All about Cade

Our precious Cade is 18 months old already!! This little boy has so much spunk but is so full of sweetness and goofiness as well. The combination of the three makes for the most fun and delightful personality. Say cheeeeese!!

He is always looking for a good time, and you'd better believe that if his big sis is doing something, he is hot on her tracks (and does a pretty good job keeping up, too)! He is definitely in the midst of the monkey-see, monkey-do stage! The two of them couldn't be any better buddies though, and I catch them sharing hugs and kisses many times throughout the day. It warms a momma's heart, that's for sure!
Our little rascal goes anywhere and gets into anything he wants- he has no trouble climbing up shelves, tables, and beds, and can walk forward down the stairs with the best of 'em. He has learned to open doors, closets, boxes, and snacks. He is absolutely fascinated with the toilet, as well as with what is in the garbage and the refrigerator. It's safe to say we have seen a huge increase in spills and messes around here! However, there are few things Cade enjoys more than pushing a broom, mop, or vacuum around, so I'm very lucky- he's usually right next to me, helping "clean" up those messes! haha!

He has been able to understand most of what we say and follow directions for a long time, and his vocabulary is starting to catch up. Some of his favorites words/ phrases right now-
Oh, no!
Aw, man!
It's empty!
Hi, Mittey! (Mickey)
Aaaawa! (Ella)
Where go? (with his hands out to the side)
Hi, Papaw? (with the phone to his ear)
Oooo! Bup-bup! (pup-pup)
Peet-a-boo! (peekaboo)
He is pretty good at saying thank you without us having to tell him, and we are working on please. He nods yes and shakes no appropriately, too. I always crack up when he nods at someone, because he kind of bends at the waist and uses his whole body. It's cute. Every single day, he impresses us with new words and phrases. The other day, he was jumping and flipping around. He came running to me and said, "Hey, Ma! I dee it!" (I did it). Five words that I could understand. I was impressed!

He has shown some interest in potty training. He will tell us when he goes #2, pointing at his diaper and whispering "poo-poo". He thinks he's a very big boy to do this...

Obviously, we're not going to start trying to train right now, but we're excited that he's understanding the concept. There's nothing wrong with hoping for things to go a little smoother the second time around, right?! =)

Another thing we're very excited about is that he is starting to put himself to sleep at night. He has always been a horrible sleeper, and only recently starting sleeping through the night (most of the time). We went through the whole sleep training thing with Ella, and, after many tears and loads of stress on all our parts, it still never worked. She was almost three before she would fall asleep in her own bed with no tears. When Cade came along, we just threw the whole sleep training thing out the window. He has always slept in his own bed, but we decided early on that if he needed us to rock him or needed our presence to feel safe and fall asleep, then that's what we would give him. I know this method is not for everyone, and it's been many nights of broken sleep for us, but overall, there have been very few tears, and Chris and I have felt more comfortable in the fact that we are not leaving our child alone and screaming in the dark. Anyways, I'm proud to report that for the last few weeks, Cade has been kissing us all good night and drifting off to dreamland all on his own...

Some of our little man's favorite activities right now are playing in water of any kind, pushing cars and trucks all over the floor, playing with crayons/ paints, throwing a ball, and playing hide-and-seek with Ella. He loves to wrestle with Daddy and be chased and tickled by Mommy. It is so darn sweet how he will just throw that head back and laugh and squeal. Those times and those giggles are something I look forward to every single day. I wish I could just bottle them up and save 'em for a rainy day in twenty years. Our sweet, beautiful baby. He's just closing in on two years old entirely too fast!!