*letter to kaden*

~Daddy and his mini me.

dear kaden,

today you turned three years old (ok, actually a week ago, but i accidentally deleted the post where i wrote you on your actual bday, so this is a wee bit late). another candle on the cake and another year of adventures and memories to look forward to! you are such a sweet, bright and hilarious little boy. i feel so blessed to be your mommy!

you had mixed feelings about turning three, and argued that you wanted to stay two a bit longer. i also could have enjoyed you at two a wee bit longer, i enjoyed all of those beautiful and crazy moments, that some people refer to as the "terrible twos". they definitely were not even close to terrible. we learned so much about each other, we took deep breaths, and we learned to be a bit more patient and present. this past year has gone too fast, but I suppose that will be a recurring theme in your childhood.

i know I say this all the time (and i don't think i will be stopping anytime soon) but you are a complete and utter joy to know. your laugh and your smile, and basically your entire energy for life is contagious and felt by every person you meet. i know you are going to grow up to be an amazingly talented and creative soul, and incredibly kind and i know you will find joy in the simple things in life. mommy and daddy could not be more proud of you. thank you for all the joy you bring us, you are truly one of a kind.

happy birthday my sweet little nugget.
i love you,
your mommy.


some of your faves.

song *you have too many to list, but the ones that stand out are ol dan tucker, sneaky snake, and gonna paint the town by the stanley brothers.

word *poop or poopy doopy.

food *spaghetti and meatballs. or a wetzel pretzel...you could eat those three times a day.

book *knuffle bunny is a definite fave, although you also adore the photo book that uncle tobe made for mommy from our roch-cha-cha trip. your new love is the happy birthday to you book by dr seuss because you love that it says "poop deck" at the end.

thing to do. go to "purple mountain park" aka Central Park. you would live there if you could. picnic is not optional. must.have.picnic. or the zoo...we could go to the zoo 365 days a year and love every second of it.


~Daddy's new electric blue hair.


~hot cocoa smile.


~loving his new bday gift from Poppy and LaLa!


~cozying up with his bday gifts from uncle tobe and aunt kerry.




~helpin mama cook chili. he chose shades so his eyes wouldn't water from the onions! smart boy!

and I thought I might post a video of daddy rockin out at his first gig with MOMMA! so proud of him!

Happy 15 Months Kaden!

Dear Kaden,

As Mommy loves to say to you, "How big is Kaden"....and your arms shoot straight up in the air, you are SOOOOOO BIG! I say it every month, but it is amazing to see you grow, and to grow so FAST! It seems more apparent with each passing day that you are no longer a baby. Last month you took a few little steps, and then you went back to crawling instantly. It was like you were completely not interested in the whole walking thing at all! I really think you were storing up some energy knowing that once you started, you would not stop. And that is exactly what happened! You took off and just kept on going! At first you would walk while flapping your hands at the same time, like a little bird. Now you are a multi-tasker and you can drink water, bounce a ball, and even attack the cats.

You make friends wherever you go....people just love to be around you. You love your independence but you absolutely love to make others laugh. You are super affectionate and love to give hugs and blow kisses. Lately, I've even noticed you are starting to get in touch with your imagination! Today you fed me some soup with a sandbox shovel and bucket. You looked so proud! You also love to point out where your nose is, and once in a while other noses too. You absolutely love to have your feet rubbed, (just like your mama)and it is one of the few ways that I can soothe you on an annoying car ride, besides a really animated version of Old McDonald of course. You have about 10 teeth now and 2 are humungous molars that are fiercely trying to cut through your poor little gums. You are such a tough cookie. You let us know when it is bothering you, and then seconds later you are giggling that fabulous little giggle of yours!

Your favorite toys are big boy toys....those would be daddy's guitar, daddy's bass and some of daddy's drums that he brought home for the first time....you are incredibly smitten with those! You are something else Kaden! I know that babies are a product of their environment, but you have something very special that we didn't teach you.



~looking a little like a mini gene hackman with that crazy hair of yours


~so loving your triangle

In one month we will be moving to Colorado! I'm nervous and excited, and overjoyed that you are going to be around so many people that love you. Because of this move, mommy is working like a madwoman, and this blog entry isn't going to be super long, as I'm falling asleep at the computer typing this.

I love you Kaden!
Love,
your mommy

Happy 13 Months Kaden!

Dear Kaden,

Today you are over the hump...you are not zero any longer, and you are no longer just one year old, you have gone ove the hump into what some call *toddlerhood*. I am in denial of this, and I so badly just want to hold you in my arms and have you stay a baby for at least another year!

Your 13 month birthday started off a little rocky. You woke up and the left side of your face was completely swollen. So much so that your little eye was also swollen and seemed to irritate you. We raced you to the doctor's office only to find that your poor little face was the victim of mean monster molar that is desperately trying to cut through. It caused your gums to swell up, and even your doctor was shocked at how well you were handling it! You are such a tough little guy. You can tell that your teeth have been bothering you lately, with all the tugging on your ears and continuous drool down your chin, but you never let on just how painful it is for you!

You are learning new things every day! Yesterday at lunch, I tried to feed you carrots, and you shook your finger at me and said "uh uh uh"!!!! We have been shaking our finger for months while saying "no no no", and you wanted to give it a whirl yourself! You say so many different things, that mostly only daddy and I can decipher at this point. You and I always finish off the day talking about the moon, and just the other day, I pointed up at the amazing *wolf* moon, and you clearly said "moooooooo"! This made me soooooo happy as mommy is a HUGE moon lover! You also are completely smitten with your shows, which we try to limit to just an hour in the morning. The other morning, you crawled out to the living room, opened the doors to the armoire and pushed the power button on the tv! You are loving more and more your cuddle and snuggle time with us and this makes me soooo happy!

DRUMROLL please...............today you took 3 STEPS! Daddy was playing with you, and you just went ahead and took a few steps toward the ball that you were wanting. I am so upset at myself that I chose the moment before you did this to get a glass of water, after spending every cherished moment with you during the entire day, THIS was the moment that you chose to take your first steps???

Each and every day, I learn something new from you. I knew that you would change my life completely, but I never would have thought that you would teach me so much about simple everyday blissful pleasures and the true meaning of JOY! I love holding your hand and watching you discover the world.

I love you!
love,
your mommy


We took you to Shane's Inspiration playground in Griffith Park on Sunday, and thought you may want to ride on the Merry-Go-Round. You were staring and pointing at it, so we thought we could give it a whirl!

here you are rethinking your excitement about the horses




and here you are trying to figure out how to jump off

First ride on the Merry-Go-Round-Big FAIL....poor baby, this is where your tortured self ended up sitting for the rest of the ride



here you are in your precious Bronco sweatsuit from Mamaw!

how cute is your little profile?




one of your new and favorite places to sit in the house


first driving lesson

Happy Nine Months Kaden!!

Dear Kaden,

Today you are NINE months!!!! The past 18 months have been nothing short of extraordinary. The nine months that you were on the inside were scary, curious, exciting and filled with so much suspense and sleepless nights! The nine months with you on the outside in our wonderful world, have been incredible, amazing, touching, rewarding, and oh yeah...filled with many sleepless nights as well! It is a different fatigue than I have ever felt before, and I feel absolutely blessed with this feeling. Somehow through my sleepy eyes, things seem to look a little bit clearer and I appreciate the simplicity of each and every moment, more than I ever have before. or maybe that is just an added bonus of mommyhood...

This month has been a doozie! You are learning so many new things! You are officially a little motorin movin machine, crawling all over the place and just about to pull yourself up to a big boy stand! You absolutely adore standing in front of the screen door and banging your tiny little hand on it, as if to say "look at me everyone! I'm a BIG boy!" You are forever curious about the kitty food bowls and the litter box (my worst nightmare). You have had your share of bumps and bruises all over your precious little face, I think they bother mommy more than they bother you...you are just so resilient!

You absolutely love to talk....it sounds like you are saying dadadada and tat, which we figure is Cat! Mommy has been practicing saying mommy 43 different ways so hopefully one of these days you will catch on! I won't hold it against you...it will come. You also love to say aaaaahhhhhooooooah and tatatattata, and we have the most stimulating conversations!

You love to eat just about everything we give you, but you are completely smitten with Puffs! Some of your other favorites are pears and apricots, pumpkin and your Yobaby yogurt!

This month, you learned about your musical talents, including the bongos and the amazing zxxylophone that mamaw bought you. You also went to Guitar Center with daddy and absolutely loved it! You spent a lot of time in the park on the swings (your favorite) and you heard your first Sonic Boom when the shuttle landed. You love your books soooo much, especially board books where you can turn the pages yourself. You absolutely LOVE the pool and all things water, including your Baby "Neptune" Einstein dvd which is all about water. You have outgrown all your 6-12 month clothes, and mommy even started buying you 18-24 month sizes! You have four teeth and two more coming, you love to sbuggle and of course....you make me smile each and every day.

Happy nine months to my beautiful boy!!!!
I LOVE YOU!

love,
your mommy

Happy 8 months Kaden!

he was not too happy about doing his monthly portrait session on the bed...



Can I just sit in front of the air conditioner please? much better....




Dear Kaden,

Today you are 8 months old! I say this every month, but it's all going by soooo fast!!! I try to imagine the first time I saw you in your itty bitty incubator, and I try to hang on to that feeling of first meeting you. But then I think about how amazingly BLESSED I am to know you and how proud I am to be your mommy, and I love you all the more exactly where you are in life!

What a precious lil nugget you are! You charm the pants off of everyone you meet, your smile can brighten anyone's day! You get so much attention, and you just EAT it up, just like I want to eat you up everyday! I just love your chubby little legs and your pudgy toes and your precious lil tushie! Your giggle is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. And you LOVE to laugh, especially with daddy, he makes you laugh the most amazing laughs! I hope I never forget these precious little squeals that you make...they are definitely my most favorite sounds in the whole world! You are vocal, happy and I can tell you already LOVE to flirt with the ladies!

You aren't quite crawling yet, though you do crawl backwards a bit! You want to crawl so badly, but you just can't seem to get your right leg to straighten out when in your crawling position, I can tell it's frustating you! We thought maybe the hardwood floors might not be giving you the traction that you need, and our little playmat just wasn't cutting it for you, so daddy surprised you with this ABC playmat for your happy day. I took this pic of you when we came home from "school" and you saw it on the ground...it's nice and padded and I'm hoping it will help you move in the right direction...



You absolutely love to hang onto things and stand, if you could, I think you would do this all day!


You are so smart....Margaret (your wonderful daycare provider) says that you try on other kids shoes at daycare, even though you have never even worn a pair of your own shoes yet! You LOVE the pool, especially now that daddy found you the perfect boat!


you absolutely love to splash in the pool!



Along with your amazing musical talent (see bongos and tamborine videos), you adore banging on just about anything at all, hearing the different sounds you can create! We went to Pitfire pizza cafe last week in NoHo, and you were ecstatic about the metal tables!





look at my two front teeth!!!! You also have two teeth coming in on top, and I can tell these are some little toughies...I just hope they cut through soon, and then hopefully you can get a lil breather from chomper hell!



we spend this weekend indoors trying to protect your precious little lungs from the smoky air outside due to all the raging wildfires in the area. Even though we really try not to let you watch tv very often, we put in The Little Mermaid and got cozy on the floor and cranked the air conditioner.



You also love your new fun dinosaur puppet book that TT Nan sent you!!!!



Happy birthday sweet baby boy! I can't wait to see what this next month brings!

love,
your mommy

Happy 7 Months precious boy!

Dear Kaden,

I can't believe how fast time is going by...you are now over the six month hump and that much closer to being a YEAR old! Every single day you seem to grow a little more, and I just want to grab a hold of every single second and cherish each moment.

What a month this has been!!!! We took you on your first vacation to see our family in New York. You did so WELL on the airplane, and you loved all the squishy hugs and affection you got from everyone! Not to mention that you were getting your first big tooth duing all of the shenanigans, and handled it so bravely! Your second tooth has cut through, and you are much happier now...the pain seems to have subsided for the time being.

You are sitting up all by yourself, though there is the occasional time where mommy gets too over confident, and sometimes you tip over and take a tumble. You get to where you need to go by rolling all over the place! I know that you are dying to crawl, you can just see that look in your eye!

You love all things water! The pool, the tub, you even took a swim in Uncle Tobe and Aunt Kerry's hot tub when you were in NY, and you absolutely love to splash and kick your legs. Bathtime has become your favorite time of the day, and you yell with excitement the whole time. The only hard part is taking you out, you get so mad everytime!

You LOVE to talk, you says something that sounds an awful lot like "da da da" when you want to be heard, and you sometimes yell at times when there is a lot of noise, as if to say "can you keep it down please".

You are eating so many different foods now, and (yay!) you even have developed a new love for sweet potatoes. Mommy loves to just let you eat with no bib and no clothes on and let you go nuts with the food, and then just throw you in the bathtub! It's like one big fingerpainting party!

I can't wait to see what comes next.

I hope you wrap the world around your finger the same way you've wrapped me!

Love,
your mommy

Happy Five Month Birthday Kaden!

Dear Kaden,

How are you almost half of a year?
You have changed so much in the last month, I am not even sure where to begin!

You absolutely LOVE to talk, and your wise old owl eyes let us know truly what an old soul you are, and that there is so much DEPTH behind those babbles! You are already blowing rasberries and you sometimes serenade us in the middle of the night with your rasberries song! You adore when daddy makes the "BUZZ" sound, and you laugh SO hard when he buzzes on your belly!

You have discovered your toes and you love to grab on to the left one when you are on your back and do your leg exercises. The right foot is a little tougher, but we know there's no stopping you...soon enough you will have both feet in your mouth!

You absolutely love your new "school" and the friends that you have made there! Noah is your BFF and the two of you just love to stare at each other and laugh. Between school and our house, you have no time to be inside the house, you are a nature boy at heart and would so much rather be outdoors or out and about...so many people to see and things to do!

You FINALLY seem to be enjoying the car a little better these days, even though you are about to outgrow your carseat any day now! You are starting to roll over with the help of mommy and daddy, but you magically can move around from one end of the crib to facing the other way in the middle of the night.

You have started eating rice and oat cereal, though you don't really seem to LOVE either of them. I'm anxious to get you started on fun and colored foods, because really now, how exciting can rice cereal truly be?

Each and every month I say the same thing, now THIS is my favorite month...I just can't wait to see what you do next! I love seeing the world through your eyes, it blows my mind how much more beautiful everything looks!


Love,
Mommy



ps. We went to Balboa Park this weekend and Kaden got to meet his first horse he checked out the duckies too! He got to wear his new Bob Dylan onesie which was an awesome gift from Uncle Brian, and he looked just like daddy with his little army green cargo shorts! We also had lunch with his new girlfriend Stacey. I have never seen him flirt like the way he did with her! He was so coy and giggly, definitely his frist crush!