Exersaucering

Here is some footage and photos of the Exersaucer in action:

Concentrating very hard... hmm, how can I get this all in my mouth?

On an unrelated note, here is the pile of bottles and pump parts that need to be cleaned every night. 1/2 hour of every day is spent cleaning this stuff and getting it ready for the next day. That is my least favorite time of the day.

Winter wonderland

Caiden's daycare had a "winter wonderland" event this past weekend. Although it promised "fun for all ages", we knew it would be geared towards the slightly older kids. However, Dan had never been over there and we thought it would be a good idea for him to see where Caiden spends his days and meet all of his "teachers". Caiden did get to sit on Frosty the Snowman's lap, who was really one of his favorite teachers, Dorrie.

Back at the ranch...

Caiden is getting more and more into toys. He bats at dangling toys, and can sometimes grasp them too.

He can whack at buttons on his music-playing elephant and get the music to turn on. He can sit in his ExerSaucer and hit the toys. He can even turn himself a little bit in the turning seat to get to toys on his side. Photo coming soon, but here is what an ExerSaucer looks like

It's cool to watch- you can see the gears turning in his head. I can't wait until he is able to sit and play with toys- I think it will make daycare much more entertaining for him. Right now when the daycare people are busy with other babies, Caiden just sits in a bouncy chair or something. Pretty boring. And a bored baby = a crying baby.

Little Tiger

Sometimes Caiden gets in these moods where he wants to put things in his mouth as fast as possible. That means that if your hand is nearby, he is going to attack it and chew on it. He might get distracted for a few seconds, but then he remembers what he was doing and get back to work. It got us laughing yesterday

Where am I? What's going on?

Have you ever woken up from an afternoon nap very confused? Not knowing whether it was AM or PM? Well that's how I felt this morning when I woke up at 5:45 and realized that I hadn't been woken up that night... at all. My first thought was "is it 5:45 in the morning? really?", and once I realized it was my second thought was "is Caiden still alive??". Indeed he was. Little man slept from 7:30pm to 6am. Here's hoping there are more of those nights in our future!

I want to sit!

Caiden wants to sit up! Whenever he is in his bouncy chair or car seat, he strains forward like he is trying to sit up. He is a long way off from having the balance to be able to sit, but he's working on it.

Caiden's playing with his first toy. Actually he is just grasping it. He had a funny look on his face like "what is this thing and why is it stuck to my hands?"

This is what I think about the car seat, mom!

Lunch break

 

Look who was happy to see me during my lunch break visit on Friday :)

Daycare is getting easier on Caiden, he is taking bottles better and isn't sleeping all day (during the first few days he napped a lot, I think he was overwhelmed). The "teachers" in his room say that he is a good baby and only cries when he needs something. They also say that they have decided he will be a football player, because he is "such a boy". It's interesting how often we hear how Caiden looks like "such a boy".

3 months

Caiden is 3 months old!! To see how much he has grown, here is a photo of him from at 3 weeks old trying on his North Face jacket, compared to him wearing it now. It fits him very well!

Time continues to fly. I'm getting used to being back at work while Caiden is getting used to daycare. Being away from him so much is a tough adjustment, hopefully it will get easier.

Over this month he has gotten better at tummy time and sitting/standing with help. He rolled over from front to back several times that one day, but has only done it once since. Hmm.... maybe he is bored with that skill. He isn't reaching for objects yet, but will grasp something if it comes near his hand. And if it makes it into his grasp... it goes in the mouth.

We have fun "walking" him. You'll have to turn your head to the side to watch this, sorry! I take most of these videos with my camera and keep forgetting that when I'm on video mode I have to keep it horizontal.

He loves to make razzing noises and blow spit bubbles (nice!). A sure way to make him laugh is to razz back at him.

He likes to play airplane with dad

 

He likes to be outside. Here he is ready for a hike in the trails behind our house. The day after this hike we were out for a shopping excursion and tried him front facing in the Bjorn for the first time. He seemed to enjoy it well enough, and I liked the reduced risk of baby barf down my shirt.

 

Caiden has taken some giant leaps backwards in the sleep department. He usually falls asleep around 7:30,  and where he used to only wake up once around 3-4am, he is now waking up 2-3 times per night. It started right around when full days started at daycare. I'm not sure if he is protesting the change in his happy little life, or if the extra daytime napping is affecting his nights (he naps more in daycare than at home, plus dozes during the commute), or if he is just going through a phase. Whatever the reason... I hope it passes soon.

He is a homebody. On days where it's just us at home, he is a very happy kid. He only fusses when he is hungry, tired, or bored, and is instantly happy again after food, a nap, or a change of scenery/activity. He is getting better at being away from home, and I'm guessing (hoping) daycare and days with Nanna Nan will help with that!

No doctors appointment this month, but a home weight and height check have him just under 16lbs and 24.5 inches tall. According to the charts, that would put him at 85% for weight and 75% for height. He is all torso... he has already outgrown some of his 3-6 month tops, but 3-6 pants are long on him. I just broke out the box of 6-9month clothes yesterday...

Other photos from the last few days...