Kaden’s Birthday

Kaden woke up to a family room covered with balloons on his birthday and he was so excited! 

Then for his birthday breakfast, he requested pancakes, eggs and a banana.  He was so excited to see the three candles in his pancakes!

After picking up Porter from Kindergarten, Kaden invited a couple of his friends for a little party at the Bounce House.  We had hot dogs, chips, fruit snacks and drinks for  lunch and Kaden opened some presents from his friends. 

And then it was time to bounce.  The kids had a blast bouncing and sliding down the slides.  They definitely got their energy out for the day!

Little Owen was pooped from all of that bouncing and fell asleep.

Then Kaden shared some birthday cupcakes with his friends. 

And then more bouncing!

Then we came home and Kaden opened his present from Grandpa and Grandma Haslam.  Thanks so much for the present!!

Kaden’s Grandma Anka stopped by with a birthday balloon for Kaden that he loved!  Thanks Grandma!

As a side note, later that day I ended up having to go to the doctor where I found out that I had bronchitis and my Mom was so sweet to bring us a delicious dinner, flowers, drinks, desserts, fruit, etc. etc.  What an amazing Mom and Grandma we have.  Thank you so much Mom.  We all love you so much!! 

Then we let Kaden blow out a little cupcake.  He will have his big party with his cake in a couple of weeks. 

Happy Birthday Kaden!  We hope that you had a super fun day!  We are excited for your family birthday party that we will have soon.  We love you so much!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kaden

Dear Kaden,

Happy Birthday sweetheart!  Another year has flown by so quickly.  I just wanted to let you know how much I love you!  Every morning one of the first things that I hear is you running to my bed and asking if you can snuggle with me.  You quickly hop under my blankets, give me your big beautiful smile, and give me lots kisses on my forehead.  These moments are some of my most favorite parts of the day.  Kaden, you are such a sweetheart.  For no reason at all during the day, you will come and give me the biggest kisses.  You melt my heart.  I have really loved spending time with you in the morning while Porter is at school and Owen takes his nap.  You love to play ninjas, cars, dinosaurs, and build forts in your bunk bed.  I really treasure this special time in the morning that I get with you.  Your favorite TV shows right now are:  Daniel Tigers Neighborhood, Blues Clues, Mickey Mouse, and Leap Frog Letter Factory.  

Kaden, you are 3 years old going on 33.  You are so incredibly smart and learn everything so fast.  You are very logical and such a great thinker.  You know how to count to 20.  You know your ABC’S and a lot of the sounds that the letters make.  You know all of your shapes and shocked the doctor when you told him what a hexagon was.  You love cuddling up and reading stories in the evening.  You are very creative and imaginative and tell the best stories.  One of your many gifts is being able to make people smile and laugh.  Porter comes up to me all of the time and says, “I just love Kaden.. he always knows how to make me laugh.” 

Kaden, I am so proud of you and the wonderful boy that you are.  You make Mommy so incredibly happy and I am so lucky to be your Mom.  You teach me so much everyday.  I am so excited to see what life has in store for you and I am excited to continue to watch you grow and learn.  Daddy and I and your brothers Porter and Owen love you with all of our hearts.  Thank you so much for being such a special boy!  Happy 3rd Birthday Kaden!!

Love,

Mommy

Red Butte Gardens

January 16th, Porter had the day off of school.  So I decided to pack the boys up and take them to the Red Butte Gardens up by the University of Utah.  The gardens are half priced during the winter, and even though there isn’t a lot of garden this time of the year, I thought it was a great place for the boys to be able to run around and get some energy out.  And the views of the mountains and down into the valley were beautiful. The boys LOVED exploring here.  They also loved that there was tons of snow there, as we haven’t had a lot of snow so far this winter at our house. 

I can’t believe how much energy the boys have.  They were running and hiking and exploring all over the place.  They were almost impossible to keep up with.  But it felt so good to get out and walk around a bit. 

It was so cute to watch how excited they were to play in the snow.  They would stop to make snow angels and build all kinds of things with the snow. 

Here they are drawing pictures on the sidewalk with the snow!

They stopped for a while to build this little train out of snow.  They were both so proud!  

Even little Owen enjoyed the scenery and eating his delicious crackers!   Love that little face so much!!

As we were walking back up the hill, heading back to our car.. all of a sudden Kaden stopped and pointed toward the sky.  Then he said, “look at the beautiful sky.. I think I can see Heavenly Father and Jesus up there in the light in the clouds.”  I thought it was so sweet that the beauty of the sky reminded him of Heavenly Father and Jesus.  He is such a little sweetheart. 

Porter was not happy when we were ready to go home.  I think that he could have spent all day and then some running around and exploring the gardens.  I will have to make sure to bring them all back soon.  What a wonderful day that we had!!  So glad I could spend it with my boys!!  I love you Porter, Kaden and Owen so much!!  Wish that Paul could have been there with us too.  Maybe next time!