Merry Christmas Everyone!!

Only 2 more days left of work, then I'm off until after the new year!! It has been a really long time since I've actually taken a Christmas break and will enjoy every minute of snuggling up with my little guy and testing out all of his new toys!

We've got a busy weekend ahead with lots of family and lots of presents for the little guy!  Hopefully, he'll be able to squeeze a few naps in among all of the excitement.

I loved the saying that I put on our Christmas cards this year...

"May you have the gift of faith, the blessing of hope, and the peace of His love, at Christmas and always."

2 months later...

I know, I know.. I've been bad.  No posts in 2 months!!  What can I say, I've been busy!

It's amazing how much he has changed in these 2 months.  He's become much more coordinated and is constantly on the move.  He isn't quite crawling yet, but he gets to where he wants to go by inching his way around.  He is also sitting up on his own, including moving from his stomach to a sitting position by himself.  He's also been trying to pull up on everything to stand up and loves for us to hold his hands so he can wobbly stand there. 

He is still such a happy little guy.  His laugh cracks me up every time and it seems like he's been a real giggle box lately, especially when his Daddy is around.

Christmas pictures to come soon!!

Happy 5 months!

Happy 5 months to our precious baby boy!! (well, one day late)

Time sure has flown by!!! Yet, I can't remember or imagine our lives without him.

Right now, he is anxious to be going on to the next stages and gets very determined and/or frustrated when he wants to do something he isn't quite ready for yet.

He wants to be able to sit up so badly and it constantly straining to sit up if you have him laying down or in a leaning position.

He wants to be able to hold his bottle, but doesn't have the control yet to put it in his mouth or hold it for a length of time.

He gets so determined to put his pacifier in his mouth.  He'll get it in there, but doesn't let go of it when he pulls his hands away, so he pull it right back on out.

He does this scoot thing where he pushes with his legs and he looks like an inch worm if you lay him on his tummy.  You just have to be sure to put him on a blanket so that he doesn't get carpet burn.

He is wearing anywhere from 6 months to 12 months clothes right now.  Anything new I buy, I'm buying 12 months.

He has the cutest little laugh that is so infectious.  You can't help but laugh right along with him.

He is one little happy baby!!  He is always smiling and hardly ever cries (as long as you keep him fed)!!

The other night, we were at Becky and Shawn's and Emma was there too.  I was trying to feed Cace some green beans and Michael was playing with Emma.  He was across the room chasing after her, and saying "I'm going to get you", and Cace could hear him, so he would start smiling and laughing.  So, Michael would have to come over and "get him" too.  It was too cute!!

Here are some pictures from last weekend.  We were at the McGinnis' house an the girls had just had their pictures taken in some Cobras gear.  So, we got a chance to take some football pictures of him.

My tough football face

Much sweeter! Mom's favorite!

We also made an appearance at the fair.  He got all "cowboyed" up for the occasion, but fell asleep while we were there, so didn't get to enjoy it much.  I'll have to post the picture later.  It's saved on my external hard drive which I don't have at the moment.

This weekend, Chita and Matt (Michael's aunt and cousin from Alabama) came to visit.  So, he got all sorts of love.  His Aunt Chita couldn't get over how strong he is and how much he laughs out loud at only 5 months!!

I am so excited about fall!! We have our first cold front tonight. Time to bust out my cardigans (truthfully, I've been trying to get by with wearing them for a while now)!!  It also means that I probably need to do some more shopping for Cace too!! Definitely need some leg warmers and some more long sleeve onesies!!

Random Pics

Here are some random pics mostly from my iphone to share with everyone... most are pretty self explanatory.  And Rocco finally gets to make it to blog!!! Poor thing!!

 

You are the apple of my eye

Check out this deliciousness!!  I just love these pictures.  He is so stinkin' adorable!!

Getting the last one with him sitting up was interesting.  He can sit up a little bit, but usually leaning forward over his legs, which is not a very good pose for pictures.  So, he tried propping apples, the basket, etc. around him so we could get a couple of shots.  Well, as you might have guessed, this is what happened...

We had a very busy week last week and poor Cace ended up falling asleep in the car and having to go straight to bed once we got home.  Michael is working nights this week, so we should be able to just chill out at home this week.

Saturday we all went to the Cody Ellison Memorial Fishing tournament.  Cace got to meet a lot of new people and gave everyone his cute little smile.  It was so great so see everyone, especially all of the new babies.  Michael didn't weight anything in, but everyone had a great time supporting a great cause in honor of a great person.  I've got pictures coming that should be posted on the Tournament facebook page soon!

We also had a baby shower to go to in Austin on Sunday.  Cace slept almost the entire time in the car.  We stopped to eat/stretch at the Whataburger in Lockhart.  It was his first time to sit in a hair chair and he was a champ.  He loved being able to look around at everyone and get the attention of all of the old ladies :)

Lessons learned for the week:
- Cace doesn't like to eat in restaurants... he is too busy looking around at everybody!!  I thought we would make a stop on the way home Sunday so he could move around a bit and go ahead and take his bottle, but he was too busy to notice he should have been hungry.
- This is a future lesson for Cace: Never ever drink after T-Pa.... no batter how pretty his drink looks, you never know what's in there :)

Boat ride

We took Cace out for his first boat ride last Thursday evening.  We rode up the river to the first sand bar and got him out and got his feet wet a little bit.  We've been wanting to do this for a while, but were waiting until we were sure he could handle it... but we didn't want to wait too long because the weather is going to be cool before we know it.

He usually takes a little nap around the time we went out.  So, considering that he was a little sleepy, he did great!!

It was fun to watch him take in the new experience and be surprised by the wind hitting his face.

Michael started to put him on his back to float around in the water, but he didn't like that much at all.

I love his concerned look in the picture on the right!!

Lessons Learned for the week....
- Use your vacation time to make your life easier!! I've been trying to find a time to go get my haircut, but she keeps being booked on Saturdays, so I took Friday afternoon off to get it done while Cace was still at the babysitters.
- Follow instructions!!  I attempted at making a skirt this weekend.  I thought I would make it a little fuller than the instructions said, but then I had too much fabric when I was trying to sew the elastic on, which made it a little difficult.  I also didn't pay enough attention to the instructions on how to sew on the elastic because I had my own idea in my head of how it should work.  But, of course, I was wrong.  So, this skirt will be great as something I can wear around the house for work and stuff, but definitely not in public.  I'll have to try again.
-With the 2 year anniversary of Brianna's death yesterday and of Cody's this weekend, the ultimate life lesson is treasuring every moment that you are given and how precious our lives here on earth are.  With Cace here this year, it is hard to think about him not knowing these two wonderful people who would have been his Aunt Bri and Uncle Cody.

4 months old!!

Cace turned 4 months old this weekend!!! I can't believe how the time has gone by.  Sometimes it seems like forever ago since he was born and then other times I can't we have a 4 month old baby!!

He is definitely still growing and growing!! We had his 4 month check up today and weighed in at 19 pounds, 4 ounces and is 25 inches long!!  Next up, trying to feed him some solids.

A couple of notes about where he is at this milestone...

- He is always wanting to be sitting up.  If you lean him back a little bit, he'll start straining trying to sit himself up, even when he's in the carseat.
- He is enjoying his toys a lot more and loves to look at new things.  He especially loves any type of puppet.
- If we put him on his stomach now, he scoots himself (face first, with his feet kicking around) across the blanket to get to a toy, etc.
- He is starting to notice details.  In my mom's stroller that she has for him, he kept trying to figure out the monsters that are on fabric. 

Some pictures from this weekend hanging out and trying out some new toys....

Playing with my new activity center.. I especially love the bongo playing lion puppet!!

First time in the Johnny Jump Up... he mostly just pushed himself around in circles (and chewed on the side)!

Playing music

I still love to look at the trees!!

Cace with Taylor and Emma

Lessons learned for the week....

- Have low hanging trees.. We were looking for a place to hang the Johnny Jump Up outside but all of the trees were too tall... and no if you get a ladder to hang it, Cace won't be able to reach the ground. :)
- Cace is too good to be true.  He just goes with the flow as long as he can squeeze in a nap and you keep him fed.  If he wasn't mine, seeing him would make my uterus hurt.  But since he's mine, I just know the next one will be a monster :)
- Why do bibs have such small necks?  Cace is only 4 months and none of bibs (and we have a basket full of them) fit him.  So, luckily, T Ma came to the rescue and sewed extenders onto some of his bibs and made us a couple of extenders that clip on.  And on to the biggest lesson, courtesy of T Ma...
- don't rush when there are needles involved!!  T Ma sewed her finger while she was sewing a bib and had the needle point break off into her finger and had to have T Pa get it out for her before she passed out.... oh and did I mention all of this happened around midnight.  

Cast and Blast 2011

This weekend we took Cace on his first overnight trip.  We went to Luling for TPIC's Cast and Blast Weekend down at their park on the San Marcos river.  We stayed in Seguin and drove over for all of the festivities.

My parents had a great time showing him off to everyone.  It was funny to hear other people besides them call him "Tuff", since they've all heard all about him.

My mom made him another fishing shirt for the occasion with the TPIC and Cast and Blast logos embroidered on.  He also got to be Jr. Commander for the weekend (my Dad was commander)!!

 

Pictures of the boys...

 Friday night, they had Ponty Bone come out and play.  We've seen him before at Gruene Hall and Michael loves him.  I was putting Cace down to sleep so I missed a lot of it, but got some pictures when he was setting up and had first started.  Cace started crying as soon as the music started... not sure if it was a coincidence since he was getting tired or he didn't like it.

Michael and my dad with Ponty Bone and RC Banks, a blues musician

Lessons learned for the week....

- here's one for Tony... never wear hats (see above).  He actually already knew this and put it on just for laughs.  There's something about it that just doesn't seem right.

- if Cace is already asleep for the night, don't try and move him.  We put him to sleep in my parent's camper while Ponty Bone was playing Friday night.  Tony was staying with them too, so there really wasn't any room for him to stay there.  We should have figured something out because he woke up once we got to the hotel and was wide awake for another hour and a half.

- don't let Rocco see us take our bags to the car.  He always used to get excited when he would see us packing our bags when we lived in Tomball, because most of the time it meant he was going to get to come too.  Now that we live down here, he can stay at home and Michael's parents can take care of him while we're gone.  He got all excited when we were leaving and tried to get into the truck.  He finally squeezed his way into the front and refused to get out.  Michael had to open up the door to my car to trick him into thinking that we were going in my car to get him out.  Poor thing!!

Busy, Busy...

We had a busy week!!  My parents were down for the week and weekend starting last Tuesday.  We went over to their house on Tuesday and Sunday night, my grandparents house on Friday night and he stayed all day with my parents on Thursday and then we went out to eat.  We also went to Victoria on Saturday with Becky and went to Hobby Lobby and Olive Garden and went to a wedding shower on Sunday afternoon, including helping to decorate!  Needless to say, he and I both have been exhausted.  On the plus side though, he went to bed a lot earlier than normal the last few days, so hopefully we can keep that trend going.

Where he's at right now...
- He's starting grabbing for things this week.  If you put something in front of him, he'll grab hold of it (and try to put it in his mouth)!!
- If I hold him in a sitting position, I can let go for a couple of seconds before he starts falling over.

I've also given up on thinking that he looks anything like me after I found a picture of Michael where they look almost exactly alike.

Lessons learned for the week...
- My husband is secretly a bear (or possibly, Batman, but in a town where there is no crime, so he gets to live a normal life).... I came home the other day when he was working nights and he had covered the window with foil and shut the bedroom door to make himself a little cave to sleep in.
- I need to do an inspection before my Mom leaves with Cace to see what she is taking with her so that he doesn't end up with more pictures in the UT onesie his Uncle Tony gave him!!
-My reprieve from people asking "When are you going to have a baby?" is officially over.  I thought having one would have at least bought us a little more time before people would start asking when we are going to have another. 
- A new quote I found... "Anyone can make the simple complicated.  Creativity is making the complicated simple."  It always amazes me how awestruck people get when things are homemade.  All it takes is the right material and supplies and anything is possible!!

Weekly recap

Cace turned 3 months last Wednesday.  A couple of things about him at this milestone...

- He loves to be talked to.  If you talk to him, his face will light up and he'll get a big grin on his face.
- He also loves to talk back!!  He'll make a gurgling noise that is too precious for words.
- He likes to be holding a blanket or something in his hands when he is sleepy.  I started giving him a little blanket to hold on to after he was scratching me trying to grab something or holding onto my shirt which wasn't good for laying him down once he was asleep.
-  We call him "squirmy wormy".  When he is excited, he moves his arms and legs around like crazy.  The other night we laid him on his activity mat so that he could look at his toys and himself in the mirror and he ended up turning around with his head ending up where his feet had started by pushing off with his feet.
- He may be a little bit of a momma's boy, but his face lights up when he sees his daddy.
- I started putting him in his crib at night this weekend.  He did great!! Once he is asleep, he is out for the night.  Lately, it's been the getting asleep part that hasn't been the easiest.  He gets tired and ready to bed around 8:30 or 9:00, but he still wants to eat one more time around 10:00 or 10:30.  When he wakes up to eat that last time though, he isn't going right back to sleep.

Our 6 year wedding anniversary is also coming up this next weekend.  Michael has to work next weekend, so we went ahead and celebrated our anniversary a week early with a trip to Gruene.  We debated taking Cace with us or not and whether to stay overnight.  We decided to leave him at home with his MoMo and PoPo for the day (we weren't ready to leave him overnight yet).  It was a good thing we left him at home, because it would have been WAY too hot for him!!  We had a good time just the two of us and got to relax a little bit.  I finally got to enjoy  a little alcohol and I definitely took advantage of being baby free for the day!!

Left: At The Gristmill overlooking the river Right: At Gruene Hall listening to music

We also went to Lavaca Bluffs Winery, the winery that is in Lolita.  It was really good!! He is running low on some of his wines and is expecting to get his next batch in September.  We will definitely be going back!!  The wines are all named off of historical landmarks in the area and it was neat to hear the stories.  Check out their website.  http://www.lavacabluffs.com

It's amazing what all has changed in our lives since our anniversary last year.  It was that weekend and the week after that set into motion all of the changes that would happen, including getting pregnant and Michael changing jobs and eventually us moving back home.  We wanted all of it so badly, but were scared of taking the leap.  I can't even describe how great it is to be living back home close to our families with Cace now here and with both of us less stressed.  Michael's stress levels were way too high when he was at UPS... now most days you can find him on the river.  I really enjoy working from home.  It's nice to be able to throw on a tank top and shorts and walk to my computer instead of the hour plus commute I had everyday.  It definitely gives me more time than what I would have had with the little guy.

I've been reading another blog and every week she does a lessons learned post that I think is a great idea.  So, here are my lessons learned from last week:

- It's important to spend some time together, just the two of us, so that we can be "Michael and Erin" for a little while instead of "Mom and Dad".
- Do not try to eat ice cream from a cone outside when it is 110 degrees outside!! IT WILL MELT!! ALL OVER YOU!!
- Another heat lesson: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, attempt to clean out a storage unit, in the heat of August.  It's worth a month or two more months of rent to leave it there and deal with it later when it's not completely miserable outside.
- When something jumps out of a box you had in storage, it's probably a mouse, not a frog, especially when you find another mouse in the box.

Almost 3 months!!