Caedon thinks he's ready...

Tonight I went to the PTA meeting at Caedon's soon-to-be elementary school.  The boys went to the school with me where they had games and pizza while the parents were in the meeting.  I told Caedon earlier in the day that we'd be going to the school where he will go to kindergarten next year and he mistook that to mean that today was his first day of kindergarten.  

We got to the elementary school and Caedon immediately turned to Gavin and said, "You can't come in...you are not old enough for kindergarten."  "Caedon," I reminded him, "you are not going to kindergarten tonight.  You are going to play with other kids and have pizza in the school where you will go next year."

After the meeting, I went to pick the boys up and Caedon ran over to another child and announced, "My mom is here.  I have to go now.  I'll see you tomorrow in kindergarten.  I do need to call Mrs. Halligan (preschool teacher) and say Goodbye now that I'm a kindergarten kid."  

On the way home, Caedon asked me, "Mom, will the bus pick me up tomorrow when I go to kindergarten?"  Somehow, I don't think he's getting the concept of next year.

What Santa Says

As we were driving home today, Gavin spoke up, "Mom, Santa has a beard."  "That's right." I said and continued, "Do you know what Santa says?"  I was expecting the typical Ho Ho Ho, but instead Gavin piped up, "He says, 'Hiya Folks.  It's good being here.  I'm glad you're my friends.' That's what he says to me."

Date Night

Last night, after an extremely long two weeks, Dan and I found a babysitter at the last minute (a miracle in and of itself) and went out on a date.  Oh, how I needed this.  I love my children and I love my life, but it feels so good to get a little break every now and then.  Fancy dinner, adult conversation, no spills to clean up, no screaming children to shush...it is really refreshing and so necessary.  

The kids stayed home with the babysitter.  Aislynn was already down for the night when we left and the boys were settled in to watch a movie.  We went to Mothers Bistro and had a delicious meal and then went to a movie.  We talked about things other than the kids and discussed the underlying themes of the movie all the way home.  When we got home, the house was quiet!  

It can be so hard to get away.  With three kids, it's hard to find a babysitter and expensive too!  But, whenever we do, I feel more connected to Dan and more alive for my kids.  I guess the old saying is true that if we don't take care of ourselves, we can't take care of anyone else.

Conversation Over Carrots

Caedon and Gavin are sitting on the couch eating some carrot sticks.  Dan asks, "Can I have a bite of your carrot?"  Caedon responds, "No because then you'll get your slobber all over it and you have grown up slobber and it will make me grow up too fast if I eat your grown-up slobber.  I don't want to be a grown-up too fast."  

Dan continues this fascinating conversation, "Why don't you want to grow up too fast?"  Caedon looks at him like he's completely clueless.  "Because I have to play with my toys a lot while I'm waiting to grow up.  And watch shows on Noggin.  And play with Aislynn when she's awake.  Then when I grow up, I'll go see what heaven is like.  I don't know what God looks like."  Dan replies, "No one knows what God looks like until we meet Him in heaven."  

"Well, let's all hold hands when we leave for heaven and we can go together."  At this point, Gavin pipes up, "Jesus is God's son."

What a deep conversation considering it started with Dan asking for a bite of carrot!

Growing Up

Tonight at dinner, the boys were talking to me about what will happen when they grow up.  Gavin said, "When Aislynn gets grown up, she's going to move to California, that's a long ways away from us."  

I asked him, "Where will you live when you grow up?"  

He answered, "I'll live with a different mommy who will be my wife and I'll have 3 kids, all baby boys."  

"Oh?  What will you name your kids?" I questioned. 

"One will be named....uhhhh.....let me think about that." He replied.  

Caedon decided to chime in at this point, "I will name my kids Pascal, Lilah and, um...Liteliker."  

"Liteliker???" I asked.  

"Yep!" he said.  

Gavin piped up again, "I know.  I will name one kid Aiswacker too, of course!!"  

I really hope that I don't end up with Grandchildren named Liteliker and Aiswacker, no offense to anyone with these names!!

Little Sausages

On the ride home from lunch today, Gavin started crying loudly in the backseat.  Knowing that he was all alone in the 3rd row of the van, I knew that it wasn't instigated by his brother.  "What happened Gavin?"  Dan and I both inquired.  "I hurt myself!!!" Gavin replied.  "How did you hurt yourself?"  I asked.  "I bite my finger."  He cried.  "Why did you bite your finger?"  I questioned.  "I didn't know it wasn't food!"  He exclaimed.

I did feel bad for him, but I couldn't help but laugh just a little bit.  Caedon then scolded me.  "Mom!  It's not nice for you to laugh at Gavin when he's crying.  He was just hungry and he forgot that his finger wasn't food.  You're being sneaky to Gavin!"

When we got home and Gavin stuck his finger out for me to inspect, all I could find was what looked like a paper cut on his finger.  When I told him that it looked like a paper cut, he assured me that his tooth was sharper than paper and a sharp tooth made that cut!

Caedon's turning 5!!

Tomorrow is Caedon's 5th birthday.  My oldest baby is 5 years old.  Here are some of the many reasons that I can never thank God enough for the gift of this amazing little man:

1.  The way that he used to talk like a Russian when he was a baby.  Most babies say "GA, BA, GOO."  Not Caedon.  He used to shout sentences that sounded like this, "Oshkarishnik valtommir akh nashid commicanal."  My funny little red-headed munchkin...which brings me to...

2.  That beautiful red hair.  Who ever would have thought that mixing a brown skinned, brown haired, and brown eyed man with a brown haired and hazel eyed woman would create the most gorgeous auburn haired, blue-green eyed boy in all the land??  Since the day he was born, I have women stop me in the store to tell me that they wish they could find his hair color in a bottle!!

3.  Caedon is passionate.  He is one of the most passionate people I know.  I don't worry about Caedon ever following the crowd b/c I'm pretty sure he'll be the one leading it!  I love that he is such a strong little boy with a good sense of himself for a 5 year old.

4.  The way that he loves his brother and sister.  Granted, he and Gavin have their fair share of knock-down, drag-out fights as most brothers so close in age do, but if anyone else messes with Caedon's little brother, he's the first to stand up to them.  And the way that he coos over Aislynn and makes silly faces to try to make her smile melts my heart!

5.  I love his stories!  Caedon loves to talk and he talks in detail.  He will not only tell you what he did at school that morning, he'll tell you what he had for snack, how it tasted, what color the book was at circle time, the funny thing that his teacher said and how it made him laugh when another boy told him a joke.  I hope that it is always this easy to get him to talk to us about his day.  I love seeing experiences through his eyes.  

6.  He has an amazing sense of humor.  Granted, I don't love the potty talk, but he can come up with some real zingers.  Just yesterday, as we were driving home, I told the kids that Daddy would be home when we got there.  When we turned onto our street and Caedon spotted Daddy's car, he said, "Wow, Mom...you were right for once!!" and then erupted into laughter. Perhaps I should have been offended, but it was just so darn cute and funny!!

Happy Birthday to my first and oldest baby.  Like he reminded me the other night, "Mom, I'll always be your baby even when I'm grown up and have a wife that makes my dinner."