Little Bugs at SF Gymnastics

Today we went to a trial class at the SF Gymnastics Center. It was great! Caden loved running all around and climbing on wedges and jumping on the trampoline. He wasn't too sure of the bouncy house... He loved the long trampoline, which is about 30' long. He ran and bounced along the trampoline for about 10 minutes! I've never seen him run so fast or get so sweaty! He loved it so much, we're going to join the class for the rest of the session.

Here he is on the mats at the end of the long trampoline (he was running too fast to get a picture on the trampoline!)

Big helper

This afternoon, while playing with Lego's, Caden helped me put them away! This is the first time he has been interested in putting a toy away and back in it's place! I was quite excited...maybe a new phase in toddlerhood...helping put things away. I guess we'll see how long this lasts :)

Numbers guy!

Just like Daddy! This is the first thing that Caden played with this morning ...a calculator! (Sept. 26)

Then, tonight at bed time, while Chris was reading to Caden, he was reading 1,2,3 to the Zoo by Eric Carle and there is a page with just numbers, Caden could point out all of the number 1's. We were quite impressed!

If you're happy and you know it...

clap your hands! If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet! Today Caden's new thing has been to run around the house clapping while I sing this song! He has figured out how to "stomp" his feet too! I am trying to capture it on video, because it is just precious! Not quite a stomp, but more bobbing up and down with his little body and feet. It is just so stinking cute! No video yet, but I am working on it.

Something new everyday!

It seems as if Caden learns how to do something new everyday! Today he learned how to get up and sit in his "big boy" chair! He was very proud of himself! Enjoy!

A day in the life of Caden

So this morning started out a bit rough...poor guy is getting his incisor teeth, all 4 at once, so had a tough night of sleep. He actually slept fine from 8 to 5, but was awake from 5 to 6 (obviously needing more Tylenol for those teeth). He slept til 7:15 or so once I gave him some Tylenol. He played for a bit, chose a name for his baby sister from our baby name book, then went back to sleep around 9:15. I couldn't believe it, he slept til 10:45! When he woke up we had a late breakfast. Then he was back rearranging the pillows again. He is so funny about that! Then he took another nap around 2:45 and only slept til 3:15. When he woke up he had his milk, then played some more until it was time to go to music class at 4:30. He still loves music class and was actually singing along in class today! It was super cute! Here are some pictures of our day...enjoy!

choosing a name for his baby sister

unstacking the pillows

nice and comfortable now!

milk after his nap

Our budding little Picasso

finished piece!

15 (almost 16 really) month appointment!

This afternoon we had Caden's 15 month appointment. He is now 34" tall and weighs 32.5 pounds. He is off the charts in both height and weight! He grew 4 inches and gained 2.5 pounds since his last appointment at a year old. He's getting to be a big guy! He had to get 3 shots and cried just a little bit, but had some water afterwords and bounced right back! One thing I definitely learned while teaching is that water pretty much fixes everything for kids...if kids in my classroom were upset, I'd say go take a drink of water and that really seemed to help calm them down and perhaps redirect their attention from why they were upset. Maybe all moms use this tactic!

This morning we went to the park with our playgroup. Caden absolutely loves the swings, going down the slide, running around, and bouncing on the little bouncer!

loving the bouncer!

yay!

It's a Girl!

Bring on the pink! We are very happy to announce that baby Harris #2 is a girl! We had our ultrasound this morning at 11:15. We had the technician find out, and write it down and put it in an envelope. We waited til this evening to find out when we went out to dinner as a family. We went to a great Turkish restaurant called Troya. It was fantastic. We are so excited and can't wait to meet this little girl in February!

Her little legs

Putting her hand over her head

3-D view, her little arm is in front of her face

waving to us!

Pretend Play

Caden has been playing pretend lately. This morning he spread out the couch pillows and then was pretending to go "night, night!" This is such a neat stage that Caden is in. I feel like he is a little sponge and is learning so much and can understand a ton! I think it will only get more amazing as the time goes on.

making the "bed"

night, night, Caden!

readjusting the pillows

night, night, little one!

Crawling up the stairs!

Today Caden crawled up the stairs for the first time! We were shocked! It's like one day he just decided to go for it! We've got a great video coming soon! Such a little mover now! Looks like we'll have to put the other gate up.

Eyes, nose, and mouth

Today Caden showed me where all three of these were! I am always asking him questions, and today he could point back and show me! I love these little "ah ha" moments!

Caden Can Read!

Today, Caden was very into his books and pulled all of them out of his basket in his room and was flipping through the pages of each book. He was "reading" The Very Hungry Caterpillar for about 10 minutes. I was amazed! He was pointing at each picture and making a different sound for each one. He was also reading his baby signs book and was making the sign for stars, saying shhhh for quiet, and saying qua-qua for the picture of the rubber ducks. As a teacher, I just find this fascinating! This is beginning reading. I guess I've never seen what goes on with reading before children get to school and are in my classroom. This is a pretty amazing thing to watch. I'll be very curious if Caden is a "reader."
(Video coming soon)

On a side note, Caden's three other molars came in finally! It only took two months...poor guy!

Labor Day in Monterey

We drove down to Monterey on Saturday afternoon during Caden's nap time - good thing he can sleep in the car. We spent the afternoon walking around Monterey and then on Sunday morning headed to the aquarium. Caden loved looking at all the fish, but most of all just loved wandering around the aquarium! He didn't even put up a fuss when we put him back into his stroller - he had wandered around so much and was probably ready for a break! We had a wonderful time and some wonderful meals. Including seafood takeout to our hotel room...gotta love the fresh fish!

eating take-out in our hotel room

on daddy's lap!

gotta love the famous jellyfish!

The seahorse exhibit was very cool!
We learned that the male gives birth and is the only animal in the world to do so!

Caden's first picture ever - a very blurry daddy!

loving the tropical fish

and the penguins

pointing out some cool fish!

walking back to our hotel from the aquarium

made it!