Saturday, January 29, 2011

Months 16 and 17

A very tardy fifteen month update turned into a very tardy sixteen month update, so a decision was made to combine the two. Not too many updates, but lots and lots of photos!


Being outside continues to be one of Kaden's favorite ways to spend the day. I've said it before, and I will say it again, I'm not sure how this little one would fare in weather back home in Lexington/St. Louis; an indoor child he is not.






He's also still very interested in making the biggest mess possible.



This month, Kaden found a new favorite perch. By standing on a box, he is the perfect height to stand at the front window and watch the world go by. He gets most excited when a delivery truck, or even better a garbage truck, rumbles down the street. This is also his new spot for watching, Junior, the gardener.



He'll move to the back door as Junior makes his way to the backyard. Kaden will knock and knock until he gets Junior's attention. Thank goodness Junior is a good sport and always takes the time to give Kaden a wave or a return knock at the window.


This month Kaden FINALLY learned how to stand up on his own. No more crawling to the closest object to pull himself up, he now gets his legs ramrod straight and bends at the hips. He looks like a tiny little tin-man.


Kaden likes, and will wear, hats of any kind. The first is a hat we found at Target in preparation for the Park City trip - he was very sorry to have to leave it behind, but we thought that it was a bit much. The second was a Santa hat he donned while making Christmas ornaments at our monthly playdate - as you can tell from the photo, he got more glue, glitter, and paint on himself than he did on the ornaments.


His feet may be getting bigger, but those tiny toes are still the most kissable things on earth!


After seventeen months of taking these photos, he is getting the pose down.


Month sixteen brought a fascination with Elmo. Kaden has never really watched Sesame Street - he doesn't sit still long enough to watch much of anything - but he spotted Elmo somewhere or another and instantly fell in love. I'm not sure how those Sesame Street people know what kids like, but they are geniuses. Now YouTube is marked as a favorite on our computer. Kaden's top five list is as follows: Adam Sandler singing "A Song About Elmo," Will.I.Am singing, "What I Am," Feist singing, "1,2,3,4," Jason Mraz's, "Outdoors," and "The Alphabet" with India Arie.


We introduced the juice box this month and it was an instant hit. The frozen raspberries may have been yummy, but they look slightly scary.


I thought getting him his own kitchen may keep him out of mine...I was wrong.



On a recent trip to Nordstroms he kept all the sales staff entertained (or annoyed) with his monkey-like antics. Shopping trips with Kaden in tow are neither relaxing nor productive.


Swim lessons are paying off, the little guy now jumps off the side of the pool into the water.


Kaden has lots of friends, but two of his favorite buddies, Andie and Lucas, are moving in the next few months; Andie to Maryland and Lucas to Dallas. How do you explain to a one and a half year old why he doesn't get to see his playmates anymore? We have been talking about it for a while trying to prepare him for the inevitable, but I know he will be sad when it happens. Especially when Andie leaves. As she lives right down the street from us, we are over there a lot. Every time we are out for a walk, Kaden goes to their front door and knocks in hopes that he will catch them at home and up for a visit. Our new neighbors may not appreciate these "drop-ins" the way Andie does.




Kaden is becoming quite the ham at music class. His proximity to the teacher got closer and closer every week until, one day, he found himself at the front of the class standing right next to Miss Beth. I think he felt a little like a star since so many eyes were upon him. He smiled and danced and generally enjoyed all the attention he thought was for him alone.


My busy little bee working on his new laptop - a gift from MoGi and MoPi (Kaden's Missouri grandparents, the Fensters).


If Kaden is ever too quiet you know he is either up to no good (in the photo below he is making off with a wagon that doesn't belong to him) or reading. His love for books is second to none and the library is one of his favorite spots - definitely my child.



Kaden is also learning the value of a dollar! A new favorite pastime is putting all our spare change in a piggy bank given to him by Uncle Sean. With Li Xi from Ba Noi and Ba Thuy for the Chinese New Years, and generous checks from Great Grandma Flynn for birthdays and Christmases, we're going to have to start borrowing money from him!



While Kaden still really enjoys making a mess, he also likes to help clean them up. Not surprisingly, he is not really all that much of a help...but it is cute watching him try.


Now that Kaden is steady on his feet, he wanted to try out some flip-flops that were given to him by one of Gammi's friends. They look like frogs and Kaden thought they were super. Getting him to take the off to go to bed was a bit of a challenge.


Kaden got a huge kick out of the coin rides at the outlet mall. This is one of the many reasons why we don't get much shopping accomplished on our shopping trips.



Kaden is a beach boy through and through. When the tide is low and the waves are rolling in (as opposed to crashing) he will run and run and run, squealing with delight at every step he takes. This day, he got a little too brave and ran right into the water. A wave soaked him from head to toe - I think he was actually surprised that they didn't stop at his presence! I guess it was a good lesson that the world doesn't actually revolve around him...even though, most days, I tell him that my world does. And I wouldn't have it any other way.



Thursday, January 27, 2011

Keeping Up With The Koshgerians

We all had lots of fun when Gammi, Poppi, and Uncle Paul came to visit over Christmas. Kaden loved it when Gammi and Pop would read to him. They gave him a couple of those Hallmark recorded books and he insists on "reading" them every night - doesn't matter that they are The Night Before Christmas and The Very First Christmas.




We spent the week with a mix of staying at home playing and sightseeing around San Diego. We took lots of "car rides,"


visited various Farmer's Markets,


played at Mission Bay,


and at the local toy store,


shopped at Fashion Valley Mall,



took lots of trips to the playground,




and, the highlight of the week, took Gammi and Poppi to the San Diego Zoo.




We also spent a lot of time snuggling,


and going for rides in Marley's airplane kennel.



Kaden LOVED having Marley in the house. For the first few days the two of them stayed pretty clear of one another; then Kaden warmed up. He was so good with her - no chasing, hair pulling, hitting, etc. Taking her out for walks delighted him, so much so that he would walk around the house with the leash trying to get Marley to somehow attach herself to it!


Shaving was an exciting new activity to watch...


...and try.



And, sometime during the week, Kaden found a new favorite spot - Uncle Paul's lap.