Kaden Meets Santa

Hi! We just got back from a week long trip to Indiana. It was great to see all of Ryan's family. Kaden had a wonderful time with his Mam Maw & Pap Paw, Aunts, Uncles, & Cousins. While in Indiana, Kaden got to meet Santa Claus. He wasn't sure what to think of him.

Kaden's ABC Book

I got a really great deal from Shutterfly. If I spent $10, they gave me a $30 Storybook for FREE! Well, I needed to print Christmas cards anyway, so I took them up on their offer. I'm so glad I did! The storybook turned out great.

You can view it by clicking on this link:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/project/1Bas2bdu0YuTg/landing;jsessionid=8054E1CEF69B9D7518F6E4F2E1F1607D

7 Month Update

Can you believe Kaden is 7 months old already? He is growing and changing every day. Two more teeth have broken through and will be visible soon. Some of the worst drooling and sleepless nights are behind us now!

Kaden's latest "trick" is that he has figured out how to get off of the couch by himself! I've attached a video below. We are still working on teaching him how to wave. He mostly just waves at himself!

Kaden still prefers the "B" syllable. He says "Buh" and "Baa" when he chatters. He does say "Ma Ma" but only when he is hungry or mad. I don't think he has really associated that sound with me yet. We've yet to hear him make a "D" sound, but Ryan keeps working hard with him.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

It's terrible being sick

You'll notice there hasn't been much activity on this blog lately, nor has there been many new pictures added to Dropshots. That's because the Oren household is not feeling well. Kaden has a runny nose and slight cough, and I have a sore throat, stuffy nose, and major head & body aches. Ryan mostly just feels achy and tired.

It probably didn't help that we sat out in the cold Sunday night in a live nativity. But, honestly, I think the colds were already starting before then. We'd appreciate your prayers as we have a busy week ahead of us!

Ooops, I've been MIA

Wow, it's been awhile since I posted! I hope everyone had a very happy Thanksgiving. We had a great time with family. Kaden tried mashed potatoes for the first time. He DID NOT like them! He took one bite and then spit up. Oh well, we'll try again some other time!

Sunday night we put up our Christmas tree. We wanted to capture Kaden's expression the first time he saw it, so we set up the video camera, turned out the lights, brought Kaden in, and then turned on the Christmas tree. His response was not what we expected! We had hoped his eyes would get wide, he'd smile in wonder, and then reach out to touch the magical tree. Actually, his reaction was more like, "So what?" You can see it below:

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

Christmas Pictures

We had Christmas pictures taken at Portrait Innovations. We were very pleased with the results. Here are a few of our favorites!

Kaden's DMSA Scan

Yesterday was a long day! As many of you will remember, Kaden had a Urinary Tract Infection while he was in Korea. The hospital there did a DMSA scan and found a large cortiol defect in his left kidney. They recommended that we do a follow-up scan once he was settled here in the United States.

So, yesterday we left town at 5:00 a.m. We got to the hospital at 7:00 and got Kaden settled into his room. At first he had a great time playing with the toys, being weighed and measured, etc. But then he had to get an IV. That was no fun at all. It was even hard on Mommy & Daddy! Once that trauma was over, he settled down and was content to be carried up and down the hallways of the pediatric corridor until he got hungry. The poor little guy had to let the dye they injected circulate his body for 2 hours before being sedated, and he could not have anything to eat or drink.

At 10:30, they took us downstairs and Kaden was sedated. That was hard too. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and it was terrifying for Mommy & Daddy. They did the scan, and by 11:45 we were back in his room. We won't know the results of the scan for a couple of days, but to our naked eyes, it looked like both kidneys were fine! At 12:30, Kaden woke up, took 4 oz. of pedialyte and a 6 oz. bottle of formula, had his IV removed, and we were on our way home by 1:30. He slept all the way home, was up for 3 hours (and took 4 oz. of formula every hour!), and then slept the rest of the day/night until 5:00 this morning!

We hope he will quickly adjust back to his normal schedule and will forget the trauma of the day. Please pray with us that the scan will not show another defect. The pediatric urologist thinks there is nothing to worry about and ordered the DMSA scan to appease Korea's requirements for our adoption.

UPDATE on 11/30: We got the results of Kaden's scan - he's a perfectly healthy little boy!

God is so good!

I just need to take a moment to praise God for His goodness. It's amazing to me how He knows our needs and then orchestrates through to his people to see that our needs are met. We've had some amazing things happen this past week that can only be credited to God's goodness. He saw our need and provided. In some cases, He has even gone above and beyond our needs and provided a few "wants" as well. God is so good!

One Active Little Guy

Kaden is wearing me out! He is now 6 months old and is constantly on the go. He's officially crawling and has now discovered a love for pulling himself up on things and climbing on things (mostly me). I am constantly on the lookout to make sure he's not trying to stand up using something unsteady. I also have to be careful to make sure he's not going to whack his head on anything if he falls after pulling himself up. It's a constant battle! On Friday, I spent a majority of my time playing interference between the fireplace and the telephone stand.

Where has my baby gone? I'm not ready for this much activity yet! Plus, he's taking much shorter naps, so I'm finding it hard to get anything done. I guess that's motherhood!



Sometimes he crawls right out of his britches trying to get to the cats:

Oh, and by the way, Kaden weighed in at 19 lbs., 9 oz. at the doctor's office today and he is 2 ft., 2 1/2 inches tall.

Special Weekend With Special Guests

Ryan's parents came to visit this weekend, and they brought a surprise with them. Actually, they brought five surprises: Tom, Melissa, Cassi, Mabrey, & Brody! This was Kaden's first time to meet his Mam Maw & Pap Pa, Aunt & Uncle, & cousins.

Although the weekend was short, we all had a great time. Kaden also got to have a lot of first time experiences with them. He went in a swimming pool for the first time and got his first haircut. A few pictures are below. You can see a lot, lot more on our DropShots site.

Home 2 months

Can you believe that Kaden has been home for 2 months already? Where has the time gone? He has changed so much since his homecoming.

I made this quick video of pictures encompassing the past 2 months. The song is "Labor of Love" by Steve & Annie Chapman.

Photo and video editing at onetruemedia.com

Happy Halloween!

Instead of going Trick or Treating tonight (who needs all that candy?), Kaden and I dressed up as pumpkins and went around town visiting everyone at work. First we went to see Grandma at the Telephone Company, then on to the college library to see Auntie Em, home for lunch, up to Phillips Hall to see Grandpa, then out to the farm to see Daddy! Everyone loved seeing the little pumpkin and he had a good time too!

Darn Daylight Savings Time!

Kaden is not wanting to adjust to the new time change. We've done our best to keep him on his regular schedule, but he has resisted our attempts and insists on doing everything an hour early! We started trying to keep him up later at nighs earlier this week, but he still went to bed tonight at 7:00, thinking it was 8:00. I hope it doesn't take him long to adjust, because we don't want to keep getting up at 4:00, which is his 5:00 a.m.!

Here's a video of Kaden from the other night. We were keeping him up late in an attempt to get him used to going to bed later. Obviously, it didn't work. First he was extremely grumpy, and then he got "loopy." He crashed about 10 minutes after this video was taken!

Pumpkin Patch

We did a photo shoot in the backyard yesterday. Kaden was in a good mood and we got a lot of great pictures! For some reason, Drop Shots isn't working today, but when it's back online, you can can checkout all the great shots using the Picture link at the right. In the meantime, here's one of our favorites that I'm hosting from Photobucket instead:

Prayer Request

Normally I have reserved this blog for updates on Kaden. But, today, I need to post an update on myself. I am in need of prayer for my health.

Back in May, I started experiencing extreme chronic pain in my bladder. I constantly felt like my bladder was full. My bladder burned and throbed all day long and through the night and I began to use the restroom as much as once every half hour. My doctor referred me to a urologist.

Last week I had a cystocsopy that confirmed the urologist's suspicion. I have interstitial cystitis. This is a chronic, incurable disease and is a chronic inflammation of the bladder. As most of you know, I already have one chronic, incurable disease: endometriosis. I am really struggling with the diagnosis of a second, even more painful one.

To top it all off, the medication for this condition is extremely expensive. It is going to take some major budget cuts to be able to afford it on a monthly basis. I know it is necessary; the pain is unbearable and does not allow me to sleep, but I hate being a burden on my family's finances.

I can't help but wonder why. Why has God chosen to let me endure two painful diseases? Why has he chosen to make me a burden on our finances? Why can't he miraculously heal me? I feel that no one truly understands the pain I face on a daily basis and the struggle is for me to simply get out of bed in the mornings.

So, I am asking for your prayers. If you read this entire post, then I know you must care about me. Thank you for that! Right now, I need all the encouragement I can get. For more information on these diseases, click on the links below:

Endometriosis

Interstitial cystisits

Thank You,
Tricia

The Green Bean Machine

Kaden went to the doctor on October 13 for his 5 month check-up. He weighed 18 lbs., 12.5 oz. and was 25 3/4 inches in height. He is at the 50th percentile for height and the 90th percentile for weight!

The doctor said it was okay to go ahead and start him on baby food. Below is a video of his first green bean experience:

October Milestones Already

Kaden has changed so much in just the month of October. Here are some of his latest developments:

1) Getting on his hands and knees and "rocking"
2) Two new teeth
3) Discovered the fun of playing with his fingers & toys
4) Sucking his thumb
5) Making the "B" sound, such as "Ba, Ba"

He has also learned that he can do certain actions to get a laugh. One thing he enjoys doing is holding his pound puppy in his mouth by one ear and shaking it!

The Holt Picnic

This weekend, we attended the Holt area picnic. It was nice to gather together with other adoptive families and share stories. Kaden got to meet his friend Noah in person for the first time! They had so much fun together, and so did all the parents! Hopefully the picnic will become a family tradition every year.

Who Needs A Tickle Me Elmo?

We have our own giggle machine! After Kaden finished his cereal, I wiped down the tray. For some reason, he found this action extremely hilarious. So, Ryan grabbed the camera!

Home a Whole Month!

I can't believe it's been a month! Kaden has already grown and changed so much. He'll be 5 months old in just 9 days. Where has the time gone? Here is a recap in pictures of his first month home as well as a picture taken today that replicates a picture my mom took of me 30 years ago.