The terrible two's... Need I say more?!?

I can start by saying that Caden is (most of the time), so much fun to be with. But when things do not go his way, he seems to turn into this child that I do not know! There are times that I can't believe I am already fighting with my child!? I know it's "his age" but I have recently been seeking out every resource I can find on toddler discipline, and strategies... I am a teacher for crying out loud! I have a degree in elementary education and early childhood development. But nothing can prepare you for a 2 year old. We have also ventured into potty training. Not much success, but I am not going to push the issue in fear of making him afraid of using the potty. Right now I know is one of the most difficult times in raising a child, but there are days when I wonder if I am doing the right thing... We can only do the best we can. Luckily, Chris and I were raised to be productive members of society so we do our best to raise Caden the same way. Nobody is going to be a perfect parent, however I was so embarrassed yesterday when I picked Caden up from school! He had two notes sent home : / one was for hitting his teacher during his tantrum after I dropped him off. (he hates when I leave every day). The other was for scratching another child on the face. When I mentioned it to Caden when I picked him up, he started crying. I made him apologize and talked to him about it. Wow, I never dreamed that I would be dealing with behavior issues this early! It caught me off guard and I was not prepared to handle it. I know he is only 2, but I want to be able to handle things without losing it or yelling. That is one of my biggest goals as a parent, which is not to be a "screamer"... But sometimes my emotions get the best of me. I am going to continue to take these challenges as they come and I am thankful I have my mom to go to for advice!

Caden The 2 year old- how time flies...

Wow! I cannot believe all that has happened since I began my blog when I was pregnant with Caden! He is now 2 years old! It goes to show that with a toddler, there hasn't been much time for blogging! I have decided I needed to pick up from this point and keep my friends and family updated. What started out as a way to battle the oh-so-common roller coaster of emotions while I was pregnant, has now become something I can fondly look back on as a great memory for Chris and I. Since Caden is my first child, I was so bored when I was pregnant and my blog was one thing I could do to occupy my time since I was too tired (and fat! Haha) to feel like doing much else. I hope to keep it more up to date and hopefully one day have it printed into a book like my friend, Maggie did. Such a cool idea! I am going to try to go back and add some pictures between my last post way back in April 2010 to now. But for now, Caden is an active, growin toddler. He weighs about 25 lbs.height is 2ft. 8 in. His language has expanded tremendously! He can say sentences and phrases and name almost everyone in our family and a lot of our friends! He loves to paint and draw (like me)!
He has a friend at school, named Charley, who he has played with since he turned 1. I have posted a pic below of him and charley. Before he could say his name very well, he called him cha-chi! Haha

Caden ~ 3 months

It is hard to believe that Caden is 3 months old already! He is 13 lbs and 2 oz. now~! He loves to be talked to and sung to...He loves music and toys. I never get tired of talking to him and playing with him!

Caden's birth- January 23, 2010

Well, my water broke at 3:30 a.m. on January 23, 2010. I woke up and had to run to the shower! I was in shock, but knew I needed to wake Chris up. When I finally woke him up, he was like, "are you sure??" about 3 times!I finally shower him that my water was running down my legs and he realized this was the real thing! He decided to take a shower! haha! And i was busy getting dressed and grabbing my bags. We called our parents on the way to the hospital. We arrived at the hospital about 4:00a.m. They got me a room and I knew it was going to be a little while. I was dilating, but slowly, so began giving me pitocin. After that, I was given my epidural because my contractions were starting to hurt a little. I was so relaxed after that, and talked to Chris and our families. Also, Brittany and Lindsey came and lexi was the most wonderful nurse! After I finally was dialted to 10 cm, it was time to start pushing...We then realized that Caden was still "sunny side up" and Dr. Barron had to turn him. I pushed for about 1 1/2 hours, and at 5:51 p.m. Caden Sanders Campbell was born! The feeling is indescribable and he was more adorable than I ever could have imagined. He was 7 lbs. and 10 oz. and 21 1/4 inches long. He was perfectly healthy and let out some very loud screams, although I was glad that he was healthy and screaming is a good sign! : )

Our families, who had been waiting all day, came in and were as excited as we were. I think that overall I had a great labor and delivery and it went very smoothly. After I was able to get some warm blankets and a sprite, they rolled me up to the 2nd floor and Chris and Caden and i could chill out for a little while. We all went right to sleep!

The next day, we had visitors non-stop and everyone could not get over all of Caden's hair and of course how cute he was!

Tuesday, January 5, 2010 - 37 weeks

Well the "being uncomfortable" part is well underway...I have terrible indigestion/reflux every day! Today was my first day back at work and it really wore me out. I get tired so easily and have never wanted to sleep so much in my life. I went to the doctor today, and everything was great. He is approx. 6.5 lbs! He is gaining weight steadily, and has chubby cheeks! She said he is going to be a husky baby! haha! I am so glad this is almost over, but at the same time, am very unsure of the unknown that is a few weeks away. I know there is no preparing yourself for it. Chris and I talk about it every day, about how we are going to handle all the loss of sleep and changing diapers, but we are as excited as we are scared. I know its normal. We will figure it out!

32 Weeks...he is almost here!

Baby Shower Invitation

Jeannie did such a great job with my invitations!! I love them!!