Caden turns 4 years old!

Caden, you are 4 years old!

My little baby is not a little baby anymore.  I can hardly believe you are already 4 years old!  In some ways it seems like it was just yesterday I was holding a little baby.  (Oh, wait, I was holding a baby just yesterday!)  Anyway, you know what I mean. 

"Mom" and "Dad" are so proud of you!  (Although I really miss you calling me mommy, I'm just glad you call me anything!)  You are becoming such a young boy instead of my chubby cheek little toddler!  A lot has happened in the past year so I'm gonna do my best to at least cover the major highlights!

*You weigh 35lb (35%), and you are 41in tall (75%).  You are tall (which you did get from my side of the family, just not from me) and skinny (which did come from me)!

*As of June 30th, 2009 you are potty trained!  Well, that's the day we switched to big boy underwear anyway.  We tried for a long time to get you to use the potty, but you absolutely were not going to do it until you were ready.  Once you decided you were interested, there was no turning back!  You have had very few accidents since then and don't even have any accidents at night either! 

*Your clothing sizes are very hard.  You were in 3T last summer and most of the winter, but you hit a major growth spurt over the cold months and we had to buy all new 4T clothes.  The pants are way too big in the waist (thank goodness for adjustable waist bands) but they tend to be a little short on your long legs!  If a shirt fits really well on the shoulders, it will be too short too.  So, sometimes your clothes tend to look a little big on you, but I think that beats wearing high-waters!

*You are such a picky eater!  You get that honest from both me and your dad!  You love most vegetables including carrots, green beans, corn, sweet peas, squash, okra and many others.  You love almost any kind of bread.  You don't care much for meat but you will eat some chicken or burger or ham sometimes.  You have just recently started eating some fruit.  You have decided you like apples, bananas, grapes (only the green ones) and watermelon!  You will eat any flavor of applesauce but won't eat any other fruits.  I think it's a texture thing!

*Your favorite thing in the whole world to eat is pancakes with maple syrup and whip cream on top! 

*Your favorite candy is peanut butter cups.

*You usually sleep all night long in your room, but there are a few issues with that.  You will not go to sleep on your own in a room by yourself.....even with the light on.  So, we usually let you fall asleep on the couch and daddy carries you to bed.  Then, if you wake up, you come in our room and stand on my side of the bed until I wake up and see you.  And let me say, that is dangerous because you scared me so bad the other night that I almost took a swing and hit you right in the face! 

*Your favorite color is still green, which you must have gotten from Mimi!

*You are not into coloring and art very much.  You would rather be playing with your race cars or trucks or riding in your big F250 truck outside! 

*You LOVE LOVE LOVE all things racing!  Your paw paw works at RCR (Richard Childress Racing) and that's where we had your party this year.  Your favorite driver is Kevin Harvick #29 because that's the car paw paw works on.  Daddy has bought you almost every race car there is and those have become your favorite toys!  You know several of the drivers names and can match them with which car they drive. 

You like racing a little bit I think ;)

*You went to Bowman Gray racetrack in Winston-Salem several times last year and loved it!

*You started preschool last August.  You were in K3 2 days a week.  You did very well!  You didn't cry(most of the time) when I dropped you off.  You learned SO MUCH about your letters, numbers, shapes and colors.  It is a christian preschool so you learned a lot about God and Jesus and the Bible too!

*You have come a long way in letting go of mom too!  At 3 yr old, you were still very attached to me and had bad separation anxiety.  I think it started to change after I got pregnant with Jaxten.  I couldn't pick you up as much and then not at all at the end.  I was sick or having gall bladder attacks for a while so you had to let daddy help with your bath and bedtime.  I miss our time together, but I'm so glad you have gotten closer to your daddy too.  He loves you so much.  You are his pride and joy!

*You can talk really well for your age.  Everyone thinks you are older because your words are so clear and you are so smart.  Some of the last letter sounds that you mastered were the "L", "G", and "th" sounds. 

*You have a wildly vivid imagination!  You have learned how to pretend and any object can become something creative and fun for you. 

*You can sing really well.  You started singing at a very young age and have continued as you grow.  You stay in tune and even go for some of the "diddly dos" (as daddy likes to call them) with your voice.  I love singing with you and maybe one day we'll sing as a family with Jaxten too.  Some of your favorite songs are "Some on Pieces, Some on Boards"(written by daddy), "Every Need Supplied", "It Is Well", "I Am A Soldier", "Listen, Listen, Listen" (written by Paw paw), "Scars In His Hands", and "Three Rusty Nails".  Just to name a few :)

*You are a FANTASTIC big brother!!  I am so proud of the way you have handled a new little baby in our family!  I don't know how much you really understood at first, but you always seemed excited.  There was never a time when you had a meltdown or acted like you didn't want the baby.  Anytime I dropped you off at school or in the nursery at church, you always had to lean over and kiss my belly and nuzzle your ear on it (your way of hugging the baby, too cute!).  You started paying more attention to babies and talking about how "caah-uuute" they were.  You have been nothing but sweet since Jaxten was born.  You are so protective over him and love to talk to him and tickle him.  He loves you so much already too. 

I am so proud of the little man you are becoming.  Sometimes I think you are growing way too fast, but I absolutely love watching all the new things you can do.  You are incredibly smart.  I love you with all my heart.  You will always be my "baby" no matter how big you get!