Kaeden-Mommy date

Being the baby of the family, I have no idea what it is like to be the middle child, but as I see our family life unfold, it is surprising and somewhat sad to me just how much the middle child gets the raw deal.  Kaeden pretty much never gets parent time just to himself.  And since his behavior has been a little off lately, I decided it was time to make him feel extra special and go on a date. 

I let Kaeden pick out his own clothes for our date - this was his "fancy" outfit, complete with what he said were his fanciest socks, and a bead necklace to match mine.  So sweet.

When I asked where he wanted to go to dinner, Kaeden insisted on Wendy's, but I eventually talked him into a sit down restaurant.  Red Robin is one of his very favorites, so off we went.  

Smiley face pizza!  And an incredibly overdone "cheese" :)

We had such a fun dinner.  We colored together and chatted and asked each other random questions.  I found out that Kaeden wants to be a farmer and a dragon when he grows up - what a combo!  He thinks that he is the bravest person in the world, and his cousin Atticus is his hero.  He wants to play soccer.

When you're on a rare date with your son, it's a great opportunity to splurge on dessert.  Check this beauty out!  Kaeden was SO excited.  We didn't finish the whole thing, but we came close.  And he declared that it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.  

When we got home, Kaeden said, "Mommy!  I want to go on a date with you again!"  

Mission accomplished :)

Mommy camp

This past week was the first week of school for Ryan (more on that later) and baking camp for Kaeden.  Ethan was a little jealous about camp, so we decided that we would have "Mommy camp."  We stayed pretty busy and had LOTS of fun.  We also had LOTS of tantrums and battles of the will, because well, Ethan is a very stereotypical 2 year old right now.  Lucky for you, I didn't take any pictures of that part :)

Monday was simply the grocery store and playing outside.  Both of us were rather unaccustomed to the absence of big brothers, but it was a nice change of pace.

Tuesday, we went to the museum of life & science, which is one of Ethan's favorite places because there are animals there :)  We got there while the animals were "still sleeping," though, so Ethan found some other ways to entertain himself as well:

We went for a train ride too and got a little bored while waiting for the ride to start, so we resorted to selfies for entertainment :)

On Wednesday, we went blueberry picking.  I'm pretty sure I had more fun than he did, and he got bored of picking quickly once it sunk in that he wasn't allowed to eat them as he picked.  But it was still a nice morning and we got plenty of beautiful berries!

We also did some "cooking camp" of our own.

Cheese is even more fun when you make stars with it!

Making cool whip "ice cream" sandwiches and licking the container!

Just doing a little reading while Mommy cleaned up the kitchen

Thursday, we went to a park and then came home for the rest of the morning.

Getting some swing snuggles

Exploring the flower (and consequently bug) garden

And we spent some time doing yarn letters at home :)

Finally, on Friday, we went hiking.  I haven't been with just Ethan before.  Usually I'm having to nag at him to keep up with his brothers or scream ahead for Ryan & Kaeden to wait on us.  But it was wonderful to just go at Ethan's pace.  He loves to stop and investigate every little thing.  He played with a roly poly for about 5 minutes with glee every time it rolled up into a ball.  I love this nature loving little boy! :)

I tried to teach him about walking sticks.  It quickly become dangerous to both of us and was abandoned.

What happens when you actually let your child pick up a roly poly

Looking for frogs and bugs at the pond

 When we got home, we made a whole zoo full of play dough animals.

I'd call Mommy camp a big success :)

Ethan is 2

Ethan turns 2 years old tomorrow.  I still remember clearly the waiting, the tears, the cookies & cream ice cream, the walks, the coughing,  the 3 am contractions multiple nights in a row, etc.  Perhaps that should have been my first indication that he would be a strong-willed little guy.  He was going to come out when he was good and ready and test his mama's patience in the meantime :)  But it did make these moments all the sweeter.

Ethan is a bright, charming, on-the-go toddler.  Sometimes I feel like he never stops moving.... which is kind of impressive, since he prefers to spend most of his time looking at/reading books and doing puzzles.  But even then, he squirms and stands up and sits down and readjusts all the time.  He is also a talker.  It continues to blow my mind, since neither Ryan nor Kaeden were particularly early talkers or very talkative by the age of two.  But Ethan makes himself known in a very verbal way.  He always wants to know what things are called (books and songs in particular lately), and he seems to retain that information very effectively, so he has a huge vocabulary.

Like I said, his favorite activities are reading and doing puzzles.  He adores puzzles.  He is also moderately obsessed with the game, Sequence for Kids.  It involves animals, which is his other primary interest.   Give him a puzzle or a book about animals, and he's good to go.  Unfortunately, he has recently stopped being satisfied with doing those activities on his own, which means I am either doing them with him or he is whining at my heels... or purposefully trying to punish me for not paying him attention by getting into trouble.  Did I mention that he's strong-willed?

While he wants constant companionship, Ethan loves to do things himself.  I can't count the number of times I hear, "SELF!" every day.  He is determined to figure this world out, one way or the other.

Ethan is our little family clown, which is a title I thought would always belong to Kaeden, but Kaeden really just loves to be silly mostly for his own benefit.  Ethan seeks to entertain with his humor and he loves to laugh with his brothers.  And speaking of his brothers, he adores them.  He always needs to know where they are... on mornings when Kaeden's at school, he often repeats, "Daddy work?  Ry Ry school?  Kaeden school?"  He & Ryan are such sweet buddies.  Ryan is super patient with Ethan, and Ethan treasures every bit of attention he gets from his biggest brother.  Kaeden and Ethan get into it more, which is not surprising since they're only 2 years apart in age, but they still like playing together and are great company for each other when Ryan is at school.

Ethan adores his extended family as well.  He really appreciates having his aunt, uncle, and cousins so close and has a special bond with each of them.  And he thinks the world of each of his grandparents.  He is one lucky boy!

He always has smiles for Auntie!

He enjoys playing outside in general, especially now that we can go in the woods again. He loves to explore and go for hikes.  And, of course, if we happen to encounter any animals along the way, then all the better!

Ethan still loves his "Bubba" and sleeps snuggled up with him every night.  He likes to be "cozy," and insists on being covered up by two blankets as well as his sleepsack when I tuck him in at night.  He still takes a nap almost every day.  Most of the time, during the week, I have to wake him up after an hour or so to go pick Ryan up from school, and he is such a good sport about it.  He typically just sits up, looks at me, and says, "Time go get Ry Ry?"

Thankfully, in spite of his constant motion, he is still willing to give me quick snuggles here and there, especially at bedtime.  I treasure these moments, because I know they will pass so quickly. 

My favorite Ethanism as an almost 2 year old: consistently calling marshmallows "mushrooms" :)

Ethan is definitely a challenge right now.  There are plenty of things about him that I don't necessarily want to remember forever (think poop), but he is also such a joy and a sweet companion for this mommy.  He keeps me on my toes, and then he flashes me his beautiful smile, and I am always thankful for each new day with him.

Happy Birthday, my baby.  Mommy loves you.

Kaeden is 4

This sweet little boy turned four this week.  It actually feels like a lot longer than 4 years ago that I was giving birth to this baby, but it has been a busy 4 years for our family, so I guess that makes sense.

Kaeden is my boy of contradictions, which makes him kind of hard to describe.  He both desires to stay the baby and strives for independence in so many ways.  He is mischievous and curious and pushes the boundaries and yet he wants our approval so badly.  He has extreme emotions that send him into a full body scream when he is angry or overwhelmed but also send him into my arms to hug and kiss me and tell me that he loves me many times a day.  He lives life in a very full way.

I love this picture.  It is just so Kaeden... revved up and ready to take off with all the confidence in the world.  And then there's this:

My goofy, I'll wear my construction goggles whenever I please, thank-you-very-much, Kaeden.

Kaeden really loves his family and friends, and he's quick to become comfortable around adults (especially women), but he's slow to warm up to other kids.  He likes to play by himself, and he can get lost in his duplos or legos for an hour or more at a time.  But he also loves it when his big brother comes home from school or his cousin comes over and he has a playmate.  He & Atticus have really bonded this year, and it's been a dream come true for the moms :)  Kaeden recently asked me if he and Atticus were twins when they were babies, which I thought was just such a sweet question.  Atticus still gravitates toward Ryan when he's around, and Kaeden is generally fine with that, but when Ryan's at school, Atticus & Kaeden are the best of buds and generally play really well together.

Kaeden and Ethan are also getting to be sweet little buddies.  Ethan really looks up to both of his brothers and asks about them constantly when they're not around.  I think Kaeden appreciates having someone look up to him rather than it always being the other way around.  He likes making Ethan laugh and convincing Ethan to copy his silly games.

Kaeden is primarily a builder in his play.  Like I said, he can spend hours in a day playing with building blocks... especially duplos and legos.  He also loves real building projects.  He helped Mason and Ryan make a rope ladder for Ryan's loft, and it might have been the happiest day of his life.  He has his own tool box and tools, and he'd rather hack around with them outside than do much else, even when his grand ideas of cutting trees down and making his own tree house don't exactly pan out :) 

Kaeden is also my sous-chef.  He LOVES to bake and will always choose helping me in the kitchen over any other activity.  He has recently graduated to being allowed to crack eggs on his own, and he's quite pleased about having another Kaeden-approved task.  I am thankful that at least one of my boys shares my beloved hobby.  It's always a special time for us to share... especially when Ryan's at school and Ethan's napping and we can just take our time.  

He was never a big fan of reading as a baby/toddler, but he has developed a real love for books.  He really likes picking out new books at the library, and has recently been appreciating the Geronimo Stilton and Flat Stanley books that I hoped would inspire Ryan to start reading to himself, but instead I am now reading them out loud so that everybody can enjoy them.  Oh well!  Some other favorites are A Fly Went By, Berenstain Bears books, and Busytown Mystery books.

He continues to love music, especially the Karen K and the Jitterbugs CD that Nana discovered this summer.  Hearing him walk around the house singing, "Back it up, back it up, my a big ol truck" always makes me giggle. 

This was Kaeden on his first day of preschool this year.  He is really enjoying it.  It was a harder transition than I had hoped, because none of the children from his class last year are in his class this year, but he has quickly grown quite attached to his teachers and seems to be starting to make new friends.  

He hasn't picked up on things like letters and numbers as quickly as his older brother, but he has always been more interested in understanding the why of things than learning the basic facts.  He is a great problem-solver, and you'd better bet that once he sets his mind on figuring something out, he is going to find a way.

Some of my favorite "Kaedenisms": always replacing "I" with "my," even in song lyrics, over-using the word "usually," leaning over to kiss or snuggle me in the middle of a meal (probably a stall tactic since he is the slooooowest eater).

My sweet Kaeden, you make me smile every single day.  You have pushed me out of my comfort zone and taught me how to experience life in new ways.  I am so grateful to be on the receiving end of your love and laughter.  Happy, happy birthday.

(Kaeden was the first of the boys up on his birthday, so we spent some time snuggling in bed before breakfast... and we also made this video :) )

Happy Birthday, Kaeden!