Cade at 18 months

Our little Cade is 18 months!  He's actually almost  20 or 17 months, but since keeping track of his age is very confusing, I have been saying he's 18 months, for a couple of months now. Here are his current stats:
Height 34.5 inches This puts him in the 75% for 20 months, or the 95th for 17 months.
Weight 26.6 lbs. This puts him at the 50th percentile for both 20 and 17 months. For the record, Sophie was the exact same for both height and weight at her 18 month check up.  He just might be a big boy after all!

Likes:
Cade's favorite thing right now is following his sister around the house.  She both loves and hates this. He also loves books, running, doing anything outside, and his favorite blue puppy that he will not sleep without.  Cade loves to climb on top of the kitchen table, the couch, and can almost get on top of our bed. I have a fear that he will be climbing out of his crib quite soon.  He also loves to get into the pantry, so much so that we actually had to get a lock installed on it.  Cade also loves to be held by his mama, and is usually a fixture on her hip before every meal time. I have gotten pretty good at fixing things one handed.

 Cade also loves to color.  Sophie hates to color, even now it is not a fun activity for her- merely something she has to get done before she can move onto the next project.  Cade will sit for a good 5-10 minutes and color happily.  It makes the time at restaurants go much more quickly!

Dislikes: His main dislikes right now are getting his diaper changed- he still hates those cold wet wipes, and coming in from outside.  He also gets furious when he realizes that the pantry door is locked, and he cannot sneak any snacks. Since he is quickly approaching 2, he is getting pretty good at throwing tantrums.

Sleep: By and large, Cade is an excellent sleeper. He is still transitioning to 1 nap a day.  When he does only take 1 nap, that nap can be anywhere from 2.5-3 hours!  It's amazing!  Sophie never slept that long.  Ever.

Talking:  Cade is starting to talk quite a bit.  He has between 15-20 words that he uses-  his main words are: no, car, go, spoon, and pup (talking about his blue puppy).

When we do find Cade sitting still, which is rare, he is usually "reading" books.  He loves his books!

Happy Halloween!

 Sophie has been on a Toy Story kick, so she wanted to be Jessie.  Since Cade could really care less about what he is, I thought he should be Buzz Lightyear so that they match. For the record, Cade hated his costume.  I guess next year I should focus on what is comfortable and warm, and less on matching.

 Sophie and Cade trick-or-treating.  Sophie could hardly wait for trick-or-treating.  She was seriously dressed in her costume and ready to go at 8:30 am.  She could not understand why we had to wait all day.  It was a looong day of waiting.  Cade did not seem to care for trick-or-treating.  He didn't want to hold his basket, and just held onto a piece of candy. The same piece- all night.  He didn't want any more.

 Cade's costume was a little snug.  We could barely do the velcro in the back.  In his defense, when I ordered it I forgot to calculate the amount of clothes that he would be wearing under his costume.  We managed to  get him in 3 layers, but it was a tight fit!

 Sophie and Cade snuggling before trick-or-treating.

 Finally, it's time!!

Cade checking out some of his stash.  It was a fun night, and Sophie is already planning what she wants to be next year.

Oct. Catch-up

 October is always such a busy month.  Sophie's cousins came up for a weekend, and we hit the pumpkin patch. It was super cold, but the kids ran around so much that they stayed warm. Sophie and Elly always have so much fun together, it's hard for her to see her go!

 The pumpkin patch is filled with activities, the kids can happily play for hours.

 The giant jumping pillow is always a big hit!

 This was the first year that Cade was awake enough to do the pumpkin, and he loved it!  He is very curious by nature, and the pumpkin was especially intriguing.

 Cade likes to do everything that Sophie does, so of course he wanted to help scoop out the insides.

 You might notice that he has no pants on.  This is because he decided to sit in the pile of pumpkin guts.  He was quite pleased with himself and was a total mess!

Sophie's finished pumpkin!  The pumpkins were a bit of a challenge this year.  I didn't bring them inside soon enough and they were still a bit frozen. When we tried to carve into them, several of our pumpkin tools broke. It was a wild and crazy time!

Fun at the Fire Station

We went to the Whitefish Fire Station last weekend for their open house.   It is a wonderful event that we look forward to each year. They bring out all of their fire engines, ambulances, boats- even a helicopter, hovercraft, and SWAT van for the public to see.  They let the kids climb over the fire engines, explore the SWAT van, and ask any questions they want. There were at least 30+ firefighters there, which is pretty impressive since they are mostly volunteer. They give all the kids fire helmets, balloons, gift bags with coloring books, stickers, and crayons.  They even do a lunch which is all prepared by firefighters- it's hot dogs, chips, and a pop- but I am still giving them credit. Everything is free, and there is not even a place to give donations. Both kids loved it. 

 One of the main attractions is the obstacle course.  You have to run out, rescue Tigger, and get him in a neck brace.

 Then run him over to the next stop, and give him some oxygen.

 Then, run over to the hose and drag it around to the final station.

 Ready, Aim...

 Fire!  Sophie is aiming at a wooden building that is "on fire" and you have to knock down 3 windows that have flames on them.  When you are finished they give you a certificate that says you're a junior firefighter.

 Another big hit- getting dressed up as a firefighter.

 Very excited!

 Cade was excited to get out of his stroller and climb on the fire engine.  He had so much fun on it, it was hard to get him off.

 Sophie climbing into the SWAT van

 Cade and Daddy checking out the helicopter.   It was a really fun morning, we cant wait to go back!

Nana Visits

 We were lucky enough to have Nana come and visit us.  She was able to stay a little over a week, so the kids were able to spend a lot of time with her.  When nana visits, Sophie wants to do one thing-cook.  Nana has far more patience than I do, and she does not mind Sophie underfoot.

Nana and Sophie making bread.  Nana was teaching Sophie how to roll out the dough. Nana usually makes bread for us when she visits, the kids gobble it up!

 Kneading the dough was hard work!

 Making applesauce- This was something that GG did every fall, and it's a tradition that I want to continue. Nana was surprised how quickly we made it- I used an apple corer/slicer/peeler, that reduced the prep work from 4 hours down to 30 min.  GG always made applesauce the way she was taught, and my mom continued to do everything by hand as well.  I think I have her convinced to use modern kitchen appliances.

 

 Making homemade stew, nothing is better on a cold day!

Cade didn't help with any cooking, but he put Nana to work with his busy, busy ways.  Right now all he likes to do is move, move, move.  His favorite toys are anything he can push/ride on.  He loves the pink shopping cart and runs all over the house with it.

We were lucky enough to spend Nana's actual birthday with her, and had a great time celebrating again.  Sophie picked out the decorations- princess- and helped Nana blow out her candles.  We are ready for Nana to come back again!

Learning to Use a Spoon

 Cade has been starting to use a spoon.  This has been a very messy, messy process.  I don't remember Sophie being completely covered in food, or getting food in her hair.  I could have blocked it out- but I think it is the difference between boys and girls. When Cade uses a spoon he gets food EVERYWHERE.  In his hair, nose, ears, pretty much everywhere except his mouth.  I have been letting him try to use a spoon at dinner, so that we can do a bath soon after.  He has certainly enjoyed this learning process!

 Using a spoon is a big deal, and he feels like a big boy!

 Hmmm, spoon on the forehead. Whoops!

Leaving the spoon in his mouth, and just using his hands to get the yogurt.  Good thinking!

I love to Dance!!

 Sophie started dance class last month and loves it!  She looks forward to it every week, and is very excited to wear the "costume".  The class is a combination of ballet, tap, jazz, and tumbling. The teacher is very strict, and keeps the kids moving constantly. What Sophie lacks in technique she makes up in raw enthusiasm.  She always has a smile on her face and is eager to try everything- except for ballet, this she finds boring.  I have noticed that she probably won't be earning any scholarships to Julliard, as the teacher helper is always positioned right behind Sophie.  The poor child was blessed with Carl's flexibility, which is to say she can barely touch her toes. But she loves to go, and I love taking her!

Practicing tap

Practing stretching for ballet- notice the bored, zoned out look.

Making sure we are watching!

 The best part of dance class might be wearing the outfit...

Go Karts!

 We took Sophie on her first Go Kart ride, and she loved it!  She literally squealed with delight around every corner.  She had such a good time that we started thinking Disneyland thoughts... Cade is not ready yet, but maybe fall '14.

 Sophie just wanted to go faster!

Someone really wanted to go too! Sorry Cade, the Go Karts have a height restriction.  I have a feeling it's going to be a looong wait for this little guy!

Bee Sting

Our poor little Cade got stung by a bee, and swelled way up.  He seems to have inherited my bee allergy.  Poor baby.  He got stung right above the lip, and his lip swelled way up, as well as his cheek- all the way up to his eye.  After mixing up some concoction made out of baking powder and giving him a Benadryl, the swelling started to go down.  Mean bees!

Summer School

Sophie started begging me to go to preschool as soon as we got back from Hawaii.  She would literally ask me every single day if she could go.  I finally relented and started her in summer school in the beginning of August.  She goes twice a week, for half days.  She loves it!  Her new preschool is super close to our house and has a great summer program.  So far she has walked to multiple parks and had picnic lunches, walked to the library for story time, had theme days- including pirates, and superheros, had water day where everyone comes in their swimsuits for outside play, and bike day where everyone brings their bikes and bike around the neighborhood. I was particularly nervous about her eating lunch there, but she eats everything in sight. I nearly fainted when I saw her eating a pulled pork sandwich one day.  Her new teacher said that Sophie came in the first day like she had been there forever, and hasn't looked back.  I am so glad that she loves her new school!

If only summer could last forever!

 We have had a wonderful summer at the lake.  Summer has absolutely flown by- I cant believe it's nearly over!  We have gotten into our routine of driving out to the cabin on Fridays, and then coming back Sunday evenings. The weekends always fly by with lots of company, and we feel very fortunate that all of the cousins play so well together. Sophie will be very sad to not see them every weekend.

 Sophie and Elly became quite the team this summer and watched a movie (usually Barbie) every night while we got dinner ready.  They were very good about taking turns picking out the movie, and would even remember from week to week whose turn it was.

 Sophie and Elly played a lot with rocks.  Rocks at the lake have never been so clean.

 Sophie became quite brave in the water this summer.  She had no fear, and couldn't care less about how cold it was. She would simply jump in, and stay in, for several hours at a time.  I usually had to drag her out of the lake for juice and snack breaks.

Sophie also was quite the tuber this summer.  She now likes to tube several times a day.  We have tried hard to get her interested in skiing on the trainers, but she keeps telling us that she,"will ski when it snows," or "When I am five."  We'll see if this happens.  

  Cade loves the lake as well.  He is our little water baby.   Unlike Sophie, who didn't put a toe into the water till she was three, Cade jumps in without any worry.  The cold seems to have no effect on him, and I usually take him out when his little lips turn blue.

  

Some of Cade's favorite lake activites- splashing in the water (and eating rocks).

Cade likes to swim in the lake as well, he kicks his little legs in a frog kick and will doggy paddle his little arms.  He loves to be in the water- he's a natural.  I cant wait to see what next summer at the lake brings!