He turns FIVE.

On Sunday our biggest, littlest man turned five. As in F. I. V. E. One whole freaking hand. Sure I look at him and he looks like a five year old seeing how tall he is and all but its still so very hard to believe that five years have just come and gone as fast as they have.

This little man of ours made me a mom. Made us parents. Made us a family. & our life hasn't been the same since & trust me, we wouldn't have it any other way.

This little, I should probably stop referring to him as little since he is anything but, this big guy is what we would consider an intense child. He wears his emotions on his sleeve. You never have to wonder what he is thinking or what he is feeling--he isn't going to be afraid to tell you. Sure the tantrums can be intense but the love that this kid gives is even more intense. He truly has the biggest heart.

For his birthday he received money from both Grammy & Papa Tom & Grandma Sara. We took him out on Monday to pick out a new toy & after he picked his new toy he looked over at Logan. Logan was just begging to get his own toy and when I told him that it wasn't his birthday, Kaden offered up some of his money.

"Buddy, you can use my money to buy you a new toy." Heart. Melted.

When we returned home, Logan wanted to play with Kaden's new toy & although Kaden was dying to play with himself, he saw how upset Logan was. Justin and I were getting ready to put Logan in timeout for his behavior but when Kaden came over to him, put his hand on his shoulder and said, "It's okay Logan, you can play with it. I don't want you to be sad." & with that, my heart. Melted. Again.

We had a movie date on Monday afternoon while Logan was napping and the first thing Kaden wanted to know---"what about Logan?" I told him that he was going to nap and it was just going to the two of us. "But, I'm going to miss him." Heart. Melted. Once. Again.

This kids loves to "scare" people. & its the simplest scare too, I mean you pretty much know its coming, okay you totally know its coming. It goes a little like this.

Kaden: "Grammy, look that way!" Points to the right & Grammy looks to the right.
Kaden: "AAHHHH!" & then Grammy jumps.

And this little game will be on repeat for about 15 minutes. I am not sure why he gets a kick out of it but he does & watching the joy he gets out of this simple game, you can't help but smile and even laugh. At first it was a little like--really Kaden, come on. & now, its just fun. & very cute.

Besides growing like a weed, Kaden loves to play with Legos. He loves to go outside and ride his new bike. He has a great fondness for anything Superheroes, especially their movies & not the cartoon versions either. His favorite snack is bread--don't ask. His favorite color has remained red. He LOVES root beer and sprite. He hates it when his daddy beats us home after work. & as hard as I try, he is not a fan of wearing clothes to bed--underwear only.

No matter what time he goes to bed I always know that he will be getting up at least once to "tell me something." Usually its that he loves me & he wants another hug before scurrying off back to his room. Sometimes its to tell me that "we don't say idiot, do we mom." or "Mom, ummm, (as he looks around), ummm, can I throw this trash away for you?" 8 out of 10 times it makes me smile & he gets to crawl up in bed by me and hang for a little while longer. I'll never get these days back so I don't mind keeping him up a little bit later.

To say this big man of ours keeps our world going round would be a huge understatement. He not only keeps us on our toes but he has taught us more about how to love & I mean really love than I could have ever imagined. Couldn't imagine our life without his bright blue eyes and ear to ear grin.

Happy 5th Birthday Kaden Oliver. We love you to the oceans of Florida and back.