What I Wish I Knew

Someone asked me the other day if there was anything I wish I knew before I had Caden. After telling her that I could write a book on that subject...and if you compiled all my blog posts, I already have. But, I narrowed it down to a few things.

THE CLEANING:::. Dear God, the cleaning!! I had NO idea how much time and energy I would spend cleaning up after just one child. And we’re not just talking about when I changed diapers and the ongoing picking up of toys. Oh, no. The day might bring a spilled bottle of maple syrup or a blender explosion in the kitchen, a sippy-cup malfunction in the family room, a picture knocked off the wall with broken glass everywhere, and ant-infestation on the front porch due to a melted Popsicle, and a bathtub tsunami. Not to mention the laundry. Spit-up stained sleepers have turned into food and grass-stained clothes, occasional peed-on sheets, and spit up filled bibs and diaper rags due to my little ones I watch.

It doesn't seem like that long ago when I lived in a 1-bedroom apartment and used the same plate and fork at each meal. I vacuumed and cleaned the bathroom maybe once every week or 2. (Did I even own a vacuum?) I did one load of laundry a week. And if I put something away, it stayed there. Wow....that was so nice.... *sigh*

Now, if I didn’t do the daily maintenance I usually do, walking in our house you would think we’d been robbed. Or, as a friend put it “My husband recently said our house is to the point where we should burn it, collect the insurance money, and start over!”


THE 24/7, 365 DAYS RESPONSIBILITY:: OK, so maybe intellectually we knew this was the deal. But did you really think through exactly what this meant? That you’d be restricted to drive-thrus, unless you want to lug the baby carrier or a sleeping child in a carseat in and out of the car just to grab your Starbucks or your drycleaning?

That unless you’re lucky enough to live near family you will have to pay someone to watch your child EVERY SINGLE TIME you want to go out with your spouse, go to a yoga class, repaint the bedroom, and possibly even just clean your house without someone wanting your EVERY second of attention?

That you don’t get sick days, holidays, vacation time, or personal days? Yes, even when you're on vacation, there is nothing relaxful about that when you have a little one!! hehehehe That you may never again sleep in on weekends? (At least till your kids are teenagers.) I’m telling you people, it takes some getting used to. :)


THE UNPARALLELED JOY::: . I’ve always loved kids. Always wanted one. And yet I still hadn’t the faintest clue what it was going to be like to have my own, brand-new person that was half me and half my husband. How I would feel when he reached for MY finger and would only be soothed by ME. How my heart would soar when he slept peacefully, ate well, burped, gained weight, had poopy diapers even! Every day he has brought me more joy and now I cannot remember what my purpose in life was before he came along. He is all I ever hoped for and more, and I cannot imagine a life without him in it. He brings me soooo much joy.

Moms love to trade horror stories and vent about the hard work and frustrations that go along with raising kids. It can be hard! So before you have them you might wonder, “Why put yourself through that?” and “Is it worth it?” The answer is yes. YES!! YESSSSSSS!!!!! A thousand, billion, trillion, bazillion times YES. Why?

A billion, trillion, bazillion different reasons. Because babies and kids have senses of humor. More than many adults I know. And because they unconditionally love you, with the sloppy kisses and sticky hugs to prove it. And because they’re so very entertaining. And because of moments when they walk in the room dressed like this..




If that's not enough to convince you, I don't know what is. But I don't really wish I knew all this before. Because you really have to experience it for yourself.

Can you really be 3 ????

My sweet growing boy,

Happy birthday my little man! (Even though I'm almost 2 months late..) This blogging thing has gotten tougher the older you get, but I am kinda fired up about writing more now so it should be better? We'll see. So now you are three and I just still can't seem to believe it. It seems like yesterday when we crammed all those people into the hospital room to witness your arrival...we had so many laughs, it was such a breeze, and then....YOU. The most amazing day of my life...(even with nurse crazy eye in the picture) LOL I will tell you that story someday...or perhaps your aunts will tell you....hehehehe

While last year was all about cars....which you still have a fondness for....this birthday has been a Spiderman extravaganza. We decorated with webs, spiders, spiderman cutouts, red and blue cupcakes with webs on them, and red and blue koolaid. You kiddos even sprayed silly string all over the yard like web slingers! You got a Spiderman bathing suit, Spiderman underwear, a Spiderman car, Spiderman kite, Spiderman fishing pole, and a bike with a Spiderman helmet! Talk about Spiderman overload!! You couldn't have been more thrilled!!

The thing is, you are not singly loyal to Spiderman. In fact, when I asked you what kind of birthday cake you wanted, you said you wanted a Little Mermaid cake....then you wanted a Princess cake...ehhh..Spiderman won out. :) Hehehehe :) You were happy though.

In fact, you’re pretty much always happy. You’ve been that way since birth. I like to think that you get that from me. Don’t get me wrong, you have your grumpy moments, just like your mommy,but generally, you’re a good-natured guy. And also, active. You LOVE to play with your friends, go to the park, have picnics, and build forts with the couch cushions. You NEVER slow down.....

This year you have learned so much, a big one being that you were potty trained at 2 1/2 years.....completely. Not even a pull-up at night! How awesome are you? You have a better bladder than your mommy! It's been so nice not having to deal with diapers....thank you for that!! Now we just need to work on you not pulling it out in random places to pee...like our garage, front porch and at the resort in Mexico right in front of lots of people. Hmmmm..... :) You are great at saying your please and thank-you's, you have learned many songs and can count to ten in English and Spanish....I could go on and on...you are just one smart cookie.

And it must be said that you are QUITE a talker. HOLY MOLY. AGAIN, something you get from me!!! Sometimes your mouth doesn’t stop moving all day, and I often wonder if it is paybacks for how much I talked my mommy's ear off! Don't get me wrong, I am THRILLED that you are talking and learning so much but MAN...do you EVER take a break??? Hahahaha You crack us up with the funny things you say.....Just the other day you walked into a brightly colored bathroom and YELLED "Holy COW! This is soooooo cool!" hehehe You’re always have me laughing....thank you for that my sweetness.

You have been more generous with your affections and I am absolutely loving it. Sometimes you just come up to me, fling your arms around me, kiss my cheek and say "I love you mommy." My heart melts to butter. I love you little boy more than you could ever know....thanks for your sweet little love. :)

I only have to look at your long, skinny legs and little-boy shoulders to see that you’re not a baby any more. There’s no more chub to grab, and you are so heavy now! I only feel a little sad about it though, because you’ve turned into a great little buddy. We can actually have whole conversations and it is so much fun! You make me smile every day, and you give the best hugs. I am totally cool hanging out with a 3 year old... :)

I love you, buddy. You’re the best 3-year-old I ever had.

Love, Mommy

Oh my aching body... :)

Well, today I am one year older....and BOY do I feel it this year more than any other year. I know WHY too.... :) This kid is kicking my booty, people. I’m not proud to admit that I’ve met my match in a person barely taller than a darn coffee table, but there you have it. Between his boundless energy, his love for super hero moves, and his love of RUNNING FAST...., this child is running me ragged! :) Thank GOD he’s a good sleeper or I may have hurled myself off a bridge by now. LOL

This morning I woke up with my lower back KILLING me...seems to be a normal thing lately....Happy Birthday to me!! I could not move for several minutes. Creaking and groaning, I finally hoisted myself out of bed. Common sense would say to take it easy, right? Not an option in my world. No way man....

If you’ve ever wondered how many times a mom bends down in the course of a day, the answer is 7 trillion. We bend down to pick up last night’s bath towel next to the tub, to put another load of laundry in the dryer, to wipe up congealed lumps of breakfast, lunch, and dinner off the floor, to untangle the dog’s leash from the stroller wheels, to search for lost pacifiers under the couches, to clean up 5000 cars off the driveway, to get down on the floor to play 1000 times during the day, and etc etc etc.....

That’s BESIDES all the times we bend down to pick UP kids -- off the dressing room floor at Target(been couple years, but still) out of the bulk candy bin at the supermarket, off of the dog, and out of the crib, stroller, car seat, and bathtub.
I’m actually shocked my back still works at all.

I need a massage...maybe I'll hit my hubby up for one tonight.... The goal is relaxation, but as knotted up as I am, it would require him to use excessive amounts of force and manipulation to unknot them. About as relaxing as a third-degree sunburn, people.

This parenthood stuff is grueling on the body, there’s no doubt. Wouldn't trade one minute for the world, but SHEESH!! LOL Let’s see, there’s the accidental face scratches, the not-accidental karate chops, the bruises from being hit by flying balls. (YOU try explaining to a toddler that it’s OK to throw a foam ball but not a golf ball.)

I guess my current back pain is my body’s way of saying, “HELLO?! Remember me??” And as I bend down to pick up crusted peanut butter and jelly sandwich that somehow got smooshed under the dishwasher area, cute little boy sandals, and the hundreds of army guys, I do remember it, over and over.

As grueling as these things are, they are the things that make my life the most complete...I love that I have a boy that is energetic and fun. I wouldn't trade it for the world....that's what I get for being to old when I had him right? Somehow my body will just have to get used to it, and hopefully I can stay in one piece long enough to hold my grandbabies right?? Ok, going to go do some more bending over.....

I want BOY cheese sandwiches!!

Hi my sweetness,

Today is Easter and what a wonderful day it was! I will write all about it tomorrow and post pictures from your Easter egg hunt fun....Tonight I just wanted to write a quick little bit about all of the funny things that you have said lately. I could just die laughing right now....you are one HILARIOUS almost 3 year old!! I mean seriously...you keep us laughing constantly. I adore that cute brain of yours...

Just in this last month you have really expanded your vocabulary and sentence structures....it is amazing and fun to see and hear what you are learning. You blow us away kiddo! I love working with you...So here is a sampling of the things you have said lately. :) Kids DO say the darndest things!

I was making grilled cheese sandwiches for you, which you absolutely LOVE. I couldn’t figure out why you kept looking at it and whining. Finally I asked you what the HECK your problem was, and you said "I don’t want GIRL cheese sandwiches....I want BOY cheese sandwiches!" Aw......my heart became a cheese sandwich right then and there....

Another cute thing you have said recently was one afternoon after I had made some egg salad. You went to throw something away in the trashcan and the eggs I had cracked were sitting there right on top of the trash. You screamed "Mommy, mommy! The eggs are hatching!"

Another favorite thing of ours that you have said was when we were flying to Mexico this last trip. You were soooo excited to be on that plane and as we were getting ready to take off you said quite LOUDLY and EXCITEDLY "Our plane, go UP in the sky and then CAAARRRASH!!!" I also said kinda loudly, cause people were staring, that "No honey, the plane does not go crash" Lord help me... :)

One day while you were hanging out on the toilet waiting for....well...you know.. :) you said "Mommy, a tiger lives in the potty in the hole and he likes to bite my P.U." hehehehehehe....ok then!!

Just this weekend you informed your Aunt Heather that the scratch on your leg, caused by a stick, was where a SHARK bit you.

In a PUBLIC bathroom the other day, as I was sitting down to PEE...you said LOUDLY "Mommy...you are going P.U.! Good girl!" (You always think that when I sit down as you only sit when you are going P.U.)


And one of my favorites.....I asked you the other morning how you slept and you said "In my bed!" Sooooo funny....

Keep up the silly and cute sayings my precious.....you melt my heart every day. I am so glad that I get the honor and privilege to stay home with you every day. I would sure hate to miss one moment....I love you my silly boy!!!

Love, Mommy



How did you sleep? In my bed silly

Little Map Boy

Hey my little munchkin man,

I wanted to share a cute little video of you showing me places where our family members live on a little US map placemat that we got you from Walmart. What a great use of that dollar that we spent! You really have learned a lot and can show me many places....have been able to for months now! You are soooo obsessed with seeing what I am recording on the camera that it is hard for you to be on the other side of the lens...we are working on that...so you are being a bit slow in this video, but you get the picture. You are a smart one my little man! Pretty soon we will be learning other countries!!

Love you mister smart stuff,

Mommy

2 and 1/2 years ALREADY?

Hello my little man,

Been along time since I wrote, I know...I think about writing almost every day but I just have to admit that by the time the day ends I am so tired that I just CAN'T! You are so busy, and so full of energy that we are more tired during THIS time of your life than any other time...even when you were born! :) But oh how how FUN you are during this time!!! I am just having a blast with you!!!

Well....where to even start..... You are a talkin' little boy. How fun is this? You can pretty much tell us anything that you are wanting to express....3 and 4 word sentences now...and it has happened over night it seemed. It is sooo sooo cute. Sometimes you just sit there concentrating so hard on what you are trying to say....I love those moments cause you are just so precious. I am sooo proud of your vocabulary little man! You are doing sooo well!! Also, your language is a mixture of English AND Spanish. They say that kids can't distinguish between the two languages until they are about 4 or 5. As a result, we notice that you pick the easiest word of the two languages to use, so your vocabulary is a real mixture of both languages...so, not everyone would fully understand you! :) It is mostly English though, but you completely understand everything your dad says to you in Spanish. It is truly amazing!

You had your first "kids say the darndest things" moment. We were in Branson visiting my Branson Grandparents and we went out to dinner and you ate pancakes. After we got in the car, Leta said, "Caden, did you like your pancakes?" and YOU said, oh gosh...:) "Um, no, no, they were NASTY!" I thought I was going to DIE. Seriously did you just SAY that??? I don't even know.....hehehehehehe.....

Other cute things you say:

Isabel (the little girl we watch) is "BAHBEL"

Milk is "Mooks"

Eliott, your little best friend it " I E "

Snacks is still " NACKS" no s on the beginning... :)

Hand you say with this funny accent... like German... "hahnd"

When your diaper is dirty you say... " Mommy, pee yew!"

You speak often of yourself in 3rd person, "Caden wants a cracker..." cute


You have so many FAVORITES right now...the biggest one being playing with Eliott in the rocks in the vacant lot near our house. From the moment you wake up in the morning to the time you go to sleep that is all you want to do. You wear me out!!! So cute you two are though....you will seriously spend HOURS just picking up rocks and throwing them over the edge of the foundation...again and again and again. I wish I could stick to one task that long! I'm lucky if I get HALF our bed made in a day! :)

Other favorites right now:

Hot dogs and macaroni and cheese

Bees

Ladybugs

The book "The Mine-o-saur" (which I want to burn cause you make me read it so many times a day that I want to scream!!! hahahahaha! I definitely have it memorized)

The book " Llama Llama red pajama" Another one I have memorized :)

Your train table and all your little trains

The Bee Movie

Madagascar 2


By the way....now this is another month later as I am trying to finish this blog...I need to just go back to doing smaller ones every day....starting TODAY! YAY!! I'm back and ready to write!! For now, I am just going to add some pictures and a few videos from the last few months and then back up and write more specific things....there is so much!!! I don't want to miss a minute of documenting your precious life my little one.....so....more to come later!!!

I love you my precious 2 year old! Whoever dubbed "the TERRIBLE two's" didn't have you as a little one.....I love you!!!

Love, Mommy

Mexico!!!

Hey my perfect...

It's been awhile, yet again, and I have so many blog posts cramming up my mind that I need to get them all out! It has been a crazy summer! You will see alot of writing from now on cause I have to catch up!! So...I have to back up a tad bit and just touch on our Mexico trip that we took in June! What a fun trip! Our easiest so far with you. Not that you aren't easy my dear, but younger than 2 can be sorta difficult in places that are NOT baby proof!! :) So...this trip you were much more "grown up" and it was a little more relaxing for your parents! Most of our days were spent at the club where we swam, ate, swam, ate and swam...and then ate some more. It was wonderful.

You became a little FISH there in Mexico. We put some water wings on you, and on some days you spent about 7 hours in the water....UNBELIEVABLE! I was thrilled that you loved the water so much...yay! I always hoped that! It sure gave us a nice break! :)

It was great spending a bunch of time with your Grandparents, aunts, uncles and your cousin Sergio! (Who you called Shoo Shoo the whole time....) Cute! :) Here are some pics from our trip......I will write more later about the rest of our summer!!

Love you my little fish,

Love, Mommy

So...Tired....Just...Can't....Stay....Awake....

Hi my little love, I just HAD to post this video of you that I took a couple days ago...it is one of my favorites! We had just come home from playing hard at the indoor playground and you fell asleep in the car JUST as we pulled into the subdivision. I knew you were so tired and so hungry all at once...I asked you when we got out of the car if you wanted to eat or go to bed...you opted for the latter, so I put you in your highchair and this is what followed....needless to say you didn't last long. Dang you are the cutest thing alive. I love you sweetness... Love, Mommy

Your Mommy's Worst Day

Hi my love,
It's been a long time my little munchkin...It seems that as summer gets started, things get busier and your mommy gets so exhausted that it makes it hard to write! Also, because of what I'm about to write, I was just so stressed and traumatized that I couldn't seem to sit down and put it all out there. So...here I am FINALLY...back with lots of stuff to write in the coming weeks, and ready to breathe again...

Well, it's been almost a month since that day...your mommy's worst day ever...You had started a fever the previous evening and on THAT day it was still lingering. I had given you Tylenol and it seemed to help a bit but wasn't knocking it out completely. You, however, were acting completely normal. I tend to watch the attitude more than the fever as kids can get fevers for silly things all the time. By mid afternoon I called the doctor and said I wanted to bring you in, just to check on things...we made an appointment for 5:30 so that your dad could go with us. After your nap you felt a little warmer...took your temp and it was 101..nothing CRAZY, but still... I gave you a cool bath and we sat around cuddling and watching Tigger and Pooh. :) Right before 4pm you wanted to go outside and roll your cars down the driveway. We had been inside all day as it was a bit too warm outside to play with a fever, but by now it had cooled down and the driveway was shaded. I checked your temp, it was 100, so I thought that as long as you just sat there we would be fine. So...out we went and we both sat on the driveway together and started rolling away!

We were watching baby Ian that day and his mom had just gotten there to pick him up. We chatted for a few minutes in the driveway and then I got up to get Ian's diaper bag for her, and get Ian out of the stroller sitting on the porch. All of that took about 20 seconds, and when I glanced back to look at you I saw you lying on your back and shaking. At first I didn't realize what I was seeing...I thought that you were messing around or something, but after 3 seconds I realized what was happening. You were having a full blown seizure right on our driveway!! I had JUST left your side, and now your little body was bouncing off the pavement in a way that I just can't explain...don't really want to actually.... I'm trying not to conjure up too many memories of that moment as I write this. It was just so awful... I had to go pick you up as your little head was bouncing on the driveway, and then I just held you on your side as the seizure was happening. I had absolutely NO knowledge about seizures and had no clue what to expect. THe only thing I knew was to turn you on your side so you wouldn't choke in any way. It was as if you were being struck by lightning over and over again....there were strange electrical pulses ripping through your body.

After about a minute of your seizure you started turning blue...really blue...you weren't breathing...I had seen such things in movies or pictures but never in person....I never knew a face could get so blue. Inside I felt a panic like I have never known. You were my baby...my life....my motivation...my world...my love...and you weren't breathing!!! Ian's mom was FREAKING OUT telling me, "He's not breathing! He's not breathing!" It made me panic even more even though I was shockingly calm through the whole thing.... You still weren't breathing and I was thinking in the matter of 30 seconds, "Is this it?" "Is this the way it's going to end?" "Right here?" "Right now?" "You were fine just 2 minutes ago, and now you are going to die on me?" Your whole life passed before my eyes and I almost thought I was going to throw up. I even imagined my life AFTER you...how I would be...how I wouldn't care about anything.

FINALLY, after what seemed like an eternity, your seizure ended and you started breathing again. It was the weirdest raspy sound, but I almost DIED with relief. However, after enduring all that had previously happened, a new terror had taken hold. The second your seizure ended you went limp in my arms.....completely limp...although you were breathing you were not responding at all. I was yelling at you, trying to sit you up, opening your eyes, (that were rolled back in your head) and slapping your back....NOTHING...absolutely NOTHING. Since I knew nothing about seizures, all I could figure at that point was : You had a seizure, you weren't breathing for 30 plus seconds...now you are brain dead. I was thinking, "You aren't there anymore are you?" "You are breathing, but you you aren't really in there...it's not you." That was almost scarier to me than anything. This lasted about 5 minutes before the ambulance got there and Lori and I were just numb with fear.

The ambulance got to the house and the guys jumped out and grabbed you from me and we hopped inside. At that point you were still non-responsive and I was crying and asking them if you were going to be ok....was this normal? They were yelling at you and shaking you and you just WOKE UP as if you snapped out of a trance. You started WAILING...screaming "MOMMY!" "MOMMY!" "MOMMY!" It was the sweetest, most wonderful sound I had ever heard in my life. My tears just flowed and flowed and flowed at that time I was so happy.... They tried putting an IV in you and kept screwing it up and you were just SCREAMING..."OW, ow, ooooow!" I wanted to kill them. I couldn't hold you as we were rushing to the hospital and I had to sit on the side with a darn seatbelt on..(I wasn't too happy about that) but I could hold your finger and I asked you questions about your favorite movies, sang you songs from them, and made you tell me the names of all of your favorite Disney movie characters. You were sobbing the whole time but still talking through those sobs...how ridiculously precious you are...

When we got to the hospital your temperature was 105. Scary, scary stuff. What you had was called a Febrile Seizure...brought on by a fever...and the scary part is that you can have a low-grade fever and it can just spike super high in a matter of minutes. Some kids are more prone to them, and usually if they have one once, they will have them again until they are 5 or 6 and then they just stop. As if I could live through THAT AGAIN??? I'm still freaking about that...I can't even go there...
Anyway, they got your fever down and you just ended up passing out laying on me..(I climbed onto the hospital bed and had you lay on top of my so that I could hold you) You were so precious during all the poking and prodding...you were sobbing with pain but would still say "bye bye" during a sob as a nurse would leave. They would almost cry they thought it was so sweet, and at those moments I swear I have never loved you more.

Your daddy made it to the house just as the ambulance was leaving and he followed behind in his car. When we were in the hospital he kept trying to ask me questions about what happened and I couldn't even look him in the eye...I couldn't even talk. He kept trying to talk to me and I couldn't seem to find any words. I knew later that I was in shock. I couldn't process it all... After a few hours in the hospital you woke up and acted completely normal. Perfectly fine. I was thrilled...but for some reason I couldn't smile...couldn't act happy... We got home, put you to sleep after holding you for a LONG TIME....and then I just FELL APART. I don't think I have EVER cried that hard. I kept telling your daddy, "I thought he was going to die...I thought he was going to DIE!" I was soooo glad that I was right there with you when it happened, but at the same time I wish I didn't have to witness all that. I couldn't stop reliving it over and over again for weeks to follow, and I felt like I was walking under a cloud of fear and trauma. I definitely squeezed you a bit tighter.....

I cannot tell you how happy that I am that you are ok and unfazed by the whole thing. To even think that I could have been close to losing you makes me still feel nauseous. You are my entire life Caden. My whole heart. Everything that I do is for you, everything that I am is wrapped up in the love that I have for you. I can't even begin to tell you how my world would be nothing without you in it. Please don't get any more fevers munchkin.....and please always know how much your mommy loves you with every ounce of her being. Be healthy......

Love, your traumatized, but better now, Mommy

TWO And More Fun Than EVER!

Hi my love,

I have thought over and over since you have been born that there is NO way that I could love you more than at THAT moment in time. No way.... And every month that passes, I manage to find even more places in my heart to fill with my adoration of you. Well....you have officially been a TWO YEAR OLD for just over a month now, and for sure I can say that this is the MOST fun that I have had with you. I'm just not sure how many more cavities this heart of mine holds, cause it feels like it is going to burst every day my son! I FREAKING LOVE YOU!!!!! You are a BLAST!!!! You make every day a JOY! Thank you, thank you, thank you for that....

Your vocabulary JUST since you've turned two has doubled and tripled....it is soo soo exciting for you to be actually communicating with us! And you are just too precious...You want to point out EVERYTHING you see and do and tell us the name for it. Cute.... And that memory of yours? You don't forget a THING! You fell off of the front porch the other day and scraped up your knee pretty badly, and ever since then you have explained to us what happened each time we go outside to play. "Mommy, mommy, fall..knee....knee...owie...ouch...mommy...knee...ouch!" Soo cute...OVER AND OVER AGAIN...! :)

You won't say the name for animals...only the sound they make. I will say, "What animal is this Caden?" Your replies are....mooo moooo, or bock bock bock,(chicken) or woof woof! I can't for the life of me get you to say DOG, or COW or any animal for the matter. :) It's cute though....I can wait... :)

One big milestone since you turned two is that we are no longer bound by the pacifier!!! Woohoo!!! I can't tell you how happy this has made us!!! I know you loved that darn thing so much, but it was SUCH a pain for us! I thought we were NEVER going to get rid of it!!! It was the smoothest transition EVER though...I never would have believed it, and now you are free buddy! I'm so proud of you!! Seriously...I really am proud...you took it so well, and so sweetly. I'm sure others haven't acted the same. :) Again...thank you for being the best child EVER! :)

Some of your favorite things to do right now are to sit outside in the driveway pushing cars down the driveway into the street...over and over and over again...literally HOURS.. :) and to play with your little neighbor friend Elliot pushing your little lawnmowers together, playing with the cars, or sliding and swimming in your little pool. You are in HEAVEN just being outside playing, and you always want Elliot to be there too. He is exactly one year older than you, but you are both the same size and you just have the cutest little bond between the two of you. Not many words are spoken, but you communicate quite well. It's so sweet that you have your first best friend. I hope you learn the importance of great friends one day.....I will make sure of it!






You are SUCH a great eater, and soooo good with utensils now! Boy...you've got it down now! No more help needed with anything anymore! Nice, but sad at the same time....I do miss feeding you. You are growing too fast!

You've started belly laughing anytime WE laugh at anything. It's probably one of the cutest things EVER. You just throw your head back and let it loose....If only we could all just laugh for no reason at all like that....Don't ever lose that laugh my love....It's music to your mommy's ears.


You LOVE, LOVE books and want to read them all the time. THANK GOD for that!! :) We have fun reading our own books side by side (as you often instruct me to do) and me just reading to you. For some reason you will NOT let your daddy read you books. He wants to sooo much, but you won't hear of it. JUST MOMMY. Secretly I'm glad...hehehe...I just enjoy it so much. Please, please, please never lose that love of reading! It is such a wonderful thing to enjoy for your entire life.....

Right now you have three items that you HAVE to have when you go to bed....a little plastic Pooh (this is the main thing that has replaced the paci as it is in your mouth alot), a little Lightning McQueen car, and a tiny plush Piglet. Most of the night they don't seem to even leave your hands....again....adorable.




Every day you thrill me, and everyday I just want to eat you up you are so cute!!! I might drive you crazy with how many times I make you give me kisses and hugs, but they are the highlight of my day and I will never stop! You make my life more fun everyday Caden. I wake up excited for what that day will bring, what new things you will learn, and what new words I will hear you speak. It's just all so exciting. I am looking forward to this year of you being TWO...and in NO WAY will it be the terrible twos......it's been the most wonderful twos.....

I love my little two year old to death!
Love, your Mommy

Bathtub Spanish Quiz

It Only Takes ONE Minute

My crazy, crazy child,

All I'm going to ask is....what goes through your mind sometimes?? Do you premeditate these little adventures? This is what I found you doing after one minute of putting the clothes from the washer to the dryer. Just not sure what else to say.........LOL You crack me up....and give me gray hairs! :)

Wonder what I'll find tomorrow?

I love you my crazy child! Love, Mommy