KADYN

There are days I don't see Kadyn....but Tammy brings him over at least three or four times a week. And it just warms my heart when he walks in, sees me, and grins from ear to ear.

The other day he taught me how to eat a freezer pop. Now, I don't care for them. But he loves them....and has to have one every time he comes over. He can open the freezer and get one..this day, he got two...and gave one to me. He took an orange, gave me a green. I cut off the ends, and he was watching me suck on mine. I put it in my mouth and pulled out a little bite with my teeth. Kadyn yelled uh-uh...frantically shaking his head. Then he took it from me, and diligently worked it up the plastic with his little fingers, then handed it back to me. I bit off what was sticking out....then again, I worked a bit up with my teeth. Uh-Uh, he says, shaking is head. He took it and again worked a bit up sticking out, and gave it to me. We did this four times....then he decided I wasn't going to learn to do it correctly, so when he worked it up, he held onto it while I took a bite. This went on three or four times. Meanwhile, his orange one is laying on the table, melting. Finally, he worked a bit up, and I opened my mouth for it. Mine, he yelled...and stuck it in his own mouth. Needless to say, by this time, I was in tears from laughing so much. I said, OK, I'll eat the orange one. Uh-Uh, he said...Gam. and he grabbed it from me and took it to Tammy. I guess he thought if I couldn't eat it right, I shouldn't have any at all!!

Every time that child walks into my house, he goes to the refrigerator and gets the cottage cheese. This is before the freezer pop. One day, because there was just a little bit left in the carton, I gave him a spoon and let him eat out of the carton. Then it took me and Tammy several days to break him from always wanting to eat out of the carton instead of putting some on a dish.

It is such a privilege to watch that child grow and develop day by day. I swear he's the smartest not-quite-two-year-old I've ever seen. He watches every move Tammy makes...and imitates it perfectly. If she sits at the table with her arms folded in front of her, Kadyn will do the same. And he wants to help all the time. He helped me mix up a meatloaf the other day....and every move I made with my hands, he duplicated exactly. He doesn't talk much. But I think he's just like his Uncle Billy...just doesn't want to talk. He can repeat everything you say and understands everything you say to him.....or to someone else.