Monday, November 30, 2009

Grabby

Monday morning Kaden woke up smiley as usual but with some new tricks up his sleeve. He reached right out and grabbed Mr. Whozit Whatzit! His goal was to bring him to his mouth, but he didn't quite get him there. Later, he grabbed Sophie (a rubber giraffe) and this time he was successful...she went right into his mouth. One more milestone to check off the list!

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Week Thirteen / Three Month Portraits

Week Thirteen (yesterday) coincided almost perfectly with Kaden's three month birthday (today). What better time to stop the weekly portraits and start monthly ones instead. Kaden is changing everyday, but I'm betting there will be a big difference between Month Three and Month Four!

It's actually not until I look at pictures that I realize how big he has gotten. He is about 23 inches long and is weighing in around 13.5 pounds! The boy is a serious eater - if I interrupt his eating to give him a burp he screams bloody murder! At least he has finally gotten the hang of burping (I used to never be able to get one out of him). He's super cute when he is eating too, he clasps his hands over his big belly as though he is settling in for a good meal. As you can tell, he still has that red hair (???) and those big blue eyes. We are wondering whether one, if not both, will change.


Kaden is more alert everyday. He's a lot more smiley too - let me tell you, it is a whole lot easier to stand the fussy fits when you get a big ole grin afterwards! It's also fun now that he recognizes who we are. He'll follow us around with his eyes and smile like, "Hey, I know you. You're my mom/dad." He's also talking to us. Well, it's more like cooing but many time it is direct response to our questions or comments. As for moving, he's a mover and a shaker. I swear he will be a soccer player like his Uncle Paul because he is always kicking his legs. Within the past week or so he found his hands - he'll sit and stare in amazement as he moves his fingers. He'll also bat at some toys that hang over his bouncy seat, but he still hasn't grabbed anything (other than my hair/shirt/face etc.). His favorite toy is, by far, Mr. Whozit Whatzit. Kevin will sit it in Kaden's lap or on the stroller rail and Kaden will just smile and coo at it. It is as if they are having their own, hilarious, conversation. His favorite book is still Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Kaden with his puppy and Mr. Whozit Whatzit

For security, his personalized puppy blankie is his go-to guy. Once we put that near him (thanks for the hint, Jill) he will settle down into a peaceful state and sometimes even a restful slumber. I don't want to jinx it, but he is sleeping through the night now (9pm until 6:30 or 7 am). Naps, are another story all together. He's great in his car seat, stroller, or bouncy seat, but when I put him down in his crib he'll fall asleep fine only to wake up screaming after thirty minutes or so. I'm contributing it to his reflux, which still seems to bother him pretty badly at times (hence the aforementioned fussy fits). He is getting to be on a pretty predictable schedule though and that makes mama's life a whole lot easier. I think Kaden's favorite event of the day (well, not everyday) is bath time. He could sit in there until he shriveled up like a prune if we let him.


He continues to L-O-V-E car and stroller rides. I realize how lucky this makes me when I speak with moms of kids who don't particularly like car rides. We are still going to our bi-weekly Stroller Strides class and getting to know more and more mommies and babies. A new yoga studio opened up nearby and I'm hoping to try their Mommy and Me yoga class. It should be interesting to see if Kaden likes yoga as much as him mama does. Kevin has been waking up early on Saturday mornings to look after the little man while I go out to a yoga class or for a nice long solo run. I can't tell you how much this hour sustains me!

I am looking forward to Kaden holding his head up on his own (for extended periods of time), rolling over, grabbing toys, sitting up, and (most of all) giggling...but right now I'm savoring my sweet, happy, chubby baby boy whose favorite spot is his mama's arms.

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

This Thanksgiving it was just the three of us and, while we missed all our family and friends, I think it was pretty successful. Early on, I decided that it was more important to me to spend time with my boys than in the kitchen, so I decided to order the turkey and make the side dishes (truth be told, I was extremely intimidated by the bird). Since Kevin likes the dark meat I decided to order an entire "fully cooked" turkey from Whole Foods. Problem: I mistakenly assumed that "fully cooked" meant ready to serve. When I picked up the 12-pounder at 11:30 this morning and saw that it was shrink wrapped, a tad frozen, and appeared to have been "fully cooked" months ago I was, to say the least, a little frantic. Whenever I'm frantic because of something going wrong in the kitchen, I call my mom. She talked me through it and we ended up with a delicious Thanksgiving meal...just a few hours later than I anticipated. Needless to say, we have A LOT of leftover turkey. Our menu for the next few weeks is turkey sandwiches, turkey soup, turkey salad, turkey casserole.....

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Our healthy baby boy is at the top of the list, but we are also thankful for all our loving, supportive, and incomparable family and friends. This year wouldn't have been possible without you. We miss you everyday.



Our little turkey.




Monday, November 23, 2009

Some Smiles

Just a couple of smiles we captured on film. As you can see, he saves most of his big smiles for his dad. Quite the tease, he tends to be super smiley before we pull out the camera. As soon as he sees the red light, it's serious business. Maybe he's just camera shy?


Friday, November 20, 2009

CA Bar Exam

Well, I passed the California Bar Exam and I must admit that I feel great about it. I have to give Kaden some credit though - seeing that he was born four short weeks after I took the test, he must have provided some help. Is it cheating if you receive help from a fetus? Kevin, sweet guy, brought home an assortment of some of my favorite flowers even before he knew the good news. I told him that the flowers were beautiful, but if I ever had to take another bar exam for him that flowers weren't going to cut it!


While passing the Bar was nice, we currently have more pressing issues to resolve - Kaden's nap schedule being at the top of the list. I never would have thought that I would feel a larger sense of accomplishment from getting my son to routinely nap in his crib than from passing a Bar exam!

Week Twelve Portraits


He's filling out that shirt a bit better now!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

New Blanket

Thanks to Uncle Ken (My Dad's First Cousin) for this snuggly blanket he got Kaden. Not only is it a nice keepsake, it is also soft and warm. Perfect for cuddling on these cooler San Diego nights.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

LA Play Date

Today, Kaden and I drove up to LA to visit some friends. We had a great little play date, it was just too short! We met Liz (McKayla's mommy), Allison (Livie's mommy), and Nicky (Lexi's mommy) at Carter's mommy, Gina's house. These are all women I met at a pre-natal yoga class while we were living in Manhattan Beach. We became friends quickly and easily which, I've found, is pretty unusual. While we are slowly making new friends down here in San Diego, I can't help but think how much fun we would be having if we still lived in Manhattan Beach. We miss you LA!


Kaden, McKayla, Livie, and Carter
(Unfortunately, Sweet Lexie is not pictured)

On another note, my sweet little angel slept the entire car ride both on the way there and on the way home! What a traveling man.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

We Live Here?!

Some shots taken at the beach at the end of our street.


Mutt

Uncle D (Steve Koshgerian) brought Kaden this shirt from his summer of travels. It represents just a little bit of this kid's ancestry. Now we need to find Armenia, Vietnam, and England onesies to round out this mutt's roots. Mutt or no mutt, the combination works well for our handsome man.


*Note the unbuttoned pants...he has officially outgrown most 0-3 month sized clothing. Little porker.

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Our Week With Ba Noi and Papa

We just had a nice week-long visit with Kevin's parents, Ba Noi (Thiem) and Papa (Mike). They flew in from St. Louis last Friday and just left today. It was their first time meeting Kaden, so we did a lot of admiring and not too much other sight seeing.


We did go to Old Town.
Old Town San Diego is considered the "birthplace" of California. It was here in 1769, that Father Junipero Serra came to establish the very first mission in a chain of 21 missions that were to be the cornerstone of California’s colonization. Father Serra’s mission and Presidio were built on a hillside overlooking what is currently known as Old Town San Diego. At the base of the hill in 1820’s, a small Mexican community of adobe buildings was formed and by 1835 had attained the status of El Pueblo de San Diego.In 1968, the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation established Old Town State Historic Park to preserve the rich heritage that characterized San Diego during the 1821 to 1872 period. The park includes a main plaza, exhibits, museums and living history demonstrations.http://www.oldtownsandiegoguide.com/history.html

Torrey Pines
Kevin and Mike also played the Torrey Pines South Course. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of the bright and sunny days that San Diego is famous for. Therefore, the photos don't do the course (or the players!) justice.


Three generations of Flynn men.

Little Cutie

Kevin just sent these photos to my email and I thought that, although a bit outdated, they were too cute not to share.



Friday, November 13, 2009

Week Eleven Portraits


I am finding it difficult to dress Kaden at this size - things seem to be either too long on his legs or too tight on his tummy. I guess he's between sizes? The weather here has created some dressing problems too - beautiful and warm in the sun, cold and breezy in the shade. And, as anyone who has ever dressed an infant knows, layering is not very convenient.


Friday, November 6, 2009

Ten Week Portraits


Ten Week Portraits - I got dimples like my Daddy!



Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Little Trooper


Kaden had his two-month check up today. He is a whopping 12.3 pounds and is 22.5 inches long. That puts him in the 56th percentile for weight and 28th percentile for height. My little porker! Clearly, he takes after his mama. We have our fingers crossed that his height catches up to his weight soon! He also got two of his vaccines. He took it like a trooper...his mama, not so much.