Just a fluke?

Last night was no different than any other night. It was my turn to feed Cael so Ryan took him upstairs to get him for bed, which as most of you remember involves changing his diaper, changing him into his pajamas and singing or reading to him. Last night I opened the door to find Cael asleep in Ryan's arms as Ryan was singing to him. Ryan motioned whether or not he thought we should try just putting him in the crib to see what happened and I indicated it was worth a shot. I quietly left the room and stood outside the door waiting for what I was sure was going to be the inevitable screaming/crying once Cael realized he had been placed in his crib. To my surprise (more like shock) Cael didn't make a peep AND he slept all night. I have been overanalyzing weaning him off this last bottle since he celebrated his first birthday and once again, I was surprised by his flexibility and ease with which he transitions from one milestone to the next (i.e. I thought weaning him off of the bottle during the day was going to be really hard and it ended up being easy, same with swaddling - he is pretty adaptable to change, making it very easy on Mommy and Daddy). So, the question becomes, was it just a fluke occurrence or is it possible that weaning him off of his bedtime bottle is going to be a lot easier than I had originally thought? I guess we will see what tonight brings. *Fingers crossed*

UPDATE: It was a fluke and to honest, I am not surprised. We haven't really tried to remove the bed time bottle, but I am hoping the fact that he fell asleep without it the other night means it will be easier than we think. Thanks for the comments. The support is appreciated! Now, I understand why Babywise stresses not using the bottle as a sleep aid although, to be honest, I am not sure I would change anything. Of course, I might change my mind depending on how tough it is to get rid of :)

Picture of the week - January 26

It is time for the picture of the week!! Again, the 'picture of the week' post is meant to be a fun way to make the blog more interactive for friends and family. The idea behind it is to comment on what you think he is thinking, what you think he would say if he could talk; anything that you feel represents the picture being posted.

I particularly love how he has his little tongue sticking out on this one!!

See previous posts for directions on how to post a comment if you are unsure how to do so. Please post comments!!! I love reading them and picking a winner, but in order to pick a winner I need people to COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thank you!

'Hi'

Cael still isn't talking, but he is getting really close. He seems to understand the word dog and says it whenever he sees Dodge and Potter (or any other dog or a picture of a dog). He isn't completely enunciating at this point, but we know what he is saying. He also says 'hi'. We aren't sure if he really understands what he is saying, but he says it in the cutest way (not something I can recreate with words) and it is usually accompanied with a wave. So freaking cute!!! I will try to get a video and post it, but for now I just wanted to get it in writing so I didn't forget. 

BUBBLES!

Cael loves bubbles! He loves to play with them, he loves to eat them and he loves to swat at them as they float in the air. Ryan bought him a bubble making gun that blows continuous bubbles by pulling on a trigger (bubbles have advanced quite a bit since we were kids)! We used the bubble gun a couple of times (A LOT) and it is now suffering from over use (as of today it is no longer working) so the other night I created bubbles for Cael to play with the old fashioned way. He chases them, tries to catch them in his mouth and bats at them as they fall to the ground. He is completely mesmerized and it is adorable. Of course once I pulled out the camera to take some pictures, he immediately lost interest, but I captured a couple of pictures that I wanted to share.

Does this hat make my head look big?

My mom, Ryan and I were playing cards and Cael was hanging out in his high chair playing with a variety of toys and books. At one point, I put one of his nesting cups on top of his head just to see what he would do. He kept shaking it off and then would giggle when I put it back on. I was so proud of him for playing like a good boy in his high chair while the adults played cards. Usually he isn't very good about being in his high chair if he isn't eating, but he played quietly (for the most part) for 45 minutes. Such a good boy!

Fun with the family

Lately we have been taking a lot of walks up to the park. The weather here has been gorgeous and we feel compelled to take advantage of it while it lasts. Nana accompanied us on the last rendezvous and got to see in person how much Cael really loves going down the slide. We also went on the teeter totter this time, but he didn't seem to care for it much and just kept wanting to get off. The wind picked up and it got really cold so we didn't stay very long, but it was nice to get out and get some fresh air. As usual we took him up there in his wagon although we might have to stop using the it because he usually spends a good portion of the time trying to get out and it just isn't safe. He also likes to test us by standing up in the wagon while it is in motion and then waiting for us to tell him to sit down. He listens and sits down almost immediately after being told, but it isn't too long before he is standing up again. It seems to be a game to him, but not one I like playing given that if he fell out he could get hurt.

Cael and Nana

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Nana was in town over the weekend. We had fun playing cards playing with Cael and just hanging out and relaxing. Cael wasn't too sure of Nana at first, but he quickly warmed up to her. One of his favorite games to play is catch. Nana was nice enough to take Cael off of our hands for a few minutes and engage him in a game. He is teething (getting in his upper molar) and is going through a 'I want my mommy' phase and he seems to be going through this phase A LOT. For the most part, I love it, but there are times when I just need a break and that was where Nana stepped in. Thank you, Nana. Actually, Ryan and Nana were both great and I appreciate their help and understanding. I honestly couldn't have survived this weekend without them. Naturally anytime there is a reason to take a picture, I have my camera ready and this weekend was no exception!

Daddy is silly

I know I usually talk strictly about Cael on this blog (it is a blog about him after all) and occasionally mention little tidbits about our lives that exist outside of Cael or at least our life that parallels his. Those tidbits usually revolve more around me than they do Ryan strictly because I am the author of the blog. So this post is dedicated to Ryan. My mom (Nana) is in town and we were playing cards this afternoon when Ryan stuck a cut off portion of a chip bag on top of his head. We thought it was pretty funny and found it very difficult to concentrate on playing cards because we were laughing so hard. When I went to take a picture, he immediately pulled off the make shift hat, but we wouldn't let him get away with it and made him put it back on. After all, it was a picture worthy moment and one I really wanted to capture. My hope is that as Cael gets older and starts thinking his parents are the biggest losers on the planet and that we are totally uncool, this post will make him realize he is completely right, but that we are perfectly okay with it. Oh and for those of you who are wondering, yes, Ryan is going to kill me when he finds out I posted these pictures ;)

And the winner is.....

Thank you to Brooke, Kristin, Heather, Rosanne, Kyli and Grandma and Grandpa for their comments on Cael's 'picture of the week' post. I have to thank everyone for their participation. It really makes the blog more fun and I love reading everyone's comments and trying to figure out which one is the most fitting. Although I am here to tell you it is extremely difficult to choose as they are all great comments and I can tell that everyone really puts a lot of thought into them. I just hope no one minds the fact that I 'borrow' pictures off of their blogs. I eagerly await the responses for next week's post! After careful consideration, the winner for the week of January 12, 2009 is:

ROSANNE HATZENBELLER

Her caption:

"I think I just crapped my pants"

I couldn't help it. I laughed long and hard at that one. I guess I am still just a kid at heart. Not to mention that after careful analysis of his face, I decided it definitely looks like that is what he might very well be thinking. However, I think if he did ahem, 'crap' his pants, it would be out of excitement, not because he was scared. Keep them coming. I am LOVING this!!!!

Bedtime ritual

All of the books I have read have discussed how important it is to instill a bedtime ritual. Since Cael was born this has been something that Ryan and I have struggled with. In Babywise, the author stresses teaching your child how to fall asleep on their own as opposed to allowing them to fall asleep to the bottle (or breast). The basis behind the theory is that if the child needs the bottle to fall asleep and they wakes up in the middle of the night, Mommy and Daddy are going to be responsible for getting them back to sleep. We followed these instructions and made sure to follow the example of eat time, followed by awake time, then followed by sleep EXCEPT when it came to bed time. For the most part we worked really hard to ensure that Cael was not asleep after taking his bottle when we put him down at night, but there were inevitably nights where it happened. In a way, taking Cael upstairs, changing him into his pajamas, changing his diaper and giving him his bottle became our bedtime ritual. Now that we are faced with having to wean him from this bottle, we are struggling with what to do. A lot of parents suggest incorporating reading into the night time ritual and we have tried this numerous times, unsuccessfully. Cael does not like to sit still long enough for us to read to him and usually ends up getting pretty riled up if we attempt to do so. Right now it seems that the only thing that calms him down enough so he will go to sleep is the bottle and I, for one, am very nervous what our evenings will look like sans bottle. We have started singing to him (I sing 'Hush Little Baby' and Ryan likes to sing 'Don't Take The Girl') and he appears to like that, but we are still worried about how to replace the bottle. One parent friend of ours suggested giving him a sippy cup of warm milk instead, but we wonder if that is merely a band aid and that weaning from the sippy will be even tougher than weaning him from the bottle. Suggestions and advice are welcome. Wish us luck :)

Update: Since writing this post, we have started incorporating reading into his bedtime ritual and for the most part, if he has his paci, he will let us read to him. So now one of us goes upstairs and gets him changed and ready for bed, dims the lights and reads a story while the other stays downstairs to get the bottle ready. We then switch places and whoever changed him and read to him leaves so the other can give him the bottle, sing to him and put him to sleep. I feel like slowly, but surely we are incorporating a bedtime ritual that will soon allow for the removal of the bottle. The only concern at this point is that he is still taking in 7-9 oz of milk and we worry that once we remove the bottle he is going to be very hungry. Again, suggestions and advice are welcome.

Sign language

The latest trend is teaching your baby sign language. It is believed that giving them the ability to communicate before actually being able to speak will lessen frustration and therefore lessen the intensity and frequency of temper tantrums. Ryan and I started using sign language with Cael around 4 or 5 months and have been using it consistently ever since. I figured he would start responding around his first birthday. Well, November 15th came and went and still nothing. I was basically ready to give up thinking that it just wasn't something that Cael was interested in or that was going to work for our family. Then about two days ago, I read that some kids don't really grasp the concept until right around 14 months. Thank goodness we didn't stop. Imagine our surprise when during dinner the other night, Ryan asked Cael if he wanted more food and showed him the appropriate sign for 'more' and Cael DID it. In addition to 'more', we are working on 'all done', 'mom', 'dad', 'drink', 'eat', 'please' and 'thank you'. It is the most amazing thing ever. He never ceases to amaze me. Just when I think he isn't capable of something, he blows me away with his comprehension and the amount of information he soaks up in a day... it is staggering. He also understands the word for 'eye'. If you ask him where his eye is, he will point to it and if you ask him where Mommy's eye is or Daddy's eye, he will point to your eye for you. We are working on 'nose' and 'mouth' too. 

Picture of the week - January 12

It is time for the picture of the week!! Again, the 'picture of the week' post is meant to be a fun way to make the blog more interactive for friends and family. The idea behind it is to comment on what you think he is thinking, what you think he would say if he could talk; anything that you feel represents the picture being posted. I couldn't resist posting this picture regardless of the fact that I talked about it (specifically his expression) in a previous post.

Cael is getting ready to go down the slide by himself with Mommy waiting at the bottom to catch him!

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Walking machine

Cael is turning into a little walking machine. It is hard to capture the actual act of him walking in a picture, but he is getting better with each day. He has started walking now as his primary mode of getting around. Don't get me wrong, he still crawls, but now if he falls down, he pushes back up into a standing position and continues on to his destination. He loves walking, but like most kids, HATES falling. It is painful to watch, but he is making progress and it is so much fun seeing him meeting all of the milestones. Our little boy is growing up.

Winter walk

Even though it was a bit chilly here today, Ryan and I decided to take a walk around the block (and up to the park) to get out for a bit. The three of us bundled up, put Cael into his wagon from Grandma and Grandpa and off we went. This is the second time we have taken him for a walk in the wagon. The first time, the weather was much nicer and he would stand up and get this goofy grin on his face. It was pretty funny and I was hoping to catch the same expression. I am not sure if it was because of the cold or the amount of clothing he was wearing, but he did not react with the same enthusiasm as he did the first time. Either way, he loves when we take him on a walk and he gets to ride in his wagon. We stopped at the park so Ryan and I could toss around the football and we couldn't help but let Cael take a few turns down the slide (he LOVED it) and also spend some time on the swing. Regardless of the cold, it was nice to get a little fresh air and some exercise.

I love the expression on his face!

True to little boy form, he was eating the mulch at the playground!

The Destructor

Ryan and I laugh because our son is a boy in almost every sense of the word. At work the other day, someone was telling a funny story about a child at a store with his mom. Suffice it to say the story involved a loudspeaker and a couple of cuss words. Before my co-worker had even finished her story I asked if the child was a boy or a girl and she said that he was a boy. I laughed saying I could definitely see Cael doing something like what this other little boy had done, but not a sweet and innocent little girl..... not at 3 anyway. There destruction seems to come later in life! There is just something about little boys; they are loud, they like playing with balls and they are DESTRUCTIVE and Cael is no exception. For Christmas, Bapa and Gam got him a play center of sorts with balls and music and lights. It was too big to put together while up in Park City so Ryan put it together when we got home. Cael was immediately drawn to it, but not the balls or even the music; he was more interested in crawling over it, under it and around it. We couldn't help but laugh and take pictures, of course!

Popsicles

I was at the grocery store the other day and decided to buy Cael some popsicles. He loves the fudge bars that Ryan and I buy so I figured he would love these too. Not to mention, I found mini ones that were the perfect size for his little hands. We gave him his first one and it was hysterical watching him eat it. A couple of times we had to take it from him in order to clean up the drips and he would throw a fit until we finally gave it back. The tantrum is not nearly as cute as it was when he was younger (see Ice cream, Cael screams) and we are working on that, but it was definitely cute watching him eat his very own popsicle that seemed to be designed with him in mind.

And the winner is.....

Thank you to Brooke, Kristin and Sabry for their comments on Cael's 'picture of the week' post. I am really having a lot of fun with it and I am so happy that each of you contributed. It honestly made my day!! It is interesting reading what other people interpret to be your child's thoughts! After careful consideration, the winner for the week of January 5, 2009 is:

SABRY EDWARDS!

Her caption:

"Seriously mom..I know I'm cute but can you just put the camera down for 5 minutes and let me enjoy my crackers in peace."

Very fitting if you ask me!!!!

Please read everyone's comments as they were all great!!!! Thank you again to everyone who participated and thanks to Sabry for her great caption!!! Look for the next 'picture of the week' post coming soon!

Picture of the week - January 5

My friend Brooke suggested I post a picture of Cael on a weekly basis and then have people comment and from those comments pick a 'caption of the week'. I thought it was a great idea and a fun way to make the blog more interactive for friends and family. The idea behind it is to comment on what you think he is thinking, what you think he would say if he could talk; anything that you feel represents the picture being posted. I hope it turns out to be as much fun as I think it will and thanks to Brooke for the suggestion.

This is a picture of Cael up in Park City over Christmas. He was enjoying a snack of animal crackers and milk while Mom and Auntie Kyli played on the Wii.

Instructions to post a comment:

-At the end of a post there is a place where it says '0 comments or 1 comment'. Click on it.

-Type your comment

-Put in the word verification (this ensures you are a person and not a hacker or a computer)

-Under 'Choose an identity' click on 'Name/URL' and type in your name.

-Click 'Publish Your Comment'

Fetch with Potter

I was playing around on the computer enjoying a little bit of down time since Cael seemed to be doing a great job of entertaining himself. All of a sudden I realized that he was playing fetch with Potter and Potter was actually fetching it for him. I don't think Potter wanted to give Cael the ball, but he never wants to give it to Ryan and I when we play either. I had to stop what I was doing to capture the moment. Cael would throw it, Potter would retrieve it and then try to keep it from Cael. Cael would get the ball away from him and the process would start all over again!! It was both adorable and amazing. I guess there is just something about watching him interact with his puppies that gets me every time. On a side note, we have a dog calendar in our pantry and every time we walk by it, Cael will point and make a sound. He understands a variety of things we say but, this is the first time we feel like he understands the concept as opposed to 'communicating' just to get something he wants (drink, food, etc).

Shower time

For the last couple of weeks we have been giving Cael showers as opposed to baths because it allows us to take one too (killing two birds with one stone) and he loves it. The water running into his face and the fact that the floor is not exactly warm does not appear to bother him in the least. He crawls around and plays with the bottles and loufahs. He loves the suds from my shampoo and will put his face to the ground and try to drink them. He is fascinated by the drain and will spend the majority of the time putting his fingers into the little holes and then pulling them out. Occasionally he will want me to pick him up, which I happily oblige and he wraps his slippery little legs around my waist like a monkey and plays in the streams of water. I think it is a blast and I love my new little shower mate!