18 Months

My baby is not a baby anymore! Caden is running and talking up a storm these days. I used to be able to count the number of words he knows, but it seems like he is learning at least one new word everyday so I lost count! The words I can think of right now in no particular order - mama, daddy, Grandma, Cici, Granddaddy, Poppy, Lainey, puppies, Molly, Dougie, night night, milk, drink, NO, yeah, love you (muv moo), drive, keys, Elmo, Doodlebops (oobops), Super Why, more, up, Mickey, hair, nose, eyes, bath, water, bye- bye, hi, read, book, eat, hot dog, cheese, this, tree, red, blue, pink, black, apple, cereal, Cheerios, bread, butter, football, basketball (ball), car, peanut, please, thank you. I know there are lots I am forgetting. 

Our biggest clue that our baby had become a big boy was taking him to the store to play with toys so Santa would know what to bring him. He would not give the "baby" toys a second glance - he would hand them right back and when asked if he liked it - a sweet shake of the head and reply of "no". Cameron took him to the truck aisle - and oh-boy! He was all over the Tonka trucks, etc. 

We were those parents that swore our child would never watch any TV before the age of 2. Ha! Let's just say that did not go as planned. Caden is now an iPhone pro. He can unlock, swipe to the right page, and locate the pbs kids app pretty quickly! On Saturdays his new favorite is Doodlebops. He, like most children, still cannot grasp why his favorite shows are only on Saturday mornings! 

Although it may seem like Caden always has his nose in electronics, he does play with real toys and outside too! He loves the climbing toy at grandma and granddaddy's house. He can climb up to the top of the play set all by himself and with a little encouragement, walk over to the big slide and go down. He would do that over and over again if someone had the patience to stay with him all day. 

Eating is still not Caden's strong suit. His favorites are hot dogs, chick-fil-a grilled nuggets, bratwurst, string cheese, fruit/veggies mostly only in liquid form from a pouch, peanuts, pretzels, chocolate, and cereal. He does not seem to like the toddler staples of pb&j, mac 'n cheese, grilled cheese, etc. so figuring out what to feed him is always an adventure! 

Caden loves to drive. Scarily enough, if you give him the keys, he knows just where to stick them and can put them all the way in the ignition! If you let him behind the wheel - good luck at convincing him it's time to go inside or get in HIS seat. 

Caden also loves music! He will ask for music and will sing and dance. One time he found our rock band microphone and just started singing into it. I'm not sure where he picked that up from but it was pretty funny. He likes to dance and for you to dance with him. He also loves drumming! Cameron lets him play on his drum set every now and then and he goes wild! 

He is beginning to figure things out more and more every day. He loves to help at home by feeding the dogs (even though the food ends up in the water bowl sometimes), take out the trash, and vacuum. His memory is getting stronger also. At his 18 month check up, he started crying when the nurse got out the thermometer (thinking it was time for his shot).

When it comes to bedtime - only mommy will do. At times it can be frustrating, but then again it gives me the small little satisfaction of knowing my "big boy" is still not as grown up as he thinks :) 

Caden Roy, I love you! I love you! I love you! 

Happy Birthday Caden!

 One year ago I gave birth to the most precious, funny, smart, energetic, cute, busy, loving little boy on the planet. This has been the best year of our lives getting to know and love on Caden every day. 

On my birthday morning, I got to celebrate with just mommy and daddy having donuts at the park

Then we got to take a trip to Toys R Us where I picked out some new sippy cups and new Chuck trucks! Hopefully this will become a new tradition every year :)

We got to celebrate Caden's big day with about 30 family members on Saturday. We managed to get pictures with everyone except Gary and Joan and Lance and Heather.

Will, Michelle, Brad, and Ryan

Uncle Tim, Kendall, Aunt Trish, Mitchell

Uncle Larry and  Aunt Kevin

Aunt Sherry and Aunt Linda

Granddaddy and Grandma

Papa Great and Mimi Great

Uncle Pops and Aunt Nana

Uncle Jeremy, Lainey friend, and Aunt Mandy

Cici and Poppy

Mommy and Daddy!

Tim, Trish, Mitchell and Kendall got to come a few minutes early to play with me before the party started.

My #1 cake!

Ooohhhh.... Cake!

I ate a little bit of it, but preferred the watermelon instead. Mommy was okay with that :)

Here I am playing with my Lainey friend after the party. We took a bath and rocked our PJs for awhile. 

 

 

 

 

This month Caden has become such a big boy! We had our last day of  Bible class in the nursery.... 

And moved to the big kid toddler Bible class! 

Caden LOVES to read! He will say "book" and bring a book to you to read in your lap. He is good at turning the pages and is beginning to copy the sounds we make. His favorite book at Grandma's house is still the Big Green Tractor. His favorite books at home are Superhero Me and Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.

 He loves going to church every week to see his friends, especially Lainey! He has the best teachers and never gets upset when we drop him off in class.

 Caden is one busy boy! He loves to climb, shake, investigate, pull out, push buttons, turn on, hide remotes, pull cords, tear off bumper pads, stack, spin wheels, push cars, slide, rock, bang, jingle, and sing.

 Caden also loves going on walks to the park! Of course his favorites are the swing and slide. We could stay there for hours if our pale porcelain skin could take it!

Another favorite is water! He loves the bath, kiddie pool, fountains, big pool, sink, anything with water! 

 Caden is such a happy boy. He draws smiles out of everyone wherever we go. It's hard to believe he's classified now as a toddler. To me, he will always be my baby. Love you Caden Roy!

11 months

Only one short month away till the big one year! Being 11 months old is pretty cool though. Caden is slowly trying new foods and learning to eat more finger foods. Unfortunately, his favorites are french fries and chicken nuggets right now. Parents of the year I know... But I mean come on... who doesn't love fries and chicken nuggets? He will also eat bread (usually the crust), potatoes, green beans, and bananas. And, he still eats baby food - sweet potatoes, squash, garden vegetables, etc. Here he is trying some blueberries and actually liking them! Usually, he puts them on the end of his tongue and shakes his head with his mouth open until they fall out... 

Caden started formula when he was about 9 1/2 months. Last week we ran out of the formula we had at home and decided to try whole milk. It's a hit! Still not a huge fan of milk in a sippy cup, but pour it in a bottle and he will suck it dry! 

This month has been all about perfecting the walk and LOVING playing - especially outside! Caden is getting much better with his balance and doesn't have to keep his arms straight out while he walks anymore. He still needs something sturdy to help him stand up, but once he's up - look out! 

Playing on the toys at Mayfair! 

Swinging at Grandma's house. 

With my cousin Lainey watching their Daddies play softball. 

On the slide at Grandma's house. 

He loves playing inside too. Sometimes when he plays peek a boo, it totally sounds like he says "I see you!". We're counting that as his first sentence :) Caden also loves to play with anything that has wheels. He is fascinated with wheels. He has developed a love for books and will babble along as he turns the pages himself. Caden also loves the kitchen cabinets (what toddler doesn't?!?) He REALLY likes the cabinets he is not supposed to get into. He loves to pull out plastic cups from his cabinet and practice stacking. 

His all time favorite thing to do is to help Daddy pull the car in. He just grabs that steering wheel and knows just what to do. He was "helping" Poppy on Sunday and practiced turning the head lights on and off and even gave the windshield a cleaning (as well as Daddy who was standing a little too close!) Whoops! 

I am just so in love with this little guy. He amazes us everyday with what he is learning and trying. His personality is charming, he loves to no end, and when he reaches out his arms for me - my heart melts every time. I love you Caden Roy! 

10 Months

Springtime is so busy! Over spring break, Cameron took off work so all 3 of us got to spend the entire week at home together! It was rainy most of the week, but we did manage to get some outside time.

Cameron stayed busy working hard on updating our guest bathroom. This has been a work in progress for 2 years when Mandy helped me start peeling wallpaper. 

I think I married well, agreed? He did a great job and Caden is enjoying his fancy new bathroom. Caden has gotten into a routine of waking up around 6:00. He usually drinks a bottle in bed while I do my morning email, facebook, path, and weather check. Cameron gets in the shower while we snuggle in bed, then switch.

 I used to get so annoyed when the dogs would wake me up early, but who can get annoyed waking up to this sweet face? :) Then, Caden gets a turn to get ready in the morning and finishes his routine by brushing his four teeth. All four still on the bottom, working on top ones next.

 

We got to meet our cousin, Sophie, this month. We met up with the Scotts and Sims crew in Oklahoma City one afternoon. Miss Sophie had outgrown her carseat which Caden gets to use when he's in Grandma and Grandaddy's car now. We're so blessed to have such a sharing family! 

I celebrated my 30th birthday this month, still not sure how I feel about it. Mostly excited to have the milestone behind me, I think. We celebrated at Hey Day and played mini golf. Caden LOVED the arcade. He especially enjoyed the race car games where he got to steer. 

I love that he is still young enough to be fully entertained without actually paying to start the game. The intro pictures are good enough :) Caden has also mastered his fake laugh this month. LOVE IT!

We did not visit the Easter Bunny this year. But, he still made it to our house to deliver Caden a surprise! He got lots of colorful eggs that had yummy treats inside and made fun noises when he shook them. He also got his very first Thunder shirt! Very exciting... 

Here are some other shots from Easter Sunday at church with Lainey! 

 It was chilly, but he also made it to his first Easter egg hunt. He picked out one blue egg and was fully satisfied. He had a good time watching all the other kids pick up eggs.

And now for the biggest news... Caden learned to walk!

 A couple of days before he turned 10 months, he started to toddle around without holding on. He had been moving around the living room holding on the couch, or using his walking toys for a quite a while. He started to stand without holding on and then all of a sudden, steps! He had taken a couple of steps before at Poppy's office -  but now we can get lots of steps in before falling! It hasn't changed too much around here yet, he could get places just as fast when he crawled, but I'm afraid running is in our near future...  

 The days and weeks are going so quickly these days. He is learning something new all the time and growing by the minute. I love being Caden's mommy!