Caden says "hi!"

I believe I caught a "bye" in this video too!

I love my little man.

Sleep and Jibber Jabber

A quick update on Caden's sleeping issue before the fun stuff.

After asking the advice of family and many of my friends I met on my favorite Mommy site we decided to go with crying it out again on Thursday night. I did not have to work on Friday, so I figured if we were up all night Ryan would let me nap when he got home from work. I will start by saying Thursday night was the hardest night with him. It was painful and heartbreaking for me. Without my sister-in-law talking to me on the phone I don't think I could have done it. Caden cried an hour and 45 minutes. I did check on him every so often. He started throwing his blanket, binkies, and lovey over the crib and then beating on the crib railing with his hands. It was awful. Just as I was about to give in he started having breaks in his crying and then it stopped. He slept until 6:15am the next morning. Early, but I'll take it!

Friday night he cried for only five minutes and Saturday night he let out one little whine and that was it! Ryan and I are very happy CIO (crying it out) worked and hope we never have to go through this again. We are now keeping his door open with the bathroom light on (which is right next to his room) and this seems to help. I think my little man is afraid of the dark.

So much for being quick.

::

Last week Caden started this jibber jabber baby talk that absolutely melts my heart. He'll point at something (usually the fan or light) and start talking. He looks at you like "did you get that mom? Don't you think?" I really wish I knew what he was actually trying to say.

It took me about two minutes to get him started. He was playing camera shy at first.

We are having a .........

GIRL!!!!

Today was the big day. We had our 18 week ultrasound. At first the tech was having a hard time seeing "in between" and she finally got a good shot. My gut was telling me a girl, although it wasn't as strong as when I was pregnant with Caden. Either way, I knew :)

Her HB was at 148 bpm. Last week at my prenatal appointment her HB was 152 bpm. The tech did say she looked great. She took a LOT of pictures. She did get a few 3D pictures, but the baby started turning around with her back to us. I think she may be camera shy.

We have a few names in mind, but still have not made a decision.

So there you have it. A girl :)

Not My Child Monday

Let's talk a little bit about what my child did NOT do this week.

Caden most certainly did NOT wake up 3 times last week and refuse to stay in his own crib. He did not stare at the ceiling, toss and turn, and poke his fingers up my nose for 3 hours before falling back asleep. Nope, not Caden. He also did NOT wake up at his normal waking time of 7am after a rough night of sleep either with his feet in my face. All this waking up did NOT send me into a panic over having another child although I know God will provide.

Caden eats his dinner like a champ every night. He did NOT start chucking food across the kitchen at the dog thinking it was the most hysterical thing he's done yet. He also did NOT reach is hand into the dog's food bowl and scatter dog food across the entire kitchen. Caden knows how much Mommy likes a clean kitchen, so he would never do that!

Speaking of our dog, Mia - Caden loves her very much, but only on his terms. You know that phrase, "you are so cute, I could just eat you up?" Well, Caden does NOT love Mia that much where he would try and take a bite out of her tail. Not Caden. He would never do that.

Finally, he also did NOT scare his parents to death Sunday afternoon when he took a tumble down the basement stairs. (His parents did NOT mistakenly leave the door open either). Thank the Lord above he only came out of it with the tiniest of all scratches near his eye.

The boy who doesn't sleep

Yep, that's him. Isn't he cute, bright eyed and bushy tail after another night of no sleep? The night of my last post Caden did sleep through the night. Apparently, two nights in a row was not in Caden's plans. He woke up at 11:30pm last night after going to bed at 8:30pm. We tried CIO (crying it out), which only lasted 20 minutes before he threw up in his crib. He was so worked up, crying hysterically and sweating profusely. CIO will simply not work for us. He did not fall back asleep until sometime before 3am. I did try sneaking him back into his crib after he fell asleep, but he wanted nothing do with it.

This morning I woke up with a foot resting on my cheek around 7am. I think it was Caden's way of saying "good morning, Mommy! It's time to get up now!", and so we did.

Ryan and I have been talking about what could be causing him to wake up like this. Bad dreams? Maybe. I noticed he was really warm last night - not feverish though. Another thought could be too little sleep or too much sleep during the day. This did happen last Tuesday when he only had one nap and I imagine he was up around 11:30am from his morning nap (and back to bed at 7:30pm). Eight hours is a long stretch for him to be awake. On the other hand taking a late afternoon nap might be too much.

Our attempt is to start the transition to one nap a day. Which means he needs to take the morning nap a little bit later. Instead of going down for a nap at 10am, we are going to try and keep him up until 11 or 12pm. This will be hard during the week when he has to get up at 6am to go to the sitters, so I am not sure how well those days will turn out. I'll have to check in with Grandma and Tammy to see how cranky he is and when it starts for them.

It's all trial and error. Parenting that is.

We are still having a good weekend full of smiles and giggles (and meltdowns too!) despite the lack of sleep (and rain).

Sleep Issues

Usually my blog is happy go lucky and about all the wonderful things about Caden and being a mother. This post will be the opposite. It is about one of the challenges and a trying times for Ryan and I.

Sleep makes the world of a difference in your day. For me sleep is essential to my mood, my appearance (free from the baggy eyes!), and keeping my emotions from going out of control. I look back when Caden was an infant and woke up every two hours and wonder how on earth I made it through. I know I had my moments of breaking down and crying, but by the grace of God I did get through it. I know we will get through this phase as well, but right now I am smack dab in the middle of sleepless nights again.

About a month ago and now again this week Caden has been waking up around 12:30am and refuses sleep until some 3 hours later. I have tried CIO, but I can only last approximately 20-25 minutes of his hysterical crying. I go back into his room, lay him back down with his lovey and binkie, tell him I love him and walk back out - only to repeat the same cycle again and again. I finally give in and bring him to bed with me. You would think he would pass out from crying so hard, but he doesn't. He'll toss and turn, pull my hair, poke at my face and shake his lovey (which has a rattle in it) for another hour or more. Finally he starts flipping over to his stomach (his sleeping position) and after another 30 minutes of kicking to get comfortable he falls asleep. The worst part is that I do work and I have to get up at 5am. I called in earlier this week for the first part of the morning, and thankfully I did not have to work today after last night's escapade.

So, I'm tired. I'm exhausted and I don't know what is going on with him. Tuesday night I played it off as a belly ache or possibly he was hungry (I did end up giving him a bottle, and remember we are supposed to be bottle FREE!). He also did not get as second nap on Tuesday. However, Thursday was the complete opposite. He ate, drank his milk from a sippy before bed and he had an hour and a half nap in the afternoon.

The lack of sleep and Caden waking up during the night has me so paranoid of how I will handle two babies during the night. Ryan is a wonderful father, and there is a valid reason why he cannot help during the night. I do not want to come across as I am discrediting him at all. He is my rock and I could not do this without him.

So, what will tonight bring? I seem to never know nowadays. I'm afraid to even stay up after Caden goes to bed to enjoy any me time as I fear what the night will bring. He is lucky he is so stinkin' cute ;)

We will get through this, but I pray we move through this phase quickly and it does NOT return.

and that is my vent for the year!

Happy 16 Months!

Happy 16 months my sweet boy! I always say - where has the time gone? While it has gone by fast I look back with no regrets. I have treasured every moment with you, and so has your Daddy. Even through your tantrums and all. You are so beautiful. You are amazing, silly, daring and fearless. You love to cuddle and give kisses. You have your parents (and grandparents!) wrapped around your little fingers. You love to be outside and explore, and you love swimming with Daddy. You love your dog, Mia and your kitty, Belle. You are so loved.

*****


Most toddlers should be able to . . .
Turn pages of a book when you read - Yes, but we don't get through all the words until he is on to the next page.
Gets attached to stuffed animal or other object - Yes, his lovey. See this post.
Walk well - Yes
Sing and like to sing - sometimes
Get upset when frustrated - Yes!

Some toddlers will probably be able to . . .
Walk backwards - Yes, see this post.
Start to climb and explore - Yes; he climbs the stairs and on the couch
Help around the house - Yes
Say up to 10 or 15 words - No, he is at about 5-6 words

Some toddlers could possibly be able to . . .
Become picky about certain foods - That is an understatement!
Take off an article of clothing without help - No
Separation anxiety lessens - If this means he does not cry hysterically when I drop him off before work, then yes.
Dance to music - Yes
Trot and prance around - No

Finally, here are two favorite pictures from this past weekend. I found him in his bedroom "reading" his books.

Summer Fun

Isn't he just beautiful? I could look at this face all day long. That is if he would sit still long enough.

This weekend was full of fun in the sun. I feel like I am just now getting into summer and here it is - almost over. I took Caden on a play date to a friends house. She has a little girl who is 3 months younger than Caden. They got along really well until the very end. Caden yelled at her when she came over to play with the same toy he was playing with. Before that we played in the pool, ate watermelon, played with their dog and picked tomatoes from the garden. Turns out Caden loves tomatoes. Unfortunately, I left my SD card in the computer, so I couldn't take any pictures.

We also spent some time over at Ryan's parent's house on Saturday. Caden was full of smiles and giggles playing in the pool with his Daddy. Again, I brought my camera without the SD card.

I did NOT forget my camera today at the sprinkler park. Thank goodness for that! This weekend has been the hottest it's been all summer. Even Ryan and I played in the sprinklers.

My brave little boy

Hey? Where did it go?

Ah! There it is!

Off to the next one! (Don't worry, Daddy is only 3 steps behind him)

Snack time with Mommy before we headed home.

Fingers crossed the weather is just as nice next weekend because we are definitely going back.

Hands on Museum

I didn't get to update about our trip last weekend. (I imagine because of how tired I probably was). We met a couple I met on my mommy site and their little boy Brennan at the Hands on Museum in Ann Arbor. Brennan is two days older than Caden and what a smart cookie this boy is. I thought Caden was all boy, but I think Brennan beat him on that. Both of them had a great time with all the "toys" at the museum. It was a long trip, but so worth it.

Checking out the tornado! Caden just wanted to dive right in it.



Legos!! I thought he would never leave this corner.

Thank God for the water jacket!

Playing music - can you tell how interested Caden is?



For as tired as he looks he NEVER fell asleep on our 1 1/2 hour trip home.

*****

Over the last several weeks dinner time has become some what of a challenge. No matter what we tried to feed him (besides fruit) he shakes his head and starts crying hysterically. Needless to say, Mommy and Daddy were getting VERY frustrated. My friend Julia suggested giving Caden a utensil to hold on to while we tried to feed him, and it worked! The bowl has to be in front of him, so he can "stir" up his food. We have tried guiding the utensil to his mouth, but we end up with a screaming baby shaking his head again. I guess he'll start feeding himself when he is ready.

This video is after he ate, but you get the picture.

On another note - after Caden had his shots last week and did not take his night time bottle, I decided to try another night with no bottle. Maybe it was a coincident with the vaccine or maybe he was just ready. Either way, we are now 1 week bottle free!

4 Months Pregnant

I cannot believe I am already 4 months pregnant. It is going by so fast this time around. I know it is still summer, but January seems right around the corner, and once the holidays get here it is going to go even quicker.

We should find out the gender within 2 weeks or so. I have a routine appointment scheduled on August 19th and then I'll make my appointment for the big ultrasound after that. I am hoping to get in the following week. Based on the old wives tales all signs point to having a girl, but we shall see.

A few differences between my pregnancy with Caden and this one-

~loved grapefruit with Caden - cannot stand the taste of them now
~could not eat Mexican food with Caden - love Mexican (especially tacos) with this one
~felt presentable with Caden - feel like I look just awful this time around (old wives tale points to girl on this one)
~nauseous from 6-8 weeks with Caden - STILL nauseous (but randomly) at 16 weeks!

Here is a comparison belly shot when I was 16 weeks with Caden and now 16 weeks with baby #2 - not much of a difference except I have an extra layer of padding from Caden.

Caden's 15 Month Appointment

Caden had his 15 month check up today. He was pretty fussy the whole time we were there. He did NOT want to be in his stroller or held while we waited. He wanted to be down and exploring. Can you blame him though?

He weighs 23lbs 5oz and is 30 1/2 inches long. He hasn't grown much since his 12 month appointment and the doctor said he was just below the average line. She wasn't concerned though and neither are we. He is growing perfectly and doing fabulous.

The doctor asked if he was starting to say words, trying to talk and understanding some of what we say. Yes, yes, and yes. Actually, since he started pointing (last week) he has been trying to talk a LOT more. He babbles his baby talk which I think I could listen to all day long. He learned a new word yesterday, too! He says "hi". He is still not waving, but will say "hi" over and over again.

Her question about him understanding what we say got me thinking. I know he understands more than he leads on, but here are some things he understands that I can think of off the top of my head:

~The difference between "do you want to play with your blocks and do you want to play with your legos".. He LOVES his legos!
~"Slam dunk it!" - he has a basketball net and he knows that means to put the ball in the net.
~"Are you hungry?"
~"Time for a diaper change"
~"Stand up" and "Sit down"
~"Can I have a hug" "Give so and so a hug"
~"Who says meow?" - he will answer with "kitty"

I think he understands quite a bit! There is definitely more too.

Caden did have to get one shot today - the chickenpox vaccine. He hasn't had any reactions so far, but he did not eat his dinner, nor did he take his bottle. I am sure it has to do with that vaccine to some extent. With that said, I am off to bed. With no food or bottle I am sure I am in for at least one waking or a VERY early rise.

Wordless Wednesday

What on earth is this silly boy doing?

Ryan was trying to feed Caden some avocado and he was practically begging for it before I turned the camera on. Then he found something else to do... the poor dog - she puts up with a lot from Caden.

Caden loves his "lovey"

and today was no exception... I can't believe this is the first time I've caught this on camera. Although, he was just a little over the top with this lovey today. My friends Jesse and Brandon bought this "lovey" (its a doggy's head and arms with a little blanket attached). He has been sleeping with it since he was about 6 months old. It brings him comfort to take one of the dog's arms and rub it under his nose.



Play time



Snuggle with lovey



play...



and some more play...

lovey time...

play...

then exactly during this moment that I snapped this picture...



he learned how to climb the couch all on his OWN...

that was hard work... now time for lovey again....

my couch potatos... (all we are missing is Daddy and we'd have a trio!)



silly boy!!

while I was preparing dinner I turned around to see this little boy SITTING on the couch watching the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse... he actually sat there the entire episode.

and dinner time was no exception to cuddle with lovey.