Caiden in a nutshell

 Caiden is a super fun and funny kid. We are so lucky to have him. He is 2 months shy of being 4. He likes to tell people he is 7, and totally serious about it. I'm not sure why he chose that age.

He came running to me one day and super worried saying, "I hurt my pinky promise!" That wasn't the last time he called his pinky that.

 When he is truly tired, he can sleep anywhere. He got that from the Lee side, for sure.

At Waffle House:

Server: How are you?

Caiden (very excitedly): I am Caiden, and this is my friend Addysin!

A couple weeks ago Caiden fell and got a black eye. It wasn't very bad, but before we went to church I told him that people might ask him what happened and he needed to tell them that he fell, just to keep it simple. He doesn't have a huge vocabulary and doesn't speak very clear. I felt like a bad person trying to brainwash my child. I made him practice saying, "I fell." We were at church for an hour before somebody talked to him and says, "How are you?" Caiden explodes (he had been waiting for his big moment), "I fell and hurt my eye." The women couldn't understand him and just smiled. I started laughing.

Every time Jocelyn wakes up from a nap or in the morning, Caiden gasps and replies, "Cuties awake!!!" He really loves her.

Let me tell you what he doesn't love. Spit up. The first time he saw her breast feeding, he literally started gagging. Then a couple minutes later she spit up. He dry heaved. I laughed when I noticed his blood shot eyes and realized he wasn't joking. He has always gagged at her spit up, but never threw up. Thank goodness because he has the WORST gag reflex I have ever seen. I have cleaned up my share of throw up from him and its not because of an upset stomach. I thought Chris was bad. So I was feeding Jocelyn her first baby food, butternut squash. Like all babies trying to figure out how to swallow, the spoonful of food would go in her mouth and then the food would ooze back out and down her chin. Caiden thought it was SOOOO funny! The super funny part was that he was gagging and laughing harder than I have ever heard him. I decided I had to get this on camera because his laugh was so stinkin' cute! With one hand I am feeding Jocelyn, the other hand I am holding my iphone and recording. I would point the camera at Jocelyn while I put food in her mouth, then point it at Caiden to see him rolling laughing. I'm not really paying attention to him because I'm doing like 5 things at once. I go back and forth a couple of times and then the next time I put the camera on him he is vomiting!!! He felt so bad and kept saying "Sorry, Mom! Sorry, Mom!" Poor kid. Jocelyn isn't very interested in eating solid food and honestly I hate feeding babies food because its such a pain. I have only fed her a couple of times since then and Caiden started gagging again so I made him leave the room.

Today I was trying to get Caiden to finish his apple sauce so I'm spooning it into his mouth while I'm holding Jocelyn. I decide to touch the spoon to her lip just so she tastes it. I absolutely did not put it in her mouth and he got so mad. Then I put that spoonful in his mouth. He hadn't thought about it until after he swallowed. I swear he thinks that Jocelyn is a disgusting little person. He swallowed the applesauce and then started gagging. I told him to go stand over the garbage because I knew what was coming. He tried fighting it off for a good 20 seconds, then just couldn't keep it down. Up came all of his applesauce. Awesome.

Caiden loves kisses, hugs, and affection but only when he's up for it (not all the time). He really dislikes it when people try to smother him with love. He likes to do that kind of stuff at "Hi" and "Goodbye". My mom loves when he gives her hugs around her leg. Since we have been gone for a month and a half, she says that is one thing she really misses. One time Addysin's friend, Taryn, was going home and gave Addysin a hug and kiss on the cheek. Addysin was pleasantly surprised. Caiden always has to hug friends as well when they go home. Taryn goes to kiss him on the cheek and Caiden wants it on the lips. He puckers up and she is trying to dodge his lips and get it on his cheek. After they go back and forth and she can see she cant get to his cheek, she just pats his cheek, giggles and leaves.

He really loves puzzles lately. I'm happy about that. Puzzles take a lot of focus and patience, which I didn't know he had.

 He loves technology. Movies, TV shows, computer games, iphone games, youtube, netflix... it drives me nuts. Everytime I cant find him, he is on something. This is at the library during story time. He participated and was being good, then halfway through he asks me, "Is it over? Can I go play on the computer?"

He learns a lot from the games and most of the shows so I'd be lying if I said I hated those things. I just really hate that he will be having fun playing and then all of the sudden he gets his "craving" for TV and he is back on the couch. I've had to unplug the TV.

 He loves making pizza and helping me make juice in our "juicer". He will even leave the TV when I ask him to help! Thats amazing because he doesn't leave the TV willingly very often.

Getting his hair and face blown at the bowling alley. This part was just as fun as the bowling part for him.

After waiting 3 days to use this floatie, it was now time! can you see the excitement?!

In a store one day, I hear him say, "Oh Uncle Tony! I love you Uncle Tony!" so I look to see who he is talking to and he is full on hugging this mannequin!

He is obsessed with hats. I love this because hats are cute and that means I don't have to cut or style his hair. Ever. Well, only on Sundays and that's when I realize I really need to cut it. He has the most adorable curls, especially here in Arkansas where there is some humidity. I have Chris rooting for me to continue to grow his hair out... and my mom is not here. She is the one who likes his hair short. The battle of my mother on one shoulder and husband on the other :) I like his hair long too, especially with his curls coming out of the bottom of his baseball cap. THE BEST PART IS that he sleeps with his hat on almost every night.

 Man, could he be any cuter?! (yes, if he would stop throwing up, drawing on himself, being blatantly disobedient and mean to Addysin, eat something besides bread and treats, stop stealing food from the kitchen, and stop saying "yes" when I ask him if he wants a spanking... just to name a few)

Potty Training Diaries

Caiden turns 4 in August and I just potty trained him this past month. Please don't look at me like a failure mom. I genuinely tried to train him for a whole month a year ago (last May). He started out decent, and got worse and worse. He pooped in the toilet once, didn't like that so much and pooed his underwear for a month. He also peed on the side of the couch like a dog and on my bed while using it for a trampoline, butt naked. Every time he did something like that, he would laugh and tell me something like, "I peed on your bed!" with a big smile. ha ha. I tried bribing him with things he REALLY wanted. I took away things. I did the m&m thing. That just got him to do a little tinkle every 20 minutes so he could have candy. And in between the 20 minute tinkle, he would let the rest go in his underwear. He would watch TV sitting in his pee and not tell me. One time he pooed his undies in the playroom, sat in it, and didn't care. I smelt it and asked him about it. Then he denied it and ran away. Do you get the picture? And he did not care that he was the only one his age wearing diapers. "cool... whatever" was his attitude. I couldn't bring myself to attempt it again until a year later. We "dabbled" with it, but just enough to see that he still wasn't mentally ready. I've heard about it from my family that I live next to and Chris. They were ready for Caiden to be a big boy. I told them that they could do it if they wanted:)

Then the decision was made.  As I was packing for Arkansas I decided I was only going to take enough diapers to get us off the plane and packed all of his underwear that I had bought 17 months ago. When we got to the apartment I took a deep breath and told him that he was a big boy now and to get his underwear on. He never wore a diaper again. He had about 5 accidents everyday for about 4 days.  I got a great idea to tell him not to pee on his his Toy Story underwear or Woody would be so sad. After he did it, Addysin said, "Caiden you made Woody sad!" Then Caiden looks at his underwear, gets a huge smile on his face and says, "Woody's still happy!!!" with such relief. Well, that didn't workout the way I hoped. He never told me he had to go pee for the first couple of weeks so I had to take him every hour or else he would let it go in his pants. He could definitely hold it for a long time, though. The first sign of progress was when he started pinching it. Sorry to be graphic, but I was SOOOO excited that he finally realized he needed to keep it in him or sit on the toilet.

The first time we were somewhere without a bathroom was a week into potty training, at a Frisbee golf park(so nobody was nearby, don't worry). I told him he would have to pee on a bush. I tried to help him and he was not going to do that! 20 minutes later I am looking for him and I see him totally pant-less and peeing on a tree. He obviously was contemplating it that whole time and decided to go for it. Then a week later we are at the pool and I cant find him. I find him trying to button his pants back up outside the pool area. I ask him what he is doing and he says, "I peed on my feet, that's so great!" super super excited. I say, "what?! you had an accident?" He says, "No, I peed on my feet in the grass, that's so great!!!" well, I guess that's much better than wet pants :/ After the first week, he only had two pee accidents (in the same day). He tried dropping his pants at a water park in Branson, MO. Chris wouldn't let him. He picked out a bush and everything. Another time we are at the pool and I'm nursing Jocelyn so I'm useless for a few minutes. He is running around, but cant get into the bathroom without a key. There are only a couple people sunbathing and not watching so I tell him to pee on a bush. He says, "OK, what bush mom?" ha ha, I guess he puts a lot of thought into what bush is going to get a watering. The bad part is that he is not discreet. He HAS to take everything off from the waste down.

As for poo... you might get a kick out of this: Like a lot of potty training kids, he went #2 on the toilet once at the beginning of potty training (after holding it for 3 days) and decided he didn't like doing that.  So the next time, he hides in his closet and lets his underwear have it. Being in a tiny apartment is perfect for always knowing what your kids are up to. Every time I couldn't hear Caiden, I would drop whatever I was doing and sprint to his closet. I usually caught him in time. The third time he went was traumatic. We were at the community pool and we all went into the bathroom. He went and then left the bathroom. I stayed in there a few minutes to feed Jocelyn. I got out to check on them in the sand box (volley ball pit) and I smell something disgusting, hear Caiden crying, and couldn't put two and two together until I spot him standing butt naked by the vending machine (in a secluded corner of course) with poo on the ground and smeared all over him. What on earth was he thinking?! I stayed calm for 2 reasons. 1) I didn't want anyone to look and see what was going on by the pop machine 2) He is the typical naughty boy that likes to get a rise out of his mom. I let him know that that was not OK, totally disgusting, and not where you do the doo doo. I got him all cleaned up and headed home. I thought to myself, "well maybe this was so traumatic to him that he will never do something like this again" so I asked him, "Caiden, where do you go poo now?" A naughty little smirk came over his face and he mumbles, "In the grass. "  After that he would still hold it for days at a time, but he never had a #2 accident again.

Victory. So sweet.

I just have two things to say. When a parent says that their child just isn't ready to be potty trained and he/she is nearly 4, just take their word for it. Dont judge. And thank you for all those that encouraged me and told me he would come around someday. He did. FINALLY!

Baby talk

This is us teaching Jocelyn to talk...

Me: ma-ma, ma-ma, ma-ma

Addysin: Ad-a, Ad-a, Ad-a

Caiden: Ca, Ca, Ca, Caiden! Caiden! Caiden!

Way to break it down for her, Caiden.

An update

We are in Arkansas with Chris! In January, Tony convinced him to manage/sell for Pinnacle. I didn't care what he decided. We knew we would be apart though because I wasn't going to move with our kids and stuff for 4 short months. Then he decided to do it for 5 months. That's almost half a year! I already had my mind made up that we weren't going to move. We have a huge house and huge yard that I have to care for, and I really enjoy. I also love being near my family. Plus, Chris works 10-12 hours a day so that doesn't leave much time for him to spend with us. He left April 2 and we didn't see him for 4 1/2 weeks. We did face time (on our iphones) and skyped almost every day though and it flew by.

While he was gone I had a surgery done on my leg. I had my biggest varicose veins removed (and I still have to have another procedure done for the rest). We stayed at my parents house for 5 days because I couldn't get around. I had no idea it was going to be so bad! I had to prepare my yard for my long vacation but with my leg and Jocelyn I absolutely couldn't get anything done outside. It was really frustrating!! Then one day, my Hispanic neighbor (who knows no English) started doing my yard work. She worked out there for three days with her kids, then the Young Women in my ward came (about 20 of them) for mutual and everything got done! I definitely put in time as well but there is no way I would have gotten everything done. Bless those that helped me! I don't think they know what a burden they took off my shoulders. I also had a relief society meeting where I taught how to do men's/boy's haircuts and bow making. I took way too much time figuring out which type of bow to make and then made way too many while trying to perfect it. I am the "Relief Society extra meetings Chair" (AKA Enrichment). I LOOOOVE my calling! We do activities once a month, about 10 months of the year. I love throwing parties.

I got everything situated (I hope) and I am here in Arkansas for 3 1/2 weeks. I've been here since last Friday. The day we flew here, I had to wake up at 3:30 am (after going to bed at 1:30). We left our house at 4:30 and the kids were surprisingly super super good!!! It may have helped that I put them to bed 2 hours early with Benadryl :) This is not something I have ever done, but I couldn't have kids crying and screaming as I drug them through the airport at 6 am! We had one layover in Denver. Each flight was almost 2 hours. I had anxiety about getting to Arkansas but I must have had help from above. Also, strangers were so sweet and helped me on and off the planes. I checked 3 suitcases and had to carry (with the help of my double stroller- a moms best friend) my diaper bag, a carry-on bag, 2 mini backpacks and blankies, and Jocelyn with her carseat. Caiden slept the whole first flight. Jocelyn was happily talking and apparently bugging this psycho girl who obviously hates babies. She would look back at us every 10-20 minutes, roll her eyes, and shake her head!! Who does that?! Especially when the baby is happy? I almost walked up to her many times to ask her for duct tape for my babies mouth or if she had any advice on keeping babies quiet. Or to tell her that if she wants peace and quiet that she should buy a private jet. I was happy when Jocelyn stopped talking and started crying. Seriously... crazy person.

The day we got here was super humid and hot. I hate humidity and thought I was in for it, but it was just that day. We have been to the pool a couple times, the park, Braum's (yummy fast food), Becca's house (Chris' sister that lives here!), and Walmart about every day. My kids are sick of Walmart. P.S. this is the Walmart headquarters. We are going to go to the visitors center one of these days. I was bored on the first normal day here, after I got all situated and Chris was working. It was because I was trying to entertain and pack in as much as we could as if we were on a short vacation. By 6 pm I was ready for Chris to get home. He doesn't get home until 10 though. Now, I just take me time doing everything and know that we have a lot of time :) We have been having fun! We spent Thursday at the pool for 4 hours. My back got fried. Yesterday we shopped all day. I was looking for the perfect sandals for Caiden. He gets blisters easily and hates flip flops. He is a shoe lover. He has to love his shoes or he absolutely will not wear them. 

Speaking of Caiden, I have had a hard time convincing him to be potty trained. He is 3 3/4 now and has not cared at all about being a big boy. He says he is a baby like Jocelyn. When he has a wet or stinky diaper on... who cares?! He'll sit in it all day! He would be content using a diaper for the rest of his life. He doesn't care that all his friends/cousins don't wear diapers. I didn't pack one diaper for him. Just underwear and pull-ups for bedtime. He has done ok. I have to take him to the bathroom or he just does it in his pants. One day he took himself to the potty 2 different times. It was weird. He WILL NOT go #2 in the toilet though. Its working though. Hopefully in a couple more weeks he will be potty trained, before we go home.

Every single day that we have been here (including the first day), Chris begs me, "please don't leave me!" He loves coming home to us, but we have a lot of time that he isn't here :( He wants us to move with him next summer. He is doing extremely well with sells!!! Its been a great summer for him so far.

January in pictures

California in January

We went for an "Entrepreneur.com" conference for Chris and a family vacation.

We stayed with my cousin Katy and her family in Redondo Beach

We toured Hollywood Blvd, went to the LA Zoo, Redondo beach pier, Visited Amy and Greg in San Clemente, went to the pier there, enjoyed the nice weather, played on the beach, did the Orange county flee market, saw "The Great Park" (which isn't great, but definitely fun enough), and I went shopping by myself one day!

Our trip was Monday- Friday... before we missed our flight!!! We stayed until Monday to avoid spending a fortune getting home. It was my fault. I though our flight was at 8 am and as we were almost to the airport I felt like I should check our itinerary. It was at 7. There was no way to make it.Chris was pretty irritated with me. I was sooooo mad at myself. We got great flight prices on our original trip, then had to spend an additional $700. Hey, its not the first time this has happened. Remember Florida a year and a half ago? (Disney World, car keys, roller coaster....)That time was Chris' fault so now we're even.

The "extension" was perfect though. We had so much fun and got to spend more time with Amy and Greg in San Clemente!

Katy's husband, Reuben, is a Dr. He does some acupuncture and these suction cups. These release the tension in muscles. He is always to nice and willing to work on us. I felt so much better afterwards, but had round bruises for about 3 weeks.

The kids thought that Hollywood Blvd. was about as cool as Disney World because of all the Mickey stuff they saw. I was happy we didn't have to spend $500 to see Mickey.

Lovies....We've never seen them do this before. So cute. She's a snuggler. If he knew what was going on, he wouldn't be there.

This is what we came home to.... I love snow but wasn't happy to see this.

Reuben left his mark on us :)