Caden's First Day of School

Caden's first day was so exciting! I had tears in my eyes as I watched Brad walk him in to his classroom. I had to greet my classroom children, but ran over to give him a big hug at the door. He cried a few times the first week when he saw me in the halls, but quickly got used to it and even started looking forward to each day!

I had given Brad strict instructions to take pictures when he left Caden at the door.  He did sooo well!  I'm very proud of my big boy. He loves his teachers, Ms. Tita and Ms. Jayme.

We are going to make it a tradition to take a yearly picture in front of the school sign to see growth:

Afterward, I asked him where he wanted to celebrate his first day. His response: Rosa's! Thankfully, it was only half a day the first week, so I was able to take him to lunch and afterward, home for a much-needed nap for both of us.

Caden's colors

Caden knows quite a few of his colors now--red, green, yellow, blue, orange and purple. We try to practice whenever we can by asking him the color of his plate, cup, m&m (when he goes potty), or just whatever else we hand him that is a color. He also loves the movie Brainy Baby Shapes & Colors. Here he is, posing for yellow. I'm so proud of this boy!

Caden's Developmental Stats

Caden:
Academic:
-Can sing the ABC song and identify a few letters. When he sees a P, he says "Papaw," when he sees G, says, "Gigi," etc.
-Counts to 10
-Identifies most numbers through 10 out of sequence, still struggles a little with 7, 8, 6 and 10
-Puts puzzles with up to 10 separate pieces together
Fine motor:
-can unlock, unzip, open most containers, close tiny containers, turn faucets on/off, take clothing (pants, diaper, socks) off
Language:
-Says sentences without articles and (a, an, the) and linking verbs (is, am are, be)
-Beginning to use pronouns and possessives--instead of "make Mommy bed," he says, "Mommy, make your bed."
-Uses basic prepositions correctly (on, under, over)
Social:
-Beginning to show possessiveness for materials "Mine!"
-Rudimentary understanding of sharing
-Greets everyone when arriving and says goodbye when leaving
-Says thank you and please. Says excuse me when prompted.
-Recognizes and says name as we pass most frequented businesses (Barnes & Noble, library, Target, Walmart, HEB, Wild Wings, park).
Gross motor
-Jumping a lot
-Climbing more complicated structures at the park
-Now crawls through tunnels without fear!

ABC's and 123's

Caden can count to 10 and identify numbers 0-5 out of context. He can also sing his ABC's and identify some letters. So proud of that boy!!

Big boy bed

Tonight was the big night. We transitioned Caden into his 'big boy bed.' I picked out some construction bedding at Target and want to do a construction/vehicle theme for his room. He transitioned so well! Rhonda and Royce had given us the bed so he had kept pointing to it calling it "Yada's bed" for some time. He climbed right in and got under the covers. He looked so proud! It was almost like he had been waiting for this moment.
All ready for bed!

Using Adjectives

Caden has started using adjectives in his speech to make phrases. Today, while playing with play-doh, he made a ball and said "a big ball!"

Baby Teeth

Caden now has 16 teeth. 8 upper and 8 lower. I thought this chart was pretty helpful:
Baby Teeth Eruption Chart