Caden's 9 Month Stats

Our little boy is growing up so fast! We went to the doctor today for his 9 month well visit. He is 29 inches long (75%), weighs 19 lbs 4 oz (25%), and has a head circumfrence of 44.1 cm (slightly above the 10%). As a slight correction, I've always thought he was following the growth curve of the 50% on weight, but I was informed today I've been reading the graph wrong. In my defense, I pulled his first card and it said 50% on it. So his weight isn't down, its right on track. I got a couple new prescriptions and a referral to another new doctor to see if we can't clear up that last spot of eczema on his face.

This is the most recent pic of have of Caden that I haven't posted on the blog yet. Its the picture we gave Grandpa Scherbel for father's day with Caden all dressed up and ready to work at the shop.

Little Boy Blue

Little Boy Blue, come blow your horn,
The sheep's in the meadow, the cow's in the corn.
Where is the boy who looks after the sheep?
He's under a haycock, fast asleep.
Will you wake him? No, not I,
For if I do, he's sure to cry.

There is no real reason for picking this one, I just like it.

Whats for Dinner?

I think the question I get asked the most right now is "What do you eat?" In an attempt to answer that I'm going to start posting recipes that we like. Tonight we had Peared Chicken.

Peared Chicken
Prep Time: 15 -25 minutes

Ingredients:
3 pears, peeled and cubed
5 Tbsp maple syrup
3 Tbsp vinegar
4 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

Instructions:
Stir together maple syrup and vinegar. Pour over pears in a medium sized bowl. In a pan, fry chicken breasts. When chicken is cooked through, add the pears and their juice. Cook on very low heat, covered, for 10 more minutes. Serve over white rice.

Review:
We both liked this. We used our bottled pears, chicken I had pre cooked and frozen, and minute rice. Dinner was literally on the table in 15 minutes. The vinegar brought out the flavor in the pears; I think marinating it in the sauce for a few minutes is crucial. It was a tad dry for our tastes, so Ryan added a dab of soy sauce and I added a drizzle of raspberry vinegarette salad dressing half way through the meal. Its a mild enough taste I think kids would eat it, and its a great way to incorporate fruit into dinner.

Lets talk Licorice

This is what happens when you leave your baby to roll across the family room and find the open package of licorice, which he decides to dump out and play around in. These pictures were taken after Caden had been washed with a washcloth, given Benadryl and slathered with Hydrocortisone cream (approximately 30 minutes after he was found with the offending treat). The reaction seemed to keep spreading, so he got stripped down and put in the bath. Trust our little boy to still find a smile for the camera. The bath and another dose of cream seemed to do the trick and about an hour after the start of the whole ordeal the rash was mostly gone.

Can you see me now?

Grandpa Scherbel showing Caden how to use reading glasses. As you can see, Grandpa thinks our little intellectual is pretty funny.

Hickory, dickory, dock

Hickory, dickory, dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down!
Hickory, dickory, dock.

This was one of my favorites as a child. My mom has a beautiful grandfather clock, and to me there was always something reassuring about hearing the clock chime while I lay in bed trying to fall alseep. I still love to open the glass door to reset the weights whenever I'm over there.

Disaster

Disaster struck today. We're not really sure what disaster, but its bad enough we can't get to the grocery store for one week. At least that is what our ward emergency preparedness specialist told us. No grocery store and no fast food for one week. We took stock of our storage and we feel pretty good about things. Our biggest shortfall right now appears to be in the milk department. Ryan's got to make one partial gallon last for 7 breakfasts or reduce himself to drinking our one box of powdered milk or my 6 month supply of rice milk. I think this will be a useful exercise for us and help identify other areas where we may be short in our storage.

Merman!

Ryan is so great to get Caden ready for church every Sunday. This morning he accidentally dressed Caden as a mermaid, er Merman. (Zoolander is often quoted around this house) No wonder the pants were hard to get on!

This is new

Caden's latest discovery is the table in our family room. He rolled under it yesterday quite by accident, then got excited grabbing at and gnawing on the metal. Today when I set him on the ground he rolled right over and stared up at the glass.

And my latest discovery is Photoscape. Its got a great way to quickly put multiple pictures together, thus saving me time and adding a little variety to this blog. You can get it for free at photoscape.org. Thanks to my sister, Emilee, for sharing it with me.

A little extra help

Its been a depressing Caden allergy week. He started reacting bad after we fed him lunch on Sunday and we assumed it was the avocado. The reaction lasted until Tuesday. Upon further trial and error testing, it looks like avocados are okay, but soy is the culprit. Investigation into the soy allergy has revealed he is likely also allergic to other foods in the legume family - peas and beans. I've always felt like he had an allergy to the peas and the only food he's ever rejected were green beans. Thinking back on the green bean rejection, it was exactly like Sunday's rejection of the avocado and soy yogurt. Last night he started rejecting the black beans he's been eating fine. The ever present sore on his cheek would indicate I am still eating something he is allergic to, and my money is on the soy since it is used as an ingredient in EVERYTHING.

The list of forbidden foods just seems to be getting longer and longer, and with each addition it gets a little more overwhelming. His contact rashes are getting worse and more frequent. He's had one every day all week and mama's nerves can't take it any more. So we are asking for a little help. On Sunday, June 29 we are going to fast for kiddo and we'd like to invite anyone who would like to join us to do so as well. His immune system is really struggling, and even if we can't get rid of (or reduce the severity of) some of the currently identified allergies, maybe we could stop things from getting worse. He currently has 5 of the top 8 most common food allergies, and we haven't really tried the other 3 (tree nuts, fish, shellfish).

Otter Pops

Enrichment

I just got back from the most amazing enrichment night. Marie Ricks came as a guest speaker. She speaks at education week every year and has a few (3-4?) books published. She gave us some great ideas on organizing our lives and I'm commited to trying a few (now I just need to go tell Ryan about them and get him on board). She is a powerful speaker who brought the spirit and I feel some of her ideas are truly inspired. Go check out her website at houseoforder.com.

Cooling Down

Here are two more from camping. Friday morning we tried to get Caden to drink. Instead of drinking, he shook the cup and splashed water all over his face. He was so excited to shake and hear the water moving around, but when Ryan told him he had water all over his face he looked so somber.

Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king's horses and all the king's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!

Why did we choose to learn Humpty Dumpty this week? It was the first one that came to mind after Caden took a spill of his own. I’ll spare you (and my pride) all the details, but suffice it to say he took a nose dive on to the tile entry way. We didn’t venture to the doctor, but I’m pretty sure he broke his little nose. Poor kiddo.

Lets Make Some Music

Caden finally figured out how to work the xylophone at Grandma and Grandpa Scherbel's house this afternoon. He gets the cutest smile on his face toward the end, so pleased with himself and the beautiful music he is making. Thanks to Kara for taking the video.

Happy Father's Day!

We are lucky to have a wonderful dad. Ryan works so hard to provide for us and make our house a happy home. He's always the first to find the humor in a situation when something goes wrong. Everything he does is done very well; he takes pride in his work and likes it to look nice. He is always willing to help the neighbors when they have a mechanical or tool related problem. He adores his little boy, who in turn adores him. The two of them play so cute together. Caden lights up whenever he hears daddy's voice and will immitate any sound he makes. As a small thank you, I got Ryan a small stereo so he can have some company while he's working so hard in the garage all the time, and Caden got his daddy a few boxes of Mac and Cheese.

I'm greatful for my dad as well. I've always been a bit of a daddy's girl, adn I love my dad. I admire his work ethic and even temperament. My dad has always been there for me and talks politics with me whenever I want. I remember fondly long car rides with dad discussing social issues.

Fish Lake Family Vacation

We survived our first family vacation! Fish Lake sits around 9,000 feet just 45 miles outside of Richfield. We knew it would be cold at nights, but as we drove into the canyon and saw snow we had to laugh. Summer vacation in the snow - what were we getting in to?

We stayed in a beautiful campground within walking distance of the shore of the lake. The campsite had flushing toilets and running water! It was so fun to see our name on the reserved sign I took a picture. We agonized over which site to reserve and it was nice to see we picked a good one. As we walked around Unit 9 seemed to be one of the better sites. We made a few new friends at the campground, including the retired couple who managed the place and the divorced old man who works for the school district so he can fish all summer. He offered to take Ryan out fishing on his boat, but unfortunately we had to get home for a few other committments Saturday morning.



We took our time getting to the Lake, stopping in Salina at the visitor information booth and then at the Wolves Den Diner for lunch. Ryan had the Wolf sandwich - two beef patties, bacon, and ham. You've gotta love small town mom and pop food. It was a little chilly (about 65 degrees), but Caden started out as a good camper while mom and dad set up the tent. Perched on his therm a rest padding he explored (and ate) the rocks.

Home, tent, home. Kiddo enjoyed exploring the tent. It didn't take him long to find his own kiddo level window. We got the tent for our wedding and have never used it. It got set up in the family room before we left just to make sure it would work. Its pretty good sized - 9.9x6 feet. It claims its a four man tent, but we were doing good to get the three of us in there.
We took Caden's car seat bundle and some extra blankets as a sleeping bag for him. Its fleece lined and plenty warm; we thought it would be so cute to see him sleep in a little kiddo sized bag. We were wrong. Caden hated being so constricted and ended up sleeping between us all night. He kicked and wiggled until he was sideways with both mom and dad half out of the covers. We opted not to stay the second night. I guess we're just not made out for co-sleeping with our baby. I'm not sure how some people do that every night. For the next trip the pack and play is a must.

Once camp was set up we wasted no time in getting down to business - fishing. We walked down to the lake shore and started casting. Caden and Momma lasted about 20 minutes, then went back to camp to feed Caden dinner and start the fire for the night. Kiddo liked the clicking of the reel and kept trying to grab it anytime the line got reeled in. Daddy fished for another hour and a half, working his way about a mile down the shore before returning to camp.
We thought Caden was down for the night, but he only lasted about 45 minutes in the sleeping bag before he woke up crying, so even though it was way past his bedtime he got to stay up with Daddy and watch the campfire. We had tinfoil dinners and roasted marshmallows. I highly recommend roasting the chocolate marshmallows. Ryan says it tates like hot chocolate; I say it tastes somewhat like s'mores without the graham crackers. Either way, they are good. As the night wore on and got colder, we pulled out Caden's bundle in an effort to keep him warm.


Friday morning Caden was back to being a happy camper and played contently while mom and dad had breakfast. He was the only one smiling and giggling that morning as mom and dad tried to wake up and start to function on what little sleep we had managed to eek out the night before. Ryan said it was the longest night of his life.
After having no success the night before, we decided to ask for advice at the tackle shop. After consulting the local expert Ryan bought some worms and we got back to fishing, this time near the dock by all the other shore fishermen. It was pretty crowded, no one was catching anything, and Caden needed a nap so we went on the self guided auto tour of the lake in hopes of lulling the baby to sleep in his carseat. The auto tour was a big disappointment, but Caden did fall asleep. At the last stop on the auto tour - Johnson Reservoir (about 2 miles from fish lake) - we saw these pelicans and pulled over to get a closer look.
We were amazed to see HUGE fish (30-40 inches long) following the birds around and quite a few fish jumping just off the shore. We parked the car and started fishing. It was quite a bit of fun since we were the only ones fishing on the whole reservoir adn the fish were jumping like crazy. They'd come right up to the shore and we could watch them swim around. The weather was warm with just a slight breeze that made the water lap against the rocks. We had a few nibbles, one that was hooked and got away, and another couple get hooked and break the line. After an hour we finally landed one and were so excited! The fish quit biting so we rushed back to the lodge/marina to figure out what type of fish we caught. Turns out it was a 16 inch long Utah Sucker fish - a trash fish not good for eating. The old man running the forest service information booth could hardly contain his chuckles as he explained no one fishes on Johnson Reservoir right now. All the fish are trash fish, so they planted Tiger Muskess to kill off the trash fish. The Muskees grow up to 40 inches and 35 pounds, but are virtually impossible to catch because they have razor sharp teeth that will break your line almost every time. So we fished in the wrong place, but we had fun doing it.

For our final campfire Ryan decided we needed to go out in style. He built a teepee fire that would make any scoutmaster proud. Caden was agape at the flames. We attempted to cook our fish for dinner, but everyone was right. Sucker fish taste funny. We roasted hot dogs instead, then packed up and came home.


All in all it was a great family vacation in a beautiful location. We hope to go back again sometime.

Update on our Week

Its been a crazy week around our house. Ryan and I have both been working like crazy so we can play hookey on Thursday and Friday, and Caden picked this week to get sick. He's been running a slight fever, refusing to eat, and been extra fussy. We went to the doctor on Monday when he started showing signs of dehydration. The diagnosis was some long word I'd never be able to remember, but basically he has a rash on the inside of his throat. The doctor described it as a mild version of hand, foot, and mouth disease. The treatment is to just push the liquids and let the virus run its course. We'd been trying really hard to teach Caden to drink from a regular cup but even after two months of practice he's still not very good at it. So we gave in and bought a sippy cup. In typical Caden fashion, he first shook the new gadget but eventually settled in to holding it. He also likes eating Otter Pops right now (they were Grandma Dodds' suggestion). I think the cold and cool eases his pain.

In other news, the strawberries are out in full force. Ryan picks a few every night when he comes home from work and we stand around the kitchen savoring the sweet goodness. We got a pretty good haul the other night and took a quick picture. You all are missing out. Berries from the store just can't compare to vine ripened berries. Its like the difference between store bought and home grown tomatoes.

We leave early tomorrow for our camping adventure. We plan to take lots of pictures, so check back Saturday or Sunday for an update on that.

Fishy, Fishy

This weekend is our family camping trip at Fish Lake! We're hoping to bring in a good haul and have fish for dinner Friday night. I loved this poem as a child and thought it fitting for the week.

Fishy, fishy, in the brook
Daddy caught it with a hook
Mommy fried it in a pan
Baby ate it like a man

Another Video

Here's another video Ryan took yesterday. I waited a day to post it since we'd already put so much up. Looking back, I'm not really sure this is fantastic Sunday material, but oh well.

The Utah Lake Festival

We went to the annual Utah Lake Festival today. We were a little disappointed they ended up not having the promised fishing demonstrations, but we had a good time anyway. Ryan says he got his money's worth (it was free) since he got a hot dog, sno cone, apple, and bag of popcorn. We started out walking around a few of the exhibits and children's tents.

We briefly considered letting Caden have his face painted, then decided to go on the boat tour before the line got too long instead. The smallest life jacket available was a tad big, so it took a minute to get it on straight.

The whole family enjoyed the leisurely jaunt around the lake. The tour guide told us about the different things that are happening around the lake and the plans for the future of the lake. Despite the murky appearance, the water is among the cleanest lake water in the country; and contrary to local myth the fish from the lake are not poisonous to eat. He pointed out different native (and non-native) plants, and we were treated to a visit by three pelicans.

Caden liked to feel the soft animal pelts on display from the Division of Wildlife Resources. Just like petting a cat, he'd giggle and squeal. We even made the presenter a little nervous when Caden tried to see of the pelt would make a noise when rattled. He was quite enamored by the teeth, but any of you who have held Caden and had your own face attacked could have guessed that.

Although the day started out cold and overcast, the sun came out and things really warmed up. We decided a sno cone was the perfect way to end our little adventure. Caden agreed. Watch him lick his lips in anticipation of another bite.

Strawberries!

Our strawberries are starting to turn ripe! Its looking like we'll get about 30-50 good sized (store size) strawberries and then another 50-60 smaller (marble size) berries. Ryan covered them with a net so the birds won't steal them all like they did last year.

Hmm... That can't be good.

We spent how long patching, sanding, and painting this woodwork so it would look perfect? Note: Ryan took the video.

So what was Daddy's response?

Rescue 2008

The internet was down at our house for most of the week, a casualty of the road construction, and then its just taken me a while to get things ready to post on the blog. Sorry for the dry spell.

Tomatoes struggle in temperatures lower than 40 degrees, so we waited forever to plant ours. We watched the weather faithfully and as soon as the entire 7 day forecast showed overnight lows above the magic number our 30 tomato and 14 pepper plants went in. A week later the temperatures dropped as a storm front moved in. We spent nearly an hour Tuesday night covering the fragile tomatoes and peppers with cloths or buckets held down by bricks and rocks. The coverings will probably stay on another week or so. There has been some crazy spring weather this year!

The Lap of Luxury

Life couldn't get any cushier than your own padded seat cover for the shopping cart. Oh yeah, Caden lives life in the lap of luxury. (The seat cover is actually an attempt to cut down on allergic reactions when we leave the bubble of our home, and it worked for this shopping trip. Yay!)

A New System

I've fallen into a bit of a rut. Its been over 20 years since I actively said nursery rhymes and coming up with them on the spot has proven difficult. Inspired by a few other's I've seen who provide quite a bit of structure for their kiddos, I've decided to pick one new nursery rhyme a week to focus on with Caden. Hopefully that will expose him to new vocabulary and sounds, and give me something new to sing and say. To get this party started, in honor of spring planting season I've picked "Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary."

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Fast Sunday

What do you do on Fast Sunday when you're somewhat bored and trying to get your mind off eating? First, you focus on feeding the one who can eat - the kid. It had been a few weeks since we tried to give Caden his special wheat free pretzels and decided it was time to try again. We dropped him in the high chair and each of us pulled up a chair to watch. We got quite a few pictures of Caden with his fist shoved halfway down his throat sucking on that oh so salty stick before he got annoyed at the flashing camera. He took his fist out just long enough to give a glare that said "Don't bother me - I'm eating!" We figure we post so many pictures of him smiling that million dollar grin we'd try out this pic to spice things up.

And the second thing to do on Fast Sunday? Why, make a million cookies, of course! Poor, deprived Ryan hasn't had his applesauce chocolate chip cookies in months so he took to the kitchen. He hit his first snag when he realized I don't buy eggs anymore. Our awesome back yard neighbor kindly lent us a few. She must not buy many eggs either, because the package was stamped "February 19." The next snag came a few minutes later when Ryan discovered the baking soda box was 99.9% empty. (Side note: baking soda and vinegar work great for unclogging drains.) The same great neighbor saved the cookies again. The cookies ultimately proved too tempting for Ryan, who broke his fast and snacked on about 10 cookies, literally. Before he got too excited about the cookies he shared some with the neighbor (after contributing half the ingredients he figured she deserved a plate) and my parents who stopped by for a quick visit. Then he took this picture. As you can see, the recipe makes a few cookies. I only made the mistake of making a full batch once. Ryan, on the other hand, loves the 12 dozen cookie goodness.