I just put up 4 new posts! I have a backlog of things I've been wanting to write about, but no pictures to back up my stories. If you're like me and love the pictures, that is no good. Anyway, be sure to scroll down through all of them, especially the 4 month post at the bottom

We went to Washington, Illinois to visit Lindsey twice in November. The first time was when Joshua was born. I was a little nervous because I would be driving 8 hours alone with Cade. Kirk was going hunting in North Dakota that weekend though and I didn't want to stay home alone and Lindsey needed my help and I wanted to see her baby. All good reasons to brave the drive. Cade was an angel and slept the entire way. We stopped twice each direction for him to eat and walked around a bit. We got there the day before Lindsey was being induced. She and Jason left for the hospital early and I stayed home with Daniel and Cade all day. Lindsey is a tough cookie and came home with Joshua the next afternoon. I was able to be at her house Wednesday through Sunday and it was totally worth the trip.

Kirk, Cade and I went back for Thanksgiving. We left Memphis Wednesday afternoon and went to St. Louis where we spent the night with my cousin Trevor and his family. They made us a delicious breakfast of waffles and fruit then we took off to eat some more at Lindsey's. Jason made an awesome dinner.

We mostly hung out at their apartment. The one thing we had planned on doing (seeing a Christmas light parade) got rained out.
Cade and (all of) his cousins! Thanks to Grandma Smith for the matching shirts

Cade and Daniel. Daniel loves the babies and Cade loves the TV

Cade and Josh

I had a lot of fun this year making presents for my family.
I started by sewing CELEBRATE banners for Lindsey, Kristi and Kara:

I made a stocking for Cade (Don't know why is is upside down)

and an apron for Connor. Later my friend helped me to embroider his name on it

For each of our married siblings, I made a set of picture puzzle blocks. Each side of the cubes can be put together to make a new picture


I also made a necklace holder for Melissa, a recipe card holder for Lisa and some framed words for my dad, but I don't have pictures of those.
What should be my next project?

This is the first year in 21 years I haven't had and official "Christmas Break" from school. Weird. Kirk did though!

We had a great Christmas, starting with a Christmas Eve party with 4 other families in our ward. We had a yummy dinner of ham, potatoes, jello and rolls, sang some Christmas songs and attempted to act out the nativity play.

Our Nativity: Cade is the sheep on the floor.


It was a fun night. We ended up having 10 adults, 3 3-year olds, 3 1.5-year olds and 2 babies. I am so glad that we friends to celebrate with!

Christmas morning started with the traditional coffee cake and grapefruit. We went to church at 9, came home and skyped with my family, Kirk's parents and then Scott and Kara. We opened presents over skype with each group. It was a lot of fun to see the family, even though we couldn't actually be there.

Kirk has had this week off as well. We decided to do a fishing trip to the White River in northern Arkansas. (Someday we may go on vacation not centered around fishing. I'm still waiting for that day. With my husband though, it may never come :) ) Monday we got ready for the trip, packing food and gear. We've been talking about buying a kayak since we moved here and Kirk finally decided that it was time so he went to Bass Pro and came home with a beautiful new kayak.

Tuesday morning we headed out to the river (4 hour drive). We made it and were able to fish in the Norfork River, next to the White. We spent the night at a nice little cabin right next to the White river. here is the view from the outside and inside:



Unfortuately, I had a sore throat and Cade was not being himself. I'm pretty sure he started to get sick on Monday. Cade had a hard day all of Tuesday and Tuesday night was probably the worst we had since he was born. I think I slept a grand total of 4 hours, broken up into 4 chunks. We had Cade sleeping in his car seat (instead of the pack 'n' play) because of his stuffy nose, but he just woke up screaming over and over. I ended up holding him from 6:30 to 9:30 while he finally got some good sleep. Cade and I dropped off Kirk at the river and he spent the day kayaking down and fishing. Cade and I spent the day at our cabin, watching TV and napping. We had planned on staying 2 nights, but Cade changed our minds. He wouldn't fall asleep Wednesday night. He would get close, then just start screaming again. Finally after an hour of trying, we decided to just pack up and go home thinking he would sleep in the car. We made it home a little after midnight. Cade slept the whole way and we didn't have to stop. He continued sleeping well until 10 am with just 1 interupption for food. Hopefully my baby feels good soon!

December 7 we woke up to this. We were told when we moved here that it only snows 2-3 times a year. Well, we've already had it snow twice! P.S. I love the view out of our apartment. Just a big field and a road. We've seen a coyote in that field a few times recently too.

Getting the mail
All of the mailboxes for our complex are in the same place so it is about a 7 minute walk over there. Cade and I make the trek everyday. This was today (December 20). He loves sitting up in the stroller and looking around at cars and stuff as we walk.
We went to a Christmas party the other night so Cade was wearing his Santa suit. I wanted some pictures of him under the tree and this is the best I got. Most of them didn't really turn out, but I love his face here.

We were able to bless Cade on Sunday, December 18. We were hoping to have Kirk's parents come for Christmas, and then his dad could help bless, but it didn't work out. Cade was happy the whole time. It worked out great. Kirk was nervous but did a great job. The bishopric member made a comment afterward that Cade was big enough that we could send him off on a mission in a few months! Here's my boys at home after church. Cade was super tired, but I wanted a picture before his clothes got dirty (which they did, he pooped on them a couple hours later). Also, notice the cute stocking I made for Cade in the background!

Now it's almost Christmas! We've got stuff wrapped and under our tree and have been lucky enough to get a few extra packages in the mail! Thanks to Mom, Lisa and Alan! This is the first time we will be spending Christmas on our own, away from the parents. I am a little sad and wish we could go to Utah. But, luckily we have skype! We are also planning a Christmas Eve party with some friends. My family always had a big Christmas Eve party and so I decided that I still wanted to celebrate that night, even though we won't be with family. I still love this time of year and all of the decorations and goodies and fun things that go along with it. I love walking to the mailbox and getting Christmas cards (Thank you for sending them!!) I love how everyone seems nicer and seems more focused on becoming more like Christ.

Merry Christmas!!

I think that 3 months was kind of a breaking point for us. Once Cade hit that age, things started to get easier.

He consistently takes 3 naps a day with a total of 5-6 hours of sleep. These naps are usually 1.5-2 hours, but occasionally we get a 45-minute one thrown in there. He has been waking up once at night (still) but it is getting later and quicker. Last week it was 3:30-4:00. Saturday night, he woke once but I gave him the binky and he went back to sleep and NEVER ATE!! This morning he didn't wake up until 5:00. I tried the binky again, but I think he was starving because it didn't work. He consistently wakes up happy in the morning between 6:30 and 7:00. He is usually up for an hour at a time and when I put him in bed he talks to himself for 5-20 minutes then falls asleep. Sometimes it takes a little longer--I bet we average around 20 minutes.

Thankfully, Cade is still wearing size 3 diapers and 3-6 month clothes. The clothes are starting to get tight, but his growth rate has definitely slowed down.
4 month stats:
Height 27 inches (95 percentile)
Weight 19 lbs 5 oz (95 percentile)

New things--
Cade has been wanting to sit up for a while, but he is finally getting some balance. We practice everyday :). He can sit alone, though pretty slumped over, for about 20 seconds. He can sit for a long time with one of my hands on his tummy or back or arm. Sitting on his own:


We have a battery powered train that makes noise and runs by itself. I put him on his stomach and let the train go back and forth in front of him and he LOVES it. As soon as he sees it, he starts grunting and wiggling all over.

If Cade is in the right mood and you tickle his chin, he will giggle out loud.  This happens most often right after he eats and is talking to me while laying on the boppy pillow. 
Cade has started reaching for toys as well. We (actually Kirk's grandma) got him a jumperoo. It has a swivel seat with toys all around. When the baby jumps or moves certain toys lights come on and music plays. We use it at dinner time everyday :). Cade loves it! He learned pretty quick that he could use his hands to turn the rattle and make the music play. When we put him hin there he gets really serious and stares at the toys. Then he gets excited and starts jumping. He doesn't try to control his arms when he jumps and so they flop all over. It is pretty funny. This jumperoo has helped him realize that his hands are connected to his body and he can do things with them.

When I help him sit up on the floor, I like to put some blocks nearby and he will reach out his hand and spin the rattles on them.

Cade loves to blow raspberries. Anytime, anywhere. This makes him a lot more drool-y. The night he realized that he could do it, he laid on the floor for about 20 minutes just spitting! Often I hear him spitting like this as he is falling asleep.

Cade has been sucking his hands for a while, but in the last few days he started sucking his thumb. Always the right hand with the rest of his fingers spread out over his face. Not sure how I feel about this habit. . .


His hair has started to come in more on top and is getting thicker.

Cade's favorite game right now is peek-a-boo. We use the blue blanket and wiggle it in front of him and count to 3. He gets excited and starts wiggling and gets a big smile. Then we throw the blanket all over him and he draws his breath in really quick and wiggles until the blanket comes off. One night he was being really cranky so he and I played peek-a-boo for about 30 minutes. He was smiling the whole time. I never thought I could play for so long. (P.S. Did you know that the blanket was recently adopted into the toy hall of fame?)

He still likes to read stories. I try to read a few each day. I think I have all 7of his books memorized. He has started reaching for the books and hits the pages as I read. Someday he may notice all of the textures that are in the books. Right now he just stares at the pages and hits them.

A while ago I shared some funny things that you can find around Memphis. Here are a few new ones we've come across:
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Guys here wear cowboy boots--for real. Guys that are my age and want to dress a little nicer wear cowboy boots, tight-ish jeans (but not skinny jeans), a belt and a tucked-in, plaid, button-up shirt. Never seen that before.
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Ever heard of Catfish head stew? Neither had I. Apparently you eat the rest of the catfish, and use the heads to make a stew. You don't eat the heads.
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When eating a crawdad, you are supposed to suck the brains out of the head. YUCK! No, I did not try that one.
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A deer got hit and killed by a car right outside of our chuch while crossing the road. One of our friends saw it happen. He has been hunting here several times, but never been able to shoot a deer. He asked a guy in our bishopric if he could just take that one home. The bishopric member said sure, loaded it into his own truck and helped to butcher the deer. They ended up getting over 30 pounds of meat. In Utah, this is illegal, but hey, we're in Mississippi now!
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I was waiting in line at Bass Pro Shop and Cade was in his carseat in the stroller, meaning he was facing backwards. The lady behind us in line was talking to Cade and he was smiling and being really friendly back. She and I started talking a little bit and she asked what his name was. I told her Cade. She asked me to repeat it and I did then she asked me to spell it. I said C-A-D-E and she said "oh, Ca-aide!" then to the baby "I can't understand your mama's accent. Where is she from?" I told her Utah and she said she could tell I was new to the south. Earlier that same day, Kirk was at a dentist appointment and the assistant there couldn't understand him and said he talked too fast.

Wow, I can't believe Cade made it to 3 months and he and I are still alive and smiling. Hopefully we make it many more months!

This is long--so if you just want to see pictures, scroll down to the bottom!

Here's some highlights:

Cade wakes each day between 6 and 7; eats about 4 oz every 3-3.5 hours. He takes 3 naps about 1.5-2.5 hours long (on good days. we usually end up with one 45 min. in there). He decided that he doesn't like to sleep from 5-7 so skips that nap and is pretty fussy. He is in bed by 7 pm. I do a dreamfeed at 10 pm and he wakes on his own once during the night between 2 and 4; eats and goes right back to sleep. He is getting much better at putting himself to sleep. We don't have any crying during the night (7 am to 7 pm) and he is usually asleep within 30 minutes of me laying him down during the day. He spends some time crying and some time just talking to himself. I think the crying is just in protest :). Some days we even have "magic" naps where he doesn't cry and is asleep within 10 minutes!

Cade is getting so strong! He loves to sit up. If I put him in his bouncer or on my lap, he doesn't relax, but raises his head up and tries to sit up. When he is laying on his tummy his head is up at 90 degree angle. He also loves to stand and we practice every day. I think I'm in trouble once he starts moving. He is super wiggly and never holds still unless he is asleep.

Cade also loves to talk. He talks to himself as he falls asleep, talks/grunts while he eats, while we play, when I read or sing to him...yep, all of the time! When he is starting to get tired the talking stops and the grunting gets more high pitched.

Cade still loves bathtime, walks, being outside and being around lots of people. He just looks around and is super curious. He watches whatever is going on. He likes to watch tv too when it is on.

Cade loves music. I have been singing him action songs like "popcorn popping," "wheels on the bus," "do as I'm doing," "patty cake," and "monkeys jumping on the bed." I grab his hands and make him do the actions. He loves it. He will get a big smile on his face. It is really fun, even though I feel really silly doing it. He loves toys that make noise or play music or have lights too. I set up our jumperoo today and I think he is going to love it!

We have recently moved into size 3 diapers, but most of his clothes (3-6 months) still fit. He has definitely slowed down in growing, but he is still getting bigger.

Church time is getting more difficult. We have to wake him up from a nap to go and he doesn't go back to sleep. I can usually get him to sleep in my arms or the carseat for a little while, but we are in primary and so he gets woken up pretty soon. He doesn't sleep everywhere all of the time any more!

Cade is getting more playful. He tries to eat anything that touches his face. He loves it when Kirk or I put a blanket over our head with him and make a "tent." His eyes get all big and he looks around. When we tickle his face with the blanket, he gets a big smile and tried to eat it. We have some rattle blocks he loves to watch. We also have a battery train. If we let it run in front of him while he is on his tummy he will watch it move back and forth. He smiles whenever I talk to him and is starting to giggle more and more.

He really wants to sit up!


He is really good at holding up his head while on his stomach



Love this little guy!

Kirk and I love to get out of the house--especially if we'll be spending time outside. We haven't been able to do as much as we like for the last year (pregnancy, dental school, moving, baby etc.) but we have gotten out a few times in the last little while.
At the end of October we drove over to Arkansas and took Cade on his first fishing trip. It is a 3 hour drive. We planned to leave as soon as Cade woke up and was fed. Usually he was getting up around 6:30, but that day he decided he couldn't wait and woke up at 5:45. Kirk was pleased, I was tired. :) I fed him and then he slept the whole way there. Kirk held him in the Bjorn and fished for a while.


Cade watched and took a little snooze. I was able to catch 2 trout right off which was really fun.

Diaper change with Kirk on an island in the river.

We ate lunch and drove to another part of the river. I sat at the car with Cade while he slept in in his car seat and let Kirk fish for a while. He called me though and said we had to switch because he had just caught 8 fish in about 45 minutes. So we did and he sat with Cade and I went and caught 5 before it was time to feed the little guy again. We headed home as it was getting dark and Cade slept the whole way back. All in all, it was a fun trip to a beautiful place. Cade did great--he loves being outside. We'll definitely be doing it again.

Last weekend we drove down to a lake about 30 minutes south of here. I had read that there were some hiking trails and we decided to explore. It turns out that there are 2- 3- and 5-mile that all start at the parking lot. We opted for the 2 miler and had a nice walk through the trees. We have a reputation for going on "Cheryl Hikes" which usually go straight up a mountain or something. This was flat with a nice wide trail. It was a fun hike, but really more of a walk and would be even better on a mountain bike. Cade spent the first part just looking around everywhere and then slept for a while.

Kirk found a giant leaf. The leaves here are pretty much done changing, but it is fun to have an autumn again. The first time I saw a tree with red leaves this year I had to remind myself that leaves do change in the fall. We didn't get much of that in California.

And justfor good luck, this is one of my favorite pictures of Cade. Love it when he smiles for the camera!

Cade has become so much more fun at 2.5 months than I thought he would be. He loves attention and will smile and talk back to you if you give it to him. He is happy to sit in his bouncy chair as long as I am around and talking to him, which is really nice while I make dinner. He also likes to put his hands right in front of his mouth when he smiles. I pulled the camera out a few times recently and tried to capture his cute little smile and wanted to post a few of my favorites. If he looks big for a 2.5 month old, he is. He is wearing all 3-6 month clothes and they fit perfectly!






P.S. This is my 100th post! Go Me!
P.P.S. I needed to do this post today. Cade got up twice last night, not sleeping more than 3 hours at a time. It has been a LONG time since this has happened while we were here at home. He also decided to only sleep 45 minutes this morning instead of 2 hours. Now he is asleep and has been for 2 hours! Yay! I needed to look at these cute pictures and remember that he is a fun baby, he just has off days.
Actually, he is pretty consistent with his daily schedule, taking 3 naps between 1.5-2.5 hours each. I love it. However, his nights are totally inconsistent. He always sleeps from 7-10 then is back in bed at 10:30 but hten he wakes up sometime between 1:30 and 4:00 am for about 30 minutes, goes back to sleep then is up for the day between 6 and 7. Someday we will get a solid 8 hours of sleep, but until then, I am trying really hard to be patient.

We always swaddle Cade to put him to bed. He seems to love it. However, about half of the time he manages to work his arms out of the swaddle. Whenever this happens, he sleeps with his arms above his head. I think he's practicing to be a football referee--Touchdown!
Aren't sleeping babies a sweet sight?

I took Cade to get pictures taken today at JC Penney. While the lady there was trying to get him to smile, I bent over and totally ripped out my pants. Sure, I'm a little heavier than I was before I got pregnant, but really? Ripping out pants? These are pants I've had for 8 years and the seat was really thin, so I'm sure it's been coming for a long time! Luckily I was wearing a long sweater and I was able to pull it down to cover up the rip and my bum!

Cade is officially 2 months old! The time has flown, but it seems like a decade ago that I was pregnant. A few highlights from the last month:

• Cade is getting more and more smiley all the time. He smiles when we talk to him and spontaneously.


• He loves being outside. He gets excited everytime he is put in the carseat and is really calm whenever we go on walks. If he is fussy and won't settle down, we go walk outside and he love it nd calms down right away.


• He totally knows who his mommy is! He will follow me with his eyes as I walk around and if he hears my voice and someone else is holding him, he looks around.


• He recently discovered his tongue--he has starting licking everything, especially his hands and also sticks his tongue in and out


• Cade loves the bath! Yesterday he was in the tub for about 15 minutes, just kicking and splashing all over. He knows when a bath is coming too. If I take him in the bathroom while the water is running, he starts smiling and then as I get him undressed, he starts talking and get all excited. It is really amazing how much he picks up on at 2 months old!

• He is a cuddly little guy, especially when he gets tired. He really love to lay on his Daddy's chest in the recliner.


• He can hold his head up pretty steady


• He loves music


• He has gotten much better at going to sleep on his own. Most of the time he cries for less than 15 minutes during the day and not at all at night and for his morning nap.


• Cade goes to bed about 7:30, I wake him up to eat at 10 before I go to bed and then he wakes up once more at night (most of the time). He is up for the day between 6 and 7 am.


• Usually he sleeps in 3.5-4 hour chunks at night. A couple of times he has hit 5.5. I hope this becomes more of a habit soon! Still waiting for the day when he sleeps 7+ hours.


• He is getting pretty big too. We had to move up to 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers about 2 weeks ago.

We went to the doctor today for his 2 month check up. The doctor said he is the size of an average 4 month old and called him a show-off because he kept smiling and rolled over.

Height: 25 inches, 95 percentile

Weight: 14 lbs 8 oz, 95 percentile

We love our little guy. True, he can be frustrating and is a lot of work and is tiring. . . etc. But, it is all worth it when he smiles and talks to you and gets excited because you are singing "Popcorn Popping."

This is Cade the day I brought him home from the hospital:
5 days old, 8.5 pounds and sleepy.






















This is Cade yesterday, 45 days later. Same carseat, same outfit, much bigger baby! He is now 7 weeks old, weighs roughly 12 pounds and is moving up to 3-6 month clothes and size 2 diapers.

We have also been letting him learn to fall asleep on his own, meaning no more rocking to sleep. It has been a challenge, but there is hope. He has had a handful of naps where he fell asleep without crying and the average crying duration is getting shorter. I think in the end he does get better sleep and it is a good thing, but it is hard to get through right now.

We are having fun with him! He is so much more alert when he is awake and I noticed him getting bored for the first time yesterday--guess I need to step it up a bit!