Christmas Travels and Travelers

We stopped through Bronte on the way home. Cousin Jael gave Caden his first set of hunter's gear. The bib says "I love my first cousin-once removed!" So cute!

When we arrived in Spring at the end of the journey, we celebrated Christmas with Grandmama and Graddaddy, Aunt Sandra Ruth, Uncle James and Cousin Lauren (and of course Uncle Lane and Sam in spirit). Cousin Stew and Natalie drove out to spend some time with us. Also, Cousin George and Ann visited. It was a wonderful time to spend with family.

Christmas in The Dirty South

On Christmas Eve we loaded up drove to hang with some of our family from Uvalde! It was so great to see everyone. Thanks to Mike, Karen, Aaron and Jill for all their preperations and hospitality!

Caden met Great-Grandma Phillips for the first time!

He and Cousin Elizabeth played so well together!

Baby's first Christmas!

Long Time, No Blog!

Every year, Ryan and I wear matching jammies at Christmas. It is a special tradition in which we participate. This year I made them so that Caden could participate. So cute!

Speaking of traditions! My Great-Grandmother Stroud made stockings for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When she passed, we continued that tradition. When Ryan and I were married, I made one for him. Recently, we finished Cade's stocking. What should have taken a weekend took three weeks... did I mention that everything takes longer with a baby! It was a colaborative effort between Grandmama Dianne, Aunt Sandra Ruth, Cousin Jael, myself and even Ryan. We completed it just in time for Christmas Eve. Whew!

21 is a Statement

And boy did she make that statement! Of course, we only heard about the fun, as Ryan and I like to keep to our curfew! Hah! However, we had a blast with you at Pappasito's, nice sombrero by the way! Happy 21st to Auntie Jen!

6 mos.

What fun, all 18 lbs of him! Caden is right at the stage of non-stop activity - get ready, right? He loves long hair, pulling and eating it! His new form of communication is growling. It is quite funny. He has pleasant growls and unhappy growls. Not sure where he came up with it but he is very entertaining! He has been drinking from cups regularly but from a sippy cup is a new accomplishment. Cade is rolling all over the place, now (his version of crawling maybe?) All we can say is that he is one tough dude!

Merry Weather

Every fall/winter I become restless for cooler weather - cold weather - the down right freezing stuff. This year, I was thrilled when Ryan called me from his office to let me know that it was snowing. Cade and I ran outside for a few pictures. I think he liked the cold weather. I hope someday that Caden will be able to experience true snowy weather. Sledding and ski trips. Making snowmen and snow forts. Bundling up with boots, mittens, a scarf and hat to go anywhere. Thawing out only by drinking hot cocoa. Did you know that there are places in this country where vehicles are sold with plugs wired to the engine? In these places (i.e. North Dakota) it gets so cold that you have to plug your car into an electrical outlet overnight in order to be able to start the engine the next morning. And even then, you have to let the car "warm-up" before it can be driven anywhere. It sounds miserable, but it is a wonderful memory for me. I would love to share that experience with our kiddo.

Tree Time

It took about 5 days to purchase our Christmas tree, get the lights on, get it decorated and place the wrapped presents beneath the tree. Lesson learned: EVERYTHING takes more time with a baby. We love our little man!

Our friend, Ashley hostessed her annual "Pajama Breakfast" on Saturday. I like to think of Ashley as the more peppy version of Martha Stewart. She had the just the right amount of Christmas in her home and everything was perfectly placed. As always, she delivered a delicious brunch. Looo-oooooovved the cheese blintzes!!!

Black Friday

So we ventured out, early-ish, Friday morning to help stimulate the economy. We accomplished a lot, once we made it to the mall. However, the two stops before the mall were a complete waste of our forced awake state. Best Buy was horrible, right?! During recovery (Starbucks and more football) from our early start to the day, we hung out... Cade played XBox 360 with Uncle James. The ladies worked on stockings... (still working, pictures to come!) The men watched football.

I wish that plane tickets grew on trees and that traveling could be done in the blink on an eye. Then we could see all of our families, anytime that we wished. However, we are grateful of those we were able to visit with this weekend! What a wonderful holiday!

Football and Turkey

Yay for football and turkey! We spent a Caden's first Thanksgiving with Grandma Joyce, Auntie Jen and Nanny. Caden had a wonderful time playing on the jumper. After the meal, Cade passed out while the rest of the crew watched football. We have our family and our family has their health; there is much to be thankful for this day!

Aunt Sandra hosted Thanksgiving in College Station for Grandmama Dianne, Granddaddy Pat, and Uncle James. Late Thursday, we drove to College Station to watch the A&M/Texas game and visit with family. Sadly, we were able to watch most of the A&M/Texas game. At least we were able to enjoy the family!

Santa??

Ryan was able to get off of work early on Wednesday. We met at the mall. After a quick lunch, a visit to Santa seemed like a good idea. We arrived, excited of course. I mean, this was Cade's first time to see Santa. Surprisingly, there wasn't a line. Guess we should have picked up on this clue. We were prepared for Cade to cry at being placed in the stranger's lap, do something unexpected. What we weren't prepared for was the experience. "Santa" didn't say anything. He didn't offer a word... not even to ask what our child's name was. He held the baby long enough for us to take a picture and then handed him back saying flatly, "Here you go."

Oh, well. At least they took a cute picture together.

In Katy, Texas...

A Tale of Two Cades

Cade and I visited some friends in Katy, today. We had a playdate with buddy Cade and Lindy. Cade is right at 3 mos. old. He is so sweet! When I held Lindy's Cade today, it took me back to when my Cade was that young. So precious! (Caden is trying to eat Cade's bib, below.) Can't wait to get together again!

Then, we popped over to Ashley's house for a quick visit. We miss you guys!

Crafts in Progress

Sandra Ruth visited this weekend to help complete a few craft projects. Also, we worked on our family Christmas stockings. We were up to our necks in velveteen and beads galore! All the while, the boys hung out.

5 mo. Old Froggy Prince

It is amazing to dream about what will be in Caden's future! So much fun is yet to be had. However, I know that "the future" will be upon us when we blink. Cade does something new almost daily. He loves when people engage him in conversation. He smiles this crooked charming smile as if he is holding a secret. And lately our 'lil charmer has been giving cheek kisses, which is to say that he opens his mouth wide and slobbers on your face! Cade's hands discovered his feet a couple of weeks ago... just reached down as if they had always known his feet were there. He is working to sit up on his own. Caden's new silly trick is pulling plates of food onto our lap. He reaches for EVERYTHING! The world (Mommy and Daddy) cannot handle it, I swear!

Grandma Joyce B-day!

We celebrated G-ma Joyce's birthday with dinner and presents. (Caden reading his card to G-ma Joyce, above.) Jen baked the cake - her first time. She made it in the shape of a heart. It looked delicious!

Going Out

It wasn't until we were "very" pregnant, that I realized the words "going out" would take on a whole new meaning. On Saturday, we geared up for a trip to the Galleria area to get together with some good friends. Sadly, there is never enough time to catch-up with everyone during a meal. However, we all made the best of it.

The babies did well at California Pizza Kitchen during what I like to call "The Witching Hour." Some even screamed with excitement! (Remember when we knew "our children would never scream in public?!") Many thanks to The Parks for organizing dinner. Let's do it again, soon!

Sandra Ruthie-ruth for President

Sandra Ruth and Peter drove from College Station to visit Friday night. We celebrated Sandra's 21st birthday, which is to say that she received her presents and played with Caden. I am sure that the real celebrating will commence on Election Day, her actual birthday. Vote Sandra Ruth for president!!

Oh yeah... Caden is into the "eating wooden spoons stage" of teething.