Happy 1st Halloween!

Nana and Grandpa arrived on Friday to spend a week visiting with little Caden. Their autumn trip down from Alaska has become something of a tradition, and we've spent two of the past three Halloweens with them. This year, we all got into the spirit of Caden's first Halloween and dressed as a bug family: Caden as the sweet little cozy bug that he is, Mommy as a butterfly, Daddy as a moth, Nana as a ladybug, and Grandpa as a yellowjacket. We all had a great time together, decorating Halloween cookies, making costumes, carving a pumpkin, welcoming trick-or-treaters, and eating way too much sugar. Below are a few photos of fun Halloween activities, including a baby costume party last week, cookies, and--of course--pumpkin carving:

Here's our bug checking out the other babies' costumes.

Yum! Those cookies look so tasty and colorful!

Carving pumpkins is a lot of fun...

...especially when you get to put your hands in the squishy pulp.

Happy Halloween from the bug family:

Other highlights of the week

Nana and Grandpa have had a lot of fun playing with, feeding, and cuddling little Caden. Other highlights of this past week have included a new pair of "baby legs" leggings made by Mommy; a surprise package (that, unbeknownst to us, spent the last five months in the garage of our old house) with a cozy fleece blanket from Erika, Craig, and Thorsten; and an increasing diversity of foods. This week, Caden decided that he actually likes squash. He also tried peas for the first time on Halloween--a holiday tradition of his mommy's--and we think that they are his favorite "solid" food so far.

Whew! What a busy week!

A visit from Grandma

This past week, little Caden has continued his forays into the realm of food from a spoon, and his culinary repertoire now consists of rice cereal, oatmeal, squash, and sweet potatoes. The real highlight of the week was a fun-filled visit from Grandma Jo, who flew in on Friday evening and spent the weekend with us. We all had a great time together, exploring the area (including a trip to the local petrified redwood forest and Calistoga), eating good food, and enjoying the gorgeous fall weather.

Caden's vote (based on facial expressions and eagerness to eat substantial quantities) for best new food this week goes to sweet potatoes. Oatmeal got a big thumbs down (see picture, below), and squash wasn't particularly well-received either:

Oatmeal (October 16th)
Squash (October 17th)
Sweet potatoes (October 20th)

Good times with Grandma

Sound advice from Gma Jo

"Can't you see, I'm eating?"

"Check out these stone trees!"

Pancakes and pumpkins

This week's highlights included a visit to the doctor on Friday and a fun-filled Sunday spent eating pancakes, going to a pumpkin patch, and meeting Randall and David's new baby boy.

Six-month check-up

Friday morning, we all headed over to Santa Rosa for Caden's six-month check-up. He was a very brave little boy, and only yelled a little bit when the nurse gave him his shots. And we were glad to get official measurements of his weight and length. As of October 13th, Caden weighs exactly 18 pounds and is 27 7/8 inches long. He is following virtually the same trajectory as last time, and is in the 90th percentile for length and the 70th percentile for weight. Here are updated charts illustrating his growth, thus far:

(a) growth over time

(b) biomass-specific growth

Pancakes, pumpkins, and a new friend

Sunday morning, we all headed over to the local fire station for their annual pancake breakfast. Mommy and Daddy enjoyed tasty pancakes, and Caden really liked the bright red trucks. He is now an official junior member of the Sebastopol Fire Department, and has a hat to prove it.

After breakfast, we headed back to the house for a bit, then drove over to a local pumpkin patch, where we met Amy, Brian, and Owen for a hayride, a dark and spooky adventure in the hay maze, and lots of pictures (see below). Caden particularly liked playing with the hay that was scattered around on the ground. In fact, he was so focused on grabbing the hay (and the gourds and the corn silk) that it was almost impossible to make him smile for pictures.

Sunday evening, we drove out to Bodega Bay to visit Randall and David, and to meet their one-week-old baby James. He is so tiny and beautiful. It's hard to believe that Caden was that little only six months ago.

Pumpkin Patch Photos

Culinary and musical adventures

This past weekend, Caden had two fun adventures. The first, which took place in our kitchen nook on Saturday, was his first foray into the diverse realm of solid food. The second was a trip into San Francisco on Sunday to go to the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival.

Caden has been actively trying to grab food from our plates for several weeks now, but we waited until he had passed the six-month mark before introducing solid food. "Solid food" is a bit of a misnomer, at least at this point. Right now, his culinary repertoire consists of rice cereal, which we mix to approximately the consistency of runny applesauce. Caden seems to really enjoy eating from a spoon, and he signals his approval by reaching for the spoon as it approaches his mouth and by banging on the arm of his high chair. Here are a few photos and a video clip of our little guy enjoying his first meal from a spoon:

Video of the week:



Selected scenes:

Here it comes!
Tasting, tasting...
Yay! I like rice cereal.

Hardly Strictly Bluegrass

On Sunday, after fortifying himself with a tasty meal of rice cereal, Caden joined Daddy for a trip to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park to see some free live music. Mommy was busy studying for her PhD candidacy exam and decided to stay home while the guys went on their adventure. We drove to Oakland and met our friend Anne, then took the BART train under the bay to the city. From the BART, we transfered to a streetcar, which we rode to a stop near the park. We walked to the park and met Mark there, then found a comfy patch of grass to watch and listen to a couple of fun bands, including Hot Tuna and the Wayback Boys (featuring Bob Weir). Neither band played much bluegrass, though Gillian Welch joined Bob and the Wayback Boys for a couple of songs, including a great cover of "Like a Rolling Stone." Caden, who loves music in almost every imaginable form (including whistling, his dad's sleepy middle-of-the-night mutterings, and wild sea chanties), had a great time. Despite the drives from Sebastopol to Oakland and back and the two-hour transit time on crowded trains from Oakland to the park, he kept laughing and enjoying himself, though he was a bit unsure about the streetcar (see left). We all had a great time, enjoying a beautiful October day in the park.

Happy half-birthday, Caden!

Today, Caden is six months old! To celebrate his half-birthday, he and Mommy baked a cake. Caden helped by chewing on and playing with a spatula, which is soft, squishy, and brightly colored, just like his teething toys. We also serenaded him with half-birthday songs. Of course, he loved the attention, and we got to eat chocolate cake.

Last week, Caden, Mommy, and Daddy had a lot of fun hanging out with friends. We spent Tuesday evening with Amy, Brian, Owen, and Randall in Occidental, where we enjoyed Union Hotel pizza and good company. The following night, we all went over to Christy's house for a Grosholz Lab potluck dinner. Then, on Friday, Amy and Owen came over and walked downtown with Caden and Mommy. Finally, on Saturday, we enjoyed visiting and browsing downtown with Tessa. Caden especially liked going to the toy store and previewing some fun things to play with.

Video of the week

Here's our little tumbling tumbleweed showing off in his Carhartts:

More fun stuff

Other favorite activities this past week or so have included playing the piano and helping to make the bed: