My little helper

I am so glad that Caden likes helping around the house. We try to let him be a part of everything so that he will learn and he is taking this very seriously. He loves doing laundry, cooking supper, sweeping, and cleaning up. I had no idea that he would grow up so fast.

Visiting the York's

Leah and I try to get the boys together as much as possible. They really enjoy playing and it is fun to watch them together. There is definitely a love-hate relationship, which I guess is very typical for cousins. I just wish we were living closer to Athens so we could see them more.

These are some highlights of the boys in January. The Olsommer's met the York's at the Georgia Aquarium (with everyone else in the world) for a quick visit. Both Alexander and Caden loved the fish. Caden really liked the beluga whales and has been talking about them since this day. Yes, talking. He tries so hard to say it and we know what he is saying. He even sits and talks to the picture of the whales that we got from our trip.

The other photos are from the boys with the big truck. Caden loves for Alexander to push him around but hasn't quite learned the importance of returning the favor.

Callaway Gardens

During the Christmas holidays we decided to take some day trips. Michael and I picked Caden up from daycare early (notice the hairstyle from nap) and traveled to Callaway Gardens, north of Columbus. We thought he would love the butterfly exhibit (where my friends Tammy and Chad were engaged) and the light show. Caden really enjoyed the butterflies except that he couldn't catch one. It kept him busy. He also really liked the waterfalls - something that isn't that interesting to the rest of us. We packed a picnic for the car as we heard that the line for the light show was really long and we wanted to get in line early. It was fun to picnic in the car and Caden loved being in the front seat with us. The light show was wonderful - more for Michael and I. Caden got a little bored since it took almost an entire hour to go through the lights. He sat in the floorboard of the front seat and every once in a while would pop up to see what we were talking about.

Christmas

The holiday season was long and busy. Since we are in Albany this year we had lots of traveling to do. We celebrated in Lawrenceville with the Olsommer's before Christmas, Christmas day in Albany with the Bell's, and the weekend after in Bartow with the McMillan's. Caden was very frustrated after getting lots of goodies and not being able to play with them as we traveled from one location to another. We will be so thankful to be back in a house next year where family can come to US!!! It will be too hard next year. Oh, Michael will probably be working and won't get too many holidays off as the new employee.

No Christmas Cards This Year

If you were wondering why you did not receive a card from the Olsommer's this year it is because they did not turn out. Several attempts were made, though. Our first attempt was with Stills of Life Photography in Jefferson (www.stillsoflifephotography.com). She made our cards last year, but Caden got sick and busted his lip. We waited. Next, we took cute pictures in front of our tree in our pajamas but when I picked up the order it was completely out of focus and it looked HORRIBLE. We tried to take other photos to replace this one but Caden did not cooperate. I guess it is difficult for a little boy to be still for a picture. Please forgive us. Here are some of our attempts for you to enjoy.

It's been so long...

We know it has been some time since our last post. We have been so busy as I am sure most of you have. There is so much to share from the past few months so we will try not to miss anything.