Caedmon is 7 Months!

Can you believe it? Caedmon turned 7 months last Wednesday ... he's getting so old!

And it seems that just within the week he's growing, changing and making more advances toward crawling. I'm not exactly sure how much he weighs right now ... probably around 21 or 22 pounds, but here are some other milestones that he's achieved:

Sitting Up: Caedmon's a rock star when it comes to sitting up these days - very little weeble wobble effect. He can even reach for things to his right and left and still stay pretty stable.

Early Crawling Phase: Now, when Caedmon sits up and begins to lunge for toys, especially when they're in front of him, he has managed to maneuver himself back on to his stomach and wedge his knees and feet up.

Rolling Over: Caedmon perfected the "rolling from stomach to back" a while ago but just recently, he's started to lunge for toys and other things while he's on his back, which causes him to hang out on his left or right side a lot. And occasionally, he'll find himself on his stomach after all that effort, but it's the norm yet.

Foods: Caedmon enjoys a variety of foods these days including sweet potato, banana, peaches, peas, spinach, pear, carrots, rice cereal, oatmeal, egg yolk, and yogurt. Notice that I didn't mention avocado. Although he can eat it every once in a while, it's not a food that I would say he "enjoys." Maybe some day!

New Activities: Caedmon loves to swing at the park now and as of Saturday, he really enjoys "swimming" in the pool.

Pop's Burial

Brad, Caedmon and I went down to Atlanta last Friday for Pop's burial. Here's a compilation of pictures that my step-sister Mandie and I took to remember the day.

On the Road Again

Whew ... what a whirlwind of a month ... isn't it still February? Thankfully the birds and now sunny skies are telling me differently.

After a roller coaster of a week in Ohio - first week in March -- we were home for a weekend and then last weekend we took a road trip down to Oak Island with our crew for one last hoorah. Mom closes on the OI house April 2 and moves up to Raleigh April 6, so we had to take advantage of the weekend and enjoy the beach.

The weather unfortunately was cool and damp, but we were still able to make it down to the beach for a nice walk and take the boys down to the park.







(Click on this picture to read the boys' conversation as they played.)

Here are some other fun pictures from the weekend:









For more pictures, visit my Facebook page.

Now that we've been back for 2 whole days, we're heading to Charlotte for the evening so that Brad can run a few calls early tomorrow morning and then on to Atlanta for Pop's burial service on Friday.

It'll be interesting to re-visit the emotion that I put on hold once we left Ohio and wrestle with Pop's death again. I've been putting together some memories though over the past few days to share at the service on Friday ... so that has helped me work through things again. Please continue to pray for my Grandma as she grieves and as she unpacks and begins her new journey in Atlanta. Please also pray for my dad as he continues to work through the logistics of Grandma's move and works through the grieving process as well.

Fun Pics

Unpacking From Ohio














See My Teeth!

I'm Having a Blast!

Daddy Gives Great Piggy Backs!















Higher Daddy, Higher














I Like Peas!

Caed's 6-Month Well Check-Up

Caedmon went in for his 6-month well check-up yesterday. According to the doctor, he's exactly where he needs to be developmentally and he's doing great. One thing that she asked me though was if we're starting to see him make any movements toward crawling. "Well," I said. "He doesn't like to stay on his stomach very long. The moment he get's there, he's like 'Oh, I know what to do,' and rolls right over on to his back." The doctor said that's nothing to be worried about. Some babies who don't like to spend time on their stomach will begin crawling from a sitting-up position. When the doctor said that, I think that's what Caed will do. Now that he can sit up pretty well on his own, with little rocking, he's beginning to lunged forward and to the side for things, so I can see how that will transition into a forward crawl. Yikes, watch out world!

Here are his 6-month stats:

• Weight: 20 pounds, 80th percentile
• Height: 28 inches, 90th percentile
• Head Circumference: 46 centimeters, 90th percentile

And one more note, Caed's second tooth is now breaking ground!

Home Again

We're back from the first leg of Pop's memorial -- the Cleveland viewing and service at Rockport United Methodist Church. The second leg will take place at his burial on March 20 in Atlanta.

What a tough couple of days! Brad began his trip up to Ohio early Tuesday morning, 4:30am to be exact, and then Caedmon and I left the house at 6am to catch our 7:30am flight. Brad had to stop by a customer in West Virginia and Caedmon and I had a layover in Baltimore. Caedmon and I finally arrived in Cleveland about 12:45pm and Brad didn't get in until later that evening, but fortunately we were all able to make it for Pop's viewing. (Caedmon was so marvelous on all of our flights, and even took an hour nap in the Baltimore airport!)

The viewing was really nice. There were soooo many people there ... so many of Grandma's church friends, choir friends, golf friends and even Pop's buddies from Greyhound. Just about all of the Hottel family from Ohio was there as well.

Dad and Grandma did such a nice job organizing and displaying all of the pictures, Pop's Greyhound uniform with safety badges, and Pop's army cap. It was really neat to see all of that stuff. Pop's Prudential hat was even resting by his hand :). And to be able to meet so many of Grandma & Pop's friends and to be able to show Caedmon off was a joy! He really lite up the evening! People would come up to us from across the room and say, "This muuussst be Caedmon. Your Grandma has showed us all of his pictures! What a doll!" And even after not getting much sleep that day -- Caedmon usually takes 3 naps, yielding 5.5 hours of rest during the day and when he had to wake up 2.5 hours earlier than normal for us to catch our flight, only take an hour nap in the Baltimore airport (impressive), and then a short 30 minute nap at the funeral home, he could have cracked at any time. But miraculously, he was wonderfully happy and brought the smile and laughter that everyone needed at this time! Praise the Lord!

On Wednesday we had the service for Pop at Grandma's church, and what a nice service it was! Pastor Dan, Grandma's favorite pastor, gave the eulogy and painted such a neat picture of Pop, from the time he was a kid until his last days. He mentioned how family was so important to him and how he helped raise his younger brother Claire and care for his mother when his father died young in a car accident. He told stories about his service in Berlin during the reconstruction after WWII and how that sparked his love for driving. He spoke about how he wooed Grandma at a little restaurant where she worked to learn English. He spoke about the many trips that he, Grandma and Dad took during his "Greyhound Vacations" and his love for his Model A. He spoke about the great father that he was to Dad, and his service to Greyhound and his love for driving. And finally, he spoke of his love and support for Grandma, and that despite the Alzheimer's and the hardships they had at the end, that Grandma was faithful to her vows and how she deeply loved her husband of 58 years. Dan then went around and had family and friends share stories and memories of Pop, and I decided to share my story of Pop's cookies. Everyone snickered (ha ha). I found out later that afternoon that Karen & Jerry's kids always referred to the Little Debbie Nutty Bars as Uncle Lloyd's cookies and that a neighbor of Grandma & Pop's referred to them as Pop's cookies as well. How fun!

Overall, the trip was nice. It's always good to share special times with family, and especially in celebration of Pop's life, it was good to be together.










































Tatiana took some pictures of Caedmon, Grandma and me in her studio yesterday. Once she gets those pictures together and sends them my way, I'll share them.

Diaper Changing Conversation

Caedmon loves to "talk" as I change his diaper ... so please excuse the unsnapped onesie. We don't want to be too scandalous on Hodgson Tales. Here's a quick snapshot of our diaper changing conversations.

In Memory of Lloyd A. Hottel, My Pop

Wow, this has been a tough few months, I just wrote one of these back in November when Grandpa Snyder passed away. It's interesting how so many life-changing events take place all at once. Thank the Lord that I'm not alone in this -- God is mighty to comfort, gentle in the way that He brings peace, and how His Holy Spirit whispers sweet words of truth when we don't know what end is up!

For those of you that have been following this blog, you know that Pop has been battling infection and pneumonia for the past month and has battled Alzheimer's for the past 4+ years. (What a terrible disease that is!!! To think that every ounce of brainpower that someone acquires throughout a lifetime can be taken way in the matter of a few years ... and just leaves them helpless! For any of you that have seen this terrible disease, my heart goes out to you! Let's pray for a cure!)

After a long hard road, Pop ended his battle Friday morning, February 27. The nurses called my Dad to let him know that the end was near and he was able to have Grandma head over to the hospital before he passed. (Dad was in Atlanta at the time.) She got there in just enough time to sit by his side, hold his hand and comfort him before his heart stopped. What a blessing ... that after 58 years of marriage, she was able to be with him for his last few moments. But thank the Lord that he went as he did and Dad and Grandma didn't have to make any decisions about whether or not to "pull the plug." And now, Pop no longer has to live in constant confusion and pain!

At 90, Pop lived a good life. He was married to a wonderful woman that we affectionately know as Grandma Franny -- some of which call her Fanny, he he he. (He "picked her up" in a restaurant where she worked when she first came to this country from Yugoslavia ... she worked there to learn English.) He served in WWII and raised a great son, who later became my Dad, and drove many miles of road with Greyhound bus -- boy did he love to drive! He later became my "Pop" and affectionately called me his "Peashy." (I'm not sure what that means, but that's what he called me :). And to this day, I'll never think of the Little Debbie Nutty Bars the same because of him. That was his favorite cookie and for some reason, even though I could read, I always thought they were called "Pop's cookies." It must have been their "secret" name that only Pop and I knew. My friends growing up never knew what I was talking about and I would be like, "You know, Pop's cookies," and they'd be like, "um, Nutty Bars?" I just thought THEY were confused.

Thanks Pop, I'll always hold Nutty Bars close to my heart :). I love you Pop, you will be missed!!

A memorial service will be held for him on Wednesday in Cleveland. We're all heading up to Ohio tomorrow. (This will be Caedmon's 2nd plane trip.) Pop will then be buried at the National Cemetary in Marietta, GA, close to my Dad and where Grandma will be living in 2 weeks.