It's a BOY!

On August 18th we welcomed the arrival of Caden Alexander. He weighed in at 9 lbs. 12 oz. Tessie has been the best big sister that Caden could ask for. She loves him so much and is a good helper to all of us. It has been great staying at home with them. We have spent a lot of time at the park and with friends and family at home. Tessie is still going to daycare to stay social. That gives Caden one or two days to relax with minimal distraction. He still sleeps a lot, but I still need to be on my toes because Tessie does not. For now I mostly pay attention to Tessie unless Caden really needs me. He's not old enough to understand neglect the way Tessie does with us splitting our time between two now.
Tessie is an absolute hoot to be around. She is just so cool. The way she is able to talk and hold a conversation, she cracks us up. It's fun to watch the way she thinks, takes in the world, and remembers experiences. For instance, she recently named her Mr. Potatohead "Chip". She explains "Like the music". We have a CD with a song called "Potato Chips". Very imaginative. She is going through a phase that she loves the "Do Re Mi" movie (aka The Sound of Music) but only the musical scenes with the children. Thank goodness for DVDs and scene selection. She is still working on potty training, using the potty about 3 times a day. Tessie loves learning already- is she a teacher's daughter or what? She knows all of the letters in the alphabet and some corresponding words. N for Nana, U for Uncle, T for Tessie, C for Caden, L for Library. She can recognize and spell her name out loud and draw a T. I swear I have not pushed her at all. She is just a sponge with an amazing memory. She is 2 though, and is gaining "independent" thoughts. She is testing her limits, but overall means well. Again, I can't say enough about how fun she is and how proud I am of her already.
Caden is growing so fast everyday. He is stronger and more alert to the world around him. He has been smiling and laughing; at what I have no idea, but it's amusing. He rolls with whatever we are up to- whether apple picking or going for walks to the park, or even just tolerating being held by his overly loving big sister. Caden looks more like Tessie as he gets older.