19 months

A few things about Caiden now that he is 19 months:

-He always wants to help out. He is now a key player in unloading the dishwasher- he hands me plates one at a time. A back saver for me. Here he is helping Dan clean his car.

-He has recently taken to organizing his toys. He'll grab a bunch of his cars and put them on the couch. Then he'll move them to the ottoman. Then to his little chair. Then to the windowsill. As he moves around the house he finds more cars and add them to the pile, and he'll need to take multiple trips between each move. Here are some photos of him trying to cart around a pile of cars

Side note: this the "DAD IS HOME!!" face Caiden makes when he hears the garage door open.

-He is really taking more interest in book content. For a long time he just had fun turning the pages of books, looking at pictures, and pointing at things. Now he often sits patiently and lets us actually read the pages (unless he is tired). Below is a video of a funny thing he does when reading his "Where's the baby?" book. The last page is a mirror, you know- "the last baby is you" thing. He smashes his face into the mirror.

 

-He has mastered throwing balls, kicking balls and making baskets, and now he is working on dribbling

-He is asserting his opinion more and more as he gets older. Gone are the days when we could just pick up any old book and read it. Now Caiden has to choose or at least approve the book. If I start singing a song he isn't in the mood to hear he stops me. Before we know it he is going to want to pick out his own clothes in the morning!

Weekend away

Caiden spent an entire weekend away from us! Dan and I wanted to head up to BTT's annual training weekend together, and Dan's parents bravely took Caiden on for the weekend. We dropped Caiden off in Hanover on Friday afternoon before we headed for Waterville Valley.

I took over this joint!

Caiden had a great time with them all weekend, and they reported that he was very good. They went to a local museum

Played outside

Practiced on the flight simulator

Read lots of books, and played with some fun toys.

Meanwhile, over in Waterville, Dan and I had a very relaxing weekend. Time with friends, sleep, relaxing outside, and oh yeah a little bit of training too (but not too much).

It was terrific to have a short break away from the go-go-go of toddlerhood, but come Sunday morning we couldn't have gotten out of there faster. Anxious to see the little man. We spent a little time in Hanover playing before we hit the road.

Thanks for the fun weekend Grammy and Grandpa!

18 Month checkup

Caiden had his 18 month checkup yesterday. His stats:
Height: 33.5" (76%)
Weight:28 lbs 4 oz (76%)
Head Circ: 48.5cm (65ish%)

Dr G was impressed with Caiden's gross motor skills. He was happy with Caiden's verbal skills too, which was a relief. I estimated that he has about 10-15 regular words, which is apparently average for this age. One shot this time, and Caiden was a champ. No tears, just a flinch and a dirty look directed towards the nurse. During the appointment he kept making it clear that he wanted to return to the waiting room to watch the fish tank. We made sure to spend a few minutes there on the way out.

Best photo I could get of fish watching

A random verbal update: Caiden has starting saying this way, that way, this one, that one, etc. It sounds more like one word when he says it though. If we ask him "where do you want to go?" he'll reply "dissay".

Weekend fun

What a great weekend! Dan and I are trying out some new fitness classes a few miles from our house. On Saturday they have back to back classes so I went to the early class, Dan met me there at the end for Caiden hand-off, and he took the next one. Caiden was very reluctant to leave Dad behind, so we watched from outside for a while. Caiden kept his finger pointed at the door asking "dah? dah?". Cute. From there it was straight to swim class. Caiden gets increasingly more confident each class, it is so great. Only one more class left in the session though. Hopefully we'll get him in another class over the summer!

After nap time we headed to friend Rachel and Jeff's house for a birthday party for their 2 year old twin boys. There were a bunch of little kids there, and Caiden had an awesome time playing with them. It was great for Dan and I to be able to sit and talk with the adults while Caiden ran around with the other kiddos.

Sunday was a more relaxed day. Errands. Lots of time outside. These days, outside time always turns into an impromptu "hike" in the trails behind our house. Caiden knows the way to the trails and just marches his way down there with or without us. I think he could spend forever in the woods, but we never get too far along the trail- it takes too long. He investigates everything, and loves playing with every "tick" (stick) he sees. He also stops to grunt at bugs. Here he is leading the way on the first of four hikes yesterday

New friend

On Saturday, friends Stacy and Andrew brought their 3 month old baby Jackson over for us to meet him. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of him, but he's a cutie, and has such a great disposition. Grace, Tony and Ian came over too. Caiden wasn't feeling like himself that day (teething), but he did have fun playing basketball with Ian. Lots of giggles out of those two. We look forward to seeing this whole gang again soon.

The rest of the weekend was very relaxing. Lots of hanging outside and on the porch

Skyping with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Hank

And baking. We made Nanna some birthday cupcakes!

what do you mean these aren't for me???

Mr Independent

Inspired by another burst of warm weather, we finally got around to furnishing our covered porch. We spend a lot of time out there, and Caiden loves having meals there. It is much more his speed- he sits down for a few bites, then runs around for a while, then comes back for more.

Caiden was having a snack out there a few days ago and picked up a napkin that had fallen on the floor. He  disappeared into the house with it. I followed him a few seconds later to see what he was up to, and found him trying to jam it in the trash can. We are using this new skill to our advantage, so we can be lazy. "Hey Caiden, can you go throw this away?" Works like a charm.

Caiden wasn't feeling so hot this past weekend and was pretty tired. On Saturday I asked if he was tired and ready for his nap. He nodded, headed over to the baby gate, waited for me to open it for him so he could go upstairs. He walked himself up the stairs, headed into his room, grabbed a pacifier and his bunny, and stood next to his crib. Wow! He almost always goes down easy but this was a new level of nap time compliance. He did a similar thing at Nanna Nan's this morning. He is getting so independent, it is great!

Horsing around before bed

1.5!

Caiden is a year and a half!

Personality: Caiden is a funny little man with a good sense of humor. He also has a bit of an attitude at times- his temper tantrums can be epic! Feet stomping and everything. He is a snuggly one, and although hugs and snuggles don't last too long, we get lots of them. He likes giving kisses too, unfortunately they usually end up like big wet slobbers.

Abilities: Climbing was the big thing this month. His favorite thing to climb is the table in our playroom. He also likes to walk up stairs like a big boy (instead of crawling up them). He is a little ambitious though and often ends up slipping. We are sure to stay nearby!

I climbed up here all by myself!

Practicing stairs

Likes: Being the the basement or outside. Any sport involving balls, he is learning golf these days. Baths. Swimming is finally enjoyable for Caiden too, yay! He likes jumping from a seated position on the side (into my arms), kicking, blowing bubbles, and will even let me hold him in a back float. And boy does he love splashing. He also likes helping out- daycare reports that he is always helpful putting toys away, and he almost always obliges at home too.

Dislikes: Getting dressed, brushing his teeth, leaving the basement/outdoors, having things he shouldn't be playing with taken away.

Speech/Language: Not Caiden's forte, but I think we might be on the cusp of a language explosion. He babbles a lot, it sounds like he is talking in his own language, but sometimes it sounds like real words/phrases here and there. Some new words are water (wawa), and bubble (bub-buh). He can kind of say his name, it's hard to type out how it sounds but it's kind of like "ai-deh". He does a cute thing where he yells "YEAH!!!" when we ask him about something he is excited about. One example was after swimming class the other day. We were getting changed in the locker room and Caiden was getting cranky. I asked him if he was hungry and ready for a snack and he yelled a very excited "YEAH!!!" at the top of his lungs. That got a laugh out of the whole locker room.

Food: he is usually a pretty good eater, but every day is different. He has been resisting his high chair recently, he sometimes prefers to be held or sit in a chair like a big boy. He is getting pretty good at using a fork on his own, although sometimes he gives up and uses his fingers.

Sleep: I am probably jinxing myself by writing this, but sleep has been very good for the last few months. He rarely wakes up during the night, and when he does he often puts himself right back to sleep. The other times, he will go back to sleep after a quick "go back to sleep" visit from one of us.  Caiden has a tendency to wake up too early, so upon recommendation from a few people we purchased this clock which is supposed to help kiddos understand when it is okay to wake up for the day. I thought at this age he would be too young to understand it, but it seems to be working.