One Year Old!!!!

The day I thought I would dread has come and gone. My baby boy has turned 1!!!!

It is so hard for me to believe that it has already been one year since Cade was born. He is such a joy in our lives, and we can barely remember our lives without him. To commemorate his 12th month of existence, I'm listing my 12 favorite things about him.

1. His smile/laugh

2. When he cuddles with us on Saturday mornings

3. When we say "night, night" he walks to his room and waits for us to put him in his crib

4. His attempt at running (It's so cute)

5. His hugs for everyone, including dogs

6. His curiosity

7. How quickly he is learning

8. When he points to his "seatbelt" to show us how to undo it

9. When I look in the mirror and he has his blankie on his head

10. When he starts babbling as if he has so much to say

11. When he uses his sign language or words

12. He is OUR'S!

10 and 11 months

I'm sure by now most of you were thinking that my family has been frozen in time since July, but that is unfortunately not true. I have found that once I get behind in blogging, it is so hard to sit down and catch up. Cade is napping right now, so I'm going to try to get in some new stuff.

As you might guess from the title, we have celebrated Cade's 10th and 11th month already. (We have actually celebrated 12, but I'll blog separately about it). So much has been going on with Cade since the last blog.

#1 Cade is WALKING. He actually started walking between the 10th and 11th month at his friend Micah's bday party. He saw this little girl he really liked, and she was already walking, so I guess he figured if he wanted a chance with her, he had to start walking as well.

#2 Cade is beginning to say words and sign more. He can sign "more" and "yes." His favorite words are go, down, no, and dog. He says "Mama" and "Dada" too.

I cannot believe how much he has grown in such a short amount of time. I never imagined how fast it would go. Here are some pics from month 10 and 11.

First time to the zoo!

Yesterday Cade and I made our first trip to the zoo together with our friends, Marlo, Sydney, and Micah. It was so much fun (despite the heat)! We went to the Tyler Zoo because it's cheaper, smaller, and most of the exhibits are closer. I loved watching the kids enjoy all the animals. Cade was, of course, only fascinated by the animals that came right of to the glass, but I loved watching him study those. His friend, Micah, was a great commentator for the trip. It was so cute!

Cade has also learned how to "dance" and he smiles when we say "Cheese!" I am so impressed with my big boy. I just love his personality. He is so adorable and Blake and I remember daily that he is our blessing from God.

Back from Branson!

Well, we are back from Branson! Blake and I went with my parents and brother and sister-in-law (We decided Cade wasn't ready for all of the activities, yet). It was so much fun. I know that Blake really wasn't sure about the whole trip because Branson is an "older person's" town (no offense). We both really enjoyed it, though. I'm hoping that when Cade is older, we can take him there, too. This time he stayed with his Granna and Papa John, who I'm sure spoiled him like crazy ;-) but that's what grandparents are for.

We left on our trip Sunday and came back Thursday. It was an eventful week. We filled every minute almost. As my brother said, "I'll sleep when I'm dead." LOL an interesting perspective I must say...

Monday we went to Silver Dollar City, which I loved. It was ten times better than 6 flags. There are not as many "big" rides, but the entire park was covered with trees or some type of shade. We stayed from 10 AM until 7 PM (closing), and we didn't even notice that it had been that long. I definitely recommend it.

Tuesday we went to see the musical "Noah." The acting and singing were a bit cheesy, but the set design was AMAZING! After intermission, we were "inside" the ark.

Wednesday was a full day of fishing at 6 AM (I had the biggest catch-6 or 7 lb. catfish) and the Branson Belle Showboat at 8 PM with shopping in between. The Branson Belle is definitely another recommendation. The food was okay, but the show was awesome.

This was our first big vacation in about 3 years, so it felt great to go! We are so blessed to be able to go and do.

(pics to come)

New thought for blog and lately...

I've been trying to blog more often, but I always feel like I have to have some pictures to go along with it. I unfortunately can't keep up with pictures and blogging, so I'm going to just blog and add pictures when I can.

Today Cade and I hung out watching the Disney channel most of the day. He is so cute, but he is into everything right now. I'm definitely getting a workout keeping up with him. We have his playroom pretty much set up now, so I'm looking forward to using that more often. Our friend Jessica came over and hung out. She helped clean for cg too :-) How sweet! I was also able to scrapbook today while Cade took a 2 and a half hour nap!!! Wow! That's not normal for him.

What we've been doing lately...

Last week Blake went to youth camp, so Cade and I went to Mt. Pleasant with Marlo Wade and the kids. It was a nice, relaxing week, and Cade had great friends to play with. Then, on Friday, my mom and I picked up Blake from the church right after they got back from youth camp and left for our family reunion in Lawton, OK. It's my mom's dad's side of the family, and I always enjoy going. This was the first year that Blake has gone since we've been married, which was great!! Everyone also met Cade for the first time. BTW he is 8 months old now and crawling with two teeth!!!! We came back late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. The fun didn't stop there, though. The Wade's air conditioner went out! (Way too hot for that right now) Their family stayed with us Sunday night. It was like a giant slumber party. The kids definitely enjoyed it and stayed up till 11PM. Our week has finally slowed down, but we will leave for Branson next week, so we'll be packing again.

(Will post pics of everything later)

Sorry this is so long. I'll try to blog almost daily from now on to space it out :)

My 1st Mother's Day and Cade is 7 months!!

(Cade's painting)

Happy Mother's Day!!! This year was my first official Mother's Day with Cade. Last year, he was on the inside ;-) That seems like a lifetime ago. Now my baby is 7 months old. I have loved being Cade's mommy. Time has flown by, and Cade is doing more everyday. Right now he is trying to crawl. He can get onto his hands and knees, but usually ends up doing a pushup or scooting across the floor.

Blake and I could not have asked for a happier baby. Cade is constantly smiling and laughing. Don't get me wrong---he has his moments, but his overall spirit is beautiful. I am so proud to be his mother on this Mother's Day.

What's been going on lately?

It's been awhile since I have blogged. Cade has been keeping us busy. The biggest thing that happened lately: Car wreck :-( Last Saturday when the rain was pouring down, we hydroplaned and lost control. Our Envoy spun across I-30 and hit the left guardrail twice, which bounced us back across 30 to the right shoulder facing the wrong direction. Luckily, Cade wasn't with us. We had just left Malvern, Arkansas, and for some reason, I suggested he spend the night with Blake's parents in Arkansas and come back Sunday.

I worried about Cade the entire hour before the wreck. Should I have left him so far away? Was he going to be okay? Was Blake's mom going to have enough energy to keep up with him? As soon as we hit the guardrail, I was so grateful that he wasn't with us. I counted our blessings the rest of the night that he hadn't been with us. God is so great at giving us those moments.

When it was all said and done, the Envoy was totaled, and we have a Nissan Altima!