Thank you

Thank you to all who have been praying for us and our family over the loss of our Most Precious Gift, Caden Joelle. We could not get through this terrible time without your prayers and support. PLEASE, leave comments, prayers or thoughts here on this blog. We thank God for our many blessings and for the every second God gave us with Caden. Please celebrate her life with us.
We love you, and thank God for you.
Cari & Andy

Stuck

Caden is not yet crawling, but she is very much inclined to move herself about the space at hand. Stuck is the title, for that is what she is doing to herself...getting stuck. For example... P.S. this has nothing to do with this post, but to whom it may concern thank you for cleaning up after dinner - by not using your name you will not lose your crown!)

Why she loves her daddy...

And the Award goes to...

Ok, so I cannot believe I am admitting this online where everyone who knows me can see it...but because of 4 or 5 or 274 excuses I could name I neglected to clean my kitchen for the past 2 (or 3) days. Now some of you may be saying, oh Cari, that is ok. To which my response will clearly be "Honey, Have you seen my home? I do not have, a dishwasher...strike that, I am my dishwasher. I have a teeny, tiny, ity,bitty little kichen with an even smaller amount of counter space. You skip the dish detail for a day and see what kind of mayhem rears its ugly head." ANYWHOO...the mess OVERWHELMED my teeny, tiny,ity,bitty little kitchen and me...I was dreading cleaning it. I was gone with little bit all day and my mind kept traveling back to the mess. I get home with bags, baby and dinner in tow to find MY MOST WONDERFUL HUSBAND CLEANED THE KITCHEN.
<APPLAUSE PLEASE>

Way down in Kokomo...

Today I went UP to Kokomo to visit Stacey. Caden and I had a bang-up good time. We went for a walk in the park and had a fantastic lunch, and Caden played with Aiden's toys. It was great to see Stace, who is having a baby girl in January. :) She moved away from me this past February and I miss her (as Genie in Aladdin puts it) muy much! I have decided that Aiden is going to be a stellar big brother because of all the lovin' he did on Caden. He gave her a kiss,
helped feed her her bottle, gave her her pacifier and shared her puffs...he also sat on her one time...but that is not the point! Caden thought he was the coolest thing since well, since puffs which up until today were her favorite thing. Now I think it is a little boy from Kokomo named Aiden. Thanks for the great day Salsberys! We will do it again soon.

Caden's Best Friend's Birthday

Last Saturday Caden's best friend, Lily, turned 1! Lily had a spectacular party. The birthday girl was dressed to impress with the cutest outfit I have seen to date. Caden told me when we got home that she was jealous!

Heather (Lily's mom) did a beautiful job with the planning and they had a wonderful spread and the most delicious looking birthday cupcakes.

Heather and I grew up together and have been friends since we were 7, I think. It is such a blessing to watch her be a mom and be a part of her life post marriage/baby. Caden and I are excited for all the years to come, hopefully filled with play dates and fun!

Happy Birthday Lily!

Nightly Rituals

Family time has a new face in the Chastain household. Our good friend Richard has taken up residence of the studio apt. as well as the #2 controller of the Wii. What does this mean? Just a nightly game ( or 16) of MarioKart and some friendly smack talk. ( we do have little ears in the room :) Uncle Richard is a great fit to the Chastain family, we are very happy to have him around. Caden loves him even more now that he feeds her Puffs. The pics that follow are a typical night at our place give or take some clothes on the baby.

 

Daddy's little helper

Andy is a wonderful dad. He enjoys playing with Caden and spending time with her. When I am busy he takes care of her, and occasionally tries to keep her busy when I need a minute or two to myself. These pics were snapped on one such occasion. Andy trying to get some very important work done ( most likely fantasy football trades and smack talk) and Caden sitting with him admiring all the big boy toys...and highlighters. The last shot was Caden's true feelings when her new shiny yellow chew toy was taken from her. Ahh, she's such a bright ray of sunshine!