Baptism Birthday

Caedmon Daniel was baptized on January 25, 2009 - today was his one-year baptism birthday! We're so thankful for this miracle and the gift of his new life in Christ. We celebrated tonight with a dessert I figured Caedmon would love - a mixed berry cobbler topped with vanilla ice cream. He was fascinated with the candle, and we all enjoyed the treat.

One of Caedmon's words that we hear a lot right now is "out!" Many times each day he tries to get me to take him to any door - it doesn't really matter which one, as long as it will get him "out." Thankfully the weather has been pleasant enough lately for walks and playing in the yard. I love putting this darling little jacket on him; it's so soft and snuggly, and it won't be much longer he'll tolerate wearing a hood with ears! I think it's adorable!

We thought that it would soon be time for a haircut for Caedmon, but as his hair has grown out, it's also started to get curly! Some mornings that makes for an interesting 'do, but it's really cute.

During our backyard explorations, Caedmon had to grow accustomed to the grass's different texture. The dried St. Augustine can feel pretty prickly, and he wasn't crazy about it at first. I'm not sure how he managed this, but one afternoon he went from crawling up a little step on the bottom level of our yard to toppling over on his back in the grass. While he would normally just roll over and keep going, he refused to move, and instead looked up at us with pleading eyes and repeated "up, up," (another word we hear a lot - meaning, pick me up!) hoping that one of us would come quickly to his rescue!

This past Saturday was the alumni soccer game at Daniel's high school. Caedmon got to go down on the field with his Grandpa Dude and check out the action - he seemed to really enjoy walking all the way around the end of the field, visiting his dad on the sidelines, and watching the game up close!

Growing, growing

It seems like Caedmon has changed so much, just since his birthday. Not necessarily physically, although he has certainly grown, but developmentally he wows us daily. It's such an adventure!

I had to include this picture from the morning of his birthday. While he was in his high-chair for breakfast, Daniel gave him a banana, wrapped up in paper with a big bow. (At this point, what could a little boy want more than one of his favorite foods?) He got the paper off and was as excited as he could be with what was inside! (He did eat the banana for breakfast that day.)

Speaking of peeling and eating things...Caedmon also spotted a chocolate foil-wrapped Santa on the counter and quickly let me know that he wanted it. I didn't think he would know what it was other than a shiny toy, so I let him investigate it. He lost no time in getting enough foil off to start nibbling on the chocolate - how did he know? Once he got a taste, there was no turning back. We let him enjoy his newly-discovered treat for a few minutes, he was clearly pleased that he had not only been permitted to eat such a rare delicacy, but that he had discovered and opened it by himself!

We've had to make some adjustments to our nap and bedtime routines by removing "distractions" from Caedmon's reach. He recently started turning the light back on from his crib (so we turn it off on the fan itself) and can also press the correct button on the CD player/radio by his bed to turn it on - he really likes to have music playing. This wouldn't be a problem if the music helped him sleep but he usually starts clapping and dancing instead. The radio is now on the floor where he can easily make musical selections during playtime.

Caedmon does get excited sometimes when the light comes back on - and celebrates by clapping his hands!


So many times in the last couple of weeks I've seen Caedmon mimicking our behaviors, doing things we've worked on with him and things we've never intentionally taught him to do. I'm so thrilled that he's begun using some sign language on his own, using the signs for "eat" and "more" (meaning, more food!) and is getting closer to being able to feed himself with a fork. We've been practicing those things for a while! But now he's also very carefully opened ziplock bags, just like we do, tried to put a thermometer in my mouth, wiggles his fingers like he's snapping them when music plays, and when given his baby toothbrush, imitates our tooth-brushing motions.

His vocabulary now includes "mo" (sometimes he says this when he signs "more"), "tsch" for cheese, "hhhh" for hot, and "k" or "t" for cat. And of course, "Mama" and "Dada." He says "moo" whenever we ask him about cows, and has now identified a couple of animals in his zoo book - snakes with "hsss" and lions with "rrrrr." He hasn't imitated it yet, but he knows what we're talking about when we sign or say "bath." It's so amazing to see all these things clicking behind those sweet little blue eyes!

Little brother or sister is growing right on track, too! We had our 18-week sonogram on Thursday and all three of us got a glimpse of Baby. Everything looked normal and both Baby and I are measuring right on track, with our little one weighing it at right around 8 oz. Praise the Lord for this amazing miracle! Look at this sweet little face!