Cade--2 1/2 years old

Mr. Cadster is now officially 2 1/2!  Yay!  He is really growing up.  He talks and moves non-stop unless he is sleeping.  Here are some things he loves to do and funny stories too.

• Kirk was giving Cade a haircut and Cade started asking for the vacuum to clean up the hair.  When I started cutting Kirk's hair, we sent Cade out to get the vacuum and bring it in the bathroom.  He was so excited he could hardly hold still.  He brought the vacuum in and started getting the hose off the back.  Then he plugged it in and VVRROOM!  the vacuum turned on.  The power switch had already been flipped so none of us were expecting it to turn on.  Cade ran out of the room as fast as I have ever seen him move and started screaming.  I went and grabbed him and gave him hugs to calm him down.  He was shaking because the noise had scared him so bad.  Luckily (or maybe unluckily) this has not phased his fascination with vacuums.  Kirk and I thought it was pretty funny.
• Cade loves to sing.  He will often sing with me when I am putting him to bed or he sings quietly to himself throughout the day.  It is pretty cute.

Making pancakes

• Cade used to really hate nursery.  The crying has slowly gone away.  For a while he would start crying as soon as the closing prayer ended in sacrament meeting.  One week, right after the prayer he yelled "Class time" and took off running.  I was pretty excited too and followed him to class.  He hasn't had any problems since then and loves his class and his teachers.  He has learned "do as I'm doing," "Jesus wants me for  a sunbeam," and "ring around the rosy" all in his class and comes home singing them.  He said they have family night in his class and talk about Jesus.  He loves the bubbles and play dough.  He also has a baby crush on a girl named Ella.  The teachers say he follows her around.  Last week in the car coming home he told us they played Ring around the Rosy and he got to hold Ella's hand.  We are in trouble! 
• We have been having activity days at my house recently in the evenings.  I am able to put Cami to bed before it starts and Cade stays up and hangs out.  He loves the girls (and the girls love him.)  The girls always ask Cade to give them hugs. 

Snack time--Who cares that we ate breakfast 15 minutes ago!

• One day after naptime, we didn't have much going on.  Cade told me that we needed to go to Walmart and see the vacuums.  I needed a few things anyway, so we went and he loved it.
• We made valentines for grandparents and cousins.  Cade made 6 of them, no problem.  He loves drawing with markers and doing stickers.
• Melissa got a special valentine.  It was a piece of blue paper with no drawing or stickers on it.  I don't know why Cade chose that paper but in his mind it was for Melissa.  I tried to put it away and he said "no mommy.  That Melissa valentine." 
• He is getting a lot more social.  He actually plays with friends when we see them, instead of just by them.  He asks if certain people will be at playgroup or at the library.  We left the kiddos with a friend when Kirk and I went out and Cade did really well.  Cami screamed, but that is a different story. 
• Cade likes to brush his hair once in a while.  He goes in the bathroom and gets his brush really wet and brushes through his hair.  When he is done, there is water dripping down his face.  Once I dried it off with a towel and he told me he likes the water there and went and got more.  Whatever. 
• One of Cade's jobs is to clear his plate after every meal.  He knows it too.  He is not supposed to play with toys until he clears his plate.  One night after dinner Cade was the last one to leave the table.  I was in the living room and he came in and said "I play toys, mommy?" I said sure, go play and he said "I no take plate to sink, Mommy."  He thought he was pretty funny tricking me.  So I told him to clear his plate and then he could play and he did. 
• Cade's latest phrase is to tell me something ridiculous and then say "I just teasing, Mommy."
• Pretty much every sentence Cade says ends in Mommy.
• Instead of saying unplug it, Cade says Plug it out.
• Cade loves stories!  He will sit and listen to stories for as long as Kirk or I will read, I think our record is 45 minutes.  His favorites include Go Dog go! (He can "read" it himself), the Neighbor book, Just a Mess, and the tractor book.

helping mom clean

• We stopped for lunch at Costco one day.  In the car on the way, Cade told me something like "Cami drop food on floor, make mess, need to vacuum it up.  Costco have vacuum?"
• Cade needed to use the bathroom one day.  Usually he goes in the laundry room on the main level.  This time he decided he wanted to use the toilet upstairs so he pulled his pants and underwear down and started to walk up the stairs (which is tricky if you have pants around your ankles.)  I helped him get his pants up and go up stairs. 
• Cade likes to take Cami's bottle upstairs for me at night.  He says "I take anni bottle upstairs, mommy.  I come right back down play daddy." 
• Cade is obsessed with Santa and Frosty still.  He asks me where they live, if they go to church, if they have a vacuum, if they like stories, if they like to eat pizza etc.  We have created a little world for them.  Cade would like to go visit, but I told him it was too far away.
• We got a bunch of snow earlier this month.  Our cul-de-sac didn't get plowed and the garbage truck came the next day and got stuck.  They guy couldn't get it our for over an hour.  A tractor came and ended up shoveling our road.  Cade keeps talking about the garbage truck got stuck and the tractor came.  Cade loves garbage day and we listen every Monday for the truck to come so we can run outside and wave to the guy.  He always waves back too.   
• Cami has started walking here and there.  Cade loves to hold her hands and help her or have her walk to him.  He doesn't like it when she is done and wants to crawl and they usually both end up crying. 

• Cade has started spotting letters everywhere.  It is fun to see him learning so much.  He is starting to put together sounds too.  We were talking about the letter A like ant and animal and he said A-A-Anni (which is what he calls Cami).  I was impressed.  He has done it a few other times too. 
• With Kirk's and Cami's birthdays so close, Cade is very excited about birthdays.  He knows that we need balloons, a treat and presents for birthdays.  He keeps asking me when everyone's birthdays are and he knows his is in August on the twenty-two (actually it is the 21st, but he gets is mixed up every time.)  He also knows that Scott's birthday is in April and Marley's and Cami's are in March.
• Cade like to do things on his own and if I help him too much he will re do it. I helped him up on a stool and he said "I do it." and climbed down and back up again.  He is getting pretty independent.  

Finger painting

Wow.  That was a lot.  We love Cade.  He loves vacuums, tractors, the Mater Movie, being outside, his family and helping Mommy with everything. 

P.S. if you are still reading, you should know that this is my 200th post!