Oh my sweet Kaden. He is my little tenderheart. Even when he was a little toddler and just learning to talk, he was so polite and sweet. He used to thank me for changing his bum and would tell me 20 times a day how much he loved me and that I was "the best Mama in the whole universe." That hasn't changed....well, the changing his bum part has, but nothing else. LOL! Kaden has a mammoth-sized heart and has been such a great blessing in my life. I have yet to meet a more thoughtful and sensitive, loving little dude. When he was in preschool, every other month, he would want me to stop and get flowers for his teacher. After the first two times, I said no....but then realized what a mistake that would be. I didn't want to be the one to put out that thoughtful fire. And so, we continued to take his teacher flowers on a regular basis...usually the itty bitty cheap bouquets, but still beautiful.
Being sensitive and thoughtful towards others is something that I have tried to really instill in my little ones, because it is very important to me. However, though I do recognize little "ME-isms" coming out in both Kaden and Seneca in the way they interact with each other, with me & their daddy and with friends, their little spirits are simply loving and sensitive BY NATURE. Kaden has always been a tenderheart. He is rough and tumble, but he loves his Mama. Though we taught him early the importance of being a gentleman (and he still ALWAYS opens my door..and often Seneca's door as well), he has continued to act as such and will say things like "Mama, I'm being a gentleman. I'm always a gentleman and I will always take care of you," on a regular basis. It makes my heart melt. Where Seneca is constantly making us laugh to tears, Kaden makes my heart feel good. He is so affectionate, sincere and thoughtful and every time he says anything to me, it's like he is giving my heart a tight squeeze. Oooh....I love him so much!!!
A few weeks ago, Kaden really wanted a set of Bakugans that have recently become the CRAZE for little boys. Boys (and girls alike) are collecting them and trade them on the playground at recess. I remember the excitement about things like that, so I understood HIS excitement. Still, I didn't want to just give them to him. So, we opened up his piggy bank and discovered that he had just enough to buy a set of 6 new Bakugans. So, Kaden and I went on a little trip to Target to buy his new Bakugans. On the way to the register, he looked up at me and said, "Do you know why this is the BEST DAY EVER?" I fully expected him to say that it was because he got his new Bakugans, when I said, "Why?" He looked up at me and said, "Because you're here with me!!" *sigh* But that's not all. When we got home, I sat at the kitchen table with him and he showed me every single one and how they transform and how strong each one is, etc. While we were sitting together he said, "Mama. You are so fun to be with. I love you so much." Is he for real? I so love him....he is my little angel man.
Kaden is even (with very little coaching from Mama) so thoughtful to his little sister. Whenever he is with me to pick her up from preschool, he always asks how her day was and what she made. He always shares with her and tells her how much he loves her. Ooooh..it just makes my heart want to explode. It seems like there are far fewer true gentlemen in our generation that there were in our parents' and grandparents' generation. I am so proud to have my little guy already on the road to being one of "those guys" who treats women...and all people....with love and respect. Most of which, comes absolutely naturally to him. Love that. There is a serious sense of healthy "Mama Pride" being the Mama of a little gentleman.
Lately, our breakfast conversations have always somehow been directed to the topic of Satan. No matter what we are talking about, Seneca or Kaden will bring it up. And speaking of, Kaden (on his own) started asking Heavenly Father to "please not let us have the spirit of Satan in our hearts" in his prayers. So love that. Anyway....our morning conversations have been something like this (an example from last week):
KADEN: Satan doesn't want us to learn or play or be happy. He doesn't want us to have any toys either.
SENECA: Not even my TEDDY BEAR??????
KADEN: Nope. And he doesn't want us to go to McDonalds either.
KADEN: (eating breakfast) Mama..Satan doesn't want us to try new things. He just wants us to try the same things. I even tried cheese on my English Muffin and it is Yuuuu--mmy. Satan is mad right now, because I tried new things.
KADEN: I love you Seneca.
SENECA: I love you Kaden.
KADEN: Mama, Satan doesn't want us to love each other. But I will always love my family. Mama, I love you so much. Satan is mad right now because I said that.
KADEN: Mama, there was a boy in my class and Satan was happy because he was disrupting the class.
SENECA: But you wasn't, wight (right) Kaden? Him's (Satan) mad because we didn't follow Him's plan. We followed Jesus' plan.
Not a day goes by that I don't hear Kaden tell me that I am the "best Mama ever" or "the best Chef ever" (for making grilled cheese, corn dogs or pizza pockets..LOL!) and that he loves me "to the moon and around and around and around and around and around and infinity and a thousand and a million and a billion infinity much." Every day, when we are in the car, it is a love fest...."I love you Mama." "I love you Seneca." "I love you Kaden." etc. etc. etc. I LOVE IT!! Kaden is always concerned about others' feelings...including mine, his Daddy's and Seneca's. I love that he never wastes an opportunity to tell us he loves us. Some, he has probably picked up through example, but I truly believe that Kaden is just generally a loving, thoughtful and sensitive soul. He is so wise beyond his years and some of the comments he makes to me and in his prayers are so deep and thoughtful...he never seizes to amaze me. He provides so much love and comfort for my heart...and I can't even adequately express how much I love him. But perhaps "to the moon and around and around and around and around and around and infinity and a thousand and a million and a billion infinity much....plus one" at least comes close! ;-)
And a special thank you to my sweet and spunky little Seneca, who took every one of these pictures of me and my little bud yesterday before church (it was a little bright..thus, the closed eye. Ha ha!). Love that my kids are showing interested in a hobby that I love so much. This next one is my personal fave of the ones she took....
LOL..kidding. My actual fave is the first pic in this entry. I absolutely love how randomly she cropped the shot...and captured a totally perfect and charming "Kaden smile!" Love that! What a handsome little guy he is! Thanks so much Seneca! Mama loves both of her babies to much she could just SCREAM! Oooh...LOVE YOU!
what a great entry. I had a child always tell me I was the best mom in the whole world and love it. I love the pictures Seneca took. I think they are great!
Posted by: Dawn | November 02, 2009 at 03:41 PM
Ha HA. Cute last pic. : D
You are SO raising your kids right. Man.. this world is SO much better with each little gentleman in it! Good job Kaden! Keep it up. You will make some woman very happy someday! (Besides your mamma. ; D )
Posted by: lynn Crapo | November 02, 2009 at 09:31 PM
This is by far my favorite entry, Heath! I so love the 3 of you :)
Posted by: K A T I K A | November 03, 2009 at 10:46 AM
Love this!
I hope you dont mind Heather, but I awarded you Blog of the Week on MY Blog. I think its well deserved!
Posted by: M | November 08, 2009 at 05:20 PM
Hey Heather! Just wanted to say hello and let you know you are missed! Hope all is well. Have a great Thanksgiving!
Posted by: Karen | November 22, 2009 at 07:09 PM