What a year!

Caedmon is over a year old now! How did that happen so fast? It has been so much fun to be there for the numerous milestones of infancy, and now we rejoice to see him entering toddlerhood with gusto.

Because his birthday falls so close to Christmas, we celebrated a week early (on December 12) with a barnyard-themed party. We were so blessed by the family and friends that gathered with us to mark this event, and helped us pull everything together! His Aunt Amanda helped with his cake, his Grammy and Pappa brought hay bales for decoration and helped with the food, Uncle Brian and Aunt Toni decorated, and Gramma and Dude helped with last minute party preparations. Even Caedmon helped the day before as we mixed up and baked his cake.


I was concerned that all the commotion might be overwhelming, but Caedmon did great. He ate a hearty lunch of chicken tenders, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and fresh fruit, then learned about opening presents. Surprisingly, with all his experience tearing pages of magazines, he wasn't terribly interested in ripping off wrapping paper but did pull some tissue paper out of bags. His toy box has been updated with some great new toys, which he has really enjoyed, as well as some new books for us to read together!


The moment we were all most curious about, though, was last - eating his birthday cake. We presented him with his own little cake, sang, and "helped" blow out the candle. He was very tentative at first, gently picking some of the icing "grass" off the top and tasting it. After that first nibble, though, it didn't take long for him to dive in to the rest. For the most part, he was a very purposeful eater, keeping himself as clean as one can when eating birthday cake with no utensils. As he filled up, we did get more cake on the floor and I got a few nice handprints on my pants, but we didn't feel bad about taking the cake away at that point as he'd finished about half of it anyway!



In the last week and a half or two, he has really made progress with walking on his own. At first he would only take solo steps if Daniel or I helped him get started but now he's gotten a bit more confident, and I've seen him hold onto a piece of furniture and contemplate his journey to another piece of furniture or toy. He still doesn't go far, but incentives (such as the cat) definitely boost his confidence!

He's also learning a lot and becoming a big helper around the house. One of his favorite tasks is to help unload the dishwasher, which he is able to do very quickly. Such a sweet little helper!


And some lessons are a little harder to learn. One of our challenges right now is diaper changes, which, for reasons I don't understand, have been a battle from time to time. One particular day I had to pick up our little guy and hold him against me to get his pants back on, as he was squirming and struggling so hard. It was a chore! I couldn't really see what I was doing, and once I finished and put him down on the floor to play, realized what had happened. Poor boy! I had time to run and snap a quick picture, as Caedmon wasn't going anywhere fast!


In other family news...I'm very excited to report that at 16 weeks, I've begun to be able to feel our little baby moving. Last night, in fact, even Daniel felt a teeny little fluttering. The movements are still small and light, but each one is a cause for celebration, excitement, anticipation, and awe - what a miracle!

Sharing

It's pretty obvious that this blog is all about Caedmon. He is the light of our lives and we are so blessed to watch him grow and learn. It's an absolute miracle.

Caedmon is definitely becoming more independent - working so hard to walk by himself, preferring to feed himself than to be fed, choosing where he wants to go when crawling and cruising. While it's sometimes hard to say goodbye to the little baby stages and his total dependence on us, we're thankful for the way he's growing. He doesn't realize it yet, but he's working towards a new milestone where that independence will be a blessing for us all - big brotherhood!

That's right - love is growing! Currently at 12 weeks, our official due date is June 6. Caedmon is going to be a wonderful big brother, and we will definitely continue to document the joy he brings us, but learning to share is key for any sibling...so the blog will soon also include happenings in the life of another little one! Praise God!

11 month-old marvel

Every day is something new and different! Caedmon is a little sponge these days - totally soaking up everything around him, and seeking new opportunities to explore and investigate. He's Mr. Curious, and especially loves getting to putter around outside. In fact, he will head for the front door all on his own and insist that we go out. The weather has been perfect for outdoor adventures lately, and we have made the most of it!

Caedmon's Grammy found this darling little red wagon for him, and we have made countless trips up and down the sidewalk with it. He watches other walkers, looks at the trees, spots airplanes, and occasionally will have a stick or branch to wave around. He thinks it's great!


He has also gotten to be quite the puller-upper lately. Generally, if he can get a grip on it, be it a piece of furniture, his crib, my pants leg, or even the outside of his wagon, he will be up in a jiffy.



Leaves are crunchy, and we love things that crunch! Caedmon has so much fun just rustling around in our yard. And anytime he sees something exciting (a squirrel, a bird, the cat, his Cheerios) he will gasp and reach towards it - with both hands if he's really enthused.



He has also learned how to crawl on all fours rather than on his tummy (although he still reverts back to the old way on slippery surfaces or if he really wants to get somewhere fast). He is amazing us as he has begun mimicking sounds and gestures. He says "hhhh" for "hot" (with wide eyes, of course!) and blows in and out when I'm blowing on his food to cool it. While reading his bedtime books, he says a-a-a-a-a when we make sheep sounds (b-a-a-a-a!) and also will smack his lips if we do. He's gotten to be much more consistent about waving on cue, and in his music class this week, began tapping his hands on his knees, the way his teacher and the other moms do to keep time.

10 months and growing

What a busy few weeks! Caedmon has been amazing us with all his new discoveries and skills, it's been great fun. He's really transitioning from a baby into a little boy.

We visited Hamilton last weekend, and our boy had a great time learning about different toys. He surprised us when we put him on a little ride-on toy...he started pushing with his feet and scooted right across the floor. I guess he is expert enough with his walker to transfer those skills to a new toy. He thought it was great!

He also had some fun playtime with his cousin, Kayla. The first thing he did, as she was playing nicely with blocks, was to swipe both her socks and play with them. She was a little surprised but didn't seem to mind too much. He's gotten to be quick about taking off his own socks, but can't remove his shoes, so I guess in this situation he had to be content with "helping" Kayla.

Why crawl when you can walk? With assistance of course, Caedmon loves padding around holding our hands. He's really getting stronger and more steady and although he's not pulling up too much, we're seeing him making a lot of progress. At times we can help him balance, then let go, and he'll stand on his own for a few seconds before we need to catch him.

Andre and Caedmon have really had some great bonding time lately. For some reason, the cat has grown more tolerant, occasionally almost even friendly, which Caedmon thinks is great news. We're still working on "petting" rather than "grabbing," but as long as Andre's patience holds out, I think we'll get there!

Since he's already quite comfortable at the piano, Caedmon apparently decided he is ready to take up a new instrument. Daniel got his guitar out last week and he was just fascinated, wanting a piece of the action. He was entertained for some time with picking at the strings and sitting close by while his daddy played. I suspect this is one picture we'll see numerous times in the future!

We haven't captured it on camera yet, but Caedmon has also started mimicking certain gestures. We can often get him to wave at us; it's a very small wave, but adorable anyway. Daniel really gets credit for this new skill; he spends a good minute practicing waving with Caedmon every day when he goes to work. Now, not only does our sweet boy wave when we wave and say "bye-bye" to him, but anytime one of us goes out the door to the garage (as Daniel does in the mornings) he will give us a teeny little wave, unsolicited. He's also begun pointing; we try to point at objects to name them or to show him what direction to go. He doesn't point at things yet but often has one finger up. Sometimes it seems, to my mommy's eyes, like he's saying, "I have an idea!" or "Just a moment!" Although I know that's not the case, I'm sure he will discover the value of directing that pointer finger at things that he wants very soon.

Busy little boy

Caedmon has been a busy guy these last few weeks! He's still army crawling, but what he really likes is to be able to walk (with our assistance, of course.) He makes trips all around the house, holding on to our hands as he checks out different rooms. It's amazing to me that he seems to have a good understanding of the layout of our house and knows how to get to wherever he wants to go. He's had some good practice standing on his own with his activity table, which he thinks is great fun! I think he loves the independence of standing on his own and choosing what he plays with on the table. It also has lights and sound, so after the first few days of him getting to play with it, I realized that he has also started "dancing" whenever it plays music.



Caedmon was cheering on his Aggies this weekend - it was finally cool enough for him to try out his A&M shirt, which I thought was adorable! We had fun snapping some photos outside, although he's pretty busy and was much more interested in picking up leaves/sticks/berries/vines/rocks/dirt than posing for the camera. We also got a great shot of him with his Daddy - but even though he was being held far above all the previously mentioned distractions, he was determined to get down and play on the ground. To get this photo, I had to set up a lawn chair, duck down behind it, and begin a game of peekaboo until he looked at me and smiled - I had to be fast with the camera! I'm sure I'll need to get used to this as he becomes more mobile!

Happy 9 Months!

Today is Caedmon's 9-month birthday. It's been such a joy and privilege to watch him growing, learning, and changing! Our baby is turning into a little boy. Although he likes to be close to Mommy and Daddy right now, we also see little steps (not literally, yet!) toward independence. His increased mobility, both through his walker and now by crawling, have given him opportunities to do some exploring on his own. Several times in the last week he has crawled out of the room on his own, leaving me behind to ponder his increasing confidence and sense of adventure. He's quite the expert at feeding himself, as well, and can even manipulate tricky foods like bananas, peas, egg yolk, and his new favorite, puffed rice. That's not to say mealtime isn't messy, though!

One evening we were feeding him peaches and cereal, which had turned out thicker than usual. Caedmon was not really interested in eating from the spoon, but made repeated attempts to grab the bowl, which we finally just gave him. He enthusiastically dove in, scooping up the cereal with his fingers and taking it to his mouth. It was quite a mess, but was another learning experience for him!

After the cereal was gone, his sticky little fingers had a new target - the camera!

He also knows that the sound of the garage door means his favorite playmate is home - Daddy! Several times in the last week we've been playing on the floor when Daniel came home from work. Caedmon will stop whatever he's doing, throw his toy aside, flop onto his tummy, and head for the back door in high gear. He gets so excited! It's really a joy to watch him make those connections and begin to understand how things work. We thank the Lord daily for blessing our lives so richly with this precious child.

"Not in your mouth!" - Part 2

As the title of this post suggests, we have continued to play the "Not in your mouth" game. However, it is now an ongoing challenge to make sure I am constantly vigilant about what is within Caedmon's reach, because he's gotten to be pretty quick and a little bit sneaky about what he puts in his mouth.

For example...last week, he crawled under our rocking chair and was playing, rocking it with his legs and just checking things out under there. I saw no problem with this, it seemed harmless enough and he was quite content. After a little while I picked him up and put him in his stroller to be nearby while I installed his new car seat. He was happy to watch and listen as I described what I was doing, but as I finished I realized he was chewing on something. I rushed to retrieve the "thing," which turned out to be a tag he had evidently peeled off the bottom of the rocking chair at least 15 minutes earlier.

Later in the week, I was packing for a weekend trip to Gramma and Dude's house and let him play on a blanket on the floor in our room. I looked down to see him scooting off of his blanket, with half a dust bunny hanging out of his mouth that he had fished out from under the armoire. Goodness, I try to keep our floors clean, but hadn't considered the possibility of him getting under furniture like that! Again, I removed the bunny, much to Caedmon's amusement.

Finally, on Sunday, we all went to church with Daniel's whole family. Caedmon was a little too busy and talkative for church, so I took him outside and let him sit on the sidewalk where his feet and hands would reach the grass (one of his favorite ways to entertain himself.) I watched him the whole time he was playing and didn't see anything get eaten. He fell asleep after church, slept the whole way back to the house, and after waking up and playing for a while, had lunch. His nose had been runny and he'd been a little cranky, but we didn't suspect anything unusual had happened. While eating, though, he sneezed, and I noticed something small and green coming out of his nose. I wiped it, and a whole, inch-long blade of grass came out...of his nose! Poor guy! He must have gotten it stuck in his throat until he sneezed.

Since I don't have any photos to accompany these stories, here are some recent ones just for fun. When Caedmon is too tired at suppertime, and rubs his face with his little hands...we get food (in this case, broccoli and cereal) from his chin to his eyebrows. Yum!

Now that he's scooting around on the floor, Caedmon enjoys crawling through his little play-gym tunnel. These were taken in the morning, so he's still in his pajamas.


We were in Garland this past weekend to celebrate Dude's 55th birthday. Everyone enjoyed time in the pool, including our little guy in his adorable Speedo swim trunks that his Gramma gave him! For a while, he watched an intense game of water polo from the steps, playing with his sunscreen and an extra ball.

When there was a break in the action, though, it was Caedmon's turn to splash around a little! Daniel helped him swim through the water (he was even kicking his legs!) and his Uncle Taylor, Aunt Julianne, Aunt Amanda, and Dude were all there to encourage him and make his time in the pool very entertaining.

"Not in your mouth!"

Caedmon has been one busy guy lately. His crawling skills are improving rapidly; although he's still pulling himself on his tummy, he's going wherever he wants! He has escaped his room a few times now - I left him playing to go to the kitchen or, in this case, our bedroom, and he set out after me! He was excited to make it out into the hallway, giggling and "talking" as he got closer.

This morning was beautiful outside, and Caedmon was looking particularly big-boyish in his overalls, so we spent some time outside and I snapped a few (okay, more than a few) photos of him. For a very short time, he was the perfect subject and sat, smiling at me, while I photographed him. But then...

...Andre intervened, drawing Caedmon's attention away from me. He walked right up to him, let Caedmon touch him, and then calmly walked way. That is very out of character; Andre knows that Caedmon will grab and pull fur, whiskers, tail, paws, anything he can reach. He does not purposefully get within reach of those tiny fingers!

After Andre moved on, Caedmon was ready to play our new game..."not in your mouth!" Of course babies put everything in their mouth, that is nothing new. But the last few times we've gone outside, Caedmon will pick up leaves, vines, rocks, whatever, and after inspecting them for a short time, will put them in his mouth. I take them out and tell him "not in your mouth!" Once this has happened a time or two, he starts thinking it's funny and will hold something in both hands so that as soon as I get one of the things away from his mouth, he giggles, and hurries to put the other object in before I can stop him.

Note the amused expression in this next photo. He knows I'm about to jump up and remove the leaves and vine from his mouth, as I'd already done so several times!

Happy 8 Month Birthday!

Yesterday was Caedmon's 8-month birthday! Already! He's changing so much, so fast. I followed him around with the camera yesterday, to capture his day and activities.

He's gotten so fast in his walker, it's really neat to see him enjoying a little bit of independence. He will take himself all over the place, especially if he can reach something on a table, shelf, etc. Right now, he's really into magazines. If he can reach them, he'll pull them off the coffee table and play with them until there are little shreds of pages all over the place.

Sometimes it's not enough to just play with them, so he'll take a nibble here and there, too.

We moved the piano bench so that Caedmon can get to the keys by himself. If he needs a break from the magazines (note crumpled pages on the tray of his walker!) he'll scoot over and play a few notes. He must be playing by ear, as I don't think he can see what he's doing just yet!

And, the big accomplishment of the last week - crawling! It's still an army-style crawl, on his belly, and it takes him a while (and a lot of energy!) to get where he wants to go, but he's getting faster. At first he mainly pulled himself along with his left forearm, while his right hand was extended in front of him, reaching towards his goal. Now he's using both arms more, and that helps him move more quickly. I don't think it will be long before he figures out how to get his legs under him. In this photo, he is heading for the camera!

Daniel and I took Caedmon outside last night for a quick 8-month photo shoot. It's pretty interesting to try to get him to sit still in one place with his new found mobility, but we did get some really cute shots. Happy 8 months, darling boy!

Meat

Yes, this past Saturday was a big day in the Schwarz household. I made chicken for Caedmon for the first time. I don't think the inventor of the blender intended it for meat, but it worked great for us! We got Caedmon all settled in his high chair and prepared to capture his reaction, recording it with both the video camera and the regular still camera. Usually with any new food, we get an expression of surprise, disgust, uncertainty...but this time, Caedmon had absolutely no reaction!

He sat for a while without moving, "chewing," or making any attempts to swallow. I suppose he didn't know what to think - was this substance we put in his mouth for eating?

He finally got around to trying to swallow, but we realized that the texture of the chicken made it difficult to get down. Now he was really in a pickle - what to do with it?

We finally started mixing little bits of the chicken in with his pureed broccoli, which helped, and then he washed all that down with applesauce.

Whew! This was an extremely long, drawn-out meal for our boy, as he explored a whole new food group. Subsequent meals with chicken have been easier - I guess it just takes practice.

Learning and growing

Caedmon is turning into such an amazing little boy. Although we're still working on the major milestones of crawling and getting teeth, he's changing every day, amazing us with the things he's able to figure out and do. The following are some photos I've snapped over the last few days with tidbits about what he's been up to.

For one thing, he's gotten to be extremely good at getting around in his walker. He will venture off on his own, fearlessly exploring other rooms completely out of our sight. He's working on the sippy cup, too - right now it's more a novelty, but I suspect he'll soon be wanting to drink water and juice in larger quantities.

He and Daniel also have regular piano time. Daniel used to play while Caedmon sat nearby in his bouncer, but now our little guy gets in on the action, too, and is very focused on this fascinating instrument.

If he had his way, I'm sure our little guy would rather skip crawling and go right to walking. He spied Andre after his bath one night, and lost no time in "walking" with Daniel's help, all the way out of the bathroom and into the hall. Andre is going to have to learn to be quicker about making his getaway!

This morning I noticed that Caedmon had rolled himself under the rocking chair, and was rocking it up and down with his legs. Pretty clever!

This last photo is just a bonus, I thought he looked too adorable in these overalls to not share!