Nineteen.

Caysen, the last month has been a big one for you! You have made some major discoveries and you are getting so big and strong!

Here's what you are up to:

-You have re-discovered face scrunching. You didn't do it much at all for a while, but now I just have to tell you to "scrunch" and you give me the cutest little scrunchy face I've ever seen! :)

-You can pull up from your tummy to your knees, and even up to your feet if you are really motivated!!

-You still have jabber-fests in your room at all hours of the night. You are completely content, just not sleepy I guess. ;)

-We are slowly, but surely, introducing solid foods and you really seem to love them! We just have to be really careful because you are super sensitive about textures.

-You absolutely love the water. Bathtub or pool, as soon as you see the water, you start kicking your little legs and squealing in excitement!

-You are down to 1 nap a day.

-You can wear some 12 month clothes now (Ok, maybe it's just one outfit). You can also wear some 3-6 month clothes still, but you are mostly in 6 and 9 months.

-You are continuing to be more and more vocal, still no words besides MaMa and DaDa, but you definitely like the sound of your own voice! ;)

-You have 4 teeth!

-You tend to get frustrated from time to time because you want to be able to do more and you really don't like to be limited. With that being said, you are still incredibly happy and content 99.9% of the time.

-You no longer take a pacifier. We didn't think you were that into it, so we tried to put you to sleep without it and you could have cared less. We decided to get rid of it while you're indifferent rather than waiting to see if you become more attached to it later.

-You love books, mostly to chew on, but you love to be read to as well. :)

-You are thisclose to crawling! You get up on your hands and knees all the time and move forward with either your arms or legs; you just haven't figured out how to sinchronize the two. Definitely not for a lack of trying though!

Pick-A-Churs...

A Day in the Life

"No chewing on the rug, Caysen."

"Cayen, get your fingers out of the heater vent."

"Don't play with the dog-food, Caysen."

"Caysen, we don't pull on Zoey's tail."

"Stop licking the floor, Caysen."

"Don't pull on the curtains, Caysen."

"Caysen, you can't dive off the edge of the couch."

"No climbing the drawers, Caysen."

"We don't chew on books, Caysen."

I sound like a broken record with these phrases lately. Sure, I could be upset and frustrated because the little man is into everything; but I'm not, not at all.

I'm not upset that the front of my oven is covered in little fingerprints. I'm not upset that the splash radius during Caysen's bath time might actually reach Taiwan. And I'm not upset that Caysen thinks of everything as an object to be climbed.

I'm not upset because our precious boy is doing exactly what he should be doing, growing, learning, and getting stronger and stronger every day.

Our sweet baby, the one that the doctors had little hope for, continues to amaze us all and show us the huge miracles that God is capable of.

So, every time I re-direct Caysen away from one of the many things he likes to get into, I thank God for letting us be a part of this miracle.

"Caysen, I love you to the moon and back."

He's Acting Like a Big Boy Again

Caysen figured out something new about a week and a half ago. He has physical therapy tomorrow for the first time in two weeks and Miss Diane is going to be so proud!!

Now that he can pull up on stuff, he can help me unload the dishwasher:

Or if I'm thirsty, he'd be happy to get me some water:

He also loves to help me get things out of the refrigerator, or out of the cabinet drawers. In his room, he loves to reach his books, and he likes to stand up next to his toybox and get toys out all by himself. My favorite is when I come in his room in the morning and he is up on his knees or feet ready and waiting :)

*Disclaimer* I really do dress Caysen and comb his hair, it's just that our best play time is usually first thing in the morning so he's in his jammies with wild hair in a lot of the pics I post ;)

"Children Of God"