The Broken Nuk

Well, I have been putting it off long enough.

If the pediatrician had her way, Cade's pacifiers would've been gone by the time Cade was 1.

The pediatric dentist was not so pushy, but said that the longer we wait to take it away, the higher the orthodontist bills will be later.

So, I stopped making excuses and just did it.

My plan was to slowly wean him off by poking holes in it so it would be less and less satisfying. The first night I poked a hole in the pacifier with a safety pin. Since Cade was going to my Mom's the next day for baby-sitting, I called her to do the same.

Apparently the hole I poked in the pacifier was not big enough since it didn't seem to deter Cade's use of it at all. However, the hole my Mom cut in the pacifiers at her house was visible.
So, I ran home before work and cut more of the pacifier off since I didn't want to be inconsistent between nap and bed time.

Needless to say, Nana and Cade had a rough nap. Cade was brokenhearted that his Nuks were broken. He fell asleep crying and woke up crying.

So, that night, when I put Cade in his crib, he knew right away they were "broken". He didn't even want them in his crib. I had to take them out of his room and put them in the trash. That does NOT mean he was happy about not having them. It was a tough night. I was such a sucker and let him have the portable DVD player in his room with Nemo on so he could fall asleep. When he woke up he would moan and say, "Mama". It was sad. Then, he was awake at 5:15am since between 5:30 and 6:30 was his usual "lounging" time where he would drift in and out of sleep and have his Nuks and play with them.

Tonight he whined for a while. But, he is so tired that he could only complain for about five minutes before he passed out. I am hoping tonight is better than last night!

Wish us luck!

Since Nothing More Exciting is Happening...

I don't have any great stories to tell you.

I haven't experienced anything creepy like Josh has lately.

But, I did save a heck of a lot of money at the grocery stores today!

Let me impress you with my list...or drive you away.

• (20) Powerade Zero
• (2) 24-packs of Dasani water
• (1) Bertolli frozen dinner
• (2) Pictsweet frozen veggies
• (1) loaf Sara Lee bread
• (2) Skippy Peanut butter
• (2) Ortega Taco shells
• (1) Ronzini pasta
• (2) bags Poore Brother potato chips (yes, Josh..they are for you)
• (2) Gallons milk
• (2) Prego pasta sauce
• (2) cans Spaghetti-Os
• (6) cans Campbells Chunky soup
• (2) Red peppers
• (2) yellow peppers
• (3) cans pringles
• (2) Lunchables Jr.
• (2) Dole salad kits
• (2) Peaches
• (1) bunch green onions
• (1) box Eggo waffles

I paid $50.71 for $143.83 worth of groceries. That is a savings of around 65%. Not super great, but every little bit helps, doesn't it? I was pretty happy with it!

No Problemo!

PROBLEM:
1. Grasshopper came into the garage when I pulled in.
2. Grasshopper followed me into the house
3. My fear of bugs and inability to kill them.

SOLUTION:
1. Scream
2. Throw large diaper bag over grasshopper on the floor to keep it there.
3. Place Cade's football on the diaper bag to ensure it doesn't escape.
4. Pray it stays there until Jim gets home from work.

Stupid Computer Games...

Yeah, yeah, yeah..it has been forever. I know.

But I blame my Mom and her introducing me to the game Gem Shop. I got addicted and couldn't stop playing long enough to blog.

So what has been going on in the decade that I haven't posted?

• I turned 30. Luckily, not as bad as I thought it would be.
• Jim, Mom, Dad, and I went to see Nunsense at the Arizona Broadway Theater for my birthday. It was hilarious. Fun times.
• I had a couple of different tests done for my hearing problems and most likely ruled out Meniere's Disease...which is a good thing.
• I have been praying for Jenn and Brian...and so glad things have gone well so far!
• I have been planning Halloween outfits and getting excited about having a Halloween party! Can't wait.
• Cade is going to be Handy Manny for Halloween, and luckily his Nana is "handy" with a sewing machine to make the cheap store bought costume better!
• I am "showing" like I am 25 weeks pregnant and I am only almost 15 weeks. Ughh...
• I have been researching double strollers...expensive...but I suppose that is the only thing I will really have to buy this time around.

Well, even though it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted, this is the best list I can come up with. Do I have any readers left???

Monday's Excuses

Sick husband, sick kid, sick Mom, sick me.

Blah. I hate it when everyone is sick. Jim started it...passed it to Cade....then Mom...then me. Luckily, I think I have the most mild case of the cold, but that is good since I am the only one who really can't take anything! Tylenol only does so much good.

But the good news is this: Cade made it through this cold without big breathing problems. Normally when he gets sick, even a mild cold, it goes straight to his chest and we have to do oral steroids and breathing treatments. However, since he is currently on Singular and Claritin as "controller" medications, he pulled through this cold like a champ! We only did one breathing treatment and that was just to stop his cough.

I am so glad that the Singulair is working because it is non-steroidal and it is a chewable tablet and NOT a breathing treatment. He was doing really well on the Pulmicort, but doing two breathing treaments a day was a nightmare. Literally a nightmare.

So was Cade's first trip to the dentist. We went Friday morning. Jim tried to get out of going with us, but there was no way I was going this one alone. We took Cade to a pediatric dentist whose office was totally cool. Really. CHECK this place out. Cade liked the video games, the movies...but the whole, "lets look in your mouth" thing kind of put him off to the dentist. Lets hope it is like haircuts..it gets better with each visit!

This and That...

Sunday night already. Where does the weekend go?!

Here is a rundown of what has been going on:

• Cade had his 2-year-old well check at the doctor on Friday. He "passed" with flying colors. He weighs in at over 35 pounds and is over 37 inches tall. That is gigantic. He is in the 97 percentile for height and weight. To put it simply, he is taller and heavier than 97% of kids his age.


• I went for my second OB appointment and everything looks great. They did another ultrasound and the baby is growing perfectly and wouldn't hold still for the pictures!


• Cade has adopted my American Girl doll, Kirsten, as his new friend since the other baby is "broken" and we have to "fixth it." Jim is a little concerned about Cade playing with dolls, but I think he is so cute with her and luckily she is not made out of porcelain.
• 


• Jim and Dad finally started working on the bed and they got SO much done this weekend! It looks awesome. Cade loved being in the garage "helping" Daddy by hammering things with his toy hammer and using the broom to "sweep" up the sawdust. Generally, he was in the way and making a mess, but he loved it!

Baby Broken...

My Mom has a doll. My aunt, her sister, made it for her. It is a cute baby doll.

Well, Cade found it. He adopted the baby doll as his own. It was cute. He would hug her...feed her, carry her around, put her in his rocking chair so she could watch Nemo, too. It was absolutely adorable.

But then came the accident. I think it was somewhat more on purpose that an "accidental" drop. More like a "grab-her-by-the-leg-and-toss". Unfortunately the baby's head was made of porcelain. Not good when it makes contact with a tile floor. I heard the crash..,then saw the ear. I am still hoping Cade doesn't repeat the words I said when I heard it hit the floor.

The ear was laying on the floor. I picked up the doll and her severed ear and realized her skull was destroyed. I panicked and removed her hair so I could see the extent of the damage. It was bad. Jim got Cade ready for bed...and once he was asleep, we started our surgery on the poor dolly. I didn't get a good "before" picture (I was still horrified) but you can see her brains leaking out as Jim tries to piece her skull back together.

Skull pieces and the super glue...
More tools for the surgery. TAPE and SCISSORS.


A mostly patched skull (thank goodness this wasn't a bald baby!)
She looks pretty good, doesn't she? If you look closely, you can see the line in her ear that is where the ear fell off!

Here is the dolly as good as new. Her skull is a little fragile, but on display she will be just fine. We just have to hide her from Cade.

I brought the recovering dolly back to my Mom's today. Since Cade was coming into the kitchen, Mom put her on top of the fridge so Cade wouldn't see her. It only took him about two minutes to notice her. "BABY!" he said. I said that the baby was still broken. So he couldn't have her. He was okay with that as he was distracted by something else quickly.

Lets hope he is nicer with his future sibling.

Talking With Nana...

My Mom said she had a guest post for today...one that shows Cade and Nana's "secret" language.

Enjoy!

At one point, Caden’s pediatrician was concerned that Caden did not have enough words in his vocabulary for his age. Caden went for hearing and speech evaluation and was found to be on target after all. It is amazing to me how children acquire language and are able to communicate their needs and wants. Here is a sample of how Caden has trained ME to know what he wants me to do:

Caden says: “Ta-da!” translation: “Nana, would you please play in the sandbox with
me? Fill a cup with moist sand and turn the cup over
and say, ‘ta-da’ when you reveal the sand cake.

Caden says: “No Timber!” translation: “Nana, would you please stay by me and
help me guard against Timber eating my snack right
out of my hand?”

Caden says: “Munch? Puppies?” translation: “Nana, would you and Granddad please
take me to the mall for lunch? When we are finished
eating, can we please go look at all the puppies in
the pet shop?

Caden says: “Clap? Clap?” translation: “Nana, would you please put the music CD in
the player in the car? I would like to listen to the
one that starts with the song ‘If you’re happy and
you know it CLAP your hands?’”

Caden says: “Stay!” translation: “Nana would you please play the game in the pool that
we invented that I call stay? You place me on the top
step and tell me. ‘Stay, Caden’ Then when you turn
your back I giggle and swim off the step. And we
have to do it over and over!”

Caden says: “Baby!” translation: “Nana would you please play the game we invented
Where I hand you an old bib I used to wear. Then you
put it on me. I take it off and throw it down and run
away. You chase me and catch me and put the bib
back on. And we have to do it over and over.


There are many more examples of one or two word phrases that convey so much meaning. As Caden makes sense of his world, the repetition is important to him to get his message across. He is a pleasure to be with.