He's got his own language...

Caden is talking up a storm! Nobody is sure what he is saying, but he sure acts like everyone should! He just started jabbering constantly about a week ago and now he won't stop. He walks over and talks to all of his toys, he'll bring us some of them and talk to us, then walk away to go get his books and "read", and then starts walking down the hallway just talking away. And I say he has his own language, because it's unlike any other baby talk that I've heard. Most babies are saying ba-ba, da-da, ma-ma...and while we will hear those occasionally, it's mostly things like aaa-go, eeessshhhh, goi-goi, guy-guy, agoi-guy. It's hilarious. I'll post a video soon I promise. And I think he is the only baby I've seen that is just as happy carrying around a book and reading it than he is with anything else. He's going to be so smart.

I'm a little behind on posts, but the weekend before last we went over to Panama City to celebrate Daddy's and Uncle Todd's birthdays (they are 5 years and 1 day apart). Caden is used to other babies at daycare, but I usually don't get to see a lot of that interaction on a daily basis, so it was entertaining watching him with his cousins, Brody and Wade. Wade tries to take all the toys and bottles away from everyone. Brody is very laid back and would just move on to another toy, as would Caden most of the time. But one time, Caden realized that he was the bigger cousin and could walk now, so when Wade took a toy from him, he just stood up and went behind Wade and went over his head to get it. I'm sure this will be more of a challenge once Wade starts to walk too, which should be any week now....Here's a picture of the cousins with Daddy and Uncle Todd...Happy Birthday, Uncle Todd and Daddy! (Aunt Candy has the same birthday as Uncle Todd, so we wish her a happy birthday, too!)

Here Wade was trying to stand next to Caden (So cute, it looks like Wade has his arm around him) ...I think the toy of interest at this point was a water bottle...
Victory, Caden kept the water bottle! And Wade is standing there, thinking, Man, if only I could walk, I could get it ;)

Playing the pots with Pops. (Say that fast three times). "Show me how to do that again, Pops"

Grammy and Pops got Caden this sports activity center for his birthday, and well we just finally got the time to put it together last weekend. Caden loves it. I showed him how to dunk the ball once and now he does it every time you hand him the basketball.He also loves the slide part, but that can get tiring since he hasn't figured out how to climb up to the top of the slide...

His older cousin, Andrew stayed with us on Saturday night so we could move him into the dorms on Sunday for Mike Martin Baseball Camp. Caden was loving Andrew's hat and was playing his FAVORITE game Peek-a-boo or as we like to call it "Where's Caden"

He LOVES "Where's Caden"...we play it many different ways. He will walk around with a blanket on his head, or will hide behind the kitchen island so he can walk out when you say "Where's Caden". We throw the blanket on his head in the car and he shoves it over the side of the carseat towards you to let you know that he wants to play again.

He has also been pretty snuggly lately...

Well, Caden and I are off to the beach with Nana, Aunt Jen, Uncle Albert, and cousins Kaley and Andrew this weekend, while Daddy is off to Chicago for some baseball games (to give Daddy credit, he did plan his trip way before we planned ours). I will post some beach pictures when we get back!

Well...IT happened!

Well...I guess I kind of jinxed myself to say that a toddler is an accident waiting to happen two posts ago, because THE ACCIDENT happened! Last Sunday started out like any other...Caden ate breakfast and then started walking all over the house. He loves to put toys on the seat of his high chair, so as he was putting one of them up there, he missed the high chair completely! And then, wham, hit the corner of the cabinets right above his eye...so off to the ER we go. The Dr. and Nurse gave us a choice to sedate him and stitch him up or put the liquid stitches (dermabond) on there. He said he really thought dermabond was all that was needed, so we went with this option...reluctantly though since our last daycare provider had a bad experience with it on her thumb, but he said that the eyebrow wasn't a place that was moved a lot, so it should be okay...

Here's the one that looks like the mugshot...

Still smiling though...

We also had quite a week before THE ACCIDENT. Scott had vertigo and was pretty much bedridden since last Thursday. Caden was biting on the coffee table and slipped and bit his lip...the first bloody incident of the weekend. Then, Caden and I spent the 4th with the Rudds...Caden was loving the pool and we even put him in water wings. He put his butt up in the air and would just float. He also loved walking on the steps...then as he was eating lunch, he got up and started walking around the porch and boom, fell and somehow nicked the inside of his nose on one of the patio chairs. The second bloody incident of the weekend...THE ACCIDENT was the third...Here are a few pics from the 4th...

Walking in the grass...I figured that was pretty safe...

Playing with Brooke Rudd...
The morning after THE ACCIDENT, I left to go on my trip to Chicago for the CPA Leadership Academy. I spent Monday by myself exploring downtown a little bit...and of course fit a little bit of shopping in...

Here's a picture of my hotel...

Some cool outdoor mural...

Then I went to the Art Institute of Chicago...It was amazing...so sorry for all the following pictures, but I really loved it!

Some cool things...

Recognize this one?

Water Lillies by Monet...

Then, I did the Ferris Bueller thing and stared at the painting...(funny, there was a lot of other people doing the same thing...)

My favorite...a Van Gogh...
Then, I wandered over to the new Modern Wing...Andy Warhol...

What the heck is up with this???

A Lichtenstein...

Famous Picasso from his Blue period...The Blue Guitarist...

Okay, sorry, but I had to share...I loved it! Now, I want to go every Art Museum I can...

Here are some of the other CPAs I met...we're at the White Sox game here...

Special thanks to Grammy, because while I was on my trip to Chicago, Scott's friend's dad died, so he had to hop on a plane to Chicago Thursday morning...so, Grammy hung out with Caden until I got back Friday afternoon...Scott forgot to leave the carseat, so she was confined to the house with him, too...Thanks, Grammy!

Now, back to our regularly scheduled cute pictures of Caden...

Caden reading...it still cracks me up...

Never really took to a paci, but he found one in his room one day and this is how I found him...

He has so many toys, but loved to play with this bar of soap one day...

All smiles...

Big Boy Pictures!

Click on the link to see a sneak peek at Caden's one year old pictures...he's such a big boy now....

http://longsphotographyblog.com/

A Toddler is an Accident Waiting to Happen!

My mom told me a quote last weekend..."a toddler is an accident waiting to happen". It was then followed by the fact that you can't prevent all of them...there will be many bruises, bumps, etc. Good to know because my toddler is many accidents a day (all be them minor and most of you wouldn't even consider them an accident...falling and bumping his knee against the table for instance).

Well, Caden is full on walking now! He is EVERYWHERE. He gets very proud of himself and starts smiling and laughing as he walks too as if it is the coolest thing he has ever done (well, it might be to him...). My mom was here last week and Scott and I drove her home on Friday and spent the weekend down there hanging out with my mom (Nana), Aunt Jen, Uncle Albert, cousin Andrew, and Caden's crazy cousin Kaley (that's the nickname I've given her for Caden...she used to be Kaley Bailey to me). Caden was loving all of the new trouble he could get into at Aunt Jen and Uncle Albert's house...

Trying to get their Roomba started (he succeeded one time and thought it was fun to chase it around the house)

Just a walking...
Playing the piano (that was one of the highlights of his weekend!)...

Staring at his crazy cousin Kaley and her wig...

A close up of the wig.

And here is Kaley with Riley. Kaley and Riley were buddies all weekend. I think Kaley loves the fact that she can hold him and tote him around...what do you think?While writing this blog post, I realize that I am horrible about taking pictures of anyone other than Caden...Kaley was lucky she got in a few, so that's why you don't see any of Aunt Jen, Uncle Albert, or Nana...Andrew probably would have made a few, but he was sick all weekend...Poor Drew Drew.

Let's see...what else is Caden doing besides walking and getting into EVERYTHING. Hmmmm...he has really started to dislike dinner and lunch and would love if Mommy would just feed him everything. This feeding himself everything is for the birds! Although, he wouldn't miss a chance to get a cheerio, puff, yogurt melt, or cheeto puff in his mouth. And he loves eating breakfast...cries when it's all gone. He is still really into reading his books. It's hilarious! One of these days, I swear, I will catch it on video. He has sooo many toys, but his favorites are any type of plastic ball that he roll over the hardwood floors or bang on the table.

Well, we are off to Panama City Beach this weekend for the 4th with Grammy, Pops, Uncle Todd, Aunt Carly, Cousin Brody, and Cousin Wade...and then Mommy is off to Chicago for her CPA Leadership Academy on Monday. I'll be gone until Friday, so let's all say a little silent prayer for Daddy, while he takes care of the baby and mans the homefront. I'm really going to miss my boys...this is the longest I have been away from the littlest boy...

One last picture...Last week was Scott and I's 3 year anniversary and he sent me these beautiful roses...(No it's not blurry, I was getting a little artistic with my fancy camera). They are called confetti roses...they were yellow with orange tips...I love my husband!