Life is so much better at the beach!

We ended up having 2 unexpected trips to the beach during the past couple of months. Our first trip was not due to good circumstances, however, and was very spur of the moment. We skipped town rather quickly in all my crazy pregnancy hormone freaking out after the horrible tornadoes hit our area at the end of April. Please don't judge. You try being told that your power is going to be out for at least a week (turned out to be 5 days) when you are very pregnant and very hungry all the time. With no way to cook my food storage (looks like I'm going to have to do some revamping and prepare better) is like a death threat. So, we headed south. After 4 years of not setting foot on the beach, we were extremely excited to go. Plus, Cade had never been, and we just knew he would love it.

WRONG!

This was him for the first hour- sitting in my lap. He did not want his feet the touch the weird "snow" (didn't matter how many times we told him it was sand, it was forever going to be snow), and he sure as heck did not want to go near that scary water.

Daddy tried to break Cade of being scared by forcing him to go in the water while Chase held him to show him it was fun. Nope, not fun. He screamed and was terrified the whole time. Then, when finally back on the "snow", he ran in the the complete wrong direction crying for me and tried to find solace in the arms of another momma who was definitely not me, which made him even more upset. So this is him finally running toward the right momma. It was all very dramatic.

After awhile he became more comfortable in the "snow" and started to play with his beach toys. But still keeping a very safe distance from the water.

Day 2 on the beach was MUCH better. He got over his fear of the water and would let it hit his feet. Afterwards, he kept saying, "That was fun!".

Trip 2 to the beach was due to Chase having a business trip to Ft. Walton, and Cade and I got to tag along. Yay! We had such a great time. We got to stay right on the beach and enjoyed a nice big room. Our hotel also had 2 pools which Cade loved. He loved being able to say, "Let's go beach" or "swimming pool, Momma?", and then just picking up and going to whichever one he pleased. It was really great, and he had a blast to say the least.

Cade was completely fine with the water this time. Daddy would take him out in the waves, and Cade loved it.

Coming back from the pool.

Family friends Marty and Christie were also there with us, and Cade was obsessed with going out in the waves and building sand castles with Marty. Here they are out in the water:

On the trip home, Cade had to stop and see the airplane.

Cade now asks almost everyday if we can go to the beach. We definitely need to take fun family trips more often.

Easter time

I am way far behind in my blogging, although I'm sure none of you have minded. Yes, Easter was 2 months ago, and yes, I am just now writing about it. Let's not dwell on that fact. Just pretend it was last weekend. Moving on- we had a great Easter this year. I love that Cade is at the age where he understands holidays and gets excited about them. I think we are going to hear all year long about how the "snowmans" are going to come out at Christmas every time we drive down our street (several people in our neighborhood put the blow up snowmen in their yards). So I was really anticipating Easter and even started planning out what we would put in Cade's Easter basket a couple of months in advance. And sweet success it all was!

To start off the Easter festivities, we were invited to an Easter egg hunt at a very close family friends house- the Messervys. They have the best egg hunts filled with a bajillion eggs to find, a pinata, breakfast treats, awesome goodie bags, and tons of kids on sugar highs. The kids always have a blast.

Cade running out to start finding eggs.

There are eggs hidden all over the backyard.

His loot.

Blue Steel

Kate and Cade. I ask for a smile and this is what I get.

Easter morning we had our own basket hunt around the house and an egg hunt in the backyard.

Basket filled with 3 Chuggington Trains, 2 new trains from the Thomas collection, a Thomas shirt, a little Mickey Mouse, a football, some other things I can't remember now because it was 2 months ago (I mean, last weekend), and some candy eggs.

Daddy made getting some of the eggs too difficult.

I went way overboard on the eggs this year. I filled about 45 eggs and could have done tons more but figured that was enough for one kid. It took him about 4 minutes flat to run around and get them all. A major improvement from last year where he lost interest.

Playing with new Diesel and Whiff after church

And because I really love food right now, I took a picture of our immaculate Easter feast that I slaved 2 days over. Homemade chicken cordon bleu with homemade mashed potatoes and other stuff. Even the breadcrumbs were homemade (and that really makes a big difference if anyone cares). Chase helped me stuff the chicken breasts and bread them so he tries to take credit for the whole thing. I did appreciate the help:)

And best of all- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake. Stop drooling.

Stock-up

Anyone think I'm not prepared with diapers for the baby?? There's even another box of Pampers on the floor. Don't come break in my house now that I've shown you my stash.

I've been scoring great diaper deals the past few months and have been slowly stocking up for the baby. I only try to stock pile as many as I can when I can get them for half price or cheaper. One of those packs of Huggies only cost me $0.69:)

And even Cade has a stash:

+ another box in the car.

My best prices paid for diapers to date are:

• my $0.69 pack of Huggies I just mentioned
• 4 packs of Huggies for $5 and change at Rite Aid (and still getting back $8 in Rite Aid bucks)
  
• a box of Huggies at CVS for $4 (and still getting back $10 in CVS bucks)

I may still have tons of cleaning, organizing, bedroom switching, decorating, clothes sorting (with laundry), yard work, and plenty of other things to do before the baby comes, but at least I know I've got the poop covered.

Little Boy Under Construction

Most of you already know that we are having another little boy! We found out a few months ago, so yes, I am late in posting this. Time is flying by with only 11 weeks left and still plenty to do to get ready. Chase told me a few weeks ago that I need to "hurry up and have that baby". I asked why, and his reply was "because I want him". (Secret: Chase has a thing for babies. That's one of the reasons he was so attractive when we were dating.) It is pretty safe to say we are anxiously awaiting his arrival. We hope our new little man will be just as loving and as sweet as this little man:

Best shirt ever. Federal Witness Protection Program.

And for one of those cute pregnancy pictures that I know everyone wants to see, here I am:

Literally. And this is why no pregnancy pictures of me will ever surface. And if anyone ever does without my knowledge, you better run. And probably not very fast since it may take me awhile to reach you, but I will and so help you when I do. And don't say "woah.." if you happen to see me around. Because I KNOW.

Now, on to the real reason why any of you even visit this blog- my crazy and adorable Cade (except when he's bad, then he's Chase's Cade). Cade's new thing is singing songs. He loves to sing songs. He loves primary songs. He loves the theme songs to all of his favorite shows. He loves songs on the radio that he doesn't even know. And he sings (or tries to sing) along to them all. There is a primary song app on the iPhone that Cade loves to use. He will sit there for like an hour and go through all the songs. Here's a little clip of him doing just that:

Need I say more?

POPCORN

I LOVE popcorn. Mmmm popcorn. Really, there is no excuse needed to eat popcorn- want to watch a movie? Popcorn! How about just tv? Popcorn! Want to play a game? Popcorn! Paying bills? That's right, popcorn! Ok, maybe not so much on that last one, but you get my point. It's the snack of choice. I've even thought about finding the kind you can make over a fire to put in our 72-hour kits. On rare occasion we ever go to the movies, I can not resist that delicious, buttery, salty goodness. And yes, I literally inhale that heart attack in a bag. Last time we saw a movie, Chase gave me all kinds of looks as he told me to breathe in between bites and to let him have some for once. What can I say, it's sooo good, and there is absolutely no way you can stop with only a few bites. I don't have that kind of self-control. I almost always get a tummy-ache, but I still continue to eat. I can't help it. Mmmmm...

That only explains why as a child, I always loved this Popcorn book:


It's about a bear who throws a Halloween party while his parents go out, and all of his friends bring popcorn with them. And since he has way more friends than I ever did, his entire house fills to the top with popcorn....MY DREAM!! I always thought that would be the coolest thing, to swim in a house (or even a room) full of popcorn, devouring as much as I please. However, I do not want that house to be MY house.

Thanks to Cade, this is what I found as I came out of the shower this morning:


These pictures don't even show it near as well as seeing it in person. It was ALL OVER. Where did it all come from you ask? Because obviously the kid doesn't know how to open a bag of popcorn and use the microwave. In the picture above, the big Santa can that has the 3 different kinds of popcorn in it is the partner in crime. I should have known something was up when Cade kept coming into the bathroom saying, "Ohhhh nooo, Mommy". And when I finally come out to see what's up and why some popcorn had trailed into the bathroom, he says, "Mommy, mess!". Thanks Cade, I didn't notice...

Thanks for the cleanup help, Babe. And showing us all how to be the perfect housewife.

But I can't really be mad at the kid- just look at him:

Awwwww! What an angel:)

This Little Monkey is TWO!

Cade turned 2 last month on December 8th! I can't believe how fast he is growing up (can't think about that too much to prevent the water works from coming). We had a crazy month of December so we didn't get to celebrate Cade's birthday until a week and a half later and combined celebrating his and my brother Matt's birthdays at the same time. I didn't even attempt at a cake this year since I was feeling horrible and we were incredibly busy. So boring, not cutsied looking cupcakes it was! At least they had a cream cheese and chocolate chip filling in the center.

He looks just like my baby pictures right here.



Good Job Madison!

Now, I love, love, love my baby. He is the cutest kid on the planet. I know every mother feels that way about their kid, as I believe every mother should. So I am not holding anything back as I brag about him incessantly because as every other mother, that is my right. After all, he is my whole world.

Cade is the sweetest, and I mean SWEETEST, boy. He is so happy, so friendly, and SO loving. He tells me "I lu you" all the time (I'm sure it helps that I tell him that literally 50 times a day). All day long he will climb up to me, get in my face and say "Mommy, kiss" and give me a kiss. He says "please" and "thank you, Momma" for EVERYTHING. He has to say "hi" (really loud, I might add) to everyone we pass. He knows no stranger. He gets very upset when we get upset with him. He immediately cries and wants to kiss and hug for like 5 minutes to make it better. It breaks my heart that he feels like he's disappointing us, but I do love that he wants everything to always be good between us. He has a lot of compassion for other people. I am so glad he has this trait. If you are crying, he's all over you. He gets in your face- "Mommy, crying" as he scrunches up his face pretty pitifully and tries to love me back to happiness. One day at the playground, an older kid about 8 or so was yelling across to his brother. Cade thought he was hurt or upset and ran right over to him and asked him what was wrong. The other day we had the show Wipeout on tv. The first girl started the obstical course and she got smacked really hard with something and fell in the water. Cade immediately started crying (really hard) and going somewhat balistic. It was very obvious that he thought she was hurt. Everytime that girl fell or hit real hard or anything (which was actually really funny, might I add), Cade just got worse. We just had to change the channel. The list of these instances goes on and on.

He is very easy to reason with, for just about anything. We can almost always get him to calm down by just talking and explaining things to him. For example, he knows he has to eat bites of all his food at dinner. He will whine about it, but we tell him he has to eat however many bites of each thing and then he's all done. He says a whiny "ok" and eats. It works for just about everything else he starts pitching a fit about (it wasn't always this way might I add, but we always stand our ground and he knows it so he learned quickly and is easier to cooperate. It also got a lot better when he started communicating really well). We always tell him "no crying, no whining, be happy" and he repeats each one and will give us a kiss and calm down. He is such a good kid.

He always wants to say the prayer when we eat. We have to help him of course, but he has the "name of Jesus Christ, Amen" part down pat. He has known all of his letters since he was 17 months and quickly after that, learned how to count to 14, forwards and backwards. Kudos to Sesame Street for that one. I don't know where he got those genes from, but he is extremely intelligent.

Cade loves most vegetables. Chase and I have debated whether his favorite food is broccoli or green beans. Here he is chowing down on raw broccoli as he watches a show.

Cade's Christmas Jammies.

All of our Christmas Jammies this year.

Papa sporting them a little better in this pic.

Cade loves Sef.

I go into the bathroom and this is what I find. Cade looks up and says "Mommy, potty. Wiping."

Cade has the worldest greatest Daddy. Really. We had to get a new water heater, and Chase made the box into a train for Cade. Cade is really obsessed with trains.

Wearing Sef's pimpin hat that Jordan sent him for Christmas from Switzerland.

It snowed 6-8 inches in Huntsville last night and today! We spent hours playing outside and had a blast. Cade cried everytime we went inside.

Mommy, Cade, and creepy snowman

Another greatest Daddy moment. It's a snow fort!

Entrance

Going in the entrance

Inside

Daddy and Cade

Hanging in his long-john's, eating a grilled cheese at lunch time.

Grandma and Grandpa took us sledding in their neighborhood later that day.

Cade going down with Grandpa.

And then there was lots and lots and LOTS of nausea..

As most of you know by now, we are expecting our second child! I figured since having a baby is a big event, it should probably warrant an official post. We are excited to have another as our first has been an absolute joy (yes, some of you may be gasping at this statement since you know what a difficult baby he was for a long time, but if you are around him now, you know exactly what I mean). So hooray for a sweet, little baby and a sibling for Cade!

However, having a baby is not all smiles and butterflies, especially the first half of pregnancy (we will get to the insanity of the first several months after birth another time). What's wrong with the first half of pregnancy, you ask? WHAT'S WRONG WITH IT?! How about feeling like you want to puke your brains out every second of every day but no relief ever comes so you lay on the couch crying all day because you feel like you are going to die and you don't know how on earth you are going to take care of your child and feed him and give him any attention at all except turning on the tv for him all day, all the while all food makes you feel even more sick, but if you don't eat, you feel even more like your life is coming to an end, so you eat and want to puke the whole time, and to make matters worse, you have to eat that food you don't want to eat every couple of hours to try to control the sickness, and I am not just talking crackers every couple of hours, FULL MEALS...which then comes to the problem of how am I going to cook and prepare this food when the look, smell, and thought of EVERYTHING makes me sick and even just standing up for more than 5 seconds makes me want to die, so really, how am I supposed to survive when this is going on EVERY SECOND OF EVERY DAY?!?! And then try getting strep throat on top of that. So please excuse me when I strongly dislike you when you tell me that you don't get sick with pregnancy.

Luckily, I have finally gotten over the "I'm going to die" hump and have just been in the feeling yucky hump for the last few weeks. Last time, it all lasted until 16 weeks, so I'm hoping just a handful of days more.

I know there are some women who may think this is crazy and wonder why anyone would subject themselves to this awful state over and over. And the answer is so simple. It is because of this:

And this.

And this.

And so, so much more.

To say that I LOVE my baby (and yes, I will probably call Cade my baby his entire life) doesn't even come close to describing it. I never really understood real love and sacrifice until I had Cade. I would do anything for that boy. So I'd have to say that we want to add another joy to our lives because of the great blessing they are and the love our first baby brought to our family can only grow with the addition of another. Now, I would be lying if I said I'm not scared to death about being able to handle two kids, but I want children more than anything so I can't justify letting my fear and lots of discomfort and craziness get in the way of my dreams.

And so, we really look forward to this summer when we will meet the newest member of our family around the first of July:)