Just a Stage?

I have to confess that sometimes being a patient, loving mom is a bit hard for me. 

Cayden is at the age or "stage" where he is gaining more and more independence. With that independence he feels he is too old to listen to us. He fights with his Grammy and deliberately disobeys Mike and I. This makes my life a bit more stressful then it really needs to be. I've found that if I'm not spanking his bottom, I'm yelling. I hate yelling. It sounds so mean and he just looks at me like, "What's wrong with you?"

How do I get his attention and not yell? Is this just a stage? I sure hope so! 

I've been trying to be more patient with him. He's only this age once, and I must say it's quite an entertaining age. 

Today we played cars and tossed a ball around upstairs (and on the stairs... I know, I know... you shouldn't play on the stairs, but it was fun.). It was a lot of fun and his laughter is so mesmerizing! He's very dramatic and loves to act everything out. 

Maybe I just need to be more patient with Cayden and MySelf.

Santa

Every year my mother in law takes Cayden to get pictures with Santa in the Alderwood Mall. 

The first year, Cayden was ten months old. At that age, he LOVED everyone and had no problem with Santa (see small picture bottom left). He smiled big and the "elves" were surprised at how well he'd done.

Then, his second Christmas he was a little over a year and a half, and he was very finicky with whom he LIKED. Santa was not one of those people. As soon as he got to Santa's lap, he started to cry and wanted down. The only way we were able to get a good picture was because Santa read him a story. 

Then came this year. His third Christmas (two and a half). We told him he was going to see Santa and get his picture taken. He was so excited. This was the first year he really enjoyed Christmas ... the lights, the trees, the snow, the gifts, etc.)

When we were the next ones in line, he took one look at Santa and ran in the opposite direction. Then he hid in between my legs. 

WHAT IN THE WORLD HAPPENED???

We got up to Santa and Santa asked for Cayden to give him five, high five, and knuckles. After that, he became Cayden's good friend. 

** If you look at this Santa, He doesn't seem to have changed in the last three years. Mike's dad says it's the same Santa they took Mike and Jamie to see.... Could it be??? The REAL Santa!! **

Disclaimer: We DO NOT believe in Santa, nor do we claim he is real. We DO NOT receive gifts from Santa. We only take pictures with him as a holiday figure. 

BUT... IF we DID, would you quit being my friend???

Beeves ... Shush

Okay, so yesterday Cayden had a hard time listening to Mike while we were cooking dinner. He wanted to be in the kitchen under our feet and we wanted him to play in the living room. We fought with him for about a half hour. Then it happened... 

Mike: "Cayden, please get out of the kitchen."

Cayden: "Shush!"

Mike: "Don't tell Daddy to shush."

Cayden: "Shush"

Mike: "If you tell Daddy to shush again, you'll be in time out before you can say Beeves"

Cayden: "Beeves"

Mike and Nicole exchange a look.

Cayden noticing the exchange tries again: "Beeves ... Shush!"

Mike: "Go to time out NOW!"

Cayden runs to time out and starts to cry.

Why does he feel the need to test us and disobey so much? He seems to be getting too smart for his britches. 

Our Future Kids

This is the photo I used to create what our future kids would look like. Below are our kids. How close do they look related to Cayden? Please let comments! I want your opinion!! Thanks and you should try it too. It's fun. c: