Uh...Who is the Dude With the Beard?

Hi sweetie,

Gosh I'm so bad sometimes about writing, but when our life gets hectic I get so tired that I can't keep my eyes open! And boy has it been hectic! This time of year is just insanely busy for everyone though...Christmas parties, shopping, wrapping of gifts, cooking making... :) It's been very fun though!! You are going to love this time of year as you get older. I promise you that I will make it as fun and exciting as I possibly can! I'm already looking forward to next year...

So we decided that we needed to take you to sit on Santa's lap again in the same place that we did last year. We dressed you up all cute and ventured out to the Green Hills mall to witness you with Santa. The line was 10 million people long, (good gosh!)so we took turns walking around with you in the mall and riding the escalators. I swear, I have never seen a kid get so much attention. You are one adored child my love....people just go nuts over you and your curly hair. They just can't stop staring and commenting. It's alot of fun walking around with you!

Well, the time came for SANTA, and I was a little apprehensive of how you would act. Last year you were fine, but would this year bring a little fear? Would you freak out when I handed you to him and cling to me instead? I had no idea what to expect but you took it all very well. I handed you to Santa and you just made us laugh right away cause you were looking at him like "Who the heck are YOU, and why am I sitting on YOUR lap?" You even made Santa laugh because of the funny face you were making... :) We finally got your attention for the pictures but you weren't going to smile if it was the last thing you did! So funny..... You TOTALLY have this look like..."Whatever!" Hehehehe That's my silly boy!

I'm interested in what next year will bring...this year however, was ultimately a success. Thanks for being such a good boy boo boo...... I love you bunches and bunches!!!!

Love, Mommy

Big Boy Bed Update..... :)

Hi honey,

Can I just say that I am one proud momma??? Gosh, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that you would do so well in your new bed....thus why I called it the dreaded day! You have always been such a good boy, but seriously, when you got all that new freedom I thought for sure we were going to have a time with it!

Well....I am so very proud to report that after one week in your new bed you have not attempted to get out of bed ONCE when we have put you to sleep at night! Not even ONE TIME! Amazing! And....you haven't fallen out yet.... :)

Naptime has been a little different story....especially that first day...but I am still amazed! You attempted to escape about 40 times that first day, 5 times the next day, and one time the third day. Since then, not even once. When I tell you to stay in bed.....you do!!! Wow.....shows how that consistency and perseverence pays off! I'm just glowing I'm so proud of you. Way to be responsible with your newfound freedom my little stinker! Just had to express my appreciation for your obedience. You are really catching on!

I love you more than chocolate chip cookies,

Love, Mommy

Uh Oh......!!!!

Hi baby,

Just had to write really quickly about your favorite new word...or phrase...whatever you want to call it....but it's ADORABLE! Uh oh!! Uh oh!! Uh oh!! Not sure quite how you got started on this, but all of the sudden it is your favorite thing to say...You say it over and over and over. Makes me giggle all day long. For example....Last night we went to go see Santa Claus at the mall, and as we were leaving you saw a cup someone had thrown on the ground in the parking lot...you got all excited screaming and pointing at it, and when I looked to see what all the commotion was that you were making you looked at me, pointed again and said "Uh oh!" Gosh you are precious....... it just can't get any sweeter!!!!! So.....waiting for you to wake up so I can hear more "uh oh's".......my favorite new word of yours too....... Let's just hope you aren't saying it because of something disastrous that precedes the word! Miss you munchkin......

Love, Mommy

This Dreaded Day Has Arrived!

Ok my little crazy boy, :)

About a month ago when we were putting you to bed, I left the room before your daddy did and I heard him say, "Honey, we have a problem." I had no idea what he could possibly mean, and went I turned the corner to your room I saw you straddling your crib. Holy cow boy! That night we lowered your mattress to the final lowest setting, (only two inches more) and knew we had just a matter of time before you were able to hoist yourself over and out. I can't tell you how much I dreaded that day!

This past weekend we all went to visit your Aunt Heather and Uncle Jo Jo and had a wonderful time getting spa treatments, riding 4-wheelers, shooting guns, going to a Christmas Parade, (your VERY FIRST parade and you LOVED IT!) and just hanging out with friends. It was a blast! Anyway....on Saturday afternoon we were at Heather's parent's house and we put you down for a nap in a bedroom upstairs in your pack-n-play. It wasn't but a few minutes later when you came walking out of the room! Uh...HELLO!!! Talk about a wierd feeling THAT was! Climbing out of your crib AND opening the door? I couldn't believe it.... I went in the room just to see it for myself. Sure enough....3 seconds after I put you back in the crib, you were out. Lovely! Juuuuuust Lovely!! I'm not ready for this yet! :) Here you are climbing out of your confinement.........


When we got home I told your daddy that we needed to put you in your crib for a few minutes to see if you were able to do your same trick with your big crib. After all...it was much larger than that silly little pack-n-play right? Surely we could buy us another month or so until we had to convert to a "big-boy" bed...right? Uh....see for yourself! (And by the way....notice the crooked letters on the wall? No...they are not supposed to be that way!)



Anyhoo....we knew we were in trouble. What were we supposed to do? Keep the crib and potentially let you break your neck getting out? Or hope for the best? Gosh I wanted to fight this with all that I was....I just wasn't ready for you to have a big boy bed...and all that freedom! I just knew if we went that route it would be tough for awhile. Well.....big boy bed is what happened. We went down to the garage to get the other bed parts and took the front off of your crib and made it a toddler bed. I was pretty much teary eyed the whole time. I was soooooo sad! Your crib was going away! Forever! This was a tough moment for me. I just am not liking that you are growing up so fast....I always think I have more time and then you go outgrow me.... :(

Here are some pictures of the "process"..... :(














AMAZINGLY, you didn't get out of bed last night, and didn't fall out!!! I had to take a picture of you in the night.....

I woke up this morning to you waking ME up! You scared me to death!!! It was so strange to have you just come walking into our room. You were soooo quiet. It almost made me cry you were so adorable.

This afternoon however was a different story. I'm too exhausted to elaborate at this time....but all I will say is....You definitely didn't want to stay in that bed for your nap! I put you back into your bed about 40 times over and over. You finally got it after I had to spank your little booty for the first time (it really made me so sad to do that honey, but I had to!) and you didn't get out of that bed again. Tonight you went right down and didn't get out......I'm so proud of you honey.... We may have a few tough days learning how this works...especially at naptime, but so far I am amazed at how great you've been. Of course you are! You are always so wonderful.....I love you so much and I guess I have to call you my Big Boy now!.....nah....you're still my little baby.....

I love you....sweet dreams....

Love, Mommy

Erica Strikes Again!!

So yes.....my crazy, nutty, wonderful friend Erica....(who is insane for not auditioning for Saturday Night Live)....is at it again! This time, she is portraying Caden "craving attention" from us one night when we were all trying to eat an early dinner together. I won't say anymore..... See for yourself.... I think we all wet ourselves watching this. Thus, the shaky camera while videoing. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Weekend

Hi!!!

Wow what a fun few days! Sorry I haven't written lately little munchkin but we've all been sick and feeling yucky, so I haven't been in the mood much. But!! I have tons to tell....not all in this post...I want some things to have their own separate Blog Titles. It's THAT important. :)

So....this year for your SECOND Thanksgiving, your mommy baked and cooked away and made all the Turkey Dinner fixin's and we just stayed home and enjoyed the soooo very beautiful day! We ate, and played and rested, and ate and played and rested over and over again. It was just simple, and cozy and perfect. Later your mommy and daddy lugged you over to a neighbors house to put you to sleep and they ate again! Fun fun!! It was just a pleasant holiday with family and a few friends. Wonderful. Happy second Thanksgiving babydoll! Gosh you are growing so very fast.

The days to follow after the big Turkey day we just spent playing as a family. We went to the Opryland Hotel to see all the Christmas Decorations and to have lunch. You had a blast looking at all the sights, the river that runs through the hotel, the christmas trees, and of course, riding the ESCALATOR! (We only did that 10,000 times...not too much :) ) You usually eat pretty healthy so you got a treat that day with hamburger, fries and even some coke!... I got a cute video of that...boy did you love THAT stuff! :) I taught you how to dip your fries in ketchup and you were just adorable.

You also got to throw pennies into the wishing wells and the fish ponds. You thought that was the coolest thing EVER and was deeply saddened when the pennies ran out. Here are some cute moments from that day.....













The next day we went to a new place that just opened up near our house called Monkey Joe's. It's Tennessee's largest indoor inflatable playground. What a blast THAT was!! For only 5 dollars for all of us, we could play and slide and climb for as long as we wanted. AND....because you were under 4, we got to play on them with you!! I think I had more fun than you even did! We didn't have those things when your mommy was little.... :) I think this may be one of our new favorite places to play this winter!!










On Sunday afternoon we took you to the mall to ride the little train. You ADORE that little train....I can't even explain it enough. You've been a couple other times and now you see it from like 15 stores away and take off RUNNING and hootin' and hollerin' you are so excited!!! People are amazed at how independant you are...you just get right up there, give the lady your ticket and jump right in that train. You LOVE riding that thing and are often doing the famous Caden face as you come around. Cute, cute cute! My heart is just mush for you my love.....You make my day every day, do you know that?




Thank you so much for making this Thanksgiving a memorable time that I will never forget! I love your guts little man..... :)

Love, Mommy

Ah.....Fall..... :)

Hi precious,

You are taking a nap so I thought I would sneak in a quick blog. I've been meaning to post these fall pictures of us that your nana took of us when she was here, but it has taken me forever! I wanted to get some "fall looking" pictures as it is my favorite time of the year. I just LOVE the fall. That crisp weather, perfect for a sweater..... GORGEOUS drives enjoying at all the brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow leaves on the trees.....an inate "need" to cuddle up on the couch with a cozy blanket and a book or a movie..... Hot chocolate....chili....wine with friends! I could go on and on......I think God was showing off when he created this season! To think that this is only a touch of what He is capable of creating? Wow...that's all I can say. Thank you God for giving us this beauty to behold!!! :) I am loving it!!

I wanted to get a picture of you playing in colorful leaves but I had to work the week they were most brilliant, and then it rained for days after that....now they are just bland color on the ground. Bummer! Next year.....we'll get some good ones then...which may be better anyway since it is sooo hard to get you to sit still for ONE second! Anyway, these pics turned out pretty well....Happy Fall my best little guy! Let's enjoy every second of it! I know I am so far!! I'll introduce you to your first Hot Chocolate soon....with marshmallows of course! Ok...you are waking up so I'll go get you and we'll bundle up and go for a walk! Can't wait to play with you!

Love, Mommy

Nineteen Months!!

Hi my little love,

I cannot believe it, but you are officially one month older than a year and a half. Nineteen months! Quit growing so fast!! Sheesh! I swear you keep getting cuter and cuter and cuter. I'm serious...I almost feel like my heart could burst when I look at you. I love you sooo much I can't stand it.

You are just changing all the time and I can't get over how super smart you are. I'm constantly testing you and asking you things, that you couldn't possibly know of course, to find out that you do! How is that possible?? Amazing....YOU my love, amaze me. :)

You absolutely LOVE Raisins right now....and when I say love....it just doesn't quite explain the obsession. :) Your little temper tantrums make us laugh soooo hard we almost want to purposely bring one on sometimes. (I'm doing a whole separate blog on that) :) You are trying so hard to say everything. You mimic everything we tell you to say, granted it is an extra consonant usually, but you try! It's adorable... You still LOVE to play with the dogs, hate to have your nose wiped and love fruit more than ever. I've finally found a kid's show you ADORE. Blue's Clues!!! You get sooo excited when the little songs play, and when it's "Mail Time" on the show, you go insane!! hehehe What is it with you and mail? I'm glad you like the show so much though...gives me a few min here and there to get some things done without you in tow. Thank God for Blue dogs! :)

We are all sick right now in this house. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Your nose won't stop running, and mine won't either....We actually went through a brand new box of Kleenex in one day. Who ever knew that our bodies could hold so much snot? So gross.... :)

So...in my state of sickness, I spent a good portion of the day on the couch feeling miserable. With your dad's help I was able to be a little creative while he played with you, and I came up with this movie of your life up until now. It took me hours...and lots of editing and guesswork, as I've never done this before, but I am in love with the results! Happy 19th month birthday my boo boo!

I love you with my life,
Love, Mommy

Expensive Little Booger :)

Do you know anyone who doesn’t worry about money right now? Because I don’t. Not single people, not two income families, not couples with one kid or 4 kids. Everyone is stressed out about the cost of living. I like thinking about gas prices and the economy and saving for retirement about as much as like getting a root canal. And we all know how much fun I had with that this year! And yet.... I am plagued with panicky thoughts daily.

I read somewhere that it costs about 200,000 average to raise a child to the age of 18. Are you kidding me? No wonder I'm stressed..... These little bundles of joy ARE expensive. Holy cow, has anyone calculated the cost of diapers and formula and just the basic gear you need for the first year?! I’m sure I could find a statistic somewhere, but I won’t. It’ll just depress you. It's just plain rediculous.

I have a mild heart attack every time I have to buy Caden a new pair of shoes. Which is more often than I would like, because his feet grow sometimes overnight. Because I don't want to buy Elmo shoes, or bright blue Nemo shoes we have to dish out a little more money. I think paying $40 for shoes smaller than your fist is morally wrong. But what choice do you have? Let your child walk around barefoot? Tie plastic bags around his sneakers instead of buying snow boots? That's what my dad would suggest doing...of course using duck tape to secure them. :) hehehe

You just can’t cut back on everything. They need soooo much...so much more than you, So you have to suck it up and open your wallet and just let the contents flutter out into the great big universe.

And when your baby is old enough for group activities? Oh, just forget about it. Sure, you could stay home and play with your same toys day after day after day, or you could schedule play dates or trips to the library or other free outings. But EVERY DAY?? You’re NEVER going to take your child to the zoo, or any place requiring an admission fee? This strategy may keep your bank account in the black, but I guarantee you will lose your mind. :)

So what are some real solutions to our money woes these days? Hope to find good jobs when the unemployment rate is higher than ever? Start clipping coupons for groceries? (which I'm already doing) Push your kid into sports and hope he becomes the next Tiger Woods? Make all your own clothes and grow your own food? I just don’t know, people. Thank goodness Caden shows signs of being a smart cookie -- at least we can hope for scholarships!

Apparently, Oklahoma has the lowest cost of living in the U.S., while Brazil ranks near the lowest cost of living in the world. Woo hoo! Rio de Janeiro, here we come! Kids only need flip-flops there, right?

The Hardest Job You'll Ever Love :)

You hear debates raging all the time about working moms vs. stay-at-home moms. Some claim that being a mom in general is not that hard. Busy maybe, but not hard. I mean, is reading books and changing diapers and playing with balls and cars all day really that tough? Maybe not...but it was today! :)

First I had to switch over the wet laundry from the washer...where it had been sitting forgotten for days...(gosh DARN it I hate when I do that!) While doing that, I almost KILLED myself tripping over the MOUNTAIN of laundry that was still waiting to be done. Then I had to wash his sippy cups by hand (because the dishwasher was full of dirty dishes of course), made his pancake and banana breakfast, fed him, and then spent 10 minutes cleaning the bananas off of everything in sight.

While I was doing this, Caden wandered into the family room and managed to topple off his Lego Box and collide with something...who knows what...it happens many times a day. Whew! So... then I had to spend a few minutes cuddling my child, which I always love, and explain to him about not standing on high places. Yeah right...I knew it was only a matter of time. :)

I forgot that we were almost out of diapers and we were completely out of the diaper refills...major necessity,,so it was off to the Walmart we went, only of course after loading child, stroller, sippy cup, and diaper bag into the car. Remember, child weighs roughly the same as a bag of wet cement. Not always easy! hehehe
First we needed gas and, oh, right, a quick stop to the bank and of course after Walmart I forgot one of the MAIN things I went for, so needed to stop by another place and unload and reload again. By this time Caden had lost all patience for some reason and was wanting to refuse to get back into the car seat. Oh yeah? Like that is an option? Geez... When I FINALLY got him he decided to let me know how ticked he was in the way of SCREAMING for 5 min.....not a common thing for him. What was the deal with this day???

When we got home, I discovered that a glass candle that I had left burning..oops...had shattered all over the table and floor. Lovely. After I got that cleaned up...not easy as Caden was trying to get in the middle of it all...I let the dogs inside to help me entertain Caden for a bit so I could do a little cleaning. A little relief right? Huh! Not five minutes after I let them in, then my male dog Max proceeds to puke all over the floor. Hello!! What the HECK? I have NEVER seen that dog puke before in my life! Caden immediately begins splashing in the dog puke before I can even get to him fast enough. Into the bath we went. After wrestling him and his 56 bath toys in and out of the tub, it was time for lunch. The mealtime sequence was repeated yet again. I was already dreaming of the quiet time to be had during him naptime......

During Caden's nap I thought I would bring my female dog Gabby inside to spend a little time with me while I relaxed and attempted to get some work done, but my phone kept ringing so work was not to be done, THEN my doorbell rang like THREE times in a row, which made the dog bark, (CRAP!!) which woke up Caden. Naptime was cut short. Are you kidding me? Seriously? And the kicker? It was some little kids on our street asking to play with the puppies....the puppies that have been gone for over a month now. Oh gosh, shoot me now. Then, it started raining just as he woke up which was sooo not good as "outside" is where he only wants to be these days. So...we were stuck inside, which wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have the migraine that I had today. The afternoon passed ever so slowly in a fog of snacks, Play-Doh, crayons, time-outs for improper use of Play-Doh and crayons, and various other activities. Please get home daddy... :0

We went outside anyway, and after Caden got soaked splashing in the dog’s water bowl in the THREE seconds I wasn't watching, I decided to change him into his PJs early. The last clean pair. Less than half an hour later, he had his first diaper blowout since he was like TWO months old. Unbelievable. I just used a bunch of wipes to clean him up....no WAY was I going to do another bath! Of course, changing his diaper is, like I've said before, an Olympic Event. Note the picture...just a tiny glimpse. :)I went to check the dryer for clean PJs. The dryer had stopped working and I was met with a wad of wet clothes...must be that DARN birds nest that is in my dryer vent. NO WAY is this day actually happening to me! I mean, HOLY COW! Talk about overwhelming! By this time, Caden was hungry for dinner, so the mealtime sequence is repeated AGAIN.

I still don’t know what people are smoking when they say that being a mom is not hard. Maybe their kids are boring and silent. Maybe they stick them in front of the TV all day while they attend to their own needs. All I know is, that besides being the most rewarding and amazing thing that I've ever known in my life, it is also the hardest job I've ever done. A job I wouldn't trade for anything in the world.

Thanks for letting me vent about my day! Sheesh!!!

Happy (Very Late) Halloween!!

Hello my little mariachi man,

GOSH I have been awful about writing lately!!! I am never usually this bad! It just has been soooo nutty lately, and since this crazy time change, and the fact that it has taken you FOREVER to adjust to it, it's been a tiring time. I'm always tired lately!

So Halloween was almost two weeks ago and I am only JUST now posting this site. Let me tell you my little man, you were the most perfect little trick or treater. Gosh you were adorable!!! Everyone was just DYING over your costume. Your daddy had the idea months before now of dressing you in a little mariachi outfit as you are half mexican, so our last trip there we found this little outfit and HAD to get it. My gosh, when we were in the store trying it on you, we were almost CRYING we were laughing so hard. You were just the cutest thing I had ever seen!!! We couldn't WAIT for Halloween.

So....armed with your Aunt Erica, Aunt Dana, Aunt Heather and your daddy and myself, we had a fun time walking your cute little self up and down our street collecting candy. It didn't take you long to realize what was happening, and what people were giving you, and you were actively taking part! You definitely tried to get more candy as much as you were able to!....which I didn't care as I would be eating most of it myself!! Thanks Caden! :)

We all had alot of fun getting ready too......I was supposed to be a Mexican Senorita, but turned out looking more like Elvira... :) Your daddy went as himself although we FORCED him to let us part his hair a little just to be funny. Your Aunt Erica was a cute cat, Dana was a singer from the eighties, and your Aunt Heather was a black man....We laughed til we cried. None of us EVER would have recognized her. HILARIOUS. We ended up having quite a few people over and had a great night. YOU were just the hit of the whole night and the whole street my dear. People were just absolutely in love. You couldn't have been more original or adorable. I'm so proud to be your mommy. I can't wait for more years to share this fun. Happy Halloween!!

Love, Mommy