All the photos from this month were included in the Holland post. I’ve pulled out a few of my favorites to repost, but they are repeats.
September we spent three weeks in Europe. We had a fabulous time and most of the updates I have for this month center on what happened over there. =)
Caden’s biggest accomplishment is learning how to ride a bicycle! He’d expressed some interest in Kamy’s bike at home but since we had taken the training wheels off her bicycle, he couldn’t really do much with it. As soon as we got to Great Oma’s house though, he wanted to ride. The bicycles were sitting on the patio and both kids were constantly going out to ride around (and hence didn’t always have their helmets on, as in the photos. They had to wear the helmets if we went anywhere else). The first several days he rolled around on the blue bike that Kamy was using — sitting on the back rack and just pushing with his feet on the ground. He figured out how to steer and turn around this way. Once we lowered the seat a little, he figured out how to peddle. Of course, then we ran into the problem of having only one bike for two kids! They actually did really good sharing, but Oma was able to get a second bicycle from the rummage sale the first weekend we were there, solving that problem. By the time we headed home, Caden was very proficient! Arguably he is better at steering than Kamy too, and he was very good about avoiding obstacles and people’s feet while biking on the patio.
Caden remains a magnet for mosquitoes and bugs in general. His poor legs and arms were covered with sores when we came home. He has a nasty habit of scratching until he bleeds and picking off the scabs, so it took a while to get him all healed back up. Poor buddy — you and Regine have a rough time with those pesky insects.
At home, we have a new consequence for not taking care of business. We haven’t been forcing potty training, but opting to pee in places other than the diaper or potty is not acceptable. Since both our kids are super patient, flexible, and capable of entertaining themselves for extended periods of time, 5 minutes in their room is totally ineffective as a punishment. Instead we have been pulling in the car seat and doing a hour penalty, strapped in, looking at the corner. Caden was the first to intentionally try out the consequences and was happy as a clam for the first 45 minutes. It wasn’t until the hour was nearly over that he decided he was done and wanted out. Not that this was the sole time the car seat has been deployed, but it has seemed to cut down on the “pee in the hat or tea cup” mentality that was cropping up on occasion. =P For the first couple of weeks, when either would be caught, I’d hear, “Oh no, time to do a penalty!” … said with a smile. I think the novelty has worn off by now though!
Lastly, Caden is such a goofy boy! He has the funniest little personality and he loves to make himself laugh. He’ll say something he thinks is funny and promptly start laughing at himself. He has a cute, little staccato laugh, “Huh huh … huh … huh huh huh.” It makes me laugh just watching him laugh.
We love you LOTS!