AWWWW, such a cuddle bug!
As you might notice, the bumber pad had to be removed from his crib. Caden was using it as a step stool and reaching higher on his crib than his parents were comfortable with. Now if we can only convince him to let go of the railing and sit back down to take a nap!
We celebrated Brett's first Father's Day today. We celebrated his incredible involvement in Caden's life with a few special presents. Brett enjoyed reading a new book, "Ten Tiny Tickles" with Caden and looking at his own personal photo album from Caden entitled, "Just Me and My Daddy". Brett chose to eat at Smokey Bones for lunch and later he and Caden went swimming.
One of the highlights of our trip to California was the drive from Los Angeles to San Francisco. We took California Highway 1, often referred to as the Pacific Coast Highway, most of the way. The dramatic coastline vistas and roads winding through the mountains were well worth the extra time it took to get to the Moore's house.
Caden recently discovered how to pull himself up on the bars of his crib. We heard him wake up yesterday morning and cry a "scared" cry. When Brett opened Caden's door, this is what he saw. We decided the scared cry was because he didn't know how to get down. Needless to say, we lowered the mattress today.
Now that we're home, we're going to spend the next few days posting about our 10 days in California.
Every time April and I come to Los Angeles, we always stop at the In 'n Out burger joint right next to the airport. It's no more special than any of the other hundreds of In 'n Outs in the LA area, except for one thing: planes! This In 'n Out is right next to the airport and the planes fly right over your head as you eat your greasy burger on the grassy knoll across from the restaurant.
Caden has seen big cats at the zoo a few times, but until yesterday he had never come face to face with your average everyday household feline. The Looches have two cats, Zoe and The Cheat, and Caden has enjoyed this new experience. He was definitely a little unsure at first, but after awhile he was smiling, grabbing, and looking like he wanted to chase those kitties all over the house! Now if we could just get Caden's mommy over her cat allergies, we coud bring one home for our little boy!
One of the cool things about our apartment complex is all the ducks that live at the lakes. Recently several groups of baby ducks have been born. Obviously we're not the only people who have fed the ducks because as soon as we walked onto the grass they came running. Caden seemed very curious about these little creatures running around eating bread and quacking all the time. As the weather is warming up and Brett finishes up school (this is his last week!), we hope to enjoy more opportunities to get outside and feed the ducks.
That's right people, we now have 2 teeth in that little mouth! We discovered Caden's second tooth last night and after several attempts finally captured this picture (ok, so we added the arrows and text later). Although you can barely see them, trust us, they are there! They are two of the sharpest little teeth we've ever felt (just ask Brett how his ear is doing). Our cute little toothless smile is about to turn into the most adorable little toothy smile you've ever seen. Keep a lookout for them in future pictures.
Ok, so technically its her 2nd because she was pregnant last year, but having little Caden to actually hold in her arms made it much more memorable, as you might imagine. April spent her day being honored by Brett and Caden for the wonderful mother that she has been these last 6 1/2 months. Breakfast in bed, a new outfit to wear to church, cards, flowers, kind words, time off from being "mom", and an extra day with Brett at home (he was home from school on Monday) were the main highlights of the last couple days.
So we've been introducing Caden to about one new food a week, starting with the orange vegetables. So far we've done squash and carrots, and today we gave him his first taste of sweet potatoes. He actually likes all 3, but he always makes the face you see here when he takes the first bite. This look says many things, but mostly it says, "What is THAT?!?!?!"
The past two days I have had the privilege of falling asleep on the couch with my baby cuddled in my arms. This has been special for me because Caden rarely falls asleep in this position. When I look at the picture, I realize how big my baby is getting. I can remember when we first brought him home and he would sleep on my chest like this. Well, kinda like this...he was so much smaller. We quickly forget just how tiny newborns truly are. When baby Caden gets too big to sleep on Mommy anymore...it will be time for another baby.
Caden's baby bathtub converts into a bath chair that attaches to the side of the bathtub to keep it from slipping. It's pretty cool and Caden loves it! After a very messy dinner of rice cereal, it seemed that a bath would be the easiest way to get all the little cereal bits out of his neck rolls. Caden has never seemed interested in playing in the water...not even in the sink. However, as soon as we placed him in his bath seat his hand went 
straight to splashing the water. I think he would have stayed in there for hours just to play with his cool bath toys...but when your baby has "prune" fingers and toes, it's time to get out. Caden thinks he is SO big now that he can sit up in the bathtub, he really enjoys it. Bathtime should now be more enjoyable for all of those involved!
Caden has discovered that he loves to hit things. We gave him a tin pie plate and he loves it!
Mission Sunday experience, check out our Africa blog.
Last month we bought a season pass to the zoo so that we can take Caden to see the animals anytime we want. The zoo is close by, and they just opened a new elephant exhibit.
The day we brought Caden home from the hospital, it seemed the car seat swallowed him. 
Caden enjoyed an earlier visit from the Easter Bunny. We will be in Searcy for Spring Sing on Easter Weekend. We posted these pictures in our team newsletter, but thought many of your would enjoy seeing them. If you'd like to receive our weekly newsletter via email, let us know, we'll be happy to add you.
