Happy Mother's Day!

Today. Was. Perfect.

The weather was beautiful, the food was delicious, the company was outstanding, the baby was (relatively) happy, and I got to be celebrated too. I loved every moment of it.

We celebrated Mother's Day with a family BBQ at our house. JZ grilled up some good-love chicken, everyone brought a side dish, and I did nothing. Just the way I like it! We were able to spend the afternoon outside playing hillbilly golf and listening to the creek run. What a perfect way to spend Mother's Day. We missed our family members that couldn't be here (including Dana and the kiddos, who stayed away because of the hand, foot, and mouth nastiness) but had a great time with those that could come.

I am so grateful to be part of the Mommy Club. Last year we brought teeny-tiny Caden home on Mother's Day. I don't remember any of it. I waited a whole year to really be able to enjoy my first Mother's Day. It was worth the wait!

Happy Mother's Day to all, but especially to my mom. Mom, you taught me how to be a mommy - no wonder I'm so good at it! :) I love you!

Birthday:Take 1

It's hard to believe our baby boy is now 1. Does that make him a toddler instead of a baby? We were so excited for his birthday to be on a Saturday because we were planning a HUGE party. Unfortunately, Caden was very sicky on his birthday. It started with a fever on Mon. and a trip to the doctor on Tues. with a diagnosis of a throat infection. Wed. I noticed some little blisters on his mouth, took him back to the doctor Thurs., and was told he has hand, foot, and mouth disease. Hand, foot, and mouth is a viral infection (meaning no antibiotics) that causes blisters on the hands, feet, in, and on the mouth. Luckily, he didn't have a very bad case, but he did have little blisters on his hands, feet, and inside his throat. He will still take his bottle, but will NOT take any food. Since hand, foot, and mouth is super contagious to little people (not so much to adults), we were forced to reschedule his birthday party. Such a bummer! Nevertheless, we were determined to celebrate such a big day - just a little smaller than expected. We invited JZ's parents, grandma, and my parents over for lunch, opened a few presents, and ate cupcakes. Caden was a trooper. While he was certainly not in the best mood, he did the best he could. Poor bubby, no one should have to be sick on their first birthday!

I have to admit that I was a little mad about having to cancel the party. Ok, a little mad might be putting it mildly. I admit it, I was angry. I have been so excited and planning this party for over two months. I designed invitations, purchased food and supplies, created games, ordered favors...the list goes on and on. My heart was in the right place - I really was trying to celebrate sweet Caden, but it had gotten out of hand. The party had become more about me than him. Although, in my defense, I think most first birthday parties are really for the parents - we made it through a year! I realized that this happened for a reason. Caden didn't know it was his birthday. It could have been yesterday, today, or next week. He has no idea (at least he wasn't turning 21!)! We were able to spend his birthday celebrating him and remembering how far we've come, without the stress of a big party. Better yet, we were able to reschedule the party for next weekend. The best of both worlds! Until then, here is Caden's Birthday: Take 1

Opening a few presents

Taking a ride in his personalized wagon from Nana and Grandpa K

Getting to play with his water table (from us) and his slide (from Grammy and Papa)

Oh, the horror of cupcakes!

Happy Birthday Caden P! You are the absolute light of our lives and we love you to the stars and back!

Universe:100 Lindsey: 0

So far today:

• I scratched up the side of my car and the house while pulling into the garage
• Caden woke up from his lo-o-o-o-ong (that should have been a sign!) nap with a fever of 102 on THE DAY that I had to toss out 99% of the Motrin and Tylenol in the house out due to a recall (more on Caden's sickness later)
• I burned a bagel in the toaster (it fell down and touched the heating element) and set the toaster on fire
• Caden was quietly playing (again, that should have been a sign!) and when I found him, this is what he had done...

...pulled out every single wipe in the box. Nice. Good thing I took a picture!

• I put Caden in his high chair and *thought* I had put the tray on securely. Nope. He gave it a shove and it went tumbling. Luckily he didn't - even though I had not buckled him in. That'll teach me.

Is it a full moon? Universe: 100 Lindsey: 0 I think I'll go back to bed now.

** I was able to salvage 1/4 of a bottle of Motrin. That seems to have helped a lot. He still has a fever, but it is only (a relative term now) 100. I called the doctor and they were unable to get me in today, but we have an appointment for tomorrow morning. They didn't think he really needed to be seen since he is eating, not totally lethargic, etc, but I ever so sweetly explained that we were having a big birthday party on Sat. and if I waited 48-72 hours as they suggested, he might still be feeling bad on Sat. They graciously gave me an appointment for tomorrow and said I could cancel it if his fever goes away. If you think about it, could you please pray for a speedy recovery for our little man? No one should be sick on their 1st birthday!

Starting Early

Yesterday we decided to take a family field trip. We went all the way downtown (Golden, that is!) to visit our old stomping grounds - the Coors Brewery. They have made lots of changes since JZ and I gave tours there while we were in college - including no more tour guides! Now, instead of going through the brewery with a tour guide it is a self-guided tour. We enjoyed the new tour, the sampling (some of us more than others!), and the presents we took home from the gift shop.

The boys in the sampling lounge - JZ is having a Blue Moon, Caden is having some Goldfish crackers

Caden's present from the gift shop was a mini Coors Light basketball. He was crawling around the gift shop (no judging - I couldn't keep him contained any longer!) and found the basketballs. One immediately went in his mouth so we decided it should come home with us!

We've always been a Coors family, and we're starting this one early!

An Early Birthday Present

We've already started the birthday celebration around here! Earlier this week we received two big boxes from Grammy and Papa. And, while the boxes were pretty fun...

...the SLIDE that was in one of the boxes was even more fun!

The box was pretty badly damaged when it got here, so we decided to go ahead and put it together to make sure all of the parts were there.

On a side note, Caden has now figured out what to do when I pull the camera out. Every time I say, "Smile!" this is what I get

That is one serious "cheese" face!

Our First Casualty

Yesterday we had our first casualty, a plant by the front door. This poor plant has been around forever and I have (unintentionally) tried to kill it by lack of watering many, many, times. It never bit the dust; however, it was no match for our little monkey. I caught him swinging from the limbs and before I could get there...

...down it went. Dirt everywhere. I did make sure to take a picture or two before I cleaned it all up.

Now, can we please have a moment of silence for our dear, departed plant

Thank You Tooth Fairy!

Poor Caden has been a toothless wonder for a long time. He has struggled getting his little toofers to come through, but FINALLY, they have! They popped through about a week ago and have slowly been growing ever since. Here are the best pics I could get of his two new teeth.