Caden's birthday party

He was just a little excited about his party. Just a little...

My baby becomes a boy

In honor of my little rockstar turning 4 (FOUR!!!!) next week, I'd like to share the video I made for his first birthday. Even though he's a big boy now, he'll always be my baby.

Caden's first year

Happy Father's Day

We are so lucky, Caden!

Tottoos

Time for a little product endorsement. Caden is a runner. He makes a break for doors, elevators and the like so I was very worried about taking him to various attractions in Baltimore on a busy weekend. And combine that with some mild hearing loss that makes it difficult for him to hear mommy yelling "Stop!" and we have a perfect storm. It would be way too easy for him to slip through the crowd and escape. So I tattooed our phone numbers on him. Well, actually it was a temporary Tottoo. It stayed on for 2 days before it started to peel and gave me some security that if he was lost, someone could then call my cell phone and reunite us quickly. There are other versions out there and other forms of ID for children but I was very happy with this particular product. Okay, product endorsement over. They should at least give me a discount on my next order, don't you think?

More Baltimore

Here you can see our little rockstar in action:

Baltimore Adventure

It's no accident that Caden knows the sign for "explore." This kids loves an adventure. The Tank and I recently took him for a long weekend trip to Baltimore and he had sooooo much fun. He was running from animal to animal at the Maryland Zoo, had to be dragged crying from the Port Discovery Children's Museum and still didn't get enough of the National Aquarium after two visits. As soon as Caden was dressed each morning, he hopped in his stroller and signed "outside". He didn't even want breakfast. And it was such a treat to see him discovering new things and see the absolute joy, wonder and amazement expressed on his face. We all had a fantastic trip. Our biggest moment of drama was when Caden pitched a toy into the harbor. The Tank was proud of our son's throwing arm but Caden was beside himself watching his stuffed animal drift away in the water.

The weekend was such a joy that I can hardly wait till our next getaway.

What a joy of a weekend. I can't wait for our next family adventure.

Soeren spreading the word to end the word

This young man is such a powerful presenter, inspired by his love for his sister. Soeren Palumbo is a student at Notre Dame and because of his incredible message has had the opportunity to travel the world reaching out to others. Such an inspiration.

Watch him here asking an audience to stop using the r-word and to choose love instead.