First Day in the Tidepool

Just wanted to write quickly to say today was the first official day Caden when to Sunday School. Jon and I have been taking Caden to church with us while we sit in the "parents" section (the foyer) or the cafe (an alternate venue where they show the service on TV screens) for all this time, but today was the big day when Caden went to his own "church". I was kind of forced into it since Jon was out of town, I had to work, and my usual "sure thing" babysitter (my mom) is on vacation. So, by default, today was the big day.
So, as I got to work, I checked Caden in, and anxiously dropped him off in the baby room, aka the Tidepool. (All of our nursery rooms in the kids building, Port Mariners, are "aquatic" themed. Someday he'll be in the Angelfish room, or the Dolphin room, or the Blowfish room...) As I spouted off to one of the volunteers what was probably way too much detail for an hour and a half away from my son, I saw all the fun things in the room and knew he'd have a good time. Bouncers, exersaucers, swings, toys galore...ok and I saw the volunteer look at my staff nametag which made me feel better too. :) Who is going to abandon a staff kid? No smart volunteer. (half kidding...) ;-)
When I peeked in on him at about 55 minutes into the 75 minute service, I saw him happily swinging in a swing, then saw a volunteer walk past him, get a funny look on her face, and quickly take him to the changing table. Yep, that's my boy. Way to poop and make a good first impression on your first day, Caden.
When I came to pick him up, he was wearing this:

See, only one day at church, and already his spiritual life has improved.

I wish Oklahoma was in California

In between my visit to Washington, my sister, Dave and the kids came for a last minute visit to California. Kristi was able to snuggle with Caden a lot, and I got to spend some much needed time with my favorite niece, nephew and bro in law.
While they were here, they got to take their first trip to Disneyland (check out Kristi's blog archive for some great pictures of that), go swimming and just hang. Everytime they are here I remember how much I love spending time with my sis and her family. As we were driving home the night we had to say goodbye, I couldn't help but burst into tears in the car and really struggle with the fact that some of the closest people in my life live so far away. While the time with them I do get to spend is some of the most precious moments, it just plain sucks when that time comes to an end. So I already am trying to book a ticket to Oklahoma in September so Caden doesn't get too big before the next time he sees his aunt, uncle and cousins.
Here are a few pics of their visit (my sis has more good ones that I still need to get--but here are a few):

Kaleb and his ladybug..he decided Caden should play with the
lady bug too. (See below)
No matter how much I look at the map, unfortunately, Oklahoma is not located in California. So until it is, plane trips will be as often as possible, the tears will continue, but praise God for cell phones, skype, facebook and email.

Catching Up

Its been a whirlwind of a couple of weeks filled with lots of amazing time spent with those I love. As I wrote before, I was able to fly up to Washington with Caden, Bethany and Rebekah to visit Kristen and we had the most PERFECT trip. The babies were perfect, the conversations were perfect, the laughter was perfect--we couldn't have asked for anything better. Here are some pictures of our wonderful time--I wish EVERY weekend could be like the time we had!

Heading to the airport--Caden's first plane ride!
The travelers at the airport!

This is what Caden did the whole plane ride there AND back. What a perfect baby!


Our girls night out--my most favorite night. I miss having conversations like that with my girls. Ones that make you laugh and cry.

Hanging out at the park.
I think Rebekah Jane was consoling Caden. The look on his face is classic.

Tiny hand...

Before we left...These were our last smiles before our tearful goodbyes.Why does Washington have to be so far away!?

Happy 4th!

I'm going to make this quick because I am almost done packing for Washington and then am on my way to bed because Caden and I have a big day tomorrow! We are SO excited to go visit Kristen with Bethany and Bekah---I can't believe its finally here!

Here are a few pictures from Caden's first July 4th! We spent the day with friends at Jon's parents house. It was fun because we got to "host" even though its not our home; we brought/made food for everyone, hung out by the pool, played volleyball and had a great day!
Caden took his first official "swim" in a big pool. I knew he wouldn't be a big fan since he hates cold water, but Jon wanted to give it a try, so I grabbed my camera and HERE'S a little video of it (its not very exciting, but momentous for us. Gotta love those videos where the kid cries the whole time...)


I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!
Ok I'm off to Washington in about 12 hours! I will come back with lots o pictures of Aunt Kristen and cute babies!

What a Week!

Last week was our VBS at Mariners---and boy was it busy! It was a great week where we had over 2,000 kids (the most we've ever had!) and I got to see those kids learning about God's love for them. It definitely made all the hours of work worth it! (Click on the blog title above to see pictures of the week. I was in charge of the worship center opening and closing programs--particularly the drama. You may or may not see me dressed up in a flower acting as "Chrysanthemum" in some of those pictures. The funniest thing was that when you act in the drama, throughout the week, kids continuously ask you for your "autograph". Needless to say, I shortened my name to "Chrissy" after the 3rd signature...) The week was so much fun--I love the people I work with and love being with the kids. Its amazing that I get paid to do what I do. But on the other hand, I have to admit, personally, it was a hard week. I had to be away from Caden a LOT since I worked 9 days in a row, most of those days 8+ hours. It was hard to be in one place and try to concentrate on work and deal with all the craziness, all while missing a little part of your heart that you left at home. But luckily, Caden's Grammie Kathy was able to watch him and they had such a great time. They played for hours on end and I'm pretty sure he has more fun with Grammie than with me! I'm so blessed to have my parents close by who willingly watch Caden whenever they can, and take the best care of him! It made my week SO much easier knowing he was in the best of hands. Here is a random collection of pictures from the week before VBS.

Spending some time reading

This one is my favorite: daddy and son, hanging in my aunt's hammock. :)

In his favorite outfit: Baby Hurley shirt and Baby Quiksilver shorts. He looks like a mini Jon.

That's all for now! My next post should be full of pictures of Caden and his auntie Kristi, his cousins, and Aunt Kristen! He gets to see them all next week!