More pictures posted on shutterfly

Monday, May 31, 2010

Welcome Summer - May 2010

Summer 2010 is off to a great start in the Marcum house! Kaden is doing amazing, he is quite the handsome fella (totally unbiased opinion) and we couldn't be more proud of him.

We started the month of May with a visit from the family of Amanda's long time friend, Jen. The VanLef crew came and spent the day with us and I can already see a lifetime of friendship budding between Kale and Kaden. Kale is about 8 months Kaden's senior, but that's almost the exact age difference between Kale's Momma, Jen and Kaden's Mommy. The main chaos makers on this visit were Kiesel and Kale's dog Moby, but I feel certain that Kale and Kaden will be stepping it up on future visits. We loved having the VanLef's for the day and it was great to see how much Kale has grown and changed since their last visit with us. It's also good to see what we are in store for in a few months with Kaden....Thanks Jen and Trish for paving the way!!

Kaden had his 2 month doctor's appointment and continues to keep right on thriving in the 90th percentile for height and weight. Our Big Man checked in at 24 1/4 inches and 13.6 pounds. As of this post we can assure you that he has continued to grow. Almost over night we had to replace just about all of Kaden's 6 month clothes with 9 month size. At this point he is growing in to his clothing sizes in weeks instead of months.

Towards the middle of the month we had a visit from Grandma Karen and Grandpa Tim. They drove all the way from Alabama to spend a long weekend visiting and spoiling their grandson. It was also a milestone weekend for Mommy and Daddy as they left their precious baby boy with Grandma Karen for a few hours and went out for their first "date" in a very long time. It was a strange feeling to be out without our big man, but great to spend some alone time. Thanks for making that possible Grandma Karen!

The month rounded out with a visit from Pappaw John and Grandpa Conley. They come down every year for the Nascar race weekend and camp out at the track. However this year found them lingering at the house a little more than normal spending time with their new grandson. Kaden also made multiple appearances at the campsite near the track and absolutely loved it. Kaden was the only kid in the campground with his own oscillating fan. Pappaw John ensured the fan stayed in optimal position for Kaden's comfort and Grandpa Conley kept the generator running to supply the power. I think we may be raising a future race fan, though there seems to be some discrepancy about who his driver of choice will be.

If the start of the summer is any indication, summer 2010 is going to be a great one. We are looking forward to more visitors, more travel and many new experiences!

Monday, May 10, 2010

Smile for Daddy!

Wow! Here we are staring down Kaden's 2 month mark. It's been a whirl wind month and he has changed so much in a short time that it's hard to know where to start.

We started out the month with a visit from Aunt Amy and Uncle Justin. They flew all the way from Indianapolis to spend the weekend with us and meet their nephew for the first time. We couldn't have ordered better weather for their visit and of course Kaden had a great time getting spoiled by his aunt and uncle. As all good Aunt's do, Amy came loaded with gifts and Kaden is now properly outfitted for all Pittsburgh sporting events, including of course the hockey playoffs.

Speaking of hockey playoffs, Kaden has enjoyed each Penguins game in the series from the comforts of his Daddy's lap. A couple of bottles and a Penguins game make for some pretty happy father and son moments. I would say it's pretty safe to say that the next generation of sport's loving Marcum's is in development.

We have also been getting out and about more locally and have been visiting with friends in the Charlotte area on weekends. Kaden even made his first trip to the town of Waxhaw and continues to be an excellent traveler. He seems to have a fan base wherever we go and is enjoying all the attention and love.

With regards to the Big Man himself, Kaden continues to grow like a weed. He is now wearing 6 month clothes and in some cases 6 - 9 month clothes. We go tomorrow for our 2 month checkup and expect to hear that he is developing perfectly! And of course the big news for the month is that Kaden has started smiling. Daddy was the first to get to see Kaden's beautiful smile, but there have been many more since then shared with Mommy and others. Kaden has also discovered the various sites and sounds of his baby einstein gym and spends up to 30 minutes at a time playing and cooing in his gym. He is also showing signs of being interested in books as he kicks, grins and coos when being read to. So far he seems to like his animal book best with the bright colors and big pictures.

We are still not sleeping through the night, but Kaden is occasionally surprising us with 5 and 6 hour stretches, so we are hoping a full nights sleep is on the horizon. For now though we will do our best to enjoy the late night feeding/cuddling sessions and know that someday we will long for him to smile and cuddle with us at 2 in the morning.

Speaking of feedings, it is getting to be close to that time when Kaden will be demanding lunch (and I do mean demanding) so it's probably best if I wrap this up and get lunch prepared.

Best Wishes to all!