Our Little Engineer

Caden has always enjoyed putting things 'in' things... like putting his paci inside an empty cup and taking it out, or putting a toy ball in the cup we use to rinse his hair in the tub, etc.

This is what he did at Chili's last night:

Where's Your Nose?

What does Caden do when you ask him,

"Where is your nose?"

And no, this is not just for giggles, this REALLY is what Caden does when you ask him to show you his nose. He knows it's funny too because we laugh every time he does it.

New Kicks!

Caden's Grammy (John's mom) sent him some new kicks! They crack me up!

(side note: please excuse the food stuck to the high chair and the fact that I haven't taken of the impossible to remove stickers advertising the features of the high chair... Ha, ha!)

My tired baby boy... after a nice big lunch (following no morning nap because of church)... and he's ready for bed

!

Love and Hate

Okay, so maybe hate is a bit of a strong word to use here because I really don't 'hate' anything I'm about to write about. A better word to describe it would be frustration, but that doesn't sound as catchy as Love and Hate! :)

So, what exactly was I frustrated about and what did I love?? Well, one guess and here's a clue: They both have to do with parenting a toddler!

Today Caden was loving his "Open the Barn Door" book. It, and Doggies by Sandra Boyton are the only two books he will sit still for these days. And today, he wanted encore after encore. I'm not sure if it was because he liked the book so much as he was trying to delay nap time (although he really does love nap time, too), but he kept signing "more" over and over after I would finish reading it. He loves the little flaps that open and close revealing the animal that makes the sound. When I read the first page ("Who says moo?"), he Mooooo's with me and it melts my heart! That is one of the things about today that I loved.. .reading to my son and him responding to what I was reading and interacting with me and the book....

So... what was so frustrating??

Fixing dinner. Why is it so hard to cook with a little one? And I wasn't even cooking!! I was microwaving leftovers for him to eat. Here's what happened:

He is not supposed to open our desk drawer, but like I've mentioned before, he tests it every single day to see if it is still off limits (often multiple times a day). I didn't catch this one until it was too late... I turn around from the sink and I see him holding a tower of un-used discs... it seemed to all happen in slow motion and there was nothing I could do to stop it...

He lifted the tower over his head threw it down on the ground. I mean, come on.... it's round isn't it? So it must be a ball, right? Oh, the frustration....

So, I told him no and gave the whole "hand swatting" thing another try... Well, imagine my surprise when all through dinner Caden kept trying to hit my hand. Nice. Maybe I did need a bit of an attitude adjustment... I admit, but a spanking from my son? Seriously? Needless to say it didn't go over well when I told him that it was a "No" to hit Mommy.... Sometimes bedtime can't come soon enough. But give me another hour and I'll have the itch to sneak in to his room and watch that sweet baby boy as he sleeps. Hopefully he's just not dreaming about hitting and he will have forgotten how to by tomorrow. Sigh.

Kissing the Mirror

Isn't this the sweetest... he wanted to kiss the baby in the mirror. I'm so glad I had my camera handy for this!

Mommy Giggles

This morning Caden had me giggling in that way that only a mom does... well, daddy's and grandparents may, too. It is the kind of giggle where your child is so cute and sweet that you can't help but chuckle, but you think you may want to cry at the same time. Actually that is the way I described giving birth as well... your heart strings are pulled so you want to laugh and cry at the same time.

Well, anyway, this morning he first cracked me up because he looked too darn cute in his PJ's (new ones from Grammy). Then, he walks out in to the living room and I put on his Praise Baby DVD so I can take a shower because I had a book club meeting to be at shortly. Well, as I get everything hooked up, he is standing at the coffee table in anticipation holding his sippy in one hand and dancing (bouncing up and down) waiting for his music while he stares at the blank, black TV screen. So precious.

Not long afterward the sitter arrived he was all excited and squealed at the arrival of new company in our home. I took her in to the kitchen to discuss his schedule (nap/lunch/etc) and he started clinging to my legs! Remember, this is the child who doesn't cuddle acting like a complete cuddle-bug! He wrapped on arm around each thigh so he was hugging my legs. Oh, I can't tell you how much I wish I could get him to do this to me every day!

He then squatted down to a sort of crawling position but his hands were still pulling on my jeans, and stuck his head between my ankles and sort of laid it on my house shoes. Picture a child with his head stuck between the banister on the stairs and you'll get a pretty good visual of what Caden was doing. Hilarious! Apparently this child did not want his mommy to leave this morning so he shackled me by the feet.

When I finally did leave he cried one big wail of protest and was happy to play with the sitter again before the door was even shut. Silly boy!

13 months old

I can't believe Caden is 13 months old already! He is so much fun and I enjoy him so much everyday! He keeps me laughing and on my toes! There are so many cute things that he does each day that it's impossible to keep up with them all.

One of the funniest things about having a toddler is finding stuff in weird places. Like you will open your desk drawer and find a three day old sippy cup he stashed in there! I'm just waiting for the day when he hides my car keys. They are a favorite item of his that I don't really let him play with... but he somehow finds them all the time. One day, I won't realize he has them and they will disappear in our house somewhere. I'll be sure to write a blog about it when it happens!

Caden boycotted baby food a few weeks ago. He absolutely refuses to eat it. He actually hates eating anything on a spoon, but last night I made Baked Ziti and I knew he would like it, but it was just one of those things that was easier to feed him on a spoon once it was all chopped up. So I had to literally force the spoon full of ziti in to his mouth because I knew once he realized it wasn't baby food he would eat it. And, he did. I basically feed Caden whatever I am eating now. It amazes me what those gums are capable of chewing! He still only has his two bottom, front teeth. That's it, two teeth! I even fed him a Mexican Chicken Crock Pot dish last week and he devoured every bite of it (and it was made with spicy salsa!). His favorites are grilled cheese sandwiches (no butter, wheat bread, and real cheese... I make it as healthy as I can) and bananas.

We are fully on the sippy cup now, too. He has a sippy in the morning right out of bed when I used to give him his bottle. I let him drink about 8 ounces of milk while I change his diaper each morning. The child can put down some liquid. He's usually finished with all 8 ounces before the diaper is even changed. Then he gets about 6 ounce of milk after his morning nap, and then juice/water with iron drops for his anemia the rest of the day.

Ah, naps. Yes, we are still on two naps a day. Caden still takes (and needs) two, two hour naps each day. He naps from 9-11 and again from 1-3. Then goes to bed at 7 and sleeps until 7 (or at least 6:30). He is just a sleeper. He can skip the morning nap if we are out and about and he is busy/entertained, but if we are just at home... he is so ready for that nap.

I love putting him down for naps/bed. We sit in the big rocker in his bedroom and read a few books, or try to if he's going through one of his 'boycott books' phases. Then I sit him in his crib with a paci in his mouth. He reaches out and grabs the spare paci we keep in his crib and then lays down with it in his hands and waits for his blanket. He loves his paci, but surprisingly is not attached to them. I don't know how he would do if he had to sleep without them, but we leave them in his crib when he wakes up and he never asks for them or cries. He's such a good baby! Can I still say that? Is he still a baby?? Well, he always will be to me!

His favorite activities these days include walking, walking, and more walking. I have no idea what he's doing or where he's going, he sometimes just walks laps around the house. He will stop at different things along the way to investigate though. He prefers to walk and drink out of his sippy cup at the same time, which is a skill he had mastered about three weeks after he started walking.

He loves his shape sorter, gear toy with spinning removable gears, push lawn mower, and Leap Frog Fridge Phonics set the most these days. Non-toy favorite items include car keys, anything he can manage to grab out of my diaper bag before I take it away (wallets, cell phones, diapers, etc), and he loves Tupperware. He likes to take the lids on and off and put stuff in them. He still loves to push things around the house, big or small. He will push the little toy train just as happily as he will his high chair. He also loves to open and close drawers, cabinets, and doors. This is not so much fun for Mommy. We decided that was/is off limits (we decided this when he became mobile). There is one "That's a YES!" cabinet and the rest are off limits. So what does a toddler do with his time?? He tests those limits just to see if maybe I will change my mind. When I tell him "That's a no," he will walk off (well, almost stomp off) abruptly. He will do one of a few things at this point:

1) Clap his hands (even if I didn't prompt him for it). I think he started this because sometimes to get his attention I will sharply clap my hands as I say "That's a no."

2) Wave his arm up and down as if he's saying "bye, bye"- I think that came from the few times I've tried swatting him on his hand for taking the bottle of Clorox out of our kitchen cabinet. Don't worry, I finally found some baby locks compatible with our cabinets that I can actually buy in Korea: link-a-doos! :)

3) Or (as he stomps off) say "Ney, Ney, Ney, Ney, Ney" - which I think means 'no.

4) Or finally, he will scrunch up his face and yell in protest.

Yes, these are all the ways Caden tries to protest being told, "that's a no" but in the end he always walks away. Now, that doesn't mean he isn't right back at it 2 minutes later...

This age is so much fun, but the real work of parenting is really just beginning. This is where I will close with one of the best pieces of parenting advice I've been given. I had our MOPS coordinator over two weeks ago to discuss my new role on the steering team and she shared some of her great wisdom with me. Yes, it's common sense, but still so profound. She said:

All day long your children are asking the question, "Who is in charge here?"

So, what happens when we don't answer that question? Oh boy, I sure hope I never find out! I love my son so much more than I thought possible. He makes me laugh every day and all of his cute activity keeps me entertained and busy, but I can really see now that he is asking me that same question everyday.

Gas Masks

In the subway stations in Korea you will find little "gas mask" stations. Maybe we have these in the states and I've never noticed before... but even still...not something you expect to see in a subway station.

More eating antics from Caden

Caden was having a hard time at lunch picking up the slippery peaches, so he resorted to sucking them up off the table. He did this again at dinner... Here is a funny video of his new method of eating and a few pictures, too!

Stroller Holder

Have you even gotten to the grocery store, or Walmart, and realized that you have your stroller but you really need a shopping cart instead? Well, this woman did and here is her hilarious solution:

We've got a climber...

A few weeks ago John took Caden down to the playground when I was grocery shopping. He taught Caden that the playground equipment (which was formerly known to Caden only as the stuff that has fun screws he can touch and try to take off), is actually for climbing. Since then, if Caden sees the playground, he starts climbing. And unfortunately the one right outside of our apartment is NOT for toddlers and so if Caden climbs, guess who else has to climb? Yep, that's right... me!

About 2 minutes from the front door to our apartment we can walk to a smaller, gated playground that is perfect for toddlers.

Today's game: Climb on the suitcase!

Snack Catcher

Have I mentioned lately how much I
L-O-V-E
my Munchkin Snack Catcher?!?

And who can resist the little cutie carrying it around....

Rough night

You've got to wonder if Caden had a rough night of sleep...

he didn't wake me up if he did!

VBS

John and I are teaching the 1st-3rd graders at VBS this month at church. Our church is doing it differently this year and VBS is held every Sunday throughout the month of August instead just one straight week of it. It's during the normal church service hours to that the whole church can get involved in helping.

John and I spent Friday night and all of Caden's nap times on Saturday preparing for VBS, and on Saturday night we hired a sitter to watch Caden while we went to decorate our room! Our classroom had several old church pews in it, so we took them and turned them in to what we hope resembles a Roller Coaster (going with the Amusement Park theme of this years VBS). It is the first real project that John and I have ever taken on together (that I can remember) and I must say we made a great team and had a lot of fun doing it! John wasn't happy with just the coaster alone, he wanted a track...so that was a last minute idea that took some brainstorming (with no stores open and only the supplies at hand) that I think turned out pretty well considering the time/supply issue! Here are some pictures of our finished "project!"

The Statue of Brothers

I was flipping through some old pictures on my computer today and came across one worthy of sharing! At the War Memorial Museum in Seoul there is a statue called the Statue of Brothers. It depicts two brothers, one from North Korea and one from South, who met at the battlefield during the Korean War and embraced each other reconciling and forgiving each other.

Here is a reenactment done by my husband and father-in-law. Funny, but so not right! :)