So my little baby boy is not so little any more. I cannot believe he’s already one! Oh my goodness, where did the last year go? I still distinctly remember him being born (and all that came with it, thanks to a natural childbirth experience), so my mind has a hard time believing it’s been twelve months. It makes me sad to see my little baby becoming not-so-baby.
- Caden’s curiosity continues to grow! He is fascinated by anything that moves … and everything that Kamy does. He watches her like a hawk and I’m pretty confident that nothing she does gets by him. To be fair, she watches him too and more than willing to tell me when he drops something on the floor, is playing on the bricks, or is just getting in her way. =P Caden is very interested in the lizards and turtles that we find in the yard and loved touching Min’s puppies while we were in town.
- Fair warning, if you wear jewelry around Caden, he’ll be focused on your necklace, earrings, bracelet, or watch until you either give it to him or put it out of sight. Hmm, what’s that? Can I eat it? Min acts surprised every time he tries to grab her necklace or earrings … he won’t forget and just tucking it under your shirt isn’t good enough! There is a very good reason that Momma almost never wears a necklace or earrings; I’d never get anything done!
- Caden is such a little talker! He loves to babble and he’s starting to use sounds more intentionally and trying to mimic words. I know it’s only a matter of time until he provides running commentary on our lives like Miss Kamy does. Caden’s sound of choice is duka-duka. It makes me smile every time! In addition to uh-oh, Caden has also learned “up!” and “down.” Initially his version of up was more like “eh” really loudly, but now he says “uh puh” with two different syllables. It’s pretty cute! Down is “daah.”
- We finally figured out where Caden learned his duka-duka sound from. It’s his version of the noises we make when we tickle either him or Kamy! Now Caden will try to tickle Kamy (or us) by putting his hands at our waist and saying duka duka! Of course, when you respond as if you were getting tickled, he thinks it’s the funniest thing ever. =) He’s such a goofy little boy!
- Caden has also learned the fine art of a cheesy grin! He doesn’t do it very often, but one morning in particular he was really working it. We have to credit Miss Kamy for this skill!
- Two upper molars have made their appearance this month, much to his shirts’ dismay. Caden has always been at the early start of teeth windows, and these molars usually come in between 12 and 18 months. Now that he has two fully in, he’s ahead of the game. As you can tell from the photos, Caden wears a bib all the time right now to keep Momma from having to change his shirt several times a day. Caden will often pull the bibs right off and leave them behind, so I’m forever chasing him with a fresh bib. These new teeth bring him up to 10 already … a full mouth!
- Caden loves buttons. He is his father’s son and anything that he can push for music or noise or a response is immediately a hit! He’s been particularly interested in one of Kamy’s old books with a set of buttons to play classical music with the “story.” If I need to distract him for a few minutes while I do something, I’ll set Caden down by the book and push a button before walking away. Chances are, he’ll still be there a few minutes later.
- The biggest, newest, coolest thing this month is walking! Yep, Caden is officially mobile on two feet. He took his first good steps while Oma was visiting around the 2nd and 3rd of October and he hasn’t looked back since. He will walk clear across a room now and even has the balance to turn in place and change directions without holding on to something. He is so proud of himself and he gets so excited while he’s walking.
- And now that he can walk, there are definitely times when he wants to be DOWN so he can walk and get into whatever it is you are carrying him away from … like eating the sand, rocks, and rubber in the arena at Oma’s house or talking to the neighbor’s goats. He was not pleased that I removed him from all of the fun. He will let you know how he feels about it, that’s for sure. =P
- Mr. Caden loves to look at his board books! He has his own little bucket of books in the living room that he pulls out several times a day to look through. He’s such a little mimic-er that he’ll point to and touch anything you touch in the book. He’s great at turning the pages, though sometimes Momma reads a little too slow and she’s not quite ready yet. Pick up the pace!
- Caden is also starting to figure out how “chase” works. Half the time he hurries away from you and the other half he comes at you, but it makes him laugh regardless. I love Caden’s laugh, it’s so genuine and infectious!
- Daddy is still Caden’s favorite right now. He loves to wake Daddy up in the evening and will crawl all over him. Daddy is also particularly good at tickling and hitting just the right spot by his diaper that makes him squirm! Daddy has also been putting Caden to bed lately — I love watching them together. =)
So here we are, a full year after our precious boy was born. We love you Caden-boy!
