The Growing Groves Family

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Rice Cereal

We started feeding Cade rice cereal last week. Our plan has always been to breastfeed exclusively until Cade was 6 months old and then start him on solids so we figured being a week and a half early wasn't too bad! Cade has really been showing an interest in our food and using the spoon, all signs of being ready to eat so we also didn't want to pass up the opportunity while he was interested.

We decided to feed in the evenings because that is when my milk supply is the lowest. Cade also still wakes up around 4am for a feeding so we are hoping that feeding in the evenings will help him to sleep till about 6-7am!

Getting ready!

First taste

getting the hang of it

More! More!

YUMMY!!!

We had a little bit of a hard time finding the right consistency of rice cereal and breast milk during the first feeding but have worked that out since. Cade has really taken to the cereal so much so that we have even given him sweet potatoes a few times this week which he is just LOVING! We got to the doctor next week for Cade's 6 month check-up and so I am anxious to see what all advice our pedi has for us about feeding.

Easter Weekend Fun

We spent this past weekend with my parents and niece Bailey celebrating the Easter holiday! We haven't seen my parents in almost 2 months so they were very anxious to see Cade! They got here late Friday afternoon and we were outside in the front yard waiting for them.

Gregg had cheeseburgers and tator tots ready and waiting for everyone. After eating we all went outside to watch Bailey ride her bike and then went for a walk down to the park.

Bailey and Cade in their helmets

Mom and Bailey getting ready to head to the park

Dad and Gregg playing on the see-saw with Bailey

(I think they had more fun then even Bailey did!)

Gregg had to work Saturday and Bailey went to spend most of the day with her other Great-Grandmother. Mom, Dad, Cade and I spent the day just hanging out and running a few errands to get ready for Easter.

Cade woke up early Sunday morning so he and I had some quite time to share before everyone else was around. I read him the story of Jesus' death and Resurrection from a Children's Bible that my grandparents gave to me when I was a baby. The rest of the family woke up Sunday morning to gifts on the front porch from the Easter Bunny! That Easter Bunny was extra good to the kiddos in our house this year!

Cade and Bailey's Easter goodies on the front porch

Baby boy with all his goodies!

Playing with all his new toys!

Sweet boy smiling for his Easter pictures

Cade wore the same Easter outfit that my little brother Seth wore on his first Easter! It was a light blue color with a cute little chick on it and 2 balloons. (Comparing sizes of my brother and Cade- Seth was born in March 1982 and wore this is in late April of that year and Cade was able to wear the same thing even though he was born in November!)

Bailey and Cade smiling for a picture

We decided to do a shrimp and crawfish boil for lunch Easter Sunday! Gregg has been wanting my Dad to teach him the secrets of a shrimp boil for a while now so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity and also a nice change from the traditional Easter lunch.

Cade hanging out with Grinna while we were cooking

Purging the crawfish

Cade watching Grumps drain the water on the crawfish

I just LOVE these two boys!!! (My favorite picture of the day!)

YUMMY YUMMINESS!!!

Cade's first crawfish experience!

Bailey made these BEAUTIFUL Easter cupcakes for everyone!

After we all ate, and ate, and ate some more we decided it would be fun to have a little Easter egg hunt for Bailey! We hid 48 eggs around our house and our neighbors house for B to hunt.

Bailey getting ready to hunt for eggs!

hunting for those eggs

(we only found 47 eggs Sunday night and are still looking for that last one!)

We had such a fun Easter Sunday celebrating with our family! I look forward to continuing to teach Cade the story of Jesus Christ and the Easter miracle!

My parents had to head back to Lubbock Monday morning. We were so sad to see them go and cannot wait to we get to see them again next month.

My Mom is always making new personalized things for Cade. She made this onsie for him from a tie that my grandfathers. Cade wore it for everyone Monday before they left town. As a joke I brought him downstairs in his denim shorts and cowboy boots which got a good laugh out of everyone!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hitting the road

Gregg and I have both finally started working out again. (Truth be told Gregg has really started and I am just getting started!) A couple of weeks ago one of my co-workers husbands had a massive heart attach and passed away. He was 38 years old and healthy and left a wife and 2 young children behind. This combined with the fact that the #'s on my scale still read higher than what I would like and Cade is almost 6 months old have prompted me to take action. We have been walking around the neighborhoods every evening for a couple of weeks now and then Gregg and Cade have been going jogging every day that they are together. We have both started the Couch to 5K workout on days that we are home.

After we did the March of Dimes walk we decided that we needed a jogging stroller if we were going to be serious about jogging/ walking every day. We did a lot of research on different strollers but really didn't want to invest a lot in a jogging stroller since we have 2 other strollers and will need to purchase a double stroller sooner or later. So, Gregg started looking on Craig's List and we found a great stroller at a good price that was just down the road from where we live.

Cade loves the stroller and enjoys going for long rides in it! We have loved how much smoother it is to control on the uneven sidewalks and streets. All in all I think this is a win win for everyone and we look forward to slowly hitting the road again in pursuit of a more healthy family!!!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

March Of Dimes Walk

Yesterday was the March of Dimes Walk in Dallas at White Rock Lake. Parkland has a big March of Dime program in the NNICU to support the families of our premature and sick babies. This is my 3rd year to participate in this walk but the first time for Gregg (and obviously Cade) to come along with me!

Cade's first train ride!

Getting ready to start the walk

Riding in style!

Thanks for all the support!!!

My Mom made Cade a t-shirt with the same logo as our Parkland shirts

hanging out with Sara and McKensley after the race!

flirting with the pretty girl

Gregg, me, Cade, McKensley, Sara, and Ryan

There was a really great turnout for the walk and lots of $$$ raised to support March of Dimes research and programs that help Mom's have full term pregnancies and babies begin healthy lives. Parkland also hosted a NNICU Graduate Reunion after the walk so it was great to get to see so many of our previous babies and their families! Thanks to everyone who supports the March of Dimes. I will continue to walk in hopes that one day all babies will be born healthy!

Wrap Buddies Party

Friday morning we went to 360 Wraps for the Wrap Buddies Party in order to get Cade's DOC band wrapped! We went to 360 Wraps for them to measure his band and pick out the design a couple of weeks ago. They made a new fire department design for us and so we have been really excited to see what it would look like!

The party was a lot of fun! There were about 10 families that were all there to get their bands wrapped. We each brought breakfast food to enjoy and then got to talk and share our stories. Cade was the youngest baby there. It was so much fun to see how they wrapped the bands and to get to hear the story of how 360 Wraps got started wrapping DOC bands for families!

Playing on the carpet while the bands were being wrapped