Here Come the Teeth....

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.

April's 1st Mother's Day

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.

Speaking as a husband and father, I can't imagine many ways that April could have been a better mom to Caden these last several months. She is loving, patient, prepared, knowledgable, calm, fun, diligent, and prayerful. She loves Caden with all that she has to offer, and her boys want her and everyone else to know that we love her, we appreciate her, and we'll always be grateful that we were blessed by the Lord with such a beautiful and amazing woman! We love you April!

Sweet Potatoes Anyone?

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?!?!?!"

Nap Time

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.

First Tooth!

Sorry, we don't have a picture...Caden thinks that it's a game when we try and look at his tooth. He thinks the object is to catch our fingers with his tongue making it impossible to see his tooth, much less take a picture. Just take our word for it...it's there! It's his bottom right tooth that will always be remembered as his first. I spend most of my days rotating teething toys in and out of the freezer. No more chewing on Mommy or Daddy's fingers for Caden!

Splish Splash!

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!

A Message From Caden

Beautiful Feet

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

Isaiah 52:7

Baby Bjorn

So our car was in the shop the other day, and they called at about 4:30 in the afternoon and said we could come and pick it up. Only problem is, we're a one car family, always have been, and the dealership closed in less than an hour. Fortunately, it was only a mile away. Solution? Strap Caden in the Baby Bjorn, grab the cell, and take a walk! As you can see by the look on his face, Caden loves being in the Bjorn. It lets him look around and see all the world has to offer, and it lets Daddy show him off to everyone we pass. Seriously, Caden is a really good looking kid; he gets it from his mother...

Future Business Leader of America

He kinda has that CEO look to him, don't you think?

Caden practically pulled his daddy's tie off after work today trying to get it into his mouth, so we figured we would see how it looked on him. If there are any parents with 6 month old girls out there who are looking to betroth their daughter to a future millionare and certain Time Magazine Man of the Year, you better act fast before Caden is taken!

Up On All Fours

Caden is ready for take off! We regularly find him "practicing" for crawling. He has learned to pull himself up on his knees and then.... well....move backwards. He must know that he's supposed to move forward because I often hear him whining and then find him in this position. He's such a curious little fellow.

Yummy!

Caden had his first taste of baby food today. We started with yellow/orange veggies....yummy squash! Caden ate an entire serving from Gerber. Uncle Allen asked if we were trying to punish Caden with the squash. Well, Uncle Allen, I'm pleased to inform you that Caden seemed to actually like the squash...you could learn something from him!

Little Drummer Boy

Caden has discovered that he loves to hit things. We gave him a tin pie plate and he loves it!
After we showed him how to hit it a few times, the little guy took over and made some very beautiful music. Here are a couple of pics of Caden playing with the pie plate in Daddy's lap. Notice the cool matching shirts they have that Brett brought back from Togo last month. They wore them, along with a matching skirt for April, to Mission Sunday at GracePointe today. To read more about our Mission Sunday experience, check out our Africa blog.

Brown eyes rule!

O.K., so Caden's eyes aren't exactly brown...they are...well, hazel. they seem to be a gray around the outside and brown towards the middle. I suppose they could continue to change. Sorry Emerson family, no blue eyes here.

I'm 6 months old!

Yesterday Caden turned 6 months old!
We also went to the doctor yesterday for our "well baby check-up".

Here are Caden's new stats:
height: 26 3/4"
weight: 14 lbs. 13.2oz.
clothing size: 6-9 mo.
eating: rice cereal once a day

We're Sitting!

Caden has been learning to sit up all by himself. Just today he really seemed to understand how to balance himself. His little play station gave him something to hold on to, but he also sat up without it for a few moments. Don't worry, Mommy was very close by to catch him when he forgot what he was doing. This will now become a daily practice at the Emerson house!

Fun at the Zoo!

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.

Here is a pic of April and Caden when we arrived at the park.




This 2nd pic is practically prophetic; we'll be saying this phrase in just a few months!

Graduation Day

The day we brought Caden home from the hospital, it seemed the car seat swallowed him.

Yesterday, Caden gratuated from his "baby" car seat to a "big boy" car seat. Once again, he looks too little for his car seat...but little boys grow.



We're half way through our first year with baby Caden...amazing!

Peak-A-Boo

Caden is learning to push up on his hands while playing on his tummy. In this case....he was supposed to be taking a nap. He was crying and I went in to check on him. This is what I saw: two little eyes peaking through the rails over his bumper pad. I started laughing, Caden smiled, and I went to grab the camera. It won't be long now and he'll figure out how to move those arms and legs and we won't be able to keep up with him.

Caden's 1st Easter

Caden spent his first Easter in Searcy, Arkansas. We took a trip to Harding University to see Spring Sing one last time before leaving for Africa. Although Caden missed out on the show (it was his bedtime and the noise level would have been disastrous for all involved), he had a great weekend meeting many of Mommy & Daddy's friends. He also did very well in the long car rides there and back. Thanks to Gamma for Caden's cute "My First Easter" bib. It completes the picture, don't ya think?!