Since day one people have said that Cade looks just like Trey. In fact, not one person has said that he looks anything like me. Trey and I just think he looks like Cade; however, on Saturday, Gigi pulled out one of Trey’s baby photos and there’s no denying it. He is 100% his daddy.

Cade says Go Braves!

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I can’t believe that Cade is already three months old! Each day his personality is coming out more and more and he is such a fun little boy. Trey and I can’t believe how lucky we are to have him as a son. His three month birthday was extra special as it was also Trey’s first Father’s Day. We spent the day just enjoying each other and even got to hang out with King Daddy, Gigi, and Aunt Lyndsey.

At three months, Cade learned how to…

Finally get those fingers in his mouth. I love that he choose to suck on those two. Too funny.

During month two, Cade learned how to roll from his belly to his back. Now he is trying so hard to roll from his back to his belly. He’s mastered getting his hips turned, but then he gets stuck. I often find him in his crib like this!

Shaking his rattle! He doesn’t pick things up on his own yet, but if you put something in his hand, he will hold on and move it all around.

And mom’s favorite accomplishment…sleeping through the night! That’s right, little man has been sleeping from 11:00 until 7:00 for several weeks now. He must know that his momma really loves her sleep!

At three months, Cade’s favorite things are …

Flirting with himself in his swing. The dome of his swing is reflective. I wish I knew what was going through his mind when he does this, because it is precious. Sometimes Trey and I will put him in the swing just to watch him do it. It’s awesome.

Smiling at just about anyone who will talk to him.

Sucking on his hand. He gave himself a hickey on his arm last week…

Playing with Daddy and a basest hound.

Reading Snuggle Puppy. The book has a song in it and you make up your own tune so everyone’s version is a little different. So far Collett Harris wins the award on best rendition of Snuggle Puppy.

Laying on the table while mommy and daddy eat dinner. I really love eating as a family around the table, so we are starting him young. Hopefully he will enjoy his high chair as much as he loves this!

Dancing with daddy in his bumbo seat

Riding in his carrier

Cade’s “First” activities for the month included…

First trip to an ice cream van. This will be more fun when he can eat it too!

First attempt learning how to sit in the bumbo seat

First redneck stroller trip. We’ve decided it’s too hot in June to wear pants in the stroller!

First trip to visit Aunt Lyndsey at her house in Canton

First trip to the beach!

First Father’s Day with Daddy and King Daddy

Favorite pictures from the month

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Every year mom and Vance plan a family trip to the beach. It is seriously mom’s favorite place on Earth. From the minute I told her I was pregnant, she started talking about how much fun it would be the next time we went to the beach with a baby. I of course was slightly nervous about taking a 2 month old to the beach, but as always, little man did great. He slept on the beach like a champion. Trey and I joked that he must think the ocean is the World’s best sound machine.

Check out that very serious road trip face. Right before he fell asleep for most of the ride!

When we first got to the house, Cade smiled at mom for like five minutes straight. It was precious.

First family walk down to the beach

Out to dinner our first night at mom’s favorite restaurant. Are those overalls ridiculously cute or what?

First day on the beach. He wasn’t so sure about having his feet in the water or wearing his hat, but other than that he loved it!

World’s cutest and sweetest beach bum

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Little man was happy as can be hanging with daddy under the shade tent

Again…not loving his toes in the water. Hopefully that will change by next year!

Hammock time with mommy

Because little boys in searsucker shorts are awesome

Cade’s morning routine included rocking with grandma underneath the house

Yes, we used his as a centerpiece during breakfast and he loved it!

We had a great trip and can’t wait to go back next year! I’m sure it will be a whole other experience with Cade running all over the place, eating sand, and loving life!

When we started working on Cade’s nursery, Trey and I both wanted it to have significance as well as be a calm and inviting space. It truly was a joint effort in planning what we wanted and making it happen. Aunt AJ started working on being an awesome aunt long before Cade was born and helped make several things that are in his nursery. When Cade made his arrival fashionably early, there were several unfinished projects that my mom, Vance, and AJ helped finish so that when we came home from the hospital his room was perfect.

Here are a few shots that try to capture the whole room. I found the light fixture at Ikea and the rug at Target.

This is the first thing that we purchased for the nursery. We found this piece at the Yellow Daisy Festival at Stone Mountain before we knew if Cade was a boy or a girl. We thought it was a perfect start to the nursery.

Trey is a man of many hidden talents, one of which is designing graphics. We worked together on the wording and he designed the prints. We found the frames at Ikea.

The words in these prints reflect some of our hopes for Cade. The center frame contains his name with its meaning. More to come on the meaning of his name and why we choose it for him later!

His dresser was my Craigslist find for $50! I love finding a good deal. It was white with plain knobs on it, but it was the perfect size for what I wanted. Aunt AJ helped me sand it down and put a new coat of paint on it. Some new knobs from Hobby Lobby and we had ourselves what looks to be a brand new dresser. With the help of some blog tutorials, I made his changing pad cover and a crate cover to hold diapers, wipes, and all the other little things you need.

My first request of Aunt AJ and her new found love of construction was to make a few bookshelves for Cade. We went through several different designs and finally landed on one.  The design involved using a miter saw, which neither of us knew how to operate. It’s amazing that everyone still has all of their fingers.

Here’s a picture of the finished product. There are two of these in his room on either side of his dresser. Trey and I both love to read and hope to instill that same love in Cade so we wanted him to have lots of books in his room. So far his favorite book is Snuggle Puppy given to him by his girlfriend, Ella.

After such great success with building bookshelves, we decided that Cade needed an end table in his room. I looked for one to purchase, but couldn’t find something that I really loved. Aunt AJ to the rescue again! We found a design and lots of 2x4s and screws later, we had ourselves an awesome end table. The end table was one of the unfinished projects when Cade arrived. Mom and Vance spent and afternoon staining it for me and getting it all set up in his nursery.

Isn’t it awesome?

I wanted a comfy chair for the nursery that rocked and reclined as I knew we would be spending lots of time in it.  I found this chair at Babies R Us and my sweet grandmother bought it for Cade as a surprise. I was thrilled and actually sat in it a ton before Cade was born and have spent many hours in it since.

This was the first of many quilts for Cade made by his Oma. Oma is one of my dearest friends, Lori Lewis.   I’m sure Cade will grow up thinking she is actually one of his grandmothers as she is that special to us. Lori also happens to be an extremely talented quilt maker. I love his quilt and we love to use it in the mornings to snuggle.

Also made by Oma…welll kind of. For a baby shower thrown by Lori, she had some of my old students (we worked together when I taught at South) to make some blocks for Cade. They match his room perfectly and are a great little decoration. The kids signed the back of one of the blocks. I know Cade will love to play with these as he gets older. I can’t wait to tell him about the kids who made them for him.

The toy chest is very special to me as it was mine as a child. It originally belonged to my mother when she was a little girl and she held onto it for my siblings and I. It had gotten really beat up over the years so mom and Vance took it and repainted it and added new handles to it for Cade.

Compliments of Daddy, Cade now has an Adrelton Simmons bobblehead. Trey thought it would be fun to start collecting these for Cade. This is the first of many that he will collect with daddy on their adventures to watch the Braves.

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Cade turned two months old last Thursday! I can’t believe how quickly time is going by. I already feel like I need to be able to stop time. Month two of little man’s life brought many more “first” moments as well as meeting some more of his fantastic family. His little personality is starting to develop which is such a blast to watch. He started smiling at around six weeks, but he waited until Mother’s Day to decide he was going to consistently do it. I’m sure he was planning that present for me all along. At his two month checkup, he weighed 10 lbs 14 oz and was 22 inches long. He’s still small for his age, but he is certainly catching up!

At two months Cade learned how to…

Roll from his tummy to his back. Mom, Vance, Trey, and myself were all watching him play and he just rolled right over.

Smile

Sleep without his arms swaddled

and he finally found his fist, which he loves to suck on

At two months Cade’s favorite things are…

Taking a bath

Playing on his activity mat from Oma

Swinging

Riding in his baby bjourn

Being held and talked to

Now for Cade’s two month “first” activities

Cade’s first outdoor nap – What originated as outdoor tummy time with mom quickly turned into snoozing.

Cade’s first trip to the office. I had to go in to work to take care of some things with the little guy in tow. He got loved on by lots of great people and napped on the office floor. Thank you Aunt Robin for leaving your mood lighting behind in the office!

Cade’s first graduation. If he follows in the footsteps of his parents, he will have many of his own to attend one day. Cade was a tropper and though he found it to be boring, he sat/slept through Aunt AJ’s graduation as she got her Master’s degree. Cade says way to go aunt AJ!

Cade’s first roadtrip (check out his serious roadtrip face)/trip to Mom and Vance’s (Grandparent names TBD – feel free to offer up suggestions) which included hanging out on Vance’s tractor. Cade had a blast and can’t wait to go back for another visit. He did great in the car and we made it all the way there without stopping.

Cade’s first trip to the nail salon. Mom and I decided we needed pedicures so we strapped the little man in and went for it. He takes after his dad and is a very patient man.

Cade got to meet several more family members during his second month including great grandparents on my side of the family.

Introducing the dynamic trio – Cade man, Suzy, and Lee man. My grandparents flew up from Florida for the weekend to meet Cade and spend time with the family. Cade loved them and had the best time visiting. We are already working on planning little man’s first trip to Florida to see them again. During their visit they determined that their great grandparent names would be Suzy and Lee man which we think are perfect great grandparent names.

While we were in Camden visiting mom and Vance, Cade got to meet another great grandparent, Nana.  I think Nana would have been happy to sit and watch Cade all day long. Cade loved sitting and being rocked by his Nana.

Also while in Camden, my Aunt Shelia, Uncle Mike, and cousin Ryan came over to meet Cade. It was really fun watching all of them hang out and love on Cade. Ryan was actually really good with Cade, despite Cade’s look in the picture…he was sleepy. We missed my other cousin, Becca, but hope we get to see her the next time we are in South Carolina.

Meeting Uncle Rob – To say that I was thrilled for Cade to meet Uncle Rob would be an understatement. My little brother made the trip from Bishopville to come hang out with the little guy. It was pretty awesome watching Rob hold him and tell him all kinds of stuff including his take on how “real men don’t cry.” Rob brought him several John Deere sippy cups that we will certainly be using once he is old enough.

And now for some of my favorite pictures from Cade’s second month

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Since Cade is two months old today, I figured I should do his first month post! Mostly this will just be comprised of pictures since at one month the little guy doesn’t do a whole lot yet. He is however a fantastic baby who has the most chill personality. During his first month he did meet lots of amazing people and have lots of “first” moments.

Cade’s first Tiger outfit – Yes, we are starting him young.

 Cade’s first bow tie – Cade’s adopted grandma, Oma, made him a precious coming home outfit that wasn’t even close to fitting him (the doctors kept telling me he was going to be a big baby). Oma went out and got him something smaller, that still turned out to be huge, but was still awesome. Cade wore this to come home from the hospital.

Cade’s first bath – We didn’t get the greatest pictures of this moment, but he screamed the whole time so I guess we didn’t miss too much.

Cade’s first book with my mom (gramdma name TBD)

First family walk – While I know I should have taken it easy for a few weeks, I couldn’t handle staying in the house all the time. On day four of little man’s life, I convinced Trey to go on a walk with me. Cade slept the whole time. While it was a very slow walk, it was great to get out.

Cade’s first trip to visit daddy at work – For Trey’s birthday, mom helped me take Cade to visit. We stopped and got cupcakes to celebrate. Cade even wore his bow tie again for the occasion.

Cade’s first family festival!

Cade’s first trip to starbucks…the first of many I am sure

Cade’s first bottle – While I was thrilled that he took it, I was also very sad that someone else was feeding my child.

Cade’s first semi-voluntary smile. Trey was convinced that he was getting Cade to smile. I of course did not believe him, so Trey recorded it the next time. I still say that it was semi-voluntary…

 Cade’s first trip to King Daddy’s and GiGi’s – Cade got to hang with his family and meet his cousins for the first time. We celebrated March and April birthdays for Cade, Trey, GiGi, Aunt Lyndsey, and Ashton.

Cade meeting King Daddy and GiGi

Cade meeting mom and Vance

Cade meeting his great grandparents – Lyle and Shirley

Cade meeting Aunt AJ – I love that he looks like he is smiling in this picture

Cade meeting his future wife, Ella. Yes, we are working on a prearranged marriage. Save the date – Cade and Ella 2039. Cade wasn’t sure how he felt about the meeting. Ella on the other hand was pumped.

And now just for some of my favorite pictures from the month.

Cade’s arrival here on earth was nothing short of eventful. With a due date of April 11, 2014 my doctor had scheduled me for an induction on April 1st as most women with Type 1 aren’t allowed to go to their due date. While lots of people thought that having an April Fool’s baby would be funny, I wasn’t so sure that I was thrilled about the idea. I also wasn’t thrilled about being induced. Trey and I decided that we would just pray that Cade decided to show up on his own…and that he did.

Trey and I had planned to spend the day together going to the movies, the food truck park, and having maternity pictures taken on the last day of his spring break. We slept in and when we got out of bed my water broke. Now I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect as I was convinced that your water breaking wasn’t the same as what you see on television. I’m pretty sure that my words to Trey were “I think my water just broke. I’m not sure, but if it didn’t I’m having a serious bladder issue and we need to go to the hospital.” While we both were extremely excited that our little guy was on the way, I was also a little concerned given that I was only 36 weeks. Trey of course, was fantastic and assured me that everything was going to be fine. After calling my doctor and massive chaos at our house, we finally left for the hospital around 10:00 a.m. When I say massive chaos –  we had nothing packed, the car seat wasn’t in the car, and Trey doesn’t really  know what to do in moments of utter confusion. This is how Trey went to the hospital…

Yes, his shirt is on inside out.

And I went to the hospital wearing a newborn diaper. Yes, a diaper. Ladies – a word of advice. Keep products on hand when you are pregnant. You never know when you will need them.

Once at the hospital we got checked in and it was confirmed that my water had in fact broken. While I had started having mild contractions they were not very intense and things were pretty calm. A high risk OBGYN came in to chat with us and it was determined that I would be allowed to wear my insulin pump throughout my labor as opposed to being placed on an insulin drip. I was super excited as I was not expecting this to be the case, and I really wanted to be in charge of my insulin management. What was not exciting was all of the wires they hooked me to. I wasn’t really able to walk around much.

Don’t I look thrilled?

Our maternity photo since that didn’t happen as planned.

Trey and I had decided that we wanted someone with us during labor who could help coach me and keep Trey calm. The amazing Marci Hoffman fulfilled that role for us and was such a huge help. She was a champ and stayed with us all through the night. We were  both so thankful to have her there.

Around 3:00 pm my doctor decided to start me on pitocin. This was something that I really didn’t want to happen, but I was not progressing at all and again, because of my type 1 they did not want me to labor too long. Another word of advice – don’t take pitocin. That stuff is terrible. I started having strong contractions by 5:00 pm that were consistent and close together; however, by 11:00 pm I still had not progressed at all and was only dilated about 1 cm. My doctor let me know that he would not check me again until the morning. While I had wanted to try and deliver as “naturally” as possible by midnight I decided that I needed something to help me rest. I was given a shot of demerol. While it doesn’t do anything for the pain, it allowed me to rest in between contractions.

Unfortunately, demerol wears off after only  few hours. At 5:00 am I finally got an epidural. While I am all about women who birth their children naturally, I’m so glad I got an epidural. My words to Trey after were “This is magic juice.” I was finally able to sleep some until my doctor came back in at 8:00 am. He checked me again and while I had progressed, I was still only 4 cm and only slightly effaced. My doctor gave me the choice of laboring some more or going ahead and doing a Cesarean. As I really wanted to deliver vaginally, I choose to continue with the agreement that he would come back and check me at 9:30 am. 9:30 brought good news as I had made it to 6 cm. Feeling encouraged, we continued on, but two hours later I was only at 7 cm and my cervic had begun to thicken as opposed to thinning out. My doctor told me that he felt that we needed to do a Cesarean. While I was disappointed, after 28 hours of labor and having not eaten since Thursday night, I was just ready to meet Cade.

They immediately began to prep me for surgery as Trey got all of our things together. Having never had an operation, my first thought as they wheeled me in was that operating rooms do actually look like television. Trey was there with me and held my hand throughout everything. The pressure was so intense that I think I almost squeezed Trey’s hand off. Our little guy was born at 12:07 pm on March 15, 2014. They held him up so we could see him and then we heard the sweetest sound in the world as he started to cry. I have never felt anything so emotional in my life. Being so exhausted yet so overcome with joy at the same time. They brought Cade over to Trey and we got to have a few minutes with him before they finished with me.

As we were holding him and staring at his little face, I made the comment that Cade didn’t really look like either one of us. Trey responded “uh oh.” Which I laughed at; however, we quickly learned that you don’t say “uh oh” in an operating room. Oops.

Trey got to go with Cade as they finished me. One of the strangest things was that they kept counting things in the operating room. I finally figured out that they were counting instruments…to make sure that there weren’t any inside of me. Pretty funny. I’m glad that they found them all.

While everything that I didn’t want to happen during my labor and delivery happened, I was just overjoyed that Cade was here and perfectly healthy. Our “premature” baby was perfectly fine, weighing in at 6 lb 0 oz and 18.5 inches long. A perfect little bundle of joy.

The sweet face that I get to call son

One of the many awesome things that Trey did for me for Mother’s Day was set up this blog for our little man. It was a great surprise and I look forward to recording moments with Cade here for years to come. If you know Trey, then you know that he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to claim cadeboden.com. Cade also has his own e-mail address and since he is already a fluent reader at eight weeks feel free to e-mail him at cadedboden@gmail.com.

All week long I have had to remind myself that I am now included in this wonderful group of people who get to call themselves mom. Today has been a day of reflection of how lucky I am to be a part of that and how I couldn’t imagine my life without my little guy. Even though I’ve only been a mom for eight weeks, it has truly been the biggest blessing that I have ever experienced.