Baltic Cruise

We just got back from a wonderful vacation.  We took a 7-night Baltic Cruise on Holland America Cruise Line.  We sailed on the Ryndam.  I have been wanting to take a Baltic Cruise since we moved to Germany.  I am so glad we finally were able to go.  This was the "last" big vacation I had on my list of things to do while we lived in Germany.  This was our second Holland America cruise and mine and Collin's 4th cruise, Caden's 2nd cruise.  We sailed from Rotterdam, The Netherlands.  Before our cruise we spent one night in Delft, The Netherlands, which is about 20 minutes from Rotterdam.  Delft is known for their pottery and we actually were given four Delft pottery coasters for free as a gift from Holland America since we were past guests.

We were blessed with a deluxe suite on this cruise.  We really lucked out as we were upgraded for FREE about a week before our cruise.  We are past guests and did pay for a balcony suite (which on this ship was just a balcony).  So when we were upgraded to a deluxe suite we felt very blessed.  Our room was beautiful and spacious.  I will do a post just on our room with pictures to share.  If you ever get a chance to stay in a suite on a cruise ship, I highly recommend it.  Not only was our room twice the size of the balcony cabins but we had special privileges such as free laundry and dry cleaning throughout our cruise.  We were also able to have special breakfast in the specialty restaurant, priority boarding on and off the ship, a nice lounge just for suite guests, and more.

Holland America, the Ryndam

I will write about each country we visited in a separate post.  As an overview we visted Rotterdam, The Netherlands (which is a beautiful city); Helsingborg, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark (where we spent the night); Skagen, Denmark; and Oslo, Norway.  Caden has now been to 17 countries.  Not too bad for someone who is almost 2.  He is becoming a world traveler and picking up new words from different languages all the time.

A neat thing we did before our cruise was visit the Noah's Ark replica in Dordrecht, The Netherlands.  We were hoping that it would be open but it is not quite finished yet.  So we drove by and took some pictures.  It is really neat looking.  The man behind the ark is filling the ark with life-size animals and is going by the measurements used in the Bible.  Once it's finished he is going to sail it around the world so many others can enjoy it.  We hope to go back once it's finished in The Netherlands since it is only about a 5 hour drive for us.  Hopefully by the end of the summer or fall it will be completed.

Noah's Ark is behind a tall fence

I also have to mention that we have some of the best neighbors.  When we arrived home last night they came out and greeted us.  They asked us if we had had dinner.  We had not.  They had made dinner for us and were waiting for our return.  We felt very loved.

Get Me Out of Here!!

Collin has been at a conference all week which is 1.5 hours away.  He has been leaving before we get up and on a couple of evenings returns after Caden is asleep for the night.  For the most part Caden and I are spoiled because we get to see Collin a lot of times for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  So when he's gone like this it makes things a little hard on both of us.

To keep us busy we try and have an outing everyday, usually involving an errand or two I need to run along with something fun for Caden.  The other day we went to the library.  After the library I took him to the big park next to it.  We played for a long time.  He loves the park.  I needed to go to the grocery store on my way home and it was lunch time.  I have learned, don't ever take a hungry child to the grocery store if you want to keep things sane.  So I decided to take him to Burger King since it was right next to the park.  I'm not a huge fast food fan and normally don't eat at places like Burger King but I knew it would be quick and cheap.  Sometimes that's a good combo for a busy mom. 

This is the first time I've gone to eat somewhere with just the two of us.  Usually I meet up with a friend or Collin eats with us.  Of course there was a long line and toddlers are not big fans of lines (but who is?).  We are working on self-control and staying with Mommy.  He is doing very well and I was happy to get our food ordered without a major fit or a little boy wanting to run away. 

After we get our food we went to sit down.  He is a pretty good eater.  Sadly after one of his friends offered him a french fry that is all he asks to eat if he sees them.  But he ate a few chicken nuggets as we bargain with eat a bite of this and you can have a bite of that.  When he was all done, he looked at me and said, "get me out of here!!"  He was sitting in a high chair and I looked at him and said, "where did you learn that phrase?"  He smiled and said it again.  That night I was laying in bed and thinking about some of the things he says.  He doesn't watch tv shows and then it hit me where he got it.  He learned it from the book, Are you My Mother? about the bird who falls from the tree and looks for his mother.  At the end of the book the Snort (crane) carries him back to his tree and the little bird says, "get me out of here!"  I love how much he learns from books, which by the way, it had been over a day since we had read that book.  But he remembered that the bird was up high and wanted down and he was up high and wanted down. 

On the Cusp of 2 Years! 1 month to go!

In just one month our little boy will be 2. Time does seem to pass faster as we're getting older. He continues to be a joy to have and I can see why the Bible says in Psalm 127:3: "Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him." It is very rewarding having a child and the more time we spend around Caden the more we would like to have more.

Some new fun things he is doing!

Language! One of Collin's favorite things to watch (and mine) is seeing how Caden puts words and sentences together. Collin is passionate about languages and speaks several so it is fun to see first hand how a young child learns a language. Caden is talking in more complete short sentences. His has a great memory and remembers things quickly and is always willing to repeat things as he's learning more.

It's manners time!  Caden has great manners. I'm a stickler for manners. I was so happy when I picked him up from the childcare at MOPS the other day and one of the lady's told me she was impressed with his manners. I don't let him have juice unless we are out and it's 100%, so still mostly milk and water. He eats plenty of fruit which is why he doesn't need juice. Anyway, the other kids were drinking it and so before I left him I said I brought water but if he seems to really want some then it would be fine. She said that he went to each childcare worker and said, "Juice, please. Juice please." As they were passing out the juice. He's also getting good about saying "thank you." We are still working on using an inside quieter voice when needed.

Reading and spelling! He still loves books but doesn't want to sit still as long as he used to. So we mostly read twice a day. 15-20 minutes after lunch and 15-20 minutes before bed. I think his vocabulary has increased significantly because of all the reading we do. We like to read for at least 20-30 minutes a day. For the most part we achieve this but sometimes we're out during the day or he falls asleep too fast at night. He learned to spell his name a month or so ago and we are working on more words. Now he's confident that when almost anyone asks him how to spell his name he proudly says, "C-A-D-E-N, Caden!" I bought this neat letter/word puzzle around Christmas and have been saving it for a rainy day and for when he was a little older. Well, we've been working on Phonics and occassionally I'll bring it out. He enjoys "spelling" words. If you haven't noticed I love teaching and am a fan of educational toys. I (Marisa) worked in an educational toy store my junior year of high school.

Numbers and more numbers! He loves counting and numbers. He can count to 10 in German. He picked it up so quickly that Collin and I were both very impressed. He can now count to 20 in English. He goes back and forth between counting in English and German. He loves to count things and is pretty good at it.  We might have a math guy on our hands.I'll ask him how many crackers does he have, how many blueberries, how many cars, etc. He points and counts.



Early birthday gift.  Caden loves his log cabin!



All I want to do is play!  Caden enjoys playing with his friends and is enjoying more independent play at home. He will pretend to cook, drive his car, build houses, etc. and has a great imagination. He also loves playdates and playing with other kids of all ages. Of course playing with Mom and Dad is lots of fun too!  He loves having a house his own size.  All of his friends love it too!

I know that song!  Caden loves singing and has memorized more songs. His favorites are "I'm in the Lord's Army" and "ABCs." But he'll also sing, "Jesus Loves Me," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," "Row, Row, Row, Your Boat," and pieces from other songs. It's cute, we'll be driving along and he'll start singing. Or he'll be playing and start singing.



The 2s are coming and some people refer to the 2s as terrible. I like to look at these challenges as growth opportunties. Not just for me but for my child. After reading Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood by Jim Fay and Charles Fay, I have become more confident in how I react and discipline Caden. A few new things we've been experiencing over the past few months are tantrums. I stay calm, sometimes pick him up and talk softly to him. Other times I let him have his space as he cries because he doesn't get something he wants.



New car bed.  He loves it!

Sleep baby sleep!  Sleeping is going better. Caden now falls asleep in his bed unless Collin falls asleep while holding him for a few minutes then they may both fall asleep in the chair. Nap time is rare, maybe once or twice a week but he sleeps 11-12 hours at night. When he takes a nap he only sleeps 9-10 hours. It's a tiring trade-off but it's working for us. It seems like he mostly needs 11-12 hours of sleep a day with some quiet down time in the afternoon.  Below is a picture of him taking a nap in his car bed.  He asks to sleep in his car bed at night sometimes but we're not quite ready to move him over.



We really love Caden.  He is such a wonderful and happy child.  Everyday he is learning new things and exploring the world around him.

Holiday Park

We took Caden to his first amusement park last Saturday called Holiday Park.  I grew up going to amusement parks and love roller coasters.  This park is only about 30 minutes away and was our first German amuseument park experience.  There was a little area for younger kids that had about 4 rides that Caden could ride by himself.  He was not sure what to think when he road his first ride, but as he continued riding them he didn't want to get down once it was over.  We had a great time and look forward to taking him to more amusement parks. 

On a side note, we made the mistake of going inside a building of what we thought would be a boat ride.  We were thinking of the ride at Disney World where they play "It's a Small World."  Well, this was not a boat ride but a haunted seat ride.  It went through the dungeons of castles, providing us a visual history of various ways of torturing and killing people, think of a "live" torture museum.  There were also robotic people dressed up as prostitutes, drunks, etc.  We had no idea that it would be like this.  It was truly a very different cultural experience.  It was quite scary and I kept trying to cover Caden's eyes because the ride and sites freaked me out.  Needless to say, we will not be going in the dungeon again if we go back.  Collin and I both felt horrible for taking him on that ride.  Thankfully, he made it out and didn't seem to be too scared. After the ride was over, Collin and I said to each other, that there would be no way a ride like that would be in the States, especially geared toward small children. 

Here are a few pictures from our day at Holiday Park, not including the scary ride.  I thought I had pictures from all the little rides Caden road but I guess they got deleted.  Anyway, this can give you an idea what a German theme park looks like.

Caden's first ride - he road the boat all by himself

I got to ride this one with him.  He loved spinning around.

Collin teaching Caden to pump water.  Caden just wanted to drink it.

He loved the carousel and kept asking later to ride the horse.

Caden pushed the gas pedal while Collin steered. 
It looks like someone was a little too big for this ride.

I'm going on the big swing. 
Caden said to me after I got off this ride, "Mommy goes way up high."

Collin coming down one of the roller coasters.

Caden playing at one of the playgrounds in the park.

Creative Wrapping Paper

Does your child like to draw?  If so, you probably have coloring books and pages of beautiful art work to show for it.  As I was getting my parents' birthday gifts together to mail today, I realized I didn't have any wrapping paper.  So rather than spend the time and gas to go to the store, I looked around my house and saw Caden's Melissa and Doug Jumbo Coloring Pad (which is really great, by the way).  He has colored several pages and so I decided to wrap his grandparent's gifts in that.  They looked really cute and it made them more personal since their grandson colored the pictures.

Easter 2011

We had a wonderful Easter this year.  Collin gave the sermon at church which inspired us all to reflect on Christ's death and resurrection.  Caden got a basket of goodies Easter morning and a few books, a ball, and a stuffed duck and blue bunny.  He enjoyed hunting for Easter eggs around our living room.  We took some family pictures after church at the Schwetzingen Gardens, then we went on base for an Easter egg hunt.  This year was neat because he knew what he was doing.  He ended up finding 9 eggs and the limit was 10.  Of course he wanted to stop and play with the eggs as he picked them up. We spent the afternoon/evening at our neighbors, Steve and Jana's house.  Caden loves playing with their daughter, Michelle, who is 9.  Michelle and Caden hunted for eggs in their backyard and both loved it.  We feel so blessed to have such great neighbors and friends.

The suit Caden is wearing is very special.  His Opa (Granddad) Jim gave it to him.  Opa Jim never buys clothes for grandkids so this was extra special.  He looked like a child model in it and the color was perfect. Thank you Opa Jim and NeNe.  By the way, Opa Jim is 85 and still dresses very well, so does NeNe. 

Here are a few pictures from our Easter.

Easter morning.

A few Easter pictures

Caden with Matthew and Maddie

At the Easter egg hunt on base

My good friend, Kristine, with her son, Matthew

My stylish cute kid

Caden even met the Easter bunny and a yellow bird
(I don't remember the yellow bird, does the yellow bird come to the States?)

At our neighbor's house

One of the few pictures of Caden and Michelle together hunting for eggs.  They are both so fast!

Caden is 22 Months Old!

I can't believe in just two short months our darling son, Caden, will be 2! At that time I will probably stop my monthly updates. Until then, here are some of the things Caden is learning and growing in as well as loves and dislikes.

One of the biggest change this past month is his verbal communication. He is using longer sentences and uses a wider variety of words. He seems to pick up on the meaning of words very easily and later refers to what ever it was we were talking about. He also frequently refers to people who are not around. Such as his grandparents, Collin when he's at work - he'll go to the front door and say, "Daddy?" He asks for his friends and for particular toys and food. He also frequently tells us he loves us. He'll say enthusiastically "I luv, lou, Mommy!" Those are the sweetest words a mother could hear!

New phrase he says often: "I want ____, Please. Yes!" As if to answer for us. It's pretty cute. He says "yes" so fast I don't have time to answer him first.

LOVES!

Singing - especially the "ABCs," "The Lord's Army," "Jesus loves Caden [Me]," "Wheels on the Bus," and Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes.

Dancing - he loves to move and do the movements to some of the songs listed above.

Counting - throughout the day he'll count to 10, sometimes 12. Just randomly.

Alphabet - he loves pointing out letters and spelling his name. If you ask him how to spell his name he'll say proudly, "C-A-D-E-N, Caden!"

Colors - he enjoys pointing out the different colors he sees when we go out. This makes keeping him busy a little easier because I can ask him, "what color is the ___."

Drawing - he loves creating beautiful pictures.

Food - his appetite is back and he is once again willing to try new foods. Some of his favorites are: rice pudding (he seriously asks for this every night, not that he gets it every night), yogurt, cheese, peas, sliced turkey, ravioli, meatballs, bananas, bread, kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, pancakes, Cheerios, crackers, fish, cheesy broccoli, chewing on raw carrots, grapes, oranges, apples, potatoes, and peanut butter.

Milk - whether that's whole or 1% cow milk, rice milk, or almond milk. He also loves drinking water.

Playing - especially outside. He loves going to the park, the slide, swinging, biking - riding on the back of our bike and his little bike. One new thing he is doing is role playing. He loves pretending to pour us a drink, fix us a meal, as he puts his play fruits and vegetables in a pot and mixes them around as he "cooks." He loves his cars, both riding around in his big car and pushing his little cars around and watching them go up the elevator and down the ramp. Playing basketball and kicking the ball around. Using his bat to hit his t-ball. Talking with his stuffed animals.

Potty Time - we have not officially started potting training but he does love sitting on the potty. He has gone a few times in it but always wants to sit on it before his bath and throughout the day if we are near the bathroom. I need to get more patient and let him sit there longer.

Reading - he has quite a few books memorized and loves "reading" them to us. He also is able to sit through longer stories now which is a great change of pace for us.

Animals - if only we had a pet...he enjoys playing with friends dogs, watching the birds and cats that come in our yard.

Water - he loves baths and playing with water. If I'm not watching he'll climb the chair to the dining room table, take a glass of water and drink it spilling most of it while he laughs.

His family and friends.

DISLIKES

Naps - we don't fight him on them. He just doesn't seem to need them as often. When he does take them he goes down pretty easily. More often than not he waits it out so he can go back to playing.

Taking him away from an activity - he has become quite strong willed and would love to do what he wants to do.

Shopping for clothes - he's fine with the grocery store but if I take him to a store that sells clothes he is sure to cry and throw a little fit.

Schwetzingen Gardens - he now loves wearing a hat

Schwetzingen Gardens

Showing me the Easter Bunny he made