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!

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.

Toddler Talk

Caden has started to babble a lot more these days. He has conversations with himself and with us ~ I just wish I knew what he was saying. If only I could get into that little mind. Regardless, this was too cute not to share.



and look who is finally pointing!!

Weekend Wrap up!

We had a pretty good weekend full of eating and playing. What could be better for a 1 year old, right? Caden even slept past 7am the last three mornings! (We'll overlook Thursday night when he woke up for an hour and wanted nothing to do with sleep.)

Our last few weekends have been all about the family time, which I love so very much. It gets me through the hectic weekdays full of getting up early, working, rush hour traffic, and pure exhaustion.

Here is our weekend in so many words.........

Eating..

Scaring Mommy by being a little dare devil...

Watching Daddy cook dinner....

Swinging at the park - he has never liked the swing until today!

Playing in the wood chips...

Looking for a new adventure with Daddy...

Found one!

and another!

Eating again....

*************

On a rather serious note, please pray for Stellan. He is in the hospital again struggling to stay out of SVT. Please pray that the new drug regimens the doctors are trying will work and keep Stellan's SVT at bay until he is old enough for the open heart surgery he will eventually need.

You can read more about Stellan's story by clicking here.

Picture and Video Share!

I had some really great pictures of Caden from last weekend, so I thought I better get these posted before another weekend comes along.

I just love his little face when he is eating his cheerios - usually first thing in the morning. He just seems so toddler-like in these pictures. I know he is a toddler and all, but it just seem to happen over night. It makes me sad how fast he is growing up, but excited at the same time. I could just eat this little guy up. He definitely has me wrapped around little chubby fingers.

We had a VERY nice visit with my grandpa on Sunday too. He is doing so well and was very happy to see his great grandson. Excuse Caden's tears. He had only taken a 30 minute nap earlier that morning and was so overdue for another nap.

This one is actually from Wednesday - just because he's cute!

A few months ago we put away Caden's push lawn mower toy because he seemed to have lost interest in it. I decided to pull it back out from the basement and I am so glad I did. He has not stopped pushing this thing around the house, man alive is he good at it.

Here is a video I took of him when he was only 9 months old.

and now look at him go!

Amazing.

Wordless Wednesday

What kind of July is this?

Do you notice anything strange about this picture that was taken today?

All bundled up in fall attire and it's suppose to be July?! The clouds in the back and the wind reminded me of late September. I will admit it is nicer than the hot sun when pregnant. We were going to take Caden to the park, but it looked like it was going to rain. Instead we took him over to the common area in our complex to run around and visit our swans.

He found some paper on the ground and gave it to Daddy to throw way.

Happy as can be just walking around with his Daddy.

I think someone looks a little mischievous in this picture. Don't you think?

Remember this post about my swans? Apparently I forgot to update when the eggs finally hatched. It was only a few days after we got home from our vacation. They are just little fuzz balls here. They even made our local paper last month.

Now look at them! They bigger fuzz balls! I can't believe how fast they've grown. (Like all babies I guess). I imagine they'll be leaving us soon and heading for the lake across the street.

The Daddy is sitting behind them as usual. He is VERY protective. Although he didn't seemed bothered that we were there, we still didn't get too close.

And Mommy - she is so beautiful!