Lucas Robert- March '06. My thinker with a huge vocabulary and a bigger heart. So full of life and wonder and imagination. Future engineer or architect or whatever he puts his mind to. My tender mama's boy with the rough-and-tumble outside. Whether playing cars or reading books or just sitting with mama, he lives life fully. And I think that is great!!
Caden
Caden Lauten- August '08 With the warmest eyes that light up the room, he is my little love-bug who wants to be with mama at all times! Never content to just sit, except when snuggled close in the sling where Mama's face is just a reached out hand away. My little explorer, following his brother and puppy everywhere, my baby and the light of my life!
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| Lucas age 3, 2009 |
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| Caden age 3, 2011 |
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| Lucas loved the farmhouse and all the animals. It was an immediate favorite. |
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| Caden playing with the same farm animals |
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| Lucas getting his post-1st day treat |
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| Caden and his cone- I HAD to keep up that tradition! |
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With Lucas starting school this week (more on that another time), Caden and I have had some really precious time together. We have taken walks and had breakfast together and sat and played Justice League. As emotional as the week has been for me, having these sweet times with Caden has been therapy for my soul. Here are some pics from our walk this morning:
Caden wanted to collect sticks. Our collection got so big, that he had to get out of the wagon and walk. hehe!!
A boy and his pup- they have a special fondness for each other.
After our walk, we sat on the sidewalk and played with superheros. It was too nice to stay inside but we had to get our Justice League time in. :)
It's Caden's turn to be interviewed. I started with Lucas when he turned 3 and today is CADEN'S BIRTHDAY!!! Hooray! We have a fun day planned with the family today- lunch with daddy, Pirate's Cove amusement park and then dinner out somewhere. I love this little guy. He certainly tests my patience and pushes my buttons. But he is so sweet and snuggly and has sings the most angelic little songs. I think Caden might could have a career in music... or maybe football. Or both! :)
So here they are... the thoughts and likes of 3yr old Caden.. enjoy!
Favorites:
If you could change your name, what would you choose? Thor, because I like him. Or a Kung Fu Panda name, like Tigress.
What do you love about each person in our family? Daddy- hugs, Lucas-great hugs, Hadley-I like when him scratches his back. Mommy- I like to play with Momma
Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Vacation Bible School
What are some of your wishes for this year? My wish, that I could go to the moon.
The boys and I just got back from a fabulous trip to FL. It was really one of the best we have ever had. Some great beach time, some alone time for mommy, no family drama. Just a really, really nice time with my parents and my sister and my beloved beach. :) Here are some of the highlights:
Fun with the water hose and Mimi: the boys started fully clothed and slowly peeled off layers as they ran through the sprinkler. Perfect little boy, summer fun!!
A special Green Lantern superhero party with Mimi and Pa! 
We had plenty of sunny days on the beach, but one of our favorite times was right after a rain storm when the dark clouds were rolling through. It was warm and shady and the sand was perfect for sandcastles. We caught sand crabs and built sand forts and had an amazing time. It will forever be one of my favorite memories of time on the beach with my boys.
It has been pointed out to me that this blog is a little heavy on posts about Lucas lately and not as many about Caden. This is certainly not intentional or ANY indication of my affection for one over the other. Just happened that way, I guess. But in response to his fans, here is an adorable video of my sweet youngest. He loves to sing, this song in particular. And the Robin costume and sunglasses and mid-song-stubbornry just say it all about this little man.
This is the same sweet little guy that wanted to cuddle with mama last night and then today nailed me in the head with a Batman toy because he was frustrated I wouldn't buy him a StarWars toy he saw another kid playing with. Yeah... that's my 2yr old. (Almost 3 now, I guess.) Super lovey and sweet when he chooses. Super stubborn and defiant also when he chooses. He can bring out the frustration in me way faster than his brother ever did. But I simply adore him and how he loves to rub my thumbnail to soothe himself. Oh, sweet little Caden...
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In the process of re-organizing my sewing table and craft stash, I found this picture of myself as a toddler. I already thought Caden looked like me, but seeing this picture makes it seem even more true. What do you think?
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As I rocked him before his nap today, it occurred to me that he is really getting TOO BIG! He doesn't like to be rocked at bedtime anymore. He just wants to go lay in his "big boy bed" like his brother. His vocabulary is skyrocketing! He uses words like "frustrated" and "impossible" and "amazing" and "awesome!" Yesterday, he told Hubby "This is my mad face!" He is hilarious, a future entertainer. He wants to do everything his brother does and regularly exerts his new-found independence. "No mama! I do it!"
And yet, at naptime, he will still crawl into my lap for a couple stories and some "rocky-rocky." It is time I cherish, especially since it is becoming so rare. I love to kiss his sweet head and sing softly as he drifts to sleep. For those few moments, he is still my little baby who wants to snuggle close and be eased into sleep.
I don't know if I will be able to fully communicate the absolute preciousness and humor of the story I am about the relay to you. The moment was one of the most priceless and one of the funniest of my motherhood journey so far. Mostly I just feel the need to document it somewhere and share with y'all how totally awesome my boys are. :)
We have this CD of songs from the Toy Story movies. The boys love it. Me... not so much. But I give in at certain times, especially when we have a long-ish drive somewhere or there is much fighting/whining/over-all crankiness happening in the back seat. Tonight I let them listen to it as we were driving to and from this launch party in Naperville for the ToyStory 3DVD. But when we were leaving Chick-fil-A after dinner and I reluctantly turned on the CD again, Lucas suggested we instead put on our CD of "Jesus songs" (their term for worship songs). Happy to listen to something else and something soothing, I quickly obliged. Half way through This Little Light of Mine, Lucas says "Mommy, who is Satan?" Not what I was anticipating for my 7pm drive home, but I ran with it anyway.
From that question sparked one of the most awesome conversations I have ever had with Lucas. We talked about angels and what it means to serve God as our King and why we sometimes sin and heaven and the second coming of Jesus... we ran the full spectrum. Some of L's comments/questions throughout this conversation were priceless:
"So, God is kinda like Batman and Satan is the Joker."
"I only know two things about heaven: My brother Micah lives there and the streets are covered in gold. Oh, and it is somewhere up in the clouds even though I have never seen it when I have been in lots of airplanes."
"Do we have to wait until we die to get to heaven or can we get there while we are still alive?"
"How will we know when Jesus is coming back? What if we are inside and we don't see Him coming down through the clouds? Do you think we might think the trumpet music is just the tornado siren?"
"When will Jesus come back to get us?"
I assured him that the trumpets announcing Jesus' return to earth would be the most beautiful music he had ever heard and that he would know the second he heard it that Jesus was coming to take him to heaven. (Only a mid-western child would be worried he would confuse the trumpets with an emergency tornado-warning! Ha!!)
For all my not-so-proud mommy moments, I am so thankful that God gives me moments like these. Moments when I can talk to my boys about the most important things, eternal things. Moments when I feel like I am investing in their souls and not just providing for their bodies. To talk with Lucas about heaven tonight and about that moment when Christ will come back to take us home was a moment I will never forget. And to see Caden sit quietly in his seat, hanging on very word.... well, I'll just say that the weight of the moment was not lost on me. I felt it sit on my shoulders. I chose my words carefully, knowing I was shaping their views on the most crucial of truths. And yet as sure as I was that God had ordained that moment, I prayed that He would put the right words on my tongue and protect their little hearts. I have to trust that the Holy Spirit will takes those little seeds of truth and bloom them into something great in those boys. I pray it will every cell of my being.
We got out of the car and headed into the house. Walking up the front steps, Caden says "Shhh, Mommy, do you hear Jesus coming?"
Lucas replies, "Caden, that isn't Jesus. That is just Hadley (our dog!). We don't know when Jesus will come back for us, Caden. It could be tomorrow or it could be a long, long time from now like 20years. But when He does come, won't that be cool?!"
In that moment, I couldn't decide if I should laugh or cry. Even writing this, I am doing both. Their language is funny. Their hearts are priceless. Both are so, so precious.
I hope I was somewhat able to convey the events of our car ride home is a way the accurately reflects the truth. It was very cute and yet eternally significant. As I was rubbing his legs at bedtime, I told Lucas how special our earlier conversation was to me. "Thank you, Mommy, for telling me all those things about heaven and Jesus. I read things about Him in books but you have a lot of things to tell me that I need to know. I like hearing what you have to tell me. If you don't tell me, I can't be very smart about it."
If that isn't motivation, I'm not sure what else would be.
Thank you, Lord, for tonight's moment. Help me to be a wise steward of such moments in the future and of their little souls that have temporarily been entrusted to me.
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This last week has felt very much like fall. We returned from Florida to temps in the 60's and autumn color all around. This weekend has been right around 70degrees with clear blue skies and crisp fall air. Love it!!! We have been making applesauce and carving pumpkins and other fun fall things. Tonight I even caved and let the boys try on their Halloween costumes... SO, SO Cute!!! Well.... see for yourself:
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Smushing their faces into the bars of the playground because it seemed like a good idea at the time. 
Running with abandon on a perfect fall-ish afternoon.
Giving PowerMan a ride on the airplane and truly believing that they are both flying.
Smiling, Laughing, Having FunBesides my sweaty head and hair (I had just finished a 4+mile run), I love these pictures. I love that Caden is over two years old and over 30lbs and we both STILL love our sling time. 
When I got home from my run, I wanted to try out this new recipe for Zucchini- Choc. Chip muffins. I had some zucchini to use up from my vege box and I am trying to get more creative in getting veges into my boys (mostly Caden). But Caden was feeling a little mommy-needy, wanting to be held and snuggled. I asked him if he wanted to get on my back in the sling and his little face lit up. I put him in and he immediately let his body sink into mine. *sigh* I SO love this little sling baby!
He stayed on my back for only about 15min. He had a little ToyStory book he was looking at and we sang some songs as I peeled and shredded zucchini. And then, he was done. "Mama, down" he said. So I let him down and he was on him way, off to play and have a sword-fight with his brother.
I love that I can still put him in the sling when he is needing just a little reassurance that Mama is still here and he can be as close to me as he wants. I love that it only takes a few minutes of sling lovin' to get him back to his normal crazy-on the go-non stop self. And mostly, I love that when he gets in the sling, he remembers that he is connected to me and he is safe. He remembers that even when he is off being a toddler, he can always come back to Mama and be my little sling baby. I LOVE it and I'll do this as long as he'll let me. 
P.S~ I still put him on the front/side too. I do it when we are in a store and I don't want little hands touching everything or when we are out and he's tired. I put him in after getting some shots at the Ped. office the other day and it helped calm those post-shot tears. Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE my sling!!
P.S.S~ I have a million other carriers that are awesome for back carrying. But when it only for a short time and we are wanting to be especially connected, I still always grab my sling. :)
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After putting both boys down solo tonight, I left the room thinking they both were asleep (in their own beds). When I went upstairs to investigate a scurrying noise, this is what I found: both boys asleep in the same bed! Way to melt a mama's heart! I especially love how Caden positioned himself right between his brothers legs. Like he just wanted to be as close as possible. I reluctantly moved Caden back to his own bed. I love how they are starting to be friends and play so well together. They still fight, don't get me wrong. And they fight intensely. But Caden adores Lucas and doesn't like to be out of his sight. And Lucas loves to play "big brother" and take care of Caden (which is mostly appreciated by Caden but not always).
These boys are just so, so sweet! I feel extravagantly blessed.
I remember the moment I first looked into those baby eyes. I was immediately sure that I would love him forever, even though I wasn't sure I could love anyone more than I loved Lucas. Then here he came, storming into my world, changing everything.
He is so different from his brother, and yet wants to be just like him. He is my little mimic, my little snuggler, my sweet little baby who melts me. He hides the TV remote, loves Buzz Lightyear, tries to ride our pup like a horse while yelling "Yeehaw Cowboy!" Then, he grabs his "bumpa" (blankie) and crawls in my lap saying "Nap, mama. Hold you." He is wild, chatty, crazy, and just a bit stubborn. But yet, so sweet and charming and knows just how to make me smile (even when I want to be mad).
I love this sweet little man. He calms my heart, he and his brother both. His whole face smiles when he does, but most especially his eyes. These eyes that I first looked into 2years ago and that totally took my breath away. I wasn't anticipating him, I wasn't planning for him, I wasn't trying for him. But life without him seems unfathomable.
My sweet little Caden. Happy Birthday!
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