Caden is 19 months

Today Caden is 19 months old.  Poor little guy has been sick off and on for the past few months.  It seems like every child around us is sick too including our friends overseas.  Thankfully he is in pretty good spirits most of the time but I know he is tired. 

His illnesses have greatly interferred with his napping.  Right around a month ago he stopped wanting to take a nap.  This has been very frustrating to me because during those 1-2 hours was the time I used to get things done around the house, laundry, cleaning, etc.  As well as writing and editing pictures.  Occassionally he'll still take a nap, even though he really needs one everyday, so on days he doesn't nap he gets quiet time.  This time is for me to get things done and for him to relax.  He was somewhat resistant at first.  Now we do the nap routine, I read for about 15 minutes, lights out, I tell him it's nap time and I put him in his crib.  If he's really fussy I hand him a few books and leave.  If he doesn't nap he usually gets upset about 20-30 minutes and so I go back in there.  By that time he has thrown everything out of his crib, stuffed animals, pillow, and blanket.  I say, "Caden, aren't you sleepy?  Or are you ready to get up?"  He'll say either, "lights, play," or "sleepy."  Then I either let him down to play in his room by himself for another 30 minutes or I sit with him and read to him a little more and try and again.  It's during times like this that I envy my friends who let their babies cry it out and they don't have to deal with this.  Meanwhile, I try and treasure the time I have with my little man.  It will be sooner than I want that he'll be too big to sit in my lap or he won't want to spend the time with me.

The biggest changes this past month include putting more than one word together and talking about people when they are not around.  Caden is also getting better at communicating what he wants.  His vocabulary continues to grow rapidly.  Here are a few 2-3 word phrases I can think of now that he says:

"lights, play" (turns on the light and sits to play)

"shoes, out" (will get his shoes, try to put them on to go outside)

"read book" (to read a book)
"up, eat" (usually points as he says this to his high chair because he's hungry and wants to eat),
"down play" (wants to get down from the table to play)
"Mama play" (when he wants me to play with him)
"Opa, Caffey, NeNe, up" (when he wants to go upstairs to Skype with his grandparents)
"Mischa play" (when he wants our next door neighbor's daughter to play with him.  He does this when he sees her or when he is just thinking of her.  He also will say other people's names too but he sees her the most)
"Daddy go bye bye" (when Collin leaves for work, sometimes he grabs his shoes and jacket because he wants to go with him)
"Sleepy, night, night" (when he's tired)

People he "talks" about when they are not around the most.  Daddy, Mama, Opa, Granddad, Caffey (Cathy), NeeNee, Shell, Mescha, Nate, Autry, Shawn, and Drew.

He loves "talking on the phone" whether that is the real phone or a shoe or toy that he pretends is the phone.  I think he is well on his way to being social like his parents.

He has strong opinions about what he is interested in eating.  He will clearly say, "no" when he doesn't want something we offer him.  He also will tell us what he wants sometimes.  So far he's asked without us first offering him the following foods: Cheerios, banana, yogo (yogurt), turkey, peas, cracker, cheese, milk, water, muffin, blueberries, and kiwi. 

He can walk up and down our stairs holding onto the rail by himself.  We're always right behind him or in front of him just in case he did fall.  

His favorite game is stop and go.  I'll take him by both of his hands when we're out and I'll say, "go" and we run, then I say "stop" and we stop.  He loves this game and it's a great way to help him burn off energy when we're away from the house.

Caden's favorite toys are puzzles, blocks, balls, and cars.  He enjoys drawing and having us draw a letter or number while he tells us what it is.  He also enjoys us asking him what sounds different animals make and pointing to different animals when we're out and "talking" to them in their language.

Most of the time he tells us when he has gone poopoo or peepee.  However, he has lost all interest and desire to sit on the potty.  I think we're going to wait until the weather gets warmer and then try potty training him then.  I have one friend that receommends letting him spend most of the day outside naked and he'll learn really quick that way.  Our neighbor's daughter was potty trained by the time she was 12 months old.  I know, can you imagine?!  The system works great if you don't go anywhere for several months.

Here are a few recent pictures of our cute 19 month old.