A little fun after work...

Cayden is growing by leaps and bounds. I think the one of the most wonderful things about him is his laugh, which is on display in this video. He loves his daddy, in all of his goofy glory. After getting changed from work, I came downstairs and started flexing for Buddha, who thought it was the funniest thing in the world. After a couple of huge laughs, it was too cute to not catch on video. It's hard to stay frustrated with work or anything else for that matter when I come home and I'm greeted at the door by my two biggest fans, Elwood and Cayden!

This past weekend, Aunt Beanie had her annual Italian Festival party. It was awesome! Thank you Bean for inviting us, we all had a great time! Cayden also got to go to his first, but I'm sure not his last Italian festival! He loved walking through the booths and food stands and was mesmerized about all that was going on. He also got to eat tons of yummy pasta, pizza bread, pin wheels and pretty much anything that he could get in his little mouth at Bean's party!
A huge thank you to Aunt Beanie for inviting us and for all the yummy foods! Cayden may have a little Italian in him after all. He also got to play bubbles with Ben, Will and Vincent and a few got stuck in his crazy hair. It was a great weekend and a nice little ramp-up to our beach trip next weekend. Enjoy the video and we will post some more pics soon!

Mama!

Cayden said "mama" to me for the first time this morning!  What a great feeling.  So cute with that big smile of his.

Nana said he kept saying it loud and clear while at their house over the weekend but I had not heard him say it so it was a cool surprise this morning.  He had fun this weekend and loved his GrAndy!  They even went to the driving range together.  Tyler hit some golf balls while Grandy showed his lil guy off to everyone.  They didn't make it to the pool as planned b/c the weather wasn't nice enough but I hear he made the rounds visiting family, shopping and keeping Nana, Grandy and Tyler on their toes!  (Told you I wasn't kidding that he was a messy eater!  Thankfully, El helps cleanup.)

J and I had a second honeymoon in DC and it felt great to be knowledgeable "tourists" for the weekend!  We hit our favorites in Chinatown - La Tasca and Zengo, walked around the Sculpture Garden and Nat'l Archives to see the Constitution, etc. and just relaxed with no schedule.  We'll have to check Nana's calendar to see when we can do it again :)

Next weekend we'll be at Bean's for the Italian Festival - can't wait to see all of our extended fam and friends up there!

What happens at Nana's, Stays at Nana's!

Cayden's first Gard cousin.  Welcome to the fam baby Andre!!!

I LOVE QUAC!

Can you see my teeth?

Cayden is going to visit Nana for the weekend and I don't know who is more excited...Nana or me!  John and I are staying in DC for the first time ever and are looking forward to relaxing by the rooftop pool of the hotel, visiting Artomatic, going to a Fri. Happy Hour and dinner and a movie on Sat night.  In short, Nanas are THE BEST!  Cheers to my first night away from Cayden, I know he is going to be spoiled rotten and luvin it and best of all - - he gets to take El with him :)

His Journey Begins

                                       
  

Cayden's baptism was May 23 and Rev. Paul performed a beautiful ceremony while loved ones sat in a circle around us.  Cayden was pretty good playing with his hat most of the time and didn't mind the water (could've been b/c he hit the pool for the first time earlier that day!).  We celebrated with lunch on the patio of Mac and Bobs afterwards and filled the weekend with fun in the pool for Tyler and Will, a swing in Cindy and Mike's hammock, game nights, milkshakes, and even a trip to Texas Tavern.  It was a special weekend and one we'll never forget!

Playtime

We realized over the past few days that Cayden's new favorite food is guacamole.  He eats half the bowl and mom and dad get to share the other half!  He also opens wide for mac n cheese and turkey burger.  

He and daddy spent the morning playing and doing chores together on Sat while mom went to the MOW reception she's been busy planning.  The turnout was great and everyone loved the first ever logo that John created!

We went to Middleburg on Sunday and we always love the drive out there.  We met Marcia and Dan for lunch and Buddha was more than happy to play with Dan while we caught up.  He kept giving him the biggest smiles.  It was nice to walk around after lunch, the area is quaint and beautiful and one of those places you feel relaxed while visiting.  We also noticed that whenever it is a rainy day, Buddha likes to nap more.  He'll get up and eat of course but if it isn't pretty outside, he's all about the shut eye.  Must get that from Grandy (who can sleep anywhere at anytime!).  Have a great week everyone!!!

Personality

Yesterday was a beautiful day...

Cayden was playing in the grass with some neighbor kids and the next thing I know he's next to Elwood and they are both eating grass.  Extra fiber, right?!  All was okay until he started plucking my flowers.  NO!  Elwood looked at him like he was crazy.  At least one of them knows the limits.

Buddha saw the doctor again this week for his 9 mo checkup.  The porkchop is now 29.5 inches tall and 21.5 lbs!  They say that is the 90th percentile (and they also asked what I was feeding him which I replied, everything!).  Green beans, spinach and peas are still his favorites.  He likes chicken, turkey, beef, ham, whole grain O's and lots of fruit too though - just not as much.  Give him some spinach pasta and he's a happy kid and shovels it in...gotta be a G'ma Chin thing b/c that does NOT run in the Gard or Clemmer family!  

The doctor also teased him with a measuring tape to get him to look a certain way and when he didn't get the tape, he told her what he thought.  She looked at me and said, "HE HAS A LOT OF PERSONALITY ALREADY!  You are in trouble!!!".  Yea, I pretty much knew this the moment I got pregnant :)  He tested negative for Anemia and had high Iron so we are happy he is healthy.  

There was a request for a picture of the teeth - here you go!  And thanks for checking in :)

  

My 1st Mother's Day was a BLAST!

   

Cayden and Daddy started Mother's Day off right with some banana pancakes and bacon!  And they were very sweet to give mommy a beautiful Hydrangea and a pedi gift certificate.  Then we spent the day at a park in Great Falls and it was gorgeous.  We hiked right along the water and Buddha enjoyed his water and cheerios while we took in the scenery.  Two horses came by while we were on the trail and it was really funny b/c we were excited and Buddha was like "oh, another big dog" and El was like "got anything up there to eat?"...go figure!  Hope all of you moms enjoyed the day too!!!