:: two ::

I never really did a post about Cade turning two on February 3rd, so I thought I would do one oh, just a month later, to document all of our not-so-baby boy's happenings at two years old.

• So he still love tractors. Yep, and lawnmowers...leaf blowers...chainsaws...jackhammers..."fo fo's" (four wheeler)...weedeater...no seriously, these are some of his favorite things. Apparently he's starting a landscaping business we don't know about.

• He's very imaginative. It has been so cool to see his imagination blossom. He loves "cooking" on his grill and even cooks on his workbench. He makes us hamburgers, french fries and chicken nuggets. Just the other night he took some of my scrap fabric and put on a magic show where he hid his tractors under the fabric then magically made the appear. Anything that he can "crank", even though it may just be a toy saw, he tries to crank it up. Just like when he rides his powerwheels 4-wheeler, he stands up and tries to "kick start" it like a dirtbike. Really Cade? He also will just say out of the blue "look, see that alligator coming!". He is always coming up with something. Most of which, I have no idea where he gets it from.

• He also still loves Darius Rucker's "Wagon Wheel" and he legit knows every word. I am not making this up. It shocked me as well, when he sang along with it one day in its entirety while he thought I wasn't watching him. Granted, some words he doesn't say exact and for some may be hard to tell, but he gets the jist of it and its mind boggling to me. What is it about that dang song???

• His other favorites to sing (yes, he LOVES to sing) is "Jesus Loves Me", "Jingle Bells" (even in February), "Happy Birthday to me..." (yes, even after his birthday) and he can also sing his ABC's. He came home from Mrs. Kim's singing it one day and I give all the credit to her and the older kids there. Trust me, Chad and I were both like "What the what?" Lots of singing and guitar playing goes on in our household. He also loves playing his Mimi's piano, so who knows maybe he will be our little musician one day. (or just a landscaper)

• He also LOVES to eat. I mean, it will be 9 o clock at night and he will say "Mama I hungry!" You ask what he wants...."grits". He eats 24/7 and I have a feeling by the time he's a teenager, he's going to eat us out of house and home. 

• His favorite breakfast ever that he asks for daily is the little maple syrup pancakes in the bags from Sam's. Probably the worst processed food ever and I shutter every time I even think about it and swore I'd never be one of those moms who just gave their kids "fast and easy meals" but what have I learned? Never say never. I try to make it better with organic milk and TrooMoo, his other favorite. He loves strawberries and apples. Recently he started liking bananas again at his Mimis. I never buy them because I hate them and forget about them. He also loves grits, oatmeal and has recently mastered eating cereal (with milk!) all by himself. Oh and cinnamon rolls. If you know me, you know if I'm home on a Saturday morning, you better believe there's some Pillsbury cinnamon rolls in the oven. Just how we roll. No pun intended.

• Lunch time, he loves anything from PB & J's, leftovers from night before, Chef Boyardee chicken and rice, ravioli and any other concoction I can come up with while in a hurry. He snacks a lot on cheez its, Ritz crackers, basically anything you put in front of him. LOVES popcorn too! Still loving 1/2 water - 1/2 apple juice in sippy cups and usually a juice box or Capri Sun every now and then. 

• Dinner time is easy because he will eat anything Chad and I eat. I prayed for a good eater, and Lord knows I've had one from day one. (If only we could say that about his sleeping habits...) He legit will eat a whole chicken quesadillas from Mexican restaurant, loves his daddy's grilled hamburgers, spaghetti, has a fit over french fries dipped in ketchup. His papa grilled small tender steaks a few weeks ago and Cade was a few bites short of eating an entire steak!!! As for veggies...they're not his fav so I really have to push for these. Corn sometimes. Asparagus sometimes. His least favorite is green beans. Not happening. Any tips are appreciated as to what to try next. 

• He is wearing 18-24 month pants and now some 2T. Shirts and pajamas are definitely 2T. Shoe size is 6 1/2 wide. I feel like he will be in size 7 by Easter, so I've bought 7 and 8 when buying ahead. Diaper size is still 4 but I swear they are getting too tight. I may go up to 5 next time. His little legs and waist are tiny but he is so broad through the shoulders and has a big belly, so tops always fit tighter than pants. 

• He is very energetic, to say the least, still stays up probably way longer than he should and the terrible two's have brought temper tantrums like you wouldn't believe. We hear a lot of "NO!" and "I DO IT!" now. Very independent. He learned he could put on his rain boots by himself during snow storm and oh Lord - don't even try to help him. 

• He loves to draw. He has a little chalkboard easel he loves and last night he tried to bring it in the den, tripped and fell ... busted his lip, blood everywhere. I was freaking out, thought he had knocked out his two front teeth. He was just trying to show us his latest artwork, bless.

• He loves bath time...so much so, sometimes he will fight you to get OUT. 

• Sometimes his Mimi and Grami spoil him so much, that when I turn to go down the road to Mrs. Kim's in the mornings, he freaks out and says "NOOOOO GO DAT WAY" to turn around. He absolutely loves Mrs. Kim and all the kids there but usually on a Monday if he's been with me all weekend or especially with his Grami or Mimi, he thinks he's suppose to go to their house I guess. 

• All that being said, he is a VERY loving child. He can go from temper tantrum, laying down crying on floor and me almost losing my cool to coming up to me wrapping his arms around my leg and saying "I LOVE YOU MAMA". He says "I love you" out of the blue to Chad and I at least 3 times a day. I am not one to overly use "I love you". As in, sometimes I forget to say it to my sister...and my mom and I really never say it on the phone...but every morning before Chad leaves for work, even if I'm still half asleep he will not leave without saying "bye, love you". If he doesn't, I think something's wrong. Also from the time Cade was born, I have told him over and over again how much I love him. The other night I overheard Chad said "I love you Cade", then Cade replied "I love you too man". Melt. my. heart. I think it is the sweetest that he tells us all the time and I hope I never stop hearing it. I need to use it more with my other family members because I only wish I had told my dad more before he passed. If you have the opportunity to say those three simple words - DO IT. I always want Cade to know he is loved and to grow up in a very loving home, knowing his parents aren't afraid to use those three words constantly.

• He goes from being a mama's boy one day to daddy's boy the next. Chad said when I left for Vegas, he went to pick him up from Kim's that day and first thing he said was "Hey daddy....take me to see my mama" I died. Immediately wanted to get on the next flight home. If Chad is gone to work, he will ask where he is...and vice versa. 

• He also LOVES his Mimi and Papa and Grami and Charles. Oh my word. Obsessed. He hopped on his little ride-a-long car in the house last night and said "Bye mama! I go see Mimi & Papa!" I said "Ok, what are you going to do there?" He replied "I say...helllooooo where aaaare you??" He also loves his three cousins and his "buddy" is his cousin Carter who is just one year older than him. On the days Carter goes to Mrs. Kim's too Cade will jump up and down in excitement. He runs up to him and gives him the biggest hug!!!

• His facial expressions are priceless. He loves to laugh and he constantly makes US laugh. He's just like his daddy. Seriously, sometimes I have NO idea where they get this stuff

• Every since he was born, people (including us) have called him "Baby Cade". He was the youngest of the four McClain grandkids, so naturally he has been the "baby". He has learned his full name now, but a few weeks ago while driving him to Mrs. Kim's, I asked him what his full name was. He replied "Uhhhhh....Sandi." I said "No, that's MY name. What's YOUR name? Remember, it's Joshua..." Then through the rear view mirror I could tell a light bulb went off. He said "Uhhhh...Joshua....Baby Cade...McClain!" Then I proceeded to laugh for a solid ten minutes. 

• As for potty training, he definitely has sat on the little potty and even tee tee'd one time on it, but we haven't forced it or "started' the whole process yet. He just tells us when he is doing #2, and our thing is well if you can tell us every time you need to potty, maybe you should be going to the potty! I hope we can try this Summer.

To my two-year-old Cade...

I know this age seems so crazy and wild at times. You're constantly learning new things, so fast I can hardly keep up. Your attitude can also change in 2.5 seconds, which is hard to comprehend at times also. Yet, there is so much sweetness and innocence left in those baby eyes. You are quickly turning into a little boy, but I'm going to soak in all the times you want to sit in my lap, rock, and/or play with my hair and rub my ears until you fall asleep. 

Last night there were literally big fat tears when he fell asleep in my lap in the rocker. He had on those tight little two piece jammies, so cute on little boys, and when I stood up to lay him down, I realized how BIG he actually was. His head on my shoulder and body stretched out across my entire upper body. So tall and so much more like a little boy than a baby. I really did feel tears welling up because I just wished so bad that I could freeze this age and bottle up this moment in time. They grow up entirely too fast. 

You will forever be our "Baby Cade" and we still thank the Lord each and every day for blessing us with such a precious bundle of joy. Two years down and now we absolutely can not

 imagine what life was like before you.