Exersaucering

Here is some footage and photos of the Exersaucer in action:

Concentrating very hard... hmm, how can I get this all in my mouth?

On an unrelated note, here is the pile of bottles and pump parts that need to be cleaned every night. 1/2 hour of every day is spent cleaning this stuff and getting it ready for the next day. That is my least favorite time of the day.

Winter wonderland

Caiden's daycare had a "winter wonderland" event this past weekend. Although it promised "fun for all ages", we knew it would be geared towards the slightly older kids. However, Dan had never been over there and we thought it would be a good idea for him to see where Caiden spends his days and meet all of his "teachers". Caiden did get to sit on Frosty the Snowman's lap, who was really one of his favorite teachers, Dorrie.

Back at the ranch...

Caiden is getting more and more into toys. He bats at dangling toys, and can sometimes grasp them too.

He can whack at buttons on his music-playing elephant and get the music to turn on. He can sit in his ExerSaucer and hit the toys. He can even turn himself a little bit in the turning seat to get to toys on his side. Photo coming soon, but here is what an ExerSaucer looks like

It's cool to watch- you can see the gears turning in his head. I can't wait until he is able to sit and play with toys- I think it will make daycare much more entertaining for him. Right now when the daycare people are busy with other babies, Caiden just sits in a bouncy chair or something. Pretty boring. And a bored baby = a crying baby.

Little Tiger

Sometimes Caiden gets in these moods where he wants to put things in his mouth as fast as possible. That means that if your hand is nearby, he is going to attack it and chew on it. He might get distracted for a few seconds, but then he remembers what he was doing and get back to work. It got us laughing yesterday

Where am I? What's going on?

Have you ever woken up from an afternoon nap very confused? Not knowing whether it was AM or PM? Well that's how I felt this morning when I woke up at 5:45 and realized that I hadn't been woken up that night... at all. My first thought was "is it 5:45 in the morning? really?", and once I realized it was my second thought was "is Caiden still alive??". Indeed he was. Little man slept from 7:30pm to 6am. Here's hoping there are more of those nights in our future!

I want to sit!

Caiden wants to sit up! Whenever he is in his bouncy chair or car seat, he strains forward like he is trying to sit up. He is a long way off from having the balance to be able to sit, but he's working on it.

Caiden's playing with his first toy. Actually he is just grasping it. He had a funny look on his face like "what is this thing and why is it stuck to my hands?"

This is what I think about the car seat, mom!

Lunch break

 

Look who was happy to see me during my lunch break visit on Friday :)

Daycare is getting easier on Caiden, he is taking bottles better and isn't sleeping all day (during the first few days he napped a lot, I think he was overwhelmed). The "teachers" in his room say that he is a good baby and only cries when he needs something. They also say that they have decided he will be a football player, because he is "such a boy". It's interesting how often we hear how Caiden looks like "such a boy".

3 months

Caiden is 3 months old!! To see how much he has grown, here is a photo of him from at 3 weeks old trying on his North Face jacket, compared to him wearing it now. It fits him very well!

Time continues to fly. I'm getting used to being back at work while Caiden is getting used to daycare. Being away from him so much is a tough adjustment, hopefully it will get easier.

Over this month he has gotten better at tummy time and sitting/standing with help. He rolled over from front to back several times that one day, but has only done it once since. Hmm.... maybe he is bored with that skill. He isn't reaching for objects yet, but will grasp something if it comes near his hand. And if it makes it into his grasp... it goes in the mouth.

We have fun "walking" him. You'll have to turn your head to the side to watch this, sorry! I take most of these videos with my camera and keep forgetting that when I'm on video mode I have to keep it horizontal.

He loves to make razzing noises and blow spit bubbles (nice!). A sure way to make him laugh is to razz back at him.

He likes to play airplane with dad

 

He likes to be outside. Here he is ready for a hike in the trails behind our house. The day after this hike we were out for a shopping excursion and tried him front facing in the Bjorn for the first time. He seemed to enjoy it well enough, and I liked the reduced risk of baby barf down my shirt.

 

Caiden has taken some giant leaps backwards in the sleep department. He usually falls asleep around 7:30,  and where he used to only wake up once around 3-4am, he is now waking up 2-3 times per night. It started right around when full days started at daycare. I'm not sure if he is protesting the change in his happy little life, or if the extra daytime napping is affecting his nights (he naps more in daycare than at home, plus dozes during the commute), or if he is just going through a phase. Whatever the reason... I hope it passes soon.

He is a homebody. On days where it's just us at home, he is a very happy kid. He only fusses when he is hungry, tired, or bored, and is instantly happy again after food, a nap, or a change of scenery/activity. He is getting better at being away from home, and I'm guessing (hoping) daycare and days with Nanna Nan will help with that!

No doctors appointment this month, but a home weight and height check have him just under 16lbs and 24.5 inches tall. According to the charts, that would put him at 85% for weight and 75% for height. He is all torso... he has already outgrown some of his 3-6 month tops, but 3-6 pants are long on him. I just broke out the box of 6-9month clothes yesterday...

Other photos from the last few days...

First week at daycare

 

Caiden's first week at daycare was a little bit bumpy. A few weeks before daycare started he started to be very fussy on the bottle. This is weird, because he had been taking bottles very well from the beginning. This wasn't a huge deal for the first two days at daycare, because they were only half days. But on Thursday and Friday, it was a bit distressing to me knowing that he was hungry, but was screaming and crying when they tried to feed him. I've been able to nurse him over my lunch breaks at least, but would love to know he is getting the food he needs during the rest of the day. This week we're trying out new bottles to see if there is another type he likes better. Other than that, he seems to be doing well.

Very Sneaky

Caiden has gotten a lot better at tummy time. Dan started doing "tummy time sets" with him, putting him on his stomach for as long as possible but turning him onto his back before he started crying. Then they play and practice standing (which Caiden loves), and then they do another tummy time. And repeat. The stronger he gets the more he likes it... and the more he likes it the longer he can last (which makes him stronger). It's a vicious cycle. Now Caiden can stand tummy time longer and can pick his head up higher.

Check out how much better he is getting:

However, it has come to my attention that he might have just been training himself to get strong enough to do this:

Yup, new skill... rolling over! Today every time I put him on his belly for tummy time, he just rolled himself over! Sneaky little guy. Sometimes he still gets stuck:

But he's pretty good! In fact I had a hard time getting it on video. He would be rolled over before I could click the record button on the camera. I had to pin him down until the camera was ready to roll!

Back to reality

Today was Caiden's first stint in daycare. It was only 3 hours, but went pretty well. He had a weird morning, waking up before 6. Usually he sleeps in until 7-7:30. He must have known changes were coming! Having him up that early threw a little kink in my plans for the morning, but we made it out the door with time to spare. The daycare people said he did very well. Hopefully he keeps that up! Tomorrow he goes for 5 hours, and then it's full time from there. Nana Nan will be taking him on Mondays though. As for me, it was a bummer heading back to work, but I am so glad Caiden is right across the street and that I'll be able to spend my lunch breaks with him when he is there.

No pictures from daycare, hopefully soon!

Happy New Year!

Caiden started off 2011 with some smiles!

New Years Eve

What a fun New Years... a sleepover with Grace, Tony, and Ian! They came over in the afternoon, we had some fun play time with Ian, then we had a fun adult dinner when the kiddos went to bed. Ian is teaching us how to baby proof our house. We have some work to do before Caiden starts moving!

Here Ian is teaching Caiden how to give knuckles

End of 2010

We had a fun couple of days between Christmas and New Years. A big snowstorm, some visits from friends, and fun around the house. We're also getting ready for daycare starting next week. It'll be a hard transition (hardest on me, I'm sure), but I think it will be good. Caiden will be going to daycare across the street from my office, so at least I will be able to spend lunch breaks with him.

 Hanging out!

Visiting with my high schools friends Sarah and Sandy, both home from NYC for the holidays

Visiting with Grace and Ian. Ian will be showing Caiden the ropes soon. Future partners in crime, I'm sure.

Caiden is getting much more observant. He enjoys his new "friends", the animals hanging from his bouncy chair. Sometimes I catch him smiling and chatting with them

This fun toy has music and flashing lights that can turn a cranky baby into a happy one

See you next year!!