He did it!

Well with the new baby coming and all, we figured he had to learn to go to sleep on his own.. By himself, without us in the room, staying in his own bed. Up until now, we have been laying down with him (and I will admit 1/2 the time falling asleep with him!) until he was asleep, then we would sneak out. This sometimes took an hour. We figured it would be a huge battle as he is quite the cuddle bug. So today at naptime, I put him in bed, snuggled him all in and told him I would be back in a bit to check on him. He didn't get out of bed once! I heard him seeing his whole list of songs (Take me out to the ballgame, ABC's, Itsy Bitsy Spider were a few) and then it was quiet... Only 30 minutes and he was asleep! You may wonder why I am posting this... well, this is a big step for us! We are not "cry it out" people so I was worried that the transition would be a nightmare! Yes.. that's a binky in his mouth and that is our next step:)

Our little goof ball..

He rarely sits still and smiles for the camera, so I had to seize the opportunity. Thought I would just post some regular ol' pics showing us what a happy boy he is and how much joy he brings us. Sometimes it's hard to imagine loving anything more than we love him. He can always put a smile on our face, even when he's about to make us insane:)

His first trip to the box office:)

So as you can tell, this blog has become more of a babybook for Caden and a family photo album of our adventures.. I am NOT a scrapbooker.. It's just not my thing.I have tried several times and it's no use. I don't have a creative bone in my body! So, I plan to use this blog to prove that I did keep track of major events in our family without all of the gluing, cutting, and decorating!

Anyhow, we went to see Madagascar 2 and he did great! He did have to take one little walk round the place with Papa 1/2 way though, but other than that he sat and enjoyed himself! I can't believe how big he is getting... such a big boy:(

Fun in Maui!

It is impossible for me to get a good picture with him! He's very...should we say busy??Being so good at dinner up in Kapalua! He became very fond of getting a "POG" to drink, such a treat! (papaya, orange juice and guava!)

Doing the slide all on his own! Yes, he looks like Casper with all of that sunscreen on his face! We were paranoid of him getting burned..
The first time tasting sand. He took a face plant...and like it! The very fun Pirate Ship pool! He was a little timid on the slides at first, but was going solo with in a couple of days!Daddy and Caden in the pool!

So this is what waves look like?

All set on the plane.. Snacks? Check. DVD player? Check. Blanket? Check!

Well we got to take a fabulous week long vacation to Maui 2 weeks ago.. What a great place to spend my 32nd birthday! Thanks to Adam's sister and brother in law (a HUGE THANK YOU!!), we stayed at the Westin and had an amazing time. Caden was SO busy going from the big pool, to the little pool, to the beach, to the pirate pool, chasing frogs, chasing birds..whew. It was a bit tiring but so worth it. I don't think Adam and I ever got to sit in the sun together! One of us was always on the move. We rode the Sugar Cane Train (didn't see sugar cane, they just tell you where it USED to be! Kinda funny..) and spend lots of time in the water. Here are some pics!

Sunday Football!

I had to post these random pictures because they were just too cute. Here he is last Sunday before church. Thanks Grandma F for the darling sweater! And snuggling with his Papa after bath time.

First Preschool Field Trip!

Caden is to the left, in the waaaay back, with a striped hat on, not looking at the camera! Oh well!

It's amazing the things they will do at preschool and not at home! Here he is sitting nicely eating a snack.
Only taking a picture with mom because he has to! It was FREEZING that morning!

So we decided that Caden might need an outlet once the baby comes in January. We had him in Little Gym and Gymboree last year but we knew that wouldn't be possible with a newborn. Those places are germ pools anyways and we don't want to bring that home with a new baby. We looked into some preschools and decided Montessori would be good. We found a great one close to home and he loves it! He even already has a favorite teacher, Miss Katie. He goes 2 days a week for 2 1/2 hours. So sorry they are more pumpkin patch pics, but we had to put some in here since it's a pretty big "first"!!

Let's Go Fishing!

Grandpa and Grandma Fredericks sent up a fishing pool and tackle box! Caden LOVES getting packages.. when the doorbell rings he always asks if it's the "UPS man? Present for me?" Clearly, he is spoiled! He has a blast opening his new toy, however Daddy thinks we need to wait a bit before opening it as it will become just another thing to hit Lucy with:) He does love to fill his tackle box with cars and trucks and haul it around!

28 Weeks!!

I can't believe we are 28 weeks already! Only 12 more weeks (give or take a couple if she is as late as Caden was!) until we get to meet her. I tell you, the second pregnancy sure does go by faster than the first (thank goodness!) This little girl is quite a mover, she kicks me all night long and anytime I sit down:) I love that part about being pregnant though, it is truely such a miracle. I think Caden really gets the fact that he is going to have a sister. Most of his buddies have sisters so I think he expected one to come along sooner or later! Anyhow, here is a pic taken at 27 weeks...

More fun at the Pumpkin Patch

If there is dirt, he'll find it!
Can I get this one Daddy?
He liked pushing it rather than riding in it!
Gross, this feels weird.
His buddy who he calls "Jakey Boy" with their masterpieces!

Today we went to the pumpkin patch with Daddy and got to pick some pumpkins to carve tonight. We had a little pumpkin carving party with our friends Rebecca, Jake and Ava so we needed to get a few to cut into! Caden really only wanted tiny ones, but he did end up picking a slightly bigger one that resembled a butternut squash! We thought he would dig right in cleaning out the seeds but he didn't like that at ALL! It was hilarious. He shivered and practically gagged everytime he stuck his hand in the goop!! So I helped clean it out and then we carved! We had a great time with our friends and the pumpkins look so cute:) I have always hated carving in the past, but this time both Adam and I sort of got into it! Adam made a very impressive "spider" pumpkin and it's quite the masterpiece!

Riding the Mt Rainier Train!

Since Caden is obsessed with trains, we thought the Mt Rainier train might be fun. It's only 1 1/2 hours away so we figured what the heck? Lets go! So we got up bright and early this morning, made the drive and as we were pulling in it began to POUR rain. We boarded the train and within 15 minutes Caden was asleep and he slept the whole trip! Probably a good thing because it was rather boring, cold and slow!

Fun at the Pumpkin Patch!

We had a playdate today at the Maris Farms pumpkin patch and Caden had a ball! He was a bit reluctant to ride the cow train, but after it got started he was Ok with it! He got to see baby pigs (which he thought were hilarious), cows and chickens. They had a great jump "pillow" which he thought was pretty cool:) And of course there are lots of tractors! We are going back to pick pumpkins with Daddy soon!

Girls Trip to Palm Desert!

Well, after 2 1/2 years I finally decided I was ready for a girls weekend getaway! What an amazing time with good friends, sunshine (ok, it was 110!) and relaxation. Caden did great without me. He was with my parents for 2 days and then home with Daddy for 2 days. I missed him terribly but wow was the trip wonderful! Just what I needed before our new baby girl arrives in 3 months!

So many new things to share!

Well, this is my first post. We have so many loved ones that don't live near us that we figured we needed to join the blogging world to keep you up to speed! Here is a quick recap of the lastest news!



First of all, we are so excited to be welcoming our 4th family member, a baby girl, in early January! Caden seems excited to be a big brother. The pregnancy is moving right along and we are in our 26th week already!



Caden is growing so fast and is becoming such a little man! He is fully potty trained now, and started going to a Montessori preschool two days a week for 2 1/2 hours. We feel so incredibly lucky that God choose us to be his parents, he brings such joy to us every day.



Well, I am going to try to post some pictures later! But I wanted to at least get a first post out there! Bear with me as I learn, all of my friends said this was easy and so far it's been really confusing!