Caden – 14 Months

Caden’s been very busy this month!  Four weeks just fly by and without my running notes to remember what he learned, I’d be lost when it came time to write these blog posts.

• Books are still the world’s greatest for Mr. Caden.  He loves to read books and is constantly bringing them to me.  I’ll read a book two times before sending him back to his book bucket to pick out another one.  I’ll often end up with a stack of eight or ten books by the time we are done reading.  Caden also likes to climb into his book bucket and sit there to read to himself if I’m working on something else.

• Caden is starting to hit the stage where he picks up a new word almost daily.  He has always mimicked a lot, but he is quickly learning new words and using them in context.  It is so amazing to watch him learn and I love to hear him talk.  New for this month include goat, yes, bell, rock, milk, horse, dog, bath, and please.  Please (prs) was a big one this month, as we have him use it all the time when he wants something.  Now when he wants something he says “boop or up prs.”  He is learning how to put two words together and will attempt to say “thank you” and “good boy.”  For the time being, his enunciation leaves a bit to be desired.  =P  He is not as articulate and careful about the sounds he makes, so you really have to pay attention to the context to figure out what he is saying … unless he’s saying up, down, please, or bath.  Those are extremely clear!  One of his more unusual pronunciations is milk (gahpkt).  It sounds nothing like milk, but at least we know what he is asking for!  His current version of thank you is “dut duh,” so he is really copying the inflection we use and how we say it rather than the syllables themselves.

• In conjunction with learning new words, he is definitely understanding more of what we say to (and around) him.  He understands more than I tend to give him credit for, and periodically he will surprise me with how much he catches.  I was talking to Kamy one morning and she was asking where Daddy was.  I told her that Daddy was still in bed sleeping.  Next thing I know, Caden has walked down the hall and is knocking on our bedroom door.  Silly boy — I didn’t ask you to go get him and I wasn’t even talking to you!  It was pretty funny when Daddy got up later that morning and asked if someone was knocking on the door.  =)

• Daddy and Caden have been doing a call and answer game for the last couple of months, but it is on the way out.  Keller would say “Ca-Den” and he’d reply back with “Da DA.”  It was really cute and one of Daddy’s favorite games.  Caden will still do it a little bit, but he has to start the call and answer, not Daddy.  This is not a great clip of it, but it’s the best one we have.  Caden’s response is a bit delayed but you can get the general idea.  Yet another reminder that those little things will not stay around for long and we need to get it on video sooner rather than later, because there might not be a later.

• Caden has learned how to clap.  It is a bit late for this developmental milestone, but we never really worked on it with him, so that’s more on me than Caden.  Now anytime someone says “yay” (or he hears it in a movie) he will clap!  Min was trying to teach him how to say her name and at one point Caden thought “Min” meant to clap because she clapped for him each time he tried to say it.  It was so cute!

• His dexterity has gotten better this month as well.  He can be more careful about grabbing and placing items and can stack three blocks on top of each other in a little tower.  They get immediately knocked down, so I’m not sure if he can do four or not.  Lol!

• One of his new favorite things is to use a fork at meal time.  He is remarkably good at it and has learned how to stab food with his fork and put it in his mouth.  He still needs a little help, particularly with things that do not stab very well, but he is getting much better.  Initially he spent more time playing with the fork and pushing food around rather than actually eating so I was reluctant to give him a fork very often.  Now that he is focusing a bit more, he gets a fork pretty consistently.  It makes him so happy and he is so proud of himself!

• One of MY favorite new tricks is giving kisses.  If you ask for a kiss and then pucker your lips at him, he will lean in, plant his lips on yours, and then immediately say “dut duh.”  (We always say thank you when he gives us kisses, so he just assumes the two go together.)  It makes me smile every time he does it!

• Caden had his first overnight stay with Oma while we took our trip to NYC.  He did great and had such a fun time with Oma and Opa!  He has had the longest overnight visit so far — we have only left Kamy for one night, so leaving him for five days was a little hard for this Momma.  I’m so glad it went well!

• Caden has figured out how to work light switches.  He will happily amuse himself for five minutes or longer if you are willing to hold him next to a switch plate that long.  He loves the concept of cause and effect and will wear you out experimenting with different combinations of the same task.

• Someone in our house is particularly stubborn.  I’ve talked before about his disregard for the basic rules in our house.  For the Christmas season, we added a new one — don’t play with the ornaments on the Christmas tree.  I realize the tree is sparkly and shiny and some ornaments are right at his eye level, but they’re still not allowed.  Poor boy, they are just too tempting for him sometimes.  There were days that he’d be put in his room literally ten times for messing with the tree.  It is not a lack of understanding either — I lost track of the number of times Caden would come to me while I was in the kitchen, holding an ornament he had pulled off, saying “uh oh.”  Yep, uh oh is right buddy.  Or you could watch him debating about touching the tree, give him a warning, he’d say “uh oh,” and reach for it anyway.  If you stood up to come get him, he would turn his little tail around and hurry off as fast as his little legs would carry him.  He is not a fan of being in his room by himself, but clearly that alone is not a sufficient deterrent for my little stubborn boy.  =)

•  Caden is learning how to turn up the drama when he doesn’t get what he wants.  We are trying really hard to make sure the pitiful drama monster does not work, but sometimes it is hard not to just laugh at him.  He loves to be outside and to take baths, and he gets so excited if he thinks you’re going to let him do either.  However, if you don’t let him do it, he turns on the water works.  He will burst in to tears if you close the door before he can scoot out or if you close him out of the bathroom while you take a shower.  If he wants to go outside, Caden will even bring you one of his shoes and say “prs.”  It is really sweet, but he would spend all of his waking hours outside if you let him.

Caden is at such a fun age right now.  The world is magic and he is learning something new almost every day.  He loves to be held, to read books, and to spend time with you.  He is getting more independent and can amuse himself while I take care of things around the house.  He smiles and laughs and plays all day long.  Caden is such a treasure and I love watching his little goofy personality develop.  I love our little boy!