'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.