another conversation with an 8 year old

Scenario: Kaeden is calling me from upstairs to hurry up and come up to his bathroom and bring my camera. Umm, yes, trepidation for what I was about to see was what I was feeling with a side of, well what ever it is, maybe it will be a good blog post.

The scene I came across:

Me: what are you doing?

Kaeden: Relaxing in the sun. Playing in the surf (as he flips from his back to his front).

Me: speechless other than a laugh bubbling up from my toes

Kaeden: (stretching in the "sun",) could you grab me an umbrella drink please?

As I walked away...

Kaeden: I think it is time to add more water to this fun

~very creative considering it is freezing here today with blowing snow/whiteout conditions and minus 28 C (with the wind chill) being a "high" temperature

a conversation with an 8 year old.

Scenario: Kaeden had been asked to clean his room, this request always brings a lot of drama and calls for someone, anyone to help him as he just can't do it himself. Even though I point out that he certainly didn't need any help to mess it up, the drama continues.

Me: Dude, just clean your room, the longer you carry on the more time you are wasting (yep,I took that directly out of the Mom handbook)

Kaeden: I can't do it, it's just too much

Me: Seriously Kaeden, you are 8 years old - you can handle this

-lots of complaining, whining and mumbling and of course nothing was getting done and then I hear...

Kaeden: I am calling my lawyer

Me (I was just outside his door in my office/loft area): ummm pardon?

Kaeden: I am calling my lawyer

Me: about what?

Kaeden: These conditions I am living under, it is just not fair

Me: you have a lawyer?

Kaeden: uhhh yeah? (with the unspoken "duh" added in) and he is not going to be happy about this

364/365

preview of the 2022 Winter Olmpics perhaps?
~ complete with the pre-race pep talk (that is Scott in the black)~ and of course beautiful winning form

disclaimer: Shelby was not home today for more than 3 and half minutes so I was unable to get a picture. I keep telling her she is not on the blog because she is never home and if she is home she is in her basement with Matt, she says she is always around. That is why I am adding a daily disclaimer so she can see how hard it is to get a picture of her.

Super Mario(Kaeden) throws a party

a little Super Mario moustache fun...a "SUPER" Mario thanks to:

LISA and SHELBY for making the unbelievable cupcakes (and a shout-out to Jenien who was involved in the initial creative vision)

SAM at Tommy-K play for her excellent moustache cutting and party hosting skills.

SHELBY for looking after Isaac so his parents could enjoy a night out and taking him throughout the huge play structure!

SIMON for helping me with a photo-shop crisis at VERY short notice.

to EVERYONE for being good sports with the moustache pictures!

361/365 swoosh, hitting the slopes

ok maybe more sliding than swooshing for now
but it's just a matter of time before he is
ruling the slopes.

He certainly looks the part...

happy birthday Mr. Kaeden (December 23rd)

today you are eight.

I am having a hard time accepting this fact.

it seems like just yesterday I let your dad take a

"shortcut" through a frozen field in his old truck

where you spent 10 long minutes being jostled all around.

apparently this was not to your liking,

as soon as I stepped out of the truck your journey

to this world in living colour began.

I remember how upset I was,

like always, I wasn't prepared,

I had just finished work and figured I had

a week to get all my Christmas shopping and decorating done and

3 more weeks to get prepared for your arrival.

I also promised myself I would NEVER have a child near Christmas

as I knew what it was all about, your original due date of January 11th

was close but far enough into the next month that I was ok with it.

2 days before Christmas, not what I was looking for,

to be honest you were working towards a delivery time of

early morning on the 24th (Christmas Eve). I was having

nothing to do with that, had a little talk with you, and

we got it done by 9:23pm on the 23rd.

you were a character from the moment you took a breath,

and I saw your individual personality as soon as they laid you on my chest.

I turned 30 years old, 5 days later, and the big 30th party celebration

was reworked to a quiet movie night with friends

where you and I cuddled on the couch and there

was nowhere I would have rather been.

You have been in our family for 2,920 days (well 9 months prior to that but for these purposes I calculated from your birth date) and I have loved every single one of them.

Now, in the spirit of complete honesty I will admit there were seconds, minutes, hours in those days that were not great.

You like your sister, are not a great bedtime champion.

This may come to a shock to you but not to the people that truly know you... you have a flair for the dramatic. Gasp, it's true.

Following directions is also not in the strength category.

You and "tough love" have met numerous times.

When you are in a "mood" look out. There has been some fantastic temper tantrums in the last 8 years. Oscar worthy at times.

Your housekeeping skills are not great, frankly they are scary.

However, with all that said, your strengths and absolute joy of a personality outweighs any of those negative moments.

As you grow older you are learning quickly what is acceptable and what is not (for a quick refresher, that would be (in no particular order):

Not acceptable:

Whining,

Lying,

Mediocrity (in 8 yr old terms doing a job half butt (a more age suitable term than the half-ass comments Shelby gets)

Not trying,

Being a Bully Billy (the title is from a great book and it is the name we always use if someone is being a bully)

What is expected:

Honesty

Respect for everyone

Problem Solving

Self accountability

Work Ethic

Being kind

Helping others

Doing your best...always

For the most part, 2920 days in, you are starting to get "it". There are a few areas that your are struggling with but the concept of "this is not acceptable, never has been, never will be" is starting to make sense to you.

I can't imagine, not anywhere in my mind, not having you in my life.

You filled a place in my heart that I didn't even know needed to be filled.

It is not only me that gets so much joy from you,

your dad, sister, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, extended family and friends,

all enjoy that special flair you bring.

Today on your 8th birthday,

these are the 8 words that I think best describe you

at this exact moment and time...

Loving. Funny. Caring. Outgoing. Messy. Interesting. Gentle. Energized.

You are awesome. I think you rock.

Someone recently asked you, what are you going to be when you grow up?

I waited, expecting the usual answer, a wrestler, monster truck driver. However, this time the answer was much different...

lots of things, there is so much to try.

I loved this answer as we have told you, you are the boss of you and you can do anything you want to do. You will make a change, a positive one, in this world.

I am so privileged to be your mom and I know your dad feels the same,

Stay safe, make good choices, try your hardest and I wish you all the luck and joy in year 8!

Love mom.

353/365 Sunday, December 19th

a quick little photo shoot tonight
for Kaeden's birthday party

351/365 how do spell you trouble?

well tonight we spelt it K-A-E-D-E-N, M-A-X and S-A-Mthese boys are so fun together
loud, wall bouncing excitement
oh sure they look innocent and quiet here
but I tell you 2 seconds before this was snapped, so not true!

302/365 my grumpy boy

On Friday at school, Kaeden needed to dress as a
favourite book character. We got the sense from

the school, they were trying to
avoid "halloween" type costumes.

It looked like most children went with standard super hero/ princess/commercial costumes
but in this family, we take creative projects pretty serious
so he picked one of is favourite books titled What are you so grumpy about?

and created parts of the book

he"played" the character very well
and I think that the fact, the character wears his pajamas
because "he got up on the wrong side of the bed"
sealed the deal for Kaeden!

Shelby did his shirt with the grumpy reasons,
Scott did the awesome cloud
and me? well I was the creative consultant!

299/365

reason no. 1088 why I love Kaeden...

he can make me laugh when it is the last thing I feel like doing

by just being...him.

161/365 question of the day...

should I register Kaeden in a drama summer daycamp? or would he be completely out of his element?

Kim..these pictures are for you, well I actually started out trying to just get one good one of the shirt you bought him (which we both love) but as you can see it turned into a bit of an event!

159/365 take me out to the YAWN...

ball game where Kaeden passes his time...

doing the hula

playing with his shadow

keeping his nose protected

and every once in awhile...

throwing the ball

can someone please explain to me...

how in the world this could be a comfortable way to sleep?

124/365

Dear Kaeden,

I must remember at your wedding

to tell everyone that one of your favourite

things to say (and has been ever since you were two)

when I have my camera out is...

take a picture of my bum (usually also accompanied by a sassy wiggle)

and that like your sister you LOVE to look in the mirror, especially when you are being goofy (which by the way is often) or crying

when I was looking at the above picture

I thought of how crazy this house and for that fact

the world would be if there was TWO Kaeden's.

other things I MUST remember:

~ for the first four years you called Shelby "this" (and her friend Sarah, "that")

~ when you were a baby and were crying hysterically, I found out (in a moment of desperation) that the song "Landslide" sung by the Dixie Chicks ( no other version would work) instantly calmed you down. As soon as the song would end you would start crying again until I played it again. Your dad burned me a cd with that song 10 times in a row and I just played it over and over and over. Now, at 7 years old, you dislike the song greatly.

~ you called a car a "beep beep"

~ when you were 4, you would only wear pajamas

~ you have ALWAYS been particular about your clothes (they can have no labels, you won't wear long sleeves (unless it is in the dead of winter) and nothing fuzzy). If you had your way you would wear shorts every day and never wear a coat.

~ for one year (when you were 3) you practically lived in your buzz light year Halloween costume.

~ right now (today anyways) your favourite sleep buddies are batman (a build-a-bear dog), sonic and Dino (Shelby's new build a bear dinosaur).

~ you have always been funny and have a larger than life personality. Since you were just a baby to now, you have a very special knack to make people smile and laugh.

~ at age 7 you are very confused to why we are buying only half a house (as we are buying a semi detached, it looks like one big huge house but we are of course, only on one side)

~ you have a flair for drama. always have and most likely always will.

~ not that we will forget, but probably good to make a note that your favourite colour is yellow and has been from the beginning.

~ if I was to make a prediction today of what you would be when you grow up, I would guess an entertainer of some sort or a career in something creative . You take amazing pictures with my camera - for the record, I did have to put a stop to you taking pictures of women's bums as I would download your pictures and there would be 30 pictures of bums. You said it was because it was at your level...I wasn't convinced :) I still get the odd picture of the tv but for the most part you take very amusing photos

~ you, like your sister, are a very cheeky monkey

~ we have a routine in the morning...I say HOCUS POCUS and you say FOCUS (as you do have difficulty with wanting to be at school and very often you say...SQUIRREL) and KEEP YOUR NOSE CLEAN (which really confused you at first as your said you washed your face already) and our newest one is " IT IS LIKE WATER off a DUCK'S BACK: (which we learned as your "friends" at school have opinions about your weight and your winter boots and we discussed that you are the only one that control your feelings and reaction to a person's opinion)

I am sure there is so much more that I need to get down somewhere before I forget as you are always changing and I love it and can't wait to see what type of little man you become.

Love, Mom

109/365 a countdown and a dose of Kaeden

when did he start to look so grown up?

a Kaeden and me conversation:

Me: What colour do you want your Disneyland journal to be? ( I am making him a journal to document our trip, collect autographs from the characters and have a place to put his pictures)

K: Red, yellow, blue, green, black, orange

Me: so all of them except pink and purple

K: that's not what I said

Me: ok, so red, yellow, blue, orange...the primary colours

K: (a big sigh) mom, orange is not a primary colour, it is a secondary colour

Me: ummm, yeah, right.

the countdown:

3 weeks until...

Kaeden is counting down the days until Disneyland/Legoland

Shelby is counting down the days until we go to "Cali"

Scott is counting down the days until he is on "vacation"

and me?

definitely our photo shoot with Tara Whitney

and seeing Scott "skip" when we enter the happiest place on earth!

I am trying really hard to not "over think"

our photo shoot but anyone who knows me

understands this is a losing battle!

I am trying to just go with the moment

and let Tara do her thing and see us

in her unique way

and not control the session

with pre-conceived ideas

of what this shoot should look like

this is the whole reason I chose her

her style. her unique view. her ability to capture personality.

my only contribution?

trying to match our clothes in

a way that screams

"we just threw these old things on"

when in reality I made Kaeden wear

his shorts & the colour of the shirt

that he will be wearing for the shoot

to the mall today

and Shelby and I would choose something

then stand beside him to see how it looks

oh boy...we are truly crazy

AND

I am buying all 4 of us

all star converse shoes

(in complimentary colours)

for our "feet"picture

(I got mine and Scott's tonight and

I think most people will be shocked with

what colour I chose for mine as 98% of you

would have guessed black - which they are not!)

now the last one I don't feel so bad about

as Tara DID ask us to bring something from

home to incorporate into our shoot

that is special to us

and as space in our suitcases

are reserved for TARGET shopping

and as we are all obsessed with shoes

and Tara is the queen of feet pictures

it seemed like a perfect fit!

80/365 - yo Dude

a word in my vocabulary I probably use way too much

especially as it pertains to this little man

but when I saw this shirt yesterday I just knew

I had to get it for him.

39/365 commando Kaeden

every time we go visit my dad

Kaeden, knowing Papa doesn't like him walking through the snow,

tries to sneak under the window thinking

Papa can't see him

but every single time my dad calls him on it.

well today, wearing his new snowpants,

he decided to crawl commando style

under the window to sneak past papa

Bubba of course was all over calling out Kaeden

and once again Papa was able to see him...

but Kaeden is still determined, he is trying to come up with

another plan...he will get by Papa one of these days!

a superhero identity crisis

is it a plane, is it a bird, is it superman or is it batman?in his favourite superman pajamas wearing

a batman mask he crafted himself this afternoon.