18 months

Guess who's now 18 months old...

You only get one guess, but I but you can do it...

Yep, you got it! This tough guy is now 18 months old!

Today, I took CP to the doctor for a well-baby (sigh. I won't be able to call it that much longer!)visit. He is, in the words of the doctor, "Perfect." Physically, emotionally, cognitively, and socially, he is exactly where he's supposed to be. The doctor was charmed by Caden (I even over heard her saying to another staff member that she had just seen the most adorable little boy. Sorry, proud mommy moment.) and said that he doesn't have to come back for another well-child check-up until he's two. He's also been growing like a weed. He is now:

24 lbs 9.6 ounces (30% - again, who is in the 99%?)

32.5 in (50%)

Now, for those of you that are not keeping stats like I am (ha!), here is a little comparison. At 15 months (his last well-baby), he was 22 lbs 9.6 ounces and 30.5 inches. He has grown 2 lbs and 2 inches in three months! No wonder his pants and shoes are too short! Even more shocking is that when he was in to the doctor 3 weeks ago, they weighed him, and he was 23 lbs 12 ounces. That means he gained almost a pound in 3 weeks! Holy cow, I thought he was eating like a maniac!!

We are still loving every (ok, most!) minute of this stage of parenthood. Caden is growing and learning new things everyday. His vocabulary has doubled in the last few weeks and he just seems to "get" more things. He still enjoys playing hard and has the BEST giggle in the entire world. I think he's going to be an astronaut when he grows up because he is fascinated with the sky. He points out every, "ane" (plane), "birr" (bird), "moo" (moon), and "tar" (star). He's becoming SUCH a little man - a sweet, stubborn, playful, adorable, busy little man.

Happy, happy, 1/2 birthday Caden P!!!

Happy Halloweenie!

Some people love Halloween. Not me. It has never been my favorite. I don't like scary things (you will NEVER catch me in a haunted house. Ever.), growing up it always snowed and no one could ever see my pretty costume, and I have no resistance against leftover candy. You get the idea. This year, however, was SUPER fun. Maybe it was the beautiful weather we had. Maybe it was that I got to go trick-or-treating again. Probably, it was the cutey-cute lion that was roaring through our house.Can you tell how much he loved the hood? He did like the rest of the costume though and got a chance to wear it several times. This darling outfit was a hand me down from Noah Pouliot. One day I'll have to see if I can find a picture of him wearing it. I remember him being just as adorable in it as Mr. Caden.

We started our Halloween fun by going to a playdate up at Brianna Prehm's house. No pictures, but trust me, it was a good time. There were about 15 kids in costume tearing the Prehm house apart. Caden's favorite part was playing fireman. He kept pushing the test button on their carbon monoxide detector and it would send out a shrill, "beep, beep, beep, beep!" Caden would then beam with pride while other children cried. Nice.

We also took him to a fall fest at a nearby church. He loved the games, but his favorite was the apple bobbing booth. He didn't actually bob, it was more like apple grabbing.

Lorelei and her family were there too. It was a well-supervised date.

On Halloween Nana and Grandpa Kim spent the day with us and we carved pumpkins, ate chili, and candy.

In between these fun activities, Caden got in a fight with a cement curb and got a boo-boo in the middle of his forehead. No permanent damage, just ugly (the boo-boo, not the kid).

Then we went trick-or-treatingHappy Halloweenie from Team Zahrte

And now I think I'll have a little candy...

Silly Boy!

Who's kid is this?!?

Oh right, ours :)

Punkin' Pickin'

Last weekend, Team Z went to the pumpkin patch. Nana and Grandpa Kim joined us for a whole morning of fun!

How many places can you go and pick pumpkins with a view like this? Beautiful!

We loaded C up in the wagon and headed out to the field

There were lots and lots of pumpkins to choose from

Caden felt like he needed to try and pick up all of them

seriously, all of them

Daddy was the punkin' pickin' champion, however

After the pickin' was over, we loaded the pumpkins up into the wagon and headed back to the truck

We had a truck full of pumpkins!

Oh, but the fun was just beginning! The farm had a whole kiddie area for us to play in. They had horses

and jumpy castles

(Here is is holding is ticket for the castle...looking a little unsure!)

And he's in! But, this is as far as he got. He was out .5 seconds later - still a little young for a jumpy castle I guess!

Caden did, however, LOVE the hay bale maze. He could run around and jump all over the bales.

I just have to point me out in this picture - I'm the one on the right side taking a picture too. But, check out my left hand. I'm carrying a sippy cup, snack trap, and camera case, all in one hand. Is that a mom or what?

My sweet boys

There were lots of other fun things to do too

Our little punkin'

We had a great day on the farm!

Little Drummer Boy

Caden loves to play Daddy's guitar. He also loves to sing, yell, and say, "Hi!" in Mommy's microphone. But what this little guy really loves to do

is

drum

I think it's going to get very noisy in our house very soon!

Good Morning

Not too long ago, this is how Caden greeted us in the mornings...

Now, this is what our mornings look like

Nothing says, "Let's have a good day" like getting some serious air in your crib!

On this particular day, Caden was having a really bad hair day

Who wouldn't have a good day after seeing this sweet boy every morning???

Here's Me!

I'm here, I'm here!

I know it has been a ridiculously long time since I have updated the blog - but I have a good reason! See, we have been working on finishing our basement! And, although I did not do much of the work myself, I was only able to do anything at all while Caden was sleeping. And since that's when I usually update the blog, nothing got posted ya see.

But, don't you worry, because I'm back! Why? Because our basement is (mostly) D-O-N-E!! I'll spare you the gorey details, but just know that it took a lot of work, time, and help from our friends and family.

Pretty much, our basement went from looking like this...

to this...

and then...

and finally, this...

We LOVE the new basement! We added on a family room, bedroom, bathroom, and office for JZ. The carpet was installed today (drama there, don't ask!), and although there is no furniture anywhere yet, Caden P doesn't seem to mind...

We turned JZ's old office into a playroom.

Yeah, the toys have a new home!!

See why I've been so busy?!? Caden is still doing so well. He is growing up so fast, right before our eyes. He definately is more of a toddler than a baby now (sniff, sniff). He is still our same old boy though...

"Helpful"
Into EVERYTHING

Smart

And oh so handsome!

I keep telling people that I'd like to freeze time right now. He is at such a fun stage! He is able to interact and play with us, communicate more, but still naps. Love it! At 17 months, Caden...

• has over a dozen words that we consistently recognize. His favorites are, "dis!" which means "this" and is used to tell me what he wants ("This!" Thanks, that is so helpful when you're just standing there pointing) and "oughts" which means out. And in. And on. And off. Pretty much he uses it to go through a door (out and in is tricky!) and to turn a light switch off and on. He also knows the signs for "more", "all done", "please", "milk", and "water". He's even beginning to put two words or signs together to form short sentences.
• still loves his yellow blanket and all things Barney.
• thinks all dogs are named Belle and all animals make the same sound - "Roar!" Lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes - you name it, it roars!
• pushes his cars around the house yelling, "Vroom, vroom!" and now Daddy has taught him to make a squealing sound too (like tires). So now he says, "Vroom, vroom, screech!"
• claps everytime he sees football or baseball on TV and loves to watch Dancing with the Stars with me (lots of music and clapping).
• sleeps 11.5-12 hours a night and takes one 2.5-3 hour nap a day.
• is doing better with his stranger anxiety. He no longer cries when I take him to the nursery at church or at MOPS. Ok, he cries when I drop him off, but he stops before I've even left the hallway!
• likes to cheers his sippy cup a million times every meal.
• hates the highchair and vegetables. He loves meat, cheese, and fruit.

Seriously, this kiddo is so stinkin' cute and fun! He's getting so big, so fast, and we're having the best time with him!!

Whew, that was quite an update! I promise to do better from here on out!