It cannot possibly be July already - June 2010

I don't know how it happened, but here we sit on July 12 with almost half the summer already gone. It probably has something to do with all the fun we've been having in the last few weeks, because you know what they say about time and fun......at any rate the last few weeks have been chock-full of firsts.

We started the month out with our first single parent trip to West Virginia to spend a long weekend hanging out with friends and family. Lance (aka Daddy) stayed in Charlotte to do a few things around the house and enjoy some much deserved personal time. The trip was a success with both Kaden and Kiesel traveling like pros!

When we returned to the steamy south we brought some very precious cargo with us. Rhea, Shaunna and their dog Kya made the long trip down to spend some time with us in the month of June. Having 2 full grown german shepherds, 3 adults, 2 cats, a three year old and a baby in the same house would probably have been a site to see at times; but it was great having so much life in the house. Rhea was a great helper always wanting to help change Kaden's diaper, pick out his clothes and of course entertain him during tummy time. Likewise, Kaden was very intent on watching Rhea and observing her activities. I think they will be great friends and playmates. It was also great to have Aunt Shaunna's energy around to help out with the big man. She did a lot of entertaining and a lot of walking/bouncing when the situation called for it. Shaunna was even gracious enough to give the new Mommy and Daddy a date night.

Of course a visit to see Uncle Lancey and Aunt Manda is not complete without a trip to Chuck E Cheese. I have a feeling Chuck E Cheese will be part of our future for years to come, because not only does Rhea have a great time there ,but Kaden really enjoyed all the lights and sounds as well. We also took a trip to Discovery Place where we watched a very impressive 3D film about sharks and played with some interesting "experiments".

During Rhea and Shaunna's visit Kaden took his very first dip in the pool. He was not a fan of the sun in his eyes, but once we got him situated in his frog float with the half cover he had a great time bobbing around the kiddy pool with his cousin Rhea. It was also a monumental time for Rhea in that she began putting her face in the water and feeling much more secure in the pool. We might have future swim stars on our hands, one just never knows!

Towards the end of the month we packed up the dogs and the kids and headed north again. Lance stayed behind to finish up his work week and then joined us in WV on the first of July. During our time in WV we had lots of important firsts. My personal favorite being that Kaden slept through the night for multiple nights in a row. (note we have been unable to replicate this phenomenon since we have returned to NC). We also went on Kaden's first camping trip (and I believe Rhea's first overnight camping trip as well) with Pappaw John and Grandpa Conley. Kaden loves being outside and enjoyed hanging out by the campfire and playing outside in his exersaucer. It was unusually cold at night (down in the 40's), but Grandpa Conley had us covered and let us borrow his ceramic heater for inside Pappaw John's camper. And speaking of Pappaw John, while we were home he reached the monumental milestone called retirement. Though I think he had mixed feelings about leaving a job he had been doing for almost 30 years, we are looking forward to hopefully seeing him in NC a little more this year (hint, hint).

In other firsts, Kaden met his friends Austin and Savanna for the first time. We spent the afternoon hanging out poolside with Austin, Savanna and their Mommy, Tarra. Tarra and I have been friends since the third grade, so it was pretty cool to see each other and see our kids together. Savanna is only 2 months younger than Kaden.

Of course we should not forget Kaden's first trip to Granny's cabin. He had a great time enjoying the clean mountain air, watching the dogs frolic by the pond and of course riding atop Granny's new John Deere. We hope to make many visits to the cabin in the future, provided of course we find a way to keep everyone out of the pond (yeah right).

After celebrating my Grandad's 90th birthday and a few other fun activities, Lance, Kaden, Kiesel and I made our way back to NC. We were greeted with the 100 degree weather, which is quite hot for this time of year, even in the South. Since we have been back we have been spending most of our time in-doors and are all missing the mountain air, the cool weather and our family & friends back in WV. However, it's been nice to catch up with some of our Charlotte friends and hear what they've been up to lately.

I'll close out this month's blog with one more first....Kaden's first (and only) 4 month "birthday". It's hard to believe that he is already 4 months old. Everybody always wants to know how much he weighs, and today's official answer is 16lbs and 14 ounces. Which is a perfectly healthy weight for someone who is 27 1/2 long! Kaden celebrated his 4 month milestone by "finding" his feet for the first time. The ability to see, grab and almost chew his feet (yes, he is millimeters away from getting them in his mouth) has also sparked a lot of new sounds and babble, which is a lot of fun for Mommy and Daddy as well.

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!

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!

Country Roads...Take Me Home

To commemorate Kaden's first month, we took our very first family road trip to West Virginia.

Yep, last Friday we got up early in the morning, loaded up the new luggage hauler and Kiesel, fed and changed Kaden, got the cats situated and three hours later we were on the interstate headed north. (yes....our get up and go now days are over)

Fortunately for us Kaden and Kiesel are both excellent travelers and slept the entire duration of the trip. We were able to make the full trip with only stopping once to feed Kaden and ourselves and allow Kiesel to stretch his legs. For first time parents we were pretty pleased that we only added an hour on to the trip, though I think we have to give most of the credit to our extremely cooperative baby. Mommy and Daddy learned quite a few things about traveling with a little one and have already made improvements.

Our weekend in West Virginia was spent introducing Kaden to many of his family members and life long family friends. He met so many important people for the first time that it's hard to call them all out, but family members ranged from first meetings with aunts and uncles through first time meetings with his great-great grandmother and all of his great-grandparents. We did manage to get some pictures of some of the first time introductions, so check those out on our shutterfly page. Kaden is truly blessed with a very large number of family and friends who are head over heels in love with him already!

Upon our return to Charlotte, Kaden had his one month check up. On April 13, 2010 he weighed 11 pounds and 5 ounces and was 23.25 inches long. Both his height and weight put him in the top 90-95 percentile for all babies. We are so fortunate and thankful to have such a healthy, thriving baby boy.

We are looking forward to the summer, many more road trips and watching our big man grow!

Three Weeks Old

While not an official milestone, Thursday marked Kaden's three week "birthday".



Just like the weeks before he continues to change and become more aware/observant of his surroundings. Mommy and Daddy continue to improve their skills and slowly but surely we are all starting to fall in to a rythym and signs of once again being a somewhat organized household are starting to appear. He is still keeping us on our toes with his schedule, sometimes going 3 hours between feedings sometimes a little longer and sometimes a little less. Though he still wakes up about every 3 hours at night to eat, he's getting much better about eating and going right back to sleep during the night and eating and "hanging out" for a bit during the day. Hopefully over time we'll start to see the night time feedings get spaced out further and further.



We've learned a lot about Kaden in the past three weeks:



He very much likes: music (Jimmy Buffet seems to be a preferred choice), warm baths in his bathtub, cuddling with Mommy, Daddy and anyone who is warm and loving, being outside and riding in his stroller.



He does not like: cool air, being cold or waiting for his meals for any period of time (when the tank is empty, it's empty)



He was not intially a fan of, but is reconsidering: spending time in his swing, his bouncy chair, before bed time massages and diaper changes.





We can't wait to see what next week brings!

Major Milestone - Umbilical Cord

We are pleased to report that Kaden's umbilical cord officially fell off today!!

Sniffle, sniffle....one of many signs of growing up!

Our First Week Home

Our first week home as a new family has been an overall success! Every day we all learn something new about the world and each other, but even the tough moments are completely worth it when we get to gaze at our new baby boy!

Pappa John, Grandma Nee and Grandma Karen were all on hand for our first day home from the hospital. We were released on Sunday, March 14, 2010 and greeted by a spectacular carolina blue sky and sunshine. Of course we had our obligatory bad driver cut in front of the car about 4 miles from home, but Daddy was able to stop in time and with the exception of some irate parents the ride home went without incident. Kaden slept through the entire event. At home, Pappa John carried Kaden from the car in to home and made sure everyone was settled before he and Grandma Nee returned to West Virginia.

Kaden's first night home went very well. Much of the day and most of the evening were spent curled up in the recliner with Grandma Karen. After two weeks of waiting patiently for his arrival, she was able to enjoy some alone time with her new Grandson before returning to Alabama the following day.

On Tuesday, Kiesel came home from his vacation at Don and Kelley's and the house was complete again. After many days spent romping and playing with his dog friend Smokey, Kiesel was ready to relax and lay in his spot by the couch. Kiesel was happy to see Kaden and maintained a constant visual getting up to supervise each time Kaden woke or fussed. In fact, Kiesel is so in love with our new addition that we've had a hard time explaining to him why puppy kisses are not appropriate for little babies.

At first we thought Kaden was trying to set a record for number of wardrobe changes in a single day, but quickly learned that efficiency with the diaper changes saves on the laundry. As Mommy and Daddy have gotten better with the diapers and dressing we've been going through slightly less outfits and linens each day. We have also learned pretty quickly that Kaden does not like to wait for his meals. Working on our system and our technique has produced fewer tears, though we are finding out that sometimes the crying is inevitable and will pass with time. And speaking of eating, Kaden went from eating around .5 ounces of milk about 7 times a day when we came home and is currently demanding 4 ounces of milk around 7 times a day. For those keeping track, there are 16 ounces in a pound...so Kaden is consuming almost 2 pounds of milk in a 24 hour period. This explains why at our last check up on 3/19 he was weighing in at 8lbs and 9 ounces, just 3 ounces shy of his original birth weight.

We have even managed to venture outside of the house on multiple occasions. Kaden seems to really enjoy walks around the neighborhood with his puppy. Thanks to Granny, who came to spend a long weekend, we've also made our first of many shopping trips. A little more tricky than normal to make sure you have all the necessary gear and baby travel items, but Kaden is showing signs of being a very agreeable traveler and quite adaptable to being out and about.

Even in just a weeks time it's been remarkable for us to see how much Kaden has changed. Every day he opens his eyes wider and stays up longer visually exploring and processing his surroundings. His features are becoming more and more defined and his muscle control increases every day. What was once a balled up little bundle is stretching out his arms and his legs and growing by leaps and bounds. Every day brings a new facial expression, a new learning, etc.

If all of our weeks are like this one, we are in for an experience beyond anything we could have imagined!