home renovation

At six-and-a-half months old, Kaden:

• Has become a pureed fruits and vegetables connoisseur .  He tried his first vegetable, green beans, on February 4th.  Since then, we have added carrots, prunes, pears, squash, bananas, and peas to his repertoire (in that order).  He loves them all.  We had a brief moment this morning (whilst he he was introduced to peas alongside his rice cereal) that I thought he might permanently boycott the little, round pellets (since he started crying after every bite and trying furiously to spit the mush out).  After a re-introduction at dinnertime, I think even peas might have won him over.  He loves to eat.  He voices his disdain if you don't shovel food into his waiting, open mouth quite quickly enough. 

• Has his first tooth.  All of that Orajel really wasn't wasted on our fussy baby.  He actually WAS teething.  I felt the sharp point of Kaden's first tooth on February 7th while, you guessed it, rubbing Orajel on his gums at bedtime. 

• Mostly sleeps through the night, with occasional relapses.  After Kaden started solid foods, we started "sleep training."  Basically, we don't pick him up when he wakes up in the middle of the night anymore.  We do the 10-15-20 minute go in, comfort, leave routine, until he falls back asleep on his own.  I know half of you are thinking I'm a terrible mother for letting my son cry in his crib, but I've got to say--8 hours of sleep at night is a glorious thing.  Most nights he just sleeps completely through the night, but every once in a while we'll have to go in and comfort him a few times before he'll zonk back out.  The biggest battle we had to fight in this department was breaking the swaddling habit.  Kaden has always loved to be swaddled.  Usually when he woke up during a nap, or during the night, it was because he had "broken out" of his swaddling.  We even used the special Swaddleme blankets, which were miraculous, but eventually he outgrew them.  Even the largest size.  We had mastered swaddling him in a select few blankets that were still big enough to get the job done, but he was getting too strong for those.  When we started the "sleep training," we also stopped swaddling, so he could learn to fall asleep without it. 

• Can sit up by himself, with supervision.  Kaden can support himself while sitting up, but quickly topples over if he reaches too far for whatever object catches his fancy.  We are practicing every day, and I think he'll be sitting completely solo before long.

• Whisper-talks to himself in the morning.  Oh my, this may be the most precious thing my child will ever do.  It is soooooooooo cute to listen to him do this.  Every time I try to catch him on film he promptly stops, however.  I hope  I can always remember what this sounded like.  After Kaden wakes up in the morning, he usually ends up cuddling in bed with me and Chad.  He just lies here, content as can be, whisper-babbling.

• Makes consonant sounds, which means he's now more of a babbler, and less of a coo-er.  It's pretty clear that the word "Dada" will probably be numero uno.  He already says this about a zillion times a day, he just doesn't know that he's saying it.  

•  Bathes in the real bathtub now.  We finally had to face reality:  our 28 inch baby can no longer bathe in the baby tub on the kitchen counter.  This was a travesty.  It is so much easier to bathe him while comfortably standing at the counter top.  Kaden LOVES taking a bath.  He kicks and splashes like crazy, and tonight I discovered that when squirted by his bath toys he can't contain his giggles.  He finds it hilarious.  He still can't take a bath every night because his skin gets too irritated (he still has some eczema).

• LOVES to jump.  If he's not in one of his jumping toys, he still pretends that he is.  He jumps while you hold him in your lap, and he even moves his legs like he's jumping while he's lying down. 

• Has figured out he can actually go in a complete circle while in his exersaucer.  His favorite part of this toy is the toy phone attached to it.  He tries to eat it, instead of talking to whatever imaginary friend is on the other end.      

• Still hates being on his tummy.  I talked to the pediatrician about this one, because I'm afraid he's never going to learn to crawl.  Kaden will only tolerate limited tummy time before he starts to scream. 

• Can successfully remove his pacifier and put it back in.  This is such a blessing.  He used to take his pacifier out when we'd put him down at night and then wake himself up by hitting himself in the face with it, attempting to get it back in. 

• Has better motor skills in general.  I love watching him play with his toys now, because he really does seem like he is starting to "play."  He can really hold on to objects now.  His favorite toy right now is by far his soccer ball.  Although he mostly just tries to, unsuccessfully, eat it.   

• Loves music.  The Disney music channel on Pandora is a frequent listen in our house.  (I love that part of my day consists of dancing to hits from The Jungle Book and The Lion King.  My life is seriously so awesome.  Especially when it's 1:00 and I'm still in my pajamas.)  Some of Kaden's favorite songs right now include "The Wheels on the Bus," "The Itsy, Bitsy Spider," and "Popcorn Popping."

• Still loves to be read to and is still pretty attentive while listening to the story (after initial attempts to ingest the literature).

• Loves to play peek-a-boo and patty cake.  

• Still typically takes three naps during the day.  One in the morning, one in the afternoon, and one in the early evening.  I wish so much he would just turn this into two LONGER naps.  It would really help give me time to get more done.

• Is a snugly little guy right now.  He likes to bury his little head in your chest while you hold him.  I took him to see the English teachers at North Lenoir and he cuddled with every one of them.

• Is still precious, sweet, and is so much fun to take care of every day.

• Is growing up way too fast.

Here are some firsts we've been experiencing in the Reese household:

For Kaden:

First Christmas--

• CAN sleep through the night.  He did this for the first time on November 5th (yes, my future London Study-Abroader chose Guy Fawkes Day as his first un-interrupted slumber).  Usually he will choose a couple of nights a week to sleep through the night.  The rest of the time we're getting up 1-2 times to eat.  I am not complaining, however.  I am just thankful Chad and I have managed to escape the curse put upon us by our parents that we would have children just like us.  Neither of us slept through the night until we were well into our toddler years.  I'll take my 1-2 days a week of a full-night's rest with pleasure.  Thankfully, on the nights when he does wake up, he usually goes back to sleep fairly easily.
• Full out laughs when he feels the occasion calls for it.  This happens most often when I am changing his clothes (he LOVES to be naked).  He was even laughing in his sleep the other day when Chad put him down for his nap.
• Talks in complete sentences, just in a language we can't understand.  Kaden is very expressive.  He tells sad stories and happy stories.  Sometimes he will take a break while nursing to tell me an entire story, before he goes back to eating again.  
• Shoves everything he can get his hands on in his mouth.  He also shoves his hands in his mouth (he frequently gags himself by shoving his fingers too far down his throat).  
• Holds small objects like his rattle and other toys.
• Loves his feet.
• Is still too lazy to roll over.  While on his back he will roll to his side and then give up.  While on his tummy he will get frustrated until we pick him up.  
• Watches us eat with extreme interest.  
• Will still be entertained by his swing and bouncy seat but for much shorter periods of time.  
• Loves sitting up in his Bebe Pod (Bumbo seat). 
• Naps with his daddy in the morning (after he eats breakfast) while mommy gets ready for work.  (It melts my heart every morning when I go say goodbye before I leave.  Without fail Chad and Kaden are both sound asleep in the exact same way--arms sprawled out above their heads.)
• Has to be swaddled up tight to get him to sleep, but as soon as the swaddling process begins he will fight like crazy to stay awake.
• Has his mom's stubborn streak and will occasionally let it show. 
• Naps for much shorter periods of time (just ask his poor Gigi who keeps him during the day).
• Loves to sing along to the Christmas music on car rides.
• Moves his entire body when he gets excited about something, be it his reflection in the mirror, or his Elmo toy at Gigi's house.
• Will let me tote  him around in the pouch sling in the kangaroo position.  He loves being able to see out and move around with me. (This is another precious sight to behold.  I'll try to add pictures later.) 
• Gets shy sometimes when we compliment him on how cute he is and buries his face in the chest of whomever is holding him to hide his embarrassment (This is one of the most adorable things he does.  I will try to post a video of this sometime.)
• Is a very happy little guy most of the time and is content to let just about anyone hold him, rock him, and love him.