7.5 Months

Where does the time go? I realized it has been quite a while since I gave a Caden update. The little dude is getting so big and is really learning to get around in his walker. Just this last weekend he learned to turn it in the direction he wants to go so he hardly ever gets "stuck" in corners anymore!

We also introduced Goya (Maria) Cookies to him. He likes to gnaw on them! It's funny to watch him eat them too! We also gave him his first Big Boy Bath (in the new Noah's Ark Tub). This opened up a whole new game to him in the tub! We bought him a little basketball net for the tub and he really likes to try and hold all three basketballs at the same time. It's so funny! He's also a "meat eater" now, too! We introduced Chicken and Apples first, and boy did he love it! I only give him about a 1/3 of a jar of "meat" a day right now b/c most of his nutrition comes from the fruits, veggies, and cereals. He has developed an aversion to fruits for breakfast lately.... so I had to do a little "revamping" with his daily meal plan. Here is what his day looks like now:

7:00am- wake up and eat Breakfast (milk, oatmeal and if he'll take it a 1/2 of a stage 1 fruit) After breakfast is playpen time (45+ minutes usually) and then floor time with Mommy.

9:00- Nap (he almost always naps until atleast 11, but lately 11:30)

11:00 (or 11:30)- wake up and eat Lunch (milk, a whole stage 2 fruit and sometimes a little of a veggie if he still acts hungry). Then we do "back" time under his play gym and then I usually let him do a "stand up" toy like his exersaucer or jumperoo. Then floor time until his next nap.

1:00- he's ready for his 2nd nap. I hope to stretch this to 2pm here shortly, but for now he's always SO ready for this nap at 1:00, so I'll wait and try and move it later in another few weeks.

3:00- wake up and have a snack. Sometimes he's up at 2:30, but that isn't always the case. When he wakes up from his second nap, we do a snack (milk and then he goes in his walker and I put Gerber Puffs on his tray and help him eat them). After "walker" time, we either run errands or play together. This is his longest waketime because he is up from this nap until bedtime at about 7pm. IF we run errands he sometimes takes a small catnap in the car, but not usually. This long wake time frees us up to go out to eat dinner on weekends. It's nice! If we are at home we will often watch a video during this long wake period.

6:00- Dinner! Daddy is usually home to see Caden in the evenings now that his bedtime is 7:00. So we feed Caden Dinner at 6:00 (trying to introduce the sippy cup here, rice cereal and mommy mixes a TBSP of green beans in there b/c they aren't his favorite food, then we offer plain green beans or other green veggie -usually only a tbsp or so of that b/f he turns his nose to it- then a whole stage 2 yellow veggie and then about 1/3 of a jar of a "meat" dish). His dinner is starting to look like a normal adult meal with a bread (cereal), two veggies (green and yellow), and a meat!

6:15-7:00- We start our bedtime routine and he goes down at 7:00 (sometimes a little later but around 7-7:30). After dinner he either plays with Daddy if he is home, or watches 15 min or so of a Praise Baby DVD while Mommy gets his bath ready. After bathtime, we dress him for bed and then give him a large bottle (he doesn't nurse well in the evenings so we offer a bottle instead of nursing him). After his bottle we read a book or two (depending on how tired he is) and then say prayers with him and put him to bed. It has been weeks since he has cried himself to sleep. He finally figured out the whole sleeping thing! He is also sleeping from 7:00pm until 7:00am AND he did that ALL on his OWN! We were planning to sleep train him over the 4day weekend in mid Feb, but he started sleeping on his own around the end of Jan! We are so proud of him!!! He is so easy now and so predictable! I love the routine we have going for us! It works really well! We get messed up once a week when I go to Bible Study on Tues mornings, but Caden always pulls through! He's such a good baby!

Speaking of Bible Study, Caden is so good in the nursery. He is usually the only baby that doesn't cry. I am so blessed! (But we had a rocky road to get to his point!!! His first few months were not so easy!) He also does well at Sunday Nursery. He just watches everything going on around him. It's so much fun to see him in there with the other babies! He's a little social butterfly too! He's never met a stranger he didn't like! He smiles at anyone who pays attention to him and squeals with delight! People are always stopping to comment on our "happy baby." We are more in love with him everyday!

Often at night when he's sound asleep, John and I sit up talking about all the cute things he did that day and we often have the urge to go wake him up so we can see him bobbling his little head around, taking everything in! Life is so exciting to Caden right now. He studies his toys so hard. We often wonder what is going through his head. Just exactly what does he WANT to do with that rattle??? What is he trying to get at as he moves the toy around in his hand. Oh I wish I knew!

Well, it is ten till 3:00pm here in Korea, so that means the little man will be waking up any minute now! I better go get his snack ready! I hope this update finds you all doing well!

I have one quick prayer request! John and I recently learned that we will most likely NOT be moving on base. This is a huge disappointment to us! We are praying (and ask that you would to) that God will change our "category" so that we are eligable to move on base! This would make our stay here in Korea so much easier! John would be home from work more often and I could run errands easier and would have more access to the friends I am making. Living off-base makes it hard to spend time with friends. Thanks!!