Taking a spin (in Mom's shoes)

He thinks it is hilarious!

Sorry for the sideways video....

Little builder

Caiden is getting quite good at sorting & stacking. He's been building up the block tower below by himself. He is pretty good at judging size to see which block goes next. When he gets it wrong, he fixes it. Or he just knocks the whole thing down and starts over.

Bowl hats are funny!

NH trip

Dan was on Nantucket for a guys weekend, but Caiden and I headed north to NH so that Caiden could meet Dan's cousin and her daughter, who were in town for a Dartmouth reunion. It was great to have Caiden meet Jade and Russa. The age difference between Caiden and Russa is a little too great for real playing  at this point, but they did have fun building up and knocking over blocks together.

Caiden also had fun playing with his Grammy and Grandpa. We had great weather, Caiden had a blast exploring outside.

Breakfast on the porch... can't beat that!

We all were all home in time to spend Sunday afternoon together, to celebrate Dan's birthday and Father's Day.

20 Months and a catch-up

Wow I have been bad at blogging recently. Here's a little overview of what's new in the life of Caiden.

Caiden hit 20 months last week. Not too much development, a few new words and a little physical advancement like the ability to climb up on the couch (sometimes), learning to drop kick a ball goalie style, and improved skills on the stairs. He definitely had a growth spurt, and it is getting harder to keep things out of his reach (and eye sight).

Over the last month Dan has been gone for two weekends. Caiden definitely misses Dan when he is not around. Anytime he sees any biggish black car he points and says "Dadda" over and over again. He does the same when he sees photos of Dan.

Here are some photos from the last few weeks.

Goofing around the house

Fun at Drumlin Farms

Experimenting with oobleck

Summer days at the beach

Lobster man!

Enter "No"

The word "no" is officially in Caiden's vocabulary. He has been saying yes for a while, but only recently did he pick up on on "no". It started out cute. The first time I heard him say it was when we were playing peekaboo a few weeks ago. It went like this:
Caiden: covers his eyes
Me: "Where is Caiden? Where did he go? Is he hiding behind the couch?"
Caiden: "No..." (still covering his eyes)
Me: "Hmm, is he under the table?"
Caiden: "No..." (still covering his eyes)
etc...

And then it got kind of useful. He used to just answer "yes" for questions even when the answer was really no. Now he knows the difference and can answer appropriately. But now he is also using it much like a 2 year old. Lots of "no no no no no!!!" when we have to do something he doesn't like (teeth brushing, diaper changing) or when we deny him something he wants. Terrible Twos seem to be right around the corner.

On another note, we discovered Nara Park this weekend. What a great beach for kids. At first Caiden was scared of the sand and refused to move his feet, but he soon warmed up and had a great time digging in the sand and splashing in the water. We'll be back!

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!