Get the Kitty (or not)

Well I am going to take a moment to switch gears and just talk about Tyson.  Well some of you may know that we got rid of our cat a few months ago.  Well Tyson has gotten accustomed to that every time I yell at the cat to quit doing something he is not supposed to be doing I clap and yell at him.  Well every time I did that Tyson would go after the cat as if he felt like he had to help tell the cat to quit.  Well then I would clap about something else (not the cat getting into trouble) and Tyson would go after the cat every time.  He had associated clapping with the cat getting in trouble.  So now that the cat is not here, one day I decided to see what Tyson would do if I clap.  Well the first time he went and barked toward the kitchen but then stopped because I think he realized that the cat isn't here anymore.  The video shows what he did the next time I did it.  Apparently now he thinks I am just playing.

MOPS

Well I joined a MOPS group today.  And I think I am going to like it.  For those who don't know what that is, it stands for Mothers Of PreSchoolers.  It is a group for mothers with children aged preschool and below.  This group meets twice a month.  The group has speakers discussing various topics and sometimes they do crafts.  We are each at a certain table and the tables take turns bringing food to the meeting.  And of course it is a time to connect with other moms to get support, ideas, and information.  And then sometimes they do outings outside of the group such as playdates or mom's night out.  So I am excited about this being something else for me to do to get out of the house and meeting new people.   

Happy Birthday Grandpa Hatke!

Caedmon wants to take a moment to wish his Grandpa Hatke a Happy Birthday (yesterday)!  Love you!  This past weekend we went to their house to celebrate his birthday.  We had an awesome prime rib dinner made by Grandma Hatke.

Big Boy!

Caedmon is definitely growing fast.  He is getting better at tummy time and getting good at keeping his head up.  He is starting to want to look around more and wants to be sitting up in order to get a better view of everything.  He likes to sit in his high chair.  And we put together his bouncy activity jumper.  He likes that for a little bit so he can stand up and work on leg muscles and head control.  His feet almost touch the floor.  I put a binder under it so he can touch. 

Just want to throw in a couple funny pictures I like.

Valentine's Day!

The day before, my friend Becky and her son Adrian came over and we made Valentine cookies.  Adrian helped put sprinkles on the cookies and use the cookie cutters to make heart shapes.  Caedmon supervised the whole thing. 

The funny thing about this picture is Adrian didn't want to look at the camera so Becky said, "look at the duck on Kim's head." LOL

Caedmon supervising cookie making

On Valentine morning I took this picture.  Then while I was looking at something on my phone I look up.....

....and Tyson had done this. 

Uh oh we better watch out.  We could be in for trouble.

Look at my big belly.

Met daddy for lunch at Rock Bottom

Bittersweet Time

Well I am officially a full time mom now.  So excited about it and being able to have this opportunity.  My last day of work was sad however.  I love all of my co-workers and I will miss them.  They all threw me a little going away party.  Here is a little video I took earlier in the week.

Bingo Bonanza!

This past Friday we went to Bingo Bonanza again.  After doing the math we think this was our 6th year going.  We always take grandma because she loves Bingo and it is for a great cause.  It benefits children with disabilities at Easter Seals Crossroads.  I have a history with this organization.  I did my internship there during grad school and at my last job we send a lot of referrals there.

The night starts with a pasta dinner and you get 2 alcohol tickets (which my mother-in-law and grandma never use theirs so Tanner I get double).  We play 7 games with each game has 3 Bingo boards.  You can buy additional boards for an additional price.  The prizes are pretty awesome ranging from Apple products to airline tickets to alcohol packages to restaurant packages, etc.  So far we haven't won yet but we always have a good time.  And as the night goes on it starts getting a little crazy because people have had too much to drink.  For example every time they call O-69 the crowd cheers.  LOL!  And one year people at the next table started coloring on their faces with the daubers.  Volunteers also walk around selling tip boards and pull tabs. 

Caedmon stayed home with his grandpa Dawson.  Rick always went to Bingo with us but he hates it.  So he said he would gladly watch Caedmon while we all went to Bingo.  LOL.

Here are some pics from the night.

Blah! Is it spring yet?

Well the Hatke household is not doing so well at the moment.  Caedmon and I have been sick.  Caedmon has had this cold since he started daycare and after about a week of it we decided we better make a doctor appointment for him.  And sure enough he has a double ear infection (let the fun begin already).  So they give him this antibiotic and the first couple of days were fine and he was noticeably better.  He was sleeping better and he was more giggly and smiley.  But then after that he couldn't keep it down and kept throwing up (as you can see below).  Even if you gave it to him a little at a time after a feeding.  So back to the doctor we went and the good news is the infection was 3/4 of the way gone.  But they told us to only give him half of the dose.  So far it has been okay but we will continue to see what happens.

Poor lil guy

Sorry to be gross but I figured the picture was already on Facebook due to my mother-in-law accidentally put it on there when she didn't  mean to.  She got an iPhone and is still learning how to use it.  It did create some laughs.  One person said, "Kim, you know better than to let him eat Sandy's cooking."  LOL.  Just got to love my mother-in-law.

Meanwhile this past weekend I have had some sort of sickness that is going around.  I guess Tanner had this same sickness last month.  My stomach hurts really bad, have no appetite, and very tired.  My stomach hurts because I need to eat but then eating makes it hurt so it has been a lose lose situation.  I would rather have body aches and a fever than this.  And the part that really sucks is this is my last week at work and I had to stay home sick yesterday and today so far.  It makes it appear like I am trying to slack off since this is my last week which I hate more than anything.  Although I don't think I have a weeks worth of work to do anyway.  Hopefully I can go back to work tomorrow.  Also a huge shout out to my awesome husband for taking care of Caedmon while I got to rest and sleep a lot.  I don't know what I would have done without him.

As always I will end this post with some cute pictures of Caedmon.  And I promise no more gross pictures.

Caedmon helping daddy work

Love his dimple chin

LOL!

Not centered but still cute

"Ahhh having my balls free feels good."

Fell asleep on his bear mat

My new hat even though I still hate hats.

So cute

Playing with my football at Panera.  Look at those chubby cheeks!

To be a stay at home mom or not to be a stay at home mom?

That is the question.  Or at least was. I went back to work last week.  And well Tanner and I have been discussing possibly me quitting work and staying home with Caedmon.  I cannot believe I am actually saying this when I remember about 2 months ago I was like I cannot wait to get back to work.  It excites me but also makes me a little nervous.  If we cut back in a couple of areas we should be fine in the finances department.

So how this all came about was one day I was joking with Tanner.  I said, "dont you like me staying home because I do all of the grocery shopping and errand running now during the day and you don't have too?".  He says well I told you that you could.  So then we started having a serious conversation about it and he said he would prefer I watch Caedmon instead of someone else.  And the way that I look at it is for quite some time now I was contemplating changing jobs because mine is stressful (and with a child = double stress).  But never had the guts to actually do it because I didn't want to get rid of my benefits.  And let's face it who likes job searching?  It sucks.  So I view this as my way out of my job.  And he has been going to daycare and I do not like it one bit but I know every parent has felt this way at first.

Also at my bible study group we did a 3 week series on worry.  I worry A LOT!  So of course I was skeptical about quitting.  Because is this going to mess up my future in trying to get a job later?  Will it mess up my resume because there will be a gap of unemployment?  What if I am bored at home?  Do I want to give up my health insurance and benefits because it is better than Tanner's work?  Will finances be so tight that we cannot have any fun?  What if I end up hating it?  These were just some of the questions/worries going through my mind.

So at bible study the verse Matthew 6:34 reads, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  After reading this verse I realized who cares about the future and getting a job later.  Deal with that when the time comes and if this is God's plan for me then everything in the future will work out.  What matters now is what is best for Caedmon and what God wants me to do now.  I feel like he is leading me to quit my job so that I can learn to trust him and not worry.  Everything will work out.  And to continue to learn patience as we all know we need a lot of that with a child.

So I will end this post saying that the decision has been made and I put my resignation in today.  I don't think I will regret it because I hear from all moms that this time goes so fast so at least I will get to enjoy it more.  And I should definitely be blessed that I have this opportunity because a lot of moms do not get this opportunity.

Watching TV together

Lil man is 3 months old now

Caedmon acts like he doesn't enjoy tummy time.  We think he is just in denial.

Tummy Time

Caedmon absolutely hates tummy time.  He will pretty much start whining almost as soon as you put him on his tummy.  This video from tonight shows that he actually acted like he enjoyed it and with a surprise ending.

Big Stretch

Just a quick video on Caedmon stretching after he is unswaddled.

It was like Christmas again

And I am talking about 2 weeks ago was busy traveling around like we typically do at Christmas time.  I decided as my maternity leave is nearing the end that Caedmon, Tyson, and I would go visit family again.  We went up to my dads from Tuesday thru Thursday.  Tuesday went to my bros house and visited with everyone.  Caedmon was a little cranky that night.  He typically seems to want to go to bed about 7PM.  Well by the time we got back to my dads, fed him, and put him to bed it was 9PM.  When we put him to bed he usually sleeps about 5 to 6 hours and then wakes up to eat again and goes back to bed for another 3 to 4 more hours.  Well that night he slept till 4AM!  7 Hours!!  I couldn't believe it.  Then he slept another 3 hours after that from 5 to 8AM.  It was nice.

On Wednesday dad, Caedmon, and I went to the mall and walked around and ate lunch.  Caedmon slept the whole time in the mall.  My bro and the kids came over for dinner that night.  Then Thursday afternoon I headed out to Lafayette to grandpa and grandma Hatke's house.  Swung by their house to pick up Brandon and then went to grandma's work.  She wanted to show Caedmon to her co-workers.  And of course everyone thought he was adorable.  Then on Friday hung out with Brandon for awhile before heading home before dark.

The whole time I was gone Tanner was supposed to be at a conference for work but unfortunately got sick.  He ended up staying home the whole week but good for him since he was able to get uninterrupted rest and not have to tend to the boy.  So I thought I did pretty well tending to the boy without Tanner around.  Caedmon was a little cranky alot but he probably missed his daddy. 

Then later on Friday night, grandma and grandpa Hatke brought Brandon to our house to spend the weekend with us.  We all went out to dinner at the Rathskellar (a really good German restaurant) before they headed back home.  Caedmon slept the whole time and did well.  We actually tried to go to the Rathskellar with them the weekend before and Caedmon was crying the whole time on the way there so we decided to turn around and go home and ordered in instead. 

The weekend with Brandon was fun.  We had some good laughs.  We were kind of lazy too which was nice.  Saturday night Brandon and I walked around Circle Center mall and went to dinner at Scotty's Brewhouse for my friend Jenelle's graduation celebration.  Tanner was still pretty tired from being sick so he stayed home with Caedmon.  He said him and Caedmon were having fun talking guy stuff, smoking cigars, and shootin guns.  LOL!  They got to have some guy bonding time since we been gone most of the week.

On Sunday again we were all lazy.  Tanner took Brandon home back to Lafayette with Caedmon.  I stayed home to have a night to myself with Tyson.  Tanner probably would have left Caedmon at home but I knew grandpa and grandma would be disappointed if he didn't go.  I even went running for the first time in about 10 months today.  It felt great but kicked my butt.  So it turned out that the weather was bad up in Lafayette and Tanner didn't want to drive home in the ice so him and Caedmon spent the night.  So I got to have an entire night to myself with uninterrupted sleep.  It was pretty awesome!

Well now that I just rambled on forever and probably confused everyone or bored you to death, I will end with a couple of pictures and a video from the week.

Playing with grandpa Cichos

Sleeping with daddy

Excuse the cuss word from his Uncle Brandon at the end.  He was trying to take a picture and something messed up.  LOL. 

In Loving Memory....

I cannot believe it has been 5 years ago today that mom passed away.  Seems like it was just yesterday.  Just wanted to post a few pictures in remembrance of her.  Love you and miss you so much Mom!

Purdue graduation

Being goofy with Stone's sunglasses

Paul's wedding

The family before Jenna and Tanner were added

When Jenna was born

Mom with the blanket I made her

At my wedding rehearsal dinner

Mom with Stone - he kind of looks like Caedmon

Mom and Heather - Christmas 2007

Christmas 2007

My wedding

Gatlinburg trip 2007

Gatlinburg trip 2007

Wedding rehearsal dinner

My wedding

Mom with dad wearing my Purdue graduation cap and gown LOL