Country Girl Turned City Mom

I think every mom wants to give her child the best growing up experience possible.  Lately, I've been thinking a lot about what that means.  Part of that has included reflecting on my own childhood and the treasures that made it special--that is to say, the series of positive learning moments that shaped me into the adult I have become.  One night, I had a deep discussion with Chad about the thoughts spinning around in my head, and my heart was kind of sad when I was struck with a huge realization:  Kaden can't have the childhood I had.

I was not raised as a farm girl, as my dad is not a farmer, but I was definitely raised as a country girl.  There is a distinct difference between the two, and I in no way want to come across as a poser by giving a false impression of my childhood and adolescence.  Having said that, there is a certain degree of childhood freedom that one obtains from growing up surrounded by fields of wheat, corn, and potatoes, instead of next-door neighbors, regardless of whether or not your dad's job description includes driving a combine (something my dad definitely knew how to do, even if it wasn't his official profession).

And that's where my heart starts to ache for Kaden, just a little bit.  Some of my best memories of my childhood involve me being completely unchaperoned for hours at a time, whilst I rode my bicycle over miles of dirt roads; collected pollywogs from ditches in mason jars; and watched dust devils whirl, listening to the hum of the wind that constantly raged in Moses Lake, Washington.

Knowing Kaden is going to grow up a city kid has left me with questions . . .  

For example, how is he going to learn to swim, without going to Lybbert's Pond every summer?  Don't get me wrong . . . I took swimming lessons in a public pool of the chlorinated variety, but I don't have fond memories of those.  What I remember from my swimming instruction at McCosh Park is an obese, red-headed woman screaming at me and  my peers, trying to get us to float with our faces in the water, while she recited some kind of rhyme about us pretending to be starfish.  I was a sensitive child.  I didn't respond well to her teaching style.  That's why I spent most of the lessons clinging to the side of the pool in pure fear.  My memories of Lybbert's Pond are a bit friendlier:  Basking in the sun while floating on a wooden raft (the same one my friend Callie taught me to dive from when we were in Junior High), belly flopping off the notorious rope swing, and watching my mom and Brenda Goodrich back float together, laughing.

How is he going to learn to be independent and responsible, without raising sheep for 4-H?  Sure, I only did this for a couple of years, but getting up at 5 a.m. to feed those suckers?  That's the groundwork for responsibility, folks!  I just don't know if a golden retriever that sleeps in the house can accomplish the same thing . . . just sayin'.

How is he going to know where our food comes from?  Chad and I watched an episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution once, where an entire class full of elementary school kids didn't know what a potato was.  A POTATO, people!  They knew what a french fry was, but they had not an inkling of the reality that one came from the other.  "How preposterous!"  I exclaimed.  But now . . . I'm starting to wonder.  Sure, Kaden will know what a potato is . . . but will he know where it comes from?  Or will he think it grows in one of the shiny, labeled plastic sacks that we buy at the grocery store?

And how is Kaden going to learn to bake without Bonnie Byington teaching him to level ingredients?  She was my first cooking teacher, other than my mom and grandmas.  Brenda Goodrich was my second.  We all know that a cooking teacher other than a mom is essential, and I had the cream of the crop.  Even though I sabotaged her experiment regarding whether a made from scratch or store-bought pancake mix would taste better (by pouring pickle juice into the store-bought batter--with the assistance of her two granddaughters . . . Poor Sister Byington).     

Don't get me wrong.  I am in no way suggesting I have a desire to relocate to Smallville, USA.  I kind of always knew I would live in a bigger place someday.  I happen to be quite content five minutes from a mall.  From a museum.  From a grocery store that sells fancy, shmancy foodie-items that make me feel like a gourmet chef.  The sad truth is that the world has changed, even in the short time it took me to grow up, and it's likely that even if we lived in a tiny speck of a town on the eastern side of the mountains in Washington State, Kaden wouldn't have the exact same childhood I did.  I think that's where most of the sadness comes from--knowing there is so much more to fear in the world today. 

And so I take him to countless parks.  I push him in the jogging stroller on greenways, where for a minute or two we feel like we're all alone in the woods.

I take him to the pool in our apartment complex and watch him splash like a fish in the chlorine-scented abyss, his head bobbing above water, his arms banded with polka-dotted water wings.

I sing, "Clean up! Clean up! Everybody every where!  Clean up!  Clean up!  Everybody do their share!" while he helps me put away his toy trucks, his plastic fruit, his mountains of picture books.  I take a deep breath and try to be patient while he insists on putting his shoes on all by himself, even though they end up on the wrong feet half of the time.  His exclamation of, "I DID IT!" making me think he is learning independence, a little at a time.

I take Kaden to the farmer's market and point out all of the delectable treats we get to enjoy because someone grows them for us to buy.

I let him stand on a five gallon bucket in my kitchen to watch while I sift the whole-wheat flour to make chocolate-chip banana muffins.

And I take him to do things that I didn't get to do as much of as a kid, because I lived in a different place:

We go to an art festival downtown and look at sculptures, pottery, photographs, and paintings.

We go to the science museum and look up at the skeleton of a whale. 

We go to story time and dance while Mr. Eric plays his crazy songs on the guitar.  The songs he writes just for the tiny visitors of the Cameron Village Library.

We go to the beach and listen to the waves crashing against the shore.

And suddenly, my heart doesn't feel quite as sad, even though I still wish we lived in a safer, simpler world, where I could trust strangers just a little bit more.

Father's Day Weekend

What a great Father's Day weekend we had.  The weather here in North Carolina has been especially beautiful lately.  Usually by mid June I am hibernating in some dark, air-conditioned corner, trying to forget the sweltering humidity outside.  This year has been different.  We always have a beautiful spring, but this has been an especially long one, and I am loving it!

We went to Kinston to spend the weekend, so we could celebrate Father's Day with family.  On Saturday we went out to eat Indian food in Greenville for a belated celebration of Chad's 30th birthday.  (Yes, I did say 30th!)  The food was super yummy and we had a great time laughing and being together as a family.  Nana and Papa were even adventurous enough to try Indian cuisine, and they both said they surprisingly liked it.  (Although, Papa did keep wondering aloud why we couldn't just go to Chili's.)  The culminating moment of the birthday celebration was definitely devouring Joy's homemade carrot cake, which is sinfully delicious.  I think she should open a bakery that only serves carrot cake.  I know it would be a huge hit.     

Sunday morning we went to church, and Chad went to nursery with Kaden (even though it was Father's Day) so I could go to Relief Society, which was a real treat for me.  Kaden usually screams unless I go to nursery with him, so it was pretty awesome.

Then we came home and had a fabulous steak dinner to honor all of the fathers present.  And we had some more carrot cake. 

I got to talk with my grandpa and dad on the phone, since they live too far away for me to wish them a happy Father's Day in person.

Gigi entertained Kaden by letting him help her water the flowers outside, while we packed.  What started out as watering the flowers, ended up as watering Kaden.  He had the best time running through the spray from the garden hose:

We got Kaden all dried off and into some warm PJ's, and then we hit the road.  Just outside of Snow Hill we almost hit a deer, at which point we realized Kaden's car seat wasn't buckled in and felt like terrible parents.  Seriously.  After Chad swerved to miss the deer, we turned around to check on him, and he was completely sideways, staring at us with this look that seemed to say, "What's going on here, guys?"  Luckily, we didn't hit the deer (thanks to Chad's mad driving skills), so disaster was averted.  We pulled over, fixed the car seat issue, and felt so grateful we were all OK.

Chad and I have talked many times about what great dads we are blessed with, and we talked about that again on our car trip home Sunday night.  Our dads are very different, but they are both wonderful fathers.  I am so thankful for my dad and the influence for good he has been in my life.  Likewise, I am thankful for my father-in-law and the wonderful man he is.  I know it is because of his dad's example, that Chad is such an amazing daddy to our little boy.  Here are Chad and Kaden together on Father's Day: (Kaden is wearing a Sunday outfit that Chad wore as a little boy.  I'm sentimental, so I think that's pretty much the cutest thing ever.)     

I'm so glad we have a day to honor the wonderful fathers in our lives.  In a world where family values seem to be deteriorating, it's so nice to honor the men who live up to the definition of dad. 

Traumatizing Your Toddler, 101

Today, Kaden and I met Chad for lunch in North Raleigh.  I think we were trying to compensate for the disaster of yesterday, when I traumatized him.  Here's a sampling of one of our morning conversations:

Me:  "OK, Kaden, let's get you dressed.  We're going to go to the park, and then we're going to the store, and then we get to have lunch with Daddy!"

Kaden:  "Daaaa-eeee!"

Me:  "That's right!  Do you want to have lunch with Daddy?"

Kaden:  "Yup."

Me:  "OK.  Say, First Park."

Kaden:  "Firs Pawk."

Me:  "Second Store."

Kaden:  "Stow."

Me:  "Third Daddy!"

Kaden:  "Daaaa-eeee!"

We had similar conversations all morning.  It's how we avoided a meltdown when leaving the park (Me:  "Remember?  We're going to the store, and then we get to see Daddy!"), it's how I consoled him when I buckled him into his car seat an extra time, when the first store didn't have what we needed,  and it's why he was waiting at the door after we got home from Target, anxiously watching the door knob, waiting for Chad to walk inside for leftover roast and mashed potatoes.  Then Chad called, and it turns out he couldn't come home after all.  Devastation.  Kaden handled the news surprisingly well, but when he went down for his nap, he kept saying, "Daaa-ee, Daaa-ee," in the saddest voice imaginable.  So I told him, "It's OK.  Daddy, wanted to come home, but he couldn't.  But when he comes home from work we can go to the BEACH!  Won't that be fun?!"  Kaden thinks the swimming pool in our apartment complex is the beach, which I don't really get, since there is no sand, nor are there waves, and he has experienced both.  Anyway, my promise of the beach appeased him, and he lay down and cuddled his stuffed elephant, with a whisper of "Beach, wan go beach!"

When Chad came home, Kaden screamed, "BEACH!" as soon as he saw him.  So, we put him in his shark swim trunks and polka dot water wings,  and headed to the pool.  And the gate was locked.  Devastation number two.  We felt so bad.  It was clear Kaden had no idea what was going on.  All he knew was he could see the pool, and we weren't opening the gate so he could go jump in.  It was heart wrenching. 

We quickly promised we would do something else fun instead, and so we drove to Lake Johnson to let him feed the ducks.  We let him stay in his swimming suit, since it wasn't worth the battle to change his clothes. 

This turned out to be very creepy.  Usually we go feed the ducks at a park in Cary.  It turns out the ducks and geese of Lake Johnson are a bit more aggressive . . . and terrifying.  I think so at least.  Have you seen Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds?  Well, I have.  One piece of bread was tossed to a single bird and then next thing you knew, we were being swarmed. 

Here's a video of our encounter:

Look at the proximity of that goose to my son.  And it's bigger than he is! 

 Kaden wasn't sure what to think.

 This is after I moved Kaden and myself from the "bread circle."  That goose was just getting too close for comfort.  I was picturing us as a feature on the nightly news.  I could literally read tomorrow's headlines in my mind:  "Idiotic Parents Risk Toddler's Safety in Local Park.  Parental Rights Now in Question."

 Chad, taking it all in stride, while I freak out.

 Kaden, explaining what he is seeing.  I agree, Kaden, totally and completely creepy!

 Well, maybe a little bit funny, too.

Anyway, today, we took him to Qdoba for the early bird special.  He got to eat an entire side of black beans.  Success.   

Also, here's  a video of Kaden on the way home from Lake Johnson, saying one of our favorite lines.  We say this all the time lately, whenever we're getting ready to go somewhere or do something.  It's stolen from this moment in Ratatouille, which happens to be one of my all-time favorite Pixar movies. 

I think Kaden's rendition is, in a word, awesome.

Southern Baby Boys . . .

Look different in their Sunday best than baby boys on the west coast.  Kaden, being a hybrid of two cultures, can rock both looks--a sweater vest and tie is his nod to his North West roots, while a smocked John-John is his way of embracing our current ties to the South.  Honestly, I love both styles, even though I know not everyone feels the same way (I do, however, draw the line somewhere.  The puffy pants are an absolute no).  Sadly, Chad (who claims I am more Southern than he is, despite the state of my birth) has deemed that this is Kaden's last John-John.  We shall see . . .

I wanted to get some portraits of Kaden in quintessential Southern dress, so we stopped on our last road trip to Kinston and snapped these of him in some wild flowers that were growing along the freeway.  Yes, wildflowers like this grow along the freeways where I live.  It's a rough life, but somebody's got to live it.

What do you think about baby boys' dress clothes?  What should a baby boy wear when he needs to look his most handsome?

Inspiring

I just finished the most wonderful book.

I had seen this video before, and when I heard Stephanie Nielson had written a memoir, I was interested in reading her story.   

Heaven is Here was deeply moving.  I laughed.  I cried.  I learned a lot about myself and the kind of person I want to be, particularly the kind of mother I want to be. 

Something she writes in the epilogue particularly struck me:

"I know, now, without a doubt that the true source of happiness, self-worth, and authentic beauty doesn't come from the outside.  Women are constantly persuaded to want something unachievable, to look younger or thinner and above all to fit in because being different is too painful and embarrassing.  I have accepted myself in a world that does not accept me, because I have learned--and more than any of the lessons of my accident, this is the one I wish I could teach everybody--that our hearts matter most.  Your heart matters most, so be gentler and more patient with yourself, and their hearts matter most, too, so be kinder and more compassionate to others.  It's a beautiful heart, not a perfect body, that leads to a beautiful life."

Here's to being more gentle, patient, kind, and compassionate.

You should go read it.  Really.

Scandalous

Dear Next Door Neighbors,

I wonder if you might consider moving your headboard a few more inches from the wall.  Or, if it's not too much trouble, perhaps you could move your bed to the other side of the room.  If that's not possible, perhaps save your romantic rumpus for a normal time of day.

Sincerely,

One Who is Tired of Being Awoken in the Middle of the Night and in the Wee Hours of the Morning



Did I mention I'm ready to buy a house???

Two Nights Ruined Me

Last weekend, Chad and I went to walk as a part of Team Brenda in the Walk to Defeat ALS in Greenville.  I taught with Ms. Brenda at North Lenoir and I adore her.  She's the reason I got my teaching job when we moved to North Carolina.  Without her putting in a kind word for me with the principal, I never would have gotten an interview.  My application was sitting in a drawer at the county office.  (I know, because I had to redo it after he decided to hire me.  They couldn't find it anywhere!)  Ms. Brenda is the kind of woman who says just what she thinks, and she can get away with it, because everyone loves her.  She can tell a high school girl she's dressed like a street walker and the girl will still walk away loving her.  She was a phenomenal teacher and she is an inspiring person.  I hope that as they continue to research this terrible disease, they can find a cure. 

Kaden came with us, too.  We drove to Kinston on Friday night, so we wouldn't have to drive as far on Saturday morning.  He woke up at 4 a.m., and he was in a killer good mood.  He did surprisingly well.  He made it through the entire walk, but he started to get pretty whiny while we were waiting for the closing ceremony to start.  We had to leave early, but I am so glad we went.  I hope Ms. Brenda knows how many people love her!

We were going to drive back to Raleigh on Saturday afternoon, but we decided to make a weekend out of it and stay instead.  Chad's parents were on vacation (in LONDON and PARIS!  My heart was bleeding with envy!).  We had the best time!  It seriously felt like we were on a mini-vacation.  On Saturday we lazed about and watched HGTV pretty much all day long.  Home improvement and house hunting shows were on a continuous circuit.  We were inspired with so many project ideas for our future house, so we felt justified in our constant lounging.  We all went outside and Kaden played shoot ball and splashed in puddles, while Chad and I washed and vacuumed the car.  It had long been needing a cleansing from the layer of cheerios and goldfish embedded in the upholstery.  Then, Chad and I had a date night after Kaden went to bed.  Chad built a fire in the fire pit, we roasted marshmallows, and made s'mores.  There was a huge rainstorm that night, so it made it even more fun being cozy by the fire on the back porch, listening to the rain fall.  On Sunday, I raided my sister-in-law's closet for church clothes (something I wish I could do EVERY day of my life.  Have you seen her wardrobe?  Gorgeous.  And her jewelry armoire?  Be still my heart).  Luckily, she is loving enough to really mean it when she says, "My closet is your closet."  I went through the attic and found one of Chad's/Chad's brother's outfits from when they were little for Kaden to wear, and we were golden for sacrament meeting.  Then, we came home and relaxed.  I experimented with Pinterest recipes, and then we all welcomed Joy and Bruce back from Europe around six in the evening.  It was fun to have a visit with them, and then we zipped back to Cary, NC, Lady and the Tramp entertaining Kaden on the portable DVD player all the way home.    

Here's the only bad thing about this trip:  we slept on my in-law's mattress.  Joycious and Brucious recently got a new mattress, and it has been getting rave reviews.  Well, let me tell you something:  On Saturday morning, I was awakened at an hour of death by a crying toddler.  We tried to bring him in bed with us, which was an absolute joke.  Friday night's sleep could have been great, had it not been so rudely interrupted.  On Sunday, Kaden slept in until after eight, and oh, my.  As I told Chad, previous to this, I thought the best sleep of my life had been in the hospital when they gave me Ambien.  I was wrong.  I spoke too soon.  I had no yet experienced a truly blissful sleep.  AMAZING.  I should be a part of the ad campaign for the mattress company.  Why was this lovely night's sleep a bad thing?  My sleep upon returning to our own mattress has been somewhat torturous.  Tossing.  Turning.  Dreaming of the king-sized phenomenon I experienced days before.  I am, in a word, ruined.

I realized I am thankful for a lot of things this weekend.  Watching all of those home improvement shows with Chad made me realize that I am thankful we can see potential in things.  If we couldn't, we'd be in a serious fix while house hunting.  Spending so much quality time with Chad and Kaden made me realize I am so thankful we are a happy family.  We are not a perfect family, by any means, but we are happy, and I love that.  I am so thankful I married such a patient, kind man.  I am so thankful he is still my best friend, that we still have as much fun talking and laughing together as we did when we were dating.  Staying in my in-laws house made me realize I am thankful for them.  How many people would feel comfortable crashing at their in-law's house while they are away?  Some of you are probably reading this post and thinking it's a little strange that we slept in their bed.  (We did change the sheets, and tell them, by the way, lest you think we are completely inconsiderate.)  The thing is they are so incredibly hospitable.  It's amazing.  I am so thankful that I feel so at home with them.

We are going to Kinston this weekend, too, to spend Mother's Day with the family.  Sadly, the bed of my dreams will be taken.          

A List and Photo Overload

I am so behind in the blogging realm.  Kaden is rapidly approaching 21 months.  I didn't even blog about his 18 month stats.  Mom fail?  I think so.

Kaden's 18 Month Stats:

Weight - 26 pounds, 6 ounces (57th percentile)

Height - 33 1/2 inches (82nd percentile)

Head Circumference - 49 centimeters (81st percentile)

A lot of people are really surprised when I tell them how old he is.  A reaction I get a lot is, "He's a big boy!"  He's only in the 82nd percentile for height, but he is a lot taller than a lot of kids his age at church, library story time, the park, etc.  I don't know, kind of random.  I don't think he's a giant by any means, but that's just the reaction we get from other people.  

It is over 90 degrees today.  It's too hot to think about writing a million blog posts.  So, I am going to write one instead.  One, long, catch-up-so-I-feel-less-guilty post.

First, a list about what Kaden is like these days:

-His vocabulary has really expanded.  Seriously, I have not done him justice by failing to record all of the words he has been learning.  At the same time, he seems to learn a new word or two every day, so recording each one seems kind of obsolete.  Chad and I are constantly looking at each other and saying, “When did he learn that word?”  Some of the most recent ones he has surprised me with have been rainbow, bull, and goat.  He is doing great with his colors and can identify and name them very well.  He has a hard time saying “red” for some reason, and he gets orange and yellow confused sometimes.  I love it when he says purple; it sounds more like “burble.”  Even though he knows a ton of words, we still have moments of frustration when he is clearly trying to tell us something, and we have no idea what he’s saying. 

-His favorite foods right now are BY FAR black beans and peaches.  Seriously, he LOVES beans.  Sometimes we can trick him into eating other things that are the shape of a bean.  A funny story:  Kaden went to a birthday party for a little girl in Kinston the weekend we were moving.  My friend Stephanie was nice enough to watch him for the day, and she took him.  She said he didn’t eat any cake, but he kept begging for beans.  Hilarious!  Sadly, he has become a MUCH pickier eater.  It’s devastating.  It’s hard to get him to try things.  He has to make the decision to try it on his own, and it’s so funny because nine times out of ten he ends up liking whatever he adamantly insisted he didn’t want.  As picky as he is, he still likes a lot of random food.  He will still go to town on some Indian cuisine.   

--Occasionally has night terrors during nap time.  This happens very rarely, mainly if he's gotten too overtired before his nap, or if he wakes up before he's had a complete nap.  We talked to the doctor about this at his 18 month check up.  Basically, when he wakes up he's not fully awake.  He has no idea what's going on, and he's pretty much inconsolable.  It's so hard to watch, because there's not a lot you can do to calm him.  I usually just hold him close and sing him a song until he comes out of it.  The first time it happened it scared Chad and I to death.  We had no idea what was wrong.  The doctor said he will grow out of it eventually, and I'm thankful that when this does happen it happens during the day, instead of the middle of the night.  

-He is a champ at putting together puzzles and loves doing this.  He can even put together the puzzles that don’t have the pictures of the objects behind the pieces. 

-Has mastered his shape sorter (he did this quite a while ago, but again, I’m seriously behind in recording things).  He was so precious when he first learned to do this.  He would clap for himself after dropping every shape into the bucket, then look at us for applause, too.

-Is extremely anti-social.  He was going to nursery without us with no problem.  Not so much anymore.  We’ve gone to nursery with him for the last three Sundays.  We’ve tried leaving him, but he’s stubborn.  The poor leaders.  And he is terrible at sharing.  I told Chad that I think Kaden is rapidly becoming “that kid.”  The one that the leaders go home and talk about after church.  At the park, Kaden honestly thinks that all the toys are his:  the slide, the sandbox, you name it.  He’ll be at the top of the slide, and a kid will start climbing up the stairs to slide after him, and Kaden will loudly profess, “No, no, no!”  We are working on it, but it’s hard when he has no siblings he has to share with at home.  Hopefully this is just a phase.  It did make me feel TONS better when I witnessed a little girl about his age do the exact same thing at the park today. 

-Is showing interest in letters, but not numbers.  He is in love with an alphabet puzzle that we inherited from the Howards, and we read a lot of alphabet books (per his request).  When we were reading, I noticed he could say some of the letters without being told what they were, so I got him alphabet flashcards at the dollar store just for fun.  He thinks it’s the best game ever.  He only knows A (sometimes), B, H, E, O, T, and I, but it’s pretty adorable when you hold up a card and he belts out what the letter is.  The rest of the letters he just practices saying after I tell him what they are.  As for the numbers, I’ve even tried enticing him with Sesame Street video clips, but he won’t say them.  The only number we hear is two.  From the top of the slide:  “Two, two, two!”  I’m an English teacher, so his love for the alphabet superceding his love for numerals doesn’t offend me in the slightest. 

-Went through an awful phase of abhorring the bathtub.  This was truly awful.  It took Chad and I together to bathe him, while he refused to sit in the tub, and screamed bloody murder the entire time.  We tried everything to break him.  Chad got in the tub in his swim trunks and splashed around, so Kaden could see how fun it is.  We attempted giving him a shower instead of a bath . . . disastrous.  We brought bubbles into the bathroom.  Nothing worked.  One night, while I was getting him ready for his bath I was talking to him about how I knew he was scared, but I knew he could be brave.  “Can you be a brave boy and try to take a bath nicely for Mommy?”  “Yes.”  Seriously?  Wow.  Not the answer I was expecting, since he’s screamed, “No, no, no!” every time we’d previously had this pep talk.  I was skeptical.  He still cried, but he walked upstairs to the bathroom instead of me having to carry him kicking and screaming.  That night he was eventually coaxed into sitting down in the tub, and by the end of his bath he was splashing like a little fish, having a great time.  It’s still hard to convince him to take a bath at times, but once in, he always loves it now.  I have no idea what triggered this, but I’m glad it’s over. 

-Has become attached to his stuffed elephant, Ollie, and his pillow pet, Cougar.  He still sleeps with Tip Top in his crib, too, for every nap and at night, but Tip Top now has the company of the additional stuffed animal friends.  Ollie is usually the friend who comes with us to the grocery store, the park, etc.  It’s so cute to hear Kaden say, “Aw-yeee!” and then give his buddy a huge hug once they are reunited following a separation. 

-Loves the free balloons at Harris Teeter.  Have I mentioned I love Harris Teeter?  I love that store.  They double coupons every day up to 99 cents, and they have the best customer service.  AND they have samples scattered throughout the deli and produce departments.  I’m a huge fan.  But really, they had me at the free balloons.    

- Can jump and loves it.

- Kneels down and folds his arms for family prayer each night.  He also folds his arms for prayer at mealtimes.  We're still working on closing his eyes and bowing his head.  When you tell him to close his eyes he points to his eyes, then folds his arms again.  

- Loves to wrestle with Daddy and walk all over him while Chad lies on the floor. 

- Likes to do backflips (with the assistance of a parent or other willing adult, of course).

-Is still obsessed with anything resembling a ball that can be kicked, thrown, or caught.  He’s getting much better at catching.  He loves to throw his Harris Teeter balloons in the air (after they lose their ability to float) and catch them before they fall. 

-Has become quite the mommy’s boy now that I am home full-time.  This may be part of the reason we have separation-anxiety during nursery at church.  When Chad comes home from work, Kaden frequently runs to me crying (I don’t know if he thinks I am going to leave, since Chad is home?) then after about 30 seconds, he becomes Chad’s shadow.  I went out to eat dinner with a friend about a week ago, and Chad said Kaden screamed at the front door for a full 30 minutes after I left.  I am just going to enjoy his attachment to me while it lasts, since it means lots of hugs, kisses, and snuggles,  and he’s not likely to feel so strongly about me for the rest of his existence.  I figure I can build up a reserve now.  I’m hoping this gets a little better by August, since we will be leaving him for a week with my parents while we go on vacation with Chad’s family.  I pity them, should the situation not improve. 

-Still loves a paci.  He calls his pacifiers "bibis" and he has to sleep with at least three.  He also likes to carry around multiple pacifiers during the day.  I know we need to break him of this habit, but with the move, and now with the prospect of another move in the next few months, I just can't bring myself to do it.  I figure we'll wait until sometime after his second birthday.  The plan is to wean him down to one paci, then eventually to none.  We were doing a great job about keeping the pacis in the crib during the day.  He was only using them for nap and night time, but alas, the move pretty much put a kibosh on that.  Also, I love my parents enough to know we should wait until after we get back from our cruise.  Leaving them with an upset baby and no paci would be hateful.  

-Would be a movie junkie, if we allowed it.  He LOVES watching Pixar movies, and lately he's branched into classic Disney.  Gigi and Poppy gave him Lady and the Tramp for Easter and he's obsessed.  He asks to watch "Doggies" and points to where the portable DVD player is multiple times a day, while woofing, to get his point across.  Honestly, I was kind of surprised.  I want to own all the Disney films, just because they're classics, but I didn't expect this one to be his favorite.  We're pretty strict about his TV consumption, much to his chagrin.  There is a strict one-viewing a day maximum policy, so there's usual a meltdown when the movie ends.  He's already worn out the copy of Lady and the Tramp and it won't work half the time.  Luckily, we also have a blu-ray copy that he can watch once we move and have our TV and DVD player again.   

And now, for photo overload:

We were back and forth from Kinston to Raleigh a LOT in the process of selling our house.  We had to do repairs to appease the buyer, plus we had to pack up all of our junk.  Here is Kaden, after arriving at Gigi and Poppy's on one such trip.  We'd just spent two hours in the car, and as soon as he ran in, he spotted her Easter decorations.  He had to give the bunnies loves.  

 Here is Kaden, dapper lad that he is, one Sunday we were in K-town.

Here he is on the porch swing with Uncle Tyler and Daddy:

This is what my kitchen  cabinets look like 90% of the time.  I know you find this shocking, but I did not choose to organize them like this.  Kaden rearranges everything in the lower cabinets while he "helps" me cook dinner.  I was reorganizing them constantly, until I suddenly realized, there was no point.  So, I let them stay like this until I go stark raving mad from the chaos.  Then I reorganize them, and the madness starts over. 

 Here is Kaden on his first Easter egg hunt.  A girl from Church organized it.  Everyone brought eggs, and we let the kids go wild.  Kaden would tell me the color of each egg before plunking it in his basket.  He would also shake each one.  He didn't know there was candy inside, so luckily we avoided the sugar rush that could have followed.  Well . . . the sugar rush was avoided by him, at least. 

 Here is Kaden, helping me sweep the floor, after the egg hunt:

 My brother recently reported to North Carolina for military service.  My dad helped him drive across country, so they were with us for Easter Sunday.  Here we all are, before church.  Sadly, we don't have any individual pictures of Kaden in his southern-gentleman attire.

 We thought it would be fun to let Kaden go on another Easter egg hunt on Easter Sunday.  Gigi hid all of the empty eggs, but after Kaden shook a few, and heard no evidence of goods inside, he was no longer interested.  (Side note:  I really did wash his shirt in between egg hunts.  So random that he is wearing the same outfit in these pictures.)

 I love this picture.  Kaden was fascinated, watching Daddy and Poppy toss a football back and forth.

 Kicking a little shoot ball. 

 Fun with Uncle Tyler:

 Eating his favorite food, black beans:

 

We took Kaden to the park to get some portraits of him, but he wasn't interested.  We ended up just documenting a play day instead.

 As you can tell, he was in a killer good mood.

 There may have been other kids on the slide.  Not a happy camper about that. 

 I love my child's mouth.  It's just one of the cutest things about him.

 Getting ready to slide.

 Kaden, sporting my pink high heels one morning.  I love that he's kicking a soccer ball while wearing these.

 And that in this one he's surrounded by a pile of trucks.

 It's pretty impressive that he can actually walk in these things. 

 Kaden, in his jammies (tackled puzzles in the background):

 Here's a photo of me with my niece Adeline.  When I coaxed her to sleep, and I felt the weight of her sleeping head on my arm, my ovaries might have started screaming.  Just a little bit.  She is absolutely precious, and it was fun to have her and her parents with us for a couple of days.  Bryan's wife flew out to spend some time with him in NC for a month.  Kaden did much better with Addy this time around.  Even after she left, when he woke up in the morning, he got this serious look on his face, put his finger to his lips, and said, "Shhhhhhhh . . . Baby seeping."  It was, in a word, precious.  He definitely isn't ready to be her number one fan, but he was more curious about her this time.  He also loved playing with her toys, in a lot less gentle way than she plays with them.  We had to keep reminding him to be soft and that babies are fragile.  Definitely wouldn't leave him alone with a newborn any time soon, but this was a huge improvement.  I'm still terrified of how he's going to react when he is no longer the only child some day. 

 This is Kaden and I cuddling during Lady and the Tramp after he woke up ridiculously early one day.  I look smashing, but I asked Chad to snap a quick shot before he left for work, because I wanted to remember the moment.

I feel the guilt oozing away.  At least I am closer to being caught up.