Weekend at Grammy and Pappa's

This weekend was Caedmon's first trip to Hamilton, and first overnight trip.  He did great!  He got a little tired of being in the car, but really, who doesn't?  Only a few family members and friends from Hamilton had met him already, so he was introduced at church and had several visitors by the house, including his great-uncle Alan.

Caedmon and his cousin, Kayla (already almost 6 months old!) were able to interact more than in the past...which at this point is still mostly just looking at each other, but she especially was able to reach out and grab his hand or arm, which made for some cute pictures.

Of course, Grammy and Pappa were just eating up their time with both grandkids!  (Oh yeah, and their grandkids' parents...) :)

See what he can see...

Caedmon is becoming so aware of the world around him!  He's not missing much these days, and especially enjoys looking at anything that requires him to crane his neck as far back as possible.

We've also realized that our little man has discovered the television.   Daniel has been watching college basketball and his eyes will be completely glued to the screen!  It doesn't matter how we turn him, he knows where in the room to look, and will bend over backwards if necessary to see what's going on!

 

Hands!

Caedmon has definitely discovered his hands!  He's been sucking on his thumb for a couple of weeks now, but is getting much better at finding it consistently and has begun comforting himself when he gets tired.  Sometimes we can hear him at night or early in the morning - he will wake up and begin wiggling around, but when I go peek in on him, he will often have found his thumb and settled back down to sleep some more.  That means more sleep for mom and dad, too!!  He also has his hands together a lot too - either in front of him, or with one hand holding the other while he sucks his thumb.

Several times recently I've noticed him with a toy in his hands that I didn't put there, and have realized that he's now not only grasping onto things that his hands touch, but being more intentional about reaching out towards objects.  He bats at a toy I've hung above his changing table and a variety of toys that attach to his bouncy seat, and it's not uncommon for his little fingers to grab and hold onto whatever they touch.  (This also includes my hair!)

Grins 'n Giggles

Somehow, it's already been a month and a half since our baby boy learned how to smile.  We had watched and waited in anticipation of that first gummy grin, and how well were we rewarded!  Since then we've been eating up each and every sweet little smile as they've gotten bigger and more frequent, and have been accompanied by new vocalizations - coos, exclamations, and eventually squeals.

The great thing about a baby's smile is that it is without pretense...when Caedmon beams, we know that he is genuinely happy.  As Daniel and I watch this darling child grow, our hearts practically burst to see him respond to us and the world around him with pleasure.  What a joyful surprise yesterday when he couldn't smile any bigger, and his delight started leaking out in little giggles!

Free Time

Who doesn't have enough free time?  I used to think I didn't until our "sweet morsel of human life" as Caedmon's great-grandma calls him dropped into our lives.  It's amazing how things that seemed important like eating dinner while it's still hot, or looking for just the right window curtains, or sending in the car registration on time (ok, bad example) make way for something more important.

We all have pursuits or tasks that, when framed by a better alternative, now appear worthless.  That's your challenge.  Is there anything that should be as important to me as our "sweet morsel of human life"?  Maybe getting into the scriptures more often than once a month, that's my challenge.

Time to do some reading now that little one is sleeping.  I'll leave you with the sweet sounds of Caedmon at about two months.