So this month seemed to go by a lot faster than last month! I think that probably has a lot to do with all of the wonderful company we had! Karla and Katie were here in mid March. Mom followed along 10 days later along with Tara and her family! Plus we had Caiden's 3rd birthday celebration squeezed in there too. SO, we've been busy! In the midst of all that, Ezra has been keeping plenty busy doing lots of growing and mastering of milestones!
Like last month, I don't have official stats, but I can tell he is getting heavier. He is still pretty comfortable in 6-9 month clothing depending on the label. More often than not, he's wearing 9 month sized clothing.
Grandma & Ezra
I've got lots of fun stuff to cover in the highlights, so let's get to it!
The biggest news is that Ezra is now sleeping in a crib in his own room! We moved him on April 9th, and he has transitioned pretty well, and it has been SO nice having our bedroom back. I can actually go in my room and take a shower while Ezra is napping! Such a novelty! :)
Speaking of sleep, this has actually been a pretty decent month. He seems to have settled into a nice routine for the time being. He starts his day around 7:15am and is ready for his morning nap by 10. He'll sleep for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours and then takes his afternoon nap between 2 and 3. He'll generally wake up between 4 and 5. Bedtime is pretty consistently at 6:30 now. Most nights he wakes up either around 1am or between 4-5am for a feeding and goes back to sleep. There have been a few nights where he wakes up around 10 or 11 and fusses a bit, but then he goes back to sleep on his own. The only downer that's developed over the last couple of weeks is he gets so upset about naps and bedtime. He never goes to sleep happy which makes me sad. I really hope we can get to a point where he doesn't fuss so much about sleep. But I having this routine (finally!) has been a lifesaver for me. Having some sense of structure makes even the nighttime feedings a lot more sane in my world. Now I can more confidently predict that if I go to bed by a certain hour, I'll at least get X hours of sleep before the next day.
Last month I mentioned that he wasn't terribly interested in rolling over, and he seemed to have forgotten how to roll from his tummy to his back. Well, wouldn't you know it, the very day after I blogged that entry the little stinker rolled over from back to tummy and resumed his tummy to back rolling! I guess he was just biding his time. LOL!
His very first time rolling from back to tummy!
Now that he is rolling, we often find him sleeping on his side or his tummy. As a result, we stopped swaddling his arms so that he can maneuver himself and not get stuck. I never know what position I am going to find him in when he is ready to get up. :) I also suspect that the pack 'n' play may have been getting uncomfortable. Because once he moved to the crib, he immediately changed his sleeping position.
The eating has been going extremely well! So well in fact that I am virtually convinced the poor kid was starving all these months judging by the way he packs the solids in! He has scrambled eggs or a full bowl of oatmeal mixed with applesauce at breakfast. Caiden then helps ration out the Cheerios for him. Then at lunch he has bananas or lentils mixed with carrots or sweet potatoes and his Mum Mums. (And let me tell you, this boy LOVES his Mum Mums. That was his first food for self feeding. In fact, he loves them so much he thru an unholy fit at lunch one Saturday when I tried feeding him something after he already spotted the Mum Mums. That was a 30 minute screaming fit calmed only by eating his dang Mum Mums. Sigh) And dinner usually involves some sort of veggie/fruit combo. He took awhile to adjust to water, but all of the sudden one day he was totally down with it. So weird!
Mmmm....Mum Mums!
He has learned how to play with Caiden's old red train that spits out balls and plays music. He knows how to push the button to get it to go. It took him all of 2 minutes to figure it out!
Video of Ezra playing with the train. If you can't see it, click here.
He loves to click his tongue against the roof of his mouth and especially loves if you click back to him. He'll either instigate the clicks or mimic yours, and then smile and laugh.
Tara has applied the perfect nickname to Ezra: Little Billy Goat. This kid loves to first, put anything into his mouth, and second, he loves to chew on paper, shiny objects (necklaces), hoodie draw strings, etc. He is constantly munching on his books! So the billy goat moniker fits him like a glove.
Ezra has been working a little too hard on his pincer grip. He goes into overdrive and pinches the crap out of me while he is nursing. He'll grab my face, my nose, my skin...anything he can get a hold of. And if his nails are just the tiniest bit too long, OUCH! I can't wait for this phase to pass.
His sitting up skills have dramatically improved. I can now sit him down on the floor and he only occasionally falls backwards. One of his recently discovered favorite past times is to sit next to his basket full of toys and pull them out one at a time. This will keep him happily occupied for a good half hour! I just love to sit and watch him pull things out one by one and explore (i.e.: chew on) them.
Hmmm...what to pick, what to pick...
Ezra seems to be exercising his temper. If he is ready for a change or wants something different, he has no qualms about letting you know! Most of the time he is pretty chilled out, but boy oh boy, when that temper flares up, watch out!
He is still such a cuddler which I just love! He will happily sit on your lap for endless amounts of time. He also really enjoys being carried around the house.
I think that about covers it for this month. Lots of big steps and plenty of fun along the way. Next month he has his 9 month check up, so I'll have some height and weight stats to post. In the meantime, have fun looking thru all the photos from this month! Here are Ezra's photos, and here are Caiden's photos.
I have to say, I'm rather proud of myself for getting this video edited and uploaded only a couple weeks after the actual event! I had the motivation and inspiration to work on it last night and got it done! :) Christina did a great job capturing a variety of activities on video throughout the party. Thanks Christina! And I also want to say a huge thank you to B, Tara, Christian and Mom for all of their help before, during and after the party. You all helped to make it an extra special day for Caiden!
I am really glad we hosted his party at The Nest. For one, it was a familiar location for Caiden as that is where he has his weekly Sparrows class. Second, it meant I didn't have to worry about cleaning the house from top to bottom before and after the party. Woo hoo! For most kids (and parents), it was their first time at The Nest, so I'm glad they had the opportunity to see what a fabulous facility it is. It was also one of the more reasonably priced options around town.
The party lasted 90 minutes and started at 4pm. Both boys got the chance to get their naps in which was a huge relief. The party was semi-themed with Toy Story which presently is Caiden's favorite thing in the world. We had TS plates, cups, napkins, cupcake toppers, goody bags, and banners. The event with about 40 minutes of open play. There are a variety of themed rooms that the kids can explore and play in, so they were plenty occupied. B also manned the "Buzz Buckets" game that we put together. (Yes, those are home made bean bags made with Buzz Lightyear fabric!) He did a great job engaging the kids and encouraging them try for each bucket. Many of them had a great time with it! Around 4:45, we did the craft that I dreamed up. The kids (with lots of parental help) made Cupcake Crowns. They got to pick out the color headband, put together the top and bottom of the cupcake, and then "frost" and decorate it. I don't usually come up with these kinds of things on my own, so I was beyond thrilled with how well they all turned out! Here's a snap of the trial one I created at home. (Incidentally, I also discovered that I have the perfect 1920s flapper haircut while wearing my creation.)
After the craft, we did a little march around the room and then the kids sat down to eat. We prepared grapes, strawberries, string cheese, apples and butter/jelly and/or cheese cut-out sandwiches. It was so cute seeing all the kids gathered around the table munching on their snacks while wearing their cupcakes. Finally, it was time for the main event of singing to the birthday boy and chowing down on the cupcakes! They were a hit and quickly devoured! The kids had about 15 minutes to burn off the massive sugar intake before it was time to wrap up and head home.
All in all, I'd say this was a pretty successful party! I readily admit that I was pretty dang stressed out for several days leading up to the party, but all of the planning and preparation really paid off! I think Caiden had a lot of fun, and it seemed all his friends did too. :)
And without further ado, here is the video. It's about 10 minutes long, but it captures all of the highlights. Enjoy and thanks for watching! (If you can't see the video, click here to be taken directly to it.)
Honestly, how is it possible that I have a son who is 3 years old?! I vividly remember thinking when he was 18 mos old that he was half way to 3 and it seemed like a lifetime away. It is quite possible that he could be starting preschool this fall. How did that happen?!
I have to say that this past year has been quite an adventure. Caiden has grown SO much in SO many ways. To me, he still looks a lot like he did about this time last year, but his imagination, vocabulary, coordination, and a myriad of other skills have just exploded this year.
Here are his stats from his "3" year appt (actual appt was on May 22, 2011)
Weight: 36.4lbs (50/75%) He gained 6 lbs from a year ago (was 30.6lbs).
Height: 3ft 4in (95%) He grew 5 inches since last year (was 3/4in short of 3ft).
Let's see how much I can remember and highlight here:
He sings his ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, Wheels on the Bus, Hello Goodbye (The Beatles), and a whole host of other songs he makes up. He is also very attuned to what is on the radio and often asks what the name of the song is. If I don't know it, he picks out a phrase in the song and declares that as the title.
His imaginative play continues to amaze me. After seeing bits and pieces of Toy Story 2, "Buzzbee" became his new best friend. Buzz would play with him, ride in the car with him, and protect him from "The Scary Man" (Emperor Zurg). He also loves to pretend to make piles of garbage and transport his garbage or recycling from place to place. Watching him play with his new Toy Story toys has been so much fun as he walks them around or makes the dinosaur roar. He also likes to make me dinner in his kitchen and he'll whip up a batch of pancakes or cook up some eggs. I also enjoy listening to him "call" people on the phone. He likes to say: "Hi. How are you doing this morning?" Then he'll add some other things in and close with, "Call me back! Love you!"
Books. This boy loves his books. (And I love that he loves his books.) There are times where he loves to just sit down and look through a pile of books. Bringing home a stack of books is like Christmas morning to him. With his reading nook in his bedroom, he enjoys sitting in his chair and looking through book after book. He also loves having us read to him. I can't wait to start reading chapter books to him!
He's always been a good sleeper. Except for some random periods throughout the year, he generally sleeps 10-12 hours a night and takes a 2-3 hour afternoon nap. This very week, he'll be transitioning from his crib to a full size bed. I hope it won't upset his good sleep habits.
He can be very hit and miss about food. We still keep the processed sugar to a minimum, but we do allow him to have treats from time to time. He can be very generous about sharing treats, which I think is the sweetest thing. He eats a fair amount of fruits and vegetables. Some favorites include: broccoli, celery, peppers, carrots, bananas, blueberries, apples, and pears. He still enjoys eating his special recipe oatmeal every morning for breakfast. One of his favorite restaurants is Red Robin which he knows as the noodle place. :)
He is an awesome big brother. He seemed to have little to no qualms welcoming Ezra to our family and is so good with him. He is gentle, likes to make him smile, brings him toys and is all around a fabulous big brother. I hope he and Ezra will always be close.
One of my favorite stories this year is when we went to dinner at Marrakesh and found him to be positively enamored with the belly dancer. It was one of the funniest things I've witnessed in my life.
Caiden has really gotten to know his older cousin Christian this year. And he positively adores him. So much so that when B asked Caiden what he wanted to be when he grows up, he responded: "Christian." My heart just melted when he said that. He just has the best time whenever Christian is here for a visit, and Christian is so good with him. I am so happy that Caiden got to have Christian here to celebrate his birthday this year.
It hasn't all been roses this year. Caiden has had many days where the terrible twos have been in full force. Tantrums have become a big part of our lives, and they aren't fun. We've been trying to do a better job of using empathy to help diffuse the situation, and it often works quite well. But there are days when we are all on a short rope, and patience and empathy go right out the window. Caiden has had his fair share of time outs either on the stairs or in his room. We're trying real hard to give him words for his feelings when he is upset, but it is a challenge. I do look forward to him maturing even further and getting to a point where we can more frequently use reasoning with him.
There are also many more situations where Caiden wants to exert his independence. He likes to do things for himself even if nearly half the time his attempts make him frustrated and upset. But like anything, the more he practices, the better he gets. :)
Potty training continues to be a challenge. We've tried a few times, but he just doesn't seem interested yet. He wants to wear his Buzz & Woody underwear and/or pull ups, but he doesn't remember to communicate when he needs to go. We've put the process on hold again and will see if he tells us he is ready to try in another month or two.
He totally gets the presents thing now. This Christmas and birthday he was all about opening more presents and helping other people open theirs when he didn't have one.
He really knows his family. He recognizes everyone in pictures and calls them out by name. He can even do this with older pictures.
He's not as affectionate as he used to be. He will still give hugs and kisses, but often it is on his terms. Often times he will tell me (or B), "No - stop doing that" when we try and ruffle his hair or scratch his back or tickle him. I had figured he would eventually get this way, but it still makes me a little sad.
He shows empathy to other kids. We were at B's office's summer BBQ last summer, and a little boy had fallen in the bounce house and was laying on his tummy and crying. Caiden laid down right next to him and started patting his back and telling him it was ok. So sweet!!
I know there is so so so much more that he has done or said this past year that I want to remember, but it's hard to recall in one sitting. I might come back and update this entry as things come to me. In the meantime, here are some pictures showing just how much he has grown up.
