First Christmas(es)

Christmas #1 took place at our house on Thursday, with my mom, sisters, and significant others. We had a yummy meal and lots of good presents. Caiden had a hard time going to bed with all the fun activity downstairs! He wanted to be in on the action.

Then on Friday we headed to New Hampshire to have Christmas with Dan's family. Caiden made out like a champ with lots of cute outfits. Unfortunately Christmas dinner plans with Dan's cousins were thwarted by illness. There were some fevers going around, and we weren't comfortable having Caiden around that. We still had a nice Christmas dinner with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Hank and had a visit from Aunt Barb. 

Christmas #3 with my Dad, Grandma, and sisters was thwarted by snow. The Boston area is supposed to get 18+ inches today and tomorrow, so our plans to have a turkey dinner and more present opening
are postponed. We are sad to have missed Great Grandma's trip to Boston, she was on her way back to Connecticut early this morning before the snow and traffic got bad. So instead of putting the turkey in the oven we are getting prepared for a big snowfall and possible power outages.

Gotcha

Caiden has started to have big throw-ups. Sometimes he eats so much we can hear all the milk sloshing around in his little belly, and we know to be careful and keep a rag handy. But sometimes he still nails us (or the couch... or the floor). Here he got Dan pretty good. Hehe.

Christmas Trees, Drool, and Duck Face

Caiden is enjoying his first Christmas Tree (well, he enjoyed the lights for about 5 minutes, then he got bored with it)

The drool level is slowly increasing. Poor guy always has a wet chin and shirt!

He has started making a duck face, here is my best attempt to catch it on camera

He has begun to take more notice of the world around him. He will stare and stare at the mobile over his crib, and at the toys dangling off of his play mat. He is beginning to pull things into his mouth. I'm not sure whether it is intentional or not just yet though!

Today we went to a baby friendly movie in Arlington, which was fun. We met some of the moms from my moms group, it was nice to catch up with them.

Running Man

Maybe he'll grow up to be a runner?

Boogey Face

Caiden sneezes a lot. The other day, he sneezed and this happened:

Dan and I couldn't stop laughing, which made Caiden smile... which made it even funnier. Of course we had to capture it on film. But it was a cute photo, so we removed the booger and took another

Month 2 Stats

Caiden had his 2 month check-in this morning. He is now 24 inches tall (85%), weighing in at 13lbs 6oz (85%), and has a 40.5 cm head circumference (62%). He got a stamp of approval from the doctor, who once again said that Caiden is "thriving". The only thing we need to work a little extra on is his head. The doctor could tell that Caiden prefers looking to his right, and it's making one side of his head slightly flat. He said it was nitpicking, but that we should try to get him looking left.

Unfortunately todays visit also included 2 shots. This poor little man does not like shots! He turned almost purple he was crying so hard. So hard to watch! He's been fussy ever since. Hopefully he feels better soon!

This picture is unrelated to today's event... but it's cute! Auntie Margaret met us for a quick shopping trip yesterday. Caiden had a nice little snuggle!

2 months old!

Remember this little peanut?

Well now he looks like this:

What a difference 2 months make! Here is what this little man has been up to the past few weeks

He discovered his tongue, and loves to stick it out. This also means drool! I know it will get worse when he starts teething, but he can really get going!

He loves to stand and sit, with help of course

He can even sit in the bumbo by himself, although he starts to slump after a little bit

He loves to watch the action from the bouncy chair

He still hates tummy time, but it will last a little longer if he is propped up a little

He is turning into quite the Chatty Cathy. Every day he discovers new noises. Grunts, squeaks, coos, goos, all his way of communicating. He is still sleeping well. 8 hour stretches are becoming more frequent, although 6-7 hours is still the norm. Occasionally he regresses back to 3 or 4 hours, but that's the exception these days. His daytime napping is starting to show a hint of a pattern, I'm working on getting him down for real naps (as opposed to letting him fall asleep wherever he is).

Moving on

Today was my last mother's group, we had fun taking lots of photos of the babies all together. Hopefully we'll stay in touch and get together occasionally.

Where's Waldo? Err... Caiden?

Our little chunker next to his friend Jack (to the left), who is a few weeks older but almost 4 pounds lighter than Caiden.

Future girlfriend?

Moms and babies

Road trip!

Yesterday Grandpa Jack took us to visit Caiden's Great Grandma Esther in Connecticut. He did very well, snoozing through most of the car ride, and he was on his best behavior during lunch. He was the hit of the dining room, where there were lots of Grandparents and Great Grandparents who could relate to Grandma's excitement.

Caiden's Chitter Chatter

What Caiden has to say these days!

First Thanksgiving

We had a big Thanksgiving at my Aunt Laura's house in Weston. In attendance was my mom, Grandmother, aunt, uncle, 5 cousins, 2 sisters, and significant others. A big crowd! And, unfortunately, a cranky Caiden.

A quick summary of the day:

Caiden hung out while his Mom and Dad got some work done around the house

Then we went to the Keery's where the guys played football

The gals played with the baby

Everyone ate a lot of food

Caiden watched the meal from a swing

He also got to spend time with his Gigi (Great Grandma)

And then Caiden slept for 8 hours in a row for the first time! What a great Thanksgiving!

Caiden Update

The move has seriously slowed down the blogging, sorry! Hopefully I'll be back on track now that we're getting settled (and have internet again!)

At Caiden's one month checkup, he weighed in at 11lbs 5oz and measured 21.75 inches. That put him at around the 80th percentile for weight, 50th percentile for length. I can't remember his head circumference, I'll try to get that next time! Once again the doctor seemed amused but impressed by Caiden's weight gain. I asked if it was too much (over 2 lbs since his 2 week appointment, geez!), but the doctor said no- he is "thriving". And when he heard that Caiden scarfs down his daily vitamin drops, the doctor was shocked. He said he never hears that. Usually parents can't get their babies to eat those drops, or the baby spits it up, or cries a lot. Not our baby... he laps that stuff up like it's candy. He loves to eat!

Caiden has become much more animated over the past week. As long as he is well rested and fed, it's pretty easy to get him to smile and chat. He is getting good at vowel sounds- lots of oooohs.

He still likes his wiggle time, and doesn't like to be hot or cold. He seems to get overwhelmed by crowds pretty easily. After a week or so where he would only sleep 2.5-4 hours at a time, Caiden has had two awesome nights. Last night, he slept from 10pm to 6am!! Wow. Now, I just need to learn how to sleep through the night again ;)

...And New Beginnings

We've moved! It's been a stressful process, but we're finally getting settled into our (awesome) new house in Acton. It really feels like home. We had new carpets put in upstairs, a new fridge brought in, new locks on the doors, and new paint in the master bedroom will be coming shortly.

Caiden is enjoying his new toys, which we are finally able to use. They've been in storage at Nana Nan's house until now.

He loves looking at himself in the mirror:

He even smiles and chats with himself:

The bouncy chair is pretty fun too:

End of an Era...

After 5 years in the city for me, 6 for Dan, we're moving out! I'll miss walking into Harvard Square and running on the river. I took a few pictures during our last walks on the river.

In Harvard Square:

On Memorial Drive, shut down for walking/running/cycling/skating on Sunday mornings:

Along the river path:

During the last few days on Arden street, Grandpa Jack and Grandma Madeline came to visit:

And Grandpa Hank and Grandma Judy came, thanks for the cute new outfit: