November
(Our apologies, but our camera seems to be a bit off (?) this month and many of the pictures are grainy. You can still sense the fun though!)

November 26, 2007 - What an exciting week it has been. Kaden has really been showing off all of his newly acquired skills. Oh yes...our little jolly-jumping-jello legs has finally decided that not only can he roll, but he can stand too. Hard to believe he can keep those legs and waist straight to hold up that giant melon. I'm not suggesting I would take my hands off of him, but he's not using us for much support other than lateral stability. We may need baby gates sooner than we thought!

November 26, 2007 - Here's a bit of a time lapse of our little monkey's rolling tactics. He's a rolling machine now. Front, back, front, back, front...you get the point. Mobility here we come!

Here's another look at our little rolling machine.
 

November 26, 2007 - Kaden has now officially graduated to the front of the grocery cart. It's easier on mommy's back and, although the first two pictures don't show it, I think he has more fun too!

Compare those to this one from what was probably his first trip to the grocery store...

November 25, 2007 - Who knew we had another cool park so close to our house?!? A friend introduced Kaden and me to Central Park on Friday so we took Dad out for a walk on Sunday. There's a pond in the middle with a gang of ducks. Sure...don't feed the animals...those signs are useless. The squirrels are so brazen (and FAT) that one almost climbed up Craig's leg. I think if Kaden had been holding his own Cheerios we would have had a squirrel in his lap. Needless to say we didn't stop in one place for too long ;]

November 24, 2007 - Rolling, rolling, rolling...keep that baby rolling! Once this week and once last week Kaden has managed to roll himself onto his stomach in his crib (part of the pre-nap-protest). The rolls were somewhat aided by the use of the crib rails or by the soft spring in the mattress. However, today he took charge of his rolling technique and flipped himself over several times while lying on his play mat! What a little superstar. Of course we had to immediately roll him back over onto his back to see if he could repeat the performance! He rolled back and forth several times from his back to his stomach and back again. He seems to be able to roll easily onto his stomach over his left arm, but is still somewhat hampered by his right arm to roll the other way. Once up on his stomach he's happy to reach and grasp for his toys and he's even started to twist on his stomach to reach for things outside his immediate boarding house reach.

November 23, 2007 - This first wasn't caught on camera, but I was mighty impressed and had to share regardless. Of course, in order to reach this milestone Kaden had to spend a good deal of time resisting his nap, but the ends justified the means in my eyes. I left my little monkey rolling about in his crib to see if he would settle himself to sleep (this tactic does occasionally work)! I was in the basement with the baby monitor when I heard some knocking come from the tiny speaker. I assumed that he was dragging his soother along the crib rails as he usually does, but it seemed almost too uniform. Then I thought I heard music. I turned the volume up and sure enough I could hear music coming from the monitor. I ran upstairs to peek into his room...I saw Kaden all the way down at one end of his crib staring up at the mobile he just managed to turn on all by himself!

November 22, 2007 - Kaden can now get Cheerios into his own mouth (well, more often than not)! He hasn't mastered the pincer grab, but he can paw at the Cheerios like the best of them and he gets the idea of getting them in the direction of his mouth. Occasionally they make it there only by the grace of sticking to his wet hands, but it's a step in the right direction. Also, the process sometimes involves shoving his whole fist in his mouth in the hopes that the sticky Cheerio will just fall off...but again...it's a start! Of course, Cheerios are a choking hazard! Like any good mom I leave Kaden to his own devices to get those little O's in his mouth, but he hasn't figured out necessarily that he should wait until his mouth is empty before trying to jam more Cheerios (or his fist) into his mouth. He either gags himself or tries to swallow too soon. The result is unfortunately choking; a sad part of baby development. In order to clear the pipes, his tiny system does what it can to help clear the blockage, which usually involves bringing up whatever else he has been eating...cereal, prunes...and my most recent "favourite"...projectile avocado. Ah the joys of parenting.

November 20, 2007 - This is what happens when your husband works with people who know computers and have access to pictures of your son...

November 19, 2007 - Although Kaden is still a little under the weather, he can still wreak havoc on anything stacked in front of him. The poor books never had a chance. Also, you can catch a sneak-peek at Kaden starting to make the "mamamama" sound. He sort of does it indiscriminately still, and more often when he's whining or upset (as in this video). But the odd time he squeaks it out with delight and you get the sense that he meant it ;]

November 18, 2007 - Kaden celebrates being 8 months old with a visit from his Nanna and Poppa and a trip to Granville Island. We test out the table chair given to Kaden by is Great Aunt Brenda and Uncle Biff. It works like a charm - thanks!!! Can you spot the photo in which Kaden is testing his "outside voice"?!

And of course we have our requisite attempts at getting the perfect monthiversary photo... I don't think Poppa knows we don't often give Kaden the flags to wield! Fortunately, nobody was injured in the taking of these photos ;]

November 13 - 15, 2007 - Family Fun (Part 3 of 3)!!! - After our travels on the Island we get to spend a few more days with D, G, B and M before they head back home. We spent more time playing at the house...apparently not all of us got the memo about wearing our camo. We even managed to get out for brunch and a trip to Science World (all during the same outing)! Ben had fun playing in the KidSpace area while Mia and Kaden were subjected to the whims of their mothers' fancies. After a few more photo-ops, we took our tired munchkins home (Ben was asleep too...but he faces forward and couldn't be captured in the same picutre).

Mia was doing her best to contain her excitement...
unfortunately, our stoic little man could muster nothing but a yawn!
 

November 10 - 11, 2007 - Family Fun (Part 2 of 3)!!! - It's time to celebrate GG's 90th birthday. The kids, grandkids and great grandkids (and several dozen of her friends!) enjoyed a lovely afternoon party followed by a family luncheon the next day. Over the weekend we also watched Mia learn to perfect her 'bridge'. Crawling can't be far behind. Maybe Mia will inspire Kaden to spend a little more time on his tummy in the hopes of one day moving around.

Kaden and Poppa put GG's coasters to the test...
 

November 7 - 10, 2007 - Family Fun (Part 1 of 3)!!! Uncle Drew, Aunt Glenda and cousins Ben and Mia come for a visit. It was great having the crew in town. Kaden got to meet more of our family for the first time and it was a blast to have all three kids together at last. It was certainly interesting to try to coordinate the napping and eating schedules of a seven and nine month old, but we managed to get out of the house for some kind of adventure every day!

First the introductions....

Despite having two fairly active and chatty babes it felt like we were making a silent film.

We took a trip to the aquarium and got the kids matching beluga shirts!

More kids means more playtime! Ben was a real star with all the babies. Kaden loved to have his older cousin show him how to push buttons and play along with dad's crazy 'toys-on-the-head' game! Perhaps Ben's interest in reading will help Kaden appreciate the story and not just the cover. Mia was all smiles and was curious to check out Kaden and his toys. Despite being the older of the two babies, Mia's baby-chub was nothing compared to our chunky monkey!

Reading is fun!
Especially when you get to read the book and not have your audience eat it ;]
 

And more adults means more entertainment! Uncle Drew, you're so funny!

On the road to more 'firsts', Kaden takes a try at eating Cheerios...Mia's favourite! Although his initial face doesn't show it, Kaden is now a fan himself. However, he's not quite able to pick them up on his own; he's still working on the pincer action. Right now Cheerios just end up on the floor!

The rain was suppose to fall the whole time our family was here, but we lucked out and got some breaks in the weather. Of course, a trip to the park was in order.

Cousins are the best! Come back anytime!

I was hoping this picture would do more justice to Kaden's belly. I'm not sure this kid has ever seen his thighs! So cute. Can you see how tightly this shirt is stretched over his gut? This NEW shirt is suppose to be for an 18month old!!!

November 4, 2007 - We get to meet our new friend Ellis. What a cutie. Kaden can't wait to teach you what he's learned so far ;]

November 3, 2007 - Uh-oh...caught by dad. Okay, putting our toys on our head really is fun!

November 2, 2007 - Play date with Graeme! To wrap up the visit we decided to see if we could get a picture of the boys (as an aside - I learned that pictures should always be attempted earlier rather than later when you're working with baby-time). Although Kaden has his own soother, he decided that Graeme's was much more interesting. Unfortunately the pictures didn't catch all the action, but Kaden first lunged to get Graeme's soother as it dropped. After we got them settled (and moved Kaden 6 inches further to the left) he stared intently and swung his arm to try to grab the soother right from Graeme's gums! He was successful too...but not for keeps.

We now have video evidence of our soother snatcher!