First crush

Cupid aimed his arrow at Caden and now my son is "in love" with an older woman. Her name is Melanie and she's 7 years old.

"Mommy, I love Melanie and I want to marry her," my doe-eyed 5-year-old told me on a recent afternoon. "I want her to be my wife."

Oh boy. I knew this day would come, I just had no idea it would come so soon. How could my firstborn, who has never talked about the opposite sex before, already have feelings for a girl? He's my baby! And who is this Melanie, anyway? Does she have good parents? Is she nice to Caden? Is she smart, beautiful, creative, talented? Does she have good teeth? But more importantly, am I not the one who's supposed to be Caden's "one and only" gal?

One day, perhaps 20 years from now, Caden will bring home the girl of his dreams and announce to us that she is his bride-to-be. I suppose that gives me a good two decades to prepare. 

For now, I will take this first crush (and subsequent crushes) in good stride and remember that right now I am his one and only gal.

I want cookies

I saw this and thought it was brilliant.

Notable quotable

"To a booger, this house is like the world."  --Caden Salaff

Bro and sis

Like any mom on the planet, I love taking photos of my kids. But my favorite ones are the pictures of my son and daughter, together. It seems almost every pic I've snapped tells the story of their very distinctive personalities.

Take this particular photo for example (taken at Disneyland last week):

Caden, my 5-year-old, loves making faces for the camera. He's loud, he's hilarious and he never passes up a moment to try and make someone laugh. I mean, just look at him. Look at that expression. His inner monologue: "Dude! Check out this sweet fuzzy chipmunk hat on my head! Whooohoooo! I'm at Disneyland! I'm having the time of my life! Did I mention I'm devouring an amazingly delicious swirly lollipop?! Yeeeaaaahhhhh!!!"

Then there's sweet little sister, Isobel, sitting like a lady in her stroller, slightly kicking up her legs, content as can be. Izzy is a true girl's girl. She loves shoes, bags (notice the Harajuku Lovers make-up bag she swiped from mom's purse), and everything sparkly, glittery and colorful. Quiet, reserved, and serious, she's almost the complete opposite of her big bro. However, no one can make her laugh out loud like her brother, who dotes on her 24-7.

It's such a joy to watch these two grow up together. Such distinct souls, yet obviously cut from the same cloth. I'm sure 20 years from now, the photos will tell the same story.

In memory of...

Thanks to all the brave men and women serving this country at home and overseas. This eggs benedict is for you. 

Happy Memorial Day.