He's a lady's man....

Almost all my friend's kids Kaden's age are girls. He loves his friends. Last weekend Matt and I went to our friends Reese and Will's house. We had so much fun playing "Guitar Hero" and eating lots of pizza. Kaden and Danica ran around and played for hours. Kaden is a little social bug, and LOVES other kids. Danica is over a year older than he is, but he just loves her. When I would hold Kaden she would say, "hey, put Kaayyen down, he wants to pway with me." SO CUTE!




Look at those sopping wet pants and big belly hanging out. He's got pizza all over his face...and he's still the cutest boy ever.... Danica thinks so too :)

Kaden will not drink water from his cup, but if I have a water bottle he is in heaven. He was just guzzling away, gagging on it, his eyes watering, and spilling it everywhere. It was quite humerous, and I know he was loving not wearing his shirt. He loves to be naked. It really is quite liberating! The minute the clothes come off he is off and running.

How do I love you?

Let me count the ways...

This winter, as we were traveling home from a wonderful Christmas vacation, we heard a story on the radio that I will not forget. An older man had passed away and his grown children were helping his wife go through all of his things. They came across a very large collection of letters. They were love letters that this man had written to his wife. The kids were so touched, they convinced their mom to compile them into a book. Together, a book was published, called "Love Letters on Wednesdays" (or something like that). This man had written his wife a letter every Wednesday, telling her of his love. Some were pages long, others only a few sentences. She occassionally wrote him a letter, but he was steady in his writings. These are her most cherished posessions. Matt and I were both SO touched when we heard this story. We decided, that we would write each other letters. They would be our "Love Letters on Sundays". That night, on our way home, we made a stop and purchashed journals that we had each picked out. I write in the green one for Matt, and he writes in the blue for me. We don't write every week, but we are diligent in this, and I would have to say that this is something so special, and something I would recommend everyone do. I have benefitted so much from the beautiful things that Matt writes to me. They come straight from his pure heart. As much as I love the things he writes to me, I think that I have benefitted even MORE by writing to him. I am reminded of how dear and special he is to me. Sometimes I write about a memory we have, other times I think of a special reason I love him, but no matter what I choose to write about, it makes me smile inside and reminds me of my love for my husband. This little thing we have chosen to do has been something that I cherish and look forward to. I look forward to writing to Matt, and I look forward to reading Matt's sweet words of tenderness to me.

Don't turn your back on a little Rascal

And here he is....caught in the act! I was sewing Kaden's quilt and he was sitting on the floor right next to me. We had music playing and he was just jabbering away. Then he got a little bit quiet...never a good sign. I could see that he was getting into the picnic basket. There were so many fun goodies in there! He entertained himself with the bright green cups, plates, and utensils for quite a while...then, he found something much more interesting and tasty! A whole bag of "Pixy Stix". I looked over at him when he had been quiet for too long...and there was colored sugar EVERYWHERE. He was covered, and the kitchen floor even more covered. It was too cute...the only bad thing is that I had just swept and mopped the entire kitchen (it's my least favorite chore). So, I did it all again. It was worth it, seeing his happy sugar-covered face.



Yesterday I was trying to catch up on Medical Transcription for a few hours. Kaden is the best at entertaining himself, and I love that I am able to get so much done (usually). He made quite the mess, but was very content for nearly two hours. I would take a break here and there and play with him for a bit, then get back to work. We always have music on, and he just dances and dances. It was so fun to watch him play and giggle. LOVE this kid!

His shirt has his name on it, "Rascal".

More sunshine, making more memories....

This time we had a picnic lunch at the park. It was so fun, warm and sunny. The best part was that we were there at just the right time. The train tracks run RIGHT next to the park and we got to see the train go by. It is the Durango & Silverton Narrowguage Railroad (http://www.durangotrain.com/) ...an old, old, steam engine that pulls bright yellow/orange cars, and a red caboose. It blew the whistle and Kaden got SO excited. It was so perfect. His uncle "BUD" (my brother John-Isaac) has LOVED trains since he was a year old, and now works on the train in the summer-time. Maybe Kaden will have that same love, we'll see. It was so cute to see a little boy's eyes light up with delight.




Someday this teeny boy will be reaching down to hold my hand. I am sure that time will come faster than I want it to. When I catch myself doing things that don't matter and are not worth my time, I have to think about how time really does fly and I only have THIS time once. I know that is corny, but so true.


GET READY....
Get Set....

GO!!!!!!
THIS, is hilarious. They make the EXACT same expressions...cracks me up. They are such wonderful buddies. I am so sad that the pictures didn't turn out very well. I had my camera on the wrong setting...oh well. I guess it's not like we don't have a million other pictures of us playing at the park!

When I look at pictures of Matt and Kaden together, or watch them interact, I am reminded of the Rodney Atkins song that I just LOVE. Matt loves it too and everytime it comes on he sings along and says that it reminds him of his relationship with Kaden. I am so glad he thinks of this and I know that our son is watching us and learning from us. I just hope and pray that we are doing things right!

Watching You....Rodney Atkins
Driving through town just my boy and me
With a happy meal in his booster seat
Knowing that he couldn't have the toy
Till his nuggets were gone

Green traffic light turned straight to red
I hit my breaks and mumbled under my breath
His fries went a flying and his orange drink covered his lap

Well then my four year old said a four letter word
That started with "s" and I was concerned
So I said son now where did you learn to talk like that


He said I've been watching you dad, ain't that coolI'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We got cowboy boots and camo pants
Yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad
I wanna do everything you doSo I've been watching you

We got back home and I went to the barn
I bowed my head and I prayed real hard
Said lord please help me help my stupid self


Then this side of bedtime later that night
Turning on my son's scooby doo nightlight
He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees
He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands

And spoke to god like he was talking to a friend
And I said son where'd you learn to pray like that

He said I've been watching you dad, ain't that coolI'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
We like fixing things and holding mama's hand
Yeah we're just alike, hey ain't we dad I wanna do everything you do
So I've been watching you

With tears in my eyes I wrapped him in a hug
Said my little bear is growing up
He said but when I'm big I'll still know what to do


Cause I've been watching you dad, ain't that coolI'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you
And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are
Then I'll be as strong as superman
We'll be just alike, hey won't we dad
When I can do everything you do

Cause I've been watching you

NERD ALERT!

This is the FUNNIEST thing and had me laughing hysterically....Matt and I are staying at my parent's house while they are in California with John-Isaac for Spring Break. Matt is kind of a neat freak and has to have his clothes all hanging in the closet. Well...he obviously put on the wrong pair of pants. I didn't think that my dad was THAT much shorter than Matt! SO FUNNY, I LOVE IT!

(oh and please excuse the messy background, we have been experiencing a small tornado making it's way through the house....)

A really good day

Matt had a surprising amount of energy today, and we went on the LONGEST walk we have been on since 05'. We went over 3 miles! That is so far for Matt. The impressive thing too, is that he didn't have his walking poles but still kept a really good pace and maintained it the whole way. I am so proud of him! He was happy too, and we laughed and talked the whole way. It was one of our best days in a long time. Kaden rode in the pack and was so fun! He leaned from side to side and talked the WHOLE way. He pointed at things and it was like the whole ride was a new discovery for him. I LOVED carrying him the whole way (and wow, he is a lot heavier than he was last summer!). Ally the dog was so happy to get her exercise. We are watching her while my parents are gone. Kaden loves Ally and laughed at her cavorting through the snow.


We still have so much snow! It is melting really quickly though...I am so excited for summer.



As a result of Matt's injury, sometimes he tends to get very tired, lethargic, and apathetic. He sort of goes through phases and I am still trying to figure out if there is some sort of correlation with his activities, sleep, food, some sort of cycle with the moon...who knows! It can be quite baffling, really. He will find little bursts of energy here and there, but nothing really lasting. The last few weeks he has seemed that way off and on, but today he woke up with a different energy. I have missed his energetic, smiling, witty self. I felt like we connected with each other, like we haven't in a little while. Days like today, I notice huge strides and improvement in him, and am reminded that healing is still definitely taking place. I think that Heavenly Father sends me these little reminders when I start to get down, so I realize that we aren't forgotten. This cycle is not new...people close to Matt have noticed that he will go through a very slow, tired period of time, then all of a sudden he wakes up and we notice a big difference in him. It must take SO much energy to go through the healing process he goes through, so it makes sense why it would be this way. I have to remind myself of this and have patience and perseverance when things are tough and he is harder to reach. Days like today remind me of the "old" Matt and make all the other days totally worth while.

Beautiful Easter

We went to an Easter party at the church on Friday evening. It was so much fun watching all of the little kids scrambling to get the colorful eggs. It's a good thing they let the teeny kids go first. Kaden was SO happy with his eggs and got the hang of it in no time. When the rush of older kids came out and got all of the eggs he had a breakdown. His bottom lip went out and tears flowed...he was so sad that the eggs were all gone. It was quite pitiful...and funny. Now, he is having a great time hiding his eggs throughout the house. We always know where he has been by the trail of items in mysterious locations, placed with great care.

Saturday we went to a neighborhood party and he had a blast. He just loves other kids. Someone gave him some helium balloons, and it was the best discovery he has made thus far. He was the happiest boy alive with those flying objects. This picture is a little fuzzy, but with his cookie and balloons he couldn't be more pleased...and neither could I!

But, of course, we could never forget the true reason for this special holiday. Our savior Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed to have a testimony and knowlegde of his incredible sacrifice and resurrection.

This amazing artwork is by Simon Dewey. He is definitely one of my very favorite artists, and I love the light in this picture. Christ is the light, and the way. I know this to be true.