Tis the season

Well, the holiday season is almost upon us! With us leaving for that week before Christmas I've been rather busy trying to get things done in advance.

Christmas cards are ready to be sent out, shopping is done and presents are wrapped, our tree is already up (hehe), the lights are ready to be lit on the outside of the house... Exciting! Caden loves unwrapping presents and I have to re-wrap one. This actually makes me happy - now I'm even more excited for Christmas morning and watching our little boy open his presents!

Caden has SEVEN teeth now is number eight is ready to break through any day now - he has been a little more fussy than normal but I consider myself lucky - Caden teethes like a champ!

Caden also took his FIRST STEPS last week! He is 9.5 months old. He has been cruising along furniture for a while but these were official, not holding onto anything, first steps. He takes 1-3 steps at a time but his preferred method of transportation is still crawling.

We've been busy getting ready for our vacation, too. In less than a month we'll be on a beautiful beach in the Bahamas :D Followed by other beautiful beaches in the Western Caribbean. I bought a really pretty dress for the formal night and Caden got an adorable 3 piece suit. We've also started shopping and gathering all the necessary supplies. I'm nervous about everything, but excited, too.

Happy Halloween!

We had a fantastic Halloween! Originally we were just planning to take Caden to see friends and family in his costume since he was too young to trick or treat. In the end we decided to take him trick or treating anyway!
The weather was perfect - Cool but not too cold and the kids weren't too hot in their costumes. It didn't rain at all even thought the forecast called for the possibility of a few sprinkles here and there.
My Dad came by around 3pm to see Caden in his costume and we visited for a while. Shortly after my younger brother came over so that he could hand out candy while we were out. We get so many trick or treaters so I wanted to make sure someone was home. Around 4:30 pm trick or treating was in full force and our street was littered with all sorts of cute little ones in their costumes. Steve got home around 5pm and we fed Caden while we waited for my brother Neil, SIL Becky, and nephew Riley to arrive. They came over around 6pm and my Mom stopped by, too - she brought the kids a little toy and some candy. In the photo, Riley is the lion and Caden is the skunk ;).
We took the kids up and down our street... we were out for around an hour - Riley was on foot hence it took so long :) Everyone loved our little skunk and lion! By the time we got back to our house Caden was done and fell asleep in Daddy's arms.
We got home just before 7pm and ate dinner and just hung out for a little bit. By then Caden has woke up and he and Riley played for a while - Caden loves his big cousin and would follow him everywhere.

I'm glad we decided to take Caden tick or treating - I know he is too little to understand and all that but Steve and I had a lot of fun, too. It was fun to remember our own childhoods and make memories as a family.
This morning I took down a lot of our decorations... The larger things outside will Stay up until the weekend when Steve can help me. Then soon enough it will be time to put up our tree and all the holiday decorations and celebrate our first Christmas as a family of three... I can't wait!