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!

Dadada

Caedmon has a new way of melting our hearts! His latest new skill is saying "Dadada..." We don't think he realizes who it is yet, but he does know that we get excited and encourage him when he does say it. He was saying "Mamama" but now he spends most of his time perfecting this new word rather than practicing other sounds. We love hearing him learn to use his precious little voice!

Grandparent time!

Last week, Caedmon got to have some great fun with his Grammy, then also his Gramma and Dude. Grammy came and visited for a few days during the week, so she and Caedmon really enjoyed playing with the new toys that she brought (he's taking a nap with his glo-worm as I type this), reading books together, and just having fun "visiting." She also brought him these cute little outfits - he looks so grown up, sitting up in the grass with his big-kid shorts! We're so glad she was able to come, and hope that next time Pappa can join her!


On Saturday we went to Garland for the day. Gramma has been busy making their home a comfortable, safe, and fun place for a grandchild! Caedmon tried out the new crib, sat in the high chair that his aunts and uncles also enjoyed, and read a really cute new farm book with his Gramma and Dude. The big event for the day, however, was taking him for his first swim in the pool!

At first he wasn't quite sure what to think - probably because it took some time to get accustomed to the temperature of the water. For a while either Daniel or Dude held him, but then he became comfortable with sitting on the first step while someone supported him. He liked to catch the boats and rubber ducks floating by from this spot.

After a little while, we put him in a floating baby seat. He really enjoyed patting the "turtle," and when I put my tube close enough, he also patted and rubbed it with his hands. It must have been an interesting texture, he really thought that was fun!

Finally, right before it was time to get out of the water, Gramma gave him the chance to "swim." She held on to him and helped him glide him through the water, and he held his head up, even kicking and waving his arms a little bit. He seemed to think that was pretty great!

Banana Grabber

It's been a while since I've posted...but not because there hasn't been anything fun going on with Caedmon! He's growing into such a delightful little boy and every day is picking up new little skills and tricks. His vocabulary is growing (I hear "Ma ma ma ba ma ba ma! when he's trying to wind down for a nap, and he makes a squeaky gasping sound, which can either be combined with a laugh or a cry, depending on the situation.)

The last couple of days, I've put Caedmon in a booster seat with a tray while I'm cooking in the kitchen or while Daniel and I eat. He's gotten to be very quick about clearing his tray of toys, so out of curiosity, I put a teeny bit of a banana in front of him. He was fascinated, and became very focused on picking it up. It was really slippery and hard to grab, but he eventually got a grip on it, transferring it from hand to hand in the process, and finally got it up to his mouth. He seemed a little surprised that it tasted so good, but I think was pretty proud of himself, too!




We've also seen a return of the "oooh" face, which is delightful for me. This is an expression that Caedmon has had since he was a newborn, but disappeared for the last couple of months. Ususally we see it when he's really focused on something (here, the British Open) and sometimes, now, he blows in and out, kind of like a silent whistle. I think it's precious!

Snort?

Yesterday, I was feeding Caedmon some applesauce (which he thought was great) and we were being silly and playing while he ate - and I realized that his sniffle-face has developed to occasionally include a snorting sound! It's not as clear in the video (it's at the end), but in person, it sounds like he's fake-snoring. He thought it was pretty funny! So did I!

4th of July weekend

We made the drive down to Hamilton to celebrate the 4th this year. As always, it was fun to see our family, and even more so for Caedmon as he is increasingly aware of what's going on around him. He really had fun with his cousin, Kayla, and took a special interest in what she was doing (and what toy she had!) They were adorable together!


It was too hot to do much outside, but we did squeeze in a quick trip out to feed the catfish in one of the tanks and visit great-uncle Alan and great-aunt Nelda. And, Caedmon learned all about cooking steaks from his Papa! He got to perch in a lawn chair in the backyard and supervise for a little while, and also squeezed in some more play time with Kayla.



Grammy enjoyed time in the house with Caedmon on this trip. They got to play with lots of fun toys on the floor, and loved looking at some new books that she had gotten for him We're thankful that she encourages a love of books...something we hope he carries with him throughout life!