11 Months

It's been a busy busy month for Caiden! He has become so interested in the world around him. He points at everything, and wants to know what it all is.

 

revisiting an old favorite spot

He fit a little better last November

Likes: Moving, moving, and more moving. He laughs really hard when we chase him around or tickle him. He likes climbing, and is starting to understand that to climb down (stairs, furniture, etc), he has to turn around.

He gets a big smile on his face when he hears dance worthy music and then bops up and down. After a book reading hiatus when he would squirm out of my lap before we could finish a page, Caiden enjoys books again.

We don't read the stories anymore, just point stuff out. He is very good at pointing out the cars in his Hello, Boston book. He'll crawl across the room just to do so.

Speaking of cars, he loves watching cars and especially trucks. He likes planes too, not that he has much of a choice- there are planes all over his room. He cracks up when he pushes the planes in the mobile and watches them fly.

He loves to be outside, and I'm pretty sure he could be endlessly entertained out there. Of course, he'd end up with an endless amount of grass, dirt, mulch, etc in his mouth.

Dislikes: Anything that keeps him from moving, like getting changed or dressed and recently, being in the carseat for more than 5 minutes. Bummer. He also dislikes getting water poured over his head and having his nails trimmed.

Abilities: Caiden is getting better at walking. He can get across a room if he wants to, although he is very wobbly. Crawling is still his preferred method of movement (and man is he fast), but walking makes him very proud. He can stand for pretty long periods of time, and can even bounce a ball while he does so.
"bah" is still the only word he he seems to have figured out, although he is using "mamama" and "dadada" with a bit more purpose. Recently I could have sworn I heard him say "tees" while pointing at a tree we were walking by, but I can't be sure- and he hasn't done it again.

Food: He's a good eater, but unless he really likes what he is eating, he gets bored of it pretty quickly. We have better mealtime success when we provide a variety of food. It's clear when he's done: the food gets immediately thrown on the floor. His preferences change almost daily, but the things he will pretty much always takes down in large quantities are spaghetti (made with spaghetti squash) and watermelon. We still haven't ventured into the world of dairy with him, but since his reactions to dairy that I eat are getting better, I think maybe we'll try homemade yogurt soon.

Sleep: it's been a relatively good month in the sleep department. He still goes to bed around 7pm. Often he doesn't wake up until sometime between 5am and 6am. Sometimes he goes back to sleep, sometimes he doesn't. A few times he went back to sleep until 7:30am. Ahhhhmazing. Sometimes he still gets up in the 3-5am range, which is still ok in my book. Occasionally we get more wake-ups throughout a night, but those nights are slowly becoming less frequent. Teething pain, of course, disrupts sleep.

Speaking of teeth, we still only have one. Love that gummy smile. There is a big old swollen bump on the top, but it's taking it's sweet time breaking through.

Only one more month till Caiden's birthday... he is growing up so fast. I had a small little panic attack on Monday when I realized that a newly opened "infant/toddler transition" room at daycare means that Caiden will be moving out of the infant room sooner than I initially thought. Before this room was created, infants would move to the toddler room at 15 months, which is mid January for Caiden. But now, once they pass 12 months, they will move to the transition room as soon as they are "ready". I don't yet know what the criteria is, but I am stressing about the thought of him leaving his current room in a month. I keep thinking "he's not ready!!". He's not ready to sit in a real chair to eat lunch (even if it is super low to the ground), he's not ready to take naps outside of a crib, he is not ready to align his schedule with everyone else, he is not ready to leave his beloved primary teacher, Angie, behind. And most of all, I'm not ready to give up my lunch visits with him (which I always planned to stop once he went to toddlers where they have a structured day). Geez, if I am this panicky about a daycare graduation, imagine what I'll be like at real ones...

*Thanks to aunt Elizabeth for most of these great photos!!