Search and destroy...

Nothing is safe from this kid! Cadiem has now figured out that the coffee table is full of goodies... Yesterday I was distracted by homework, and he managed to pull a box of tissues off and was pulling them out and trying to eat them when I noticed. Haha. My cell phone is especially at risk! He seriously dives for it when he sees it. He's already ruined one, and now Jeff's is being funky--we think from drool. This morning he was saying "da-da" and looking at Jeff. We have got to get it on video! Last night our heat went out around midnight--and it dropped twenty degrees into the fifties by morning... Brrrr! But they came over right after we called them this morning to fix it. It took most of the day to get the house back to a normal temperature. I'm so glad it's fixed!!

We were all bundled up this morning trying to stay warm. Jeff is off tomorrow and Wednesday--yay! Unfortunately I have to spend most of that time catching up on more homework... almost done, almost done! Our new mattress (thank-you mattress fairy!) is coming in a few days, we are SO excited. Our current bed is buckling--and is probably 20 years or more old. I found an excellent deal online--we even got a free mattress pad and a $100 Best Buy gift certificate. Yay! I'm so excited to wake up without a backache!

I'm also very excited to go home for Christmas :) I'm out on the 17th! Woohoo! I wish Jeff could fly at the same time as us, he can't leave until after the weekend, but at least we'll be on the same flight home. I love Christmas! We've been trying to get our Christmas music adjusted on Pandora... Jeff put in Run DMC, holiday... It came up with some weird station called "hollis" something or other... But he's decided to call it, "Christmas in the holler" (or hollas). Hahaha. It's actually not a bad station--it plays Stevie Wonder, Jackson 5 and Otis Redding... Haha. I tried to make a Wham-"Last Christmas" station, in hopes that it would play some modern stuff--but it's like it's stuck on Perry Como and Dean Martin. Sigh. I still haven't heard Wham! Well, the crappy covers. And my Waitresses "Christmas Wrapping", that one either. I love that song! Bri says it's not a real Christmas song--whatever biz! But my all time favorite will always be "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". Love it! And I don't care what version it is--although, I like the instrumentals from Mannheim Steamroller and Trans Siberian Orchestra. Pandora has also played some scary country version--and there's the exception. No country permitted in my Christmas music!! UGH! Not sure where that Christmas music rant came from... But it's time to sleep!

9 months old!! (well, tomorrow :)

Hola! Cadiem is 9 months old tomorrow! He's crawling like a fiend--and has started pulling himself up. He hasn't figured out how to get back down (from standing), which is pretty interesting to watch. Haha. His babbling has some added variety :) We both have also heard him say "mom". I swear! He crawls after me and says "mmmoom". I need to try and get it on video!

We had a great Thanksgiving. We went over to Jeff's boss's (Leslie) house and took part in their feast. It was very tasty--even the turkey, which I usually don't care for :) Cadiem had one of his gourmet baby food dinners--turkey & sweet pea--yum! We took his bouncer over there so he could bounce while we ate--but he wasn't having it. He ended up sitting in Jeff's lap and then of course he wanted to take part in the Thanksgiving dinner. So we let him have some sweet potato casserole and some mashed potatoes :)

Jeff went to DC this past weekend to visit Jeffery, and I spent the weekend trying to catch up on homework... We put up our tree the day before Thanksgiving, since Jeff was off. We got some retro-style LED lights that we're pretty proud of :) This is one thirsty tree. I can't remember the last time we had a real tree at my mom's--but I wasn't ever in charge of watering it anyway. Haha. I think it drinks about two quarts/day. Crazy!

Grandma Shultz just sent Cadiem a Leap Frog music table--which he really likes. He also likes using it to pull himself up :) It plays music and teaches colors, numbers, etc. Apparently she got it on some crazy lighting sale on Amazon. Haha--what's up with cyber Monday? When did this start?

Jenni and her boyfriend Garrett were here visiting us the week before Thanksgiving--we had a great time of course :) We got to go to a VT game too.

I made some stroganoff the other day--to prepare for the stroganoff-off... SNEAK ATTACK! I think it's almost perfected... I might have to up the anty and use steak instead of hamburger... Jeff has another idea--but it's a secret... ;)

Jeff has tomorrow off--which is weird, but awesome :) This is really old news--but while we were in Florida--we got a pretty funny video with pooh & tigger--can't remember if I already blogged about it or not. But it's on my pic site--It's pretty funny. Tigger is making fun of Jeff's dreads the whole time. Haha.

I am so excited to go home for Christmas. Two more weeks! YAY!!

Poo Plosion... 2009...

Yup... Another poo story. Today, Cadiem was having a great time in his bouncer and I picked him up to take him upstairs... and he was wet... and not from pee!! The poop had managed to make it all the way down his leg and into the foot of his jammies. It was SO disgusting! Then I had to basically wash the jammies before I could put them into the washer. Nasty, dirty baby!! Oddly, his poo still doesn't smell that bad. Although--the other day he ate beef--and that was pretty gross. Okay, now that we're all disgusted!! Hahaha...

Cadiem is crawling like a fiend--he looks like he's in the army, on a mission... A mission to find and "destroy" (EAT) every thing he sees :) He's doing really well with his finger foods, and he'll be trying tofu this week :) yum yum!

Grandpa Shultz is coming to visit this weekend! Cadiem is excited--I can tell :) I think we're probably just going to hang out at home, probably make it to Sharkey's, and probably Gene & Nickie's... He's making a pretty quick trip in between business trips.

So, last week, Verizon decided to "accidentally" shut off our internet service. You would think that it would be a pretty easy fix. Flip a switch to turn it back on, right? Wrong! After spending several days/hours on the phone, and both Jeff & I getting disconnected, transferred... blah blah blah... They also told us three times the problem was resolved when nothing had been done. Finally, we got someone who knew what the hell she was doing--and even knocked $10/month off of our bill! Woohoo!

STROGANOFF-OFF... When Bri and I lived together, she would make us beef stroganoff once in awhile. And I've called her a few times to get the recipe or have her list off ingredients to me while I'm at the grocery. Well, a few months ago, I forgot (yes Bri, it is possible) the mushroom soup--and didn't realize it was missing when I made the stroganoff. But I did notice that it didn't taste right, so I added Dijon, wine, flour and worcestershire. And I've made it several times since then without the mushroom soup, still not realizing that it was missing (also started using the fatty sour cream--haha). Well, apparently Bri finds this unacceptable and claims that I have desecrated the "family recipe". Umm... family recipe with CAMPBELL's soup??!!! Maybe if our last name was Campbell... But, it isn't bri... It isn't... Anyway, we're now planning to have a face-off at Christmas while we're both home--and having everyone taste test to see which one is better. Bri thinks mine must suck since it's missing the holy mushroom soup... We shall see BIZ!!

The witching hour draws near...

In other words, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I've been running around all morning getting all of our pirate stuff together :) We're going to downtown Blacksburg for Cadiem to trick-or-treat, and then on to Sharkey's. After that Cadiem and I are headed to Gene & Nickie's for dinner :) There's some new pics on the pic link--and I'll post some of all of us in our pirate costumes soon... So, apparently Nickie thinks that the pumpkins look like us... So does that mean that i have an evil grin and Jeff is spookily happy? Hahaha.

He's on the move!

Cadiem is a crawling machine! He's also a drooling machine :) We have a drool song for him that he loves (he giggles when we sing it):
Baby is a droolin' machine!
Droolin' droolin' droolin' machine
Droolin' baby!
Today he was after Ari's bone again. He crawled from the other room to come and grab it from her. He was smiling and sticking his little tongue out the whole way--haha. It's funny that both Ari and Two seem to know that he's a baby--and they let him do whatever to them.
I was attempting to work on Cadiem's costume today... We're planning to take him trick or treating in both downtown Radford and Blacksburg. I've got it(his costume) planned out--but I went down to the cellar to get some of my sewing stuff, and the most ugly, gigantic bug was sitting right above the container I needed. I was planning a quick grab and dash--when it jumped toward me--I have no idea what that thing was--needless to say, I ran screaming up the stairs... Jeff will have to get it for me!! I will not be returning to the cellar!! Anyway, we're going to be a pirate family. Yup! Haha. Jeff and I both already have pirate costumes--so we figured it would be pretty convenient. I think Nickie & Gene are also having a thing at their house on Halloween--so I'm looking forward to that too :)
Nickie, Gene, Eric and Nichole came over for dinner on Saturday--Cadiem was in a little bit of a mood--but we all had a good time :) The house is also pretty presentable on the bottom floor... The upstairs is another story... Haha. But I'm hoping to make another dent in that tomorrow afternoon while Jeff is still home.
Did I mention that Cadiem has totally switched his schedule?? He's been getting up between 8 and 9am. AHHHH!! So, we're still trying to shift our bedtime earlier, but have been taking naps trying to catch up on sleep. Tomorrow Cadiem is trying cheese--exciting stuff!! In a few days some veggie pasta, and we also got some turkey and chicken baby food :) Well, I guess that's about it for now!

A Week of Firsts :) (7 months 3 weeks)

Yes, it's been FOREVER since my last post--I suck. On with it! Cadiem has been quite busy in the last week :) He can now sit on his own and crawl. He's also got two teeth showing on the bottom/front. They're so cute!! And he keeps biting his lip with them--which makes him look like he's thinking really hard. In the above pic, he's dragging all of his books off of the bookshelf, pausing to drool on a few of them. Haha. He really likes Ari's dog toys. I got some video of he and Ari trading her bone back and forth--it's pretty funny. Perhaps I'll remember to post it in the near future! His babbling is starting to sound more like words... I could swear he's said "mom" a few times, and we've definitely heard "hi". He also tried his first finger food, apple puffs--and had his first go at the sippy cup :) I showed him twice to tip it back to get the water--and by the end of the day, he had it! We're also trying to eliminate the dream feed--so far he's gone once without it.
We went to Florida at the beginning of the month to visit Nate and Bri plus my mom and Marty. We also got to spend a little time with Jeff's family. We had a great time--we even made it to my favorite, Epcott, for the Food & Wine festival :) Which, by the way, was nothing like I thought it would be. They actually set up little "extra" countries and cities in between the existing countries--and you have to pay for every morsel and sip. I naively thought that since it was a special festival that it would come with the ticket... Nope! Whatever--Jeff and I loved it :) We had several things that were really good--but our favorite was a lamb slider from "Australia". I'm also very impressed with Disney's "baby care center". They have a room for breastfeeding moms/babies that is dark and quiet with several rocking chairs facing in different directions. They also had a room with high chairs. Pretty cool! Cadiem also got to meet Pooh & Tigger. I was a little tentative, I thought he might be afraid of them... Instead he practically jumped out of my arms to grab them! Haha. Tigger also had fun playing with Jeff's dreads and acting like they smelled--hahaha.
Anyway, Florida was great--I wish we could get down there more. And it was great to finally meet Jeff's mom and sister. Thank you Mom & Marty!
Soooo... back in the 'burg... It's freaking freezing Mr. Bigglesworth!! Actually, today was beautiful. Cadiem and I even read a book on the front porch :) But we've had the heat on almost since we moved into our house. Speaking of the house, we love it! I still am trying to get us unpacked, the downstairs is pretty much done, we're just adjusting wall stuff and curtains. Upstairs, ugh... scary! I did actually work on Cadiem's room a little today. I've been scoffing at the vinyl decals that are out everywhere--but I found some really cute ones at Target with owls, birds and a tree. I put them up on a really long wall in Cadiem's room--and it's SO cute!! And cheap!! Yay! Slowly but surely, it's all coming together :)
Last week (i think?), I went to Eric & Nichole's for dinner (plus Nickie, Gene and Sam :) and Nichole made pumpkin and sausage pasta. It was damn tasty. I think I had thirds! Haha. We also got to eat some smores once the fire got going (i think either lighter fluid or gas was involved--IAN! i blame you for not being there!).
Well, I'm sure I have fifty other things to blog about--but, it's shutdown time for my poor brain... Night night!

We found a house! Woohoo! (6 months!)

That's our front door :) I have some pictures posted on my site--they're "dingy" as Bri put it... But It's covered in dry wall dust right now because they had to replace a piece from the last renters. We had to fight for this place because they were mad that we had so many pets and didn't tell them. It's owned by Jefferson Apartments. So we'll be moving next week--yay! I'm trying to motivate myself to pack. We are so excited about having more space! However, there is a downside... The house does not have a shower! Yeah... I'm not kididng! If you look at the top picture, the top window on the right is the bathroom window. The bathtub is under the slanted part of the roof--so, you can't stand up in it. Haha. I wonder what retard came up with that design. We've don't care though--for the amount of space we're getting--it's super cheap for Blacksburg. I can't wait! We'll even have enough room to have a playroom downstairs and a den upstairs. Yay!

Cadiem is 6 months old today! (Friday) He's making more and more sounds, and this past week he's added pppbbbt! I think he's getting close to crawling. He's definitely scooting around--and he's an expert at the ninja roll :) He's also expanded his food repertoire... We've added more fruits and veggies--and I think I'm probably going to start giving him yogurt as well.

We had a great time while Mom and Bri were here. We got to check out the Valhalla winery, which was a nice change from the usual Chateau Morrisette trip. We also went to dinner at the brewery in Radford... The name of it is escaping me right now... But we liked it--good beer and food :) Bri got some great pictures of Cadiem--which will be posted soon. Jeff and I still need to decide which ones we like so she can edit them. My mom was itching to buy Cadiem something--so she got Cadiem an awesome jumper/entertainer thingy. Do they have an actual name? Anyway, he's not quite tall enough yet--his feet barely touch the ground--but he likes it :)

School is back in... Football is starting tomorrow I think (boo!), and of course that means that Jeff is working like crazy (double boo!). Anyway, that's about all my news... I can't believe it's been so long since I blogged!

IT'S ALIVE!

Jeff's ipod survived the washing machine! We let it dry out for a week--and it works! Yay!!

Cadiem is 5 months old--where does the time go? He tried winter squash today--and he loves it :) He's a little piggie--cries when the bowl is empty. My mom sent Cadiem his first tool set--it's really cute, there are pictures posted on my pic site.

Jeff surprised me on my birthday by getting my friends together at Sharkey's for dinner and drinks. And I didn't even think he planned anything--haha. It was fun :)

We just started watching "Lost" on Netflix. It's creeptastic! I'm hooked! Tomorrow we're going to Steppin' Out... We're hoping to find the peanut guy--and the woman in the bonnet with the cookies.. hahahha. Sunday, one of Jeff's friends is turning 30 as well--we're going over to their house to hang out since Jeff has the day off :)

three decades old... uh huh...

Cadiem likes to eat our hair!

So... I'm old. On to the next topic! Hahaha.

The three of us went to Sharkey's in Radford tonight (Sunday) for a server's appreciation night. We had a good time--Cadiem cried a little... But mostly he had a good time as well. All of the girls loved him :) So... When we were leaving, I was holding the baby, and Jeff got all of our stuff. When we got back to Blacksburg, I was unloading Cadiem--and spotted my not-so-cheap purse--sitting on the roof/rack of the Jeep... Uh huh. AND--one of Cadiem's toys, a cute little duck, also survived the trip on the roof. Yeah--30 minute trip from Radford. I am still in awe. And glad that my purse survived so I didn't have to kill Jeff... BUT, I washed his Ipod Nano the other day... Oops!! We're still letting it dry, and hoping that it will work! Cross your fingers! I'm not sure what we're doing for my bday yet, Jeff won't say! punk.

Chatterbox!

(There is a video I couldn't get to load on my pic site under 4months4weeks)

Cadiem is 4 months and 4 weeks... He'll be 5 months old this Tuesday! Crazy! Several days ago, Cadiem just woke up and started babbling nonstop... I haven't been able to get a good video yet because he stops talking as soon as he sees a camera--and then tries to eat the camera. Along with everything else... He's really loving solid food--especially pears and bananas. He's also getting really talented at rolling over :) Yesterday I was finishing up a test, laying on the floor in his room while he played in his gym. In a matter of seconds when I was looking at the screen he managed to roll almost underneath his crib--haha. I had to put up blankie barricades. He also has a new habit of inching up to the top right corner of his crib on his belly--and then when we come in to get him, he grins, face down.

Side note: Ari is sitting next to me on the couch right now (we're watching Hell's Kitchen ;), and she seriously smells like a dirty, dirty foot. She's definitely getting a bath tomorrow! I can't believe I'm allowing her on my couch!

Summer school is over, hurray! It got a little nuts these past two weeks trying to get everything done... It's so much harder with a baby! Haha. Bri was pretty excited when she got to help me with some "if" statements for Excel... Freak!! Yesterday, I was taking one of many timed-hour-long quizzes, and I was in and out of his room a good 4-5 times while he was napping... It was a little nerve racking. But little by little, I'm slowly becoming a better planner, and less of a procrastinator. Does anyone believe that? Hahahaha.

Nickie's bachelorette party was last Saturday, an overnighter in Roanoke. It was awesome! Jeff stayed home with Cadiem and a freezer full of milk ;) I think we all did our jobs getting Nickie nice and toasty :) Jeff did a day trip (yup) to DC yesterday for Jeffery's 13th birthday--they went to go see Harry Potter--I'm very jealous! Jeff said it was awesome. Anyone else seen it yet?

I guess that's about all...

Mr. Chunk

Cadiem has been working on his double chin, and he likes it! Haha. He loves his avocados! Today he tried some apple sauce, and it was like I couldn't get the spoon to him fast enough. As you can see from the picture, he's also got a little pot belly. It seems like it happened over night--I barely recognize him! He's also started rolling over in the last week... So far, he does not like being on his belly! Despite the rough day, we've really been having fun :) He's become so much more interactive and he's always smiling! I love his little laugh too :) We need to post more videos...

It was quite a day today--I had to get up early on around 4-5 hours of sleep and go take a test. Then, Cadiem was in an "I can't be pleased" mood ALL DAY LONG... Needless to say, I'm worn out! Sleep can't come fast enough. Luckily, Jeff got off early from work--so, bedtime will be sooner than I thought :) We're about to eat a Dad inspired dinner, Mexican stir-fry. Yeah baby! Last night we had the more traditional Asian stir-fry with Hoisin & brown sugar beef, red pepper, edamame and onion... yum! I could pour Hoisin sauce on anything and eat it... I'm addicted. We seriously go through a jar a week. We tried some frozen salmon a few days ago that was damn good--and SO easy. I'm down with the easy! And minimal clean-up :)

Anyway... The next month is going to be busy busy...

This weekend is Nickie's shower, which is going to be awesome! My first night away from Cadiem--which will be a little weird, but I'm sure I'll survive :) Then I think we're going to have mini-Jeffery visiting for a few days... And then I'll be thirty... (EEK!)

Plus, Nickie & Gene's wedding, Bri & Mom visiting, and Jenni! Yay!

Okay... time to eat...

Avocado = "Stink Eye"

Bri said this is Cadiem's "stink eye", hahahaha. Okay, so... Cadiem did not appreciate avocados on the first go round... But, try try again! I mixed it with his oatmeal on the next feeding--and then he didn't mind it at all :) Mmmwahahahah! I'm really glad he'll eat it that way, I didn't want him to miss out on all that wonderful nutrition! My spoon skills are coming along--it's much better if I can hold one of his hands down (which he hates), makes less mess as well... We got some cool Munchkin spoons (BPA free of course!)--I like them better then the classic silicon coated metal spoons. I'm also digging the feeding chair--it reclines and should last into toddlerhood--yay! I've been meaning to make a list of all the baby stuff we love so far... I spent a lot of time reading reviews online for most of our stuff--so anyone that wanted to be lazy and trust my judgement could use it (the list--I can't form sentences today! :)

Jeff only has one bar shift this week--which is awesome! The rest are managing shifts--and then he's home by midnight which is just in time for Cadiem's bath.

Anita sent me letters spelling CADIEM to put on his wall--I started painting them yesterday while he was napping. So far, they're all brown :) It's a start!

I also made a strawberry pie yesterday--a recipe from Anita--haha. I really should have made my own crust--but hopefully the trans fat won't kill us... this time... hahaha. I also made a VAT of spaghetti sauce on Sunday. Needless to say, we were both pretty full last night and quickly sank into food coma :)

If you noticed, I'm bored with the way my blog looks... I think I need to enlist Bri's expertise--I don't care for any of the templates available... And I'm too lazy to search for them...

Cadiem and I went for a walk yesterday--and man, I am out of shape. It's sad. I did pick one of the steeper hills to climb back up, but still! I suck! We're definitely going again today. I will get my butt back to an acceptable size!! hahahaa. Apparently I crack myself up--there's a lot of hahaha-ing in this particular blog... hahahaha. Okay, until next time...

He likes it! Hey Cadiem! (remember life?)

Cadiem moved on to oatmeal today (instead of rice)--and he loves it! He even cried for more this morning, haha. We might have to try out the barley cereal too, if I can find it :) Jeff is much more talented than I am with the spoon. He can feed Cadiem in about 5 minutes or less. It takes me about 20 minutes, ha. For some reason, it's also much messier when I feed him. All over me, the baby, the chair... Not the floor yet, Ari will have to wait for the finger food stage :) Three more days and he gets avocados--yay!

Cadiem has also just moved to a 4 hour eating schedule, which so far has been awesome. And even though he takes fewer naps on this schedule/routine, I've actually been able to get more done since he sleeps for longer blocks of time :)

Bri and my mom are coming to visit in August, possibly at the same time. I'm excited :) Cadiem too! Yesterday I got Ari a dog bed, since she's been coveting Luci's for quite some time. She's so happy now!

Goodbye Sweet Poo....

Ha ha ha... We went to the doctor today so they could stick Cadiem with needles and check him out :) He's grown three inches taller, but hasn't gained much weight... So our doctor recommended that we start him on solids. We headed straight to Target after the appointment and bought Cadiem a feeding chair and some organic baby cereal :) He tried eating the cereal after breastfeeding--and you can see from his shirt that not much ended up in his mouth... Haha. Everytime I tried to stick the spoon anywhere near his mouth he stuck his hands in there... So, it will definitely be a slow transition :) I think after he gets the hang of the cereal, we'll try some avocados and sweet potatoes. I've already got a spreadsheet planning out our food schedule :)

The bad part about real food--for those of you who don't know--is the stinky poo... Breastmilk poo smells kind of sweet--it's weird, I know. Yucky poo--here we come.

In other news... Cadiem and I spent the 4th of July over at Nickie & Gene's. They made a fantastic feast--as usual! Steak, fries, corn on the cob... yummy salad... Tasty! Jeff and I also had another feast when he got home from work... chili dogs, an American classic... Haha.

Well, it's about time for Cadiem to wake up... Later!

I'm going bald!

My hair is coming out in handfuls. At this rate, I should be bald in about 3 weeks. Seriously! Not to mention that Cadiem has found a new game--pulling my hair! The kid has a grip--it hurts!! He's really getting good at grabbing :) The other day I was bottle feeding him (for his dream feed) and he was holding the bottle with both hands, I even let go a few times.
(I just lost a couple more hairs, sigh...)
We're still in DC right now, getting ready to leave in a couple hours... And we are stopping by Starbucks to get giant lattes. We haven't had coffee since Friday--and Jeff and I are going through major withdrawal! We were dragging all day yesterday and we both had headaches... Definitely addicted! We took Jeffery to lunch yesterday to a restaurant in Leesburg called "Tuskey's". It actually has a longer name, Tusckamore Mill or something, I definitely have the spelling wrong :) The food was really good--and they have an excellent beer selection. We also made a little stop at Cold Stone after--which I haven't had in a couple years... trans-fatty yumminess! UGH! I'm eating nothing but salad from here on out! (rigggghhht) We also got to have dinner with Debbie & Sean (Jeffery's mom & stepdad) last night, it was nice to hang out with them. I also haven't talked to Bri since Thursday... So, caffeine AND Bri withdrawal... Double whammy!

16 Weeks! :)

So, you would think that that would equal 4 months... But, apparently not! Haha. It confuses the hell out of me! Cadiem just keeps getting longer... He has a doctor's appointment soon, I'm excited to see how much he's grown :) He's very attached to his hands right now--they're always in his mouth! He prefers them over his pacifier--which is fine with us :) He's also started moving around his crib while he's supposed to be napping. I'll lay him down on one end and come back to find him faced the opposite direction on the other side of the crib.

We're headed to DC tomorrow to visit mini-Jeff :) Hopefully we'll be able to make it quicker this time!

On another note... Bri got me started playing a really stupid game on Facebook, "Sorority Life". I'm addicted. I can't stop playing! I'm lame! Damn you Bri!

Jeff, Cadiem & I had our first lunch out at Cabo today--oh the excitement! Haha. We even took pictures to document :) Cadiem doesn't care what we do, as long as he has his hands!

I guess that's about it... I'm too tired to be interesting! Haha... Okay, I'm off to buy some more stretch limo hummers... ugh!

Happy Birthday Jeff! :)

Jeff is 34 today :) We celebrated last night when he got home from work since he has to bartend tonight... I made him a "peace and love" cake--since he's always saying that--haha.

Cadiem is 3 months and three weeks old--whew! And--I think he's gotten even longer--the kid is going to be tall. He just started teething--so he's been pretty irritable. Luckily, it comes in and out. So we still get to see plenty of his cute little smile :)

We had a fantastic time in Arizona--we spent a lot of quality family time, Cadiem got to meet lots of family and a few friends... We had dinner with my dad & Anita several nights and got to go swimming. We even made it up to the cabin the weekend before we left... My mom also babysat two nights for us--which was awesome. Jeff and I got to out on a date together. We went to an awesome restaurant in downtown Tempe called "House of Tricks". It's a pretty unique place. The majority of the restaurant is outside--they have a great patio with big trees, candles and misters (so it doesn't get too hot :). They have an eclectic menu--it changes quite a bit. Actually, one time my mom and I went there for dinner and ended up leaving because everything on the menu was a little to weird for us. Hahaha. We tried to find a place to dance after dinner--but everywhere we went was out of business! Anyway, Cadiem did really well on his first plane ride. We did lose about 5 pacifiers between flights. Haha. There are about a million pictures of different family members holding Cadiem on my pic site...

I haven't posted in awhile because I've been busy catching up with school and trying to get the apartment back in order :) We're headed back to DC next weekend to visit Jeffery...

bri's pics

check out bri's blog--she has an awesome tree pic on there! :)

Frenemies!

When Two (the cat) first moved in, Ari barked at him nonstop, while he hissed/spat/clawed back at her. It was pretty damn annoying--we wondered if they'd ever get along! Now, they're always next to each other. It probably helps that the cat is no longer allowed on the couch (after barfing on it!) and I think he thinks he's a dog now... He's always laying around on the floor--and sometimes he and Ari are even sleeping on each other... Not that they don't still harass and chase each other around--but I think they like each other! weird!

Cadiem and I have been running errands the past few days, getting stuff together for our trip--it's funny how people are so drawn to babies. Everyone wants to see what he looks like. One lady at Target even asked permission! Hahaha. Today I was in Kroger getting beer for our housesitter, and I kept passing the same woman who just couldn't quit looking at him :)

Anyway--we leave for AZ in a few hours--I'm almost packed, haha. I still have to pack up Jeff and the baby. Our flight leaves at 5am... Jeff is planning on ordering a bloody mary, to start off his vacation. The flight attendant is going to think we're nut jobs!! Hahaha.

I got Cadiem some new feety pj's and a little beanie with airplanes on it for his first plane ride :) Yay! New picture opportunities!

Emperor Stripey Head (3 months tomorrow!)

Cadiem looks like a tortured child in this pic, but I swear he was grinning two seconds later. Haha. We've spent the past few days teaching Cadiem to teach himself to sleep--and it's working! YAY!! I just put him down for a nap 5 minutes ago--and he's on his way to sleepy land :) Normally, this would involve "patting and shushing" anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour and a half... Which, as you can imagine, got pretty frustrating for both of us! I wish we would have tried this sooner--we just felt guilty leaving him in his room by himself while he's still awake. But he doesn't seem to mind. We just swaddle him and lay him in his crib. If he fusses or cries, we'll stick around and comfort him until he's calm again. Then he moves his head from side to side until he falls asleep. It's actually kind of entertaining to watch, haha. But he's worn a little bald stripe around his head. Hahaha. Poor baby! Hence, Emperor Stripey Head :)
We're counting down the days until we get to Arizona--I can't wait!

Eric & Nichole had another BBQ on Sunday--I probably had a little too much fun... Haha. Jeff had the day off and felt like chillin', so he and Cadiem hung out all day :) I think our Aerogarden tomato plant is going to eat us in our sleep--we had to use a kabob stick to stake the thing up. It's huge! It has a lot of tomatoes already too, I can't wait to try them. Jeff got me an anthurium plant for Mother's Day, "the love plant". Haha, but I can't responsible for the love plant's well being. I kill plants! It's amazing that my little cactus, Senor Spiney, is still alive. I found out the other day that Jeff gives him water now and then. Haha. I wish I had something more exciting to talk about! I'm boring :( Okay, time for homework!

Cadiem is 11 weeks old :)

I can't believe he'll be three months old next week. It definitely goes by fast! I posted a few cute videos on my pic site if you haven't seen them already. We were trying to get him laughing--but we missed it! Cadiem had a checkup last Monday--he's grown a couple inches longer, and gained two more pounds :) He also is making new noises, the other day it sounded like he said "wow!". Jeff has been helping cover vacations at work--he's basically been gone from 9am to the early morning--ew! So less sleep for both of us--I miss sleep! Someday... ;)
In other news, Ari is changing her evil ways! We've been leaving her out of her crate at night--and she doesn't pee! I'm extremely impressed! However, I think she does a little night exploring... Judging from her poo today (brace yourself!), she somehow managed to find a rogue piece of asparagus from our dinner. HAHAHA. Gross, huh?!
I'm becoming immune to poo/pee messes between Ari and Cadiem. We've already been through three onesies and a couple of blankies today. Haha.
Anyway--I swear I have other things to talk about! Last night I got to go out to dinner with Gene, Nickie and Nichole. The girls and I started out at Cabo for a margarita and then went to see Nickie's wedding dress, which she looks beautiful in :) Then we went to Poor Billy's for a tasty dinner. Jeff got to get out too, he went to Rivermill for a beer when I got back. He happened to run into one of his good friends (also named Jeff) who is going to house/pet sit for us while we're in AZ! That saves us around $500 or more (our dogs need shots on top of boarding fees)! Woohoo! What a relief!
School started again yesterday, I'm taking a couple classes... And a couple more next semester... And then FINALLY I'll be at VT. Yay! Okay, that's all I've got!

Happy Mother's Day! :)

Baby clothes rant!

What's up with the snaps? I don't mind them on his normal clothes--but pajamas should make it really easy to change a diaper. It's hard to be stealth during the night when you have 8 snaps to open and then close again. Who thought of this? Maybe I should start designing baby clothes. I think I'd be pretty good at it! Cadiem is a bit too long for his 0-3 month PJs, so we tried some from our "next size up" pile :) And they zip! Brilliant! Except--it zips all the way to his neck... Why couldn't they do a logical mix of snaps and zips? Snap at the top, zip at the bottom. Why is that so hard? The sleep dresses aren't too bad, but you have to watch for the poo-plosion. I think they drag the diaper down or something... I'm sending a letter to Carter's!
On another note... Cadiem's hair is coming in--his old man head is disappearing :) But he has a bald stripe on one side of his head--I'm not sure how that happened! He doesn't sleep on the same side all the time--and most of the time is on his back... Hmmm...

Poor Ari Lynn...

Ari has gone from curious about Cadiem, to forlorn-depressed-dog... This has taken the form of spiteful peeing. Her favorite spot is right outside the door to the baby's room. Several times after once again getting Cadiem to sleep, I've emerged triumphant, only to step in pee. Evil little dog! When Jeff catches her, he yells at her in jiberish--in a really deep voice. It sounds like the Swedish chef from the muppets, but angry. Haha. It scares the crap out of her! She's also been following me everywhere I go. I'm trying to pay more attention to her--so hopefully she'll stop soon :)
I booked our plane tickets to AZ today--yay! I'm so excited to go home :)

9 WEEKS!

I can't believe it's been over two months! I've been able to get out more, which has been awesome. Jeff and I both went to the "Fork & Cork" wine festival here in the burg along with several friends. ERIC! Where are the pics!?
As you can see, Cadiem was chillin' in his cool new Maclaren carrier... That is, until he peed on it! Hahaha. At one point we took him back to the car to change his diaper--and not even a minute after we had him changed and back in the carrier--he somehow managed to pee all over the carrier and Jeff. But luckily we had the stroller with us :) There were several wineries I hadn't seen before, always nice to try new ones. We only got to a few, we had to leave pretty early since Jeff had to work--but it was nice to see everyone :)
Cadiem and I also went over to Nickie & Gene's later to hang out with everyone.
My class is finished on Friday--yay! And I think I'm probably going to take one or two classes over summer... Bleh! But, gotta keep going! We have to leave Blacksburg someday! Haha.
On top of that, it's going to be a busy summer! We're planning several trips to take Cadiem to meet the rest of the family. Arizona will be the first stop... And then two trips to Florida to see Jeff's mom and sister--and then Bri & Nate. Plus a little mini-trip to Roanoke for Nickie & Gene's wedding :) Which I still want all the details for Nickie! Wino!! haha.

MOO!! (8 Weeks)

Moo moo moo. I am a cow!! I want my old clothes to fit damnit!! UGH! I weigh less than I did before--what gives?? Jeff got me a few new things from the Greenhouse though--that are really cute. I think he's trying to convert me to Volcom and Billabong clothes. Hahaha. I have my check up on Tuesday--meh. Cadiem has his appointment soon too, I think he's definitely gotten longer. His jammies with the feet are getting tight :)
Our D.C. trip this past weekend went well. It took us 6.5 hours to get there (usually 4), but that's life with an 8 week old! Next time we're bringing bottles so we can feed him while driving. Mini-Jeff was excited to meet his other new brother (his mom just had a baby too-Ian). We didn't get to do much while we were there--but at least we got to go out there. :)
Cadiem is loving his baby gym. He smiles at the giant smiley sun/flower thing at the top with his little head wobbling from side to side... he loves it!
Saturday I'm hoping the three of us will make it out to the Blacksburg "Fork and Cork". A wine festival in our new shopping center--kinda weird! Then we can try out our new baby carrier, hopefully he'll like it better than the bag style carrier.
Jeff got my car inspected (it passed!) and had the red bumper put on, it looks like a different car! And, we now have more space in our tiny dining room. It's the little things, right?! Haha.
Am I boring anyone? I'm sure boring myself! ugh!

Doritos are a vegetable...

Everyday as I'm feeding the baby and taking care of chores, etc... I constantly have blog titles running through my head: "There's a fountain in the baby's tub! Oh Wait...", "Zoo creatures strike back", "Let freedom ring", "Sexy? Nate??", CSI has gone astray", "pumpin' for freedom"... But I can barely post once a week.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand... We've gone through a lot of Doritos lately, which I had previously sworn off. But they're made out of corn... Which technically makes them a vegetable... Yes? No? Or are they just in their own group... JUNK. Hmmm... I also bought hotdogs and macaroni salad last week. There is something seriously wrong with me.
Cadiem will be 7 weeks old on Wednesday, he's so old! Haha. He's making new noises, and I think he's really close to laughing :) Our schedule/routine is going well, we're starting to tweak it a little. We've started doing a bottle feed for his "sneak attack" feeding (dream feed). That way he doesn't wake up since it takes less effort than breastfeeding and we know he's getting enough food to make it through several hours... And we all get more sleep! YAY!!
Last week Jeff forced me out of the house since I had/have the fever... Of the cabin variety... haha. Nickie and I went to Poor Billy's and had a yumalicious dinner. I got to eat seared tuna for the first time in almost a year! That's so weird! We also indulged in a little vino as well--guilt free with the on-hand bottles--woohoo!
Saturday we got to "stop in"at Eric & Nichole's BBQ. They had a fantastic spread of food--as usual :) And lots of games set up in their backyard that unfortunately we didn't get to play--maybe next time! It took us FOREVER to get out of the house--but I'm sure we'll get better at that. Cadiem was also getting pretty fussy after about an hour of being there... Also, I'm sure it's weird for all of our friends to hear a baby screaming at a party! Haha. But I'm sure some of them will join the fun soon enough :)

Friends, STAT!!

Five weeks with Cade, five weeks without friends :( But freedom is on the way! We just started Cadiem on a schedule--which is make life much easier and more predictable. Before, his feeding times were anywhere between 45 min and 2 hours apart. But now we have a routine, thanks to the "Baby Whisperer" book (i'm not joking! haha) and his eating start times are now 3 hours apart. Yay!! And the other night I had 5 hours of continuous sleep!! I haven't had more than 2 at a time since he was born! It was freakin' awesome! Of course, he did wake up during the night while I was sleeping, but Jeff took care of him :)
Also, we're trying to find the time to figure out the breast pump and bottles--and then Jeff will be taking over his latest feeding at 4am (ew!) plus when I want to be out of the house for more than two hours. Yay!!! I'm pretty excited. Not that I want to be away from the baby, but it would be nice to escape the zoo once in awhile! Yesterday I did go get our groceries... Ah, Walmart. Yes Ian, I deigned to shop at Walmart. Don't give me any crap! It's cheap--and Kroger is like 10 miles long now. If you forget to grab a few things you have to walk the length of five football fields to go back and get it! And that's if you can find it! Nickie--have you boycotted yet? Join my wagon! Haha.
Bri and Nate were here this past weekend to see the emperor, I think they were pretty excited to be back in the 'Burg. Too bad we had to stay in so much! We did try venturing out for a walk during one of the emperor's crying fits... At least he slept for part of it! We also did some beer tasting at Vintage Cellar on our way to Target--but then had to run through the store, while throwing things in the cart because the baby was screaming... Oops! Hopefully they'll be back soon and we'll get to venture out more :)

Cadiem is 1 month old!

I'm dedicating my favorite of Jeff's baby songs to baby Cade... The poo anthem...

Get the poo out the butt
poop poop!
YEAH!
Get the poo out the butt
poop poop!
YEAH!

Haha. The baby really likes music--it actually soothes him sometimes when he's crying. One day I tried putting on some Wilco while rocking and singing to him... Baby likes it! So far, he seems to like the "Being There" album and of course "Sky Blue Sky". Jeff likes to rock out with him to Pandora--gotta start him early! :)
He's definitely starting to be interested in toys--my mom got him a "Whoozit" toy--in the pic above. He really seems to like the check patterns and bulls eye on the back.
Bri and Nate are coming to visit this Friday--yay! Bri has some ideas for cute baby pics--so hopefully get some good ones :)

The Emperor Explodes (3 Weeks, 5 Days :)

Who is the emperor? Cadiem Rey! Bri has already given him a nickname, which started when he decided to "cluster feed" for 14 hours straight (Jeff & I have another name for it... see if you can guess). I'm not kidding--all I did the entire day was change diapers and feed him, while hoping he would fall asleep somewhere along the way. Needless to say, I was in tears by the time Jeff arrived home from work. I have since learned, like any good bartender (or... breastfeeder? haha) to cut him off! Bri has been calling him the emperor since we do as the baby commands! Haha. I had to explain to her what we've read in about everything concerning newborns... "The baby is not trying to manipulate you, the baby does not have an agenda." Hahaha.
A couple days ago, I was changing the emperor's diaper when he decided to start pooing again. It was quite explosive--I caught most of it in a wipe, but somehow liqui-poo ended up on the wall. Plus all over the changing table and my hands. While the poo-plosion was happening, he started peeing as well! I've already been peed on a few times, but this time the baby peed on himself and managed to get it on his face! I was laughing before I realized it was on his face--then we had to have emergency bath time :) gross!
My mom brought us some baby bath soap and body butter from the Body Shop which smells really fresh and baby-like :) It also says on it, "No Nasties!" Haha.
Anyway, my mom (Grandma Shultz!) was here last week visiting as you can see from the above pic... We had to stay in the house the whole time--but I don't think she was too bored ;) She helped us a lot while she was here with house stuff and we didn't have to worry with the zoo creatures, which was really nice. She didn't want to leave the baby when the time came, but don't worry Mom! We'll be out soon!
Speaking of zoo creatures... We've been keeping the house extra warm for the baby... It's not really a zoo anymore. Throw in the lizard, the sauna-like temperature, plus the scary-intimidatingly-beefy-tomato plant in the kitchen(aerogarden)... It's a damn jungle!
That's about it for now...

Can Opener Rant Update: (i'm not lame! you'll thank me when yours breaks!)
My damn can opener broke again. Seriously. Jeff went to the Gourmet Pantry and bought an OXO opener that takes the top of the can completely off--it's pretty cool. No jagged edges! Thus far, it's still in operation... We'll see how long this one lasts! I think I must be death to can openers. :)

Cadiem's Birthday! March 4, 2009

After 15 hours of labor (ugh!) and 3 hours of pushing, Cadiem Rey Mangold has arrived! (old news, right? sorry! i've been busy;) Weighing in at 7 lbs 1 ounce and 20.5 inches long--apparently the average weight for a boy is 8 lbs--but I seriously don't know how he would have fit! So he is longer and skinnier than the average... I bet he'll end up being tall and skinny like Jeff :)
We were in the hospital Tuesday night through Friday morning. Needless to say, we were ready to leave come Friday morning! However, our hospital stay was pretty great, considering. We were in a really nice "birthing suite", which we both stayed in and gave birth in. The birth part was not as scary as the seventies video--but it was no cakewalk! We came pretty close to having to get a c-section, but they ended up using a vacuum to help get him out. Fun stuff, but at least it worked! Jeff was an excellent coach. He even sat next to my bed all night while I tried to sleep in between contractions.
Anyway, more posts to come shortly!

We have water breakage!

and yes... I'm still at home :) I'm about to go pack my hospital bag--because god forbid I do anything ahead of time! Haha. And Jeff is downstairs installing the car seat--at least we're both procrastinators! Wish us luck!

HELLLLLPPPPPP!!!

We watched THE scariest video of a birth--scary seventies style on Netflix. I thought my mom was exaggerating! EWWWW!!! A c-section is looking pretty good right now! We still have the videos that we borrowed from the hospital to watch... I'm hoping that they'll be a little better... Maybe being newer, without the ugly-scary-seventies haircuts they'll be less traumatic. Haha.
Maybe they could just knock me out, and do the whole labor thing without me "present"... Hmm... Let's get some engineers working on improving this scarier-than-hell process!
Anyway, still no contractions yet...
Ari loves to sleep on Jeff, last night they were both in the same position--so I had to take a picture. Jeff got tattooed yesterday--the tree is pretty close to being done. I think he might be participating in a convention that his artist (Shaun Carroll) is doing. Jeff actually has Sunday off this week, I think we might check out the new art museum in Roanoke--they're supposed to have a pretty cool "pens & needles" exhibit that we're going to check out.

"Go into labor already!"

Said my doctor at my appointment yesterday... I still haven't felt any contractions yet--but I'm feeling very whale-ish! So next week Cadiem is due, and if he decides to be late (like his parents ;), they'll do a thorough check on his health--and decide whether to induce from those results.
Apparently, the placenta has a life span, which I was not aware of and this is the reason they no longer allow pregnancies to pass 42 weeks. Crazy! That's the first thing that hasn't in the book Bri got me! :)

I finally have more pictures of the nursery to post, even though it's not totally finished... I'm still working on a painting with his name that I'll hang above his dresser. I also still need to label the bins that I used to organize Cadiem's random stuff--I'm a freak, I know. I think it's all of that 5S training :)

Cadiem has been gifted some really cute items, I thought I'd post a couple things--I'll have to take more pics. Anita (my stepmom) is a sewing wiz--she made these really cute burp cloths. It's going to be sad when the baby spits up on them. Haha. Darlene & Terri (Marty's mom and sister) also make afghans, quilts and apparently blankies :) I posted pics of those from the shower.

And thanks to my mom and her friend Jennie (and Bri;), Cadiem's feet will be stylin. The "Robeez" are supposed to be really great because they don't have hard soles which are really bad for developing baby feet. How cute are those booties!? Bri actually had dibs on them from when my mom used to sell baby shoes--but she didn't want Cade's little feet to get cold :)