Weaning Complete

It's been a rough couple days for us, but Caden is officially weaned! We are a month behind my original ending date, but I'm glad we took the extra time to really ease into it. The first night was the worst and each has gotten a lot better. Tonight he was actually settled down enough to listen to books and I don't think the thought of nursing even crossed his mind. I'm sad that this aspect of our relationship has come to an end, but I'm trying not to dwell on it and focus on how proud I am of him instead. He's really a big boy now!

In other news, I think Caden is really on the brink of learning to talk. He's started repeating a lot of sounds after us, including "da da da da," "mom," and "di di" (diaper). Today I started asking him if he could say ball and you could tell his mouth was forming the word and then he'd get a huge smile and not actually say anything. But he's so close! One of the funniest things now is when we read the book "Yummy Yucky." After every yummy thing we both go "mmmm" and after every yucky think we say "blech." He gets really into the yuckys!

Caden made another friend at Crea's house today. Her name is Evelyn and she's a month or two older than him (but much smaller). This afternoon when we went over Evelyn was sitting on one of the bikes and Caden started pushing her down the sidewalk. He had a gigantic grin while he did it. Then she got off and he followed right along side her and pointed out another bike for her. She got on it and he pushed her again! It was adorable. Then when it was time for her and her sister Ayla (previously called Ava by me by mistake) to leave, Ayla came over and hugged Caden and then he waved at them until they were out of sight. Even Crea pointed out how much more comfortable he seems to feel lately around the other kids.

It's taken forever, but Caden now waves every time we tell him to. Greg said that on their walk last night Caden waved to everyone he saw. When I've been in stores with him he waves at all the cashiers. He's getting good at repeating almost any motion we do. When we were outside earlier I was rubbing my arms and said "ooh, I have shivers." He immediately started doing it too. I guess I better crack open that sign language book and take advantage of his eagerness to learn these days!

Along with the fun stuff, Caden's also been forming some bad habits. Now when he gets angry his first response is always to bite the nearest person or object. I have a huge bruise on my arm from when he bit me at Cub yesterday because I wouldn't give him my wallet while I was paying. Then when he didn't know I was in the room I saw him start wrestling with his cabbage patch doll because it wasn't sitting right on the chair and then he started biting his cheek. He's also started fake crying whenever he thinks it'll serve his purposes. Usually in a store. It has not been fun!

We've had a lot of fun outside the last few days taking advantage of the beautiful weather. It's supposed to rain the next few, however, so I'm looking forward to trying out some indoor activities I've been reading about. I'll let you know how they go!

Nineteen Months Old

Our boy is another month old today! It's amazing how quickly he is growing up.

One of Caden's favorite activities as of late is organizing things. He loves to line up all the shoes by the door and gets very upset if there are more shoes than fit in a line on the rug. This became quite a problem last weekend with most of the grandparents visiting and a lot of extra shoes! He also LOVES taking things out of cupboards and lining them up on the kitchen window ledge and around the table. He's mostly been doing this with my candle cupboard, though occasionally he gets into the baking cupboard and lines up that as well. It's cute how hard he concentrates on getting everything just perfect. But watch out if you think you're going to put something away while he's watching! That immediately starts a full on tantrum!

As the weather has still been nice we're trying to get outside as much as possible. The other day it was a little cooler, but we had a picnic lunch at one of the larger parks in the area. I didn't have much to pack from home so we stopped at Target for our lunch food. Caden ate almost an entire snack container of pickles for his lunch. After eating we tried to play on the playground, but Caden was extremely disturbed by the sand creeping into his sandals. He refused to walk on the ground. But he didn't want to leave either. He was happiest sitting on the giant baseball pictured above.

We haven't had much time to learn many more signs, but a few days ago I did teach him "airplane," "train," and "hear." I'm not really sure if any of the signs are technically correct, they just seemed logical to me. He's been very proud of himself practicing the sign for airplane. He's always on the lookout for them when we're outside.

Around other kids Caden has been getting a lot more possessive. He doesn't seem to be scared of anyone the same size or smaller than him anymore. Parker, the four year old next door, still worries him a little, but he's been holding his ground the last few days. I'm not sure that's a good thing, though. A few days ago I had to grab him before he physically attacked one of the daycare kids for walking near the slide. Yesterday he got right in the face of every kid when they went by the bikes he wanted to ride. This morning he ran at a kid in the park for trying to go on the swing. I'm not really sure how to teach him that not everything belongs to him. We'll just have to keep practicing the art of sharing, I guess.

Every morning when I shower Caden watches a Baby Einstein video. Yesterday I got out of the bathroom without him hearing me and I caught him dancing in front of the tv doing all the actions as the kids in the video to "If You're Happy and You Know it..." It was so adorable! I'm going to start doing more action type songs with him because it seems he's finally old enough to copy the moves.

Well, it's time to get ready to leave for our weekend trip to Beaver Dam. See most of you later!

New Helmet

Caden got a new helmet and he loves it! I ended up ordering a true infant/toddler sized one on amazon that was guaranteed to fit his head size of 19". It's pretty cool because there's a little dial in the back that you just turn to adjust the straps. It's about as easy as can be! Maybe it's because he's seen us wearing helmets a few times now, but he was really excited to wear his. He kept bringing it to me to put on all afternoon! Hopefully tomorrow we'll be able to go on a ride and see how the helmet works in action.

Caden Made Friends

I just thought I'd update on a little breakthrough Caden had this morning when we went to visit Crea and the daycare kids. Caden brought one of his balls over and the oldest kid there not in school, Ava, was really excited. Whenever we're out at the same time as the daycare kids she always runs to the fence to say hi and wave to us. Anyway, I told Caden to throw the ball to Ava and after a little coaxing he did! The other older child, Dalen, ran over and wanted to play catch too. So they made up a little game where Caden would throw the ball and Ava and Dalen would race to get it first. Then they'd run back and hand it to Caden to throw again. Caden thought this game was pretty funny! Pretty soon they were actually playing a real game of catch together. And then Ava thought it would be more fun to throw the ball away from them and all three would race to get it. Caden joined in the fun without any hesitation and was giggling like crazy. Dalen gave up after awhile to play catch with me, but Caden and Ava ran around the yard together for at least twenty minutes. It was really cute. I'm so proud of Caden for finally stepping out of his shell and learning how to have fun with another child! :)

Speech Therapy

This morning we had our speech therapy evaluation. It ended up being more of a discussion with a few simple tests to determine how Caden is doing and how he compares to other children his age. The first test just involved Greg and I answering a bunch of questions about whether or not Caden did or said certain things. For example, "Can he identify four body parts?" Or, "Does he vocalize to get your attention?" That type of thing. The other "test" was more the speech therapist's observations and asking us additional questions. For example, we had to show Caden a sheet of paper with four pictures on it and ask him which one was the cat or whatever. This was one of the last things we did and Caden was getting pretty antsy to leave so he didn't cooperate too well. That's when that test became more of us just answering what we knew Caden could and could not do.

From the tests, the therapist determined that he is right where he needs to be in his receptive language. He hears us, he understands us, he follows directions, he knows objects and actions when we say them to him, etc. Caden is, however, behind in his verbalization considering he doesn't say a single word. The therapist was not concerned, though, because Caden was showing all the signs of being able to talk eventually. He vocalizes everything, he just doesn't use words yet. He also does things like make eye contact when he seems to be asking a question, which is a great segway to real communication.

The therapist said it was great that we're using some sign language and that we should try to use more. So I checked out a book from the library and we can hopefully start learning some more useful things. I thought it was pointless to keep learning the words, but I guess it's not.

Overall, the speech therapist decided that Caden is doing very well right now and just needs little pushes to start talking. He gave us a bunch of handouts to look through filled with ideas to help us play and better communicate with Caden so he'll hopefully start talking back with us. As for right now the therapist is not concerned and said we don't need to come back again. If, however, he's still not talking in six to nine months then it could be a problem and we'd schedule regular sessions. So I guess in the end, this appointment was good for all of us. It helped Greg and I realize that even though Caden's lack of verbalization is frustrating, there's not anything wrong with him. He's just taking his time learning this skill while he focuses so much on other things. The therapist said that we should soon see a language explosion from Caden. Hopefully it'll happen soon!

It's Been Awhile

It's been awhile! Nothing terribly exciting has happened in the last six days, but I'll recap the highlights...

On Wednesday Caden and I went on a tour of the Farmington Maintenance Facility with moms club. I thought it would be really boring, but it was fun to see everything. Caden was really well behaved, walking on his own and holding my hand during most of the tour. I thought the most interesting part of the tour was seeing the inside of the water tower.

I also thought it was fun sitting inside this fire truck. One of the moms informed me this is the first of many times I'd be doing this with kids, however. Caden was a little scared of the whole thing.

After the tour Caden and I took our first bike/trailer ride together. We didn't go far, but it was really enjoyable! I plan on taking him out as much as I can.

On Thursday I really didn't want to go to our ECFE class so we headed to Como Zoo in St. Paul instead. I've been wanting to check it out for months and figured it was as good a day as any to go. Well - my curiosity was satisfied and I don't think I'm ever going back. At least not while Caden is still in a stroller. There were so many school groups there we literally could not move inside the buildings. Then in the sunken garden we were looking at the koi which Caden was really excited about and then the lady supervising the room came and yelled at us for standing too close. When Caden wouldn't step away willingly I had to pick him up and he threw a massive tantrum, even kicking an old lady in the side. We decided to skip the rest of the gardens and head outside, even though it was only about 35 degrees. We didn't have much fun out there, either. At least now I know I'm not missing out on anything. The MN Zoo is enough for me!

After the zoo we stopped at CVS and Caden was once again running wild through the store. Something about drug stores really excites him, I guess. While I was paying for my purchases Caden grabbed a sucker from a box at his level and took off at full speed for the door. I was running after him and yelling NO and he still managed to get out with his stolen candy. I brought it back in and the cashier very curtly thanked me. I guess we'll be using carts at CVS from now on.

On Saturday we went to Owatonna to visit Lexi. We didn't have a specific plan in mind, just wanted to check out the city. We stopped at a bookstore and then walked around downtown. Then we had lunch at Godfather's Pizza. Next we went to the 150,00 sq ft Cabela's. Caden was fascinated by all the taxidermy animals. I, on the other hand, found it quite disturbing. While we were in the area we also went to the Russel Stover outlet store. And we ended our visit at a really beautiful park. Lexi walked in the river while Greg and Caden stood on the sides and threw rocks in the water. It was a great day.

Today Caden woke up incredibly crabby so we decided it would be best to stay home from church. Instead since it was so warm outside we spent a long time playing. We finally set up Caden's t-ball set (a Christmas present). He liked getting Greg's help hitting the ball, though he thought it was more fun to just smack it with his hands after awhile. So far from all of our outdoor playtimes lately it seems that golf and basketball are his favorite sports.

In other updates...Caden's 12th tooth is finally through. He's been sleeping a little better lately at night, though he's only been taking naps about three days a week now. He still has an hour of bedroom time in hopes that he'll eventually fall asleep, but most days, to my dismay, he does not.

We've been really frustrated lately with how little he eats, particularly healthy food. So I've been trying some new things with some success! Both yesterday and today he had two kiwis for breakfast! Today I also gave him grapes for the first time and he LOVED them. He also ate dried cranberries for a snack. Hopefully we can get creative and come up with some more ideas as well.

That's it for now!

18 Month Checkup

Today was Caden's 18 month checkup. He officially weighs 28 lbs, 2 oz. and is 35.5 inches long. His weight is in the 75th percentile and has been for about the last year. His height, however, spiked far above the 100th percentile at this visit! Overall, Caden is healthy and growing as he should be. We talked to the doctor about how he puts his hands over his ears when he eats so she checked those out and said that his ears look perfect and look like he's never had any problem in them. So it must just be something he does out of habit. Everything else looked good too, though Caden definitely showed her his worst side today! He was trying to get out the door and throwing tantrums the entire time. He probably knew that his shots were coming. :( He had to get three today. He also had his blood drawn for a hemoglobin test.

Our biggest concern for the doctor was his lack of speech. She called a few people trying to determine if he should see a speech therapist or a developmental specialist. Because he is developing in every other way on schedule we're going with a speech therapist. Our first appointment is Tuesday, April 13th. I'm anxious to see what that will be like.

After our doctor's appointment we stopped at Target to buy a bike pump and some new sandals for Caden. Then we headed to the zoo! Farm Babies officially opens in April and we wanted to go since we missed the babies last year. It was a beautiful day to walk around and not too crowded yet that early in the morning, but the actual farm babies were kind of disappointing. Most were curled up sleeping and you could barely even see them. So we just walked around. Caden seemed pretty hesitant around the goats. It'll probably take a few visits before he's loving them again. The funniest part about our zoo trip was when Caden started following a little girl around trying to hold her hand. She was only a little bit older than him and didn't even notice, but it was hilarious to us and her dad. He's starting to make moves on the ladies!

We finished our morning with lunch at Old Chicago. Caden was holding up amazingly well after his traumatic morning and we had a great time. The food was delicious!

We expected Caden to be totally knocked out by nap time, but he didn't sleep at all. He must have known when his hour was up because he jumped out of his crib on his own... We both came running. He doesn't appear to have any lasting injuries, but we'll definitely be lowering the crib to its lowest level tonight.

And we finally got the bike trailer set up! Caden put up a HUGE fight when we put him in and tried to get the helmet on. There were neighbors out everywhere staring at us! The second Greg got going, though, he was fine. But the helmet kept falling over his face. I'm going to have to try and look somewhere else for a smaller size. The one I bought was a 3+ and its just too big. So anyway, Greg then went around the cul de sac a few times without the helmet and he seemed to enjoy it. This was his face when he got back, though - like he was in a total trance. I'm hoping to take him on a longer ride tomorrow.

Well, Caden's painful shots and lack of nap are definitely catching up with him. He's been crying for the last half hour straight. Looks like an early night!

Happy Easter

Happy Easter, everyone!

We had a rough start to our day with Caden screaming nonstop from midnight to 3am. Nothing we tried got him back to sleep.Needless to say, we all started the day exhausted. Fortunately, the Easter Bunny came which of course cheered us up! Caden ran right into the living room and straight for his basket. The first thing he grabbed - a foil wrapped chocolate car. Not only did he pick out chocolate, he picked out the largest piece in his basket at first sight! He had to eat a few things before he started looking for his eggs, but once he got going he was really good at it! He found seven eggs hidden in the room filled with candy and little toys.

Caden's basket was also filled with fun things. He got a dvd set of 100 popular children's books. The Easter Bunny thought that would be a good present to help him through the long car rides we have coming up this year. Caden also got a zhu zhu pet, a set of peeping chicks in eggs, four books, some toy cars, various other small toys, and a ton of candy. He was a very happy boy!

At our church the men always put on an Easter breakfast. We've gone the last two years and decided to go again. Caden was pretty full from his candy (and bag of pretzels in the car) and only had a donut hole at church. Greg had an omlet and I had biscuits and sausage. I like doing the church breakfast and having one less meal to worry about. Unfortunately, in hindsight, we probably shouldn't have gone because Caden was already worn out and ready to head home by the time the church service even started. I think this might have been his worst behavior in church to date. Greg and Caden were actually in the sanctuary for about five minutes of the entire service. It was frustrating for all of us. If only Caden could handle the nursery. But week after week he goes in there and we're buzzed to come get him after only minutes. There doesn't seem to be much else we can do.

Back at home we played in the yard for awhile and I got lunch ready. It was kind of a pointless meal, however, since we were all still full from breakfast. Next year I'll have to remember this and plan for a big dinner instead! Anyway, we had family nap time next. It took Caden 45 minutes to fall asleep and then he slept over two hours. Greg of course fell asleep immediately. I've been having tons of sleeping problems lately and was not able to nap at all.

The rest of our day has been fairly laid back. We spent a good amount of time outside. Greg put together our new bike trailer that we bought as an early anniversary present to ourselves. Caden was very curious about the whole process but put up an extreme fit when Greg tried to fit the seatbelts around him! He was screaming at the top of his lungs, slamming his head back and forth as hard as he could, and reaching for me to take him out. The neighbors probably thought we were torturing him. Anyway, once we finally got everything fit Greg grabbed the trailer and pulled Caden around the yard a few times. In seconds he was smiling and laughing. Then we went to go set it up on the bike but found we need air in the tires. Since we don't have a bike pump the rest of this trailer story will have to wait for another day!

Well, that has been our Easter! I hope everyone else enjoyed their day too!