July was a busy month for Mr. Caden. Both his fine motor skills and his speech have improved dramatically.
- Caden’s vocabulary has grown by leaps and bounds this month! It amazes me how quickly he picks up new words and learns how to use them in context. We have been focusing on learning how to use phrases correctly and not just rely on single words to tell us what he wants. He needs to say “may ___ peas” when he requests something.
- Probably the most dramatic use of his new vocabulary came one afternoon while we were out and about. I ran into the grocery store and left the kids and Daddy in the car while I grabbed something for lunch. When I got back into the car and we pulled out of the parking lot, Caden absolutely lost it! He immediately burst into tears, screaming “rong way, rong way!” over and over again. He wanted to go into the grocery store and that was the only way he could figure out how to tell us. It was mighty pitiful (and pretty hilarious too, though we tried hard not to laugh). He made it all the way back home before he calmed down. Poor baby, it’s hard sometimes when you don’t get what you want. That was also his first true tantrum, so we’ll see how common those become. He is almost two after all!
- One of Min’s favorite phrases comes at the end of a meal. Caden (like Kamy) must ask to be excused from the table before he can get down. It’s pretty cute!
- Caden also goofs around at the table sometimes. He will slide his legs through the back of the chair and say “stuuuuck” and laugh. He did actually get stuck once but it’s just a game now. Of course my prompt reply is “You’re not stuck” and he says “not stuck” and climbs back up. Silly boy!
- Caden remains a great eater. He really likes veggies and will usually pick the toppings off his pizza to eat and leave the crust behind. Kamy pulls everything off and just eats the crust, so I guess between the two of them we have a complete meal. =P Caden’s my little veggie eater. He also loves dips of all kinds — even spicy foods. He will eat sour cream, ranch, and salsa straight if you let him. Left to his own devices he comes up with some unusual combinations — grapes dipped in salsa, pineapple dipped in ranch. For whatever reason fruit seems to be fair game for any dip. He’s particularly fond of salsa; the hotter the better.
- Speaking of meals, Caden skipped his first dinner this month. He was sent to his room for breaking a rule, and while in there he pulled all his clothes out of his dresser. I told him he could come out once his room was picked up. Rather than picking up though, he spent the next two hours messing around in his room and doing everything except picking up. He completely ignored my encouragement and had no interest in putting his clothes away. He made it all the way to bedtime and was rather disappointed when it was still time to go to bed — despite his room being a mess. Of course as soon as I put him in his bed he was desperately trying to climb out crying “pick up ‘oom, pick up ‘oom!” No silly boy, you had plenty of time to actually do it. I ended up putting his clothes away before I left his room so we’d be starting the next day with a clean slate. Silly boy — he’s testing me already!
- Caden’s fine motor skills are definitely improving. He’s starting to show an interest in the stacks of puzzles we had for Kamy and will pull them out to play with by himself. We haven’t really worked on them very much since he wasn’t nearly as interested as Kamy was as a toddler. He knows where all the pieces go and can put 4 or 5 different puzzles together simultaneously if the pieces are all mixed together. Caden also will pull the laces through lacing cards and will fiddle with them for quite a while in the car before losing interest. He has learned how to zip the zippers and snap the snaps on his jammies at bed time too. Little pieces don’t bother him, though he does get frustrated fairly easily when trying to do something that requires dexterity.
- Caden is still a climber. He is all over the boxes we packed to clean out the house and will hunt down his stool or use other boxes to help him climb on something. Both kids love to stand on top of the blue couch and look out the window.
- They are always coming up with new games to play. I believe this is called “Around the Real Ranch,” where ever that came from. =P If you listen closely you’ll hear Caden counting along with Kamy. And speaking of fine motor skills, apparently his ‘walking on pillows’ skill needs improvement. Lol!
I am so proud of my little man. He is such a loving, sweet, precious little boy and I am so blessed to be his Momma. He makes me smile every day and brings so much joy with his little personality.
