The Mooney Clan

Bailey was so cute all cuddled up with this teddy bear the other night that I just had to take pictures. I don't blog about him very much but he is certainly part of the family. Caden calls him lailey for some reason and taunts him all the time. Bailey growls a warning at him and Caden completely ignores it and keeps bugging or chasing him. It's pretty funny. Bailey likes to play ball with him now though and sometimes Caden will get my kitchen stool, move it over to the counter and climb up to get Bailey's treats out of the jar and bring some of them to him. He also feeds him his breakfast and supper now. It doesn't all make it into the dish but Bailey cleans it up anyway :) Don't worry - Bailey isn't eating Caden's fingers - Caden just gave him a treat.

So, I did it. I went to "Juno" last night. And I've jumped on the bandwagon. If you haven't heard, "Juno" is the oscar nominated movie about teen pregnancy and a couple who can't have their own children. It has many layers and I thought it was really well written - if you like lots of sarcasm and wit - which I do. The actors were interesting and likable but not perfect. I knew going into it that it would hit me in the emotions and it did. I was prepared for it. I was grateful to have a moment where I was allowed to wallow in those emotions, if that makes sense. I don't let myself think too long or hard about any of this stuff anymore. They show the ultrasound appointment which hit me pretty hard because I should have been having ultrasounds for my baby but I'm not. I let myself feel sad. Some people on the infertility and adoption blogs have been criticizing Jennifer Garner's portrayal of the babyless mother but I thought it was fan...

Saturday, last weekend, was Caden's Christmas Continued. Check the last post for pics from that. Then on sunday we were all invited over to Bouchards for lunch. Skip and Mariann were there and we all had a nice visit. Grandpa Skip and Isaac Mariann and Judy Caden always finds tonnes to do at their house. He LOVES it there. To add to an already lovely time - Judy and I got FREE pedicure's !! How lucky are we? CADEN'S FIRST HAIRCUT - Judy has been doing Justin's hair his whole life and even did mine for most of my teen years and some since! We thought it fitting that she be the one to do Caden's first haircut. He looked so scruffy the last little while and I just wanted it all cleaned up. We ended up with barely any hair on the floor. I guess he didn't need that much done but he still looks a little neater. He wasn't too thrilled with it so we just kept distracting him with toys and crackers! :) I think Caden enjoyed this much more!! We don't wan...

Well, it wasn't over for Caden anyway. Grandma and Grandpa Mooney came out last weekend and brought out christmas gifts from that side of the family. He had so much fun opening stuff and playing with his new toys. I had fun trying some of his new clothes on him. Every gift was perfect for him. He got a tool box that talks to you! Justin keeps playing with it! He also got a thomas the tank engine set. He's gotten a little addicted to trains and to Thomas now so that was perfect. Another thing Caden, like most little boys, loves is trucks and construction and wouldn't ya know it - he got a geo trax construction set with a truck (he still says it KWA for some reason but he says it all the time). So, needless to say he is in heaven with this new batch of fun toys. Thanks to the Mooney aunts and uncles for the fun gifts. After the gifts were all opened Justin and his mom sang together - Caden thought that was pretty cool and crawled right up there. That was day one of...

The girls in Regina have started a fun tradition of going for High Tea at the Hotel Sask sometime in the winter months together. We laugh lots, enjoy yummy tea, sandwiches and desserts. We went yesterday and it was great. I enjoyed visiting with everyone without having to chase my kid around at the same time. I came home feeling very refreshed!!!

It would seem that Caden's New Year's Resolution is to learn Yoga. He's been trying to do this with me the last couple of times and Justin was home one day and was able to get a few pictures. I was most impressed when he moved up in difficulty and did yoga in a Wok (that's the last picture).

So, it's 2008. Thank goodness because 2007 just kept getting worse and worse for us. It was a tough year - that's no secret. But the cliche's are true - what doesn't kill you does make you stronger. I think back to the person I was at this time last year. We had an 8 month old that we had waited almost a decade for and I was thinking that our curse was broken and surely we wouldn't endure the same kind of pain we had in waiting for him, in waiting for the next child(ren). How could I have known that we would experience more pain, not to mention a whole new kind of pain. I haven't forgotten the joys that we have experienced though too. Watching Caden grow was and is a daily reminder of how much God loves our family and how He has given us such a precious gift. It still boggles my mind. I had been almost settled that we would never parent, never hold our own baby in our arms. And here he is !! But you all know that story. God had alot more to teach us...