Caden's Car

I've been wanting more outdoor toys for Caden and have been on the lookout for sales/deals since returning from Korea in January. I've compiled quite a collection of cheap/roadside finds that I'm thrilled about, my most recent being a Cozy Coupe!

This thing was GROSS! Covered in wet leaves and dirt as if it had been sitting outside for a long, long time. That didn't stop me from picking it up! My brothers came by to help out and they pressure washed it and then bent the wheels back in place and lubed it up with a little WD 40.

It's practically brand new now except for the fact it's an older model and is already sun faded, all things I don't mind because I paid $0 for it! I am thrilled with it, but Caden is in love with it. He calls it "Caden's Car" and points to it when naming all the cars in the driveway (Nonnie's, Gaddy's, Mommy's, Daddy's, Uncles, and CADENS!).. It's precious. He also loves to get his man purse and put it in the truck while he drives around.

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Tractors

Caden loves the "tractors" (really just John Deere Lawn Mowers for my brothers lawn business) that are in the garage. He always points them out when we walk through the garage and often enjoys climbing on them to sit and pretend. Last week my dad took Caden on his first "Track-TOR" ride down the street and back and now Caden is obsessed. Oh, and he won't go unless he's wearing his "ear phones" as he calls them. :D

Hello Daddy...

Caden "talks" on the phone to his Daddy:



Obviously he didn't want to get off the phone... before I pulled out the camera he talked to him for probably about 4 or 5 minutes while I cooked dinner. He loves to talk on the phone, and uses the same gibberish when we're out shopping and someone pays attention to him. He'll go on and on and on just jabbering away to a total stranger. He's definitely a very social baby, but that kind of goes without saying! Haha!

Boots

Caden has a new found love of shoes. I change his shoes several times a day, and he changes his own a couple of times as well. These boots are among his favorites. Here he is modeling them with his PJs.

And the camera was still in my hand when this happened.... This is NOT the first time this has happened, it's been going on for a week or so. I keep thinking how funny it would be to capture a picture of it but never thought I would be able to. Caden adores my mom and dad's dog, Lucy (or as he calls her SeeSee). They are best buddies and spend the day following each other around and playing. Lucy is a licker, she loves to give kisses and Caden thinks the tongue thing is funny. Last week John and I were sitting on the couch and looked over and Caden was licking Lucy back.... ON HER TONGUE! Ick! A little phase I hope will pass soon, but it makes me laugh every time I see it!

Train... Choo.... Choo

I love the little pause Caden puts between the Choo Choo's. :) This week my mom and I took Caden down to Southerland Station (a little toy store that specializes in very unique stuff including lots of trains). He had a blast playing on the Thomas the Train Table and I was in shock at the expense of that stuff! Wow!

Fortunately for me Thomas the Train is 100% compatible with the old Brio Wooden Train set that belonged to my brothers and I when we were kids. So after the train store we took Caden home and pulled the old Brio set (now about 20 years old) out of the attic. It is Caden's favorite thing to play with and he wakes up asking for it and cries at night when we pull him away from it... We had a lot more track, but it was a bit overwhelming for Caden so we condensed it to something much smaller for now. He loves it!

A Week in Review

A few pictures from the past week....

It's lawn cutting season for my brothers, which means that at least 3 days a week we get to see them as they meet up at our parent's house to load the equipment. Caden loves when his "uncles" arrive and has started calling them by name instead of just "uncle."



The bluebirds hatched a few weeks ago and left the nest this week. Here is "Gaddy" and Caden laying out some worms for the "buds" (singularly it is now Bud-uh).


I wanted to snap a picture of Caden doing this and I finally got around to it. He's been doing this for months and it cracks me up every time. Boys can't just sit on the couch, they have to make everything a challenge.

Ah, yes, the final picture. Caden has started to pretend and play like a dog. He will sit at the windows and doors (on all fours) and pretend to bark with them and he loves to get down at the water bowl and pretend to drink. In this picture he was actually drinking the water -in the next shot I didn't post he was sitting up by the bowl, red-eyed, choking on the water after it went up his nose. Needless to say that was all the lesson he needed, he now just pretends to drink the water. :)

Wordless Wednesday: Popping Fountain Fun

Bubbles

One of Caden's latest obsessions is going outside to play with bubbles. I was quite surprised at how quickly he learned to do this. He loves them and asks for them everytime we're outside. Another favorite outdoor activity is eating popcicles (note the 'residue' on his face in the picture below). We're so excited that the warmer weather is here! Now if this rain would just go away!!

Easter...

Yes... these pictures do have a blue tint to them. Not sure what was up with the camera that day... too lazy to fix it. :)

This post, like most others these days it seems, is long overdue. Here are some pictures from our Easter weekend. On Saturday it was cold and dreary, but that didn't stop us from meeting some friends (and soon to be next door neighbors when the house is all finished) at the park for a little egg hunt with the kids. Caden's friend, Will, was born just 3.5 weeks after Caden and we love watching them play together because they are doing so much of the same stuff. They're such sweeties! We had about 40 eggs sprinkled on the ground for the boys to collect. Caden was instantly obsessed! He picked EVERY single egg up and put it in his basket. What a crack up!

Of course Will is looking at my camera and Caden is looking at Will's mom! Haha!

On Sunday morning we tried to snap a quick picture on the way out the door to church. We have shadows all over our faces, but it's at least a picture.

After church we headed up the mountain to my Nanna's house (Caden's "great-nanna"). We put Caden down for an afternoon nap while we enjoyed a delicious Easter dinner. Then we hid some camo eggs that I found at Walmart and had an adult Easter egg hunt. We had a good time and got pretty creative with our hiding places. It wasn't long after that that Caden woke up and we brought him down to the yard for an egg hunt of his very own. He just stood there staring blankly for a while, still in a sleepy daze. This day we hid little gerber puffs in each egg so he had fun collecting them and eating the little treat inside each one.

"Cheese"

Why do we all do it? We ask our kids to say "cheese!"-

I hate it becaue you always get the silliest looking smiles, but out of habit I've found myself saying the dreaded word! And what exactly does it produce? Exactly what I ask for: a cheesy smile.

Oh, and about the outfit. This was one of the outfits my mom MADE my brother when we was little. We were trying it on one day (along with the 90's inspired baseball cap we also found in the bin of old clothes)...

Baseball

My Dad (Gaddy/Grandaddy, whatever his name is!) was a coach my whole life. A great coach actually. He coached basketball, football, and of course baseball! My dad has retired from coaching now, but still loves the game. He often attends the local games (for the high school team for which he coached for YEARS- my whole life really).

I have so many memories of my dad and my family that revolve around baseball that I get very nostalgic when I think about it. I spent most of my younger years at Grissom High School baseball games OR at my brothers many little league games. I usually didn't pay much attention to the game, but I loved being there. And although I'm not athletic at all, I think baseball is in my blood. Yes, I know that's a weird thing to say considering I can't even sit through a whole game without getting antsy or bored! I hope with all my heart that my son will grow up to love the game as well. And I know that if his uncles or his Grandaddy have anything to do with it, he will play the game well, too!

A few weekends ago the high school held an "old timers" game for former players. Since my dad is basically the only former coach for the school he also came back to coach and had a great time! John, Caden, and I came by to show our support and love and Grandaddy was more than thrilled to show off his little boy and to take him out on the field... I thought these were such sweet pictures... although just snap shots... I really love them. :)