Monday, November 18, 2013

15 months

Since Cedric will have a 15 month appointment I figured I should post about his development. The appointment isn't until after our Thanksgiving trip to Kansas, so he'll be almost 16 months by then. Oh well. This is kinda long, so you may just want to hit the videos and call it good, unless your a grandparent. 



Cedric surprises us every day with what he understands and can do. He learned to sign "more" and "all done" and is using the signs daily. He also understands the idea of "Hi and Goodbye", waving at people as they come and go. He starts waving whenever someone puts their shoes on or stands near the door. All done and waving are basically the same, so sometimes it gets confusing. 

                                       

You can give him some basic commands, like asking him to put a toy in a bin and he can do it without being shown. When you ask him to do something more often than not he seems to understand and try to follow direction, which is nice. He can point to his head, belly, ear, toes and sometimes nose. His favorite word to say is still Mama, with Dada in a close second. He can also say (or tries to say) head, hat, hi, cheese, blueberry, and more. He can understand so many more words and it is cute to watch him practice saying something new. Pronunciation of a new word doesn't always stick from one day to the next but his understanding does. He is very smart (obviously) and seems very aware of his surroundings. We are going to have to start spelling words (like cheese) so he doesn't get excited and run to the fridge.  


Cedric finally realized he can dance. I think he does a pretty good job of it. I first noticed it last week, he was swinging his arms a la "fat guy in a little coat" style. He did it two more times in the car and really busted a move on the drive home Saturday night after dinner. So Sunday we spent a good part of the afternoon trying to dance party. Sadly, Cedric's taste in music is not as sophisticated as I'd like but that is probably one reason why he has waited so long to dance. Kinda hard to bust a move to Bon Iver. 


Cedric loves going to parks. He can go down a slide alone (he prefers head first) and always has to hit the swings. The bigger the push, the better! He likes to play in the sand or wood chips, though he is concerned about brushing his hands off if they get too dirty. I'm sad that winter is practically here, he is going to miss all the park time he's had this fall. 

We have been going to more play dates lately and Cedric is enjoying seeing other children. He likes to try and touch them. He doesn't like to share but he also doesn't take toys out of other children's hands. He just figures that once he has the toy that it belongs to him. We'll work on it. 

Cedric loves books and right now the favorite is "I Love Beasts" by Emma Dodd, one of the books from the Trundles. He also loves any book with flaps. We also have started watching a little TV (don't shoot me) and he likes Curious George. He also has a Curious George book that he makes me read 4 times a day. Bob thinks that I like Curious George, that Cedric is just going a long with it and I'm "not to get carried away" with it. Did you know there is a Curious George store in Cambridge? :) Mostly he loves anything with wheels. Trucks are number 1 to the point where we can't walk by the toy section of a store without him trying to take trucks off the shelves and push their box around. 



I know I'm missing a lot, he changes daily and is growing fast. We are off to Kansas on Wednesday for Thanksgiving and I can't wait for everyone to see how he has grown!

Sunday, November 10, 2013

Apple Picking

In October Bob's parents came for a visit and the number one activity on our list was apple picking. Bob and I have been talking about going to a pick your own farm all summer but didn't know where to go, when to go, and if Cedric would stay awake and happy. Now that Cedric is on one nap it is easier to venture out and do the unknown. 

We decided to go to one of the closer farms, the Belkin Lookout Farm in Natick. We parked in their lot and took a little train out to the apple trees. 



It was the second to last weekend of the season, so they were only picking two kinds of apples and Asian pears. We did still find some great quality (and ripe) fruit on the trees, so we didn't mind. First we picked the Asian pears. 







Cedric seemed to enjoy picking the fruit and walking around. He didn't get to try any while we were walking around (still no molars) he just enjoyed the freedom and exploration of the fields. 

It was pretty quiet at the farm, which was nice for Cedric. It gave him a chance to explore. His favorite part of this walkway was the irrigation system. Silly boy. 



The farm at a little petting zoo and children's play area. Cedric liked the look of the pigs but was scared of everything else. You can see him below trying to melt into daddy's legs. 





We took the train again and finally started picking some apples. The Jonagold's were perfect!







Sadly, we came too late for the pumpkin patch. They had some pumpkins left to purchase but the fields had already been plowed. We each picked a pumpkin, which I carved on Halloween


Before heading home we stopped by the park we took our family photos at in September. 




We had a nice visit with the Podany's, going to the aquarium and out to dinners. Boston in the fall is very special and I hope to get out and enjoy it more next year. The leaves are almost completely fallen now and the temperature is going to be in the 40's next week. Hopefully we will have a milder winter then last year!

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Family Photos

In mid-Septemper we went to the Gardens at Elm Bank for some family photos. It was the first professional photos we've had taken and I think they turned out cute. We went early in the morning and Cedric wasn't too thrilled to be there but all in all I'm glad we were able to commemorate Cedric turning one and our family. 











Hope you enjoyed the photos, I'm sure they'll pop up again in Christmas card form :). 


Thursday, October 31, 2013

Happy Halloween!

Over the past month I've been dressing Cedric up as Charlie Brown for different Halloween events but his real costume was a plush doggie outfit (I say "real" because I bought it first). For posterity, of all the Charlie Brown's of the world Cedric is the Charlie Browniest. 


I had a feeling it would be cold on Halloween and that he'd need a costume that could weather the weather. Today was low 50's with a constant mist/drizzle, so a warm vest with hood and sweatpants was perfect!

We started the day at Jelly Jams at Isis then went to the dog park after his nap. 


In general, Cedric hated the dog outfit. I just made him wear it all day so he'd get used it. He still was bothered by the hood from time to time. 


We procrastinated carving our pumpkins, so I banged these out during nap time. Cedric seemed to enjoy them!


I tried to get some good photos of Cedric, the dog and the pumpkins but it was hard. Bob had to work and we were heading out for Cedric's first go at Trick or Treating at 5. No photos of my awesome Amy Pond outfit #nooneknewIwasdressedup 



I found out why we only got one group of Trick or Treaters last year (and 3 this year). EVERYONE goes to Lincoln St to Trick or Treat the stores. It was well organized and very festive. Cedric was a bit overwhelmed and held onto the same piece of candy the whole time. He did like to pause every once in a while to check on his haul. 




For some reason Cedric was fixated on the first Twix candy he received. He knew it was candy and was not willing to let it go. I did end up opening it and letting him eat half before dinner. I'm not a meanie. He also had a peanut butter cup for dessert. Lucky boy. 




A long description for a short Halloween night but it was fun for Cedric to actually participate in Halloween this year. Happy Halloween everyone, hope you had a safe one!




Monday, October 14, 2013

Summer Outtakes

Summer really wasn't long enough. We started it with a newly crawling baby and ended with an independently walking toddler. I would have enjoyed more time playing outside, winter is going to be long if we get half as much snow as we did last year!

So much happened this summer, here are some of the extra photos I had floating around that either didn't make the cut the first time or were just taken without much story to go along. Enjoy!

Cutely clothed Cedric, just walking around:

Family day at the ICA:


Daddy/Cedric time:


Baby in a box:

 

Funny outfits:

 


Cedric's betrothed, Clara:


Sometimes Cedric is cranky:




Sometimes Cedric is goofy:








Cedric's first Chipotle and trip to Sam Adams:


Cedric loves his puppy:

 

And, very rarely, Cedric is cuddly:






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