If it works......

Every morning I take Cael into daycare and he is in a great mood. He sits calmly and talks or coos all the way in to 'school'. Either that or he takes a cat nap. Picking him up, however, is a completely different story. For the last few weeks he has cried and screamed the whole way home and I am talking about screaming and crying so hard that he loses his voice and chokes on his own tears. I have tried EVERYTHING that I can think of to make him stop. Finally, last week, I started listening to the Spanish channel on the XM radio and lo and behold he fell asleep or at least wasn't screaming at the top of his lungs. I have tried it a couple of times and so far so good. I am not convinced it is the miracle cure, but one of the teachers in his classroom at daycare plays latino and hispanic music and mentioned that he really liked the beat. I have gone the whole gamut from he spends so much time around other people that he needs the noise to fall asleep, that he is upset that I am taking him away from all of his friends (he is a very social little boy) or that he is afraid of all the lights (which at night might not make as much sense) and the only thing I have come up with is that right now playing music on the Spanish channel works and I am sticking with it until something happens otherwise to prove me wrong. I also thought it would be fun to record this for myself so down the road I can read about the things that I did or that worked to pacify my son.

Birthday Cake!!!

What is a first birthday without cake? I took this video at Cael's party as he dug into (sort of) his birthday cake. I say sort of because I expected it to be much worse, or I guess, more messy than it ended up being. As you can see, he not only enjoys the cake, but enjoys the attention of the guests and making them laugh. I have always said what a little ham he is and I think this video captures that sentiment. 

Dancing King

Ryan was playing with Cael and found a toy that at one point we used on his car seat to keep him entertained. It has a lot of bright colors and and plays music. Cael was showing an interest so Ryan pulled it out in an attempt to keep him from playing with the huge plant in our family room (he loves anything that he isn't supposed to play with). I was busy in the kitchen when Ryan called my name. I looked over to where they were playing and watched as Cael danced and bobbed his little head to the music emanating from the toy. I stood and watched for a few seconds stunned (he looked so grown up) and then grabbed the camera because THIS was something I could not pass up. We have seen him dance before, but never like this. He was really into it and I am here to tell you the kid has moves!! I am just so glad he didn't stop dancing once the camera started rolling, although it had tapered off by the time I actually got the camera. Either way, it is HILARIOUS!!!!!

The teachers in his classroom at daycare play music all day long and they tell me how much he loves to hear a good beat and that he will mimic people as they dance. I think it is great that he loves music, not to mention, it's pretty darn cute watching him show off his new moves.  

Omaha pictures - friends

Omaha pictures - family

I am lazy and don't want to write anything, but wanted to post pictures from our trip to Omaha.

Update - 12 months

Cael had his one year appointment today and I wanted to give everyone his latest stats as well as an overall update on his progress.

Weight: 26 lbs 5 oz (24 lbs at 9 months)
Height: 31 1/4 inches (29 3/4 inches at 9 months)
Head Circumference: 47.8 (46.8 cm at 9 months)

He is in the 90th percentile for height and weight and the 85th percentile for head circumference. He is a happy, healthy little boy who is right on target in terms of where he should be. We asked about weaning him from the bottle and she said they like to see them completely weaned by 15 months. When we told her that he seemed to get an upset tummy on whole milk she suggested we just give it to him straight (instead of mixing it into his bottle) and see how he did with it that way. Cael charmed her with his infectious giggle and the mischevious gleam in his eye. She did mention that he is in prime temper tantrum territory and we told her that we had already experienced several. We also discussed that he might start using Mom and Dad as a crutch at night so we needed to be more aware of that before we went in to his room to soothe him back to sleep.

Happy Birthday baby boy!

I can't believe our baby boy is turning a year old today. It has gone by so quickly and even though people tell you the time flies and to enjoy it while it lasts, it is still amazing at how fast the last year has gone. It is crazy to think that a year ago today he was just a little teeny tiny baby and now he is well on his way to toddler hood. The changes that occur in just a year are nothing short of incredible. I am so grateful to this blog because I already feel myself forgetting about milestones as new and different things move in to take their place. We are grateful to everyone who showed up at my mom's house to help us celebrate this big birthday celebration. It is wonderful to know that so many people take such an interest in our lives and our son. Even though Cael had no idea what was going on, the party was a hit and we cannot express how much it means to us to know he is so well loved and cared for. Cael eating his first piece of cake was a much anticipated event. We decided to strip him down to his diaper just in case he decided to wear his cake rather than eat it. He tentatively started putting bits of icing in his mouth and once he realized he was the center of attention started hamming it up for the crowd. He loved the icing and loved making the guests laugh even more!!

Cousins

While we were in Omaha Cael got to see a lot of his cousins - Veronica, Nolan and Makenzi. Even though Cael and Veronica are only separated by 6 weeks and Makenzi and Nolan are older by several years (Nolan will be 12 in a week and Makenzi is 10) watching them interact with each other is still priceless. Cael and Veronica chased each other around the room and played together on the activity center. They are very much still in the exploration phase since they don't really understand the word 'cousin' or how this other little person is any different than the kids at daycare.

Even though Nolan and Makenzi are quite a bit older than Cael they still can't get enough of their baby cousin. They are so good with him and Cael adores them. Cael got a Husker football for his birthday and it was hilarious to watch him actually play catch with Nolan and Makenzi. This is what I love about going back to Omaha. I love watching Cael soak up as much of his family as he can. I love watching him interact with the people that love him. 

Picture People

We went to Picture People to get a family picture taken since we haven't had one done in years. The cousins are 6 weeks apart and it was so much fun to see them interact now that they are older. The pictures turned out pretty decent and even though they are in proof form I wanted to post them to the blog!! Enjoy!