Trick or Treat a hit!

Happy Halloween!

Blayne was a cow- she had been telling us she wanted to be a cow for Halloween for some time now- so a cow it was. She wanted Caden to be a cow as well, and in effort to have a corresponding costume, we all settled on a bottle of milk. Mia and Bucca surprised us all as a Fireman and his dalmation!

We started the evening with a walk around the block to our favorite houses. About an hour or so into the night, Mommy asked Blayne- "Are you ready to go home now?" The quick response was "No, we have to trick or treat!"

So, we did a second round on the golf cart, hitting just about any and every house that might have candy.

By the end of the evening it was clearly a goal to get as much candy as possible into her bucket.

Evidence of our success!

Halloween Pre-game

We had lots of work to do on Halloween day. Mia and Bucca had just arrived and planned lots of festive activities. There were pumpkins to carve, seeds to bake, cookies to decorate, and lots more. And that doesn't even account for all the trick-or-treating that needed to be done later on...

The Mia-Bucca gift

A little bit of background:
Ok. Well, when daddy was a little baby, Bucca had gotten him a rocking horse and when Aunt Quinny was a baby, she was given a cradle. So, logically, when they started having babies of their own, these heirlooms were passed on to the corresponding family- which, obviously, left Blayne without a cradle and Kennedy without a rocking horse. So, when Blayne was born, it made sense for Mia and Bucca to build her a beautiful cradle and Ms. Kennedy an equally gorgeous rocking horse.

(For the record- it is my understanding that Aunt Haley got no such gift, so her first child will be receiving both a cradle and a rocking horse ;-)

Mommy and Daddy complicated matters with a second child, so now Mia and Bucca had to come up with yet another idea for a special gift.

After lots of guesswork, some hints and a puzzle, the newest work of art was revealed:

A Rocking Motorcycle!

Thank you so much Mia and Bucca for this amazing creation. It is truly a masterpiece. We will all enjoy it for years to come!

Reinforcements!

As all things do, our visit with Zara came to an end. We did manage to survive an entire 6 and a half days on our own before we were in desperate need of reinforcements! Luckily, Mia and Bucca had already scheduled a visit to meet Caden and help us adjust to our new life as a family of four.

They arrived anxious to hold our baby boy, give big hugs and kisses to Ms. Blayne and eager to help!

Caden James: 2 weeks young

Here we are at 2 weeks after Caden's arrival! It is amazing that two weeks have already passed and yet unbelievable that he hasn't been with us always.

He is as sweet as can be- he is soft spoken and easily calmed. He sleeps up to six hours at a time and eats like a champ. He is the kind of baby that makes you want to have three more (almost). Watch out ladies- he will be a charmer!

At his 2 week check up his 7 lbs 1.2oz birth weight has already increased to 8lbs 3oz. He has also grown a quarter of an inch. He is jaundice free and passed his developmental skills with flying colors.

We feel incredibly lucky to have him in our arms and a beautiful baby girl who is always trying to get him in hers! They are an awesome pair!

Sibling Rivalry...

Caden-1; Blayne-0

Not really!

You don't think we would let our precious little boy hurt our precious little girl, do you?!? At least not yet, and at least not on purpose. Plus, Caden may be gaining weight and size at lightening speed, but my money's still on Blayne...

It may not be the first fight, but it is her first black eye, and I also have money on the fact that it won't be the last.

Poor Ms. Blayne had a little run in with the bathtub when she concocted the bright idea to stand on the ledge with wet feet and went face first into the side. Ah yes, and don't think she didn't try to do the same thing the next evening...oh no, like I said, this will not be the last, definitely not.

1 week as a family of 4

We have survived an entire week as a family of four- well, five, actually as Zara is still with us (and thank goodness, as we can use the help!).

Caden and Blayne are both doing extremely well and adjusting without a hitch to changing dynamics. Blayne (as you may have noticed) is totally in love with him and wants to be with him 24-7. We try and keep him up high to avoid any damage by way of Portuguese or big sis- but she has confiscated anything and everything that could possibly be used as a stool in order to have constant access to him.

Caden is also doing well- he is a (knock on wood) really good baby. He is sleeping well, eating well, starting to spend more time awake and alert, and in general, very content with his new surroundings.

It is different and wonderful having a baby again- we are enjoying every moment!

Starting him early

Ms. Blayne made sure that she showed Caden exactly how she talks her way into a Kemah trip every time we have a visitor!

He may look tired, but don't think he's sleeping...it was all part of the plan!

This was not actually the first time Blayne and Zara has been on the "cows" this trip. I'm telling you- she's good!

And please don't think we left without a choo-choo ride. That was the whole ploy from the beginning...then it escalates to cows and airplanes and so forth.

Just a little more adjustment to life in Clear Lake Shores...it'll wear you out!

Bath time

I'm not sure it was quite as aweful as he makes it look, but it's never a whole lot of fun before you lose that belly button!

At least mommy had good help gettin' him clean!

A festive introduction

Our local farmer's market had a special Saturday pumpkin patch and halloween festival- which proved a great opportunity to introduce Caden to our friends and neighbors- as well as pick a pumpkin!

We had lots of fun and great photo ops to get us into the spirit!

Homecoming

Just a short 36 hours after Caden was born, we were released from the hospital with a relatively clean bill of health. The only thing of concern was Caden's slightly elevated biliruben level that we tested again on Friday, and a final time on Saturday before seeing the expected improvement.

Coming home- just the four of us for the first time- brought a few quick realizations:

-1:1 is a slightly frightening ratio

Although we love having no car payment, the 10-year-old 5 series is NOT a family vehicle...who's idea was it again to let the Pilot drown in the hurricane?

-You really do need that foam piece they give you to level the car seat- you know, the one that after hours of digging through the closets, attic and garage, we said "what was that for anyway?" (you'll feel better -maybe- knowing that daddy drove home holding Caden's head in place while mommy shifted gears...)

We made it home in one piece, despite some obviously necessary adjustments. We met Zara at the house who helped us get everyone up and situated- especially considering the overly interested Portuguese-one in particular who became Caden's shadow within the first 2 minutes of arrival (it's OK though, I believe he is on his way to Connecticut shortly to join another family-of-four-to-be).

We are glad to be home and looking forward to settling into at least a glimpse of a routine over the next few weeks.