Splish Splash!

We enrolled Caden in Mommy and Me swim lessons this summer.  I wanted to make sure to get him acquainted with the water at a young age so that he doesn't develop the fear and dislike of having it in his face.  He did wonderfully, better than I even expected.  We even made a couple of new friends during the process.

As a former swim instructor, one of my main objectives was to teach him to swim to the wall and to hold on to the wall for support.  He started to get the concept and had the strength to hold himself up without support (although I was still hesitant to do so!).

Not the best quality, but look at how relaxed he is and how well he floats.  

SWIM!  SWIM!

Grin and Bear It

Here is a picture of his grin - complete with first teeth.  His second tooth came in just 3 days after his first one, so they are pretty close in size.

Here are a couple of videos of Caden crawling, sometimes hands-knee, other times (when he wants to get somewhere FAST) he'll army crawl.  He has now started to get into the bear crawl position, strengthening those leg muscles!

Today's Dish

This blog is generally used for providing updates of our son, BUT we have a recipe that is so wonderful I feel it would be a disservice not to share.  In all fairness, we wouldn't have this recipe if it weren't for Caden; a girlfriend of mine made this for us sometime shortly after Caden was born.
This has been our favorite go-to ever since.  We hope you enjoy!

Cheddar Bar B Q Meatloaf Minis
1 lb ground beef
1 pkg stove top stuffing mix  1 tsp garlic powder 3/4 cup bbq sauce
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese


Heat oven to 375.  Mix meat, stuffing mix, 1 cup of water and garlic powder. Press into 12 muffin cups sprayed with cooking spray. Make an indentation in the center of each mini loaf with a spoon; fill with bbq sauce. Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Top with cheese, bake for 5 minutes or until cheese melts.

Patriotic Pants

Here are a couple of pics from Caden's 4th of July.  Hope y'all had a good one!

I've never seen him so relaxed.

6 Months and Going Strong

Caden is now weighing in at 18 pounds 4 ounces (65%).  He is 26.5 inches long (55%).  This month he mastered the army crawl.  He will try to crawl conventionally, but only goes backwards.  If you put something interesting enough on the floor, he can be on it in a matter of seconds.  He is trying to push himself into sitting position, but he still can't get there 100%.

He started solid foods this month and has done pretty good with the spoon.  There are days that are much messier than others, the picture below is definitely one of the worst by far!  He has 2 bottom teeth coming in, but I haven't been able to get a picture of them. He is still on breast milk every 3 hours (give or take).

His sleep patterns have their ups and downs.  He will give me some hour and a half naps and there are nights where we only get up once to replace the paci and then up again at 5 to feed him (it's just not the standard).

 We've been having record heat in Ohio, so we spend our afternoon splashing in our backyard pool.

5 Months!

The 5 month milestone has come and gone, but I am just now getting a chance to reflect on it.  Partially because Caden still resits sleep, not leaving a lot of time to get tasks such as these done.  He is weighing in at 17 lbs 12oz.  I haven't had a chance to get his length yet, as the pictures will show, this boy is on the move.  He is still on breast milk only, but studies Brad and I as we eat with forks and spoons - I think that he is ready for something new!  His hand eye coordination is just about perfected, as he can grab at objects and pick them up at ease - even getting a handful of cat hair a time or two (poor Bogey!).  He is getting stronger core muscles and sits pretty well without support, although he hasn't gotten into that position on his own yet.  He has mastered the crawling position and is starting to experiment with movement - sometimes rocking, somethings lunging.  As we say around here, he has become so mobile that he is "not trusted".  You can place him on the floor, but within seconds he will have re-positioned himself and scooted over to explore something new.  By the next post I would  imagine we'll have a crawler!

He still loves to play with his feet.

WHEE!!!!!

First Swim

In the bouncer - still a favorite

Crawling position assumed...

Cat targeted and successfully reached (poor Bogey!)

4 Month Update

Caden is growing like a weed, and the weeds are growing like wild this spring!  He now weighs 15 lbs and 11 oz (although that was taken this past Monday, and he has proved to grow 3/4 of a pound in a week!).  He is 25 inches tall.  He has moved up in the percentages, coming in at 65% for his weight and 50% for his height!  He is definitely more and more alert and aware everyday.  Lately he's been exploring his feet, which is a lot of fun to watch!  He will instantly roll to his tummy when he is put on his back and most of the time he will pull his legs up underneath him.  I tried to capture that in the picture below...

He's definitely gotten the tummy time head control down.

He's been enjoying his exercauser, which is suspended by springs for plenty of bouncing!

 

One of the best pics I've taken so far, or at least I think so....

He's happiest when he has his hands in his mouth - no teeth to speak of, but as the Dr. put it,

" his gums are waking up"

He still loves bath time!

Now if this doesn't make you yawn.....

and if this doesn't make you laugh!

(That's what I call knee-slapping funny!)