Plans for Dating... from my 5 year old...

I was having a little snuggle with Kadan at bedtime tonight after we read stories.

Me, as I put my hand on his face, "You are the most beautiful boy I've ever seen, you know that? You're going to make such a handsome young man one day."

Kadan, "What if all the girls chase me?! That'd be so crazy."

Me, "Yeah, you tell them, 'Sorry, girls... can't date til I'm older.' "

Kadan, "Yeah.... I think.... I'm gonna date like SIXTY girls."

Me, "Well, you need to date them one at a time, not all on the same date! But it's good to go on dates with lots of girls, that's how you decide who you want to marry."

Kadan, very thoughtful, he was very seriously contemplating during this conversation, "Ohhh, THAT'S why you date.... Okay. I'll just take lots of different girls on dates... but.... maybe I wont marry any of them. I'll just date them."

Me, "Well, okay. (LOL) But someday you might want to have a wife."

Kadan, "Hmmm... yeah... I think I DO want a wife. Okay. I'll just date lots of girls... and I'll see which one I like the best... IF she's pretty... then I'll have her marry me. But not yet! Not when I'm a teenager. When I'm big like a Daddy."

Me, "Yeah that's a good plan. You can go on dates when you're a teenager, but better wait til you're all grown up to get married."

Kadan, "But, Mom. Sometimes girls just don't want to play with me at school. Cuz I like to play rough (punches one fist into his other hand). Not like fight! Mom. Just like... rough playing."

Me, "Like.... tackling and pretend kung fu and stuff?"

Kadan, "Yea! I like to play rough. But girls and little little kids just don't really like to play rough. So they don't ever really want to play with me at school. Girls just like to... like talk and stuff."

Me, "Yea, girls like to play different than boys when your little. That's okay. When you get bigger you'll like having friends that are girls more."

Kadan, "Yea, when I'm bigger. Then we can go on dates. That'll be a good idea." Lays back down on his pillow and puts his hands behind his head, ready for sleep. "Then I'll get a girlfriend, AND... if I REALLY like her.... I'll let her be my wife."

Me, "Good thinking. Goodnight, buddy. Love you."

I will never ever ever get tired of having these 'in depth' conversations with this kid! LOL! He is seriously always wanting to talk about the future and why things happen and 'what if' this and that. He has the funniest little point of view on things I never would have thought he'd be thinking about. : )

"As Tiiiiiime.... Goes Byyyyy..... Sooo Slowwwly...." (Unchained Melody)

Screeeeech-uh-zirrrmmm (record scratches and stops)

Um, who the heck came up with those lyrics. Anyways, that's far from MY life! LOL!

I can't BELIEVE how fast time goes by! I think with each child I have, the speed of my life seems to double. Which means my life right now is 6x faster than it was 6 years ago. Sheesh!

Kadan is halfway through his first year of KINDERGARTEN!
I've finally broken down and realized Zack really isn't a baby anymore, he's talking so good and getting too dang smart for his own good! : )
Cameron is 2 1/2 months away from being ONE YEAR OLD!!!!! How in the?!?!

This last thing has hit me the hardest. I could swear I just got pregnant with him, and here he is, crawling and starting to stand up and getting ready for his first birthday! I'm SO not ready for him to grow up! I learned after the first two that they just grow up so incredibly fast, and I've made an effort to savor Cameron's babyhood. I've been enjoying every minute of it and I'm so sad for this stage of his infancy to end. The next stage always has so many fun things to enjoy as well, as I'm so excited to see him grow. But at the same time I'm enjoying having my little baby so much - seeing his big gummy grin, hearing his funny babbling and tiny giggle, watching him start to crawl and pull himself up, and squishing and cuddle his cute baby self.

I'm going to miss Zackery's adorable 3 year old voice and giggle, and his cute baby fat that he's losing more and more everyday...

I'm going to miss Kadan's wonderful 5 year old point of view and the funny ideas and conclusions he comes up with...

I have been making an effort to not wish the years away. Despite the hard times and frustrations of having little children.... I know it will not last forever and I want to enjoy every second, now matter how fast those seconds go by.

Puppy Playdates

Our next door neighbors (we live in a townhouse, so there back door is like 15 feet from ours) have 4 big dogs, a great dane puppy (which is enormous), a black lab mix, and 2 golden labs. They are 4 college kids and are super nice. Isabelle (our mini dachsund puppy) thinks these big dogs are the greatest thing ever!

When they first moved in she totally let these dogs know she was the 'big dog on campus'. She'd bark at them a few times, til they cowered (yes.... a great dane and 3 grown labs cowered to our little tiny weiner dog), then she'd wag her tail and bark excitedly to let them know she wanted to play and they'd come over to her. Everytime she knows they're outside she wants to go out and play. And several times she's followed them back into their house to play for a bit. She has also been known to go outside and sit on their back porch and bark once and paw at their door. To which we can hear their dogs barking to go outside and play with her.

We're not worried about her, because we know the people are very nice, but obviously we don't want her to bug them. But every time we talk to them they say, "No! We love her! She's so cute and she loves playing with our dogs!" So Isabelle will go play with her friends, sometimes in the backyard, sometimes she'll go over to her friends house for a puppy playdate, and they'll let her out whenever she's done playing and wants to come home. : )

I just think it's so funny that she knows where her friends live and that she can go over to visit when she wants to play. It's pretty much like having a fourth child. LOL