School's Out for the Summer

Wowza. Kaden has been out of school for 2 weeks now! I think we are both eagerly waiting for camp to start at the beginning of July. In the meantime, we have been staying busy with some planned activities to the zoo, gymnastics, story times, puppet shows and the library. We are going to try some splash parks, Jump Street and maybe a movie or two in the upcoming weeks. I'm having a good time getting out of the house with both the boys, but it is really a lot of work. The doctor recommended that I put Cam down for a nap twice a day, but that doesn't work AT ALL with trying to get out of the house in the morning. So about 2 weeks ago, I cut out Cam's morning nap. He had been fighting his morning nap anyway and most days didn't fall asleep at all. By the time the afternoon nap comes around, he is READY. I have also been taking a few workout classes and leaving the boys in the day care. Cam LOVES it there with so much to do and play with. Kaden was hesitant, but that's just Kaden. He didn't cry, however; and has warmed up to the idea by now.

Kaden has actually been a good little boy lately. He went through a little spurt where I wasn't quite sure what he was trying to prove, but now he's been a sweet, polite and helpful little boy. He still cracks me up daily with the things he says:

Me: Kaden do you want to go on a wagon ride?
Kaden: No
Me: Well, what do you want to do?
Kaden: I want to hit this city (From Ke$ha, Tik-Tok, in case you were wondering)

Nic and I were teasing Kaden about dropping him off at Home Depot and having the "scary lady" who works there babysit him. Kaden said, "Don't Daddy, the lady at Home Depot freaks me out."

Kaden's been a great teacher to Cam. The other day they were standing looking out of the window together and Cam babbled something and pointed out the window. Kaden said, "yeah, Cam, that's the window!" They are starting to have FUN together... cracking each other up!

Cam. Cam, Cam, Cam. He had been a GROUCH all last week and I got worried that something wasn't right. Nic took him to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon and, as bad as it sounds, I was praying for an ear infection to explain his mood. Well, I was praying for some kind of prescription that would fix his mood. Turns out, he's fine. No prescription needed. Just maybe some kind of weird attachment disorder to me. He is overly attached. He is completely fine around Nic... doesn't make a peep. And then when I get home, he cries, screams and fusses if I'm not holding him. It is sweet, but it's so hard to deal with every single day. New plan: quality time with Dad. I don't think Cam knows how fun Nic is yet. Hopefully he will learn... SOON!!

Along with the attachment stuff, Cam is eating poorly. It's worrying me to no end and I'm tired of hearing that he'll eat when he's hungry. I NEVER worried about Kaden eating and this is something completely new to me. He's picky about texture, and the things he was eating (yogurt, grilled cheese, etc) he's not eating anymore. Never a dull moment!

I think Cam finally lost the walking battle. He's been balanced, steady on his feet and able to take steps for almost 3 months now. Last week he stood on mulch, crouched down, picked it up and stood up over and over... I was thinking, seriously kid... if you can do that, you can certainly take a step!! But whenever we "made" him walk, he would get MAD! This week he has started walking from here to there on his own, no forcing and he's very proud of himself. He still is crawling quite a bit but hopefully in the next few weeks he'll realize he's a lot faster on his feet.

I quit nursing Cam last weekend. That last time is always hard for me, but we got through it. Tomorrow we'll use our last frozen bag of milk, which we've been putting in a sippy cup mixed with whole milk for the past couple of weeks. Almost 14months! I'm proud of myself for it honestly, and I'm so thankful to Nic being so supportive from day 1. I honestly couldn't have done it as long as I did without his encouragement and support. He's a good hubby :)

So between all the frustrations with Cam's eating and being attached, along with the emotions of finishing nursing and him finally walking, I'm honestly drained. I'd take a trip to the beach, any day now please!!!

Mommy/Cam snuggle time before bed. One of the rare times he has fallen asleep on me!

Buds

A trip to the zoo with Alyssa

Trouble

Menace

Snuggle time

Lately

Memorial Day at the pool

Our best attempt at a family picture

Chillin'

3

I'm finding 3 a hard age!!!!

...Just sayin'...

Goings on and an almost 13-month update

I feel like a lot has gone on at our house lately, but when I sit to write it all down, I can't think of a thing.

The school year is wrapping up for Kaden and he will have 6 or 7 weeks of school until camp begins. Help!! I enjoy my time with the boys, but Kaden is definitely at an age that he needs to be doing something, and 6-7 weeks sounds like a long time with no definite activities planned. We had teacher conferences last week and it went very well. I loved hearing that Kaden loves to paint and do art projects. His self portrait was amazing. Too good for a 3 year old (in my opinion!)! They also told us a story of how, during their dinosaur unit, they gave the kids a picture of a bracheosaurus to paint. Typically the kids paint, and they have a picture they use to trace around the painting and cut it out (so it looks like what was supposed to be painted). His teachers said that Kaden painted his so well and that it looked so much like the example, they used his to trace around the other kids' paintings! I was definitely proud and would love if Kaden inherited some creative genes! Besides art, they told us that Kaden has grown up a lot this year, and has gotten more comfortable in class. They are not seeing the hesitation with him that they saw at the beginning of the year, which makes me so happy. That's the one reason we started him in school when we did!!

Here's a self portrait of Kaden that he drew in December:


And here's the self portrait he drew last month!! Look at the detail!


And here's his bracheosaurus:


We took the boys to the zoo a couple of weekends ago. Kaden pointed out a cheetah, a jaguar (which was actually an osolet, but close enough) and flamingos! Is it bad, as a parent, when you stop and say... where did he learn that??

Kaden has such a great sense of humor. He knows what to say to make you laugh and has hilarious jokes. He sings all day. He sings real songs, and he sings songs that he makes up. He has such a great imagination.

Kaden also has such a sweet heart. He cares so much for the people he loves and he is great about showing how he feels.

Cam is getting sweeter by the minute. He is babbling more than he used to and pointing at everything around him. He seems curious to know what things are. Cam has a good list of words by now, although he doesn't use them too often. He can and has said:
mama
dada
me (hand on his chest, saying eeee!)
all done (ah)
up
Pop
Papa
uh-oh
cheese (eese)
yogurt (signs yogurt and says something like blahlahlah... but we know he wants
yogurt :) )
slone- his baby seal (th)
woof
meow (more like a screetch)
the sound an elephant makes

Cam is STILL not walking on his own although he has been able to walk for close to 2 months. What I mean by that is he has taken up to 10 steps on his own (of course, when we make him, not voluntarily). He has lost and caught his balance mid-step, he has squatted down and stood back up on his own... but he's still not walking!! These boys of mine! What am I going to do with them!!!

Most days, Cam goes down for 2 naps, but only sleeps during one of them. The doctor said to continue to put him down for 2 naps and let him "rest" in his crib when he's not sleeping. We will continue to do this, but I imagine over the next few months we will drop his morning nap and just put him down in the afternoon. The reason I am putting this off is because without a morning nap, he will have to make it until 1:30 when we get home from getting Kaden from school. That's a LONG morning... so I'm trying to wait until he is a bit older and will tolerate it better.

Eating has gotten slightly better. He tests every single bite of food with his finger first before he puts it in his mouth. If he can squish it, he will throw it off his tray. I'm trying to make foods more crispy in hopes that he will eat them better. He still loves yogurt. He will eat grilled cheese, spinach patties, any kind of cracker, apple slices, cheese (only Kraft singles), bagel with cream cheese, cheerios or kix, pureed fruit and those squirty packets of pureed fruit/veggies mixed together. He has not been a good meat eater but we've gotten him to eat turkey meat balls and turkey hot dogs. So.... it's getting better. He is drinking milk out of a sippy cup with a straw. He gets a bottle of milk before his nap and I nurse him before bed. Within the next couple of weeks I imagine I will be done nursing. I'm sad to let go of it because it has been such a bonding time for the two of us. Now that he drinking milk better during meals, we will also drop the bottle before his nap and be done with bottles. Bittersweet. My baby is growing up!

Cam is definitely attached to a little white seal pup named Baby Slone. He now takes him to bed with him and holds him most of the day. He also loves Big Slone, but he hardly fits in the crib with Cam, so they mostly snuggle on the floor together.

Cam has some great fine motor skills. He has used a finger to thumb pinch for several months now and he's quite efficient picking things up, even small pegs on a puzzle. He pets Baby Slone this way too.

Cam loves to play Peek-a-boo and Patty cake; he waves bye, blows kisses, kisses Baby Slone and claps for himself. He knows where his head is, and I'm pretty sure he knows where my eyes and nose are... the finger in the eye and up the nostril give that away!

I love my boys. They are a great gift and I'm so proud to be their Mommy.

Pictures

Just a few random pictures I just uploaded.

Boys Being Boys

I put Cam in the walker today just so he wouldn't destroy Kaden's puzzle he was working on. I honestly didn't think he would tolerate it for very long. Next thing I know... he's giving out free rides! Strong little pup!

1 year old!!!

Happy First Birthday to my little Cam-bone!

We had a wonderful birthday week and feel so blessed to have gotten to celebrate Cam's birthday with so much of our family!

On Thursday, Cam's actual birthday, my Dad and Pam came in town. My Grandma and Grandpa, and Auntie Jane and Uncle Mike came in town on Friday. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew, along with Nic's parents came for the party on Saturday. Cam's first birthday party was on Saturday and it was a great day!
















The party was perfect... we played outside, had lunch, ate cake and opened presents! Cam loved spending time with family and it was so great to have everyone together!

We went to the doctor yesterday and here are the stats:
Length: 30 7/8 inches- 80th percentile
Weight: 21 pounds, 15.5 oz- 40th percentile

This is the first time since Cam was born that he was shorter (only by 1/8 inch) than Kaden. He weighs about half a pound less than Kaden did at this age as well.

At one year old, Cam:
-Loves his morning nap, but lately hasn't been into his afternoon nap. The doctor said to keep putting him down in the afternoon so that at least he (and I) can have some restful time
-Wears size 4 diapers
-Is wearing 12-18 month clothes
-Has 2 top teeth cutting through! Finally!
-Signs "eat" and "more" pretty regularly
-Signs "yogurt," "cereal," and "cheese" occasionally
-Is still a very picky eater. He loves yogurt, crackers and cereal. Everything else is hit or miss. Sometimes I can't even get him to try certain foods... like birthday cake!! The doctor said to start him on a multi-vitamin and try not to stress. If he is still picky at 18 months, we may consult with a feeding specialist.
-Tests all food with his finger first. If he can squish it, he won't eat it.
-Stands up on anything
-Cruises around quickly
-Still stands up by himself when he doesn't realize you've let go. When he realizes he is doing this on his own, he lowers himself down
-Can walk holding on with one hand
-Has taken 7 steps by himself... when forced to. Will not walk on his own!! Just like your brother!
-Loves the bath and usually holds a penguin friend in the tub
-Says "up," "mama," "papa," "pop" and "ooo ooo."
-Has a few tricks- What does an elephant do? What does Grandma do?
-Plays peekaboo and pattycake
-Claps when you say yay!
-Gives high five
-Waves bye
-Blows kisses
-Barks whenever he hears a dog bark
-Knows where my nose is when asked
-Still LOVES being out of the house
-Loves to open and close doors, drawers and cabinets
-Loves to put things inside boxes or bags and then take them out again
-He smiles and laughs all the time but can be very serious too
-Still plays independently but would let you hold him all day
-Loves to sit in the middle of Kaden's puzzles
-When you ask who's that cute little boy (in a picture) sometimes he puts his hand on his chest and says "EEE!" [me!]
-Is starting to point at things
-Loves being outside
-Sits on his knees a lot
-Will go to anyone he is comfortable with, but does so cautiously.
-Is still rear facing in the car and looks over at Kaden the entire car ride
-Loves to climb up the slide on our swing set and likes to slide down
-Has started to snuggle more when I rock him to sleep
-Always sleeps on his belly, and sometimes he puts one arm around the bumper
-Likes to sit in Roxy's crate, open and close the door, come out, knock something of Kaden's over, and then go back in the crate

Dear Cam,
I am so proud of the little boy you have become. You are so sweet, yet you can be serious. You are cuddly and lovable, yet you can be independent. You have a funny sense of humor but you have your very own personality. I love to watch you and Kaden interact and I love how much you adore him. You are trouble, but I don't seem to mind! I'd do anything for you. I love you more than I thought possible!! Happy birthday, baby boy!! And many, many, many more!

More Funnies

I haven't been all that good about writing down the funny things Kaden says so I am going to try to as I remember!

Kaden told my mom on Wednesday: "I have 2 houses and an apartment. Literally, 2 houses."

Literally? Really? That literally cracks me up!

The other day in the bath tub Kaden put his finger in Cam's mouth and then in his best British accent said, "Charlie, you bit my finga... and that really hurt!"

Kaden is learning about dinosaurs this week in school. Eric asked him what his favorite dinosaur was and he said, "an aunasnorus."

Kaden asks why about everything and has for quite some time. There are definitely days that it wears on me. The other day I told him that he couldn't ask why anymore for the rest of the day. He then asked, "After I go to sleep and wake up, then can I say why again?"

I love how much he cares. Every time we go by our new fence (that Nic built), he says, "Wow, our fence looks so nice." On a walk yesterday he pointed at a house being built and said, "They have done so much to that house. It looks so nice."

Crazy, funny little Boo- I love you!!