Neglectful Blogger Award

I wish there was one, and I wish there was a cash prize involved.

Unfortunately, the only prize being a neglectful blogger has brought me is guilt.  I've pretty much thrown out any hope of ever completing Kaden's baby book (Isn't it sad that I'm already like this with baby #1?), so any notes on his development not made on this blog are probably not going to be recorded anywhere. 

I just realized the last time I wrote anything substantial about Kaden was two months ago.  Sorry, Kaden Bug. 

So, some of these things Kaden has been doing for awhile, and some of them are relatively new. 

At eight-and-a-halfish-months old, Kaden . . . 

• Has three teeth.  Two on the bottom, one on the top, with a fourth tooth on the way.  Meredith pointed out the other day how sad it is when babies lose their gummy smile, and I have to say I agree.  Already, Kaden looks more like a little boy to me than a baby.

• Sits by himself.

• Can play peek-a-boo by himself, if he's in the mood.  When he first learned to do this, he did it all the time, but he hasn't done it much lately.  I'm so sad we never got it on video.  Sometimes, we'd be shopping in the store, and I'd realize he was lifting his burp rag to hide his face, just waiting for me to say, "Where's Kaden?"  Then he'd throw the burp rag down, I'd say,"Peek-a-boo!", and he'd give me a huge grin.  

• Scoot-crawls backwards and in circles.  He hasn't mastered how to do this while on his knees, and he can't figure out how to move forward yet.  This does not stop him, however, from moving all over the room.

• Gets up on his knees like he's going to crawl, then face plants or rolls to his side instead of actually crawling.

• Pushes up on his toes when he's in a crawling position.  Heaven help me.  I think walking will not be far behind crawling.

• Is a rolling machine.  Gone are the days of leaving my baby in a room and expecting him to be in the same place when I come back.  Gone, also, are the days of simple diaper changes.  Now, those feel like wrestling matches.

• Doesn't like his exersaucer or jumping toy as much as he once did, now that he has mobility on his own terms.

•  Babbles with inflection.  I love it when you hear him end a baby-language sentence that sounds like a question.  We still hear Dadadadadadadadadadada most often, but he does say Mamamamamamamama and Bababababababababa.  He also gargles and yells on occasion.    

• Often gets fussy if I leave the room and he can't see me.  He wants to be with someone at all times.  He still does pretty well being held by anyone, but sometimes he wants just Mommy or Daddy.  Sometimes he turns this into a game.  He will reach for me to hold him, then cry and reach for Chad, then cry and reach for me, etc.

• Is a master of the "drop it-pick it up" game.  It's a shame this is not an Olympic sport, as I feel Kaden would win world fame as the youngest athlete to medal in the event.

• Wears 12 month clothes pretty comfortably, although he still fits into some of his nine month outfits, and a select few six month ones (let's face it--those are mis-sized).

• Can feed himself puffs and tiny pieces of banana, with moderate success.  Sometimes the entire fist goes into the mouth when he can't figure out how to get the food out of his fingers.

• Has tried mangoes, apricots, blueberries, and oatmeal since my last account of his food choices, and has liked every dish placed before him.  

• Wears size four diapers, the same size as his two-and-a-half-year-old cousin. 

• Thinks his daddy is the ultimate toy.  It is so fun seeing Kaden's face light up when Chad comes home from work or when we see him at lunch time during the day.

• Has played in the kiddie pool for the first time, and seemed enthralled at bath time later to realize he got to play in the water not once, but TWICE in one day! 

Kaden, at eight months old, on our trip to Washington (blog post about that to follow):