Months of Updates

Let's see how much we can update in this little blog post. And I'm not going to start out by saying I will try to get back here and write more often. I want these little updates here so I can look back on this years from now, but for some reason I can't seem to find the motivation to write. Not to mention the fact that I LOVE details when I write and some times it just gets annoying and tedious. Anyway, the only major updates I have are Kaisen's 2nd birthday and potty training.

As mentioned in that last post, Kaisen started daycare at Little Jewels in January. He went in the one year old room (the Penguin room) while Rylan went into the two year old room (the Monkey room). It was rough for Kaisen for the first few weeks and after that there were only a couple days here and there when he would cry when he was left there. He always cried on the rare times that I dropped him off and it broke my heart! In July he spent more time in the Monkey room as they slowly transitioned him from one room to the other. Since moving to the Monkey room, he's been much happier during the day and rarely gets upset when dropped off. From what I'm hearing, Rylan is his little protector. I guess they tend to stick together during playtime and hold hands while walking in the hallway.

Kaisen has improved drastically with talking since starting daycare. His vocabulary is huge now! He can put little sentences together like "Where Grandpa go?" or "Mommy, what doing?", but nothing more than that yet. He can count to 6 on his own, although he some times forgets 4. We watch the animated "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" on YouTube at least once if not twice a day, and he will some times sing along to parts. He especially knows the part where it says "The whole alphabet up the - Oh no!". He usually says the "oh no!" part right along with the singer. He dances like crazy, can "raise the roof" and nod his head. He knows what cows, horses and dogs say. He knows that race cars go "vroom!" and trains go "choo choo!" He even called all trains "choo choo" for a while, but is now starting to call them "train" or "choo choo train".

His favorite TV show is Handy Manny. I have the show set to record on Tivo, that way we are able to watch it at any time of the day. He also loves Toy Story and Spongebob Squarepants. He got a Chuck the Truck movie for his birthday and asks to watch that a lot. I can see Santa bringing a couple more of those movies this year.

Kaisen and Rylan are both addicted to basically any kind of transportation. Cars, trucks (especially big trucks!), buses (city and school buses), trains, tractors, planes, Grandpa's "big truck" and Grandma's "blue car". They have loads of matchbox cars and trucks, lots of big trucks and tractors. Those are the only toys that get played with daily.

The actual day of Easter, Kaisen spent all day with his Dad. The following weekend we celebrated our Easter. The Easter bunny hid 4 baskets for Kaisen to find. He got some candy, fruit snacks, juice boxes and snacks. For toys he got matchbox cars, sand toys, small plastic wagon, Toy Story table and chairs, bike helmet, shoes, tool table, and more. He got so excited with every basket he found and I can't wait to do it again next year.

In June, Kaisen and I went to Florida with Mom and Dad while Emily had volleyball tournaments down there. Mom, Rylan and I drove while Dad and Kaisen flew. We stayed for just over a week in a 5 bedroom 1 story house. There was a pool in the backyard and we were out there at least twice a day swimming. We did a lot of sight seeing and driving through Orlando. We went to Celebration twice, once just to drive around and get ice cream, another to play in the underground sprinkler area. That was such a cool place and Kaisen had a great time running through the water. After Emily's tournament ended at the end of the week, we went to Magic Kingdom. The boys got to see and get pictures with Woody and Jesse, Buzz, Stitch, and Chip and Dale. They went on a lot of rides, took short naps and for the most part, behaved very well. It definitely wasn't a bad trip for having two 2 year old boys. They were both fast asleep before we left the park.

July was Kaisen's 2nd birthday. On his birthday we went to dinner at Grande Cafe. After we ate, the waitress brought him a small bowl of ice cream with a lit candle. As we were about to sing to Kaisen, he stuck his hand out quickly and pinched the flame. It happened so fast no one saw it coming. Luckily he didn't get hurt. He kind of whined a little afterwards, but there was no damage done! I was super excited about his party because it was going to be Handy Manny theme. I made a lot of the decorations myself. I made cupcakes with toppers, the banner for the front door, and little timeline photo sticks. I also made cookies in the shape of tools. The party was at friend's lake house in Hudson and the whole day was great. It was a very warm day, so luckily the guests had the option of sitting inside or out. For gifts Kaisen got, a Handy Manny outfit, books, quite a few Chuck the Truck items (fire truck play set, movie, and truck), remote control car, legos, Curious George movie, a couple big tractors and some little ones, a little James train (a part of Thomas and friends), bath toys, a wood train set, and a Toy Story toddler bed with the bed set.

And now on to potty training. He got a little potty from Santa last year and that has been sitting in my bathroom ever since. He would randomly sit on it, but it never lasted long and he didn't ever actually pee in it. May 29th, as I was getting him ready for bed, Kaisen told me he wanted to go potty. Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was postpone his bedtime so he could sit on the potty and not go. But I didn't want to discourage him so I let him. Well, surprisingly, he actually went! The next night, right before bed, he did it again. I was hoping that was the start to things, but that was it for a couple of months. Mid-August he started showing interest in the potty again. So we did a naked day where he ran around naked all day except for his nap. He peed a total of 17 or 18 times (I was offering a small treat, so he squeezed out everything possible for a treat. Needless to say, that ended quickly.) and pooped once. Since then we did naked evenings when he got home from daycare. I got him some underwear shortly after and he started wearing that instead of going naked. Now, just a month after his first complete naked day, he is wearing underwear all day at daycare and at home. We have even ventured out of the house a few times with him in underwear and have been successful. He does have accidents, sometimes (but rarely) he'll pee in his pants, and he poops in his pants a lot. We're definitely having trouble with getting him to poop in the potty. But for the most part, this potty training is going well! Night training, though, might be a bit more difficult.

I think that's all the updates I have for now. I am happy to be able to get on here and update at all, even if it is months in between each post.

Kind of sucks...

Well I was really hoping to keep this blog updated with Kaisen as he grew. I've missed quite a bit of updates since June so I will try to share as much as I can remember.
Kaisen started walking the end of June (11 months). Once he found out he could take steps, all he wanted to do was be on his feet, so it was a pretty quick process.
Kaisen's first 4th of July was spent with our family at a friend's house in Peoria. He had a great time playing outside until it got dark and time for the fireworks. He seemed really interested at first and then eventually fell asleep on Grandma's lap. And here was I worried he'd be scared of them!

Kaisen turned 1 on July 13th. We had his party the previous Sunday (the 11th). We had a good turn out of family and friends. It was at Fairview park at one of the pavilions. We had a 'Mod Monkey' theme with the colors yellow and blue. It was windy so some of the decorations didn't last long, but other than that it went great!
Kaisen got his first haircut on July 22nd. He needed it! We went to Denise Baker in Mackinaw. He did great for his first time! He sat on my lap the whole time and made faces when Denise used the razor.

before

after

In August we went to Florida. We drove down there in Grandpa's Lexus. He has DVD players and TVs built into the seats so Kaisen got to watch movies all the way down and back. In order to hear the movies he had to wear headphones which he didn't do much, but luckily was content with just watching. Unlike Kaisen's first trip to Florida (where he was colicky and constantly in a bad mood), he did great the whole week. We went shopping, driving around, went to the beach and played in the pool in the backyard. We also went to a little carnival they were having where he rode 3 different rides. He can't wait to go back!
Let's talk about: FOOD, the stuff Kaisen can't stop eating! He loves it, all kinds of it! When I stayed home when him, he ate 3 full meals plus constant snacks! There are a few (very few) foods that he doesn't care for, but for the most part he will eat anything! He loves ice cream (but really, who doesn't?) and fruit snacks. He also loves water, would rather have that than anything else most days. He drinks soy milk instead of whole milk and can't have regular yogurt because he gets butt rashes.
WORDS! For the longest time this kid refused to talk. At about 7 or 8 months old he said his first word: "uh oh", which was more like "ooh ooo". Shortly after he started saying "mama" and "dada". Then after that it was just "mom" and "mama", which basically meant everything. If he wanted up, it was "mama", if he wanted a snack or drink, "mama", if he was upset, "mama". I would try everyday to get him to say things: up, drink, cup, banana, puppy, bye, hi, etc. Nothing, he refused! It all started on Black Friday. We were out shopping and at Kohls he saw a picture of a dog and out of nowhere pointed to the dog and said "dah", which we soon learned was "dog". Now he says everything (or he at least tries!)! It's such a change. It's nice because it's cute to hear him say things and awesome that he's learning. He knows who people are (Grandma, Grandpa, Mommy, Rye Rye, Kaisen, Aunt Emily, Miley, etc).
Mid December I got a job at Curves, so Kaisen went to Uncle Daniel's house for a few hours. Right before Christmas, some unfortunate circumstances left Kaisen without a babysitter, so we were forced to put him in daycare. We looked up the daycare in Mackinaw, but it wasn't convenient enough for us, so I enrolled him at Little Jewels. He started there 2nd week of January. The first week went okay, he didn't mind being left behind surprisingly. But the 2nd and 3rd week were rough, he cried every time Grandpa dropped him off in the morning. By now though, he's used to it and does great again with the rare bad morning.
I think that's all of the updates for now. So I will share some random pics since last July:

Lots of pics, couldn't choose just a couple.

Lots of updates

A lot has happened since my last post:
His eating has really changed! He still eats jarred food here and there but eats tons of table foods! He gets nursed just a few times a day, mostly in the early morning, before nap and bedtime. I will be weaning him once he's a year old. At this point it's gotten way too painful with his teeth. It will be a slow process because he is addicted!!
Nights have definitely improved! He now sleeps through the night. I remember back when I was first transitioning him to the crib. I'd have to nurse him to sleep, then try not to breathe as I lay him down so he wouldn't wake up. Some nights would take multiple tries. He was still waking a few times throughout the night and would eventually end up in bed with me. Now he nurses for a few a little bit then goes straight in his crib and to sleep...by himself. Some nights he requires me stand next to his crib with my hand on his back, but most times he's fine to be by himself. He sleeps straight through the night, till 6 or 7am. Makes me so proud!
He is working on his 5th tooth. His 3rd popped through in April, his 4th in May and I noticed his 5th on Sunday, his 11 month birthday. The 4th tooth was really rough. His gum was swollen for a few weeks before anything popped through. He got a fever and double ear infection. May was pretty much a bad tooth month for him. He doesn't seem to be having too much of a rough time with this coming tooth.

The day he got sick with his fever and double ear infection.

He's not far from walking. He stands by himself for long periods of time quite often. He can bend down, pick something up, and stand back up without holding on to anything. He's taken a few steps here and there. The only problem is I think he just wants to run. So that's kind of slowing him down. I'm waiting for the day to come that he just starts walking, like he knew what he was doing all along. That seems to be a trend with him.
He's shy. We were up in North Aurora over the weekend for Em's VB games. Anyone who looked at him got a huge smile in return, but if that person came near him, the smile disappeared and he wouldn't even look at them.
He's a major grandma's boy! There are days where he just wants nothing to do with me, he just wants grandma. I'm afraid it's not just a phase either, this has gone on for a few weeks now. I'm glad he loves his grandparents so much. He rarely sees his grandparents on his dad's side (their choice!) so he has no clue who they are.
He says a few words now. "Uh oh". Sometimes he says the whole thing, but most of the time it's "oohh". He'll say it when he drops/throws things or falls down. "Ma" for more. He says it when he's being fed. "Ba" for bye. He was just doing the hand wave for bye bye, then one day he started saying "ba" while waving. He did it a few times that day and maybe a couple since then. He also says "mama" and "dada" but he doesn't know what those mean yet.
He had his 9 month appointment on May 10th. He weighed 19.2 pounds and was 29.5 inches long. Whenever people ask how old he is, they are shocked to find out he's under a year old because they think he's so big. Maybe he's slightly tall for his age, but he's definitely not big!! He's still wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes and 3-6 month shorts because his waist is so skinny.
This kid is spoiled beyond spoiled! We started garage saling in the spring for his summer clothes. He's got so much clothes it's not even funny! He has close to 1 outfit for every day of summer. He's got tons of shoes too!
Only 1 month left till his first birthday. I am but not looking forward to it. We're having a monkey theme party at a park. Hopefully it goes over well.

Wearing his swim suit for the first time.

Playing with his dirty laundry

Playing in the pool with Rye

Playing at the park

Helping grandpa mow

The water was cold

Happy to be out of the pool!

Naked baby on the loose!!

His first big booboo. He was climbing off the porch, lost his footing, and fell head first off the second step. Not long after he forgot all about it.

Just some pics

It's been awhile since I posted, so I thought I'd share some pics:

I'm a star!

Nothin' but babylegs and a necklace!

Rye holding Kaisen's hand

He climbed from the floor into his walker all by himself! Climbing out wasn't as easy though.

The boys testing out Kaisen's new push walker

Playing in the chip drawer

Throwing his blanket over board

Goofing around before going to sleep.

Yo Gabba Gabba!!

Apparently he likes Miley's toys better.

Best Buds

Friday afternoon Kaisen, Rylan, Daniel, and I went to a few garage sales. One of the best things I've found so far this spring were these crocs. They've got monkeys on the top and are totally adorable. Rylan already has a pair of crocs, so now the babies can match this summer!

After garage sales we stopped by Raab McDonald's for some lunch. Michelle, the GM, gave the boys ice cream cones. Kaisen loved his!
Yesterday we all went to garage sales again. This time I found these totally cute spongebob slippers! Kaisen seems to like them (they're fun to play with) and they're not as easy to get off as socks are.
So yesterday afternoon we hung out at Daniels house. They boys love playing together. So I'm sitting there watching a movie and the next thing I know Kaisen is climbing on the shelf under the end table. He's definitely going to be a climber!
And of course Rylan had to join in on the fun.
A little bit later Kaisen climbs in Rylan's Cozy Coupe and starts playing in there. Well as soon as Rylan saw that he started climbing in too.

Yea, it was a crazy day.
Today Kaisen and I just hung around the house, relaxing after a busy couple of days. I'm looking online and saw a recipe for teething biscuits. Kaisen loves his "Biter Biscuits" that I buy from Wal-Mart, but they're expensive. So I thought I'd try this out. Here's the finished product:
And here's what Kaisen thought of them:
He ate 2. I'm so happy he liked them, they're really quite easy to make.
And then this is what you get when you spend awhile chasing dogs and running into moms legs in your walker:
A tired baby. (Notice his feet? At one point he was trying to escape his walker, he was actually standing up on the seat. At this point he was in the process of falling down back into the seat.) He's now in his bed, sleeping. Another busy weekend for the baby!