Swings and things...

A few days ago (during the beautiful weather) Caden and I went on a neighborhood stroll with Danielle and little Elly, this included a stop at the local park to check out the swings. At first we just held the babes as we sat on the "big-kid" swings, but then I decided to see if Caden was actually big enough for the baby/toddler swings. No surprise, he fit just fine, and was loving being gently pushed-it probably reminded him of his swing cradle which he is now too big for :) Thanks to Danielle for capturing these awesome pics!

In other news, I got a call last night from the MRI department at Sick Kids, finally confirming Caden's procedure for May 14th. It sure has taken a long time, and they mentioned that we should keep an eye out for any signs of a cold, cough or flu symptoms in the days leading up to the MRI, because if he were to get sick it would have to be rescheduled. This makes me want to quarantine him for the week before, just so we can be sure to go through with the appointment! Part of me is glad the appointment is finally here, but in another way I am nervous for both the procedure itself and for the results. He will have to be put under general anaesthetic for a couple of hours, during which time I'm sure Dave and I will both be pacing the hall/waiting area, there may even be a few tears shed-I can't guarantee anything. As for the results, I have just decided to face the reality that whatever they discover, we will be able to deal with it, and so will Caden in the same way that we all have for the past 6 & 1/2 months. Without knowing anything about his condition, we threw out our list of names the night before he was born, and we picked a totally new name-partially because of it's meaning, and mostly because we liked the name: "Caden" means little fighter, or "spirit of battle" depending where you look. I now know that this is the perfect name for our boy, who I'm sure will continue to bravely face any adversity that may come his way-all the while charming everyone with his infectious grin and sparkle in his eye ;)

Yup, 2 teeth :)

Well it's official-Caden's 2nd tooth has broken through and I must say, he didn't put up too much of a fuss!  I could definitely see and slightly feel a lump below the surface, but now there is the top of a sharp little tooth poking out.  Unfortunately he has bit down on me a few times while feeding, something that I hope comes to an end really soon otherwise we'll be switching to formula :(  I was saying to Dave tonight that when his top teeth start to come in, I'm going to be nervous breastfeeding-his jaws will be like a bear trap!!
It is very cute/funny how he has been smiling since these teeth have come in-he seems very aware of them, and loves to show them off.  Here are some of the latest pics:

 I can't believe the face he's making in this one, such a ham!:

And just because I can't have just a daddy one and no mommy one:

At least he's still smiling while he's teething!

Playtime...anytime?

Well I should have known that Caden's 2 night streak of going to bed fairly early (if you consider 8:30 & 9:30 pm early!) was too good to be true.  Last night he woke up just after 1:00am to be fed, and fell back asleep, only to reawaken a few minutes later, and lay in his crib chatting and giggling to himself until about 2:30, when Dave finally got up and picked him up.  He was fully ready to play and was wide awake smiling and looking around the dark room.  He finally went back to sleep just after 3:00, but it was only because I opted to feed him again.  Now he is still up and alert, and it is currently 11:00pm, oh well...

I am liking his new playfulness though-after months of just tossing toys around haphazardly, he now is intrigued by most of them, and will smile at certain ones he really likes.  Recently, his Nanna got him a sock monkey because while we were in the store he just loved it and of course like any grandma she had to get it for him ;)  Here is a pic of him and his new friend "Charlie", If I had been able to get the camera earlier I may have captured him smooching the monkey, but I think this one's good enough!

Tooth #2?

Well, today Caden has been pouty and crying on and off all day-something we are definitely not used to!  At one point though, I was trying to make him smile and he was literally laughing and crying at the same time-to the point where Dave and I couldn't tell either way.  I decided to feel his gums, and low and behold there seems to be a bump underneath beside the already emerged tooth.  Let's hope this one comes through as quickly as the first one :)

Well, as promised here are some "after" shots of Caden eating some peaches.  He wasn't too sure about them at first, I think due to their "tartness", but eventually he got into them and this is the result:

As some people may know, Caden sleeps in his crib, but in our room.  This started for obvious reasons, but has continued through the winter months due to the fact that his bedroom is above the garage and has been quite cold until recently (okay, and maybe a little due to the fact that we can't seem to let go, and we dread him being out of sight during the night :) .  So right now his room is basically storage for all things baby, and it looks dangerously close to an episode of hoarders.  However, this allows me to get a nice little surprise every few days when I discover things in there that I had forgotten we had.  Yesterday I spotted this large stuffed giraffe and brought it out to Caden, who was more excited to see it than I've seen him be for any of his other toys!

Too cute...

Belly laughs

It was one of those moments I wish the video camera was within easy reach-Dave was standing and holding Caden, while I was behind, making funny faces at him and such.  I decided a little peek-a-boo may make him laugh, and boy was I right!  I would duck down out of sight, and suddenly pop up saying "boo!" over and over again.  Again and again Caden would start to giggle, which then turned into a prolonged belly laugh, which in turn would make Dave and I laugh.  In the end we all had tears in our eyes, and the stomach muscles were a bit sore-but it was well worth it :)

We finally decided to go and get a high chair, so here is Caden's first picture in it:

No more eating on mom or dad's lap or in the bumbo...
This is the "before" shot, I'll have to upload some "afters" from my camera soon :)

Today we had Easter dinner over at Grandma's house, but yesterday we went to meet some long lost family of Dave's, and even though we were there for a good 6 hours or so, I have to say Caden did really well.  He was charming everyone with his smiles and giggles of course, and other than that he was just pretty easy-going the whole time, except for the very end when it was almost bed time!  He was also enthralled watching the older cousins playing around. Good job buddy ;)