My Handsome Boy

Exhibit A:

I love these church clothes our friends from Brazil, the Tavernaris, sent us:



I know Caden looks less than thrilled--that's just how it is when church is during naptime. I have some pictures of him smiling this day, but these faces sum up our Sundays of no naps. But don't the suspenders and matching tie kill you? Thank you Thelma and Roberto!


Exhibit B:

All dressed up after church, I had to take advantage of the cuteness with some pictures:








I think we got some good ones, but this one cracks me up. He was yelling here, " No mom! I'm all done! Take it off! Take it off!

Grandma and Grandpa came to play

On their way to a private beach and fancy resort in Mexico, my parents had a lay over in LA. After some convincing, my dad changed their tickets to a 3 day layover instead of 3 hour. For them, we were a short pit stop on the way to a grand vacation. For us, it was a weekend we looked forward to all month-especially because it was the weekend before Chad's exams.

I asked Caden if he'd rather have Santa or a grandpa come visit, he didn't even have to think about it, "Grandpa."


My dad kept saying before they came, "All we want to do is relax. Just sit by the pool, hang out, relax." Yeah, right. I knew better. My dad can only "relax" when doing projects, of which he found about 15 to do around my house. Knowing my dad like I do, my sister told me to find the smallest paint brush I could then let him touch up all the walls in the house.

The first morning, he walked around my house inspecting, then came to me with a list of requests: a caulk gun, a razor, a screw driver, etc. After a few trips to Lowe's, he was set. Between trips to the park, BYU basketball, Bass Pro Shop, and outlet shopping, my dad was working, most of the time with a 2 year old helper in tow. His projects ranged from re-caulking our kitchen cupboards to peeling the price stickers off the bottom of shelves we have hanging in our living room (things like that drive him crazy!)


All the while my mom and I chatted, ate the bags of cadbury eggs she brought me, watched movies and did the real relaxing.

When we dropped them off at the airport, it was a sad good-bye. I was trying to put Caden back into the car after he'd given good-bye hugs, but he squirmed free to run back to his grandma again...throwing his arms around her legs.

I'm already coming up with a new project to do list for next time my parents come in town.

Caden says

To tell my parents we're expecting another baby, I whispered to Caden to tell Grandma there's a baby in his mom's tummy. He immediately lifted up my shirt to check it out. Seeing nothing there, he must have figured I got it wrong. He whispered to my mom, "There's a baby in Mary's tummy." I was just happy that our repetitive nativity acting during FHE paid off!


He now loves the words "probably" and "actually"

Me: Caden, it's time to get in the bath.
Caden: No, I probably OK.

On the way to church (he was wearing a sweater vest over a collared shirt) "Actually, mom, I have a big problem. I forgot my tie."


This morning he was talking about being a good guy who saves the day. I said, "I'm going to save the day."
He replied, "No, mom. I save the day. And...you're a girl. I a boy-I save the day."

My parents came to visit this weekend. I came downstairs one morning to find him reclined, with his legs up on the couch, eating a piece of bread. Every few bites, he'd pull a piece off, announce "garbage" and throw it on the ground. What shocked me even more is that my mom commenced to pick up each of these pieces and throw them away for him! It was a rough awakening for him when grandma wasn't around to take care.

My dad and Caden are buddies. At one point (it may have been when Cade was eating my dad's chocolate raisins for breakfast), my dad called to me from the other room, "Michelle? Can you come in here and tell him no? He keeps asking me, 'please, please, please, grandpa' and I can't turn him down."

The other thing I'm loving right now is how Caden greets everybody. At the park, the library, the grocery store, he says, "Hey! You want to know my name? Caden Wallace Schow. I'm 2."

And playing with a toy dragon he said, "Your name is Bad Dragon Wallace Schow."