Caden having a snack

Fun with Caden

Hi all. David Here on Wednesday January 20th. Melissa and I hope your 2010 is off to a really great start. For the Smith family, we are off to a phenomenal start. Caden Marshall is doing very well and is such a riot to be around. He is so inquisitive/nosy and wants to get into everything and now that he is crawling at a pretty good clip, it is easier for him to get to what he wants to get into. We have a lot of fun playing peek a boo. and hide and go seek (kind of). My new favorite game with him is fetch. I take a half full water bottle, which for some reason he is amused by, and i toss it and he goes right after it. Not that he returns it or anything but it is fun to play. Caden is like a little beautiful golden retriever without the retrieving part. Caden loves the bath and loves it more when he gets to take a bath with mom. At last count Caden has 4 teeth and loves to chew on; his finger, the ottoman, the entertainment center, Tupperware bowls and the occasional parents toe.

You can see from the video above is is eating well and eating different things. We are trying more and more people food. Most of which he seems to like. Melissa does such a great job making sure he is eating across the food groups and is so very patient with him. She is really a phenomenal mother. Caden loves sitting in her lap as she reads to him. He want to turn the pages and loves it so much he does it prior to the page read being complete. I posted a couple of videos above so you can see my boy in action. I had hoped to post one of Caden crawling as it is the cutest thing to see him go. I promise to get one out there soon. Enjoy the ones above in the interim.

Melissa and I are very thankful for the days that we have had and the days to come. 2010 should be less challenging than 2009 was. God willing Caden Marshall will not have any hospital stays in 2010. We have a check up scheduled in March and we hope to continue to receive good reports. Speaking of Caden Marshall's birthday, Melissa and I are deciding what to do. Do we do family and a few close friends or do we blow it out and have a PARTY!?! Not sure what to do. To Caden it wont make a difference but I know his parents are really going to enjoy celebrating as we have come a long way. God, our family, and our friends have carried us to this point. I feel like we should celebrate with everyone!! We'll see...

January 24th last year is when Caden Marshall, then Baby Smith, was diagnosed with HLHS. What a roller coaster ride since then. Thanks again for riding with us.

Much love and great wishes and blessings for you in 2010.

David