Family Portraits 2014

Kaden 12+2 month update!

Our boy is now officially a toddler! He is more active than ever, walking, babbling, beginning to climb and getting into EVERYTHING! He loves all forms of technology and anything with buttons  so I'm not able to sit down and work at my desktop computer when he's awake otherwise he will demand to sit in my lap, steal the mouse, type on the keyboard, and whine until I play Judah & The Lion music videos for him. Therefore, things like blogging have been very challenging lately. So our Kaden updates will probably come less frequently now. Sorry for the delay!

At his 12 month check-up in August, Kaden weighed 24 lbs and measured just under 30 inches long! The major growth spurt he went through this summer after he started eating more solids has put him back in a comfortable middle ground on the growth charts. He's in the 64th percentile for weight and 52nd for height. I'm thankful that he's growing and thriving now that his belly is full!

 Soon after he turned one, we completely weaned him off of breast feeding (which was a big relief to me.) Then, after about a month of drinking formula, we switched him slowly to drinking whole milk. He also drinks a lot of water during the day, but we haven't given him any juice because I don't think he needs the sugar. We want to keep those pearly whites healthy! (Speaking of - he now has 9 teeth! Four in the front on top and bottom, and one big molar in the back.)

He loves to eat! I've heard that toddler's appetites slow down and they start to eat like birds , but Kaden is still packing it away. After he turned one, we were able to start introducing new foods that sometimes cause allergies, like cow's milk, peanut butter, and strawberries. So far we haven't noticed any allergies or food sensitivities with him, though the strawberries did seem to upset his tummy a little. He LOVES peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, spaghetti with tomato sauce, cut up fresh fruit (that was a hard sell), and meat. Our little man is definitely a carnivore! He also got his parent's love of carbs and cheese. Veggies are still a struggle but there are a few staples he will usually eat like green beans and carrots.

Around the time of Kaden's birthday, he had taken several steps but was still primarily crawling. However, it didn't take long for him to gain the strength and balance he needed to walk all the time. After that, there was no crawling. Now if he falls down, he will immediately get back up and continue walking. It took him another few weeks to figure out how to stand up without pulling up on something. The last couple of days he's been on the verge of really taking off. I'm not sure how we're going to manage when he starts running!

Above is about where he was around his birthday

Learning to stand up! So cute!

Now what my life is like. Constant wandering around the apartment

He is a busy boy! From the time he wakes up (which is still far too early) till he goes to bed (around 7:15 pm) he is going, going, going. Most of his activities include reading, making music with his growing collection of toy instruments, watching the airplanes and cars go by out the window, kicking and throwing balls around the house, coloring, pushing any kind of buttons he can find, exploring the contents of every cabinet and drawer, making faces at himself in mirrors, playing peek-a-boo, "flopping" onto piles of pillows and blankets, and repeatedly demanding to go outside to the playground.

Airplane!

Some of Kaden's first artwork.

I think part of my productivity problem around the house is that Kaden wants constant attention and needs constant supervision. He will occasionally entertain himself for a while, flipping through books or playing with toys. But his love language is absolutely quality time. It doesn't matter if you're in the same room. He's not happy unless you're engaged with him, and he will bother you until you pay attention. Unfortunately, this has sparked some disciplinary problems. If I'm busy doing something else or he feels like I'm ignoring him, he knows exactly how to get my attention. That usually involves going for one of the many things in our house that he is not allowed to touch, or biting me. This is a very frustrating trend because no form of discipline that we've tried has had much of an effect on him yet. I can tell already that he's going to be a stubborn little boy who has to learn the hard way many, many times. =^/ It's really a good thing he's so cute.

What's so frustrating is that we know he hears and comprehends what we're saying to him. He simply chooses not to obey. His language comprehension is developing quite well and he's slowly but surely beginning to say more words. Right now he still only has 2 clear phrases other than "mama" and "dada". Those are (of course) "NO!" and "All done!" His verbal mimicry is getting much better though and so he says things that sound a lot like ball, jet, book, snack, more, and out. Also, if we ask him what a dog says, he will answer, "woof, woof." :)

He is extremely smart and very curious, which is a blessing and a curse. Each time he figures out how to circumvent our baby proofing measures or learns to turn on and operate a new appliance or gadget, we can't help but shake our heads in frustrated wonder and say, "wow." One night at dinner we were trying to get Kaden to eat some veggies that he was not interested in at all. We asked him to try them. Just put one piece in his mouth. So our clever boy repeatedly lifted a piece of food to his lips and then dropped it so it fell down in his lap and was hidden underneath his tray. He thought he could pull one over on us! UN-believable.

On the flip side, I love that he has the persistence and patience to sit with something until he figures out how it works. Anything mechanical is or electronic fascinates him. Last week he spent over an hour a day trying to figure out how the buckle on his stroller works. He loves to learn! He spends a ton of time pouring over every book he can get his hands on. When we go outside, he wants us to point to everything in sight and name it over and over again for him. He's very observant and has his daddy's pilot eyes. When we look out the window he often spots birds, planes and passing dragon flies before I do and follows them with his little finger.

Speaking of daddy, I think Kaden is transitioning into a daddy's boy instead of being glued to my hip. I went away to a women's retreat in Seoul last weekend, and now all the boy wants to do is hang out with daddy. When he wakes up in the morning he calls for dada, he wants dada to read to him and play with him. He even enjoys dressing like him! I'm so thankful they've had some good bonding time lately. =^)

We love our sweet, crazy, silly, energetic, inquisitive little boy more and more each day. He continually challenges us and tests our patience, but he truly has a sweet disposition and always wins us over with hugs, kisses, giggles, and that adorable smile. I know that this winter is going to be a challenge for our family, being cooped up in the house with a very active toddler. But at least I can say with confidence that life with Kaden is never boring. I wouldn't trade it for the world!

(The face he makes when he can see himself on the camera phone)

Birthdaly Luau for the Triad

Somehow, I think it's become a parenting rite of passage to throw an unnecessarily large party for your first child's first birthday. They're one. They have no idea it's their birthday and could care less if they have cake and presents, let alone friends and decorations. Jenny, Jordan and I were fully aware that the triad's party was mostly for us, celebrating the fact that we survived the first year with lots of our friends (and their kids). Since we had three families hosting together, we figured we could afford to put a lot into it. We may have gone a little overboard. But we found so many cute ideas on pinterest and couldn't resist recreating some of them for our babies.

 

When we first started brainstorming ideas for an easy, summery, gender-neutral theme, we fell in love with the idea of a luau. It's tropical, fun for all ages, the food would be delicious, and the decorations would work for boys and girls. We could have pretty tropical flowers for Riley and surf boards and sea creatures for Kaden and Jack. Jordan picked up some fun decorations at Party City while she was in the States and, with lots of elbow grease and help from friends, we managed to put together a really great event!

Essentially, we invited anyone in the squadron who was interested to join us for lunch, drinks, dessert and games. Normally it's safe to invite your whole squadron to a kid's birthday party because only a handful of people actually show up. But I think the combination of us having a lot of friends in our super-sized squadron, and the offer of a place to hang out on a Saturday and enjoy some free food and adult beverages, drove our numbers through the roof. I think we had 40 adults and 20 kids RSVP by the end. =^O Not all of them showed up so we had a large crowd, but nothing unmanageable. But it did mean we spent a lot of time prepping and cooking our birthday feast the day before the party.

On the menu were BBQ and Sweet 'n Sour pulled pork sandwiches on Hawaiian sweet rolls, meatless meatballs and sticky rice (for the vegetarians in the house), rainbow fruit skewers (painstakingly assembled by Yours Truly), a cute hummus island surrounded by a sea of fresh veggies (complete with carrot palm tree), beautiful tropical cupcakes made by a friend in the squadron, and mandarin orange sail boats in blue jello for children whose parents don't want them to consume TOO much sugar before nap time. ;^) We also had an inflatable pool filled with ice where we stashed our water bottles and juice boxes. And in the back, we had some adult beverages including a vat full of some sort of spiked tropical punch called a "Bahama Mama". I hear it was quite tasty.

 We decorated the room with colorful plastic table clothes, bright fresh flowers, lots of printed pictures of the babies as well as some of my favorite Hawaii travel photos. Jordan made some cute tissue paper grass skirts for the babies' high chairs. We also had all kinds of fun tropical paper plates, napkins, balloons and a big 'Happy Birthday' banner draped across the back wall. Normally the giant, plastic potted plants in our tower's rec room are an off-putting distraction, but today they worked in our advantage. We topped that all off with a playlist of luau music and - presto! - instant island atmosphere.

 Of course - the focus was on the babies. The visual representation of that was their birthday cakes. We wanted them to have small, low-sugar cakes that matched but had a unique theme for each baby. Jenny baked the delicious cakes, and we got together to ice them with a low-sugar cream cheese frosting. Then we ground up some Nilla wafers to make edible sand to sprinkle over the cakes. We placed them on blue plastic plates so they looked like little tropical islands. Then each mom customized her cake for her baby. Riley's had a big, pink, tropical flower and gold, sprinkle "glitter".  Jordan iced some oblong rice crackers and stuck them on top so they looked like surf boards resting in the sand. Kaden LOVES animals and the movie Finding Nemo, so I made some candy sea creatures and drew some waves in blue icing on the front of the cake. I think they turned out beautifully!

I was glad to see that many of our friends got into the theme and dressed up in their best luau attire. Kaden looked so cute in his Hawaiian shirt and tan shorts! We love our growing boy and were so happy to spoil him on his big day!

 After we made the rounds, mingling with our friends, and enjoyed some delicious food, it was time for cake! We put the babies in their high chairs and gathered around to sing. We asked my friend Christy to step in and be my hands since I was taking pictures and James was video taping the proceedings.

 Kaden did not enjoy all of the sound and attention so it took him a while to get into his cake. But eventually he sampled the frosting and took a few bites of cake. I was surprised that both boys were very clean and orderly, and little Riley was the one who really got into it. She plunged right in, picked up her cake with both hands, and after smearing herself with cake and frosting, dropped the whole thing on the floor. It was highly entertaining! All the babies needed a bath afterward.

 We loved the opportunity to celebrate this special day with our good friends. This journey of parenthood had a very memorable beginning with all three babies being born almost at the same time. Now that first year has a memorable ending. I can't imagine raising our boy in a more supportive community. We are very blessed!

 After the cake, the party wound down pretty rapidly. We planned some games for older kids: a limbo contest and musical beach towels. But by the time we got to the games, we only had three participants. So they had a limbo contest and all walked away with prizes. :)

 After the party was over, the moms and I breathed a big sigh of relief. We survived the first year. We survived the birthday party. Now it's time to relax and enjoy. Our amazing husbands have agreed to watch the babies for a full day later in September so we can take a trip to Seoul and enjoy a much-needed break. =^D

But till then, no rest for the weary. Our babies needed a bath, the room needed to be cleaned, and we all needed a nap. Thankfully, the babies helped us out. They all kept trying to climb into the kiddie pool full of melted ice and left-over juice boxes while we took down the decorations. Jack and Kaden served as human vacuum cleaners and ate lots of scraps off of the floor before we could sweep up. GROSS! Boys. Gotta love it. There's never a dull day when raising them.