One of Cade’s favorite things to do right now is dance. He knows that phones, tablets, computers, and speakers all play music and when he sees one he says “d” and starts moving his head to an imaginary beat. He’s clearly got some serious moves he’s working on.

Aunt AJ, Cade and I took a roadtrip to Florida to spend some time with Leeman and Suzy (Cade’s greatgrandparents). Cade did a great job in the car and we had a fantastic visit! Cade decided that showing off at Leeman’s office would be a great time to take his first steps – we caused quite the disruption.  Here are some pictures from our trip.

Little man’s roadtrip face…he doesn’t know what’s coming his way at this point!

Cade got to watch his first movie on the trip down – Happy Feet. While it didn’t keep his full attention, it certainly made the ride more enjoyable.

Looking at fish with Leeman while waiting on grandma at the airport

Cade LOVED the pool. He didn’t however love the float or his life jacket. He was much happier playing on the steps and getting in and out of the water over and over again.

And who doesn’t love to dump water in their face?

His prized posession from the trip – his very own remote from Leeman and Suzy. He carried it everywhere!

Checking out the ocean from the pier with grandma. He was very excited about the water.

Cade didn’t like the fluffy sand on the gulf coast, but he was a big fan of the water!

His first homeade chocolate chip cookie – he approves.

At the top of Cade’s list of favorite things from Leeman and Suzy’s – the cabinets. They have lots of cabinets in the kitchen and den and Cade had a ball opening, closing, and climbing inside.

Leeman let Cade have a ball he found at his house and it provided lots of entertainment on the drive home. Yes, he put it on his head and just left it there.

And on the way home we got to see Aunt Lauren and Olive Sue!

A great trip with great people!

Cade has decided that it is time to walk! That is literally what I think happened as he technically learned how to do it  a few weeks ago yet still decided that crawling was a sufficent means of travel. It took lots of encouragement to get him to do it on his own, but now he’s decided he’s a fan! Here’s a clip of his first real steps. AJ and I got him to walk for a cookie while we were visiting my grandparents 🙂

Day 13 –  You know, just hanging with buddies. Who needs clothes?

Day 14 – Gigi comes to play and brings Annie. Dogs are Cade’s favortie thing right now, so this was a perfect combination

Day 15 – More fun with Gigi! So thankful for great parents who love on Cade!

Day 16 – Cade discovers the most fantastic grocery cart on the planet. He said vroom vroom all through Kroger

Day 17 – Cade gets a library card. Don’t let the picture fool you, he was far more excited about sitting in the small chairs than the books

Day 18 – Cade “walks” Maddie.

Day 19 – “Helping.” We’ve been doing a little DIY kitchen remodel and ended up with a leak in the sink. Cade was VERY excited to help daddy fix the problem.

Day 6 – Cade meets the ocean. Water = win, Sand = not so much

Day 7 – Cade discovers pickles. He loves them. I of course, can not stand them or the smell. Grandma had to give him a bath 🙂

Day 8 – Discovering his love of cabinets. Leeman and Suzy have A LOT of cabinets and Cade thought they were awesome

Day 9 – Go to work with mommy day and sit in a big boy chair! Hours of entertainment trying to put large pens in his cheerios.

Day 10 – Happy National Doughnut Day (who comes up with these?) And yes, I gave him a chocolate one. Don’t judge.

Day 11 – Front porch swinging with daddy

Day 12 – Deck fun including sitting on steps (a new favorite skill) and playing with the water table.

Summer is here and the Boden house is pumped! Cade is home all summer with Trey and I. I am teaching one course at GSU and Trey will continue to work, but has some really great vacation time. Cade will be spending most of his days with me with some days with his amazing Aunts and grandparents.

I have a goal this summer to document our days. The idea is to take a snapshot each day to document what I think Cade’s highlight of the day is. After the first week, I have learned that what I hypothesize is not always accurate (See day 1 and 3). We will see how this little project goes!

Week 1 was short as Wednesday was his first official day off –

Day 1 – Who knew that heavy yard machinery was so much fun. Watching Coach aerate the yard was by far his favorite thing on his first day of summer. By his standards, way better than the pool. Funny boy.

Day 2 – First time having cereal with milk. This quickly went from me feeding him happily to him holding the spoon and eating with his hands. He’s not ready for cereal with milk.

Day 3 – He learned to climb into the bathtub. With a tape measurer. I’m not sure why we buy him toys.

Day 4 – Roadtrip! This moment was a highlight…taking selfies with mommy and Aunt AJ. It quickly turned into a “why in the world am I still in this carseat” But he was a champ. To Leeman and Suzy’s we go!

Day 5 – His very own remote from Leeman and Suzy. He carried it around ALL day and couldn’t be happier about it.  Currently it’s hanging out with Suzy’s pots and pans while he sleeps.

I’m finally done with school and it feels great! Graduation was a few weeks ago and since the ceremony started at 7:00 PM I decided it wasn’t worth trying to take Cade. Oma was amazing and took great care of him while the family went to the ceremony. Prior to leaving, we had an impromptu photo shoot in the front yard and the pictures are just too cute not to share. The hat looks ridiculous on me, but it’s pretty cool on the little man.

I told myself that I wasn’t going to do a lot for Cade’s first birthday. But I just couldn’t help myself. After all, he only turns 1 once….or maybe that should say I only have my first child have his first birthday once. In the midst of interviewing for a job and preparing for my dissertation defense I used Cade’s party as a great outlet for procrastination. And it was awesome! I’m glad I allowed myself to enjoy the planning and preparation for buddy’s big day.

The day truly was perfect. We had great weather and Cade was in a great mood. We spent the morning with family, had pancakes, and played outside. We got to celebrate with family and close friends who were so sweet to spend the afternoon with us. Cade was all about getting new toys and LOVED his cake. Seriously, he ate like 1/4 of it and cried when I took it away.

The decorations – Thank you pinterest for the ideas. Thank you Aunt Amy, Aunt AJ, Debbie Cakes, Gigi, and Oma for all of the crafting help and food prep!

A very happy birthday boy waiting on his pancakes!

Devouring some blueberry pancakes with daddy and Debbie Cakes

When we go to the grocery store, Cade always points to the balloons. So for his birthday, he got three and he loved them!

Morning birthday ride in his radio flyer – enjoying the beautiful weather!

Party time – I did a terrible job of taking pictures of all of the fun, but I managed to get a few. Here are some of my favorites.

Cade’s girlfriend, Ella, came to celebrate with him and this progression of pictures is too funny!

The kiss…

Okay, I’m done…you can leave now…

Maybe I’ll sneak another in while he’s not looking…

Seriously chick! Little man apparently doesn’t like an audience when he’s getting kisses.

The cake – To say that Cade liked his cake would be an understatement.

Happy Birthday Cademan!

[justified_image_grid preset=16 ids=1163,1153,1154,1155,1156,1157,1158,1160,1161,1164,1162 caption=off mobile_caption=off specialfx=off mobile_specialfx=off last_row=hide]

Cade DeMoy Boden is 1 and this officially marks the quickest year of my life! Cade is such a blessing. Trey and I can not imagine our lives without him. This year has been filled with so many wonderful first moments as a family of three and we will cherish those memories forever.

Cade has grown into such a sweet little guy. He is inquisitive and wants to explore everything around him. If he is awake, he is moving and into everything. He has the best laugh and thinks that so many things are just hilarious. He loves to be outside, but hates the grass. Eating is an activity on the top of his list. He can wave, but only when he wants to – maybe a bit of mom’s stubborn personality coming out. He likes to “ride” on his tricycle, and thinks that balls are just the greatest thing ever. He is in no hurry to walk, but can fly across a room crawling. Cabinets, containers, and doors provide hours of entertainment. He’s a lover of blocks, cars, and people. Mommy is still his favorite, but he recognizes and loves lots of his family and friends.

At Cade’s one year checkup he weight 20 lbs 6 oz and was 28.5 inches tall. He’s catching up with his weight (30%), but is only in the 7% for height. Those Boden genes may be too strong! He has six teeth and is working really hard on #7. His hair has gotten long on top, but the sides are still struggling. He’s got one lone curl in the back, so we will see if he gets mommy’s curly hair.

My dissertation “helper.” Thanks Cade, I didn’t need those 100 pages in order 🙂

Helping mommy mail his birthday invitations

I’m not sure what this caption should say, but this picture is awesome.

Learning to use a bowl. I love that I sent this picture to Aunt AJ with the caption “name that movie” and she immediately responded “Ralphie!” I’ve that’s lost on you, you should watch A Christmas Story.

Pointing is certainly one of his favorite skills

And then there is this skill 🙂

A boy and his dogs. No matter what we do, he insists on sitting with them.

Learning to brush his teeth

Working on his farming roots – thanks, Debbie Cakes

Hanging with his buddies Preston and Hudson

Cade’s monthly photo recap –

5

To our sweet baby boy – We are so thankful to be your parents and can only imagine the joy you will continue to bring to our lives! We love you Cademan!