Happy 2nd birthday Mr. Caden! I can’t believe it has already been two years! You are so precious and we absolutely love spending time with you. I love your sweet little personality and goofy sense of humor.
- Caden’s language skills have really ramped up this month. He is using phrases and words in more complex ways and I regularly hear him say things that Kamy, Daddy, or I say. When I ask him “Do you want your blankets?” he replies with “yes, please” or “yes, ma’am.” He also says “See ah ater, ah-gador” when he’s riding on the ladybug or the blue motorcycle. One day Caden looked outside and said (totally unprompted) “It raining. Just a little bit!” That’s right Caden! He is also learning the ABCs song and can sing it with me and fill in the blank for the next few letters. He will finish the song with “Nesh time sing wit me …”
- One of my favorite phrases he uses is “Not too bad!” He tends to use it when we are eating at the table to see if something is too hot to eat. He’ll test it and say “Not too bad!” with this quirky north east accent. It sounds like “nyot too baaaad.” Too cute.
- It is hilarious to watch the kids play hide and seek. Caden understands the general idea and just loves to run around and find people. When it is his turn to count, he goes in the corner and “counts” something like this: “1 2 b d f g r s … ready here come!” So maybe we need to work on counting a little bit, but it sure is cute to watch him do it.
- Caden is a lot more naturally coordinated than Kamy is. He can climb into the truck on his own, climb into his car seat, and buckle the top buckle of his straps by himself. He also routinely climbs on top and down from his changing table. One morning I came in and found him sitting in his top drawer. His response was “Way up dere!” Caden loves to sit on Kamy’s bicycle and steer while you push him around the driveway. It is very fortunate that Caden has such natural coordination because it means he actually has a fighting chance to keep up with Kamy — and does pretty good!
- Daddy came up with a new nickname for Caden — Bop It! Whenever Daddy walks by he bops Caden on the head and says “Bop It!” Caden’s response is to pat himself on the head and say Bop It too. Super cute! Of course Kamy wants in on the action and so she’s become Twist It, though it isn’t used nearly as often.
- Caden has been doing awesome with the potty. He asks to sit on the potty every time we change his diaper and will use the potty two or three times per day. I am so proud of him and know it will be such a short time before he is ready for big boy undies. Where’d my little baby go?!
- Picking up responsibilities have become more evenly split between the kids. Instead of getting a free pass, Caden usually has to put away a couple of things that he pulled out — usually a puzzle, legos, and the blue motorcycle. Kamy is still responsible for picking up most of the toys laying around before dinner, but Caden has specific items that he has to take care of. He’s pretty good about getting up and doing it and has only been stubborn about it a couple of times.
We had a great time celebrating Caden’s birthday with family. We were blessed to get to see most of the family over several weeks.
- Our first stop was an afternoon out in Linden with Oma, Opa, Regine, Aunt Joan, and Uncle Mike at the end of September. It was such a treat to get together and we were able to celebrate Caden’s, Keller’s, and Regine’s birthdays. Caden’s favorite gift is the remote controlled car.
- Next we came into DFW to see Keller’s side of the family. We had a great birthday dinner at Min’s house and once again we celebrated several birthdays at once — Caden, Keller, and Payton all have fall birthdays. Grandmommy, Grandbobby were able to come and we were even able to see Garin and Jess before they left for Alabama. We were so glad to get to see everyone! Caden loves all the books he got here, plus the little blue motorcycle from Garin and Jess. It is so small! The balloons were a huge hit too.
- Lastly, we went over to Nana’s house to visit with Nana, Granpops, and Gina. Caden was ready for his cake! Granpops found Caden a blue motorcycle that IS big enough to ride and it is in constant use at home. It was a huge hit!
Happy birthday to the sweetest little toddler that I know. You bring so much joy and laughter into our lives and I cannot imagine our home without you. We love you!
