4-13-11 It's Almost Birthday Time

I’ve been looking forward to celebrating Caden’s first birthday, but all of the sudden I’m feeling real sappy about it. Just like him rolling over and saying Mama for the first time, it doesn’t matter how many kids you have, all of their “firsts” are treasured. Caden has mostly been a laid-back little guy who loves to laugh. It’s fun to get him going with a belly laugh. Sometimes it’s as easy as blowing on his hair. His brothers always know how to make him crack up – they can do it just by looking at him. There are times when the way they play with him just seems too rough, but Caden just gets the giggles.
Right now my favorite moments are when Caden comes close for hugs and kisses. It’s as if there’s a physical force within him that just longs to show love and basks in its return. Today, he moved his arms with the accompanying motions when I sang “Itsy Bitsy Spider”. His voice asserts his dissatisfaction very loudly if somebody takes away a toy that he is playing with. It surprises me every time that this is enough to make his brothers quickly give things back to him.
Caden transitioned to the bottle a few months ago and drinks whole milk. He is quite happy to be moving on from jarred baby food to food in it’s normal state and texture. He’s managed to stay pretty healthy this year; I can’t complain about a few colds and bouts of diarrhea. He’s still taking two naps, but I can tell he’s about to give up the morning nap. He is very much aware that he is missing out on something when I put him down for naps. His big eyes grow even wider as I lie him down in his bed if he can hear his big brothers playing. He is serious about his commitment to his pacifier and I have had to do some whole house searches in the middle of the night to find one. The strange thing is that he always has one when he goes to sleep at night, so I’m bewildered as to how they can go missing at 2 a.m., but there are many things that baffle me at 2 a.m.
Last week I bought Caden his official walking shoes; however, he has chosen not to walk yet. He almost seems insulted when I hold his hands and try to get him to move one foot in front of the other. As if it’s not enough to have adults in his life that move him at their discretion, Caden also has two big brothers that do the same. To get an accurate picture of what this means, you have to remember that his big brothers are only two and four. Caden is frequently moved from a standing position to a sitting or lying down position because his brothers are trying to keep him safe. They don’t always to this in the safest manner.
I let my mind wander and try to think of what Caden will be like when he grows up. As far as I can tell, he’ll be perfect. Perfectly Caden.
Eph. 3
16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
20Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us