Almost 2 update

Here are some updates on Caiden now that he is approaching the big TWO.

-We just switched him to be facing forward in the car. He has been doing pretty well in the car recently, but he was running out of leg room back there so we flipped him. He seems to really like the change. On the way to daycare yesterday he was pointing out dogs, trucks, etc.

-He is speaking a lot! He strings together up to three words. It can be hard to decipher new words though.

-He loves to play the night night game. He will say "ni ni" and pull me (or whoever else is around) down to lay down on the floor. If you are not in the same room and he wants to play with you, he will come push your legs in the direction of where he wants to go.

-We have found that giving Caiden options is a great way to avoid a struggle. One example... if we let him choose which shirt to wear, he won't resist getting dressed as much. He also understands bargaining a little bit. For example... if I tell him we can go play in the basement after he has a few bites of chicken, he will often oblige.

-The highchair is a thing of the past. He will only sit in big boy chairs, or eat in his learning tower. Booster seats are not acceptable either.

-He often declares his stuffed animals hungry: "monhee hunry" (monkey hungry). He will attempt to give his hungry animal a taste of his food (complete with om-nom-nom noises), although I usually put a stop to that. No one wants a stuffed animal with peanut butter all over it.

-We've been encountering more bedtime problems than usual recently. He used to go to bed super easy, but it's been a struggle the last few weeks. It might be coincidence, but we have been redecorating upstairs and that involved moving him into a new, much more fun room. He just wants to play when he is in there! He fakes us out with serious crying, but when we go check on him he smiles and says "play?" Nice try, buddy! It seems to be slowly getting better though, and making sure to get him to bed on time helps too.

-My turn! This is something Caiden must have learned at school. We hear lots of "Caiden's turn" or "my turn". Sometimes he wants me to do something for him, then it's "mom's turn".

-Finally, a few pictures from an afternoon of lacrosse with Dad!