Cashion at 21 months

Sadie's Debut

Sadie made us all so proud when she walked the runway like she had been doing it all her life during her Daddy's own 3rd Annual Austin Fashion Week. She wore an adorable dress by My GiGi for the Kick-Off event at Harley Davidson. Matt and I were both prepared to have to jump up and help her if she got stage fright, but there was no need to worry. I totally cried when I saw her up there with so much confidence. She is such a big girl!

Cashion at 18 months

I'm walking now!

My favorite book


I love my Sissy


Even if I pull her hair sometimes

I eat all by myself

Cashion has made some big changes from age 17 months to 19 months. He took his first timid step by 15 months, but didn't really walk until 17 months old. Now he walks everywhere and it looks strange when he drops down to crawling on the rare occasion. He can hold onto the wall and step down a step, but still falls down sometimes. He drags all his matchbox cars and other toys out and scatters them all over the floor and then proceeds to cry out as he steps on them while walking across the room. He has weeny little feet. He gets his feelings hurt and cries more than Sadie did at this age, but his tantrums have decreased now that he is getting more words. (He still pulls his sister's hair on occasion, even when he is not defending his possessions). He loves bubbles baths, balls, trucks, tractors, trains, matchbox cars, and his 100 first machines book. He likes to point to each one and have you name it. He repeats most of what we say now. At 19 months, these are some but not all of his words:

Mama, Dada, Sissy/Sadie, Papa, Bebe, Nana, Ball, Basketball, Football, Baseball, Bubble, Bath, Star, Bright, Tractor, Truck, Car-Car, Wee-ooh-wee-ooh (Siren of the Firetruck), More, Wawa (Water), Walk, Doggie, Animal Sounds: Moo, Quack, a snorting sound for a pig, Mow (Meow), Baa, Bock-Bock, Roar, Outside, Playground, Shoe, On/Off (both sound the same), Nino (Dino), Bock-bock (Backpack), Hat, Elbow, Banana, Cracker, Hot Dog, and Thank You.

One of the problems with being the 2nd child is that you have to watch whatever TV your older sibling likes. Therefore, Cashion has seen more Spongebob Squarepants than any one-year-old should. A few months ago, he said "Aye-aye" when he saw the pirate come on and now he says "Spongebob" and sings "Oooooooooohhhhhhhhh" at he beginning of the song. It is hilarious and mortifying all at the same time.

Cashion is a great eater. He ate an entire chicken soft taco with rice and beans at Maudie's last night. He even held the spoon correctly and got the beans to his mouth on his own!

Most of all, I enjoy that he is still a snuggler. He loves to sit and read books before bedtime. Then, he snuggles in for our lullaby and gives really good hugs and kisses. He even asks to kiss his Sissy goodnight. He really is a sweet little boy and I love that I can still cuddle with him even though he is getting so big.

Sadie turns 4!

Inside the photo booth

The photo booth

Lemonade, Root Beer Floats and Ice Cream Sundaes:

Summertime Treats

Sadie had a 4th birthday to remember. She asked for a dress-up party and a strawberry cake with chocolate icing, which is exactly what she got. Daddy was able to get an airstream photo booth to document all the silliness. The kids were great and everyone had so much fun. It is going to be hard to beat this one.

Cashion's Winter "One"derland

After the snow earlier in the week, Cashion's Winter "One"derland felt like a Spring day. We had a hot chocolate bar and S'mores around the fire pit in our short sleeves. He devoured the cupcake and was delighted to spend the afternoon with family and friends (ditto the rest of us).

Cashion is 1!

It was really tough getting a good picture with the blocks this time...he was too quick!!

Our baby boy is 1 year old. How did this happen? It may have been the fastest year of my life, but it sure was fun. Can't wait to see how he continues to grow and change in his second year. Even though I still like to pretend that he is a baby, I know he is growing up. He can pull up, cruise on furniture, walk behind his push toy and say several words. His favorite is "book" which he usually requests with his own version of the sign and by saying "a book." Any piece of paper that is folded is considered a book to Cashion, including the tags on his stuffed animals. He is babbling all the time now and we are starting to realize that some of his sounds might actually be words that we weren't recognizing, like "all done" which sounds more like "a da." He says "mama", "daddy", "adie" (Sadie), "bee" (Bebe), "nana" (Nana or banana) and "papa" (which he usually whispers). His favorite books are "Where is Baby's Belly Button" (a gift from the Cord Blood Registry, funny enough) and "touch and feel Baby Animals" at our house; "Goodnight Moon" and "Pat the Bunny" at Bebe and Papa's house.

He still loves to sleep, God bless him. He prefers 2 naps per day and when he doesn't get them he usually makes it up by sleeping late in the morning (why can't he teach Sadie to sleep in?) This week after I picked him up from Sammy's House and he had missed his afternoon nap, he went to bed at 5:30pm, without dinner mind you because when we tried to feed him he cried for his bed. The amazing part is that he slept until 10am! I am not trying to rub this in to all my friends out there with babies who have difficulty sleeping through the night or who wake up super-early, I promise. But, this blog is going to help my poor memory later down the road and I know I will read this some day and think, "Are you kidding me?"

We love our big baby and don't want him to grow up too fast! Love you, Cashion. You are charming, sweet-tempered, and do everything with gusto.

Big Girl Bike

Sadie is doing great riding her bike with training wheels. I think it is actually easier than her tricycle for her since we don't have sidewalks or a patio with a smooth surface. She is steering and pedalling really well, now she just needs to learn how to slow down and stop! I love the helmet we got for her. It says "I love my brain" on the back. :)

Cashion at 9 months

During Cashion's 9th month, he started cruising and he can lower himself to sitting from standing at the couch. He can pick up and eat Cheerios by himself and is liking solid food better than his bottle. He is quick with his smile and it is SO big. His first word was "Mama" (woohoo, I got one...Sadie said "Dada" first.) We think "Baba" is actually how he says "Daddy." He is waving "bye bye." He has 6 teeth (4 on top and 2 on bottom). Cashion can play on his own for a while now. He is so interested in toys and can turn the pages of a book that we are reading to him. He is in 12 month size clothes and weighs 21 pounds (70th percentile). Dr. Brown said that babies who start out as big as Cashion usually start to slow down on their growth about now and show their true position on the growth chart. His is 28.5 inches tall (50th percentile) and his head circumference is 46.5 cm (80th percentile.)

Cashion loves his friends and caregivers at Sammy's House where he spends 3 half days per week. But, for the first time he cried when I walked away from him a couple of weeks ago. He gets so excited to see me when I return that he quickly crawls over to me with a huge grin. He loves everything that his sister does. Sadie loves to give him hugs and kisses and teach him about things.

Cashion at 8 months

Wow, this has been an amazing month of change! Cashion is now crawling all over the place and pulling up on the couch! He still falls backwards sometimes and bumps his head, but usually recovers pretty quickly with a hug and a kiss. He is really interested in toys. He bangs things together with both hands and still needs to "taste" everything. Speaking of tasting, he has learned to love food. He now eats 2 jars of baby food at one sitting. He eats quickly and without much mess, which is a huge change from last month. He still loves his bottle and likes to drink it facing away from you so he can rest on your chest. I started this when he didn't want to take a bottle from me initially, thinking it would be better if he couldn't see me and it has kind of stuck. He fusses everytime the bottle is finished. He drinks it so fast it hasn't had a chance to hit his belly yet! He uses one finger to poke and point at things. Cashion is starting to pick up the Graduates "puffs", but still has trouble getting them into his mouth since they tend to get stuck in his hand. We have moved him into a rear-facing toddler car seat since he has outgrown the infant seat. Cashion loves splashing around in the bath. He is such a water baby.

Cashion at 7 months

I love this look that he does. He tucks his lips in and says "Ooooooh."
Coming up to sitting

Everything in the mouth

Cashion's favorite book and if you look closely, you might be able to see the 2 teeth on bottom.

Cashion just figured out how to come to sitting from a crawling position today! I am always so amazed to watch typical development in my own children. It really is miraculous. He is just starting to figure out how to crawl on hands and knees, but he sure can motor around on his tummy now. He is sitting fairly well now, though he does occasionally still lose his balance. He still does not love baby food. I am not sure how much he actually swallows, between him spitting it out and getting it all over himself as he is constantly grabbing the spoon. His favorite book is "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" He giggles at the babies as you lift the flaps. He coos the sweetest sounds and is more of a snuggler than Sadie was. He is my sweet boy.

Haircut

Sadie had her third haircut this week, but it was the first one that was more than just a trim. Her hair had finally gotten so long that it was starting to get in her way. And since it can be a fight to brush it and put it in pigtails, we opted for a shorter do. I think it is really cute and it might even be curlier now that we took some of the length off. One more piece of evidence that we have a big girl on our hands.

Cashion at 6 months

Big changes for Cashion over the last couple of months. Since turning 6 months old, he has figured out how to roll from his tummy to his back, crawl on his belly, sit by himself briefly and start to eat a little bit of baby food. His is now 75th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Weighing in at...19 pounds! Just a little perspective, Sadie didn't weigh 20 pounds until after her 1st birthday. He does seem to have slowed down on gaining weight, though. He is starting to look longer rather than just round, though he still has those adorably chubby cheeks and thighs. Cashion is not really sure about rice cereal, but seems to like applesauce. It seems like he spits more out than he swallows. He is babbling with sounds like "bababa and gaga" and he can squeal really loud.

He is enjoying a couple of mornings a week with Bebe and likes to watch the other babies at Sammy's House, where he goes with me to work a couple of afternoons per week. He continues to be an amazing sleeper! How did we get so lucky? He is sleeping from around 7:30pm to 7:30am and then taking 2-3 naps during the day. This boy loves his sleep, just as much as his sister did. He is such a happy baby except when he is teething. He seems to be working on one of his top teeth now. He sure drools a whole lot more than I remember Sadie doing. But, his smile lights up a room and his giggle is priceless.