Heading to the mountains

The highlight of this past week was a family camping trip to the Sierras. We headed out on Friday morning and found a nice campsite at Kirkwood Lake, which is near Carson Pass, south of Lake Tahoe. Caden once again proved himself an enthusiastic camper. He is a big fan of being outside, so three straight days of outdoor activities, combined with constant attention from both Mommy and Daddy, made for lots of smiles and laughter from all three of us.


Favorite activities near (and in) Kirkwood Lake included sitting by the lake in the evening, swimming (for Mommy and Daddy), and hiking. We really field-tested the backpack carrier on Saturday, on a five-mile hike that involved (unknown to us based on the trail description) some pretty tough scrambling over and around boulders. The payoffs of the hike were fantastic swimming in Margaret Lake at the end of the trail and a late afternoon snack by the cold, clear waters of Caples Creek.

In other news...

Though we don't yet have video evidence (it's too sporadic), Caden has, in fact, rolled over. Both Daddy and Mommy independently observed this phenomenon, on August 10th and 18th, respectively, but haven't since then. Caden is also sitting with little (sometimes, for very brief periods, no) assistance (see above). He really enjoys being able to reach out and grab his toys from a sitting position. Mommy's sewing activities also continued this week with a cozy fleece diaper cover.

Blackberries for Caden

Late-summer treats

Caden and Daddy took a quart pail over to Ragle Ranch park on Thursday and brought it back filled with blackberries. It was little Caden's first berry-picking adventure, and he helped out by enthusiastically sticking his hands into the pail and staining his fingers a lovely shade of purple. On Sunday, Mommy joined us for another berry-picking walk. Since Caden is getting so good at holding his head up, we decided to see if he'd like to experience the walk from a slightly different perspective and strapped him into the backpack carrier for the first time. He seemed to enjoy his new view on the world, but the combination of working hard to hold his head up and Daddy's rolling pace soon put him to sleep.


New pants!

Inspired by the super-cute pants that Anne made for Caden (pictured at right), Mommy embarked on several sewing projects this past week. Caden really seems to like his new pants and hat, especially the fish patterns on his legs. He keeps trying to pick up the fish. He's also been trying to grab the flowers on the fabric of our living room chair and reaching for and grasping all sorts of things, which sometimes results in some pretty amazing stretches. We may have a little rock climber on our hands.

A laugh to brighten your day

Here's a video clip of our little guy cracking up at his dad's crazy antics:

My fair baby

Big events this week included a trip to the doctor on Friday (see the updated weight graph, below) and Sebastopol's annual Gravenstein Apple Fair on Saturday.




A trip to the doctor

We have somewhat mixed feelings about our bi-monthly trips to the doctor. We look forward to the update on his height, weight, and general health, but we dread the multiple shots he has to get each time he goes in. How would you feel if you had to receive three injections every time you went to the doctor? Caden was very well-behaved (though he got a bit frustrated at the doctor's pokings and proddings), and he acted more surprised than pained by his shots. This time, he did get a bit feverish afterwards, and he is still a bit unsettled. However, we've also heard a lot of good laughter these past few days, so he must be starting to feel better.

Caden now weighs 15 pounds, 14 ounces, which is in the 50th-75th percentile for his age. For those of you keeping track, he has gained 9 pounds, 2 ounces since birth, or just shy of half a pound per week. He is also growing like a Laminarean kelp, and is now 26.5 inches long, which puts him in the >97th percentile for length. Here is an updated figure illustrating his growth, thus far:

Gravenstein Apple Fair

This past weekend was Sebastopol's annual Gravenstein Apple Fair, held at Ragle Ranch Park, which is within easy walking distance of our place. On Saturday, we all strolled over to check out the festivities, which included music, crafts, and (of course) lots of tasty apple concoctions to eat. Caden was especially enthralled (see picture) with a performer named "Mr. Music," who invited all of the slightly older kids in the audience up on stage to teach them sing-along songs and hand motions. Of course, since it was a fair, there were also livestock to be seen, and Caden got to meet a curious Angora goat.

Mite meets might: a redwood adventure

We returned yesterday from a two-night trip to Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, just south of the Oregon border. It was the perfect time and place for Caden's first camping trip: great weather, beautiful scenery, hiking trails in the park (so we didn't have to drive anywhere), and a location approximately equidistant from our home in Sebastopol and Grandma Jo and Grandad Bruce's home in Corvallis. Grandma and Grandad arrived Friday evening to celebrate Caden's four-month milestone. Can you believe that he's already 1/3 of a year old? We all went for a really nice hike on Saturday. And on Sunday, we all headed home, wishing we could stay a bit longer. Everyone, Caden included, really enjoyed our trip, and we returned to Sebastopol (via a 3-hour wait in Eureka to have our tires replaced) feeling well-rested.

Whistling Lessons

Grandad Bruce has been trying to teach Caden to whistle. It looks like he's finally making some headway:

"Try this, Caden."

"Like this, Grandad?"


Celebrating success.

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