cannon at 3....

Well, Mr. Cannon, you are now three!  You are filled with personality and you know how to turn on the charm.  To say that you keep us on our toes is an understatment.  You are a challenge and you always know what you want. 

A few things about you at three years old....


- You are 30 pounds (25th percentile) and 37.25 inches tall (50th percentile).


-  You are Independent with a capital I.  You have to do everything for yourself.  This is mostly a good thing, but sometimes it is downright frustrating.  You are dressing yourself and have to get yourself in and out of the car.  You are also buckling yourself into your carseat, but luckily you cannot unbuckle...yet!

- You are talking up a storm.  A few months ago, it all seemed to click for you and now you are completely caught up to your peers in speech and language.  You talk in complete sentences and we can understand almost all of what you say. 

- You love to sing and your favorite songs are You are My Sunshine and the ABC Song.  You are always learning new songs at daycare and we hear you singing them to yourself as you play with your toys.

- You are crazy about playdoh.  You ask to play with it pretty much daily.  You also love coloring and drawing.

- You are terribly stubborn.  Once you have something set in your mind, it is almost impossible to change it.  This has been a huge challenge for us and one that we are fighting on a daily basis.  We keep praying for wisdom on how to raise you.  We want to encourage your independence and channel all your energy in a positive direction.  Hoping that we can find some middle ground in this area soon.

- You and Charlie are complete opposites.  I notice things every single day that remind me that you two couldn't really be any more different.  Your relationship has its highs and lows and I hope that it keeps getting better and better.  You are lucky to have each other.

- You love macaroni and cheese, yogurt, fruit snacks, and fruit.  You aren't too picky, but you usually know what you want when you want it (as usual!)

- You are still an early riser.  (I would still like to know where you got this from!)

- You are attending daycare and you love it.  You need the social interaction and you love all the action. 

You truly are a character, little dude.  We are learning from you everyday and we love you so much Can Man.

we have a kindergartener in the house...

Well, the day is finally here. Charlie started kindergarten today. He was so ready for this and he woke up very excited this morning. When I went in to wake him up, I told him it was time to get ready for school and he quickly started to shed his pajamas saying "I cannot be late for my very first day of school!" I had originally laid out shorts for him to wear, but it was a chilly morning and we decided to switch to pants.

Cannon is thinking about how he feels about all this school stuff going on....
Nope, he doesn't like it one bit!
Right after taking these photos it began to pour so we ran inside, grabbed some jackets and then headed out to school. He is going to ride the bus normally, but of course I wanted to bring him on his first day.

He quickly found his seat and gave me the thumbs up letting me know that everything was going to be okay. I had expected to be a little more emotional today, but I think I know deep down that he is more than ready for this and he is going to do so great. Makes my mama heart happy.

We were all up and ready, dropped Charlie off, got some groceries and were home by 9am. I am so not used to these early mornings. I am also pretty sure we were the only ones at Walmart under the age of 65. I was thinking I should make it a habit to go so early because the store was so empty (well, besides all the senior citizens of course). That is until we got to the checkout and they only had ONE lane open. And I don't think the clerk was very happy to be there.

I had been wondering what Cannon was going to do without Charlie around. He pretty much stuck by me all day. Occasionally, he would wander into Charlie's room looking for him. When he couldn't find him he would come find me again. Don't get me wrong. These two don't really play together (unless you count yelling and screaming at each other as playing). They still really don't even seem to like each other all that much. I am sure Cannon just noticed that he was missing, and probably wondering why he was stuck home with boring ol' mom.

We played, ate lunch, cleaned up a little bit and then got a special present ready for Charlie for when he got home. He has been saving for the lego beach house for a while and had about half saved, so I kicked in the other half to surprise him with it. Just a little gift to let him know how proud of him we are and reinforce what a special day it was.

Charlie was pretty quiet when we first picked him up. I expected that. He is usually an observer at first when he is put in a new situation. He told me he had a great time. They learned about math, had goldfish crackers for snack, he loved the spongebob stickers I put on his sandwich bag and it rained at recess. Those were the highlights. I asked him if he was excited to go back tomorrow and he said "What?? I get to go back tomorrow? Awesome!" Sigh. I am so glad to hear that.
And of course the lego surprise was a big hit. Now it is time to hit the sack so we can do it all over again tomorrow.

cannon at 21 months....

(Okay, so I know he is 22 1/2 months now, but I did write these down when he was 21 months. Just wanted to get this posted on the blog so I have record of it here.)

Cannon has turned into quite the big boy these last few months. He is crazy, adventurous, curious and most definitely a handful!

A few things about you at 21 months:

- You have 16 teeth - all 4 of your incisors have finally broken through. 2 of them are still hard to see, but they are definitely there. I am so glad we are almost done with this teething business.

- You have become a little chatterbox. You are talking and repeating a lot more these past few weeks. You probably have around 25-30 words in your vocabulary now including mama, dada, cha-wee, doggie, apple, drink, cup, milk, more, ball, book, elmo, spongebob, up, car, lego (wego), cereal (cer-e-o), gigi, gpa, chair, light, blankie, block, shoes, nose, feet, toes and night-night.

- You have been sleeping much better lately. You go to bed between 7:30-8:00pm and wake up between 6:30-7:00am. You usally take a 1.5-2 hour nap at 1:00. You are much happier when you stay on schedule (and so am I!) You love your blanket and cannot sleep without it.

- You are wearing 18-24 month clothing and size 4 diapers.

- You are still a pretty picky eater and will hate something one day and then love it the next. You love milk, cereal and bananas. Everything else is pretty much day-by-day.

- You are finally showing an interest in books. You love to rip them all off the bookshelf and then bring them to me one by one so we can look through the pictures. You think every animal is a "doggie" and every little blonde boy is "Chawee".

- You call McDonald's "da-ways" and everytime we drive by one you scream excitedly from the backseat "da-ways! da-ways!"

- You love the Lagoon commercial. Everytime it comes on you stop what you are doing and dance around the living room. You also still love the Lion King CD and sing at the top of your lungs to all the songs.

You are so much fun and you make me laugh everyday. I am so glad I get to spend my days with you and your brother.

cannon at 18 months.....

I can't believe we have made it this far (even though some days I wasn't sure we would!). This is definitely my favorite age so far. You are turning into a toddler and are not looking like my baby boy anymore. Here are a few things about you at 18 months:

- You weigh 22 pounds 6 ounces (10th Percentile) and are 31 inches tall (20th percentile).

- You go to bed around 8:30-9:00pm and wake up around 7:00am. You usually take a 1-2 hour nap after lunch.

- You are walking everywhere and are getting into everything. The bathroom is your favorite place to wreak havoc, usually clearing out all the stuff from the cabinets and unrolling all the toilet paper off the roll.

- You know how to throw a good fit and you like things to go your way.

- You have the cutest smile where your nose scrunches up just the tiniest bit. You love to cuddle and give hugs. You don't miss a thing around you. Not one single thing.

- You love to go into rooms and then shut the door. You usually just wait there until I come and knock on the door. When I open it you just squeal with delight.

- You love to bring things from room to room. Especially now that you are walking and it is much easier. Today I found the broom in my bedroom and the TV controller in the bathroom.

- You are more curious than ever about your brother's legos. There are lots of tears spilled everyday because you can't play with them. You want to do everything he does which leads to lots of frustration. I am pretty sure you think you are 5 too.

- You officially have 11 teeth now as 2 molars just popped through this week. You have one more on the way.

- You do not want anything to do with the car. The second we get in you start screaming and usually don't stop until we get to our destination. Makes errand running a lot of fun for all of us!

- You are still a little behind on your speech, but you have a few words that you use regularly.

Cracker (Cack-ker)
uh-oh
whee (said when on the swings or going down a slide at the park)
Daddy
Mama
Ball (bah)
More (mo)
Hi
Bye
Charlie (Chaw-chee) This one is my favorite. It sounds so cute when you say it.

- You have gotten much better around strangers. You did so good at your 18 month check-up. The doctor got close to you and you actually smiled instead of cried. You also love Lisa, the EI specialist that comes to visit you twice a month.

- You are going to see the Urologist next week since your right testicle is still undescended. The doctor said he thinks it may have dropped a little, so we are hoping we may be able to just wait it out instead of surgery.

- You love to sleep with your blanket wrapped around your head. I thought it was just an occasional thing, but every time I peek in at night to check on you, it is wrapped around your whole head and face.

We love you more every day. Can't wait to see what the next 18 months bring!

king of the couch....

He has officially figured out how to get up on the furniture by himself whenever he wants. It still takes a little effort, but he gets his little body up there eventually. Then he props himself up like the king of the place. He is so proud of himself and it is his favorite place to be. Even more fun is getting down and then back up over and over again.

His second favorite thing to do right now is test mommy's patience, but let's just focus on the positive for today. :)

baby steps...

I think it is all starting to click with Mr. Cannon. About a week or so ago he started standing by himself. He would just let go of the furniture or whatever he was holding on to and stand there. Usually he would clap a few times and then fall down. Then on Tuesday (the 2nd) he took one baby step! Then he did it again on Wednesday. Just one step and then he falls to his knees, but he is trying...Yay! We have been doing tons of practicing around the house. He has great balance when you just hold one hand and walk with him. He just needs to get over the fear and then he will take off. He has always been pretty sensitive in this area. Anytime he loses his balance just a little bit while cruising the furniture, he will cry even if he doesn't fall. I would never have thought it was going to take him this long to walk. Afterall, he has been pulling up and walking around furniture for over 6 months now! Oh well, it is all in his timing and that is just fine with me. I look back at when Charlie was at this stage and all the stress and worry I had about it and now that he is five it really doesn't even matter. It is definitely a little easier the second time around.