Christmas 2008 - Pop-Pop and Nanny's House

-We arrived at Nanny and Pop-Pop's house after a brief stop to say Merry Christmas to uncle Herb, aunt Tanya, Great-Great Mother, aunt Lallie, and cousions Lloyd, Zachary and Lucas. We all headed into the living room soon after our arrival and discovered Santa had stopped at Pop-Pop and Nanny's house too. We tried to keep order (that lasted about 2 seconds). There were TONS of presents and the kids went crazy. After unwrapping gifts and digging our way out of the sea of wrapping paper we enjoyed a yummy supper made by Nanny (roast, potatoes, carrots, green beans, rolls, yellow page pie). After supper the kids played with their new toys while the adults started a marathon of "The Unit" Season 2 (we watched the 1st season over Thanksgiving). We enjoyed our night and all got into bed past our bedtimes.

Christmas 2008 - Santa's Visit

-Santa stopped by our house a day early since we had plans to leave Christmas morning to go to Pop-Pop and Nanny's house.
-Santa brought Caden a playmat, a swaddle blanket, a bib "I love my big brother", a monkey teether and activity blocks.
-Santa brought Daniel a Thomas the train track and a stocking full of surprises.

-Daniel loved Thomas the train, when he came into the living room, he ran to the train and said "Choo, Choo".

-Daniel opened presents from Daddy and Mommy after playing with the new toys Santa left. Daniel got a new sweater (Caden got one too.), a Little People fire engine, a John Deere truck, trailer and Gator and a Magna Doodle. Daniel loved opening presents, he would open one, point to the tree and do the sign for "more".
-Mommy made a yummy breakfast (blueberry biscuits, sausage and eggs) while Daddy and Daniel played with all the new toys. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and packing for Pop-Pop and Nanny's house. We finished the day by watching "Polar Express" before going to bed.

Christmas 2008 - Caden's First Christmas

Christmas Oreos

Happy Birthday Uncle Matt!

Christmas 2008 - Decorating the Tree

-We put the tree up before we went to Nanny and Pop-Pop's for Thanksgiving and decorated it tonight. Daddy was in charge of the lights and Mommy was in charge of the ornaments. Daniel loved helping. We were actually surprised by how much he enjoyed helping (and playing) with the ornaments. We are wondering how long the ornaments will stay on the tree. (12/9/08 – The tree has been up and decorated for 8 days and Daniel has not removed an ornament (yet). He does insist that we turn the lights on daily. He will grab our hand and “walk” us to the tree to turn the lights on and show us the ornaments. We love seeing his excitement every time the lights are turned on.....”Wow!”.)

Where's Daniel?

-Daniel went to his room while I was feeding Caden. I assumed he went in there to play. I headed in there to check on him and play with him after I fed Caden. I was surprised to find him not playing but sleeping in bed. How many 2 year olds climb into bed on their own to take a nap? (12/8/08 – We were both busy getting ready for an appointment this morning. I assumed that Daniel was in our bedroom with Richard and Richard assumed Daniel was in the living room with me. When we discovered our assumptions were wrong we decided to check on Daniel because he was quiet. Daniel was in his bed taking a nap.)

Getting Organized - Boy's Bathroom

-The second room to be fully organized and decorated is the boy's bathroom. I think the bathroom turned out so cute. Daniel likes it too, he has pointed out all the cars, trucks and airplanes many times - "vroom". On to the next room.....

A Prayer is Answered/A Dream Comes True

-I was raised in a Christian home. As a little girl and as a teenager my dream was to marry a Christian guy and be Christian wife and mom. When I met Richard I knew that he was not a member of the Church of Christ. (His ex-wife was/is Mormon and he attended with her - when he attended.) I have prayed daily since meeting/marrying Richard that he would one day choose to become a Christian. Richard has always been open to attending church services with me and for that I have always been grateful. When we moved to Ashland City, TN in 2006 we met and became friends Linda Cunningham (her husband is a minister at Northside Church of Christ). We attended services at Northside when we could but were never able to attend reguarly because of our work schedules. When we moved to Castalian Springs, TN last month I was a little disappointed that we were going to be to far to attend Northside reguarly. Richard had said on more then one occasion that he was comfortable at Northside. I prayed that we would be able to find a "church home" where Richard (and I) were comfortable. We visited a few area congregations. When we visited Gallatin Church of Christ we immediately felt welcomed and felt that we were "home" (even if we were the youngest people in attendance as it was a Sunday night and they were having small groups). We have "visited" for a couple of weeks and each time we felt more and more that we were "home". What was really important to me was that Richard was comfortable and excited about attending services. Richard and I have been having more and more conversations within the past couple of weeks and studying the Bible together. On Friday (11-7-08) Richard had a chance to sit and talk with one of the ministers and when Richard arrived home on Friday he told me he had made the decision to become a Christian. I was overcome with joy. We spent the weekend (off and on) talking and studying. My prayer was answered/my dream came true this morning as I watched my husband put on Christ's name in baptisim.

The Great-Great Mother

-We received word this morning the my (Jenny) grandmother was taken to the hospital last night due to rectal bleeding. We don't know anything else at this time. My dad was heading there this morning (my uncle told him to get a good nights rest last night). Please keep my grandmother Jane Pyron (aka Mawsie/Ma - named by the grandkids, The Great-Great Mother - named by the great grandkids) in your prayers. She is in her late 90s (I think 95 or 96) and is very healthy for her age (in my opinion).

Daddy's Interview

-Daddy (Richard) felt like his interview went well. He did not want to specualte too much so as to not "jinx" it. He will hear next week if the job is his. We are praying and keeping our fingers crossed. He is so hoping that he gets this job.

A Special Prayer.....

-We ask that each and everyone of you reading our blog to say a special prayer for our family, specifically for Richard (Daddy). Richard has an interview for a "dream job" today at 9:30 a.m.. All those who know Richard knows how much he loves computers (he's a geek and proud of it). Richard has a bachelor degree in Electronic Engineering and an associates degree in Computer Science. The job he is interviewing for is for a Computer Tech with the Sumner county school district. If he is hired he would get to do what he LOVES ("play" with computers). I have never seen him SO exicted over a potential job as I have now. Please pray that his interview goes well and he is offered his "dream job".

Getting Organized - Laundry Room

-We've been taking our time unpacking, going through things, throwing things away, getting organized and decorating each room like we want. The first room we completed is the laundry room/pantry.

Happy Halloween

(click on image to enlarge)

-Our family enjoyed a fun Halloween. We opted not to take the boys door-to-door for trick or treating (we are new to the neighborhood and Daniel is still too young). We chose to attend the Fall festival and Trunk or Treat at church (Gallatin Church of Christ). Daniel had so much fun dressing up and pretending to be a tiger, playing games (football toss, bean bag toss, etc.), decorating a pumpkin (with Daddy's help) and decorating a cookie (with Daddy's help). We (Mommy and Daddy) loved watching Daniel having so much fun. Daniel really didn't understand the Trunk or Treat but loved the attention he got all night as he went from car to car (trunk to trunk). Caden was clueless as to what was happening around him, he was just a cute little pumpkin. We are looking forward to next Halloween since both boys will be older and be able to participate more.
-We hope everyone had a safe and happy Halloween.

Caden @ 3 Months (1.5 months adjusted)

-One Month Milestones (according iVillage.com)
-Lifts head for short periods of time (check)
-Moves head from side to side (check)
-Prefers the human face to other shapes (?)
-Makes jerky, arm movements (check)
-Brings hands to face (check)
-Has strong reflex movements (check)
-Can focus on items 8-12 inches away (check)
-May turn towards familiar sounds or voices (check -especially Mommy's voice)
-Responds to loud sounds (check - very startled and cries at any and all louds sounds)
-Blinks @ bright lights (check)

-Three Month Milestones (according to iVilliage.com)
-Raises head and chest when put on tummy (check - for very short periods of time)
-Lifts head up 45 degrees (check)
-Kicks and straightens legs when on back (check)
-Open and shuts hands (check)
-Pushes down with legs when placed on hard surface (check)
-Reaches for dangling objects (check)
-Grasps and shakes hand toys (check)
-Tracks moving objects (check)
-Begins to imitate sounds (check)
-Recognizes familiar objects and people, even at a distance (check - especially Mommy)
-Begins to develop and social smile (check)
-Begins to develop hand-eye coordination (check)
-Brings both hands together (check)
-Intrested in circular and spiral patterns (?)
-Kicks legs energetically (check)
-Holds head up with control (check)

First Smile (caught on camera)

The "Joys" of Parenthood

-Daniel woke up from his nap yesterday around 4 p.m. and played in his room as usual. I heard him coughing/choking/gagging thanks to the baby monitor. I ran to his room to check on him thinking that he had swallowed something that should not be swallowed. I found him playing in vomit - YUCK! I got him cleaned up and hoped that the vomiting was caused by reflux. Daniel vomited again about 10 minutes after getting him cleaned up. We cleaned him up again and the pattern repeated itself (vomit, clean up) 5 more times. He spent most of the night laying in our bed and watching TV or cuddling with me or Daddy. (The "joys" of parenthood - cleaning up vomit and diaherra)
-Caden has been sleeping four hours at night which is wonderful. When he wakes up he lets out a little cry (a warning cry) and will patiently wait until you come to get him...this is not what happened last night...Caden woke up screaming every 2 hours last night. (The "joys" of parenthood - screaming babies and no sleep)
-The "joys" seem to be continuing today - Daniel has required 5 diaper changes since waking up (he has only been up for 2 hours) - Caden is screaming every 2 hours to eat.
-I was hoping to get major cleaning done after Daniel's EI appointment.....

2 Weeks Actual, 35 Weeks Adjusted

-Caden is 2 weeks old - Wow! His adjusted age is 35 weeks, meaning I should be 35 weeks pregnant. Caden is still in the NICU at Vanderbilt Children's. He is doing well and getting all his feeds through a bottle. His current weight is 5 lbs., 9 oz. - Big Boy!

Opryland Hotel

-We spent the day at the Opryland Hotel (a neat place in our opinion). If you are ever in Nashville stop by for a visit. We go a few times through out the year and enjoy walking around and seeing the beautiful waterfalls and botanicals and the lights at Christmas. It's a free activity (unless you ride the riverboat or eat at one of the restaurants).
-We enjoyed our day. The boys enjoyed riding the Delta Riverboat and seeing the fish. They also enjoyed all the neat scenery and hearing their dad tell them about the time that he worked at the hotel.