Kaden at 13 Months

I figured mostly for my own benefit it's kind of fun to post each month what Kaden is into/enjoying because I find if I don't then I forget little things very easily and this is a fun/easy way for me to remember and share them with you. So please, indulge me will you?

At his 12 month appointment about two weeks ago he weighed 22 lbs and was 65th percentile for heigh and 37th percentile for weight.  Not bad for the kid who didn't grow at all until after 4 months.  He's caught up nicely and surpassed average for height.  He has 8 teeth (4 on top, 4 on bottom) and loves to smile.

My little monkey is so fun right now. I am absolutely loving this stage of his life. He is so sweet and fun and smiley, but also is a little sponge who learns so quickly and is so curious about everything.  I feel like he is starting to understand better when I talk to him/ask him to do something and he's finally starting to take to the baby signs a little to tell me what he wants instead of just whining.  (He still only does about 2-3 of them and one is totally wrong, but hey, it's a start, right?)

Kaden absolutely loves to be outside and do active things with us.  We go on family runs a lot and he sits in his jogging stroller and "sings" the entire time we're running.  He does the same thing in his bike trailer when we go for rides.  He hates his helmet.  (No surprise there if you have ever seen me try to keep a hat on him.)  Kaden loves to run and if we ever go on walks he'll stop and pick up every leaf, pebble and anything else on the ground and hand it to me.  It takes forever but it's so fun to see him noticing things around him.

Did I mention Kaden likes to play outside? He is OBSESSED with our little swing set we got from some friends here in Rochester.  Their kids had outgrown it and so they gave it to us for free and he has absolutely LOVED it!  It has 2 slides, a bridge and either 2 regular swings or 1 regular/1 baby swing is what we have up right now.

 He also loves vents. Of all kinds.  We just happen to have one outside right by his swing set. Yep...

 This little man is always on the move.  Never stops.  He's so curious.  (Notice the leaves in his hand.)

This is the handy work that Kaden did on our house the other day while I was hurrying to get ready so we could be somewhere and didn't have time to stop him after every random item.  If you can't tell he really likes shoes.  Particularly Curtis' shoes.  He likes to empty drawers or buckets or baskets and then put the stuff back in them.  But not always...

This is a horribly out of focus picture, but it gives you an idea of what our floor looks like around Kaden's chair after meals.  He's decided when he's done with whatever is currently in his hand that this is the best possible way to let us know- throwing everything he doesn't want off the side of his high chair...

One of Kaden's favorite things right now is to hand me anything he picks up all day long.  He gets so excited to bring me things, it's just so cute.  He also is really into lids.  He loves to snap them on and off containers, lotion bottles, toys, etc... so whenever we have a jar, container or box with a lid that is going to go to recycling we clean it up and give it to Kaden instead and he plays happily with it for days.

You may look at this picture and think it's goofy but he always has the funniest expression on his face when he's saying "Mamama" so I had to get it so others can see what I see daily... love it!

 One thing that is really strange about Kaden's bath time is that he rarely, if ever, actually sits down in the tub.  He stands the entirety of the time he's in there which I totally don't get since it's the coldest way possible to take a bath.

Kaden loves music (he continues to dance and head bang along to songs) and we've figured out he really likes Veggie Tales so every now and then we'll pull up some "Silly Songs with Larry" on YouTube and watch a few songs with him.  It's one of the only times he sits perfectly still and will sit on your lap.

We love our Kadenbug.  He makes every day exciting and adventurous.  He keeps me on my toes and helps me burn a lot of calories by chasing him all day.  

Just a random tidbit- I've been taking a photography class this month and it's been really fun.  That's part of the reason I have so many pictures to share because I've been trying to practice a bunch of the new stuff I've been learning and Kaden has been my guinea pig for a lot of it.

August in a Nutshell

We were traveling, moving or with family all but the first week of August and didn't come back to NY until after Labor Day so I've been slacking on my blog.  Here are some highlights from August:

1. Curtis' internship ended Aug. 9th so we moved out of Charlotte August 10th.  We stopped at the Outer Banks (OBX) for some beach time. Our hotel was awesome-literally right on the beach.  The not so awesome part is that someone didn't like the beach. At all. That someone wouldn't go near the sand or water or even sit on the towel. I'll let you guess who.  So after two hours of holding that someone and listening to whiny crying the whole time, we left. Oh well. Maybe next year?

 (The building behind me is our hotel)

2. We stopped in DC after the OBX to see Scott (one of Curtis' best friends from high school) and Rachel Odell's new baby.  Oops, I forgot to take a picture.  He's darling though!

3. My 10 year high school reunion. Eee gads! Just for the record Curtis and I packed separately for our Utah trip, didn't discuss what we were wearing to the HS Reunion dinner and lo and behold, we were extremely matchy.  So embarrassing, but so fun to see my old friends anyway! I love these girls.

4. Kaden's 1st birthday August 16th.  Can't believe he's so old. My how quickly time is flying.  He's the sweetest boy and we love him so much, bundle of energy and all.  That was the day of my reunion so we celebrated a little late. He didn't seem to mind.

5. Spending time with the Seawrights.  My parents celebrated their 30th anniversary with all of us at the Roof Restaurant! Yipee!  We also went to the Hogle Zoo and had fun just hanging out.

This is random but if you look closely you can see Kaden's "fangs." His incisors came in before his other four front teeth so he looks like a little vampire.

 My dad bought Kaden a stuffed polar bear and he was so excited, he just kept squealing and smiling.  It was so cute!

6. Spending time with both families for a combined, fun birthday party and boating day at Bear Lake.

7. Spending time with the Fairbourns.  Kaden loved playing with his cousins Jackson and Jace.  Kaden really likes to push things right now and really didn't want to ride in the wagon as much as he wanted to push the wagon, or just play in/on anything poor Jace was trying to play with.  Big bully.

 8. The Mud Run.  I love running. I love mud.  I love fun.  Why would this not be my kind of event?  5K with 30 mud-filled obstacles. Awesome! We ran this on Labor Day weekend right before the Fairbourn family reunion with Marv, Nicki, Brad, Curtis, and Curt's cousin Michelle and her husband Brian.  We had a blast. I would do it again in a heartbeat- so much fun!

 Our loyal fan base- thanks to Dana and Jeunee for watching the kiddos so we could actually do the race.

 Kaden found the sprinkler while they were waiting/watching and was totally soaked.  Doesn't he fit right in with Curtis and I? Ha ha.

Sorry this was so long. If you made it to the end, thanks and I promise not to ever post something this lengthy again... until next time I majorly procrastinate my blogging.