happy birthday, nana!

on sunday, all of nana's babies and grandbabies surprised her on her birthday! that is really all that my mom ever wants, to be with her family. my sister organized the whole thing and it worked out perfectly. i made the cupcakes, my sister provided lunch, and my brothers brought over food too. we met up at my dad's shop so we could all arrive at the same time. when we got there, kyri walked in with kindra and kayla and she was so SURPRISED! all 4 of her kids and 7 grandkids were there to spend the afternoon with her, celebrating her special day. my brother and his wife came with their daughter, riley. she is almost a year old and is so adorable! kyri just played outside pretty much the whole time with her cousin, kindra. we all had lunch together and relaxed. it was a very peaceful day and the kids had a blast! kyri and kaden were able to have lots of precious nana time. we love you, mom. happy birthday!

marcus, kaden, kindra, kyri, kayla, melody, nana, and riley.

blowing out her birthday candles with the help of two beautiful girls.

kindra and kyri are lovin' those cupcakes!

the only 2 boy grandbabies...marcus and kaden.

kaden found his thumb all by himself at nana's house!

cousins.

kaden and melody finally meet! my sister, stephanie, and i were both pregnant at the same time and she had her baby, melody rose, 8 days after kaden was born. she was actually due before me, but our little man decided to come early. my mom, stephanie, and melody came up last week so we could spend the day together. it was so fun seeing the babies together! she sure is a precious little girl. can't you tell that kaden just loves her? too cute. we just relaxed at home, out of the hot-not-fall weather. such a nice visit and so good to meet kyri and kaden's newest cousin, melody. we love you, sweet girl!

buddy.

our little buddy. that's what we like to call our kaden boy.

oh buddy, buddy.

friendly visitors.

last week was filled with friendly faces! on tuesday, my dad and grandma drove down from paradise to visit us for the day. my grandma was in town from north carolina and just had to meet her great-grandson, baby kaden! my dad took us out to dinner at p.f. changs (one of our most fav places!) and we enjoyed a delicious meal together. kyri just loves playing with her papa. she just thinks he is so funny. their visit was short...but such a treat.


"baby maya!" kyri gets so excited when maya comes to visit! jenni and maya were visiting her mom and decided to stop by and spend one day of their trip with our family. yay! kyri and maya played and played...and played. even though they are two years apart in age, they had so much fun together! it was really nice to visit with jenni and catch up on life...and share our newest joy, baby kaden. she bought us dinner at our favorite local mexican restaurant, los gallos. thanks, jenni! it was a very relaxing day with friends. we always love it when the goodlins drop by!




our last visitor of the week was uncle andy! yay! he came up for the weekend to meet his new little nephew and to also see our dear friend, jackie, before she left for guatemala. kyri was beyond ecstatic to play with uncle andy and show him her baby brother! he surprised the two of them with light sabers. kaden is a little young, but i know daddy will enjoy having light saber battles with kyri. it is always a joy when uncle comes to visit us. we are so thankful he is close to us (for now) while he is in the air force. it's going to be so hard when we won't be able to see him as often. andy is so special to our family. love you, bro!

first month of his little life...

it really is true when they say, "they grow up so fast!" i remember that with kyri and now i'm living it again with kaden. i can't believe he is already a month old. our lives have changed so much now that we are a family of four. the joy is overflowing! we are all adjusting very well. some days are crazier than others. going from one child to two is not easy...but i'm loving every minute of it! my healing from the birth is pretty much complete. so much better this time around! i really took it easy for the first couple of weeks, thanks to kevin and grandma. kevin's mom, patti, came to stay with us the first week. she was kyri's companion, they did everything together. grandma loved on kyri, kevin took care of mommy, and mommy enjoyed every minute with her new baby boy. it was such a blessing to have her here. now if only grandma and grandpa lived closer...

kaden is such a sweet baby boy. the issue with his heart in the hospital is completely gone. we took him to the doctor the day after we got home and everything is normal. he also got his little manly procedure done and did very well. i think it was harder for kevin than for kaden. it is all healed now and he's a happy boy. he has had no trouble nursing (right from the start!) and is a great eater! he's a boy. now i'm just waiting for those baby chubbie-chubbies to come. kyri came out with rollies, but i know kaden will get his. i need something to pinch! he is sleeping good at night, just waking up once to eat, which means mom isn't too exhausted everyday. yay! we've had kaden on a consistent schedule and he has taken to it very well. baby wise is a life saver! we used it with kyri and she really was such a happy baby. we are having a little trouble with naps, but he'll get there. the birth announcements have been sent out. woohoo! we used the picture of him in the tonka truck and yes, i did take that picture. our plan is to take his picture in/with the truck as he grows. so fun. daddy is enjoying every minute with his son. he really loves having a newborn again and all of the precious moments we get to share as a family. it has been a lot easier this time around. kaden loves, loves, loves his big sister. he just looks at her and you can see that he adores her. i love my babies. they are both growing so quickly before my eyes. i don't even want to blink...i don't want to miss one moment of their lives.

sweet sleepy boy.

all cuddled up in his swing.

loves his daddy oh so much.

so glad grandma was able to meet her new grandson!

grandma and her grandbabies.

kaden's first bath after his little umbilical cord came off...it took forever!

clean baby.

turtle lips.

just chillin' on daddy.

he loves looking at himself in the mirror while getting his diaper changed...kyri did too!

can't get enough of that face!

gentle touch of his sister. precious.

sisterly love.

what can i say...kyri is in love with her baby brother. she is more precious with kaden than i could have ever imagined. she wants to be near him every minute, of every day. she wants to help mommy take care of him and be the "little mother" that she is. she loves helping change his diaper, give him a bath, and burp him after he eats. when he cries, she is right there to make sure he is ok. it melts my heart when she says, "i know, i know" to help him calm down. she pretty much repeats every word that mommy says to kaden. love it! oh...and she calls him "little fella." too adorable for words. kyri is very gentle with kaden. she understands he is very fragile and is always such a little love. she can't seem to kiss him enough, but he doesn't seem to mind. she has really transitioned into a big sister...a smooth transition at that. it has been such a blessing to watch how well kyri is adjusting to having kaden in our lives now. she really is doing a fabulous job at being a big sister! mommy and daddy are so very proud of our little girl. i pray that the love kyri has for her brother only becomes stronger as they grow-up together. you can just see the joy on her face when she looks at him. sisterly love. it's a beautiful thing.