my toothless first grader

there are many neat things to say about cayden. first is that he's growing like a weed, i find myself wondering where the time is going so quickly. he's so tall and handsome. no longer a little boy.

cayden started first grade two weeks ago. he loves to eat lunch at school (brownies are not a staple at home and he thinks it is super cool that he has his own lunch "bank" account. like the money just appears there and belongs 100% to him). cayden would never complain about going to school all day, it's what big kids do and well now, kindergarten is for geeks. he's way over it. needless to say, it hasn't been a huge adjustment, all day school that is, and he's even happy when i pick him up at 3:30 every day. it's weird, i sort of expected a tired and grumpy six year old but he's just happy to be coming home for the day. how neat! i think he just loves to learn and jake pointed out the other day how much cayden thrives when he is surrounded by people. he doesn't like to be alone. he loves to make friends and constantly be doing something.

recently cayden lost his front tooth. he pulled and twisted it for days trying to get it out. he would endure any amount of pain just to be that much closer to being one of the "big kids." it's all about the number of teeth you've lost, how high you can count and how many things you know. i have a feeling cayden won't ever be truly satisfied until he knows everything. some of the questions that come out of his mouth leave me speechless. usually because i don't know the answer and i know making something up will not suffice so i tell him to ask his uncle josh who i think really does know everything. it only takes me two seconds to convince cayden to start on his reading for the day. "uncle josh knows everything because he reads." so he'll read and read asking question after question. even my uncle dave, who recently took cayden on his first fishing trip (thank you uncle dave) was impressed with cayden's ability to think up a solid question over and over again. one after the other, it never stops. now he thinks he knows everything about fishing and even though he didn't actually catch a fish, he's the best six year old fisherboy in the whole world.

i love cayden.

he's such a great big brother and tries really hard to make good choices and be responsible.

he was dying for a new bike but we have no money. most of the time i embrace our current financial situation as an experience that has humbled both jake and i more than (i think) any other experience could have. we needed it. but, this type of moment, when my kid really wants a new bike and i don't have the money to buy him one, is the type of moment that makes me wish things were just a little bit better. but they're not and i tried to explain this to him. we told him he needed to buy his own bike so he would have to start earning some money somehow. i suggested he pick up molly's left overs in the back on a weekly basis and he didn't feel like this was a good job. "how about i just wash your car or clean my room?" he's sort of really lazy. picking up molly's poop wasn't an option so i told him to ask my dad for work. of course my dad told him he could pick up dog poop. "why can't i just mow your lawn?" no matter how much jake tried to convince him that picking up poop was way easier then cutting lawn or washing cars he would not give in.

only after i dragged him on a three and half mile run in ninety degree heat with him crying behind me the whole time complaining that his legs hurt did i think it really was time. his knees were hitting his handle bars. so i decided to buck up and have our yard sale in order to afford a new bike for my kid. but, i told him he still had to earn the money to buy it and so he spent the entire day selling twenty five cent lemonade, cookies and donuts to the public. he made $36 that day and had another $50 in his piggy bank. he gave me every penny and right away we went down to the bike shop for his new bike. of course jake and i had to fork over some of our earnings but that's why we had the sale to begin with, right? i was so proud of him and realized it really was a good learning experience for him. to know he can't just have what he wants whenever he wants it. that we all work really hard to have the things we have and it's important to take care of our stuff. he hasn't dropped the bike once in the garage. he meticulously places it in the bike stand so it won't get scratched.

just like a big kid would do.