Quintessential Quote

"Stay gold, Ponyboy, stay gold."

-Johnny Cade, The Outsiders

Cade Chips In

Earlier this week I was feeling nostalgic (as I do whenever I look at Cade and think about how he's more little boy than baby these days) so I went through my Blackberry photo album to relive some of my son's most photo worthy moments of the first few months he was mobile (on two feet). As I did, I realized a pattern. Since he's been able to walk, Cade has really started pulling his weight around the house and I've caught [most of] it on camera! Behold, all the ways that Cade chips in . . .

He helps make the bed.

He makes sure the pillows are in their proper places.

He dusts the curtains.

He takes a break to work on the expansion of his vocabulary.

Beginning with the letter A, natch . . .

He makes sure the cabinet hinges are in proper working order.

He LOVES grocery shopping, just like Mama.

He has a vision for how the fridge magnets should look . . .

. . . and he rearranges them accordingly.

He puts clean dishes away.

Pots and pans are his favorite!

He makes sure the couch pillows are nice and fluffy . . .

. . . which is exhausting and inevitably leads to a much needed "test" of the fluffiness.

He's a big helper at Costco! Check out those muscles.

He does his part with the laundry; including folding (translation: holding) socks.

He hauls the laundry basket.

And has his own method of "putting away" clean clothes.

When he sees Daddy's laundry, he usually takes a break to cuddle with it *SWOON*.

Phew! Alphabetizing DVDs (without even being asked) is HARD work!

He dusts . . . 

. . . and he mops!

And, finally, he takes a load off, after an especially trying day of chipping in.