Caeden: 27 mos

Drinking some hot chocolate (the scarf was his own touch)

This is a summary of Caeden when he was 27 mos old:

EATING

Caeden has been more picky lately. :(  He usually eats a great breakfast and lunch, but dinner is random.  Sometimes he'll eat multiple helpings, and sometimes he'll eat 3 bites.  We always make him take one bite of everything on his plate, but then if he doesn't like it, we don't force him to eat it - but we don't make him anything else either.  It's been rough because we want him to eat, but I also don't want him to learn that I'll make him something different for dinner.  I'm hoping this phase passes quickly.  His favorite foods this month were macaroni & cheese, pizza, hot dogs, and raw carrots sticks.

PLAYING

Caeden is getting better at playing independently.  He's really into carrying bags around. :)  A shopping bag, a Halloween bag, a Walmart sack - anything.  He'll walk around the house and find things (usually toys) and put them inside his bag.  His new favorite movies to watch are Veggie Tales.  He finds some of them "scary" so we have to be careful of which ones we choose.  Lately, we watch the one about selfishness and sharing a lot - That's a GREAT one for him to watch!  His favorite books are "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" (which he can tell with us, as we go along) AND "The Little Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly."  He loves to say the line "puhaps she die" (perhaps she'll die).  It's so fun to see him remembering books and "reading" them with us.  He's been learning about what it means to be "thankful" and has been thinking of his own things to thank God for in his prayers - so fun!

SLEEPING

He usually sleeps 11-12 hours at night and takes a 1-1.5 hour nap in the afternoon.  During this month, he started getting out of his toddler bed in the middle of the night.  So we had to put a gate up outside of his bedroom door.  The first two nights were rough, but once he realized he wasn't getting out, it's been much better.  He usually stays in his bed all the time now.  

LANGUAGE

He is talking more and more all the time.  I think I counted a 9-word sentence today!  Sometimes he'll say words we didn't realize he knew.  The other day I was changing his sheet and he said, "Mommy put new seets on my mattess."  Sheets? Mattress? So funny to hear these words!  The other day he looked at Daddy and said, "What happened?"  It's so fun to have conversations with him now!  

POTTY TRAINING

I would like to say that Caeden has had issues with the "pooping" part of potty training this month.  It's weird because this was the part he got first when we first started.  But then he randomly started having accidents again.  Some days are great (no accidents), and some days he'll have two in a day!  Overall, I think he's doing great, but we have had a little regression - just hanging in there!

DOCTOR VISITS

He went to his Ear, Nose & Throat doctor during this month to check on his ears, since his tubes fell out last spring.  They said his ears look great and there is no fluid!!! YAY!!  You have no idea how happy we were to hear this!  We're praying he won't have to have anymore tubes!!!

DISCIPLINE

Caeden has still been struggling with whining.  I feel like we're constantly saying, "Talk like a big boy."  He also has been struggling with anger, and how to deal with it.  When he gets frustrated and angry, he throws bad temper tantrums.  After attempting to ignore them for months, they seemed to be getting worse.  So we've officially started punishing for temper tantrums, and so far, it's been getting a little better.  We'll see...

Overall, we just love our little man to death!  He's so fun, talkative & independent right now!  Each month just gets better & better!

OUR SCHEDULE

7:30-- Wake up, Eat Breakfast, Get Ready

8:30-- Free Playtime (mom gets things done around the house and takes a shower)

9:30-- Outings (This is usually when we go to the library, play group, walmart, etc)

10:30-- Table Time/Crafts

11:00-- Playtime with mommy

11:30-- Pick up toys; eat lunch

12:15-- Roomtime & Individual Learning Time

1:00-- Free Playtime

1:30-- Nap

3:00-- Video Time (Caeden is a slow waker-upper)

3:30-- Snack

3:45-- Free playtime (usually with mommy or Ella)

4:30-- Playtime with Daddy

5:30-- Dinner & Family Playtime

7:00-- Bath, PJ's, Books, and Prayers

8:00-- Bedtime!

Of course, these times are approximate, but we try to stick to this basic routine most days.