Mommy and Caden had such an amazing day today! We mixed finger paints out of flour, water and food coloring! We first used the color blue and finger painted on wax paper. Of course, Caden wanted to make "Geen". He had a blast mixing the paints, pouring them on the paper and then running his fingers through all the paint!

I am sure many of you that know Mommy well are thinking, "She let him play with paint?" OH YES...the Lord is changing Mommy in ways that she never would have imagined. Caden is such a joy and seeing his face light up with joy as we got super messy was fun! However, there is some of Mommy in Caden as he got real upset when he recognized the paint wasn't coming off his fingers without washing his hands. Then, the rest of the day he was wondering why there was still paint on our fingers :)  Gotta love it!

Wow! What a fun couple of days in Winterville...Daddy had the day off because it was snowing! Caden had so much fun watching the snow fall and running around outside chasing the dogs. He has two speeds these days....really fast and super fast! There is no more walking, just running! He loves to say "treat" to the dogs even when he doesn't have one....that makes for some upset golden retrievers :) 

Mommy had some time to reflect on what an amazing blessing it was to be home as a family on a Tuesday. We enjoyed watching Caden color and play with all his toys. He is learning so many new things each and every day. He can even point to some letters, such as C and say "c". How precious! He loves the book "Chicka Chicka Boom Boom" and often sings the tune around the house.

Caden took his first face plant into the snow which led to a few tears and then "again". He is really starting to look and act like a little boy instead of a baby. But, SSHHH! Don't tell that to Mommy!

Caden got his first shower this evening and loved it! He played with his new ABC's and 123's while walking around the shower. He giggled and had a great time playing with Daddy in the shower and Mommy outside the shower. He absolutely loves it!  What do you think it will be like to attempt a bath next time? Stay tuned....

Caden is loving counting to three! He can even stack his blocks up three high. Paul and I play so many games with Caden and start by saying, Are you ready? One, Two, three and Caden gets so excited that he often goes right to three for the fun part! It is adorable!  What else is Caden up to these days?

He is really knowing his colors. I asked him a few weeks ago what color construction paper he wanted to use and Caden responded with "brown". It was hilarious...I didn't even know he heard of the color brown. It is amazing how much a 15 month old can learn and understand.

Some of his favorite things to do are: talking on the phone, saying "I see" to see whatever you are doing and try for himself, RUNNING around, putting together puzzles, seeing his doggies (and eating their nilla wafers), talking talking talking, tease and tell jokes (it is so funny to see him tease and laugh at his own jokes), play with his pooh humidifer, DANCE AND SING, blowing kisses, giving lots of love love, trying to get into everything (cabinets, shower, drawers) and just being a boy. Any of you that have a boy knows exactly what I am talking about!

Some of his new sentences that he speaks regularly are: I love you Mommy, Please Mommy, Up Please Mommy or Daddy, More please now, I thank you, Eat more, I am hungry, I don't know, It's ok, I tired, Light on or off, etc. Also, he answers questions that you ask him...are you hungry? tired? drink? etc. Caden will say yes or no. So adorable!

Our family is so very thankful for Caden! He is a precious, loving boy that is learning new things each and every day. Although much time has gone by since the last journal entry, Caden is still doing much of the same boy stuff. He knows his colors, but often gets confused between orange and red! It is adorable! The only color he has a hard time pronouncing is "geen", but that is his favorite color! He is always picking green first to color with in his book and when he is asked to pick his shirt...the green one wins out nearly every time! He has mastered his puzzles and can count to 3. He is starting to spell his name C-A-D-E-N! He has no idea what he is spelling, but it sure is precious. Believe it or not, he is becoming so much more snuggly and loving...which Mommy is just eating up (Daddy too)! Out of the blue sometimes, he will say, " I duv you". Talk about melting your heart!!

Running is the operative word these days! No more walking around the house.."up stairs please" is a common phrase around our house. He loves to climb the stairs with Mommy and/or Daddy right behind him.

"Juice"...he loves to drink juice now and eat "bread and butter". He often asks for these when opening the pantry. Of course he is not allowed to open the pantry, so discipline is often used while asking for any or all of the above. He started to say, "grace" before he gets punished because usually on the first attempt of getting him to understand he was wrong, Daddy and Mommy give Caden grace. He has learned that he doesn't get punished following that word...boy does he love that! God gave us grace in sending His one and only Son to this earth to die for the sins of those that believe and put their faith in Him. Caden surely doesn't understand the gospel message yet!!

Our family lost another child this week due to miscarriage, but we put all of our faith in the Lord and this allows us to give SO much thanks to our Lord for the sweet blessing of Caden! Sometimes we Need a reminder that isn't so gentle. Love from our family to yours in celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ this season!

It has been awhile since we last journaled because life is starting to get VERY BUSY. Mommy started a pampered chef business for the holidays and Caden is keeping her going and going. Mommy loves it!!!

So many new things are going on each and every day. Caden is a smart little boy like his father and picks up on so many things. He is still making new words and sentences daily with his new phrase, "Up Please Mommy". Whenever he wants to get picked up he used to pull on my leg, but I asked him to say Up Please Mommy and he has mastered it after only 1 week. I think people short change the amount of knowledge God has blessed children with...they can understand much more than they get credit for! Caden nows speaks in sentences....it happened so quickly!

Caden still loves to cook and bake! We made sugar cookies last week and Caden had an amazing time shaking the sprinkles all over the cookies, counter, floor (you name it and if it was in a 12 inch radius that it still bears red and green sprinkles).

He is really starting to enjoy books. He let's you read about 1 to 2 pages to him before he runs off....but it's a start. An active little boy with his mind (and legs) constantly going!

Bubbles....Caden loves bubbles. Mommy often blows bubbles while he is in the bathtub (Daddy is giving the bath) and Caden enjoys that family time.

Tickling...Caden is so ticklish! Some of his favorite times are when all of us are tickling one another and just cracking up.....he often laughs so hard that he falls over before he gets to us for tickling. WE LOVE IT!!

Caden can name all of these on himself, other people and animals/people he sees in books! He loves to get a big clap after he "performs".

Caden loves to tease! He has learned to act like he is going to give you something (toy, food, etc.) and then run away laughing...it is hilarious! It is amazing though because he knows when there are times to tease and times when he needs to share his toys. He is doing so well with sharing. The more he is around other children the more he has the opportunity to practice what he is learning at home.