sweet son and such a wonderful husband. I love them both so much.






CHRISTMAS #2:
Christmas Eve, some of Russell's cousins came by and hung out with us for a few hours. They were so sweet to give Cade TONS of really cute gifts that he absolutely loves(I love them too... they were life-savers on the plane ride home!). It was so great to get to see everyone. Thanks guys for making the 2+ hour trip even with the holiday traffic!!






CHRISTMAS #3:
Christmas Day was so much fun. It's so crazy how a baby changes everything... I thought that Christmas was fun before... now it's 100 times better (even though he has no idea what Christmas is yet).








After Christmas, we got to do some shopping (yeah!) and we went to the infamous Jim 'N Nick's BBQ. It's Russell's favorite BBQ place, and I think that he's been looking forward to eating there since... well the last time that we ate there last November.





Cade also got to meet his cousin, Jake, for the first time. We hadn't seen Jake in over a year. He has grown so much. We had a lot of fun spending a little time with him. He showed us everything that Santa brought him. Jake told us that if he wouldn't have been naughty, he probably would have gotten more. :)




Kisses for Nana...


To top off our great trip, we came home late last night to find that our wonderful neighbors, the Rosevears, had shoveled all 18" of snow out of our driveway. Russ was so happy that he didn't have to shovel snow at midnight so we could pull our car in :) We are truly blessed with great friends and family.

Lucky 13

Our family seems to have a lot of good luck on the 13th...

Ann's birthday is today, December 13th. Here's to a wonderful mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother. Ann is simply an amazing person, and we are so lucky to have her in our lives! Happy birthday Ann!



My little sister Courtney's birthday is also today! Courtney is beautiful in and out. She has a huge heart, a great big smile, and can make any one laugh. We love you Court!



Last but not least, Cade is 7 months today. His little personality is showing through more and more every day. I can't believe how much he has grown. He is our bundle of joy, and I can't imagine life without him.



Hooray for 13!

'Tis the Season

Thanksgiving at Grandma Sonderegger's

6 Months!

So, I'm a little late in posting this, but Cade is 6 months old now! I can't believe it... it has gone so fast. He's the light of our lives and we couldn't love him more.
Cade is now...
rolling over and grabbing everything,
weighs 14 lbs 9 oz. and 25" (just a small fry),
loves to babble, try new foods, play patty-cake and peek-a-boo,
hates sleeping and oatmeal,
IS GETTING HIS TWO BOTTOM TEETH!!!,
he's laughing all of the time and has a great big smile that melts my heart.

We love you Cade-o!