Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Caden and The Pickle

It is always highly entertaining to see the reactions that our little ones make to new foods. This is Caden and the pickle test. Hope you enjoy.

Caden Laughing at Wesley



Caden Loves his little cousin Wesley! He finds him quite humorous.

Monday, May 10, 2010

The Electrical Savvy Veterinary Vampire

Taking bets on Caden’s future career. Amanda and I are certain he will pursue one of three careers; an electrician, veterinarian, or a vampire (if that is a career, I threw that one in).


With the many safety hazards that electricity and 8 month olds can bring we are always watchful. Caden hones in on electrical cords when he sees them and off he goes. Some of his favorite things to do are to chew on live wires, unplug and attempt to re-plug wires, and play with electrical sockets. Not to worry, we by no means condone this behavior or allow him to even attempt it, but nonetheless he has an addiction to cords when we he sees them he at least tries to crawl as fast as he can to them, or pitches a fit when we remove a cord that he works so hard to reach (let me know if you have the number for our local Electrical Wire Addict Anonymous group).

Secondly, Caden has a fascination with dogs. Red ones, black ones, white ones, big ones, little ones, and all in between; he loves them all. Every evening we take our ritual walk around the neighborhood, Caden usually cruises in his little Red Flyer wagon. While on our stroll Caden’s little eyes are scanning every direction looking for his canine friends. As soon as he sees one in the distance he locks eyes on it and begins kicking his feet back and forth. Sometimes he even talks to the canines (the next Dog whisperer perhaps). Oh on a few occasions he has actually makes physical contact with a dog or two. Usually these encounters end up with Caden getting a little to excited and the dog becoming a little lighter because of the hair extraction service that Caden offers (free of charge I have to mention). Maybe one day in the future we can get him a little friend (poor poor dog).

Lastly, we are considering letting Caden audition for the next Twilight movie, although we are afraid he may take it a little too serious. This is because Caden sometimes enjoys chewing on people. Whether it is a shoulder, arm, or maybe even my face Caden has the urge to sink his newly grown teeth into me, his mom, and sometimes random strangers (just kidding about the strangers, we taught him to not bite strangers). Amanda taught Caden how to give her kisses, aww…yeah sounds cute and it is when he does it with her (actually it is one of the cutest things ever). Fifty percent of the time that I ask him to give me a kiss he tries to extract portions of my nose. At least I know that he only likes kissing women.

Life is great with our little guy. Only complaint is that he is growing way to fast!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Pre-Mother's Day and The Family Grows

This morning, as Mother’s Day approaches, I thought about how awesome mothers truly are. After seeing Amanda’s unwavering devotion to taking care of Caden, myself (sometimes more of a kid than Caden), and her faithfulness to God I could not thank God for how blessed I truly am. Thank you to all the mothers.


Today the family went over to my mom’s house to celebrate a pre-Mother’s Day celebration. Caden and Wesley (my brother’s son) steal the show; it’s amazing how the little one’s light up the room. Caden flirts with all the ladies, his smile melts their hearts ( I try to tell him that he’s flirting with family, but I think he is just practicing for his long-distance girlfriend Reagan) and Wesley is so darn cute everyone just wants to hold him (wait until he is 20lbs, that will stop real fast). Anyways, It was good to hangout with the family. I almost forgot by the way, my cousin Jamie is pregnant, so awesome. Caden, Wesley, and _____ shall one day be a very interesting trio, can’t wait to see the trouble they brew up. Congratulations Jamie and Alex!

Friday, May 7, 2010

Future Farmer of America or the Next Michael Jackson?

Each and everyday is a blessing for Amanda and I especially because of our little guy. The joy and laughter he brings is insurmountable in everyway. Yesterday exemplifies that joy. While visiting Amanda’s grandparent’s house I decided to take Caden out to feed the cows some bread. Usually when Caden sees an animal he just reaches for it as if he would like to rip its hair out and gnaw on the creature. In this scenario we walked up to the fence and called all the cows in from the field. Caden’s anticipation grew as they approached. Once the cows reached the fence I broke a piece of bread from the loaf and tossed it to the cows. All of the sudden Caden broke out in hysterical laughter. Every time I threw a piece of bread his laughter became more and more profuse. Practically in tears I had to run in and get Amanda, her mother, and her grandmother to show them my newfound entertainment.


The joy that Caden brings to our home doesn’t stop there. Recently Caden took up the hobby of dancing. While sitting on the floor last night I got to see Caden break out in his jerky none graceful yet extremely entertaining dancing. He pulls up on one of his toys that is kind of like a little table with various noise mechanisms all over it. Then he pushes its’ buttons and starts to boogie. He looks like a two-and-a-half foot one hundred year old trying to dance, his legs locked in place he begins to jerk his little hips around occasionally checking to make sure that his mother and I are watching him (i'll upload a video soon). We love every moment of it.

I am looking forward to what today will bring and with the weekend coming I can’t be more excited about getting spend more time with the family.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

No Fear!

Over the past 8 months 2 weeks and 2 days Caden has went from being our cute almost motionless ball of joy to our no fear untamed adventurous little delight. Into everything, over the past month Caden has learned to sit up, crawl, and stand without any helping hands from mom and dad. He is a boy on a mission. Electrical cords, hair, jewelry, and anything dangerous are a few of his newfound hobbies. A typical day in paradise for Caden is drinking out of mom and dad’s cup, eating mom and dad’s food, and riding through Fishhawk in his Red Flyer wagon sporting nothing but a diaper (much to Caden’s sadness his mother usually makes him wear clothes).


With all of his newfound talents, Caden forgets that he is only 8 months old, usually resulting in him forgetting that he can’t walk yet and that there is such thing as gravity. Not to worry though, his mom and dad are always there to catch him when he steps out in faith. At the Coggins household we are taking precautions to prevent our little explorer from getting into trouble.

Our newest add-on is our Caden Cage, which is a 34 square foot baby gate pen with rubber flooring and minimal hazards, definitely a space killer. The honey-do/ Caden safety list continues to grow. Cabinet locks, door locks, baby gates, cord covers, outlet plugs, and other unforeseeable preventative maintenance mechanisms, are just a few.

Life is most certainly good and there is never a dull moment. Amanda and I look forward to what each and every new day brings. My current prediction is that Caden will be walking in about two or tree weeks. I have started working out more profusely in order to keep up with the little guy.

Our upcoming agenda, Amanda’s first mother’s day and Caden’s first birthday preparations.