Jess' Day

Happy Birthday to our fury little girl, Jess! She is 42 in dog years (6 human years)... It wasn't until just a few minutes ago that I remembered today was her day so that's why she made the blog (I feel kind of bad). Kass and I sang happy birthday to her, Kaden's already fast asleep. To celebrate, Jess and Patch split a left over pork chop from the fridge and they are allowed to sleep on the couch while we watch a movie. So here's to Jess...HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet girl!

just plain silly...

Here are a few pics of the many silly faces Kaden is making these days. Auntie B captured them on her phone while we stopped at Coffee N Cream yesterday to feed Kaden and catch a little break from the Texas heat. We shopped the Allen Premium Outlets and it was a scorcher.

6 Month Well Visit

Kaden had his 6 month well visit yesterday with Dr. Smith at All About Children Pediatrics. He weighed 19 lbs 4.5 oz and was 29 inches long. He is in the 75-90 percentile for his weight and 97 percentile for his length. He's gonna be tall! Dr. Smith said that she was very impressed with his strength and the way he stood on his feet, so big and tall. We talked about baby-proofing the house (or as Kass and I would like to say, we are going to home-proof our baby) because he is soon going to be crawling and getting into everything. He scoots backwards now while laying on his tummy and the other day he was on his way to reach for the cord to Kass' computer before I caught him. We also talked about the need to lather Kaden up in sunscreen when we're out and about. And those of you who know Kaden really well, know that he spits up, like ALL THE TIME!! We talked about that too. Dr. Smith says since he's a happy spitter upper, it's ok and there is nothing she can do for him. If he was unhappy or not gaining weight, there are meds that can help. We have tried a new formula as well as visited the chiropractor for a slight adjustment and this seems to be helping tremendously.

Kaden had a blast playing with the paper on the table, looking at himself in the mirror and flirting with the nurse.

Poor baby got 3 shots and 1 oral vaccine. Kass hasn't been to a visit with us where Kaden got shots. This was his first and maybe his last if I have anything to say about it. The nurse asked Kass to hold Kaden's arms (which I normally do) so I just talked to my sweet baby to try and take his mind off of what was about to happen. Just as the nurse is giving one of the shots, Kass says, "Oh shit!". I'm thinking the nurse has done something wrong because I am looking at Kaden and NOT AT THE NEEDLES going in to my baby! So in a panic, I ask "what babe" and he says "did you see that big a** needle she just stuck in him?!?!" I should have warned him not to look...just a little TOO late!

Kaden has quite the bruise on his left leg today. He's also running a little fever and is somewhat irritable, all due to the shots I'm sure. They have never had this effect on him before so I hope it goes away soon and is not a trend for future well visits. By the time we got home, he had already figured out how to take the band aid off his right leg.

Starstruck

Grandpa (Kass' dad) was in the Dallas area earlier this week doing a shoot for a movie so he came to spend a couple of days with Kaden. When Grandpa arrived Tuesday afternoon, we took a little walk over to the park. As always, he loves swinging...actually he just loves being outside...total BOY!

Since Grandpa was here on Wednesday too, he was able to see Kaden in action at The Little Gym. I think he was quite impressed! He calls it gymnastics, I call it working out...for me and Kaden :) Once we got home, Kaden had lunch and then went down for a nap. While he napped, Grandpa hung around the house which meant I was free to run errands baby free. I went to the most dreaded place ever...Walmart! Not really sure why I continue to give them my money. Everyone there is just unhappy and not very pleasant to be around. I'll spare you and not get off on that tangent. After nap time, Grandpa took Kaden to the park, allowing me to stay home and get a few things done.

And after one and a half days with Kaden, Grandpa is all tuckered out!

round 2

When the beautiful roses I got for Mother's Day started looking a little sad after only 2 days of being in my house, I questioned my ability to care for them. Seriously, all they need is water...right?!?! By Wednesday, they were pretty much doneski. I called the florist because I wanted to know if there was something I should have done differently. After a series of questions, she told me they would deliver new ones to me that afternoon. Did I want red, yellow or peach? Not really what I was expecting, but hey, I'll take them! Apparently, there were several ladies that called in about those pretty pink roses...I wasn't the only one.

FiRsT mOtHeR's DaY

I had a great first Mother's Day with Kaden. It actually ended up as a Mother's Day weekend, thanks to my wonderful husband. On Friday, Kass took Kaden with him to the mall to get me a gift. It was so nice to have a couple of hours to myself :) Then on Saturday, we went out to lunch, ran a few errands, went to church and left Kaden in childcare at church (that was a first...we were very eager to get him once the service was over) and even went to dinner after church. We took it pretty easy on Sunday. The boys woke me up in bed with a card and my gifts...a bag and a watch that I've had my eye on for quite some time. I almost forgot that I got roses on Friday, they were beautiful! After Kaden took his morning nap, we headed out to the mall so I could get a few links taken out of my watch. After that, we headed home and decided to be lazy the rest of the day. Thank you so much for a wonderful first Mother's Day, Kass and Kaden. I love being a wife and mom to you boys!

Grandma's Visit

A couple of weeks ago, Grandma Coonse (Kass' mom) visited us from Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Kaden loves when we have visitors, especially when they are grandparents. Grandparents create a very spoiled child but I guess that's what they're here for! Grandma gave Kaden his very first bath in the kitchen sink.

And she bought him a new toy...the johnny jump up. He really likes it! I have a video that I will post a little later but for now, here's a cute picture.

So what does all this spoiling mean for me when Grandma leaves...lots of protests from Kaden because I have to retrain him to "our normal" day. I enjoyed Grandma's visit just as much as Kaden because it meant that I could have a few hours each day to myself for things like actually being able to enjoy my morning cup of coffee, not having to take a quick shower because someone may wake up halfway through his morning nap, running errands by myself and a quiet afternoon to enjoy a manicure and pedicure. It was pure bliss to be able to catch a few breaks! Thanks Grandma!

While Grandma was in town, her niece (Kass' cousin), Denae Taylor got married. Her new last name is Copeland (kind of weird since it's so close to our last name now). The ceremony and reception where held at White Rock Lake in Dallas. It was absolutely beautiful! Denae was such a stunning bride! The picture below is of all the cousins with the newlyweds.

A quick family photo...

Aaron, Catrina and Kamden drove down from Missouri for the wedding. Kaden was so excited to see his cousin Kamden. It had been a while so he was ready to give him a big smooch :)

Grandma left Saturday afternoon and was soon replaced by more visitors. Aaron, Catrina and Kamden stayed with us Saturday night before their long trek back to Missouri. We loved having them for the short while they were here. One of Kamden's favorite things to do is read. I am hoping Kaden picks up on this wonderful gift too! He seemed pretty interested when Kamden was reading at our house.

I can't wait until Kaden gets a little older so the 2 boys can actually play together. Kamden doesn't think "Baby Kaden" is very much fun at this age. Give him a few years and he'll be ready to hang with you Kamden :)

a lil' too BIG but oh so cute

This cap is one of the gazillion things that Kaden's Aunt Catrina has given him. He actually wore it without any complaints. It's still a little too big but it gets the job done and he just looks so darn cute with it on!

On our walk this morning, we stopped by the park to enjoy the swings for a few minutes.

I used to think I wanted to have a big family like Nora Walker on one of my favorite TV shows, Brothers and Sisters. Until I overheard a conversation between 3 moms with lots of kiddos running around wild at the park this morning. They were talking about going home, getting one down for a nap, figuring out how to occupy the other, cleaning the house at some point, and on and on and on and on... Then I thought about all the time I spend with Kaden, how would I ever have time for another and be sane. For now, I am good with just the three of us. We make a pretty awesome team...me and my boys :)

This makes me smile...BIG time! And reconfirms my thought that one is enough for now. He has playmates, they're just furry ones.

Did I mention that I also saw a woman on her morning run while having a conversation on her cell phone...AMAZING, yet CRAZY at the same time?!?! I wish I liked to run. I keep telling myself...one day.

amphibians, reptiles, fish and birds galore

A couple of weekends ago, my sister and her boyfriend, came to visit. We decided to get out of the house on that gorgeous Saturday and go to the Dallas World Aquarium. The aquarium is located in an old warehouse near the Historic West End in downtown Dallas. The cool thing about this aquarium is that it is multi level so we started at the top and worked our way down. We were able to see the top of the exhibits, then get eye level with them as well as look up at some. Kaden was, once again, a TROOPER! He feel asleep on the way over so we had to wake him up once we got there. He was so tired in beginning, as you can see below :)

Kass was able to be a kid again and got to feed the birds in the cage.

My sister thought it would be cool to feed the birds too. But these birds were not in a cage and one took an interest in her and decided to take a quick sit on her shoulder. Pretty funny...because if you know Bridget, she wasn't all that excited about a bird sitting on her! You can tell from the person in the background that the look on her face must have been pretty funny...wish I could have seen it!

Good time for a family photo near the indoor waterfall. We couldn't get Kaden to look at the camera. He was much too interested in everything else going on around him.


He really enjoyed all the colorful fish!


This is my favorite picture from that day. I love the reflection!


Here's Kass just making sure Kaden doesn't miss anything. We must see everything! Especially when it cost $100 for the 5 of us to get in.

Starting to get sleepy again...

Oh, but wait, Cody is so funny! He's awake again!

Once we were done at the aquarium, some lady on a horse and buggy convinced us to pay her $50 to get a historic carriage tour around downtown Dallas.

It was a pretty expensive little outing but lots of fun! Kaden loves having people visit. Especially when they are far more cool to hang out with than the rents :) I have a lot of blogging to catch up on so keep checking back...it's on my list of things to get done this week!

6 months old

OMG...I cannot believe Kaden is already 6 months old! The saying "time flies when you're having fun" is absolutely true. I am so happy to be blessed with the opportunity to stay home with Kaden. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely days that I think I would LOVE to be back at work...mostly on Kaden's off days which include multiple meltdowns (not sure where he inherited that trait :)). But the good days by far out number the bad. He really is a very relaxed baby! Kass asks me each night how we got so lucky and I still haven't been able to answer that question. We are so very thankful that GOD blessed us with such a happy, healthy, beautiful baby boy! Here are a few pictures from the last month.

This was the day we worked so hard on rolling over. Once he finally did it, I was such a proud mama :)

This was a day or so after he learned to roll over and thought it was so cool! I caught him playing in his crib via the video monitor :)

Look at what I can do...sit like a BIG boy!

Being silly in the grocery store :)