Meet Cayden

Cayden John Shipman is an amazing little boy!  When we first found out we would be bringing home a 2 year old BOY, we thought, “What will we do with a boy?”  Everyone one told Stacy how excited they were for him.  It’s always perplexing when people think Dads need boys.  For 22 years Stacy has been a dad of daughters and he never once wished or hoped for a boy.  It probably helped that Faith and Abbi were athletic and in some ways, more boy-like than girl. :)

Cayden spent the first years a very sick boy.  When we were in the Philippines we visited his genetics doctor and met with the medical staff at CSC.  His medical records were inches tall.  He had been hospitalized twice, had a muscle biopsy, and been on antibiotics at least once every month of his life.  Cayden was diagnosed with metabolic myopathy, asthma, eczema and GERD. 

Cayden's 1st Birthday

Cayden's 2nd Birthday

Seeing these pictures, which I am so very grateful for, reminds me that just next month I will be planning a birthday party!

When we got to CSC it was very clear that Cayden had been very well taken care of.  It was hard to get his aunties to let go of him!  Cayden was walking on his own and running, albeit wobbly.  He was taking two naps per day and even though we got to take Micaela out for lunch, Cayden stayed home because he tended to always get sick whenever he left the CSC grounds. (He was also finishing his antibiotics and we didn't want to risk him being sick for a 24 hour day of flying.)  

Here's a picture of Dad and Cayden the first day :)

Cayden took to Stacy pretty quickly.  His first official day with us wore him out.  It's pretty stressful leaving the only home you've ever known and going places with strangers.  Cayden's personality at first was pretty cautious.  He also had a horrible cough, and with his history I was extremely concerned we might end up in the hospital.  This was not something I wanted to do in a foreign country.  Praise God, I took my essential oils and we lathered him up.  The next day....no cough!!

 One very tired boy!

One of Cayden's favorite things to do at CSC was to following the maintenance guys around and help them "fix" things.  This works out handy for Stacy!  Not knowing if Cayden will ever play sports because of his condition Stacy had already planned that woodworking and "fixing" things would be father-son bonding.  One of the first things we bought was this tool bench! Note:  Don't take newly adopted children to Toys R Us!  As an adult I'm overwhelmed in that store....poor kiddos...at least we're learning and getting better at thinking things through.  One of my best memories from that trip was watching Faith and Abbi talk Stacy into the largest workbench.  "Dad, YOU HAAAAVE to!"

One of the bummer things about living 2000 miles from friends and family is that no one has been able to meet our kids. Enter the Sherman trip to Washington, DC.  Now I realize people thought we were extremely stupid, I mean brave to take our kids on a road trip 2 weeks after coming home.  BUT here's the deal.  You gotta bond with them, and how better then to get in a car and drive 10 hours?  We reasoned that driving 10 hrs was way better than 4 days to the west coast.  And so our crazy family got in the van and spent a day with our friends walking for hours in the sun, with Cayden and Micaela in tow.  I might mention that 1) two strollers would have been really nice to have.  Lots of shoulder rides! 2) Unbeknownst to me I had a broken knee and it had been swollen for months, but evidently I have a high tolerance of pain.  This picture cracks me up because I walked up all the stairs to the Lincoln monument with Cayden on my shoulders.  Opps!!!

When we first got Cayden he had a nasty habit of throwing up in the car, or after we got off an airplane.  After arriving at the airport in Manila after flying from Cebu he puked in the taxi.  A moment I'll never forget as we pulled up to a very nice hotel with tons of luggage and a child with no shirt on and "lovely things" all over himself and mom.  Ewww....sorry for the graphics.  I can't tell you how many times we stopped to clean up the car seat and change his clothes on the DC trip.  I think it was about then that I realized I had a sick boy.  A bit of panic ensued as I realized there were a lot of "what ifs" we didn't know about Cayden.  We believed God planned for him to be in our family.  I just hoped God knew how much I could handle.  I can remember when Abbi was healed after 2.5 years of seizures.  I'm pretty sure God did that for my benefit (it's all about me, you know), because it's just super stressful for me to have sick children.  

Today Cayden is a wonderfully healthy little boy.  He has been to the doctor only once for a well visit.  One day he acted like he was going to have a cold, and we did notice that if we went out on trips he would seem like his immune system was weak. But I think we just kept lathering him in essential oils that his body decided it would never have to be sick again.  He is off all medications!!! This is amazing!  I remember at one of the airports we were going through security and  having our bags checked. Cayden had a separate bag with all of his meds and  formula.  We got stopped.  You know the liquid rule for carry-ons? Well we were way over that limit.  The employee looked in the bag and said, "All of this is his?!"  Yep.  But no more!!! Today he takes a couple vitamins and that's it!  He has grown so strong.  His muscle issue has yet to surface.  At first he was wobbly, especially when he got tired.  He may need a little physical therapy because we notice when he walks upstairs he tends to have a little right leg weakness.  That. Is. It!  Can we say Praise the Lord?!  

Little Man loves his snow hat.  And his food!

My friends all told me I would love having a son, that there is a special bond boys have with their mamas.  I'm not sure I've seen anything different from my daughters yet, but do I love this little guy!  He is so funny!  He talks ALL THE TIME (just like his sister)!  One of my favorite things he says when I ask him a question is, "No, mom, I'm fine."  I know in print that doesn't sound like much. But his little voice cracks me up!  Cayden is super protective/possessive.  When anyone comes to hug his mom he come running to get in between and yells, "Hey, that's my mommy!"  He gives hugs and kisses freely and when I put him down for his afternoon nap he's says, "I love you too mom."  The best part about that is I haven't said I love you yet!  

Cayden's favorite Bible story is David and Goliath.  He says amazing prayers for dolphins every night (after watching Dolphin Tale) and for our friend's son who is stuck in the Congo waiting to come home.  He is very caring and anytime he hears a crying child he shows great concern.  Cayden is ALL boy!  Everything is a gun or sword, including my Vitamix stick which he named Goliath.  Little man is also very smart and can identify every letter and it's sound.  He may just learn to read with his sister.

Son, your life may have gotten off to a rough start, but you have shown us that your name Cayden, which means fighter fits you perfectly.  You have gotten so much stronger in the 6 short months you've been home.  Your middle name, given to you by your first mom is John, meaning God is gracious.  And indeed he is.  We love you little man!