It has been almost 3 months since my last post and I can blame it on a few things.... Being busy with a 3 year old, spending great times with great friends,working,and taking an interest in facebook!! Where does the time go?? By the time I make another post it will be Christmas. We have been enjoying watching Caden play soccer and soon T-ball. We have been enyjoying boating, Kings Island, cook-outs, birthday parties, zoo outings, fishing, putt-putt and just hanging out with friends and family. The sports have begun with Caden and I have a feeling it will be a long time before we settle down. Like 20 + years!! That's ok..we love it and it is great memories for all of us. My dad's 50th birthday is Thursday and I will be turning 30 in September...Big milestones. Caden is so funny with the things he comes up with and anyone who has had a child or is going through this stage knows. Caden the other day said "Mommy it's just too hard to fall asleep by myself. Can you lay with me?" They are so smart and try to manipulate at such an early age ( : He over heard me tell someone on the phone that Caden has had a rough day and the next morning as we are getting ready for Pre-school he says "mommy, I don't want to go to school today." I asked why and the response was " I had a rough day." (which I guess he meant a rough night) He tried!!

Practicing.....






Caden has been practicing soccer and t-ball whenever the weather is nice. Grandma Sheppard came down today and bought him some shin gaurds. He starts Wee Soccer in April and hopefully t-ball in June. He thinks when he wears the shin gaurds he can fall whenever and where ever he wants! Even on the concrete! Sorry grandma there are already scuffed up, but he really likes them. This is a fun age. The sports begin ( :

Happy 3rd Anniversary Nick

Sharing my life with you and Caden has been the best 3 years of my life and I feel like the lukiest women in the world to have a wonderful husband and you are such a wonderful father to Caden. I love you and thank GOD everyday you are in my life and will be forever. Happy anniversary baby!!

Savannah's 3rd Birthday

Savannah had her 3rd Birthday party at Kazoing today and all the kids had a blast. Everyone including the parents sure did burn a lot of energy. Thanks for the invite Savannah we had a great time. After the party Miller came back with us while BJ and Matt headed down to Kosair Hospital to take care of Madden. He had been sick and ended up very dehydrated and had to get I.V fluids. Thankfully he is going to be ok after the fluids, rest and a lot of T.L.C. We will be praying that he get's well soon. Caden and Miller, with whatever energy they had left played soccer, used their new sidewalk chalk that Savannah gave them, and played with each other until they nearly passed out. As soon as Miller left around 6pm., Caden took a bath and was out cold by 7:25 which would have been 6:25 if the time hadn't changed. He was worn out. They next 3rd birthday that we will be counting down will be William's!!!

A day at the Zoo!!!

Spring is almost here and I am sure everyone is like me...Ready for the weather to stay this beautiful. Caden and William had fun at the Zoo. When I asked what his favorite animal was he replied "the carousel and the train" not exactly an animal, but I wasn't suprised. We ended the zoo and went for ice cream at Baskin's Robin's and thinking with no nap they would crash...Nope! They ended the day riding William's 4-Wheeler. They had a lot of fun letting me take them one at a time and they got to ride together. We look forward to many more nice days in the sun ( :

Weekend at Grandma's

Grandma had us over last weekend and we really enjoyed ourselves. Caden played with her dog Max, worked puzzles, played games, watched movies and the next morining we all went to the Louisville Science Center and Imax. What a great weekend! She lives in Charlestown,IN and like Nick's family we just don't see each other enough. Caden really enjoyed going to the science center and it has been a long time since I have been there so it was fun for everyone.

Happy 3rd Birthday Caden

Caden turned 3 yesterday and he had a wonderful birthday party thanks to all our friends and family. We deceided to have Caden's construction party at my dad and step-mom's house so we would have plenty of room to play and have fun. Thanks dad and Julie for all your help and lending us your house for the day ( : All the kids got hard hats, orange cone cups and played with trucks, balls, drums and just had fun. Caden loves all his great gifts from everyone, but I think just having everyone there to celebrate was the best part. Our little boy is growing so fast. Finally in his big boy bed, with his big boy haircut I guess the only thing next will be to have another baby.. But not until next year. Sorry grandma!! Caden also had a great time at Miller's birthday party last week. I think I will have to buy him an event calender ( : 2 more weeks and Savannah will be having her 3rd birthday. I think the kids really enjoy being kids and just getting to play with each other. Nick and I look at Caden and we are so thankful for the last 3 wonderful, healthy years with him.

Finally an update....

We got a new computer and now I am able to download ,upload and keep in touch. The last couple of months have been nice spending with friends and family. Uncle Michael, Nick's brother graduated from the United States Marine Corp and is headed for more training in California. We are very proud. Caden is going to be 3 in 12 days and asks everyday when his party is. Caden seems to suprise us everyday...He is so dag gone smart. He loves the challege of a good puzzle, I-spy books, memory games and at the same time he is a little boy through and through. Still loves construction trucks, sports, trains, music and building with legos. Daddy took him bowling for his first time and last weekend we took him to the circus for the first time. As much as the ice storm was a pain in the butt, we had fun playing in the snow at Uncle David's and Aunt Sonya's. Thanks for making us feel right at home. I received a promotion about a month ago to Practice Manager for a general surgery practice. I really love it. We are all healthy and love spending are time with Caden. He is getting so big. He even told us he has a girlfriend at school and he wants to kiss her. I know crazy..right. Well, now that I have a new computer I will try to stay on top of our blog. I have been getting harrassed by some to update so here it is.

Happy Thanksgiving,& Happy Holidays!!!





It has been 2 months since I haven't posted anything and the main reason is because our computer has a virus and is very slow. It is so frustrating to get so far in something and the computer shuts down. We are hoping to get a new one soon. Anyways, things are going good. Caden in SO ready for Santa. This is going to be a fun year for him Christmas morning. He is at the age that you can threaten to call Santa when he is bad!! Not that my 2 year old is ever bad!! We have a new addition to the family. She is a 8 wk old black lab named "Nema". Caden loves her. He says Nema is his "sister". Maybe one day he will have a real sister, but Nema is a handful. Each week gets a little easier, but it is like having another child. The things Caden is really into right now are still construction trucks. He now says he wants to be a builder when he gets bigger. He is also into trains, books and puzzles. But, if it was up to him no matter the weather conditions, he would be outside digging in the dirt everyday. He loves watching The Grinch and Elf around the holidays. He even has some parts of The Grinch memorized. He thinks when the Grinch smiles real big that he is a nice Grinch. It is not the cartoon it is the Jim Carey version. One day he will understand the story line of the Grinch, but for now we will let him enjoy Whooville!! Nick is almost done with his second semester at Northwood College. Accounting I and II are the two classes he has taken. He will be taking his final for Accounting II this week. We are so proud of you daddy, keep up the good work!! Nick's brother Michael has joined the Marines and we are so proud of him, but already miss him. Caden asks about Uncle Michael all the time and it will be hard not to see him around the holidays. If I don't get to post again soon, I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and with Thanksgiving just passing, we are so thankful for our family, friends, health and freedom. Happy Holidays!!

Bye, Bye Paci's..........

With the big wind storm we got with hurricane Ike, I have just now been able to get on the computer. We are grateful that we never lost power just cable, phone and internet. Knowing how much damage the winds alone caused here I can't even imagine what it would be like down in Texas. Well on a lighter note...Yes, Caden gave up to paci's. Yeah!!!!! Thanks to my friend Carrie Black who had a great idea of taking paci's to Build A Bear. Which is a place you can create your own animal with stuffing and even a little heart. We added 3 pacifier's to the monkey. Caden stuffed them in and said good bye. We are so proud of him. I think I dreaded the whole thing more than it even affected him. The first two night's he asked for it and even tried to dig them out of the monkey's back where he saw the lady sew the monkey up. Now, 6 days out he is doing great. Goes right to sleep with monkey and doesn't even ask about paci. I was starting to think with the attachment he had to the paci he would be going off to college with it!! (: Not really but, never the less we are proud of Caden and I am proud of myself!! Thanks for the great idea Carrie(:

I have now been at my new job for 2 weeks and really liking it. It is different being in a management position, but I think after all the training is over I will enjoy it even more. The staff and doctors are great. I'll let you know in a month when I really get settled.

Remembering 9/11




It is hard to believe we are having another anniversary for the tragedy that happened on 9/11. There are many people that Nick and I know that are serving our country to ensure our freedom. I am so grateful for all the military men and women. When you have children it makes things so different you not only live everyday to bring them up right we are fighting to keep the everyday freedom that we all had growing up. Nick, I am so proud of you for what you did before, during and after 9/11. I will never know what you went through, but I will always be grateful for what you did and Caden will be so proud when he is old enough to learn that his own dad fought for his freedom. Thank you.


2 1/2 years old....


It is hard to believe that Caden is 2 1/2 yrs old. Time goes by so fast. If anyone has heard the country song "Don't Blink" that is what I feel like. When I wake up tomorrow and blink he will be 5 yrs old before we know it. Caden has been such a blessing to Nick and I. I could have never imagined how much I would enjoy being a mother. A true blessing and I don't take it for granted. Caden is into a little bit of everything....Mostly construction trucks. He loves telling anyone who will listen that he wants a concrete mixer, excavator, dump truck, backhoe loader and a bob cat all for Christmas. Actually the Christmas list goes on and on!!! He also loves making new friends. In our new neighborhood any kid that walks by no matter the age, he SCREAMS across the street "Heyyyyy come play with me" then follows by asking there name. He is so funny. He also loves singing. Music is in the blood. So many of my family members played in a band or sang I guess that is where he gets it. His favorite right now is "Take me out to the ballgame", "Baa Baa black sheep" and "Jesus loves me." He can now count to twenty and when he see's something with writing on it he thinks it is his ABC's so if he is in the bathtub and picks up the shampoo bottle and starts to read he sings his ABC's(too funny) I don't know what we will do come winter because he loves being outside EVERYDAY. When it rains, we hear all day "Rain, rain go away, come back another day." It is so cute. The picture I posted is actually from a year ago. It goes by to fast especially when you see how much he has grown in one year. We will continue to cherish each day that we have such a gift.

Labor Day Weekend

It is hard to believe that it has already been one week since we moved in our house. We are completley unpacked and loving our new home. Caden is really enjoying having his own toy room and back yard to play. We have caught him a few times in the back yard with his shorts and underwear down to his ankles "watering the grass" if you know what I mean!! Thanks to everyone who helped us move. We couldn't have done it without all the help. This Labor Day weekend has been really nice. We started out spending time with friends at the Oldham County football game Saturday night. It was fun watching a highschool game which I haven't done since highschool. Between highschool football, college football and Pro-football which Caden is exposed to almost everday, I think I know what sport he will be playing as soon as he is old enough. The boys really enjoyed watching the game and chasing each other around. Sunday my uncle Bryan had a cook-out which it was great to see my family from Lawrenceburg, KY. but, that night did not end well. My uncle Bryan ended up in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder and a small fracture after him and Nick were playing some game in the back yard. He is going to be OK, but he was in a lot of pain. Today my dad had us over for a cook-out. So, I guess you could say I am ready for bed.

What a summer...We have had a great time with friends and family. We are getting ready to move into our new house and I got a new job!!! Friday I accepted a position in Lagrange at a general surgery practice to be there new Practice Manager. I get to run the office with the exception of HR duties. I am so excited. This is a big step up from being a medical assistant, I am thrilled working closer to home and I am ready for the challange. The packing is almost done for the exception of last minute things. We get to look at these stupid boxes for one more week. We can't wait to get settled in our new home. Caden is officially potty trained. YEAH!!! no accidents and he wears his "undies" all day every day. As you can see from the pics he is very proud of himself and so are we. Well I guess the next post will be when we get moved in......

Feeling better than ever......
What a difference having your tonsils and adenoids taken out makes. Caden sleeps soooooo good now. He doesn't even wake the kids at daycare up from nap anymore!!! As you can see from the picture in the last 4-5 days Caden has been more himself and even happier because he is getting a good night sleep. No more snoring or holding his breath. He had a bad case of chronic obstructive sleep apnea, but not anymore. We have actually hit a milestone recently. Caden took interest in potty training when he was 18 months old, so we bought him a potty chair. He immediately took to the potty thing and thought is was fun , but since then he has what we call regressed several times. No interest to interest then back to no interest-- you get the point. Here is where the milestone comes in. The last couple days he has been wearing big boy underwear. Daycare sent his paper home Monday and Tuesday and said he stayed dry all day and pee-pee'd on the potty and #2. He even started standing up and peeing. That may be more of a bigger deal to me than him. Hopefully he won't regress anymore. We will keep our fingers crossed and see what happens. We are so proud of him. We are also amazed at the songs he has memorized. The cutest is "Jesus Love's Me". Hopefully I can figure out how to download a video and put it on my blog. We have to sing it every night before bedtime. On another note, we started packing since we will be moving in a few weeks. We can hardly wait to settle in our new home. Caden seems to be getting more excited about the fact. We will keep you posted on the move....

Our new home....

We are so excited to be moving into our new home. Caden will have a large fenced in back yard and plenty of room to play. We get to move in the last week of August. I guess the packing will start soon. We have been telling Caden the last few days that we will be moving he says "I stay at this home with all my toys." He gets really upset when ever we talk about moving. I think once he gets settled he will love it.

Happy 3rd Birthday Jacob!!!
Caden's buddy Jacob turned 3 and we celebrated Saturday at his Pa-pa's house by the pool. Jacob, Caden and Miller had fun splashing, swimming, helping Jacob open presents and eating yumming cake and ice cream. Thanks for a great time and letting us be a part, we had a great time. They are all growing up way to fast, but it is neat to see how close the have become.

Miller and Caden
taking a break for a snack !!!
"Make a wish"

Update on Caden's recovery......

Caden has certainly had good days and bad days. The medicines he was put on have really messed him up. He has such a sensitive stomach and since he still won't each much, it seems he has an upset stomach and constipation more than a sore throat. We have had a lot of long nights. Two nights out of the last week he slept all night. The rest of the week he has been up all night. I certainly don't miss the newborn phase when they are up every two hours. That is what it has been lately, up every hour or two. The worst part is that there is not a lot I can do to make him happy. As a parent you feel so helpless. From what I hear, we still have another week ahead of us. A full recovery can take 2 full weeks. I can't wait til he is back to himself and feeling even better than before. Thanks again for all the support from our friends and family.

Caden's Surgery.....


Caden had his tonsils and adenoids taken out yesterday. Nick and I have been dreading this day for so long. With Caden almost 2 1/2 he is old enough to understand a lot, but not everything. When we arrived at Jewish Medical East at 6:15am Caden was in good spirits. He knew that Dr.Gould was going to "fix his throat". He did ask for something to drink several times. We had to distract him from thinking about it. Finally about 7:15am they gave him a "cocktail" this was suppose to help him relax before going into surgery and help them to put his I.V in. He was so funny after the "cocktail" kicked in. He would look at us and laugh or giggle. Nick and I never laughed so hard. Then the nurse came and took him back to surgery. It only lasted about 30 minutes, but then came the recovery. That was the worst of all so far. For one of the longest hours of my life, Caden screamed, kicked, hit and pulled his I.V out of his hand. I was sweating just trying to hold him and keep him away from his I.V that was in his hand. It brought tears to my eyes to see my baby boy scared and in so much pain. You just want to take all there pain away. Caden is doing fine now, a little pain medicine and a lot of TLC should get us through this recovery. Thanks for all the thoughts, prayers and visits. The pictures I posted are all right after the "cocktail". We can already tell a difference in his breathing now that his huge tonsils are gone. This will all be worth it in the end.