Halloween Fun!

I wasn't so sure that Halloween would be too exciting for our family this year... Caden has reached an age of opinion.  He lets me know when he wants to wear something, when he doesn't want to wear something else, that tags bother him in his jackets, when to wear his rain boots versus his tennis shoes.  I just knew that come Halloween night (or the night after as it so happened), he wouldn't be into wearing his Dinosaur costume. Well, surprise!  surprise!  He wanted to wear it to the library story time on Oct 31.  He kept it on for a few minutes before shucking the jacket, which I don't blame him, it was warm in there.  The next day, when it was time for trick or treating, his put the entire get up on, he grabbed his bag and he was out the door to collect candy!!!  Thank goodness for all our Halloween books that helped prepare him for the night's events.  (Now, we just need to start reading books on the new baby!).

We thought that we'd hit 3 houses, but he insisted that we walk the entire cul-de-sac!  He even enjoyed hanging out on the porch and handing out candy to the other trick or treaters.  It was really a fun night.  Here are some pics...

Our neighbors had this large "Frank" that Caden loved to visit all October.

Preparing to hand out candy

Before I Forget...

There are so many great Caden stories....  As I was reading through my blog this afternoon, I relived the bathtub situation in Brazil and the Knock-Knock on the taxi door.  I decided that I needed to sit down and write a couple of these down, before I forget!

His vocabulary is definitely improving, but there are still some things that he will only sign or use his own sounds for.  One of them just cracks me up.  Whenever he wants a little cuddle with his lovey, L E Phant (called L E for short), he for some reason makes a Tarzan call.  It is really hard to explain with words, but at best attempt, he keeps his mouth closed and sorta whines in a fluctuating tone.  Very Tarzan-esque.

A few months ago he started saying a "word" that we couldn't quite place.  I wasn't sure if it was No-No, or Nona, but after listening in several different scenarios we figured out that he is actually talking about himself.... "Nay-Nay".  Fast forward and he is still using this nickname for himself, and as cute as it is, we do reference it every once in a while, but try our best to encourage the use of Caden.

Brad just brewed a batch of beer.  It has to sit in this glass container (carboy) that resembles an industrial Ozarka bottle for several days while it ferments.  Caden is highly involved in the beer making process and helps to go check the bubbling beer in the bottle on a daily basis.  There are even times when Brad is not home, that he will take me to the spot of the beer and mumble this word that is really similar to berrrrr.  One of Brad's favorite magazines, of course about brewing, has been laying around lately.  As Caden thumbs through it, he points out all the men and says Dada, and then points at pictures of the carboys and says berrrrrr.  He definitely knows what he is talking about. Yesterday we were at the store and we walked past the section of industrial Ozarka water bottles, he yells BERRRRRR!  His Daddy couldn't be more proud!

Tonight we were playing with his toy hammer, and since we have been hanging a lot of pictures lately, we've been discussing the technical names of the tools.  As he was playing with it, I said, "Caden, what is this?"  He just looked at me.  I said, "What do we call it?".  He looked at me again, this time like I am crazy, then he patted his upper thigh like he was calling a dog.  I guess he thought I was asking "How do you call the hammer?".  :)

One day at Story Time at the library, he was standing in the middle of the circle with the other kids, but he kept fidgeting with his shirt.  He was sticking his hand up his shirt, almost like he was itching.  I thought, oh great, I am going to look like "that Mom" that brings her kid to the library with measles.  I kept ask him, what are you doing? do you have an itch? but I wasn't quite understanding his answer.  Another mom had tuned into what was going on at this point and seemed as confused as I was.  I asked him one last time, why is your hand in your shirt? Take your hand out of your shirt!.  This time I got it... "deodorant, putting on deodorant".  There you have it, I was concerned about being "that Mom", but here I have a 20 month old with better hygiene than lots of grown men!!!  He loves to do all the hygienic type things that Moma and Daddy do.  He even insists on putting in his contacts.  He will stand at the bathroom counter, squirt solution in the palm of his hand and dip his finger in it.  He follows it up with dabbing his finger by his eye, just like he sees Moma and Daddy do!  At least he's picking up on the good habits..... for now!

For the past 2 weeks we've been working on a new bedtime routine.  Instead of the norm, which was books, prayers, singing, followed by rocking him til he slept, we've been trying to put him down before he is actually asleep.  It's been going AMAZINGLY well.  I was never one for Ferberizing.  It just wasn't for me.  He is old enough now, that he understands the concept and knows that we will be back if he really needs us.  I was astonished when we didn't have to endure a SINGLE night of all out crying before he passed out.  Some nights are better and faster than others, but tonight cracked me up!  He seemed to be fighting sleep.  He was tossing around for a few minutes and then later I heard him stopping on the mattress.  I looked at the video monitor to find him lying flat on his back, but kicking his feet.  Then he started clapping.  Then stomping again.  I wondered what was going on.  I turned up the volume so I could see what song was playing on his CD player, and wouldn't you know... it was If You're Happy and You Know It!  I guess he was just happy!  ;)

The New Digs

We're blessed with a splash pad 1.5 miles from the house.  It's got the norm, sprinkling objects for kids to run through, but THE COOLEST PART is that it feeds this man made creek where kids can play and move rocks and build damns.

We're been playing outside a lot.  After multiple days of play in a tiny pile of potting soil that the movers spilled in our driveway, I decided that we REALLY needed a sandbox.

The sandbox fits perfectly under his play-scape.

 One of the best parts about the new house, is the proximity to Brad's work.  We're close enough where we can meet for lunch!  Caden LOVES it!

We survived the move!

The move was certainly not enjoyable by any means... Change is always hard.  My friend Katie says that it usually takes me 2 weeks to adjust to change (funny how some people know you better than you know yourself), but when it comes to change like this, I just might have to give myself another week or two.  It's hard to leave good friends behind, it's hard to leave familiarity of parks and shops and restaurants, I hate finding new doctors and places to get haircuts, I am terrible with new roads...  I am certainly like the majority... a creature of habit and resistant to change.  However, this change was a necessary evil, and I knew we wouldn't be in Ohio forever!  Brad has a wonderful opportunity with his company and I know first hand the enjoyment and perks that you get from having an office at Corporate Headquarters.

The truck came on Wednesday morning to start packing.  My Mom flew into town at 11:30 that morning to help with things.  We loaded the car with necessities for a couple of days, cleaning supplies, the cats and Caden.  Brad had to stay at the house while the packers finished packing and the loading took place the next day.  Once we got to Zionsville we settled in, set up temporary bedding and started to clean.  The house had been vacated for 30 days, with contractors coming and going at their pleasure, so it was pretty dirty!  Brad joined us on Thursday evening with a truck full of items the movers could not take.  The BIG truck arrived with our stuff on Saturday morning, bright and early.  We got to work!  They were done unloading by 1:00, and we left all the unpacking to ourselves, on our own time.  Having my mom here was a big HUGE help with getting things done while having a toddler underfoot!

Caden adjusted to the change like it was nothing!  Totally impressive!  He slept through the night by night #2, not so true for those darn cats!!!  He knows the way to his room and where Moma's bathroom is.  He loves playing in the driveway and the backyard both.  We have his crib in his big boy room (caged=safety at this point in the game), BUT, I am happy to say that he is now putting himself to sleep.  Baby steps in moving towards the big boy bed.

I am currently just trying to get this house to be a home.  There are a few boxes left, but not many.  We need to get some pictures hung and get some decor for Caden's big boy room!  There are a few things to do, like knock down an old piece of fence and do some landscaping, which both sound like good Fall projects.  In time, hopefully by the end of the year... we'll have this place in working order. Come February, we'll have a whole 'nother baby that will bring a new set of challenges!

Yep!  We filled the whole truck!

Somehow Caden seems to always settle right in!  We had a picture really similar to this when we moved to Brazil.

Our awesome backyard play-scape!  Look at that upper body strength!

What our house looked like for a couple of days...

Caden doing some cleaning.

The backyard project...

Even with all the hustle and bustle, sometimes you just have to stop and smell the flowers!

18 Months

Disclaimer:  I FINALLY found time to sit down and write this while waiting on an oil change at the dealership.  So pardon any typos as the typing has been done on the iPad.  :)

It is so hard to believe that Caden is 18 months!!! He has grown so much in the last several months.  His vocabulary is really shaping up and he has about 30 words, most of which are simple like bye or bow-wow.  One of his words just blows my mind, and others around us too.  He is fascinated with the ironing board and mumbles a word that highly resembles the real thing.  So funny which things grabs this guy's attention.  He LOVES the vacuum and broom.  He will sometimes make messes just so he can clean them up, a little type A personality showing through...

He is really active and is totally into climbing.  Sometimes I wonder if I birthed a mountain goat.  He can actually climb an 8 foot chain rope ladder on his own, always impressing everyone on the playground.  He also tries stunts in the house that I am not real found of, like jumping from furniture piece to furniture piece.  These days he is working on jumping, and it is soooo fun to watch.  He stands on the ground with 2 feet and puts all his concentration into getting a foot off the floor. Adorable!

I would say his favorite past time by far is driving.  This kid LOVES steering wheels!!!  I mean like, an obsession kind of love.  At Lowe's he has to drive every riding lawn mower within reach, he always heads for the toys with steering wheels at parks and anytime we get in my car to go anywhere, we either start or end with him in the driver's seat.  Which means that when I get back behind the wheel, the radio is blaring, the windshield wipers are going full speed, the blinker is on and my AC is usually turned to heat.  Now to work on putting things back to how we found them!

He's gotten really good at following directions, and can usually take something where it needs to go without distraction.  I can just see his little brain working as I talk to him.  The other day he was throwing a fit, about nothing if you ask me, and I handed him a tissue and asked him to wipe his tears.  I saw him think for a second, then he wiped his ear with the tissue.  Well, I guess tear is not a word we had used real often!

These are the days of skinned knees, bumps and bruises.  He is all little boy.  Popsicles and other cold items usually make things better.

My friend and photographer Stacie Bowers took some 18 month photos for me just before we left Ohio.  Here they are!  Enjoy!

Santos Dumont Airport - Rio

I am a closet aviation geek (the making of Airbus A380 was on the forefront of my mind several years back), so when we were landing on this tiny strip of land I knew it was something unique.  Here is a little information about the airport, in case any of you are interested in this as well.

In 1934, in order to handle a growing amount of land operations, land was reclaimed from the sea to create the first runway of the airport with a length of 1,300 feet (400 m).  Over the years, the airport's main runway has been extended several times, first to 2,300 feet (700 m), then to 3,000 feet (910 m), and finally 4,340 feet (1,320 m).  The airport is famous for having some of the shortest runways on which some Boeing and Airbus aircraft can land. 

Fun Facts:

The longest runway in Houston at IAH is 12,001 feet.  

The Nimitz-class Aircraft Carriers are 1,092 feet.

15 Months and a New Do

Caden is now 15 months old and absorbs everything like a sponge!  He picks things up so quickly that it is scary.  The other day we were out for a walk and a dog was on the loose.  I was patting my thigh calling the dog, which I think is the universal sign for calling a dog.  That very afternoon, he was in our backyard, standing at the neighbor's fence, patting his thigh, trying to get their dog to come visit him.  Another quick story... We have a book about Spot the Dog.  The last page of the book reads Good boy Spot.  I always pat him on the head and say Good Boy Spot.  He likes that.  He also likes to pat our heads.  The other day he was in the living room going through his book collection.  I luckily looked up just in time to see him flipping through his Spot the Dog book and patting himself on the head.  SO CUTE!  SO stinking smart!

We had our official 15 month trip to the Doctor.  We had to catch up on vaccines, since we missed our 12 month appointment being that we were in Brazil.  Caden weighed 23 pounds and 4 ounces, ranking at 60%.  He was 31.5" in length, which was 57%.  The nurse was quite concerned because he actually weighed less than he did at our last appointment which was 6 months ago!!!  However, I tried to reassure her that he was quite the chunk at 9 months, he had jumped to the 90% in both height and weight, and he has been in the 50 - 60 for all the other check-ups.  Looks like when he became mobile, he lost the weight and has trimmed down quite a bit.

Right now he is saying Bye, and waves, he can blow kisses, he knows that a cow says Moo and a Lion roars.  He can follow directions very nicely, taking laundry to the bedroom, or taking something to the trash.  He knows where his tongue, foot, hand, eyes, ears and belly button are.  He is INCREDIBLY active, and hardly sits still.  He is getting more into reading books, especially ones that have active pages, although he can destroy a book like that in 10 seconds flat.  He loves to play outside and we're looking forward to the weather getting better soon!  And he is totally into chasing around his "kitties".  Not sure that I can spell it like he pronounces it, but it is pretty good!  Poor guy  battled his first major virus this month.  He had a fever and small rash for a few days, which turned out to be Fifths Disease.  No FUN!

He got his first haircut today.  We went to a lady's house, where she cut it as he moved around.  The only picture that I captured basically summed up the event, he would run away from her, just as the time that she had the hair pulled and was ready to cut.  It was a 30 minute process, but his hair looks SO MUCH better!

Here's some pics!  Hope you enjoy!

BEFORE

AFTER

15 Month Pics - Taken with all the baby hair - as messy as it was.