WE 4 IVEYS

Cameron's 3 Month Slideshow

2012-02-08T23:33:00.003-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-08T05:00:00.000-06:00

Random Caden Sayings...

2012-02-03T12:58:00.000-06:00

We are not short on comedy in the Ivey household these days! Caden is the comedian and is more funny by the day! Here are just some random stories/comments from our 1st born!

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This week we had a fire in the dumpster at my office building. I thought Caden would think it was so cool that a fire truck had to come and put the fire out, etc. So I explained the entire story to him in the car on the way home and he said, 'Mommy? Did you freak out and (puts his hands over his head) and say, "OH MY LANDS!"?' I was cracking up and asked him where he heard that from. He said his teacher Mrs. Quidley says it ALL the time!

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Caden and I were in Kroger this week and he wanted to ride in the cart part of the cart, not the seat. I handed him each item as I grabbed them and he would put it beside him in the cart. I pushed the cart over to the meat aisle, grabbed a package of hamburger meat and handed it to him. He put it in the cart as he did all the other items. I walk over to the dairy section and he's in the cart about 10 feet from me. I hear some lady say, 'Ma'am? Ma'am?' I turn around irritated because I do not talk to strangers, and she says, 'Your son is poking holes in your hamburger meat...' She was very sweet and grandmotherly, so it wasn't like she was tattling! I turn to see Caden making moguls out of my hamburger meat! Thankfully he had not punctured the saran wrap!

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Last week I was in Tim's closet putting away some clothes and Caden was in our bedroom...I heard him ask something, but it was kind of muffled because I was in the closet. I asked him to repeat it and he said, 'Mommy, it's okay for boys to wear breastesses, right?' I nearly choked to death...I said, 'What honey?' (in a sing-song sort of way)...He said the same thing...I said, 'Where did you hear that word?' He said 'You have them in your closet!' I was horrified and terribly confused...I said, 'Show me.' So he pointed to my DRESSES! He actually said, 'Mommy, it's okay for boys to wear dresses, right?' He had just seen a Scottish guy in a kilt on one of his Xbox games! WHEW! I nearly had a stroke!

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As most parents do, we often struggle with Caden wanting to talk all the way through dinner, etc without eating. One day a few weeks back he said 'Mommy, guess what! Tonight, I'm going to sit in my chair, I'm going to eat my dinner, I'm not going to screwb (screw) around, I'm not going to talk, I'm going to eat my dinner so you don't have to say, 'CADEN! STOP SCREWBING AROUND AND EAT YOUR DINNER!' that will be a great idea, right?'

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One day when Cameron was crying, Caden came running into the livingroom and said, 'MOMMY! CAMERON'S CRYING! HE WANTS TO EAT YOUR CHEST!' Sheesh...
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That's all for now! Check back later...he's a barrel of laughs, that kid!

Happy 3 Months Cameron!

2012-02-03T08:02:00.000-06:00

Better late than never! Happy 3 Month Birthday Cameron! We cannot believe how fast time is flying by us all! Cameron is doing great, other than having a double ear infection this month, all is good! He is rolling over from tummy to back and back to tummy, laughing out loud and smiling whenever you speak to him! We love him more every day! He is especially smiley when Big Brother Caden walks into the room or talks to him!

Happy Birthday Grammie

2012-02-03T00:30:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday Grammie! We look forward to celebrating with you tonight!

Caden Skating!

2012-02-02T19:28:00.001-06:00

We cannot believe how far Caden has come within just a month's time! He is skating so fast now!!! We are so proud of him! Check it out!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-01T05:00:00.000-06:00

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-06:00

Caden's 2nd Hockey Class

2012-01-21T09:58:00.000-06:00

Caden had his 2nd Hockey Class today. Here is Daddy giving Caden a pep talk before class started. Cameron and I hung out where it was warm until time to go in.

Here he is on the ice. He is doing so much better! Tim has been taking him during the week to skate. I love how confidant they are at this age!

Cameron ~~taking in all the action~~ sleeping!

This first video is of him getting onto the ice, which I'm told is a little tricky!

He learned yesterday how to skate backward! He did a great job and we are so proud of him.

Happy Birthday Glenn!

2012-01-20T10:01:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow is my Boss Glenn's birthday so Laura and I took him to lunch at Taverna in Dallas. It is an awesome Italian food place! Here he is with his Birthday Tiramisu and Cappuccino!

After we got back to the office, we had chocolate cake that Laura brought! It was so sinfully delicious!!!

Happy Birthday Glenn!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-18T05:00:00.000-06:00

Random Pics

2012-01-17T11:20:00.000-06:00

Here are just some random pics from my phone. Cameron is smiling all the time now and doing the little 'huh huh huh' laugh thing! He is such an easy little baby and is super content.

Here he is during one of his smiles!

Caden was generous and gave his cold to Cameron so I took him to the Dr. on Friday to confirm it wasn't RSV, since the symptoms of a cold look a lot like RSV! We don't want to go through that again! It is a cold so we've been doing the cool mist humidifier and suctioning all the gunk out!

Here he is resting off his cold!

Caden is a fantastic big brother and dotes on Cameron so much! He loves holding him and helping us out grabbing diapers for him or taking them out. He also loves singing to him while I get his bottles ready.

MLK Day with My Cade Man

2012-01-17T11:08:00.007-06:00

Caden was out of school yesterday but Cameron's daycare was open, so we made it a Mommy/Caden day! We had so much fun and it was so nice to spend time with him just one on one.

I told him we could do whatever he wanted to do, so he chose going to the movies. He had already seen the Chipmunks movie but wanted to see it again so we headed to the movies.

He got bored about an hour in and told me 'Mommy, I've already seen this, I'm bored.' So we left! :(

After we left we headed to Planet Pizza. He loves this place and it is super close to our house. He played on just about every single game! Here he is skiing a penguin down a hill!

Then it was bumper cars time. He is on the left in the car (passenger side). Some other little boy was driving, but Caden didn't care! He had a ball!

This was a huge ship that went back and forth. Here he is on the ship. It looks like he's sucking his thumb, but he's not!

He was playing some robot game here!

After all the arcade games, he and I played Air Hockey. I should take this kid on the road! I am pretty good at that game and I did not let him win at all, but he beat me 2 out of 3 games!

We had such a fun Mommy/Cade day and I can't want to do it again!

Quck Trip to Conroe

2012-01-17T10:57:00.002-06:00

Wednesday Cameron and I headed south to Conroe for a funeral of a sweet man, Mr. Doyle Walker that attended Mom and Dad's church. He reminded me so much of my Papaw Chron and we are very close to he and his wife.

We first stopped at Dad's office to visit. Cameron was full of smiles and so was Poppa!

Dad's secretary Deborah's daughter, Jamie came by with her twins and we were able to visit with them as well! Here is Wyatt, Chloe and Jamie!

Miss Chloe holding Cameron.

Mr. Wyatt holding Cameron! He looks less than thrilled to be holding a baby! It was so cute!

Wednesday night was the last night of a reivival at the church, so Cameron and I stayed for it as well. Here he is with Nannie (his great-grandmother).

I took a picture of Dad's bulletin board so that you all could see the color photos of the sonogram pictures of Cameron! Deborah would print them for Dad and he would hang them on the board!

Wednesday night after the revival we came home to Mom and Dad's to stay. Mom was in Colorado and it was killing her that we were at her house and she wasn't! Here is Cameron right before bed, hanging out with Poppa.

Thursday morning was the funeral and once I got Cam dressed I put him on Mom's bed, just to rub it in that he was on her bed with all her pillows!

Caden the Future Dallas Star

2012-01-17T10:28:00.000-06:00

Daddy has been taking Caden skating and he has had a blast! He is learning so fast! Daddy got him a real Reebok hockey helmet and some Bauer hockey gloves and now he REEEEALLY looks the part! Check out our little man!

I think he looks so cute (Daddy doesn't like 'cute' for Caden) but he looks so cute! Just like a mini Dallas Stars player!!! His favorite number is 14 which is Jamie Benn (who plays for the Stars)! It is also Daddy's favorite number which I think has a lot to do with Caden picking that number too!

Look at that Game Face!

When's the draft????

Daddy took this picture of him at center ice!

Happy Birthday Jamie!

2012-01-12T05:00:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Jamie! I hope your day is absolutely fantastic! I look forward to our 'birthday lunch' whenever we can get it rescheduled!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-11T05:00:00.000-06:00

So He Can Do That Now...

2012-01-10T15:34:00.002-06:00

I discovered a week or so ago that Cameron can turn over onto his back from his tummy. I finally caught the 'after' picture the other day. He ws asleep and I came in to get him up and he was on his back!

Our Big Boy Caden

2012-01-10T14:10:00.004-06:00

It seems like Caden is growing up so much faster, especially now that Cameron is here!

Here he is sitting and 'reading' to me a toy catalog! He was describing each toy and whether they were for girls or boys!

As you saw from our Christmas post, Santa put Caden's name on his Stars jersey along with his favorite number, 14.

Today was his first day to wear it and I had instructions from him to take a picture!

I told him to turn around so I could get a picture of the back of the jersey so he bowed his head!

Then Caden backed up to me and said, 'Here Mommy, get a picture that is close up!'

Jonathan's Birthday Party at Bounce U

2012-01-08T22:00:00.000-06:00

Sunday I took Caden to his friend Jonathan's 5th Birthday Party at Bounce U! We have been to the other 'bounce' places but this was our first time at Bounce U! Caden had such a great time jumping and playing air hockey and running around!

Here is Caden with the Birthday Boy!

Group photo!

Caden's favorite part of any party is the cake! Here he is waiting on the cake or pizza!

Caden's First Pre-Hockey Class

2012-01-07T12:03:00.000-06:00

Saturday was Caden's first Pre-Hockey Class! He was so excited to wear his new skates and hockey helmet!

Here is a picture of Coach Dave taking him out on the ice!

Here they are headed to the other side of the rink.

We forgot this lady's name, but she did a lot of one on one time with Caden teaching him how to fall, skate, etc. She taught him that if he feels like he is about to fall, to touch his knees! She dropped various toys on the ice and had him skate over and pick up each toy and hand them to her. In this picture he is 'touching his toes' without falling! We think he did great and he can't wait to hit the ice for his next class!

Wordless Wednesday

2012-01-04T10:58:00.001-06:00

Caden and Hockey

2012-01-03T19:47:00.000-06:00

We always said when Caden was a baby that we hoped he'd grow up to play hockey! Check out his post, click HERE Well the time is drawing near!

Caden will be starting Pre Hockey lessons this coming Saturday.

Tonight, he and Daddy headed to the Frisco Dallas Stars Center to learn the basics with one of Tim's friends.

Check out this happy kiddo!

Daddy and Caden

Our First Day UPDATE

2012-01-03T19:34:00.000-06:00

I am happy to report that Mommy and Cameron did just great today!

The note from Mrs. Connie said: We had a great first day! Cameron is a very happy, easy going baby.

Whoo hoo! I'm excited about Day 2 and happy that Cameron had a great day!

I didn't even cry at work! LOL

Our First Day

2012-01-03T11:34:00.000-06:00

Well today was the day. The day that I went back to work from being off on Maternity Leave and the day that we left our precious Cameron in the hands of Mrs. Connie Cosgrove. Cameron made it much easier on Mommy this morning by looking all cute and smiling for me as we were getting ready to leave!

It was easier this time than it was with Caden, but do not think that I won't be calling Mrs. Connie today to check on my Cam Man!

Cameron's 2nd Month Slideshow

2011-12-29T20:01:00.000-06:00

Turn up your speakers and click HERE or go to the Slideshow list and choose Cameron's 2nd Month!

Enjoy!

Cameron is 2 Months Old

2011-12-28T22:16:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe our Cameron Chron is already 2 months old! Time has certainly flown by! Tim and I were talking about it yesterday how one day it was Halloween and now it is nearly New Years Day! Wow!

Caden and I took Cameron for his 2 month check up today and all is well!

Here are his stats:

He is 25" long, yes you read that right! He was 22" on November 11th and was born 20.5"! I cannot believe how much he has grown in just 2 month's time!

25" long (they didn't assign a % they simply said, 'HIGH')

13.6 lbs 89%

He got 2 shots and is a bit cranky tonight, but all is well otherwise!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-28T05:00:00.000-06:00

Slideshow of Cameron Chron!

2011-12-27T21:55:00.000-06:00

I have finally finished the slideshow of the first month of Cameron's life!

Please click HERE or see the slideshow listed along the right hand side of the blog! Enjoy and turn up your speakers!

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T18:29:00.000-06:00

Caden got up Christmas morning and came and got in bed with us and said he wanted to see what Santa brought him. We asked him what he thought he might have gotten and he said, 'I don't know, but if I don't have a hockey net, I'm going to be so sad!' Santa did not disappoint!

He not only got the net, but he got a nerf gun too!

And...Santa had 'IVEY' put on the back of his Stars jersey! Caden was super excited!

He also got him the Xbox Wipe Out game that he's been wanting F.O.R.E.V.E.R.!

Along with some Angry Birds fruit snacks!

Look at all that loot!

My 2 big guys! Cameron slept through all the festivities!

My sweet Cam and Cade!

Grammie came over Christmas night and brought gifts for us and dinner! She got Caden this cool Batmobile looking remote control car for Caden! He was straining trying to hold it up, it was so heavy!

We had a fantastic Christmas and hope you all did as well!

Christmas Eve Pictures

2011-12-24T18:29:00.000-06:00

We relaxed and took it easy on Christmas Eve and it was N.I.C.E.! We hung out at home and enjoyed some family time. I got these shots of my 3 guys and I think they are adorable!

Check out these kissable cheeks and heart breaker blue eyes!!

Kisses from Daddy!

Working Out... LOL

'Enough with the pictures Mom!'

My 2 little guys!

Merry Christmas from We 4 Iveys

2011-12-24T10:43:00.002-06:00

Christmas Iveys!

2011-12-23T18:21:00.000-06:00

We decided to go look at Christmas lights tonight and Caden thought we should all wear Santa hats! We ventured out to West Plano and we have to say we were super disappointed at the lack of lights in the 'fancy' neighborhoods! We were shocked that hardly anyone had lights out this year. Oh well, we had our Santa Hats on and were looking pretty festive! Check out Cameron smiling at us in the picture!

Nichols' Christmas at the Ivey's!

2011-12-22T15:19:00.000-06:00

This year the Nichols and the Reaves families headed north to Plano to spend Christmas with us. It was so nice having everyone at our house and not having to travel!

Nannie came as well and this was her first time to meet/hold Cameron. She was a big help babysitting while Mom and I ran some errands over the weekend.

The Reaves arrived on Saturday morning and Bella and Lane were able to meet/hold Cameron for the first time as well! Here is Bella holding her baby cousin. She looks so much like Kari, it is CRAZY!!! She had a blast holding him.

Lane was a natural at calming Cameron! He even fell asleep in Lane's arms!

Auntie Kay and her Cade Man!

All 4 cousins! They don't look like they are having fun at all do they?!

Me and My Sista!

I bought a cookie decorating kit for the kids to play with! It came with markers that had edible ink! Here are the 2 kiddos coloring their cookies!

For our hosted Christmas Gift Opening, we had all the kids' gifts in the media room under that tree. We started off with the kids' gifts for obvious reasons!

Here is Nannie, Lane, Mom, Bella, Dad and Caden. Cameron was still sleeping!

Kari and me with the family! Kari had a shirt on that said, 'I Believe' with a Santa hat and I had a shirt on with Santa that said 'I Believe'! Totally not planned, but completely typical for us!

Silly Face Time!

Look how cute these 3 are!

GiGi and her Lil' Honey!

Caden got a Dallas Stars pillow from GiGi and Poppa and he loved it!

Some Cars slippers from the Reaves!

Bella with her pony purse from us.

Mommy and her Cam Man!

Me with my 2 boys! I love them to pieces!

GiGi and Poppa with the grandkids!

Kari, Bella, Scott and Lane!

We 4 Iveys!

Silly Face Time! Although I think Daddy and Mommy were the only ones acting silly!

Serious Face Time!

Dad, Me, Kari and Mom. Don't laugh at all the family pictures, rarely are we all ever together at the same time to slow down long enough to take some good shots!

Me with Kari!

Dad, Kari, Nannie and Me! 3 Generations of Nichols!

After the kids opened all their gifts, we headed to the living room to open the adults' presents.

Here is Tim with his Stars shirt from Mom and Dad!

Looking all 'Gangsta' in his hoodie from them.

Kari with her thirtyone bag from Mom and Dad.

When Kari and I were little we played this Wooly Willy game at Memaw and Papaw's house. It has a magnet wand and you drag the 'beard' over to the guy's face. She is also holding a Cardinal ornament I got her. Memaw loved Red Birds, and it has become our tradition to get them each year for Christmas.

We had such a wonderful time with the families this past weekend making memories that will last a lifetime! We love watching all the kids playing together and having fun! We are already looking forward to next year!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-21T13:45:00.002-06:00

Caden's Christmas Party

2011-12-16T14:39:00.014-06:00

Once again, Mom and Dad were in town and I was able to go to a party at Caden's school while they watched Cameron!

It was really short and sweet. The teacher asked us to submit recipes from Christmastime and they compiled them into a cookbook for all the kids to take home. In the picture below you can see the Christmas tree book next to Caden. We are so proud at how smart he is! Writing all his numbers and letters!

I thought he looked super cute in his reindeer sweater from Lane!

Here is a class picture of them with their teacher Mrs. Quidley. Caden as at the back/center.

We had to bring 14 small gifts to exchange for the kiddos as well as 14 of the cookie that we submitted recipes for. I made my crock pot candy! Caden sampled all of the cookies and then we headed home!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-14T19:39:00.000-06:00

Letter From Santa Claus!

2011-12-09T20:21:00.000-06:00

Last night after the program, we came home and noticed something sticking out of Caden's stocking!

Daddy took it out and gave it to Caden.

It was a letter from Santa Claus along with a key and a membership card in the NICE group!

I read the letter to Caden and inside the letter, it mentioned the very things that Caden had asked for from Santa Claus for Christmas! It also said that the Elf had told Santa that Caden is a great hockey player with his Daddy!

Caden was super excited and pledged to keep being NICE until Christmas!!!

Caden's Christmas Program

2011-12-09T19:25:00.000-06:00

We went to Caden's Christmas Program last night at school and had so much fun! He did a great job singing about Christmas and the true meaning of it! Here is a picture of him before we left. He is growing up so fast!

Caden is in the very center of the group.

Here we are after the program. Our friend Joey (Tabitha's Dad) took these of us! WE 4 IVEYS!

Here is Cameron photo bombing the picture of Caden with Tabitha.

More About Cameron's One Month Birthday!

2011-12-07T09:43:00.002-06:00

Where has the month gone? Oh my goodness, I cannot believe Cameron has been here a month already! We love him more than words and he is growing so very fast! He is starting to smile and coo now which is so cute to see.

I took him to his one month appointment and he already weighs 11 lbs! Here are his stats:

Weight 11.7 lbs 91%

Height 22" 91%

CRAZY that the child grew 2 inches in a month's time!

Caden is thrilled about his new role as Big Brother and loves holding him for about 2 minutes and then says, 'Mommy, Daddy, can you get Baby Cameron? He's squishing me!'

Cameron is such a 'chill' child. He barely cries and is so easy to take care of. Feed, burp, diaper and lay down and he's out.

The only problem we are encountering is his difficulty in swallowing. He gets strangled during every feeding whether it be on me or with a bottle. We spoke to Dr. Berry about it and she suggested adding 1 tsp of rice cereal per 1 oz of milk to see if the thickness would help. It definitely helped, but then he started being constipated! She ordered a swallow study from Children's Medical Center/Plano which is scheduled next week. We hope to finally get some answers! She suspects he has Dysphagia. Click HERE to read about it.

Other than that, we are just enjoying every moment with our Cam!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-12-07T09:41:00.002-06:00

November 18th & November 28th Posts

2011-12-03T19:00:00.002-06:00

Please scroll through posts to see Caden's Thanksgiving Party and Cam's 1 month photo.

Just so you know..

2011-12-01T21:37:00.000-06:00

I'm going through a month's worth of pictures to catch the blog up, so please scroll down through all the posts even if you have seen them because I am posting them in chronological order by date, so there are some that are listed below ones that you all may have already viewed!

1 Month!

2011-11-28T19:11:00.008-06:00

Wow, the month that Cameron has been here has flown by! We love you Cam and are so happy you are finally here! You have the most beautiful blue eyes and such a sweet disposition!

We love his baby blues!

Our Future Hockey Player

2011-11-26T15:09:00.010-06:00

Last Saturday Tim and I took Caden to the Stars Practice facility so he could watch some youth play hockey. We want to start Caden in January with the little kids hockey leagues and thought it would be fun to show Caden some kiddos playing!

Shortly after we arrived, Caden was watching from the glass, and a puck hit the netting above his head and fell right at his feet! In the picture below you can see him holding it in his right hand!

Here he is with the puck which was still wet with ice! He thought it was so cool that he got to keep it!

Here he is watching the Zamboni after the game. This child loves watching hockey with Daddy! It doesn't matter who is playing, given the choice of cartoons or hockey, he picks hockey! We can't wait to get him started in January!

Oh Christmas Trees, Oh Christmas Trees!

2011-11-21T15:04:00.014-06:00

We were so excited to decorate for Christmas this year, we just had to spread it out a bit. Usually I'm the crazy lady getting it all done in a day and a half! Kind of busy with the newborn this year!

Here is our new media room tree. We got rid of our white tree with white lights and bought a silver slim tree with white lights! Got a great deal at Garden Ridge! Just ask Tim! We bought new ornaments this year for it too. I think it turned out great!

Here is our living room tree. My favorite! Tim said it looks like a tree from Macy's!

The playroom tree has all our family ornaments on it and is more traditional. I love this one as well!

Here is my Dicken's Village that Pat gave me last year. I wasn't sure if this set would make it out of the attic this year, but Tim did the majority of it and Caden helped with the fake snow!

Here is Cameron's tree. Pat got this one for Caden and then gave us a larger one for Cameron the other day so we gave the little brother the little tree and gave Caden the bigger one!

Here is Caden's tree. I got him a new tree topper, garland and some new ornaments for it!

I love my mantle and enjoy putting it together each year. We still need to get Cameron a stocking, but it is all finished otherwise!

Such A Big Helper

2011-11-18T19:01:00.017-06:00

Mom and Dad came up to visit and to bring us the annual truck load of firewood! This was Caden's first year to help unload the firewood. He did such a great job!

He wore Mommy's gloves and had a blast!

Here he is getting some help from Poppa stacking it.

Another arm full!

He was so strong!

He spotted the camera!

My Mom and I were in the sunroom watching Tim, Dad and Caden doing all the heavy lifting. Caden came to the door and said, 'Whew, I'm tired, but I'm really strong!' I said, 'I know, you are doing such a good job!' He said, 'Mommy, only boys and Daddies can unload firewood, not girls or Mommies.' I said, 'Oh okay well we will stay in here while you all unload the wood.' Then he said, 'Okay Mommy, I'm sorry God didn't make you a boy!'

Out of the mouths of babes!

Here's my Cade Man!

While in the sun room, Mommy got some Cam love!

Caden's Thanksgiving Party

2011-11-18T18:45:00.011-06:00

Tim and I were able to attend Caden's Thanksgiving Party at school. My parents were in town and stayed home with Cameron so we could go (baby free)!

They started off the program singing songs they had learned. Here is Caden singing one of the songs!

I love that he is Mr. Personality here with all the hand motions!

After the singing, it was time to make our snack. The snack was a Turkey made from cookies, candy corn, icing and more icing! I love my Cade Man's smile here!

The finished product, which Caden said tasted delicious!

He loves Candy Corn!

My 2 handsome big guys!

Mommy and her Cade Man!

Auntie Kay

2011-11-06T14:58:00.000-06:00

I will be creating a slideshow at some point but I wanted to just upload some random shots so I would not forget the story behind them.

Here is Cam and Auntie Kay meeting for the first time. If you will remember, she did not come up for the birth, but saw it on Skype. Her first time to hold him and meet him in person was the day I was released from the hospital after the Spinal Head Ache/Blood Pressure fiasco!

The day she left was so sad for her! She was playing Wipe Out with Caden here right before she left. Caden kept saying, 'Okay, one more time'. And she 'one more timed' about 100 times before leaving. We had such a great time visiting with her!

Here is Caden holding Baby Cam with Auntie Kay's arm making sure he doesn't slide out! Caden usually holds him about 2 minutes and says, 'Mommy, you can have him. He's squishing me.'

My 2nd Trip to Baylor Dallas

2011-11-05T22:59:00.000-05:00

After we returned home on Sunday, October 30th, little did I know that I would be again visiting Baylor to stay in just a week!

My blood pressure has throughout my life always been extremely low (in a good way), 110/55ish. During labor my blood pressure spiked and the bottom numbers were in the high 90's. They would comment that it was high during labor and shortly after, but no one really seemed too alarmed.

After having Cameron but while still in the hospital, the tech's would come in and check the b/p throughout the day and night and the bottom number was still in the high 90's. They would ask me to lay down and then re-check it and it would then be in the 70's. After coming home from the hospital, I used my blood pressure cuff to periodically check my b/p just for my own information. I developed a headache that would not go away in the back of my head after coming home as well. As any mom knows, we are always sent home with pain medication, etc and I was no exception. I had Hydrocodone as well as 800 mg Ibuprofen. I tried taking both to get rid of the headache but nothing even took the edge off. I was not linking the high b/p with the headache at all.

We had to take Cameron to my OB for his circumcision the week after coming home with him and while there I mentioned to her about my blood pressure being high. She prescribed some low mg b/p meds for me to take 1 a day. I still had the persistent headache along with the high numbers on the bottom of my b/p however. I called a couple of days after being told to take the b/p medication and told them that I still had a horrible headache and larger than normal numbers on the bottom of my b/p readings. The nurse told me to get to the Dr's office for a b/p check with a nurse. I headed to my OB's office and met with just the medical tech and she took my b/p and the number was 165/98. She asked that I wait in the exam room while she told my Dr. I mentioned to her that the headache still was not going away and she just shook her head. She came back and said that my Dr wanted me to increase the meds to 2/day. So I left and took the 2nd pill when I got home.

On Saturday, my Mom was packed and ready to head back to Conroe, having stayed the week with us. She asked how my headache was and I said, 'No better'. She said, 'Amber I think you should call your Dr again and just tell her how bad the headache is and that nothing is helping it. Just see what she says.' Mom was concerned that the headache and b/p were related. I called and had my Dr paged and she called and asked what was going on. I told her and she stopped me and said, 'They didn't tell me you had a headache. This changes everything. I need you to pack a bag and head to Baylor so they can observe your b/p. We may end up admitting you for preclampsia and putting you on Magnesium Sulfate. It is not a fun drug, but hopefully that will help.' So Mom didn't leave and instead watched both boys while Tim and I headed once again to Baylor.

They put me in a L&D room and monitored my b/p which was still super high. They asked where my headache was and I told them the back of my head. The nurse mentioned that was odd because with preclampsia the headaches are usually in the front. After a few hours they said they were going to admit me and put me on the Mag (Magnesium Sulfate). They started an IV and told me that the first bag of Mag they planned to push through in 20 minutes. It was a small bag and then the larger bag would be infused slower over a 24 hour period. The nurse immediately turned down the temperature in the room and told me that I would get 'a little warm' with the Mag. WHAT AN UNDERSTATEMENT! I felt as though the veins in my body had fire in them! I was flushed and so HOT! They put a catheter in as they wanted me to be in bed throughout the Mag infusion.

I have never seen Tim so cold! The temperature in the room was 55 and I was burning up and his lips were purple!

They finally moved me to a room for the over night stay and told me that after the larger bag was pushed through that my Dr would decide where to go from there. I was under the impression until told otherwise by another nurse that the Mag would help keep my b/p low. I was wrong, the Mag was to PREVENT SEIZURES! They said with the headache and b/p so high the risk for seizures was high as well. WHO KNEW!

I told Tim to just leave and go on home since I was going to be in bed just 'monitored' on the Mag and to head back to the hospital the next a.m. He left and my sister was already headed up to visit that weekend and she surprised me and showed up at Baylor and wanted to stay. Sort of a slumber party if you will.

They started giving me Hydrocodone for the headache (2 pills) and the nurse would come in and say, 'how's the headache?' I felt like some drugged out person wanting more when I would tell her, 'It is no better, at all. It is as if I'm taking sugar pills.' So she got an order for Ultram and was alternating the 2. That did not help at all. I have never had a headache like this in my life. Nor have I had one that I could not get at least some relief from!

Poor Kari was being frozen out as well in the room. She had multiple blankets, sheets, clothing and my hoodie over her head and cinched up! I was hot, and she was an ice cube! I was unable to sleep much because they would come in and monitor my b/p every hour. The Mag must be a big deal because every time there was a shift change or a kink in the line of the Mag, there would have to be 2 nurses come in as a sort of 'audit' to make sure the correct amount was flowing.

The next a.m. they told me that I was able to eat! I was ecstatic! I did not think I was inhaling my food, but apparently I was! Kari was standing between the side of my bed and the window ledge and I finished eating and said 'I'm going to throw up', and as if we were in some sort of orchestrated movie, she turned, grabbed the bed pan throw up tub (technical name) and swiveled in time for me to sit up and throw up. A second later and I would have been wearing it!

Anyone who knows me, knows I DO NOT DO WELL WITH THROWING UP. I get mad...I hate not being in control. She was well aware of this and did beautifully! She wiped my forehead and kept saying 'You're okay...' I was so glad she was there!

My Dr. came in later that morning to see how I was doing and I told her that I was no better, I still had the headache and the high b/p. She said she was going to talk to the Anesthesiologist and have them come in because she was suspecting that I had a spinal headache. The Anesthesiologist came in, who just happened to be the one that did my epidural. We talked to him and he said that sometimes the needle can be slightly bent and puncture the area and cause the spinal fluid to leak which would in turn cause the major headache. He said he could do a 'blood patch' where they take 'large vials' of blood from my arm and reinsert it into the epidural space filling in the hole. Within an hour to 2 hours if my headache was gone, well the procedure worked. We decided to give that a try.

He cleaned off my back and the procedure was much like having an epidural except that I did not have labor pains to distract me from the HORRIBLE PAIN OF HAVING A NEEDLE THE SIZE OF A COAT HANGER (METAL ONE) PLACED IN MY BACK!

Kari was standing on the left side of the bed along side a nurse. Kari was holding my hand as I laid on my left side while he did the needle in my back. He then came around the left side of the bed to get the blood from my arm. He got all the vials while I was squeezing the life out of Kari's hand. She and I both are terrified of needles and as I laid there I remember thinking, 'wow Kari has grown up! She's standing here being so brave!' He finished and put the gauze on the needle hole, and told Kari to 'apply pressure'. I didn't open my eyes, but I only felt Kari 'applying pressure' for approximately 2 seconds then I felt NO pressure. I opened my eyes in time to see her race around the foot of my bed and lay down on the fold out bed/chair. She then began rolling up her pant legs. Remember the room was a chilly 55 degrees. The nurse applied pressure on my arm while Kari kept apologizing to me for leaving my side.

It was actually quite comical! This distracted me from the Dr putting MY OWN BLOOD BACK INTO MY SPINE!

After he finished and left, my nurse tended to both Kari and me! She asked Kari if she needed some juice! It was so funny!

Anyway! I was exhausted and lapsed into a nice little coma/nap. The nurse came in 2 hours after the procedure to see how my headache was. I sat up and nodded my head and turned it left to right and realized that it was GONE! I did not know how bad it was, until it had left me! It was a glorious feeling! My Dr. released me around 2 and I was able to go home. What a scary ordeal and sad one for me, being a Mom and having my new baby at home and me in the hospital!

So, that's the 'rest of the story'!

Cameron's First Dr's Appt.

2011-11-01T14:54:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post Cameron had jaundice issues so we had to take him in to see Dr. Berry so she could check him out. Here is a picture of us in the exam room before seeing the Dr. The jaundice was cleared up so we were done with that fiasco. They had to cauterize his navel because it had not healed properly so they put on some silver nitrate which didn't hurt him at all. I'm telling you, me and this kiddo had some issues!

At another follow up appointment, Dr. Berry took a q-tip and told me to spin it in his navel to clean it out rather than submerge him in a tub, just until it is all healed. Well I nearly fainted-not really-when she was instructing me to do that with the Q-tip. I was thinking, 'Yep, no way am I wired to do that, I'll pass out on the floor.' So I just let it heal up on its own and then cleaned it when it was all healed up and pretty! LOL

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T14:14:00.000-05:00

I'm sure I will catch this blog up one day! GEEZ!

Try to follow along, while I post a bazillion posts!

Halloween came the day after we got home from the hospital. This was the #1 reason I pushed for my Dr. to induce me BEFORE Halloween because I wanted to be home for Caden!

She did not disappoint so we left Cameron with my Mom at the house and headed out the door with Caden to Canyon Creek Christian Academy's Trunk or Treat.

Here is our Alvin the Chipmunk with his little brother who is looking like he's about to fall! LOL

Caden is very much into doing the 'regular' picture and then begging to do a silly face one! So here is the Silly Face picture!

Here is our attempt at getting a picture of Cam with the pumpkin. Fail.

I was so freaking sore and hurting, but I was bound and determined to walk with him and Tim through the parking lot! Here he is at one of the stops getting candy. We did not take a lot of pictures because it was almost dark. After we left here, we took him up and down our street trick or treating and he had a blast. After that it was pain pill time for Mommy!

My Mom took these shots of Cameron sleeping at home. (I think she took them, maybe I did, see above comment about me having a pain pill!)

Dallas Stars Game

2011-10-29T21:18:00.029-05:00

We wanted to keep Caden's routine as normal as possible while I was in the hospital having Cameron, so my Mom stayed with me at Baylor and Tim went home each night to be with Caden. Tim had an awesome idea which was to take Caden to his first Stars game the Saturday night we were in the hospital. So the week before we went in, we got Caden a Stars jersey.

Below is a picture of Caden with his eyes closed waiting for his 'Surprise'.

Here is Daddy handing him his very own jersey as Caden is pointing to it telling me what it is!

Caden had to try it on right away so Daddy helped him.

I love my 2 guys!

Thumbs up for the Stars game!

They both came by the hospital on the way to the game and I was so struck by how much they look alike. The older Caden gets the more he looks like Daddy! I think they look super handsome here!

Caden knows by watching hockey that there are often times fights so here they are 'fighting'!

Tim sent pictures to me throughout the game so I could keep up with how much fun Caden was having.

Here are my 2 big guys enjoying the game!

I love this picture of Caden looking down on the ice.

End of the game and the best part was the Stars won!

Our Birth Story

2011-10-28T22:55:00.000-05:00

I cannot believe it has been almost a month since my last post! Wow what an 'almost a month' it has been! I wanted to document our birth story for Cameron and how it all happened from start to 'Welcome Cameron'!!!

We checked in at Baylor at 6:00 a.m. on October 28th. I was beyond ready as documented in my previous posts! My Mom came into town as did my Dad so they were at our house and let Caden sleep in and then brought him to the hospital later on that morning.

We arrived and headed to Labor and Delivery. De ja vu' from when we had our Cade Man! Seemed like just yesterday!

Dr. Stevenson said she would arrive around 8 to break my water and we would go from there. They started the IV and thankfully put it in the top of my hand rather than the side of my thumb as they did with Caden! I still have these nerve 'zingers' that run up my arm if I hit my thumb just right!

Dr. Stevenson broke my water, prior to my epidural, and she told me to ask for my epidural whenever I was ready for it. She seriously had to still be in the Baylor parking lot leaving after breaking the water when I requested the epidural STAT! I was in some serious pain and since there are no rewards or ribbons or Oprah appearances for women without an epidural and since I had one with Caden, it was go time for EPIDURAL! The anesthesiologist arrived and had me lay on my side - with Caden I was sitting up leaning against Tim - so I laid on my left side and he started the epidural. The pain seemed to ease off, but was still there just lingering on the surface. I was all smiles ready to meet our Cameron when all of a sudden I felt like I had a knife in my side just below my ribs on the left side. The nurse said, 'Yeah, I'm sure he has his little feet in your ribs.' WRONG...I told her it did not feel like his feet in my ribs. Then she said, 'Well you may still be feeling some contractions.' WRONG...I told her it was not contractions but a constant pain. I was in tears and literally hurting more than I have in my entire life! They sent in another anesthesiologist who asked me to pinch my belly button. I did and he asked if I felt it, and I did. He told me I was not numb all the way and he added some more meds to the IV or epidural IV. I'm not sure which as I was writhing in pain.

Tim and Mom helped turn me to the other side hoping that would ease the pain. It did nothing to help and I was starting to get worried. Full on ugly cry was in effect and I was not a happy Mommy. They sent the 2nd Dr. in 2 more times to add meds and finally the pain in my side started to go away. The nurse checked me and realized the pain I felt was related to the fact that Cameron was CROWNING! I knew it was go time when she asked Tim if he wanted to see the baby's head! My Dr. was paged and she showed up just in time for me to push about 5 times and Cameron was here!

They had some issues with my placenta, etc, and it seemed forever before we were able to have Mom, Dad, Pat and Caden come in to meet Cameron!

Tim went to get Caden and he brought him in to meet his baby brother. It was such a precious moment that I will not soon forget. Caden walked in and I thought he would cry with happiness. He said, 'Baby Cameron!' so quietly and he walked up and crawled up in the bed with me to meet his new brother.

The first thing we noticed about Cameron was his big blue eyes. Yes, I know all babies are born with blue eyes, but we knew from experience with Caden that this baby had BLUE eyes that would stay. Caden was born with brown/gray eyes and we all know he has those handsome brown eyes now. Cameron's eyes were and are, a dark blue just like his Daddy's. I was beyond thrilled to have a blue-eyed baby boy!

Most of our family says that he looks 'just like Caden did', I however think they could not look more different. I guess it is just a Mommy thing. The important thing was that he was here and I realized when I looked at him for the first time that I did have room in my heart to love another child.

He tested positive for Coombs which is explained HERE. I have 0+ blood type and he has A+ and that created a problem. His sugar levels were off as well because of my gestational diabetes. His numbers had to be 51 or better 3 times in a row as tested by pricking his heels. If he did not have a number higher than 51, 3X in a row, they had to start the testing over again. Let me tell you, he was a trooper, all the heel pricks were getting to Mommy, believe me! After a night of feeding him every hour and a half to try and get his sugar levels back to normal, he finally tested correctly 3X in a row. He also had jaundice which was being monitored as well. I was so happy when all of that was behind us.

We were so happy to finally come home. Daddy stayed home during my hospital stay so that he could hang out with Caden and keep his routine as normal as possible. Mom stayed with me at the hospital which was nice. My friend Kat who is a post-partem nurse was able to be my nurse while I was in the hospital which was very nice!

I will be updating the 'After Our Birth Story' story in the next few days. There is always the 'rest of the story'! Right now we are enjoying our Cameron and preparing the house for Christmas!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-26T08:36:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-19T09:08:00.000-05:00

I forgot one thing...

2011-10-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Caden and I were at Walmart and we were in line checking out. I was holding my purse in front of my stomach and started to feel water running down my leg! I wanted to shout it to the rooftops that my water was breaking! I was so freaking excited, it was right up there with Christmas morning happiness. Until, Caden walked in front of me and said, 'Mommy something dripped on my head.' Do the math people, he's much taller than my crotch, so I knew that something was not quite right. Upon further checking, I discovered that his thermos of water had opened in my purse and was leaking down my legs. Bummer.

Still Pregnant :|

2011-10-17T10:26:00.001-05:00

I was 37 weeks pregnant this past Friday. On Thursday I went for my now weekly visit with my Dr. and she 'stripped my membranes'. I'm not going to go into the gory details, don't want any guys reading on here and fainting, so for the not so faint of heart and all the women that care and don't know what that is, click here. Clearly I am the exception to the rule. Every friend I have on Face Book has gone into labor THAT night after the stripping or within 48 hrs. Well, yeah, not me, of course not me, the miserable, ready to meet this baby pregnant lady. It has been 4 days and nothing.

My bags are packed for the hospital, we have had our carpets cleaned, house cleaned (thank you so much Pat for coming over and tag-teaming the cleaning with Tim), installed a new door into our media room, tiled our sun room, put trim down around the baseboards of the sun room, I've had my hair done, nails done, pedicure, picked out our large pumpkins, decorated them with Caden. I HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO DO BUT HAVE THIS BABY.

So after the stripping of the membranes which is a load of crap in my opinion, I read where drinking raspberry LEAF tea, not just fruity, girly raspberry tea, will help induce labor. Caden and I went to Sprouts and bought the tea that oh by the way has nothing to do with raspberries except that it has a picture of one on the front. I have never drank urine, but I'm pretty sure I now know what it would taste like if I were on a deserted island and had no source of clean water and that was my only choice. I put Splenda in it and drank it and was convinced that drinking it must induce VOMITING AND NOT LABOR. I didn't vomit, but I could have. Yet, I drank it! Cups full of it. I now lovingly refer to it as Sweet Pee. That's what I drank and do you think that did anything? Hellz no it didn't.

Some suggested sex, I hurt too much for that, and others encouraged walking. I'll be trying that today.

My OB, after doing the membrane stripping on Thursday told me that the timing would be perfect because she was not on call this past weekend and that she predicted I'd likely go into labor on Monday or Tuesday, that being TODAY or tomorrow. Nothing yet, but I'm not holding my breath.

I was disappointed to learn that while Googling 'HOW TO SAFELY BREAK YOUR WATER AT HOME' that there were no such articles. REALLY?!? I bet you can Google how to make Meth and get a recipe worthy of Rachel Ray's attention, but nothing on how to break your own water? COME ON MAN!

If I seem bitter...I AM. I'm so ready to meet this little guy and get on with the baby thing and stop hurting and oh yeah, learn what it is like to actually SLEEP AGAIN, that I think I'm going a little crazy. Tim, don't say a word!

Anyway, that's where I am today.

Check back for more ranting, if LORD IN HEAVEN FORBID I'M PREGNANT AGAIN TOMORROW!

Pumpkin Patch with Caden's Class

2011-10-17T10:07:00.000-05:00

On Friday, Tim and I were able to go with Caden's class to the Pumpkin Patch in Richardson. This was Caden's first bus ride on a 'school' bus! He was so excited. Tim and I remember when he was much younger how he would love seeing a school bus! Here he is departing off the big boy bus!

Getting ready to line up. My how he looks grown up here!

Daddy snapped a photo of us walking up to the entrance.

First up, feeding the goats!

We were not sure how he'd react to feeding the goats, he was clearly surprised at first, but warmed up to them. Personally I think goats are nasty. I mean they eat ANYTHING.

Even Mommy and Daddy were given feed for the goats, which I gladly gave to Caden. No goat feeding for me...Yuck!

Another quick picture of a very pregnant Mommy and my Cade Man.

Daddy and Caden with the infamous 'O' face!

So ready to have this baby!

Class picture!

Here he is sitting on the bench waiting for the hayride to start. Thank you Jamie for telling me not to ride it. The last thing I would want is to deliver a baby at a pumpkin patch! That ride looked bumpy!

Cade Man with his 'girlfriend' McKenna.

Posing with some pumpkins.

My 2 Favorite Guys!

Checking out some horses.

Reminded me of my childhood growing up around horses. So sad that Caden won't have that experience.

My little pumpkin among the pumpkins.

I think he picked a winner!

Doing his best Michael Jordan 'tongue' pose while playing on the hay.

Daddy jumped on the bus to get a quick picture before they left to go back to school.

We had such a great time and I was so glad I was able to go. I was worried when they set the date that I would be home with a new baby or in the hospital!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-12T09:21:00.002-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Visit with GiGi and Poppa

2011-10-04T11:42:00.001-05:00

GiGi and Poppa came up on Thursday night to take Caden back with them Friday morning to spend Poppa's 60th Birthday weekend with them. Mom sent me pictures all weekend which we loved so we could see what all he was up to! Here are the pictures that she sent and I'm sure they are out of order, but I'll comment for each!

This was the morning after Dad's party on Friday night. I am told that he fell asleep on the way home from the party so GiGi just left him in his top from the party and his underwear. I had to do this last week when I got home from my hair appointment. He was asleep on the couch in his clothes so I took off his shorts and just put him to bed. He's a creature of habit and was quizzing me and then this past weekend, GiGi about why he didn't have pants on!

Anyway, here he is with his sword they got him and his breakfast!

Swinging on what he calls 'GiGi and Poppa's Playground'!

Here he is at church Sunday. They had Homecoming services and I'm told he was 'amening' all the way through church!

Love his blue lips in this one!

Look at that blue tongue!

Brushing all the sugar bugs out!

Coming or going home, not sure which!

This was coming back home to Dallas! Watching the movie Babe, he told GiGi he wanted a baby pig!

Here he is practicing for Cameron's arrival!

This was at Kari and Scott's house, the night of Dad's party. Looks like Lane is leading them in some stretches!

Here he is at church Saturday night eating cake balls! GiGi even brought 3 home for us to have! They were delicious!

This was Friday morning when GiGi took Caden grocery shopping with her. He was such a big helper!

Playing a game before they left.

GiGi took Caden to Lane's baseball game Saturday and he had a wonderful time. He was hanging out with Bella and Mom said they were like a little old couple, just chatting away!

How cute is this???

Posing with cousin Lane!

This is the day that GiGi picked Bella up from Kari while she was doing some stuff for Lane's school. Caden was so happy to see her!

I'm told Bella was pretending to be me!

Poppa and his grandbabies!

Thanks GiGi and Poppa for having so much fun with him! We are glad he finally stopped crying after you all left Sunday night. He was sad to see you all go and he keeps saying he wants Cameron to come RIGHT NOW because he knows that's the next time you all will be here! We love you all!

Happy 60th Birthday Dad

2011-10-02T10:37:00.000-05:00

We love you Dad! Thank you for being my hero and such a great Father in Law and Poppa to Caden and Cameron! We love you with all our hearts and wish you the very best birthday ever! :)

Diaper Shower at Gaylord

2011-10-01T10:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Tim's co-worker Vanessa threw us a Surprise Diaper shower at Gaylord. I knew about it, but it was a surprise for Tim. She did such an amazing job of decorating and preparing the shower! We had so much fun.

Here is the cake! Notice the blue pairs of booties on the cake! Super cute!

Lots of cute decorations!

Diaper table!

Yummy food!

I think it is hilarious that I 'matched' the cake!

SURPRISE TIM!

This is the 'Oh My Gosh! Amber is here too?!' You can't see me but I was in front of him by the door!

Talking to all the coworkers.

Lots of people came by.

Us with the cake!

Vanessa made a mum for me to wear and an armband for Tim! Love this picture of him posing with his band!

Cake time! It was delicious!!!!

Here we are with Vanessa.

Everyone getting some food! She had fruit, sandwiches, drinks, it was all amazing!

We got a cute outfit, bibs, duck slippers, crocheted lion block, photo album and the handy diaper trash bags and holder to clip on the diaper bag!

Thank you Vanessa for making the shower such a success! It was so kind of you to do this for us!

Quick Trip for GiGi and Poppa

2011-09-29T22:00:00.001-05:00

This Sunday is my Dad's 60th Birthday. My sister and Mom WITH NO HELP FROM ME, I MIGHT ADD, planned this party in Conroe for him for Friday, September 30th and Caden and I were planning to attend. Well, after all these painful Braxton Hicks episodes, my 59 year old father informed me that I was not going to drive down for the party. Too risky and I'm too close to the end. Instead of Caden being heartbroken, Mom and Dad drove all the way here Thursday night to pick Caden up and leave Friday morning to take him down for the weekend festivities! So far he has played with Bella and Lane, swam at their pool, partied with Poppa and Saturday's agenda is Lane's baseball game and a church function that night! He he is having a blast!

We could not NOT do something for Dad's birthday at our house, so we ordered Chinese food and had cake, ice cream and presents. Here are some photos from Thursday night.

Caden and Poppa

Dad turned 60, but I couldn't bear to put '60' on his cake, so I swapped the numbers and put '06'. Mom and Tim were thinking, 'Oh My Gosh, the Pregnant Lady has lost it and accidentally switched the numbers!' But as Mom and I joke, 'I MEANT TO DO THAT!'

Caden helped with the candles and this look says, 'TIME FOR CAKE!'

Mom and Dad

Since Poppa will be in Colorado over Halloween, Caden had to show him his Alvin costume. He decided to sport the costume throughout the present opening!

'Helping' Poppa open his card.

'Helping' with the gifts!

We got him some shirts, ties and dress socks and Caden got him some UT jellybeans!

Mom and Dad

Alvin, Mom and Dad

Silly Alvin, Mom and Dad

Dad, me, Wild Eyes Caden and Mom

Love these 2 people more than the world!

Then of course what Grandma comes over without bringing surprises for Caden? We never have to worry about that with Grammie and GiGi! They always have something for Cade Man!

Here he is after he opened his Halloween sucker. I think he was thrilled, but I'll let you be the judge!

GiGi and Poppa even brought a Christmas onesie for Cameron!

Poppa brought Caden this shirt too! I'm so glad because during Homecoming week at Caden's school one of the themes is spy/soldier week and he had NO camo to wear!

Mommy got some nice comfy pj's for after the baby arrives!

Thank you both for coming up to get Caden. I know he would have been disappointed to miss Poppa's party!

35 Week Check Up

2011-09-29T12:16:00.000-05:00

Today I went for my 35 week check up. I am dilated to a 'firm' 2, which means nothing since I am not effaced at all. :( My induction date is still set for October 28th and we are counting down the days! Believe me!

Baby is 5lbs 11oz according to the sonogram, which is totally normal. Dr. said there was nothing she could do for the painful Braxton Hicks contractions I'm having that cause me to spontaneously burst into tears when they occur! If they increase or fall into a pattern, then we all know that I'm in full blow labor, but so far they are completely random.

My weight looks great and so does everything else. We are just waiting on Oct. 28th!

I go back next week for another exam. I am now going every week.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-28T05:00:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-21T08:10:00.002-05:00

Sibling Class

2011-09-19T12:19:00.000-05:00

Saturday I took Caden to Baylor Dallas Hospital for a 'Sibling Class'. I have to say it was the best $15 I've spent in a while.

Here is the 'teacher' (nurse) having them stand up and tell her whether they are having a Baby Sister or Baby Brother.

They gave each 'sibling' a baby doll and taught them how to properly hold the baby and how they are not suppose to stand up and hold or walk with the baby EVER!

Caden's look on his face is 'Hmmm...not sure I should be playing with a baby doll...I am a boy after all!'

He paid such close attention to the nurse and was holding the baby in the crook of his arm just as she instructed.

Next it was time to learn how to put on a diaper! Each baby already had a diaper and the nurse instructed the kids to take off the dirty diaper and throw it in the trash. Next it was time to put on a clean one. Here is Caden and Mrs. Theresa 'diapering' the baby doll.

We took a tour of the maternity ward and went into a hospital room and she explained that the baby brother or sister and Mommy would have a sleep over for a few nights. We have been preparing Caden for that so he knows what to expect. He got to see a room like the one I would be staying in and he got to explore everything inside of it. We also got to go to the nursery and he got to see Mrs. Theresa pick up a bran-new baby and hold it up to the window. She had taught them all about the umbilical cord and how it would be cut, then the one piece would fall off. She told them to never touch it while it is still on and to only touch the belly button once it had fallen off. The baby she held up to the window obviously had the clip and the nub of the cord so the kids were able to see what it looked like. I had never even thought to tell Caden that part!

They then learned how to swaddle the baby in the blanket. I think Caden did a great job. He was so proud to show me!

Here he is after he 'graduated'! He was so proud of himself! They gave him a certificate as well as a blue rubber bracelet you can see in the photo that says 'Big Brother'!

Caden Can Swim!

2011-09-19T11:55:00.000-05:00

Caden has been 'practicing with no floaties' for a few months, but this weekend he decided to just go all out! Check out these videos of our little swimmer! We are so proud of him!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-14T05:00:00.000-05:00

Fellowship Church 9-11 Service

2011-09-13T09:54:00.001-05:00

Saturday night Fellowship had a service dedicated to lives lost on 9-11 and the first responders. They had 2 lights projected like they do at Ground Zero. Very profound.

Here is the link to the sermon Ed preached. Very powerful. He spoke of how during such tragedy we all 'needed' God. Then after the shock wore off of 9-11, a lot of us turned from him. How very sad.

Click HERE for sermon if you are interested.

What Happened to Baby Caden???

2011-09-13T09:50:00.000-05:00

Look how 'grown' our Cade Man looks! Grammie came over and brought him the shirt and shoes last night and he is looking like such a little man!

I Will Never Forget...

2011-09-11T05:00:00.000-05:00

32 Week Appointment

2011-09-09T19:45:00.000-05:00

Today I went for my 32 week appointment. I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has flown by! It is way faster than it was with Caden.

I saw Dr. Reyes who is another OB in my Dr's office. My Dr. always wants her patients to see Dr. Reyes just in case Dr. Reyes happens to be on call and has to deliver the baby.

I like Dr. Reyes, she is really sweet and kind. I got in there and was telling her that I was having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions that are quite painful. I told her that I have one every time I stand up and every time I turn over in bed. This with some other symptoms had her concerned so she did an exam. I am at a '1' which is no big deal for where I am right now in the pregnancy. When she finished the exam, she reached for my hand for me to get up and when I sat up I had the most painful BH I have ever had. I literally burst into tears while squeezing her hand. She felt of my tummy and said, 'Wow, your stomach is very tight.' Let's get you in for a sonogram to make sure your cervix is okay and this baby isn't coming.

She said if the sono came back and my cervix was thinning, then I'd have to be on bed rest, take steroids and meds to stop contractions. SHEESH I was nervous. I went for my sono and everything looked great, I was just fine.

I saw Dr. Stevenson (my Dr) in the hall and she agreed with Dr. Reyes that they want to see me back in 1 week rather than 2 to make sure I'm still okay.

According to Dr. Reyes I am not to lift anything heavier than bread. Wow, guess I need to lighten my purse, quit taking my bag to work, etc!

Anyway, here is a precious picture of our baby!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-09-07T14:43:00.000-05:00

Cooler Weather! FINALLY!

2011-09-06T10:16:00.000-05:00

We 3 Iveys were thrilled to wake up to the cooler temperatures! Caden was most thrilled to get to wear a long-sleeved t-shirt and jeans! The child loves long pj's as well! We hope the cooler weather is here to stay! Caden and I decorated for Fall/Halloween yesterday and had so much fun-minus having to put away a witch that laughed and scared the heck out of Caden-Oh well!

Happy Labor Day!

2011-09-05T05:00:00.000-05:00

Happy Labor Day to everyone! I wanted to refresh myself on the meaning and origin of the holiday so I looked it up. Click HERE.

Sunday Fun Day

2011-09-04T17:27:00.001-05:00

We went to church last night and decided to take it easy today. My back has been KILLING me so we did some outdoor stuff since the weather was gorgeous!

I took Caden outdoor for some scooter and bike fun! Here he is cheesing for the camera in his Lightning McQueen helmet! Notice the busted upper lip! He did that last night playing in the bath tub! :(

Ready for the sidewalks!

Here he comes! Tim had to teach him how to not just push off but to put the 'push off foot' onto the scooter to coast!

After some outdoor fun we came inside and Caden painted. He had so much fun getting to wipe his fingers on his paint shirt!

Funny Little Caden Stories

2011-09-01T21:25:00.000-05:00

It's that time again, time for the hilarity which is our child Caden!

*********

On the way to work the other day he asked me where Poppa was (my dad). We had just hung up with GiGi (my Mom).

Me: He's at work.

Caden: At that place where he dunks people?

M: It is a church and he baptizes people, yes.

C: That's not work.

M: Yes it is baby. It's a church and Poppa is the preacher.

C: I want to be a preacher so I can dunk people.

M: Okay.

C: Why does he dunk them?

M: Well they have asked Jesus into their heart and by being 'dunked' they are showing obedience to God and Jesus.

C: Hmmm...

He then asked about going to Heaven, etc. and I tried to (4 Year Old It) so as not to scare him, etc. Apparently my answers didn't satisfy him.

(C looking out of the window)...I don't know about that Mommy, I'm going to talk to Poppa.

M: Please do!

This same morning, a lady cut me off right in front of Caden's school and almost hit my car! I gasped and Caden loudly proclaimed:

Mommy, that was not nice! She does NOT have Jesus in her heart!

I had to agree... :)

*********

One night Caden clearly didn't want to go to bed. He would get up and say that he wanted to stay up, etc. On the 3rd time I walked in and he was crying saying he wasn't tired.

Me: Caden Go To Bed!

(I then turned off his new digital photo frame Tim's Mom gave him. I normally turn it off after he's asleep and Tim and I are headed to bed.)

He starts crying or making the crying sound.

C: Please don't turn off my pictures!

M: I'm turning them off because you are supposed to already be asleep. Go to bed!

C: But I have tears falling down my cheeks!

M: WHAT?! You are crying because I'm turning this frame off? Seriously?!

C: Yes, I'm not joking Mom! (MOM? What happened to Mommy?) I'm so so so so serious! I have tears falling down my cheeks.

Unbelievable.

*********

After Tim and I got new phones, I showed Caden on You Tube how to look at Cars 2 videos etc. Well we stumbled upon these series of videos that this guy makes in his home of new Cars Movie cars. You never see the guy, but he always has the bran-new package of whatever track or car and shows it to the camera and says, 'Hey guys, this is the Cars 2 track, let's open it.' Then he proceeds to open it; I seriously think he wears some sort of camera on his head like a miner wears a light on his forehead! He opens the track or car, sets it up etc. Anyway, I think it's creepy for a grown man to make videos of kids toys to display. There is never anyone else in the videos. So I told Caden one night after he asked to watch the guy "No...you are not watching him, he's creepy." I turn to Tim and say, 'It's like he's some sort of pedophile!' Caden yells, "Mommy, I want to watch the pedophile! I like pedophiles." I get the 'look' from Tim and Tim says, 'Oh that's great!' I can just see him heading to school telling his teacher, 'I love pedophiles!' Mission failure!

**********

That's all I have for now, tune in next time, I'm sure there will be more! :|

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-31T05:00:00.001-05:00

29.5 Week Check Up

2011-08-25T10:42:00.000-05:00

I went yesterday for my check up and sonogram and everything looks great. EXCEPT that this child has not stopped moving since the weekend. Each night this week I have gotten between 2 and 5 hours of sleep! I asked the Dr. what the deal was because my precious Caden NEVER moved that often. She said, 'Every pregnancy is different!' Wow, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that!

I only gained a lb in the last month which was great news to me!

She said that even though I am due November 4th that she could take the baby the week before Halloween if I wanted her to. I told her that would be great so that I could participate in Halloween Trick or Treating with Caden! I do not want to neglect him!

All is well so far and I go back on September 9th for my next appointment. We have now begun the every 2 week visits.

Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet baby!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-24T10:35:00.000-05:00

Caden's 4th Birthday Part 2

2011-08-22T21:13:00.000-05:00

Since today was Caden's actual birthday, we could not pass up celebrating again!

This morning, I placed candles in his favorite 'white' donuts and had chocolate milk and a gift for him to open!

All I had to do to wake him up was say 'Happy Birthday Caden! We have a surprise for you in the kitchen!' Here he is coming into the kitchen to check it out!

Blowing out his birthday donut candles!

It was a mini penguin pillow pet for nap time at school! He was so excited!

Early morning smiles from our 4 year old! WOW!

Then on to celebrating at night tonight! I got him a cake and we had candles and sang Happy Birthday to him again!

He was a tad bit excited! And yes, he is wearing his CARS pj's AGAIN that GiGi and Poppa got him! I have to sneak them out of his room to wash them!

He was squealing with excitement!

Blowing out the number 4, 4 candles and a Lightning McQueen candle!

After the cake, it was time for more gifts. We told him to close his eyes, and this is the picture Tim got! I love it!

Shocked at more gifts!

He got a bran-new Cars 2 backpack for school! He was so thrilled!

We put the movie Rio inside the front zipper of the backpack. He thought that was so cool!

We also got him a metal CARS lunch box that he will keep his crayons, markers and pencils in for here at home! We let him open a gift from Jane our neighbor and friend and it was a cool Toy Story art kit!

We are hoping he doesn't think this will continue tomorrow! As he prayed tonight at the table he said, 'And Dear God, when I wake up it will be my BIRTHDAY!'

Happy 4th Birthday Caden!

2011-08-22T05:00:00.001-05:00

We cannot believe our Cade Man is 4 YEARS OLD! Where in the world has the time gone? I can remember having him like it was yesterday! You have brought us so many laughs into our lives Caden. You are such a gracious, caring and tender-hearted little man! You will always be Mommy's doodlebug and Daddy's peanut! We know you are going to be an amazing big brother as well!

We love you with all we have within us and hope you have a fantastic birthday!

My Baby Shower

2011-08-21T19:46:00.001-05:00

Saturday was not only Caden's birthday party, but my best friend Jamie threw a Baby Shower for me at her home. Everything was beautiful and this baby got a lot of stuff!

I had such a great time getting to see all my friends and family!

How cute is this? It is a fun, creative and beautiful twist on the diaper cake! It's a tricycle that Jamie made! I absolutely love this and will be displaying it in the baby's room!

Jamie actually gave me a 'Sprinkle', which is the name for a shower for your 2nd baby! This banner (made by ~~Martha Stewart~~, I mean Jamie) says 'Sprinkled With Love'!

The blue punch that didn't stain teeth or tongues!

I loved all the little goodies displayed inside!

She had a little ice cream station with sprinkles, cupcakes and cookies!

Check out these toppings!

Gifts Galore!

My friends and family!

Wall hanging that my sister made for us!

The ottoman she made as well!

Mom, Deena, Pat, Aimee and Keeley

Aimee's daughter Tabitha is in Caden's class and Tabitha got Caden a 'Big Brother' shirt! He was so excited when he saw this!

Watching the gift opening!

My Chicco stroller from my parents!

A beautiful blanket made by Jamie's Mom, Beth.

My pump from Tim's Mom!

The sign in table.

My friend Deena! Love this 'gurl'!

Beth (Jamie's Mom), Jamie, and Allison (Jamie's sister). Thank you Beth and Allison for coming down to help with the shower! I love you all!

My Very Best Friend! I love you Jamie! You are so special to not only me but to my family as well!

Kari and Mom

Thank you Jamie for making my 'Sprinkle' so special and beautiful! You are such a great friend and talented shower planner as well! Love you!

Here is the link to Jamie's blog where she has even more photos! Click HERE

Open House and First Day of School

2011-08-21T19:23:00.001-05:00

I cannot believe Caden is in K4 now! One more year and then kindergarten! We attended his Open House on Thursday night and he had so much fun!

Here he is after he found his 'spot'! Does he look a tad bit happy to you?

Here he is on his first day of school!

GiGi and Poppa were here for his birthday weekend and they posed for a quick shot before we headed out the door! Daddy was already at work!

Mommy and Caden

Walking him into school!

Down the hall toward his classroom!

Waiting to say hello to Mrs. Farouk (his teacher from last year).

Caden and his teacher Mrs. Quidley!

He had a great first day and was talking non-stop when we picked him up from school!

Caden's 4th Birthday Party

2011-08-21T18:55:00.001-05:00

We celebrated Caden's 4th Birthday yesterday and had so much fun!

Check out the slideshow! Click HERE.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-17T05:00:00.001-05:00

Little Richard, I Mean Caden

2011-08-10T21:18:00.002-05:00

Click HERE to see Caden singing Little Richard's classic, Tutti Frutti!

Indoor Safari Park

2011-08-10T10:39:00.000-05:00

Saturday I took Caden to the Indoor Safari Park in Plano that is super close to our house! He had a really good time and wanted to know if we could take his baby brother there when he 'popped out'. I said, 'Sure!'

Here he is scoping out the place when we first arrived.

He spent more time in the jump houses but that's okay! He was having a blast.

The admission you pay includes 2 rides on a train and 1 ride on an animal. Clearly he is almost too big for the animal riding, but he had fun anyway.

He had fun on the train as well. Each time they would go around the announcer would point out animals on the 'safari train ride' and ask which animals were the kids' favorite. Here he is making his silly face!

After we explored all they had to offer, he noticed all of these train tables that were set up. Some had pirate ships others had cars, etc. It is the perfect place for a birthday party and they had rooms set up just for parties.

Sorry the video is on its side. I got a new phone and haven't quite figured it all out yet!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-10T05:00:00.002-05:00

Meet My 2 New Friends!

2011-08-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

Mr. Meter and Mr. Stick are my 2 newest friends! I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes yesterday! No fun, but definitely something I can handle. I say this after meeting with a diabetes counselor for 2 hours this morning. Yesterday I might as well have been diagnosed with an incurable disease, or so conveyed my lovely Debbie Downer of an OB nurse when she gave me the news!

However, as of now I am happy to report that I will not have to give up sugar, starches or iced cookies from the Kroger bakery. Just a few tweaks to WHEN I consume them is all I need based on my numbers.

For you savvy Glucose People, here were my results:

Fasting 74 (suppose to be under 95) PASSED

2nd stick 200 (suppose to be under 180) FAILED

3rd stick 159 (suppose to be under 155) FAILED

4th stick 67 (suppose to be under 140) PASSED

The counselor said I am just barely a patient, which was great news to someone who likes Kroger's frosted sugar cookies.

I will from here on out until the baby comes, need to monitor my ketones (urine levels) each morning and play with my 2 new friends pictured above to test my sugar levels 4X a day.

I'm confident that this is now not a death sentence for me as I had once thought yesterday morning!

Wordless Wednesday

2011-08-03T05:00:00.000-05:00

Glucose Test

2011-08-02T11:03:00.000-05:00

Last Wednesday I went for my routine glucose test that you have to do while pregnant. I ate a very bland breakfast and dinner the night before (it was not a fasting test) and drank my glucose drink. The drink was not that bad, I was able to choose a lemon/line flavor (not like the one pictured below) and it was actually okay. You have to drink it within 30 minutes of your appointment and you have to finish it in 5 minutes. You check your clock every second making sure you are not breaking the rules!

After drinking the drink, I waiting in the waiting area of my OB's office for ~~Dracula~~ the nurse to come. She drew the vial of blood and then I was on my way.

On Friday she called to say, 'Do you have a minute?' which made my heart drop. I had failed the test. Visions of glucose meters, no more sugar and blood ran through my head. Now I had to do the 1/2 day glucose test complete with not one but 4 blood draws! Imagine my luck?!

Yesterday was D Day. This time I had to fast from midnight the night before. I arrived at the office at 8:00 to pick up my ~~death certificate~~ lab slip and I headed up to the ~~dungeon of death~~ the lab.

The 'guy' who did the first draw was a complete jerk, I'm just going to be honest. He announced into the lobby, 'Ivey, have a seat in station 2', as if I was about to experience a ride on the space shuttle.

He had as much personality and compassion as the keyboard I'm typing on! I gave him my speech about 'don't tell me when you are going to stick me, please just do it because I'm terrified of needles and have a tendency to pass out'. This is not the lab tech below, but the face I got after my prepared speech.

Once he stuck me, I realized this guy was just a janitor who had snuck in and stolen clothing of a lab tech. (or at least that's what I rationalized when it felt like my arm was on fire and that he'd done it on purpose)!

I was literally crying my eyes out as he was drawing the blood. Not out loud, just tears streaming. No sympathy from the ~~janitor~~ lab guy. As he finished, I'm thinking, 'surely he didn't see me crying, that's why he's being so cold, he doesn't realize it'. NOPE He handed me the tasty bottle of orange ~~toxic sludge~~ glucose and told me to drink it within 5 minutes and then come back in an hour for another blood draw. He was looking right at me as I wiped away the tears!

The second blood draw came around and it was clear someone had said something to him or perhaps he thought about it after I left! He did the second stick and it was not too bad and he said, 'Okay see you in another hour.' Which for him, was quite the pleasant statement! It must have killed him!

I came back the third time and a girl called me back. I was thinking, 'whew! nothing against men, but geez louise!' I sat down and she said, 'Hi, I'm (have no idea what her name was) and it is my first day, so bear with me!' I threw my hands up and said, 'No way...sorry, I was bawling on my first stick this a.m., I need someone else.' She said, 'I'm just kidding!' NOT AMUSED I said, 'Don't do that to people, it is not funny!' She apologized and I didn't even feel her needle go in. I said, 'Okay, I'm finished right?' She informed me there was one more stick to be done at 11:35 and that I needed to come back, then I could go have a 'tasty lunch'. I don't like the word 'tasty' by the way.

I returned at 11:35 for the final blood draw and it was Mr. Happy again. He said, 'Well last one!' As if I didn't know that already. He did the final stick after he ripped the tape off my other arm and when I say ripped, I mean RIPPED off the tape!

So after yesterday I think they took this many vials of blood, but I can't be sure, I was too busy looking at the stupid pet pictures on either side of the lab chair that were suppose to make me feel good about visiting ~~Dracula's Lair~~ the lab!

I get the results in 24 to 48 hours according to Mr. Personality.

Wordless Wednesday

2011-07-27T05:00:00.001-05:00

GiGi and Poppa Visit

2011-07-25T10:47:00.000-05:00

This weekend GiGi and Poppa came up to take some furniture off our hands.

The first day they were here they did a puppet show for Caden complete with Tigger from Winnie the Pooh and 'ssssss' the snake. *You all met sssss in the post with Mom wearing him!

They have recently opened a Cabela's close to our house so we took Poppa for a shopping trip! Here is Poppa pointing out the huge catfish to Caden. Caden was all sorts of confused because he thought that Bella would be there! Makes sense considering the name of the place!

I'm so glad our Cade Man is so friendly to everyone, whether they are human or not! He walked up to each mannequin and said 'Hello, I'm Caden Ivey! Nice to meet ya!'

We took this one when we were about to leave the store! I thought he looked so cute in it and NO, we didn't buy it!

We had a nice visit with GiGi and Poppa. GiGi finally found a 6 quart ice cream maker to buy. She had been looking for a long time and Cabela's happened to have one! We made ice cream Friday night and it was delicious!

Now if Caden and I can get over our sinus infections, we will be doing well! We were out all last week sick! Fortunately he can take medication that I cannot! We took him to the Dr 2X in the last 2 weeks and he finally got the children's equivalent of a Zpak and he's on his way now!

Braden's Birthday Party

2011-07-25T10:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday afternoon Tim and I took Caden to the Musuem at Fair Park for Caden's friend Braden's 4th Birthday Party. Caden had such a great time learning about dinosaurs!

Here they are making a door hanger craft with dinosaurs on it.

After the craft, everyone went downstairs to go on a dinosaur dig! Caden had a great time with the shovel and brushes 'digging' for dinosaurs!

Here is another picture of them all. The boy in the brown shirt standing up by Caden is Braden. I can't believe I didn't get a better picture of the birthday boy!

After the 'dig' it was time to eat dinosaur cupcakes! Caden enjoyed the green icing as you can tell!

After the party we were able to explore the museum on our own, so we walked around a few of the exhibits. I had been telling Tim earlier that morning that I was super hot and out of breath. HELLO PREGNANCY IN THE SUMMER! But we explored this one area that had an infared scan of your body where you could see the heat radiating from you. Let's just say Caden and Tim were pretty green and my whole body was red and on fire! It was crazy!

Here's Caden in some sort of suit. Sorry, I'm not much of a 'plaque' reader!

Ssssss the Snake

2011-07-17T21:30:00.000-05:00

Last weekend when Caden and I headed to Conroe, Caden insisted on bringing his new snake, named 'Ssssss' to show GiGi.

GiGi thought it would make a lovely scarf and posed for this hilarious picture! Not sure if you can tell, but she is wearing lime green under the white blouse. I think Ssssss matches her perfectly!

New Curtains

2011-07-17T21:29:00.000-05:00

Grammie came over today and brought Caden some CARS curtains for his room! It matches perfectly with his new bedding and room! He loves them! Thank you Grammie!