Outsmarting the Picky Eater

Cade is terrible about being a picky eater. He is incredibly over-sensitive to the sight of food, so even looking at something that someone else is eating will make him throw up... he got to the point where he was literally only eating frozen waffles, grilled cheese, and milk. We started him in a toddler class for kids who have eating issues, and things have gotten SO much better. They saved my sanity. I thought that I should pay it forward and pass on some of the tricks I've learned...

1. Shake it. Make milk shakes out of everything. No really, everything. Cade loves the raspberry/avacado/sweet potato blend. Mix it with half and half for extra calories. Instant Breakfast mix will add some vitamins and nutrients too.
2. Dip it. Mix pureed vegetables into ketschup or ranch dressing. Let them dip pretzels, chips, or crackers into it. Nutella is an awesome dip too.
3. Glam it up. I top everything with cool whip, sprinkles, or mini m&m's. You can also use fun cookie cutters to cut out sandwiches.
4. Name it. Don't say "eat your fruits and veggies"... say "eat your CARROT SWORDS or BANANA WHEELS." Be creative.
5. Play with it. I'm not a mom who cares about playing with your food. I think it's a great opportunity for pretend play, and it helps take Cade's mind off of the stress of it.
6. Let peer pressure work for you. Cade does 1000% better if he sees other kids eating it too. We love lunch play-dates.

We still aren't to the point where I can make one meal for the whole family (wouldn't that be something?!), but at least I'm not having to wash pukey clothes after every meal!

Tiny Tubes for C-Man

We went up to Primary's on the 4th for Coleman to get tubes in his ears. Little buddy hasn't passed his hearing test yet, so his doc wanted to put tubes in to rule out any chance of fluid causing the hearing loss. I felt like I was playing house, with the little-bitty hospital gown, blood pressure cuff, and oxygen mask! Coleman was very brave through the surgery, and so was I :) Thank goodness it was only 15 minutes long. They hardly gave me enough time to worry. Coleman did look cute though in his tiny gown...

But holy cow, if you ever are feeling sorry for yourself, spend a day at Primary Children's! I promise your problems will not seem so bad after all. We will go back in one month to have more hearing tests for Coleman, but come what may, we're very very blessed. We know Heavenly Father loves us, He loves Coleman, and that everything is in His hands.

Happy Halloween/October 2010

We kicked off October with a visit to the pumpkin patch... a very muddy pumkin patch.


Cade was ticked that his hands were muddy, but he did like the wagon ride! He was more excited about the cars passing by than the pumpkins...


Still mad about his hands being dirty...

We also had the first snow this October. Cade sat at the window signing "snow" (that's what he's doing in the picture below) and just watching the snow fall for most of the morning...

Then it snowed again a few days later. Cade laid in the window this time to watch it...

We carved a pumpkin with Cade this year. He was fascinated that the top came off. He kept pointing to it and signing "hat".

We were an LSU superfan family for Halloween (I know... we went way out of our comfort zones!). The boys had matching outfits, complete with capes, masks, and foam swords.

Family Pics 2010 and Coleman Newborns

Ho. Lee. ****. This day was the craziest day of my life. I remembered why we haven't done this in 18 months. Cade did everything he could to sabotage Coleman's newborn session, then during the family session, he tried to run away, take his shoes off, tackle Coleman, or chase the ducks every time the photographer has us in a pose. Literally, every time. I would have been overjoyed to have just one of the shots turn out... but we actually got a couple. Seriously a miracle. I can't sing enough praises to our photographer... Jeni Boston. But despite the craziness of it all, I am so glad that we did it. I have to say I have two pretty darn cute kids.

Coleman is 2 Months Old

Our little buddy is already 2 months old. He started rolling over and smiling this month (at 6 weeks). Coleman is a very very easy and happy baby. He rarely cries. He is just waking up 1 or 2 times to eat during the night. He loves to coo when he is held close and talked to (I love that!)and is content to just watch all of the action going on around him. Cade gets super excited whenever he sees Coleman and says "hi baby, hi!" over and over. Cade is still having a hard time with the concept "be soft!", but he is getting better at sharing mom's attention.

Coleman weighs 11 lbs and 14.5 oz (75th percentile), and is 22.5 inches long (50th percentile). He still hasn't passed his hearing tests, but will be getting tubes in his ears in 2 weeks which will hopefully change that. We are thankful to all of our friends and family for all of the prayers that have been given on Coleman's behalf. I know that Coleman was meant to be part of our family, and his sweet personality brightens my day each and every day. We love him so much and are so thankful that he is ours.

One of my friends told me about this great idea of taking the baby's picture next to a stuffed animal each month, so you can see how much they have grown.

Coleman at 1 month:

Coleman at 2 months:

Halloween Time

Our Relief Society put together a Halloween play date this morning. The kids got to wear their costumes and decorate sugar cookies. Russ took charge of the boys' costumes this year... so they are LSU super heroes. Cade had a blast. He didn't care to decorate the cookie, but he ate it... and being able to run and chase kids in the church was like a dream come true for him. Coleman was a trooper... he hated the mask I made for him, but other than that he seemed to have a good time.

Now... and Then

We went to the zoo with the Caryn and the kiddos a few weeks ago. Caryn and I were pushing the strollers and talking, and when we looked up at the kids, Cade and Izzy were holding hands and cracking up at themselves. I had to get a few pictures, and after I took them, I remembered that this isn't the first time Cade has tried to get Izzy to hold his hand!

Takin' Care of Brother

Cade is such a good big brother. He hasn't figured out that Coleman can't wrestle yet, and he definitely doesn't understand "be soft"... but he is always trying to share his toys, put his pacifier in his mouth, cover him with a blanket, or something else to take care of him. Cade loves it when Coleman is in his swing. He will ask me to put Coleman in, he will push him to get the swing going, put a couple of trucks, blankets, or stuffed animals in with him, and then Cade will sit next to Cole in his rocker and just rock, smile, and watch the baby.

Our First Outing as a Family of 4

This year on Labor Day weekend, Coleman was 2 weeks old. Russ was home, Ann was in town, and I was dying to get out of the house, so we all went to the zoo. Coleman slept all day, but Cade seemed to have a good time. After the zoo we went to lunch and walked around temple square. Cade thought that the reflection pond was pretty tempting... but thanks to Russ he stayed reasonably dry. It was a beautiful day, and we made some great memories.

Chasing ducks... one of Cade's favorite activities.

A good friend gave Coleman a baby toy giraffe when he was born. Cade stole it and now thinks that giraffes are the coolest thing ever. Here's Cade pointing to the awesome giraffes.
The boys had matching outfits :)

Cade's version of the sign for 'elephant'...

Happiness Is...

This.

Coleman Russell Murphy is Here!!!

My baby is finally here! Coleman was born on 8/21. He weighed 7 lbs and was 20 inches long. He is completely bald and has the cutest little nose and lips that I've ever seen.

Saturday the 21st started out as any other Saturday. I cleaned the house that morning, and then I went to Sams to get a couple of last minute groceries, diapers, etc. (I was scheduled to be induced the following Monday). Russ had taken Cade to the splash pad, and when I got home from the store, he was asleep for his nap. Russ and I started to watch a movie while Cade was sleeping, and I started to have contractions around 3 pm. I didn't want to get worked up or excited about it, because I had a false labor a few days before, and didn't want to be disappointed again... so I tried to watch the movie but I was mostly watching the clock :) By about 4:30, the contractions were starting to REALLY hurt, so I told Russ that I thought I was in labor, and we needed to get things ready to go. Thank goodness for awesome neighbors who said they could keep Cade until my parents would be able to get here from Idaho Falls. We finished packing our bags and getting Cade's things together, and dropped Cade off at the neighbor's house at about 5:45. By this time my contractions were about 2 minutes apart and were really hurting. I was so nervous that I wouldn't get to the hospital in time for an epidural. Russ was nervous and watching me barely able to breath/cry, so I think that we made it to IMC in about 15 minutes (we went 90+ the whole time we were on the interstate) :)

We made it to the hospital and got checked in at about 6, and I was now having contractions every minute... but was only dialated to a 4! I was dying of pain (baby was posterior and back labor is a killer), and the nurse told me that they typically would just monitor me for an hour to make sure that I was progressing before giving an epidural. THANK GOODNESS that my doctor happened to be filling in for the on-call guy for a couple of hours, so he had pitty on me and we got an epidural right away...................... and then I was happy and everything was easy. Cole was born at 10:15 pm. We are so thankful that he is healthy and that everything went well. We are so blessed to have two beautiful little boys.

My family brought Cade to the hospital the next morning. Cade ran into the room and was so excited to see Russ and I (we've never been away from him overnight before), and then we introduced him to his little brother. He started signing "baby" (he still isn't talking much, but signs EVERYTHING) and was laughing and patting Cole's blankets. It was so sweet -- Cade was holding Cole when my dad asked Cade if he could hold him. Cade started shaking his head "no" and said "mine!" over and over. Cade is always so concerned about the baby... whenever he doesn't know where Cole is, he runs all over the house signing "baby" until he finds him. He loves to kiss Cole and give him hugs, but he is having a hard time understanding why Cole can't wrestle with him.... and tries to start a wrestling match at every opportunity he can.

Cole is the best baby. I can count on one hand the number of times that he has cried in the past week. He grimices and squeaks when he is hungry, but that's about it. He is so sweet and we love him so much.

One last pregger pic... taken about a week before Cole was born:

Weighin' in at 7 lbs (6 lbs 15.8 oz to be exact) :)....

Holding my beautiful baby right after he was born....

Proud daddy. I love him so much.

Our family of FOUR :)

Cade loves "his baby"...