Hey World Here I Am

Camden Lee Cate

2-21-14

7:46am

7lbs 10oz

20 3/4 inches long

 

 

It all started around 11pm at night when my water broke at home.  The doctor told us to go in.  We called my mom to come watch Drew and stay with him that night.  We headed to the hospital and got there around 12am.  They verified my water had broken and I was having the baby soon.  Mixed emotions filled the room as it was all happening so fast.  I didn't really have contractions at that time but they soon came.  I called for an epidural which is a story in itself and by 4am I was pain free.  The nurse let us sleep from 4-6:30 and then came in and told me it was time to have a baby.  They called for the doctor and soon after she arrived so did Camden.  God is good and for the most part everything fell into place and went smoothly. 

 



 

Soon after my mom showed up after dropping Drew off at a friends house to play.  My mom got to enjoy some one on one time with Camden.  Once we were moved into my postpartum room, she left to get Drew and lunch.  Drew arrived and was ready to meet his baby brother that we have been talking about for awhile now.  His first thing he asked for was to see his feet.  Strange and not sure why but he got to see his feet.

 

Soon after there were lots of hugs, kisses, and attempted high fives given to Camden from Drew.  He was so excited and really didn't want anybody else to hold him.  When he was laying down Drew would climb in a chair to be able to look into his bed so he could just watch him.  This made my heart happy and reassured me that he was going to be a great, protective big brother.   We asked if he liked the baby and he told us that he was not a baby it was his brother.  :)

 

 

 

We had a few visitors come by and meet Camden.  We were also told we could go home that next day - Saturday.  We took it easy the next morning and staff was in and out testing Camden for everything they need to test for before releasing him.  He passed all his tests and we were able to leave around 5pm.  My mom brought Drew up the the hospital for us all to leave as a new family of four.

 

Once we got in the car Drew immediately tried to give Camden a tractor to hold and play with like he always does.  I told him that he is not old enough to play with or hold toys yet that he is just going to have to show them to him.  He simply said okay and held the tractor until we got home.  We made it home and are now happily a family of four with two handsome little boys.

 

 

 The Cate Family

Jason, April, Drew, & Camden

Camden's Room

Many of you have asked if Camden's room is ready and what it looks like.  It has been ready and waiting on him!  Thanks to a wonderful daddy who made many things to make this little boys room perfect.  We decided to go with a transportation theme focusing on cars and trucks.  I found the perfect bedding on etsy and then a friend of mine told me where the fabric was locally too.  I grabbed some extra fabric to have a blanket and pillow made.

 

I love the how the sign above the crib came out.  You will also see a matching blanket that my Mimi made and barely peeking above the railing is a pillow she also made with Camden's name on it to go with his bedding.

 

Another fun piece is the window coverings with license plates.  These are actually from states that Jason has visited and collected throughout the years.  My sister found the Route 66 sign at an antique store and grabbed it for the room.

Jason made this books shelf, which I LOVE!  I found it on Land of Nod but that one was wider, not the color I wanted, and cost four times as much as this one.   The cars above Camden's closet doors were given to us by my Aunt Carol.  She ran across them and thought they would be perfect for Camden's room and they are!

 

I came across this truck book shelf for $5 and it was brand new.  Another lady purchased it for her son and never used it.  Jason painted it to match the room colors.  Below the bookshelf are three hooks that Jason made.  Drew and I picked out the truck, car, and motorcycle to go on the hooks and Jason painted them to match everything. 

Showers of blessings

We had back to back weekends of showers for Camden. 

My first shower was a family and friends shower at my parents house hosted by two of my aunts and my sister.  The theme was transportation and the decorations fit perfectly.  It was great to see many family members and friends come together and celebrate our new little man who will be here soon.  We got many necessities to get us started raising number two.

My sister, me, and my Aunt Carol

Two weekends ago some sweet friends from my Sunday School class hosted a shower for me.  It was perfect and of course Camden got a few more new things that we needed to get us well on our way.  Jason and I are very blessed by our church and love our Sunday School class.  We have made so many friends and created friendships that will last a lifetime no matter where life leads any of us in the future. 

April, me, Amanda, and Lindsey

I also got together with some of my close friends to enjoy one last night out before Camden comes.  These sweet girls are such a blessing to me in so many ways.  I love each and every one of them in different ways and know they would be there for me whenever I need it.  I love seeing our kids grow up together and Drew asks for at least one of their kids daily to go see and play with.  He loves praying for his friends and we do too.  We are blessed!

Now we just wait on God's timing to meet our little man.  We are anxiously waiting and can't wait to see what he looks like, his personality, and see Drew's reaction to him.  Drew is going to be a great big brother and tells me how they are going to go fishing, Ranger's games, and hunting with daddy.   :)

Ch Ch Ch Changes

We have a few changes going on around here besides Camden coming soon! 

Before Christmas break Jason got a call about a head coach position that opened up in Argyle.  He thought it was going to be for next school year and didn't think to much about it at that moment.  He soon found out it was for now and he needed to jump on the opportunity if he wanted to apply.  He literally applied one day, told his Athletic Director at Flower Mound in case he got a call about Jason applying, and told his principal.  A day later he met with Argyle's Athletic Director and the interview went better then ever expected.  The next week he met with the Principal and Superintendent.  This was the week we were getting out for Christmas break so he anxiously waited over the break to hear something.  He got a call the week we all went back to school and they offered him the job!  He was filled with emotions excited, nervous to switch mid season, sad to leave the great group of kids he had, and more. 

He told his current students this past Friday and they were all excited for him, so tears, and he has received numerous text, calls, and emails of families of the students just thanking him, wishing him the best of luck, and saying they will miss him. 

Last night was the big night to see if the school board would approve him.  That's all we have been waiting for, was the final yes.  Well, he got it!  He went today and signed his contract.  So, it's official - he's the Argyle Eagle's Head Tennis Coach. 

We are so excited for him and can't wait to see where he takes his teams.  We know he will do great!  As Drew would say "YAY DADDY".  We can't wait to celebrate with him when he comes home.

This was totally God's timing and a God thing for sure.  He has blessed us with so many blessings and we are very thankful.

"The Lord has done great things for us and we are filled with joy"  Psalm 126:3

Christmas time

Our Christmas season began early with going to Ice at the Gaylord mid November but the true celebrations begins with a Christmas party with our close friends the first weekend of December.  It's always a fun time.  In order to get ready for this event and others that we hosted this year at our house, we had to do some prep work.  We went and picked out a tree, Drew helped daddy get it all ready to decorate.  We also had to go see Santa before the lines got long because of course Drew needed to tell him what he wanted...a skateboard aka scooter.  Drew gets those mixed up!

 Above is Drew helping with the tree set up and riding the carousal at Bass Pro after seeing Santa.  This was Drew's first time on a carousal and he loved it!

After the tree was set up, it was time to decorate!  Drew truly enjoyed helping decorate all 5 trees we have this year.  We saved the main tree for daddy to help with and Drew enjoyed every minute of it.  No ornaments were broken by him...just mommy :(

 After our Christmas party with friends (We didn't take any pictures) we had those terrible ice days which kept us in and couldn't do much.  We always celebrate Christmas in San Antonio the weekend before Christmas.  This year plans were changed and we offered to have it at our house the same Saturday we would've been in San Antonio.  We all met at Pappadeaux (this is a must for Christmas weekend with this side of the family and we happened to have a new one here in Grapevine).  After lunch everybody headed to our house to enjoy opening gifts and hanging out.  Drew loved helping, passing out gifts, and umm opening EVERY BODY'S gifts.  This was something Jason and I had thought would happen but not this extreme.  I think it bothered us more then anybody else but it made present time more hectic and I couldn't enjoy it.  I missed everybody opening the gifts we gave them and had to ask at the end if they got them.  Anyways, Drew had fun and loved seeing his family. 

 After a wonderful time with Jason's family we had to get ready for my family the next day!  They were all planning on coming over for dinner and presents.  Everybody showed up around 5 and we ate and just enjoyed each other's company.  We didnt' get together with this group for Thanksgiving because of the ice so it was nice to finally get together.  Some still couldn't make it and they were missed.  Drew loved his gifts and just being silly.

 We then had a day to recuperate and get ready for Christmas Eve the next day.  With Jason's brother and sister's families we rotate every year between the three of us as to who hosts.  This year it was at Jason's brother's house.  Drew loves these cousins and is still talking about how Jack and Morgan played with Drew.  We don't see them enough with our crazy life styles and he enjoys it every time.  We met late afternoon and enjoyed a yummy meal, time together, and of course gifts.  This time Jason and I were prepared for the madness that might happen with Drew.  I'd say he did a little better and I enjoyed it more.  He did good passing out gifts and ripping into his.  He loved everything he got and wanted to open it all right then.  Sadly we had to leave and head to Rockwall for Christmas Eve dinner with my family. 

We arrived in Rockwall just in time for dinner.  After dinner the kids soon begged to open gifts.  Drew enjoyed the gifts and playing with his cousins.  They all got John Deere tractors and they immediately took them out of their boxes and began playing.  Drew even showed his baby cousin Trenton all the cool lights and sounds his made. 

 Once we got home we put Drew down and then had to wake him up because we forgot to put out cookies for Santa.  We got him up soon after he went down and he sat at the cookies and milk.  He wasn't too happy at first but then started smiling and we were explaining to him what he was doing.  If you pay attention in the background is what Santa really likes...not those homemade cookies we didn't have time for :)

 Drew actually slept until 8:30.  Jason and I were up and ready at 7:30 because that is when Drew usually gets up and we didn't want him running into the living room without us.  He usually comes to where we are when we call him after opening his door but just to be sure we were ready.  We got all the cameras ready and walked him into the living room.  He was overwhelmed/shocked/excited...who knows but he had a big smile on his face.  He went right to his table and all the goodies sitting on the table.  He didn't even notice his skateboard aka scooter.  Once he saw that he had to take it for a ride around the house.  He took off like a champ and did just great!  He has been riding it around ever since.  We enjoyed our gifts to each other and Jason made breakfast.  We took our time getting ready and headed to my parents soon after with the scooter in tow.

 We got to my parents and had a late lunch and then opened presents.  Drew was struggling towards the end because he was exhausted.  Poor guy all this running around was getting to him.  He enjoyed everything he got and also enjoyed opening others gifts too.  We know it's just a phase but we want others to enjoy opening their gifts too and if they are okay with Drew opening that's one thing but we just didn't want them to think he was taking over.  He just loved unwrapping the paper.  He accidentally opened one of my gifts labeled to him and he loved it!  It was a piece for my Kitchen Aide mixer.  He had no idea but it looked cool to him.  Soon after presents he went to take a nap.  Then he woke up, he got to play with all his fun new toys and of course ride on his scooter.  Auntie Adalee wanted to test the scooter out too!

 

This is a wrap up of all of the Christmas's we have had so far.  We still have one more to go!  We hope you all had a Merry Christmas and got to enjoy your friends and family as much as we did. 

Big Boy Bed!

We knew we wanted to get Drew into a twin bed soon before we had many other adjustments coming in February (baby brother).  So, the plan was to switch him during Thanksgiving and start potty training (something he has been ready for but not us) at Christmas.  Well we switched Drew the Friday of Thanksgiving break that way we had a whole week off to adjust to him not wanting to sleep in his bed if that was the case.  Just something I feared.  HE DID GREAT!  He slept the whole night, actually woke up later then his normal, and had no problems transitioning.  Thank goodness!

The last two days at preschool (that same week - the Thursday and Friday) he told his teachers every time he needed to go to the bathroom.  I still wanted to wait but others kept saying he was ready.  He got sick that Saturday (my birthday) and we had to stay home from church.  I decided why not try and do the potty training since he did so good with his bed.  I am proud to say he is doing great and well on his way to being diaper free (knock on wood)! 

I am very thankful that these two BIG steps in his toddler life haven't been as bad as I thought. 

I do love how he wakes up in the morning and opens his door and comes running down the hall to wake us up if we aren't already.  If he can't get out of his room for some reason, he knocks!  Love this little boy!

Preschool Fall Program

Drew had his first Preschool Fall Program at school and we had no idea what to expect.  I knew they had been practicing songs, which I could never get him to sing to me at home.  He loves to sing so I knew he would either enjoy every minute of it or get overwhelmed by all the people starring at him and his friends on stage. 

His group was first and they walked out with their cute turkey hats they made.  He didn't see us until the middle of the first song and just stopped singing and waved and said "Hi momma".  Then he realized daddy, auntie, and Gigi were there and he just kept smiling.  He got into one song and we still sing it at home "I got spoons". 

After the program we all went to eat Thanksgiving dinner and there was a silent auction.  Of course Gigi took him to pick a basket he wanted and she won it for him.   He loved everything about it and still has a year to enjoy going to a local bounce house place too.