18 months!!

My sweet Caden, I cannot believe you are already 18 months old!! Time has been flying by and you are beginning to look more and more like a little boy every day and less like a baby. You are so much fun and keep me laughing all day!!

You have started talking more over the past few weeks. We were driving to town a few days ago and you said "hi mama" in the sweetest voice. That was your first short sentence. Your favorite words that you say all day every day are: daddy, mama, hat, dog, cheese, Jesus (sounds like geez), horse (ho), and pop. You are saying other words throughout the day but those are the most consistent.

 

You are becoming more picky in your eating habits but for the most part will eat whatever we give you. You main issue when eating is that you want to feed yourself. A few of your favorite foods right now are oatmeal, strawberry wafflers, hot dogs, chicken and rise, green beans, chicken, applesauce and soy yogurt. You love milk (which is actually Silk) and drink 3 cups a day. You also drink 1 or 2 cups of water a day with a tiny drop of Mio for some flavor.

 

You haven't had your well check appointment yet so I am not positive on your height and weight but it is somewhere around 27.5lbs and 32 inches tall. You are wearing mostly 18-24 month sizes with an occasional 2T thrown in the mix. You shoe size is a 6-7. You are wearing size 4 diapers. You have some really curly hair! We get compliments everywhere we go about how pretty your hair is. You have had 3 haircuts and it continues to grow back curly every time. You have all of your teeth except your 2 year (back) molars. You have had all your teeth since you were 14 months old.

Caden you have quite the personality! You are very strong willed. You want what you want, when you want it. But you are also such a sweetheart and you love your mama. You bring me your books to read all day long. We read over and over. You know the titles to most of your books and I can ask you to bring me a certain one and 9 times out of 10 you bring it to me. 

Your sleeping habits have been inconsistent lately but for the most part you go to bed at 8:30 and wake up anywhere from 7:30 to 9. You normally take a nap from 1 until 3:30ish. You are so good at putting yourself to sleep. Unfortunately you have been sick a lot of the past 3 weeks. Today we are getting over your 4th stomach virus since Thanksgiving.

You also HATE baths. You start crying from the time you hear the word bath and you do not stop until you are out and completely dried off with pajamas on. We aren't sure where this change came from but are hoping its just a phase.

Sweet boy, I am still amazed every day that you are mine and I love you so much. I feel like the luckiest mom ever. You have brought such joy to my life. You sweet smile can brighten any day and there are some nights I go and pick you up while you are sleeping and I hold you and rock you.I try to cherish every single day because you are growing so fast. I love you Caden Andrew- xoxo

An unintended break

I did not intend on taking such a break from blogging but life has been incredibly busy. Caden has been learning and growing so much over the past few weeks. He's saying new words everyday. He is still a mama's boy (which I LOVE!) The time change has messed with his sleep schedule over the past week so he has been waking up between 6:30 and 7. I don't love this but hoping his body will adjust sooner rather than later.

Caden loves books. I mean LOVES them. I bet we spend 75% of his waking hours sitting in a chair (covered up by a blanket... or 3) reading book after book. This is the only time I can get him to sit still. He also loves hats. He says the word 100 times a day and points out every single person he see's wearing a hat, especially cowboy hats.

We also had a fun filled Halloween at the Great Pumpkin party at my parents church. I think he was the cutest little Mickey Mouse I've ever seen!

He's also gotten very curious with his toys. His new favorite for the week is his little people Noah's Ark.

And finally he loves going to visit Pop at work! Anytime we go, we have to visit the horse! Caden is in love!

And Caden has given Nana & Pop that sweet smile enough that I think there is a good chance he will get to take the horse home with him for Christmas!! Only if we keep it at their house though!!

15 months

Caden turned 15 months old on September 23rd. He has grown so much over the past few months and seems he is doing something new every single day! He is a VERY ACTIVE little guy! He rarely sits still and I cherish every moment I can when I can get him to stop for a moment. He runs from room to room and will dig in everything possible. He is starting to "talk" a lot and has a language all his own. Although he has recently started saying more words which include mama, daddy, dog, duck, hat, nana, pop, trash, ice, Jesus (sounds like geez), and deer.

He follows instructions very well (and when I say "very well" he follows instructions when he WANTS to. I have a very strong-willed little boy so if he doesn't want to do something he will not willingly do it.) But if we ask him to go get a certain book he runs and gets it and bring it back smiling and ready to read it! Speaking of reading, he FINALLY started wanting us to read to him. Sometimes we can only get a few pages read before he is off for the next activity but this is progress!

Caden is very much a mama's boy and I love, love, LOVE this!! Don't get me wrong, he loves his daddy but if he is sad or wants something he comes straight to me! He is my little side-kick. We run errands every Wednesday and Friday morning and we just chat it up walking around the grocery store! I get comments on his curly hair everywhere we go!

Caden is a good sleeper. He normally goes to bed at 8:30 every night and wakes up anywhere between 7:30-8:30 the next morning. He has also become a pro napper lately and takes 2 1/2-3 1/2 hour naps a few times a week but normally always at least 2 hours. He will not let me rock him to sleep. I put him in his crib while he is wide awake and he is usually asleep within 10 minutes. Caden's eating habits are really good. He still loves to eat and will eat anything I put in front of him. He prefers to feed himself but if we are short on time then he will let me feed him. He drinks 3 cups of milk (Silk) a day and has 2-3 cups of water that is squirted with a tiny drop of Mio to give it some flavor.

Caden Andrew, at 15 months you are:

• Weighing 27lbs & 31 inches tall
• Size 4 diapers
• Wearing mostly 18-24 month clothes
• Size 6 shoes
• Eating very well- all table foods that we eat
• Love Nana & Pop's dogs (Lacie is your favorite)
• Love climbing up and down on our fireplace. You do this over and over all day
• Not interested in TV except Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and you only watch while the music parts are on (You dance along with the "Hotdog Dance")
• Very attached to your binky. We try to limit it to sleep times only
• Sleep with baby boo every night (stuffed dog that plays a lullaby)
• Love being outside. You cry whenever we bring you inside
• Have recently started taking your own diaper off so we must have shorts on you at all times!!
• Were a "ring bearer" in your first wedding last weekend for Aunt KK. You were adorable and did so good!! Daddy and I were so proud of you!

 My sweet Caden, I fall more in love with you every second of every day. You light up my life and bring me such joy. You have such a sweet personality while being so strong-willed at the same time. You love your mama and daddy and love giving us big open mouth kisses. We take them every opportunity we get! I thank God every day for choosing me to be your mom. I'm the luckiest mom in the world! XOXO, I love you sweet baby!

Fun times

We've had some fun times around the Kerr household lately. 

Caden got "caught" speeding around the house. 

Dad! I can explain!

This little guy also LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse! It's the only time he will sit still!

Dad's also teaching him to grill!

And he loves wearing his baseball hat!!

First Day of School

I seem to be a week behind in all of my posts. But I want to make sure I post them so I can look back later and know details of things that have gone on in our life.

Last Thursday was Caden's first day moving up to the "bigger kid class" at Mother's Day Out.

 To be perfectly honest I didn't have a great feeling about it. Caden is at an in between age. He is too big for the baby class which now has 3 and 4 months old so they were moving him up to the 18-24 month class. When I took him I talked with his teacher and expressed some of my concerns. He doesn't "hold hands" while walking anywhere so I was worried about him going to the playground. I was concerned about him playing on a playground without me being there. He was expected to sit in a small chair and eat lunch around a table and take a nap on a mat on the floor. I thought maybe I was bring too over-protective so I left him. I got a phone call an hour and a half later telling me he had fallen off the jungle gym but "he was okay", they just wanted me to know.

 Needless to say, after a few other things happening that day, it was Caden's first and last day at Mother's Day Out, at least for now. We have decided to pull him out because although he is as big as the other kids his motor skills just aren't there yet. But maybe next semester he'll go back because he really seemed to love the interaction with all the other kids!!

Family Fun Day

It's no secret that I hate it when Matt works nights. I don't sleep well at all... I just don't like being here without him. But the good thing with his new schedule is that he is off every other weekend. We have NEVER had whole weekends together so this has been such a treat for Caden and I!! I'm a little late posting this but we had a family fun Saturday and we had a blast!! And a very tired little boy at the end of the day!

We started with a drive around the neighborhood. 

Then decided to play with our water table and swimming pool. Caden thinks it is more fun to run around and find all the dirt he can though!!

We also had to visit with Nana and Pop's dogs!!

Matt managed to catch him briefly for a picture!

After all the fun outside we went inside to cool off and play some hide and seek!! Caden decided to wear his baseball cap for our game!! I also couldn't catch him long enough to put a shirt on him!

Then we grilled hotdogs for lunch. Shortly after, I gave Caden his milk and he passed out while I was rocking him! And this NEVER happens anymore. As soon as he turned 1 he stopped letting me rock him to sleep so this was a very special treat for me! So special that we took a picture! Ha!

Once he woke up we played around the house and then had dinner with my parents. Then we took Caden to the playground and he had a blast!! He wanted to slide over and over again! He isn't scared of anything!!!

 And he was all smiles while he was swinging too! The higher we would swing him, the more he would squeal!

It was such a fabulous day spend with my favorite people!! The smile on Caden's face can and does absolutely melt my heart. His giggle is to die for! I am the luckiest mommy ever!

Silly Boy

Life is busy. Matt's schedule has changed so he is back to the night shift for awhile. Sigh. I'm not a fan. Neither is Caden. I don't think either of us is used to him not being home with us every night. But we are making the best of it and we are so thankful that Matt is such a hard sleeper and can sleep through us playing all over the house while he sleeps during the day!!

Caden is learning and doing new things every week. Over the past week he has discovered climbing. Right now he climbs up our rock fireplace and gets so excited once he is standing on the ledge! He also has no fears. The higher we swing him, the faster we push him and the more he can hang upside down the better! 

And he has become such the little ham!! He has the cutest little smile he gives me when I ask him to smile!!

Doesn't that just melt your heart?!?! (Sorry for the blur, the camera on my phone isn't the best... obviously)

His favorite time of day is still meal time... and snack time!! I think he wakes up early from his nap some days simply because he knows snack time is next!! And once again gives me his cheesy smile!!

This silly boy has stolen this mama's heart for sure!

Water baby

Caden loves the water. He loves anything to do with water. I am almost positive bath time is his favorite time of day. 

We recently got out his new Bob the tomato water sprinkler. He had a blast!!

He doesn't mind at all when his clothes are soaking wet and he is covered in dirt!

 

Then we took him swimming at our neighbors. He loved his boat and loved being in the water!!

He loves his boat so much he likes to sit in it in the middle of the living room and read his books!!

Mischievous little boy

Caden is more and more fun every day. He is also getting more and more mischievous. His favorite game in his room is to pull out all of his clothes from his dresses. The below picture was done in the amount of time it took my to go throw a dirty diaper away.

He also loves to play in my bowls in the kitchen. He loves to have it all over the kitchen floor and bang them with a spoon or spatula. I promise he has lots and lots of toys!! He would just rather play with mommy's things!

Feeding himself is his new favorite time of day!! In the past I usually fed him with a spoon but lately I have tried letting him become more and more independent.  I love watching him learn and do new things.

Caden also gets very excited while I cook dinner and get it in the oven!! He patiently waits!

And its crazy to think this time last year Caden was so small!!

 And now look at him 1 year later!!!

Hold me mama!

Caden has been fussy lately. And when I say lately, I mean constantly over the past few days. I'm beginning to wonder if he is cutting his 1 year molars. Actually, I did not even realize they cut molars this young, but Shelly mentioned her son cutting his and it caused me to do some research. He's started drooling lately and running a low grade fever but he isn't very willing to let me look in his mouth. He has just been so clingy and fussy. Normally he is always on the go, and never sits still! But over the past 4 days he has let me rock him and has been content spending some of his day in my arms. And he is always reaching up for me to hold him. I love that he wants to be with me all of the time but it was definitely difficult to get anything done that I couldn't do holding a baby!

Matt was out of town this weekend so Caden and I spent lots of time together, just the 2 of us. I had forgotten how tiresome it is when he is so fussy and I don't have Matt's help to count on. But we rocked and played with his toys and rocked some more. We also swung upside down and threw Caden on the bed. He loved it!! And he giggles so hard while he's hanging upside down! His little laugh just melts my heart every single time.

Caden normally only takes 1 nap a day, anywhere from 2-3 hours but on Sunday he took 2 naps. That morning we didn't go to church since he had fever so we were rocking and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (the only TV show that will actually hold his attention for a small amount of time) and the next thing I knew Caden was asleep. I was pretty tired myself so I decided to take Caden in my room and we could take a quick nap together. He slept for about 45 minutes and he started moving around. He slowly opened his eyes and I could tell he was confused about where he was. Once he saw me he sat up real quick and looked around, smiled really big and started clapping!! I'd say he was pretty happy to get to nap with mama!

Overall, we had a good weekend but we were both so so happy when Matt drove up!! A certain little boy had a huge grin on his face!!

Birthday Party!

It has been 2 and a half weeks and I am finally sitting down long enough to write all about Caden's birthday party!! Unfortunately I was so busy that I didn't take any pictures with my camera so I was depending on other peoples pictures. I finally managed to remember to get my mom's so I could post some pictures!

We had so much fun and I was so excited for his "big day"!! Caden didn't seem to mind all the attention either!

Caden has such a wonderful birthday party with a lot of his friends and family! All grandparents and great-grandparents were able to make it! Caden'sUncle D & Aunt M came with their sweet girls, Aubrey, Ainslea, and Lyla. This was Caden's first time to meet Lyla and he seemed to like her a lot! 

 Aunt KK came along with his cousin Chloe and her mom Courtney. His friend Buck came with his parents Brian and Christine. Uncle Bobo came along with his mom, sister, and her sweet baby Anniston.

 

My lifelong friend Ashley and her mom came and it meant so much to me! Also my friends Dee and Heather came!! Those 2 girls are some of Caden's favorites!

 Caden had so many gifts to open and he liked to walk around and show what he got!! He got books, clothes, all kinds of toys, and a piggy bank!

Caden's cake turned out perfect!! God has truly blessed some people with amazing abilities and the lady who made his cake is definitely blessed. We loved it!!

Caden also loved his little cake!!

Overall it was such a wonderful day spent with friends and family. It was also such a bittersweet day for this mama. I love that my little guy is growing and healthy but it has gone by so fast. I feel like I say this all the time but time is absolutely flying by. I want to savor every moment and remember detail from every memory we make. I thank God every single day for my family. I am a blessed woman.