Party Time!

We had an amazing birthday party for Cade's 2nd bday! It was a zoo party. We kept asking him what kind of party he wanted and he kept saying that he wanted a "mommy" party. I thought that was cute but figured the zoo theme was much more suitable and fun for the age group. We blew up the space bounce and Justin was like a big kid the entire time. He was sore for a week after! Cade is sooooo adorable right now. Everything he does amazes me and we can't believe how blessed we have been. I would love a little brother or sister for him sometime soon but I am being selfish and wanting to devote all of my time to Cade. Maybe in a year or so when he is more independent and doesn't need mommy as much........and if I can talk Justin in to it.

Wow! It's been a while!

Time sure does get away from you when you have a little one running around. There is never a silent moment......which is great. Cade turned two yesterday!!! Can you believe it??? He is the most amazing little guy that I know and I learn from him everyday. He is so sweet and thoughtful and he already thinks of others before himself....unless it's chocolate milk or his zhu zhu pet.....then he doesn't even know you are in the room! We are throwing him a birthday party on Saturday @ our house and he is really looking forward to it. I don't think he really knows what to expect but he keeps saying birtday partee...over and over again. We took cupcakes to his class yesterday and don't you know that he HAD to have the Dora hot pink cupcakes. He would not take no for an answer. That is okay though...he is definitely all boy. We are having a zoo themed party for him and I can't wait! It is going to be hotter than hot but should definitely be a good time.

So we had a great weekend. We took Cade to the zoo on Saturday and he loved it. He always loves it but he seemed to actually know what was going on this time. He loved the monkeys and would die laughing every time they would chase each other. Cute, cute, cute. He loved the carousel..or at least looking at it. He plopped himself right in the middle of the walkway and watched it but definitely didn't want anything to do with getting on it.

After the zoo we took Cade to get his first big boy haircut. We took him to a barber shop off of Rocky Ridge and were a little nervous when we first walked in. The barber was an older man that took his time cutting Cade's hair. I thought that Cade was going to have a nervous breakdown b/c as most of you know, he is not one that likes any sort of water on his head and this guy kept spraying and spraying and spraying his hair until it was dripping wet...I almost asked him if he was joking because he seriously just kept spraying. Poor Cade kept one side of his head buried in daddy's chest....I guess that is the reason why only one side of his hair actually looks like it was cut. He definitely got a nice version of a whack job but the guy did as good as anyone could considering a crying toddler that kept turning back and forth and pushing his hand away every time he even saw it coming close.

We have had so much fun with Cade lately. This is by far my favorite age...so far. He is sooo sweet and will turn around and give me hugs every 10 minutes or so. Its like he just wants to make sure that I am still there with him. He is my buddy.

Top Tens

Well I think it has been long enough and sooooo much has changed with Cade that I need to post my top ten favorites. He is soooo much fun and we really love everything about him but I think listing a few will help me to remember when he is all grown up.

1. I love how he is soooo excited when I pick him up from daycare in the afternoons and runs to give me a hug. He loves showing me his progress sheet that he gets everyday and makes sure that I look at it........he holds it right to my nose until I say something about it.

2. I love that he will randomly just say "mommy kiss" and run over to me

3. I love that when he does that, he has to make sure that daddy gets a kiss too.

4. I love how he chases the dogs around the house and holds his arms out like he's a monster.

5. I love that when he has something that is bigger than normal..like a big book or rock or toy, he puts his chin on his chest and talks about it in a deep voice......he will say "mommy, big book"

6. I love how he follows me around EVERYWHERE and wants me to be right by him.

7. I love that when I put him to bed every night, he lays his head on my shoulder and wants to stay there for a few minutes until I lay him down.

8. I love waking up on the weekends to "MOMMY" coming from across the house.

9. I love how he dances every time he hears music....in the car....in the store....anytime.

10. I love how he is so excited when he uses the big boy potty and mocks me when I cheer for him.

Poor Guy

My little fireman

New Year

Well there has been quite a bit going on in the Forrester household since our last post....not really new things just really busy with every day life. I had a meeting with Cade's daycare director the week after Christmas and was told that there was a mom of a little boy in Cade's class that was having a fit that Cade was still able to attend the daycare b/c of his biting. This particular boy had been bitten 5x's and Cade was the culprit of two of those bites. The mom was convinced though that Cade had done all of the bites and did not want him anywhere near her son.....really??? SO we were given the option of holding him back while all of his peers moved up and Justin and I decided that it would be better for us if we just tried out a new daycare.....so that is what we did. Cade started a new center this past week and he seems to absolutely love it. He is in a much better mood when I pick him up in the afternoons so maybe he just wasn't happy at the other center. Keep your fingers crossed that this one is a good fit for Cade. Other than that, everything has been great. We had a great Christmas and New Year's and are looking forward to 2010.

So this time I have an excuse.....our computer has been down so I haven't been able to update but this is my new year's resolution so I will be on the ball again soon.

Not too much going on right now except all of the craziness from the holidays. Justin and Cade are both doing great and we are all having so much fun right now. Cade is at an awesome age and brings a smile to our faces with everything that we do. We hate to be away from him for a minute because he is such a joy to be around. Tonight was another successful potty night. They are not regular yet but at least they are starting. He does still poo-poo in the bath tub every chance he gets.......which still grosses me out to no end. He also pees in the tub now too and he thinks it is hilarious. I guess he gets his sense of humor from his daddy:)
We are still having some attempted biting issues at school and I got the official "warning" from the daycare director that he will be kicked out if he bites again.....REALLY???? He is 18m old and everyone says this is a normal phase. Surely the daycare has had this issue prior to my little man and he is an angel majority of the time so I'm not too sure what is going on. Regardless we have started the search for a new daycare because we all know that he will bite again. It's just a matter of time before someone tries to take his toy or before he gets frustrated. Heck, I would probably bite too if I couldn't tell people to get out of my space or to express what I wanted or needed. Just think how frustrating that would be....
We are finishing up our shopping for Cade's Christmas right now and I hate to say it but he is getting a tea set from Santa. We went over to a friend's house last week and Cade had the best time playing tea with his little girl. She kept coming over and grabbing Cade's head and forcing him to drink tea which Cade politely played along and kept saying Mmmm every time she would do it. It was too cute. Of course Justin about died when he saw Cade sitting at the little flowery table holding a Cinderella tea cup. It's all in good fun and really girls toys are so much more fun than boys. I will post a pic of Cade and daddy drinking tea on Christmas morning soon!!!

Slacker with a capital S

Sorry that it has been a MONTH since my last post. To say the least, it has been crazy and extremely stressful around the Forrester household. We sold our house and found out the day we were closing that we could move in to the house that we made an offer on. It is not "ours" yet but at least we have somewhere to live! We are waiting on the bank as it is a short-sale so keep your fingers crossed that we will hear something soon!

Cade absolutely loves the new house. With moving in, came a new dance. He is too cute dancing around the downstairs playroom. He squats and pops back up over and over again....I guess he got his dancing skills from his daddy :).

I thought that I should share my experiences with my little buddy lately so that I can remember and maybe tease him a little when he gets older (all in good fun). Cade has poo-pooed in the potty one time now. He looked at me and said "poo-poo" so we ran to the potty and he held it until we got there!!! I was so excited and I probably scared him for life while shouting for joy.......this may be the reason that he has only used the potty once. Don't get me wrong, he definitely knows when he needs to go but NOW his favorite place to go #2 is in the bathtub......every night.....every bath. Sooooooooo gross!!! He will say "poo-poo" and I will get him out of the tub, sit him on the potty and he cries to get back in the bath. He then tricks me and starts playing around....doing his business all sneaky. Then I see it floating up so I have to grab him, drain the tub and bleach everything that was within a mile. I am starting to catch on to his process and hopefully this will come to an end soon. He christened my bath tub though...he is not allowed in there anymore!!!

Last thing that I thought was cute but kinda hurt my feelings....tonight when I was putting Cade to bed, he had his head laying on my shoulder and I started to sing to him. He started patting me on the shoulder and then lifted his head, put his little hand over my mouth and said "shhhh". I guess the pat on the shoulder was his way of telling me that he still loved me even though he hates my singing! So sad.

I apologize for my slacking in postings but our lives have been CRAZY!!! We put our house on the market three weeks ago and it is now under contract with closing in less than three weeks. The crazy part is that we don't have a house to move to.....well we have an offer on one that we fell in love with...before we knew it was a short sale and now we are waiting to hear back from the bank. It will all work out but it sure will be nuts for the next few weeks.

We took Cade to the beach for the first time and had a blast. We went with Justin's parents to Orange Beach. Cade loved the beach or as he called it the "bubbles" for the first two days and then decided he wanted to hang out at the pool for the remainder of the trip. Justin and I looked pretty cool in the 1ft baby pool ALL DAY long. It was definitely a different kind of vacation than we have ever been on before as in we no longer could just take a cooler and beach chair and sit all day but we wouldn't have traded it for anything.

My top 10's

So now that Cade is a little older, I figured it was time to list my top ten's. He has changed soooo much soooo quickly that I can't keep track.

1) I love how every night he wants me to hold him and dance with him to The Backyardigans.....and then he waves bye-bye and blows them kisses.

2) I love how when you ask him if he wants to go night-night, he shakes his head and says "no" in the cutest voice.....

3) I love, love, love how he says mommy.

4) I love how he kisses pictures of his daddy that he has in our car.

5) I love how he sits in the same place by the kitchen door every time it is time to eat.

6) I love that when he wants a kiss, he will put his head down and look up at you until you give him one.

7) I love how he gets soooo excited when I go to pick him up from school.

8) I love watching him learn and discover new things every day....just found out yesterday that he knows patty-cake.

9) I love how he sounds like he is speaking Spanish when he attempts to say words that are a little too difficult for him right now.

10) I love when I pick him up out of his crib in the morning, he has to give his stuffed animals a kiss and tells them "nigh-nigh".

He is our pride and joy and we are soooo blessed to have him in our lives.

Cutest little guy, ugliest attire award goes to......

So Cade looks too cute in these pictures but I have got to do something about his wardrobe. Note in the second picture his firefighter boots. He loves these things!

I know you all have been waiting in suspense for the parent/teacher conference update but I don't think it will be too exciting. Cade's teacher/director of the daycare wasn't feeling too well the day of our conference so she had to go home early and cancel the meeting. I did get an envelope full of fun facts about biting and what we can do to help prevent it. I looked over all of the paperwork and would be on board 100% to try and prevent the biting but there is one problem........every solution in the pamphlet says that action has to be taken right when the biting happens but I am never there when it happens so I don't know how much help I can be. I don't think Cade will understand quite yet if I sit him down 3-4 hours after the incident to explain that he shouldn't do it. Oh well.......as for now we are on a 4 day bite-free streak so maybe it was just a short phase....or maybe he just didn't like the kid (jk).

Cade's G-ma and T are going to pick him up from school today to go to his first Alabama (yuck) pep rally. I think he will have fun regardless of the red & white. He will be getting his pic with the UA cheerleaders and Big Al, well maybe Big Al. I don't really see Cade being too welcoming of a human size stuffed animal looking elephant but we will see.

World's Earliest Teacher Intervention

Well I have a parent/teacher conference this afternoon with the daycare director at Cade's school. Yes, my son is only 14 months old and in trouble enough for me to have to go to a meeting about it. Is that a bad sign about what the future holds??? We are being summoned to discuss Cade's biting habits. He has bit the same kid 3x's now and broken the skin. I do feel bad and I would get upset if Cade came home with bite marks but I'm not sure how you explain to a 14 month old that what he is doing is wrong....especially if I am not there when he does it. I don't think sitting him down a few hours after the fact will do anything considering that his vocabulary is limited to ball & duck.....I don't think he will know what I am talking about. He does not bite at home. Granted he did bite Justin's toe about a month ago but I think the lesson was learned all in itself on that one.....gross! He did get put in time out for a minute but of course forgot everything that had happened. I will post an update after the conference to let you guys know how it went. Wish me luck!!

Milestones galore!

Cade has reached another milestone this week.....he is officially at the "big boy" table with mommy & daddy. I haven't gotten a chance to get him a booster seat yet so he is sitting in a regular chair and eating his meals. I think I may even opt to pass on the booster seat. My guy doesn't like the feeling of restraint and he is doing really good right now without one. I'm afraid if we put him in a booster, it will be just like his highchair....useless. We have also bought Cade some flashcards and Justin has been working with him daily. He has learned all of his favorite animals and will make each sound instantly when shown the cards. Now we are attempting objects. He has learned ball but the others may take some time (ring, house, bus, etc.). He amazes me constantly. Also, Cade will be moving up to the big boys class in a few weeks so I am mentally trying to prepare for that.....no more baby class for my baby :( He visits the other class during the day now and I think that he loves it. He has so much more room to run around and play. His teacher now said that he cries when they bring him back to the baby room for nap time. He is already ready to be grown up. In the new class, he will not have a crib and will take naps on a little cot so stay tuned to see how that goes......next step no baby crib at home??? Surely not for 5 more years!

Cade is too funny right now. He keeps me and his 'd' laughing all of the time. He has started waving bye to everyone and blowing kisses...and when I say everyone, I mean everyone! In the stores, at day care, on the street, everyone. When I leave him in the mornings with his teacher, he waves bye and blows me kisses too. Bittersweet I guess, I mean I don't want him to cry when I leave him but he is getting so independent. I guess it's just too soon for me. He will be a big guy before I know it. On another note, Cade slept until 9:30 this past weekend! It was great getting to sleep past 6 for the first time in over a year. Maybe this will become routine....keep your fingers crossed!

Bug

I had fun taking some pictures of my bug this past weekend. He didn't last long but at least I got a few! He is growing up wayyyy too fast! He has started saying "again" when you do something that he wants you to repeat and now he wants to hold my finger and walk instead of me holding him :( He is such a big boy...so much fun and we love him more than anything!

Oh how the time goes by

Cade has changed drastically in the past few months. He has become a little boy instead of a baby. He now walks all of the time....it is too cute because he waddles back and forth with those chubby little feet helping him balance. He also does sign language now (just a few signs) and it is amazing to see how he communicates and teaches me how. He repeats everything that I say....though you wouldn't be able to make out his words if you heard him. He is amazed by books with animals....his face just lights up and he is always trying to make you smile. He has this fake laugh that he does to see if it will make you smile and it works every time. I look at him sleeping at night and can't wait until the next morning to wake him up. I love it and am so blessed to be able to see this little miracle changing every day.

Happy, Happy Birthday to Cade!

Here are a few of my promised pictures from Cade's birthday party. He seemed to have a blast and got lots of goodies. As you can tell, his big cake started to melt so the top layer was a little crooked but it turned out cute.