Kick, kick, kick!

We spent Memorial Day catching up on stuff around the house and running errands. Later in the afternoon, our plans changed and we ended up at Auntie Jen's pool. This was Cade's first swimming experience. It was so much fun! He kicked so hard in the water with Daddy! He is a natural swimmer, everyone agreed :)

11 months and walking!

Caden started walking on Saturday evening! During the week, he had been attempting this exciting accomplishment. We were sitting in a circle, watching Uncle James open graduation gifts in front of family and friends. Right in the middle of this, Caden stood up and took his first 3 or 4 steps toward Mommy!!! It was so exciting and so special that so many people were able to witness this milestone. Unfortunately, our camera broke that morning. However, we reenacted the moment with the back-up camera when we arrived back in Texas.



Recently, Caden has been using 2 word phrases. But last week he said his first three-word phrase. He was looking at his picture in Mommy's phone and said, "It's a beebee (baby)." We can't believe Cade is almost a year old. We are so proud of him!

Graduation

James graduated from high school on Saturday! Many family members from Texas attended the ceremony. We celebrated with a BBQ at our parents home. We are all so proud of Uncle James. He is going to attend college in Denver this fall and study law enforcement. Congratulations, James!!! Yes, James is "towering" over his classmates :)

A visit to CO!

About 10 days ago, Caden and I took a road trip to Colorado to visit family. We drove with Aunt Sandra Ruth and Cade did fairly well through most of the trip - much better than I imagined! These random flamingos were on the side of the road near Abilene.

Mom and Dad have been slowly remodeling parts of their home. Sandra Ruth and I spent a few days working on little projects, here and there. We had so much fun! Meanwhile Uncle Lane and Cade spent time getting to know one another. Ryan flew in on Wednesday and Caden was so excited to see him!

Sandra Ruth and I attended a Father/Daughter Ball at our parents church. Daddy got us corsages and we gave him a boutonniere.

"kddy-cad"

We celebrated my 28th birthday at a Mexican restaurant. Yes, there were Mariachi's! Thanks family for making the day special :)

We are having a lemon!

We are 14 and half weeks pregnant and in the second tri-mester! I am still feeling a little bit nasueated but I feel like it will pass, soon. Baby Charlotte is the size of a little lemon this week. I have seen on sonagrams that she is active, flopping around like a litte fish, though I can't feel it yet. I am borrowing the weekly picture idea from many creative friends before, most recently Ashley (due in October!).

Mother's Day

What a wonderful day! Ryan made so many special plans for my first Mother's Day :) He and Caden had roses delivered toward the end of the week. Ryan made us breakfast and gave me a beautiful gift, the James Avery Mother's Love pendant. Then we went to the early church service at HFBC. Pastor Gregg gave such a good message. He talked about how God allows suffering to grow our character so that we are prepared for life's challenges, e.g., parenthood. After church, we went to Flemming's in The Woodlands. They served such a delicious brunch. Caden did well through most of the meal but the courses ran a little long for him. Celebrating motherhood is wonderful and Cade is my most favorite gift. To recognize him on this day, I wrote him a letter and will put it in his memory book. I feel so loved and so appreciated. Thank you, Honey, for making this day so special for us! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers-to-be, parents raising little ones, and those who wish for their future children!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

We received confirmation a couple of weeks ago that we are having a little girl :) We are over the moon about her! Ryan and I have deliberated many names over the past few months. For the time being we have settled on Charlotte. We even like Charli (many thanks to Cousin Cara for spelling suggestions!)as a nick-name. I was shopping for fabrics for little Charlotte's half of the nursery a couple of weeks ago. My whole life I have dreamed of decorating a nursery for a little girl in lavender or purples, possibly even a dark pink. But, alas. When I was looking at the fabrics, the only colors that I (the baby) wanted were sage greens, powder pinks and rose buds. Everything will turn out cute but I was so surprised at these choices! However, the colors did remind me of one of my favorite books from childhood... Geraldine's Blanket. Pregnancy is so strange.

Aggie Traditions

Last weekend we visited Texas A&M. We took Caden on a tour around campus. He enjoyed placing a penny on the statue of Sul Ross. This tradition is done for good luck before an exam but we hope to engage the "Aggie" in Cade at an early age!

Daddy and Cade under the Century Tree.

Aunt Sandra and Cade goofing around in the Aggie Hobby Lobby!