Friday, October 7, 2011
Caiden and the green drink
Over vacation Caiden got a taste of Dan's fruit-and-leafy-greens smoothie and couldn't get enough! He loves that stuff and we got a laugh watching him try to chug it.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Full time walking
Ever since he took those first steps, Caiden steadily improved his walking skills. He perfected them over vacation, and really is walking full time now. No more crawling. Well, occasionally he crawls, but it's rare.
As the walking increased, we went shoe hunting. He has never worn shoes, and went sockless all summer, so I was a bit intimidated by this task. This little man has blocks for feet, and it was challenging to find shoes that fit right. Shoes that we could jam his feet into were heavy and too long in the toe. He would take exaggerated steps, fall, then try to rip the shoes off his feet. We tried several stores and different varieties of shoes.
Enter the Croc. Lovely, lightweight, roomy, easy-to-put-on Crocs. There was a bit of an adjustment period when he first put them on, but soon he was walking like a pro. I'm not quite sure what we will do when it gets too cold to get away with them, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We might just have to find him some fuzzy Crocs.
As the walking increased, we went shoe hunting. He has never worn shoes, and went sockless all summer, so I was a bit intimidated by this task. This little man has blocks for feet, and it was challenging to find shoes that fit right. Shoes that we could jam his feet into were heavy and too long in the toe. He would take exaggerated steps, fall, then try to rip the shoes off his feet. We tried several stores and different varieties of shoes.
Enter the Croc. Lovely, lightweight, roomy, easy-to-put-on Crocs. There was a bit of an adjustment period when he first put them on, but soon he was walking like a pro. I'm not quite sure what we will do when it gets too cold to get away with them, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. We might just have to find him some fuzzy Crocs.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Vacation Part Two
We are home from vacation part 2 in Chatham! We had a wonderful time. Our rental house was so, so great. The house was all set up for kids. There were baby gates in all the right places, a big basket of toys, a swing set, cribs, outlet covers, and more. And what a lucky man Caiden is to have so many adoring fans. Caiden has been very loved this whole vacation!
He had such a good time spending time with everyone
Two houses down was a tiny private beach for the street, with a nice view!
He had such a good time spending time with everyone
He loved going outside too! The house had a great big yard and a huge deck for Caiden to explore. Lots of flower beds for him to get into as well. He loves picking up mulch.
This house had some good room for Dan's airplane and helicopter, good entertainment for all!
Caiden took Poppa Bob for a walk. Caiden pointed to where he wanted to go, and Bob took him there. They went all over the yard, out into the street, around the neighborhood.
Two houses down was a tiny private beach for the street, with a nice view!
Unfortunately, Caiden got his first ear infection while we were in Chatham. He was great during the day, but we had some rough nights. He is on antibiotics now and hopefully will back to normal soon. We are sad to be back home, Dan and I really got used to having several extra people around to keep Caiden entertained.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Vacation part one
We are in the middle of a vacation! We were in Martha's Vineyard with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Hank for the last few days, and arrived in Chatham this afternoon to finish the week with the Harbison-MacSwan-Connor-Sherwood gang.
What a fun time Caiden had with his grandparents on the Vineyard. The house we stayed at had a great yard and Caiden loved all the outside time. He loved loved loved all the extra attention he got too.
What a fun time Caiden had with his grandparents on the Vineyard. The house we stayed at had a great yard and Caiden loved all the outside time. He loved loved loved all the extra attention he got too.
Grandpa Hank and Dad spent a lot of time flying model airplanes and driving RC cars. Caiden couldn't get enough.
And he had some great time with Grandma Judy, he especially liked book time.
Caiden's first boat ride was the ferry to MV. I think he was most interested in another passenger's dog and all the cars on the boat.
Stay tuned for vacation part 2, the Chatham edition!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Another triathlon experience
Dan and Caiden were troopers and spent Saturday morning watching me race. It was a short triathlon, but it was a chilly morning!! Brr!
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| Spectators ready to cheer! |
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| Caiden is pretending he doesn't know the weirdo in the rubber suit |
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| Happy to be done! |
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Getting better by the day
On Tuesday, Caiden was a very wobbly walker. He could get across a room, but it took a lot of effort and he was always on the verge of falling over. But yesterday when I visited at lunch, he was noticeably better- he navigated around a table and was more sure footed. At the end of the day his teachers were raving about how much better he had gotten just over the course of the day. I got some footage of his improved skills during my lunch visit today. He walked much further than what I captured- by the time I got my camera out and rolling he was halfway across the room! Go Caiden!!
On second thought- no, don't go Caiden!! Stop growing up so quickly!!
On second thought- no, don't go Caiden!! Stop growing up so quickly!!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
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.
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!!
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| revisiting an old favorite spot |
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| 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.
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!!
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