Weekend excursions

We've been enjoying the sunny, warm days of early June, especially the weekends when we get to spend time at home and exploring the area as a family. On each of the past two weekends, we've headed to a state park in the area for hiking, picknicking, and learning a bit about the history of the area. On the 3rd, we drove over to the Bale Grist Mill State Park, where we watched the miller grind rye into flour. The miller had lots of cool props to teach us about the milling process, and he made a point of involving Caden. He even let Caden turn the model millstones that showed how the flour was channeled as it was ground. Then, once we saw how the flour was ground, we all went outside to watch the miller pull the chain, open the flume, and make the giant 30-foot mill wheel turn. As you can see, Caden loved watching the water pour over the wheel.

This past weekend, we headed over to Glen Ellen to check out the Jack London State Park. It was neat to see where London wrote many of his famous novels and to wander around his old ranch. We hiked up to a small lake, and Caden had a great time checking out the world from his vantage point on Daddy's back. While we were hiking, he decided that stealing Mommy's hat was a really fun game--he would grab it by the bill, yank it off, and laugh mischevously--so we played "steal the hat" until our faces hurt from laughing so much.

Caden has been having lots of fun with his friends James and Owen on Tuesday pizza nights, and last Thursday, we invited friends over for dessert to welcome some new folks to our crew at the lab. Caden and Owen had a great time opening the kitchen cupboards and pulling things out of them. It seems like Caden is becoming more adamently mobile by the day; he demands to walk everywhere, even though he can't walk on his own, yet. What that means is that either Mommy or Daddy has to hold his hands and walk with him.

We finally managed to get a decent picture of Caden's first tooth (see right, and squint at the bottom gumline), just in time for his 2nd tooth to come in. One of the top front teeth finally pushed through on Monday, and it's much easier to spot than the bottom one.

A message from Caden

Caden the inchworm

Here's a short video clip of our little guy inchworming his way across the living room to get Daddy's keys:

Movin' around

We came home from work today to see Caden standing inside the screen door, babbling excitedly to us and banging happily on the door. It's become one of his favorite places to watch the world go by (see right).

This week, Caden's mobility has increased dramatically! He is becoming very proficient at wiggling around the living room on his belly. He has an inch-worm-like way of getting around: he scoots his legs forward and pushes his behind in the air and his face into the carpet, then moves his torso forward so he is lying stretched out again. Given sufficient motivation (e.g., the CDs in the case across the room), he can cover a lot of ground in a surprisingly rapid manner. He has also become more proficient at walking with the assistance of his walker wagon, living room furniture, and Mommy and Daddy; we hold his hands, and he leads us where he wants to go.

A highlight was Uncle Jerry and Auntie Misty's visit over Memorial Day Weekend. Caden absolutely loved having them here, as they provided lots of silly, fun entertainment, including book juggling, peek-a-boo, talking books, and giant towers constructed out of Caden's blocks and toys. We had a great time showing them around the town and the county, including day trips to local wineries, Sonoma, and Bodega Bay. Caden had a great time playing in the sand in Horseshoe Cove while we enjoyed the Sonoma Coast sunshine.

On Monday, after Uncle Jerry and Auntie Misty headed back northward, the three of us spent a great day together, working outside (Caden played in his card-table fort while Mommy and Daddy trimmed the roses and washed the car, respectively), eating orange and mango juice popsicles, and going for a fun evening walk.

Tired out after walking & wiggling

Watching Daddy wash the car

With Uncle Jerry and Auntie Misty

Mmmmm, popsicles on a hot day

A zoo-rific week

We've been enjoying sunny weather and the company of friends this past week. On Wednesday, Amy (Owen's mom) gave her PhD exit seminar, and we headed over to their house for an amazing feast in celebration of Amy's years of hard work. On Saturday, we celebrated Kirsten and Mark's wedding and reception in Cazadero and Occidental, respectively.

Earlier today, we headed to Oakland for Caden's first trip to the zoo. It was a beautiful day, and Caden had a great time seeing all of the animals (he kept calling all of the smaller animals "kee kee" = "kitty"). We met Tess and Michael (friends from Oregon) and their little guy Quinn to check out all of the cool animals there. Particular highlights included the flamingos (bright pink and easily discernable), the fruit bats (Caden enjoyed holding himself upright on the mesh and watching them hang from their awnings), the alligators (which we could watch both under and above the waterline), and the giraffes (obvious enough to hold his attention).

Finally, our friend Mark (not the same one who got married on Saturday) graduated with his PhD from Cal this morning, and we spent the afternoon visiting with Mark, Anne, and their families and friends at a celebratory open house. As always, Caden was very excited about their cat, Lucy, who was somewhat frightened by his constant babbling ("kee kee! kee kee! kee kee!") and waving.

Caden has been naming ("kee kee") all of the cats in his various books this week. It's really neat that he readily identifies both real cats and their abstract representations. He also now has a tooth! We've been paying attention to his upper gumline over the past couple of weeks, since the two top teeth are clearly working their way down. However, the new tooth snuck in on the bottom while we were distracted. Last night, while Caden was getting ready for bed, Mommy was running her finger across his gums, and there it was! Poor groggy guy, we had to get a flashlight and shine it in his face when all he wanted to do was sleep.


Look at the elephants, Caden
A giraffe contortionist


With Daddy at the wedding
Can't quite reach the pedals
With Mommy at Amy's party

Happy Mother's Day!

It's been another great week around here! We finally made it to the doctor for Caden's one-year appointment on Tuesday (which made it his one-year-and-one-month appointment). Caden tolerated all of the poking, prodding, and measuring quite well and only yelled a little when he got his three shots (yikes!), vaccinations against measles, Hep A, and chicken pox. And we have official updates on his weight and height. He now weighs 20 pounds, 13 ounces and is 31 inches long. He is a long, lean guy, in the ~25th percentile for weight but the ~75th percentile for height.

Caden is quite interested in learning to walk, though he hasn't figured it out yet. As you can see, he's enjoying time in the Johnny Jumpup a lot these days, and he often demands (usually by leveraging his body against our hands and forcing himself upright) to be held up on his feet. He is also working on getting some teeth--we expect the two front top ones to emerge any day--so we've been brushing his gums in preparation for the real thing.

Caden is also expanding his vocal repertoire. The other night, he started saying "hi," though we think that right now he's just experimenting with sounds, not necessarily greeting anyone. He definitely keeps up a running babbling commentary on our walks around town, and he becomes particularly vocal when we approach a cat or dog.

On Sunday, we invited friends over for brunch at our place to celebrate baby Cormac's arrival. The weather was great, the food was tasty (mmmm, coffee cake, scones, and fruit salad!), and the company was wonderful. We set up the sun shade in the corner of the backyard, and the little guys had a great time playing, snoozing, and hanging out.

Brunch is served

Playing in the shade

"Hey, pay attention to me!"

BML moms and babies

Weddings and sunny weather

We've all been busy these last couple of weekends. On the 28th, we watched the annual Sebastopol Apple Blossom Festival parade, then headed up to the Sierra foothills to wish our friends Sean and Christy well at their wedding. Then, the following day, Daddy left for a meeting in Santa Barbara. While Daddy was away, Caden and Mommy had lots of fun together (see above). One highlight of their four days together was when Caden learned to identify the truck in one of his tiny alphabet books:

Mommy: "Caden, show me the truck."

Caden: Opens the book, looks through it, finds the truck, and hands it back with that page open.

Last week, while Daddy was away, Caden also said his first word, which is (drumroll, please) "kitty." He says (usually with a high-pitched, excited squeal) "kee kee" or "tee tee," but it has become clear over the past few days that he is, without question, referring to the many cats that frequent our neighborhood. When we page through his picture books and find a photo of a cat, he also says "kee kee," which confirmed to us that he knows what a cat is and what to call it.

Yesterday, we went to another wedding. We headed over to Ocean Song, a beautiful place between here and the coast, to celebrate with Chris and Christina. Finally, we spent most of today in Oakland, visiting with our friends Mark and Anne. Mommy and Anne went to a craft brunch--they got together with other people from the area to work on crafts--while Daddy, Mark, and Caden went to a nice shady park to eat a picnic lunch and watch the kids and squirrels.

Watching the Apple Blossom parade
With Sean and Christy

Clowning around with the guys
Playing with Bodhi


Enjoying the sunny weather
Dancing at Chris and Christina's wedding