Taking a Tumble

Caden fell into the toy box trying to reach for his play cell phone. Don't worry he wasn't crying in these pictures... he was grunting and kind of fussing trying to get back out.

Using a Spoon

I think I may have mentioned before what happens when I let Caden have a spoon. But just in case you forgot I'll tell you again: He goes CRAZY! He suddenly refuses to eat, but instead plays with the spoon and his food. He is actually getting quite good at scooping the food, but we don't practice it very often because he just won't eat. And because he isn't eating I take the spoon away in a effort to get him to focus on the food, well... as you can imagine that doesn't go over very well.

But, for some reason he does a much better job of practicing this skill when he finds a spoon and cup on his own. Here are some pictures of him practicing using a leftover pudding cup he got his hands on... and a few more when he found my empty oatmeal bowl.

Playground Playtime 14.5 mo

Here are some cute new pictures from the playground today! It suddenly (and I mean, very suddenly) got cool here. He has one sleeve up still from when they had his sleeves up to wash his hands at day care! He loves the sink and washing his hands. He actually just loves water in general! Today on the playground, not long after these pictures were snapped, Caden dumped the remains of a water bottle on the ground, then decided he wanted some and proceeded to try and pick the water up and eat it (like he would a cheerio). He kept using his pincer grasp and his fingers, trying to get the water and then put it in his mouth. It was so funny!

He is also making noises for vehicles now. He blows air through his lips (brrrrrr) when playing with a helicopter, truck, or car. It makes me smile! I hope to get some video of it soon!

Notice Caden is WALKING up the stairs here... not crawling.

Mad Magna-Doodle Fun

Coloring isn't much fun for either of us at this age! Caden can scribble, but he prefers to eat the crayons. And washable crayons are such a joke. Yes, they wash out of stuff easily, but once 'baby' chews on them and they get wet, they turn in to the consistency of PAINT! That's obviously not good. So everything ends up dirty... Yes, I know I CAN wash it thanks to the makers of wonderful washable crayons, but it's just not worth it at this point. Maybe in another month.

So, thanks to some suggestions from friends I am the proud new owner of a Korean-Brand-Dollar-Store-Quality(Price)-Magna-Doodle!!! Caden loves it! He can scribble to his hearts content, if he chews on the pen nothing gets dirty, and it's great practice for him. Oh, and the best part is it is totally portable! I'm thinking we will take this little treasure away about a month before our flight (15 hours long) back to the states. This will be a fun toy for him to 'rediscover' on the plane!! :)

I'm working on uploading a second video to our YouTube page, but I'm having difficulties! If you're interested, check out our youtube link on the side bar. If it works, the video will be up shortly!

What A Mess

Caden turned over my craft bin full of supplies for the Preschool Lesson I put together each week for Bible Study. He was obsessed with the straws he found!

Party Time!

I went over to a friend's house today for a baby shower. I arrived a bit early to help her set up. While I was out running a quick errand, Caden found her dog's water bowl. I don't know exactly what happened, but I was told he ended up IN the water bowl. His clothes were soaked and of course I (again) didn't have a back up outfit in my diaper bag. I guess I'd gotten too confident again since this post.

So, the ladies put him in a t-shirt, which he wore throughout the entire party as his clothes went through a cycle in the dryer. It made me chuckle to see my little baby in a big boy t-shirt. I remember growing up my brothers would and I would sleep in t-shirts like that sometimes. We loved them!

Here are some pictures of him in his t-shirt while he explored different things around the house.

Hmmm, girls toy's aren't so bad now!

This looks interesting!

It's too loud in here!

It amazes me what Caden knows. I mean seriously, who taught him that trucks and cars roll around and go 'brrrrrrr?' I didn't! Today Caden was exposed to some fun girl toys! Miniature play bottles, sippy cups, kitchens, pots and pans. At one point he was walking around with one of those three inch tall fake baby bottles. The kind with the fake milk in it that moves around...

He walked right up to one of the young babies at the house and stuck that fake bottle in his mouth! Of course, I intervened before he accidentally hurt the baby, but still.. WHERE does he learn this stuff?!?!? How does my 14.5 month old little BOY know that a baby bottle, even a miniature FAKE one is for babies and that he should go try and feed them? Sigh.

Chillin

Caden is a snack and sippy cup theif. He is quite sneaky and good at this, too! At the playground he'll go around looking in all the strollers and stealing any food item or cup he finds. This is someone's raisins he ran away with, climbed up in a chair and chowed down on!

Pitiful

Isn't this pitiful. This is what the poor little guy looks like after a good cry. I thought he was just waking up unusually early from a nap. After a little crying I went to get him and I couldn't calm him down either. Actually, he only stopped crying because he got his little hands on a remote control while I was holding him. He was so pitiful it made my heart melt. He's staring in a daze at his Signing Time DVD in these pictures...

Oh, and after all was said and done, he popped out another tooth.

Striking a Pose!

Cell Phone Chatter 14.5 mo

All in a Day 14.5 months

A day's worth of activities:

Sunday morning: wake up around 6:30am and head to church at 9am.

Return from church around noon and each lunch, then head down for a nap.

Here is Caden modeling his 'Sunday Finest' for all of you. Aren't those loafers adorable!

After nap time it's all play! Here is what we did today! (did NOT intend for that to rhyme)

First, Caden helped me clean the house. He has become a very messy eater lately. If I'm not watching him and he's 'done' then the games begin: drop one piece of food on the floor at a time, watch it fall and say "Ah, oooh" (Caden's uh-oh).

Second, we strolled to the playground for about 15 minutes, and then went to the BX to buy Dad a new book. Afterward, we walked back to the playground and spent about an hour there. Here are some pictures and video of Caden at the playground. He's been climbing and going down the slide now for a LONG time... at least two months on the climbing thing and at least a month on the slide (doing it on his own that is). At least now you can see him! In both videos he skips his favorite part of the playground in order to get back to the truck. He usually always stops at the top and spins the wheel like he's driving the car and he LOVES it when you stand by him and make car noises. He also says "beep, beep" and honks the horn! So cute!

Driving a truck

How do baby boys just instinctively know to do this kind of stuff....

no one taught him!

What's this funny stuff on my hands? (grass)

Mommy's leg makes a great place to wipe it off!






Here is a second video of the busy little man! I just love watching him do "big boy" things like go down the slide!

Blocks and Peek-A-Boo (14 mo)

I have a few new videos on our YouTube page (link is in the sidebar). Here are my two favorites.

Please excuse the length of both of these videos. I write this blog as a keepsake for myself and I post a lot of the pictures and videos strictly with "The Grandparents" in mind... Grandparents will watch him do nothing for 15 hours so I know they love the extra length to the videos. The rest of you, if you really want to see it, you'll just have to deal with it! :)

I love how meticulously Caden studies his blocks and places them just right! And then he gets a great big smile when they fall over. You have to wait till close to the end, but you can see his smile really well!




This next video makes me smile! Caden, again, is very serious in his play. He is always putting things in and taking them out of cups/boxes/you name it. Toward the end I start playing Peek-A-Boo with him using the shower curtain. I love how you can see his BIG smile through the sheer curtain when he thinks he is hiding. Sigh...

Chocolate Chip (Cookie) Pie

Okay, another recipe.

First off let me say I am not a baker. I like to cook, but finding the 'perfect' cookie recipe isn't something I enjoy doing. I do love very easy, simple, yummy meals/desserts/appetizers/etc. So basically anything easy is what I like to do! But it has to taste like it was hard to make! (smile)

Second, I barely find time to cook dinner more than twice a week so baking is something I just don't do. I'm not sure what got in to me tonight but I decided I felt like baking! I put Caden in his high chair with his grilled cheese sandwich and started mixing!

Let me just say this recipe is REALLY yummy! It's probably best right out of the oven (like all chocolate chip cookies are) but I'm sure it will still be yummy at Bible Study tomorrow night! It basically tastes like a giant soft chocolate chip cookie! Oh, and I opted to top mine with some creamy vanilla ice cream instead of the whipped cream in the picture/recipe.

On a funny note, I was glancing at the recipe just now I realized I accidentally omitted the salt! Good thing this cookie/pie was still yummy! Do you see why I don't bake! The salt part probably came when Caden was frantically signing "more" in his high chair! And one last note... I used a toothpick to check for done"ness"... worked like a charm!

Follow the link below and enjoy!

Thanks Paula Deen for another keeper!!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paulas-home-cooking/chocolate-chip-pie-recipe/index.html

Hello

Caden still loves to practice talking in to the phone, "Ahhhhohhh" (hello in baby talk). But, it doesn't always have to be a phone! This green car is the same color green of MY cell phone.

Toy Box 14 months

Caden has mastered the art of getting treasures from his toy box! The third picture cracks me up... it's his method if he needs to dig deep to reach the toy of choice!

Stroller Mania

We thought collapsing the stroller would get him to leave it alone and play.... not so much

Caboose 14 months

Caden likes to be the caboose! He likes to hold on to the back of our pants while we walk. It's awkward, and slow, but he loves it!

Beef Taco Ring

I have always loved cooking... well, maybe not always but in my adult life I have really come to enjoy trying new methods/recipes/etc. Since becoming a Mommy I don't experiment as much as I used to and I miss it! It's just hard cooking with a little man roaming the house. He's one smart cookie... he knows when I'm preoccupied and he always uses those times wisely and explores and investigates "off-limits" things.



I've been hoping to post recipes on my blog for a long time. I LOVE when people share recipes with me, especially when they are practical, simple ones for Mom's with little time on their hands. In the spirit of loving to 'receive' recipes, I thought I'd start sharing! Maybe inspiring some of my other blogging buddies to start sharing some of their own as well! (wink, wink!)



So, for my first recipe I thought I'd share what I tried last night. Most of you have probably heard of Pampered Chef. If you're an avid fan then you will already know this recipe. Still, it was my first attempt at any kind of Pampered Chef recipe and it was SO easy and turned out perfectly. I was proud of my attempt so I took pictures to show those of you afraid of trying this just how easy it is! A very fast meal to throw together! Here goes:

Beef Taco Ring

1 lb lean ground beef
1 package (1 1.25 ounces) taco seasoning mix
1 3/4 cups (7ounces) shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 Tablespoons water

1 egg white, lightly beaten

Optional toppings: salsa, shredded lettuce, chopped onion and tomato, sliced olives and sour cream

Preheat the oven to 375.

Cook ground beef in skillet over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles; drain. Remove from heat (I transferred to a new bowl). Stir in taco seasoning mix, 1 1/2 cups of the cheese and water.Scoop filling evenly over crescent rolls arranged as the photos show (use a pizza stone or an aluminum pizza tray). Finish shape as shown in photos. Brush with egg white. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with toppings.

On a round pizza/cookie sheet or baking stone arrange crescent triangles following the curve of the circle. Overlap wide ends of triangles and press together. Then scoop meat by spoonfuls and arrange on the wide part of the 'ring.'

Take the points of the triangles and wrap them over the meat and tuck them under the wide ends of the triangle as shown. The meat mixture should be relatively firm, do not concern yourself with covering the meat, it won't fall out! :)

This is your finished ring. Brush with egg white and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top as directed.

And Voila!

After baking for about 20 minutes here is your beautiful ring!