Cade's first birthday

"We did it, we did it, oh yeah yeah yeah!!!" Yes, that is a song from Finding Nemo. I won't talk about how many times we've watched this over the last few weeks but this post is not about how much my boys (yes, both of them) are really into this movie! But rather about our little boy turning one! And yes, we did it! We made it, we survived the first year of Cade's life as well as well as the first year of parenting two rambunctious boys!

We couldn't decide what we wanted to do for Cade's first birthday celebration. As usual the guest list just got bigger and bigger the more we thought about it. We looked at venue options and doing something similar to what we had for Darian but in the end we decided that it would be better if we just had a few close friends at home. It turned out to be a great day and our little boy was celebrated in true style. 

Adam entertaining the kids

A house full of babies

Our birthday boy

Cutting the cake

A full house indeed

Celebrating with our nearest & dearest

A full house

He likes to drum

Joash, Lee, Lenny & Premika

Kajal, Luka & Liley

Luka, Liley & Lily

Madison & Darian

Mason & Cade

Getting ready for cake

Wanted to walk down the stairs so mum had to help

Our little boy is 1

The cake

Thea & Sean

On his actual birthday, he celebrated at daycare with his friends. Unfortunately the day care rules have changed somewhat since Darian turned one so I was unable to bake a cake for my little boy, like I did his brother. But the teachers were very obliging and baked a cake for him so he could celebrate with his friends. Of course there was no way I couldn't be there when Happy Birthday was sung to him for the first time, so I took time off work to be there to witness it. And of course Darian joined in and ate as much chocolate cake as he could muster.

Mum I'm watching tv

Ok, one smile then go away

If I can act like I'm looking at you while I look at the tv, ok

now you're in the way mum

celebrations at daycare

Cake... mmmmm

mouth stuffed with cake

big brother had to get in on the cake action

Cake for everyone

My boys

Little Evelyn and Cade - litle siblings of Elise & Darian who sat next to each other at Darian's first birthday celebrations

We are so grateful for our little boy. He is such a joy, always smiling, always laughing and always loving on his brother and looking for mama and dada. I am blessed beyond measure and when I see all the friends we have that take us as family, that came to celebrate with us, each person that took the time out to wish our boy or to make his day special, I realised just how much God has blessed us.

Thank you to everyone who made celebrating his day so special.

Cade at 10 months

Cade is doing really well.  He is in daycare full time now and he is beginning to love it more and more. He still still has days where he will moan and cry if he sees me leave but most of the time his teachers distract him so that I can leave, although trying to do the same for Darian is harder. Seeing Cade socialise with other kids as well as the way in which he gravitates towards his teachers, warms my heart and assures me that he is doing well and is well taken care of. The other day he even waved bye to me as I left and the crying days are becoming fewer and fewer. Pick ups are so cute. He will automatically dash to the door when he sees me and will cry the minute he sees me, as if to say "where have you been all day?"

(Cade & Darian at daycare drop off one of the days last week. Cade loves to climb up onto these couches and sit like a big man. So Darian, the ever so-concerned big brother went to sit next to him in case he fell.)

Another little kid bit Cade while at daycare, it wasn't the best call to get from daycare and because they won't say which child it was we have to deal with him being in the same vicinity with this child all day but thankfully the teachers are keeping a close eye on said child and have supposedly given a stern warning to the parents. He has had a bite mark for about 2 weeks now, gone from red and scratches to just a blue hue.

(The bite mark on his cheek)

When Darian went for his dental check up, Cade got to have his teeth checked too and the dental therapist was very happy with him, especially the fact that he has been introduced to the toothbrush already. He loves to brush his teeth and will make a huge deal when it's over.

He has learned quite early on to say "mama" and I encouraged him to say "dad" which he continuously says nowadays! But he loves his daddy... will follow him all over until he picks him up and loves his brother too. He thinks Darian is the funniest person ever and is always behind him and wants to be involved in whatever his brother is doing. So I'm not sure if the "dada" is Daddy or Darian, maybe it's both!
He also loves to say "ta", whether it's him giving you something or wants something from you. And especially loves to try to feed his dummy to daddy and will say "ta" while he tries to stuff his dummy into daddy's mouth.

(Daddy and Cade at Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium)

He continuously is picking things up off the floor so we have to be really careful with things that could get stuck in his throat. And because he loves to be in Darian's room all the time, we have to always ensure it's safe. He responds to his own name and makes me laugh when he tries to kiss his own reflection, saying "baba". I will say, "Say hi to Cade" and he will look at his reflection and smile and say "baba" and even wave. If I say, "Give Cade a kiss" he will kiss his reflection. It's so cute.

He started walking, fully, at 10 months. From about 9 months, he started cruising around and would take a step and fall down, etc. But he was ready to walk. Up to that point, from the minute he learned to crawl he was trying to stand up, then trying to take a step. And now, trying to run! I'm sure he loves to do so because he wants to be with his brother all the time.

He still loves to eat and will eat anything you give him. I think he may be going through a growth spurt at the moment because he was up at 2am this morning and it took me about an hour to realise that he wanted a bottle. Even Cameron thought, maybe let's just see if he wants to cuddle and then a few minutes later said to me, "no, he needs a bottle". Then this morning, he had his cereal, toast and about 60ml's of milk before he stopped nagging and following me everywhere. I think he realises that mummy knows what he wants and will only come to me if he is hungry, wants his bottle or wants to sleep but Daddy is the go-to-man when it's play time. Typical!

He also had a bout of hand, foot and mouth disease, the week before he got bit (was not a good time for him). And even though he had red spots all over his mouth and on his bottom, he was still his happy, go-lucky self and never stopped smiling.

(Cade & Mummy the week he had HFMD - still smiling. Mummy had to stay home to look after him)

Darian's annual dental Appointment

Today we visited the mobile dental clinic at Rutherford Primary school for Darian's annual dental check up. As he is a low risk and has such a good set of teeth we don't need to see them any more than annually. Anyway, the dental therapist was extremely happy with Darian's teeth and he was just amazing, sitting still, listening and ever so excited to have his mouth inspected. He got 2 stickers and a spider necklace which he was very proud to take to daycare and show off to all his friends.

While we were there, the dental therapist looked at Cade's teeth too and was very happy with him as well as the fact that we've introduced the toothbrush to him. Even though he isn't meant to see the dental therapist til at least 15 months, as we were there, he got in on the action too. He was a bit worried but soon relaxed and let he check his mouth.

Sadly there aren't any pics of Cade cos he was on my lap but we'll do it next time!

They are both such healthy, happy boys! I'm so pleased and beyond blessed.

Cade's 5 month check up

I cannot believe our little Cade is 5 months old already. I'm so enjoying this age. He is starting to move around now and has started to crawl, backwards mostly but moving nonetheless. He is turning over and loves seeing his brother and dad. He will get on all fours and rock back and forth until he can lunge himself forward.

He had a viral infection last week with a red rash all over his body and his eyes. We couldn't necessarily figure out what caused it but our doctor has given us an all clear that it's not anything serious. When he had cradle cap earlier on, Marcus had prescribed a Urea cream that still seems to work on his skin, although he hasn't completely gotten rid of his sensitive skin, we are finally starting to enjoy the baby soft skin he should have.

He is also eating solids now, has been for a few weeks. Loves veggies and fruits and of course has his rice cereal in the mornings. I've also started introducing formula in preparation for my return to full time work. He is doing well and hasn't had any issues on the formula. He will have mainly just one formula feed during the day and at time where I have to be away for an extended period such as grocery shopping or if I'm busy with Darian we will give him another formula feed. He has taken to the bottle really well and is trying to hold it himself, albeit unsuccessfully!

He is still sleeping in his own cot in our room, will continue to do so until he is at least 12 months old. 

He can clearly make known what he wants and has discovered his voice, especially when he wants to be picked up. He will push himself off you and almost catapult himself in the direction of the person he wants. Definitely a strong willed boy who knows what & who, he wants.

Still in love with his big brother, now that he is moving he finds it easier to get to where Darian is and will sit back and laugh and chuckle at Darian's shenanigans.

Weight: 7.60kg's
Length: 65cm

Cade's 3 month check up

Our little boy is 3 months old, well almost... not exactly the 6th but it's close enough.

We had his plunket appointment on Friday and as usual, he is doing extraordinarily well.

Here's what Cade has been up to this month:

Still feeds on demand, exclusively breastfed. He has good days with no fussing yet some nights we revert to that ever tiring "witching hour". I've come to the realisation that "aids" such as Infacol and Gripe water don't do much, I'm not convinced otherwise YET, however I'm outnumbered in the house hold at the moment, both Mum & Cameron are convinced that these are aiding him with his upset or griping tummy. I believe his tummy is quite sensitive and as a breastfed baby I have to be ever so careful about what I eat or drink, as it does have an effect on him. I've started massaging his tummy to alleviate the discomfort of winds and gas and this is helping. I've also learned that shorter feeds with more breaks for winding is helping so much and I've noticed the distinct difference in his fussiness when I do this.

He is getting bigger and sturdier and loves more and more tummy time. He loves having play time and these times are getting longer and longer. I'm afraid the "baby" days are going to be over sooner than I think. He is totally enamored with his big brother and wants to be off, wherever Darian is. He recognises Daddy and Darian's voices now and will stop whatever he is doing when he hears either of them and of course will coo and aah at them almost as if he too is part of the conversation.

I think the teething phase has begun as the drooling is becoming more and more.

Weight: 5.88kg's
Length: 61cm