Cousins

Here's some great pics of Cade and Phillip while we were at Andy and Jill's last Thursday.

Tummy time

Just some cute pictures

Another Bober boy!

Cade now has a cousin and Sean and I are an uncle and aunt for the first time. Phillip William Bober was born on Monday Sept 22 at 7:05 am and weighed 6lbs 140z and was 21" long. We went to visit Phillip, Andy and Jill at the hospital tonight. It was great to see all three and Phillip is definitely a cutie. He felt light as a feather when you're used to carrying around a baby almost twice his weight.

Baby Phillip at almost 2 days old

The cousins first meeting- Phillip was crying so Cade had to pout
Other good news: Cade had his head ultrasound today and a follow up with the neuro nurse practitioner. His ventricles have shrunk considerably while his head size increased. This means more room for brains :) Also, they changed his shunt settings so that he doesn't lose too much brain fluid. This is really great news. The shunt is doing it's job. She was also happy with his muscle control. The only thing we need to work on is getting him to lay on his left side. He favors his right so much that his head is a little misshapen. So, that will be my project. We see her again in 6 weeks.

A new career

Well, last week was my last at Seagate after being there for 11 years. I have moved on to my new career of stay-at-home mom and think that it's the best career move I've ever made. It was tough saying goodbye to everyone in my extended family but I hope to stay in touch. I think Cade is excited. Here's what he thought when I said I had to go to work on Friday:

And here's what he thought when I told him that it was my last day and that he was coming with me:

Cade made his first trip to Seagate. It worked out really well because we had a front gate conf room and saw my co-workers right before my exit interview. Then HR was nice enough to let Cade stay with me for the quick interview which was mostly paperwork. Then, we were back on the road home. I called Sean on the way to see if we should stop by NRM and thought that was a good idea so we stopped to see Sean's coworkers too. Cade saw both Seagate buildings in one day!

Also, Sean and I have to thank my parents once again for watching Cade all week. I'm pretty sure all 3 enjoyed their time together.

First school experience

Yesterday, Cade has his first experience with teachers. Two teachers and one physical therapist came to the house to evaluate Cade on his development. They are part of a program called Early Intervention that Cade automatically qualifies for because of his low birth weight and prematurity. All 3 were impressed at how big he is. They were expecting a small puny baby not the 11 pounder that he has become. They assessed his motor skills, muscle tone and cognitive skills. It was amazing to see what they could get him to do. I've been trying to get him to track on object with his eyes but he never seems to really want to but when the teacher asks him to then he does it. He also reached for a toy which I have never seen him do. Oh well. I'm glad that he performed for the teachers. It's tough to know where he is supposed to be developmentally since he's 5 months old but really only 7 weeks old. I think he's ahead of some of the 7 week skills. The teachers seemed impressed with his muscle control. But, I'm not sure about the cognitive development. The plan is to meet with the teachers in 2 weeks and discuss a plan for the year. They will be able to give Sean and I ideas on how help keep him on track. I'm so glad that we will get this extra help because of course we want him to develop "normally".

Linda and Reg Come To Town...

Linda and Reg have come to down to visit and help out with Cade while Jill goes to her last week of work. Last night, Grandpa Reg spent a ton of time with a fussy baby Cade. I sure hope that this week doesn't scare them away. :)

On the way in to work this morining I heard Tom B. on the KQ Morning Show talk about this awesome Sarah Palin impersonation. Well, here it is. I thougt it was spot on.

Meeting more friends

On Saturday, our friends Kristie, Tom, Ashley and Brooke came over for pizza and to see Cade. It was so great to see them all since Sean and I hadn't seen them since Brooke was 6 weeks old. She was born on Valentines day and is now a darling 7 month old. Ashley is a high-spirited 4 year old that kept us all busy. These 2 girls will be some of Cade's first friends. And it's perfect because they are in alphabetical order :) I guess if we have another one, he/she should be a D. We were going to try to get a picture of all the kids together but Cade was not cooperating at the moment. Oh well. The girls are cute on the couch.

Kristie and Brooke

The sisters

11 lbs and a trip to MOA, oh my!

As of Thursday, Cade weighed 11 lbs 5 oz and was 22 3/4" long. That's another pound in 2 weeks weight gain. Pretty amazing, huh. At least, I thought so. The reason why I know these stats is that we had our last home health nurse visit post-discharge from the hospital. His O2 sats were still good in the high 90s and his lungs sounded clear. I was a little concerned because he is still a little congested but it hasn't become any major illness.

On Friday night, Cade made his first trip to MOA. We needed to go to Sears to check out a new dishwasher that Sean found online. We weren't sure what we would do for dinner but were prepared to stay awhile. Well, we ended up going to Tucci Bennuch, so Cade had his first restaurant experience as well. It was an interesting dining experience to say the least. First, we couldn't get the stroller in without profusely apologizing and getting people to move their chairs. Then, we ordered appetizers and the cheese sticks kept blowing up I guess so we had to wait for them and then got them free. Then, Cade needed to eat. So, Sean juggled appetizers and Cade. Once our food came, we thought Cade would be happy to sit in his car seat. Turns out that wasn't the case. So, I was juggling Cade and my pasta. But, not for long because Sean got risotto that was crunchy and had to be sent back. I got to pass off Cade as Sean waited and then we played pass the baby once more when Sean's food arrived again. So, we got an appetizer and an entree free and survived the baby passing. Then, we wondered the mall a little before heading home.

Cade is window shopping

Boy, the mall is exhausting for babiesThe same soccer outfit that was big a couple of weeks ago

Cade hanging out with his puppies

One Year, Already?!

Sean and I were married one year ago today. It seems like yesterday and 100 years ago at the same time. I loved my wedding day. I was marrying the man that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, I was surrounded by friends and family, I got to wear a beautiful dress and the weather cooperated. It couldn't have been any better. It was a great beginning to an amazing year. People say that alot can happen in a year. Well, we are living proof. Actually, alot can happen in a year and a half since that's approximately how long Sean and I have been "romantically involved". From that first date back in February '07, I knew that we had potential. A few months later, when Sean travelled half way around the world to see me, I knew he was the one. And now looks at us, we have survived one of the toughest years of any relationship. People say the first year of marriage is the toughest so Sean and I figure it can only get better from here. But, while this year was a tough one, it was also the best of my life. Because in this year, my dreams came true. I have a husband who loves me and a beautiful son who is worth every penny of the 1 million dollar medical bills. We are blessed by a true miracle. Our love for each other and our son grows deeper everyday. You may wonder how we celebrated this amazing year. Well, very simply. Yesterday, we had Auntie Marcy come over and watch Cade while we went to IKEA and shopped for my birthday present. We had a great time just wandering around the store and talking. We did find what we were looking for and were done in about an hour and a half. We were debating about going to dinner but decided to head home instead. Cade had been a very good boy for his auntie. He slept the entire time we were gone. Then, we fed Cade and took Marcy out to dinner to thank her for watching Cade. It was a great day which ended with Sean and I wishing each other happy anniversary, talking about how much we love each other and that it can only get better from here. Since today is the actual day, we may celebrate more but maybe not and that's OK with me. The important thing is that we are together, forever.

So, I suppose that's enough of the mushy stuff. Other good news to report: Cade has been off of his apnea monitor for a little over a week (I forgot to put that in the last post). I officially put in my 2 week notice. My last day at Seagate will be September 19th. I'm on vacation through the 10th, will work form home the 11th and 12th and then be at work for the 15th -19th. My parents will be taking care of Cade that week. Then, I'll be a full-time stay-at-home mom and I can't wait.

Cade in his dog walking outfit

Road Trip

Cade made his first trip up north over Labor Day weekend. I spent all of Thursday packing for Cade, myself and the dogs. Plus the home health nurse came with last minute notice to check out Cade. Apparently, they had it planned but didn't bother to tell me until 30 minutes before she came. It added a little more stress to my day but Cade was doing really well. Up a couple of oz from Tues. Then Sean got home from work, we ate dinner and gave Cade a bottle and were on the road by 6:45 pm. We made it to the cabin by 9:15 without much of a peep from Cade. He likes to sleep while in the car. Thank God for that. My parents were already at the cabin and excited to spend a few days with us. Cade slept well in the pack and play. Friday was my birthday. I am now the big 33. The day was very low key. We saw my aunt Jan, Uncle Getz and aunt Diana who all came to see Cade. Then we had a wonderful birthday dinner with grilled venison and cheesecake. Yum. Marcy and Lola (her dog) made it up by 9:00 pm. It was just the Southerton-Bobers for Friday night so the count was 6 people and 4 dogs. On Sat, Cade got his first bath at the cabin and my aunt Susan, uncle Jerry, cousin Erin and her kids Noah and Ellie made it to the cabin by 12:00 pm (count 11 people, 5 dogs). Erin's husband Jim was volunteering at the RNC and didn't come until late Sat night. My cousin Tracy and her boyfriend Chris also made it in time for lunch making the count 13 people and 7 dogs. We spent the day playing with the kids and then Sean, Cade and I went into Proctor to see our friends Kathy and Eric and Fran and Pete and their girls Tricia and Erin. Kathy and Fran hadn't seen Cade since May so he had changed alot. The rest hadn't met Cade yet. We had a such a good time and Fran made some very tasty chocolate birthday cake. Yum again. We didn't make it back to the cabin until after midnight but Cade did very well with the visit and the driving. On Sunday, we stayed at the cabin until after lunch and then made the trip to Chisholm to see Phil and great-grandma Katherine and great-grandpa Andrew. Grandma was thrilled to see Cade. We sat down to an another wonderful meal and visited. On Monday, we went to lunch with Phil and grandma and came back for one last visit with grandma and grandpa. We didn't get on the road until 5:00 pm but then we missed all of the traffic. It took us 4.5 hours to get home with a stop in Cloquet to feed all of us. It was a long busy weekend but was also very relaxing and fun. The only bad thing is that Cade now had a stuffed up nose. So far, it's staying in his nose and he hasn't gotten feverish. Hopefully,it will stay that way.

Bathtime

Meeting Kathy

Meeting Fran

Having fun with Tricia and Erin

At the cabin with Mommy

Playing with Noah

Auntie Marcy

Having fun with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Reg

Great Grandma!

Great Grandpa!

Hangin out in Grandpa Phil's recliner

One last snuggle with great grandma