G-EE-MA and TAY-DEN

Part of the excitement of last week involved us preparing our home for a VERY special visitor! G-EE-MA was headed south to the Rock to visit the Cox Fam and we could not have been more excited! G-EE-MA or Grandma as she is known by her own six grandchildren is Justin's Grandma on his Dad's side... so for all you faithful followers out there it's Bop's Momma! G-EE-MA lives way up in north Texas, very near Sherman on a great piece of land that hosts its' very own fishing pond that Justin and his buddies used to frequent often in high school. In fact, it has never been determined if all of those trips up to Grandma's were actually all about the fishing or MORE about Grandma's FAMOUS Graham Cracker Chews... they are OH SO YUMMY! And yes I have the recipe...BUT you know what they say... there is just nothing that can top the way a Grandma does it!

Shamefully, we had not seen Grandma since Caden's very first Easter... and I think things have changed a bit since then, don't you...

So you can imagine how excited we were to host Grandma for the night and get to spend some time showing off our BIG, GROWING boy. ALL week Caden was gearing up for Grandma's visit. We looked at her picture often and talked about all of the things we would show her... although Grandma hasn't really missed a beat... she is one of our MOST FAITHFUL blog followers. In fact, she says she reads every word of every blog... now y'all know that takes some serious commitment! I don't think anyone else can claim that but Justin! And truthfully... I can get a bit wordy... so there is NO SHAME in skimming Sunny Side-Up... I get it!

So Friday was the BIG day... I kept telling Caden, "After your nap, Grandma will be here!!" And he would say, "G-EE-MA? Here? At Tayden's home?" It was almost too good to be true! But alas, she and Nana pulled up not long after he woke up from his nap... just in time for some fun in the backyard before dinner!

Caden was ready to perform and did ALL of his best tricks for G-EE-MA, including having a family sing-along in the backyard! The BIG hit of the night was Old McDonald... one of Caden's newest favorites! He also showed off his soccer skills, his fearlessness on the swing and how he has an overall delight for the outdoors which he and Grandma have in common! At the ripe old age of 35 Grandma is STILL mowing her own lawn... which is no suburban landscape... it's about 10-12 acres of serious mowing! But she loves the outdoors and thinks it is one of the BEST ways to sing, think, pray, etc.

Saturday morning Caden and Grandma decided to eat a little pre-breakfast together while we were waiting for the MAIN course to finish baking! I am not quite sure what they talked about, but I can assure you that Caden would be a smart boy to listen to the wisdom of G-EE-MA... she's one smart lady!

Then after breakfast, Caden thought he'd take the opportunity to serenade his sweet Grandma with a little music on his Elmo Guitar! Turns out, G-EE-MA is pretty good at the guitar too and she knows ALL of our favorite songs... so once again... FAMILY sing along time on the couch!! Caden, Mommy and G-EE-MA! What fun!

Later that morning Caden had to part with G-EE-MA for just a bit so she could celebrate the coming of her second great-grandchild... Miss Kaki-pants! And I'll have more pics and fun stories to tell about that gathering too... but I wanted this post to be ALL about G-EE-MA!

We enjoyed having you in our home SO very much, Grandma! Thank you for making the effort to drive ALL THE WAY down here to visit with us and celebrate Kaki. It meant the world to us that you came! Next time the trip is on us...

We love you G-EE-MA!!

Lots of New Posts Headed Your Way...

Whew... what a week! And then again... what a WEEKEND! Since I last posted we have been in whirlwind of activities all leading up to a SUPER FUN and exciting weekend of family and friends all coming together to celebrate our sweet Kaki-girl! I am going to be working steadily on my blog posts... I have about 6 in the line-up, so hang in there with me and keep checking back... it will definitely be a work in progress!

Hope everyone has had a happy start to the week!!

A Happy Birthday/Mother's Day (x3) Weekend Road Trip!!

A weekend filled with celebratory family festivities... what could be better?! I honestly can't think of much that could top it! On Friday, KK and Albi came to the Rock to pick Caden and I up for the first segment of our weekend road trip! Justin had a work commitment that he could not miss so he decided to follow our lead later that evening and meet us in none other than NACOGDOCHES! Or Nac-a-no-where as so many affectionately call it! Although I kind of take offense to that because I REALLY LIKE Nacogdoches! It is quickly becoming one of my favorite little spots in Texas... after all it IS the OLDEST Town in Texas!

Our car rolled into Nac mid-afternoon, just in time for us to greet Uncle Josh in the driveway as we pulled up to Disco Fever... which is their house by the way and has absolutely nothing to do with their social habits! :) Josh and Emily are building a home in Nacogdoches, but in the meantime they are renting an OLD home that supposedly was quite the place back in its day. Chalk-full of history it is a family heirloom that will not soon be forgotten, but I can guarantee you that both Josh and Emily are not going to sad to say goodbye in a few months when they move into their new house!

On our way East... we HAD to stop at McDonald's and get some lunch... although Caden was really more interested in turning his Happy Meal box into a hat... :) What a ham!!

The Cox crew had not been to Nac since Josh and Emily moved last fall, so we were anxious to get our formal introduction to all that is Disco Fever, to see the progress on their NEW house and to celebrate Josh's 26th birthday!! OH MY! It is possible that my BABY brother is 26?! Now way Jose... no way!

Friday was an afternoon filled with the exploration of Disco Fever! Caden and Griff (the dog) or as Caden calls him "Griss Dog" had a LOT of business to tend to in the backyard so we all just sat and watched them tire one another out! Of course, this was after they had to reacquaint themselves with one-another which to no surprise happened COMPLETELY on Caden's terms. Albi and Josh even got to steal away for an hour or so to take a tour of the LoneStar Feed Plant that is only mere footsteps from their current house!

Later that evening we dined on Cane's chicken (a first for me) and then topped it off with a Snow Cone and a swim at Emily's parent's house! Come to find out, Aunt Emily was QUITE the snow cone maker in her day... and it was fun to see where she took her first job! :) The swimming was fun but it was COLD... but y'all know this preggo didn't mind one bit and Caden didn't seem to either, especially when he could hop in and out of the hot tub to keep himself toasty! Uncle Josh even took one for the team and did some fancy tricks off the board for Caden!

Later in the evening, long after Caden had turned in for the night Justin arrived and we were complete! And ready to celebrate Josh's birthday the next day! We got up bright and early and dined on some yummy donuts and biscuits and then sent the boys off for a FUN round of golf... and guess who got to go this time??!! An OFFICIAL DUDE GOLF DATE...

KK and Albi decided to give Caden his "big bro present" a little early... his first set of REAL clubs, or "yubs" as they are known around these parts...

A man and his gear...
We have GOT to work on the "cheese" smile... it's pretty pathetic...

In fine preggo brain fashion... I forgot my camera so Emily and iphones had to fill in for the weekend... She was trying to get a picture of Caden with his "favorite yub!"

And NOW... my favorite pic of the ENTIRE weekend... the BOYS... in age and height order... Albi, Justin, Josh and Caden... what a fine looking group of golfers they are!!

We had high hopes of Caden having a FABULOUS time and spending ALL morning with the boys! But at about hole #3 my phone went off and Justin was giving me the go-ahead to come pick Caden up... apparently he was "yeady" to come home and play with Griss Dog and the girls! Three holes was about enough... (for Daddy) Joke, joke!

But we'll give Daddy kudos for taking some sweet pics of Caden in action! After we picked him up we came back home and hung out and let the two littlest boys of the house (Griss Dog and Caden) run around in circles after each other...

THEN... we got to go take a tour of Emily and Josh's new digs! The rest of the family had another excursion planned for later in the afternoon, but I wanted to be able to see it too and with Caden NEEDING to take a nap to ensure a successful evening of planned festivities, we had to stay home! :)

BUT the house... oh the house... it is coming along beautifully... I am so excited for our first night's stay!! Emily and Josh have both put in some serious work into creating their new nest, but I must say Emily has REALLY put everything she has into EVERY square inch of their home... it has her signature all over it! The way she does it, it becomes a full-time job and enough to make me want to take a nap... too many decisions!! I know who I'll be calling if I ever have the opportunity to build my own home...

After touring the house we met the boys for the BEST burger I have had in a LONG time at a place called Butcher Boys... we were ALL starving and probably said no more than 5 words the entire lunch!

Caden and I both took a serious nap that afternoon and then woke up to get ready for a fun dinner out on the town for Josh's birthday! It also happened to be Prom Night in Nac which made for some LOVELY "Small Town Prom Night" scenery ... hehe!

Before dinner Caden got his FIRST really good glimpse at the "Easter Dunnies" that live at Disco Fever. As the story goes, these bunnies were domesticated bunnies that were dumped on the property and have since had babies and have decided to make Disco Fever and the property surrounding it their home. Caden was LOVIN' every bit of the "Easter Dunnies!"

Aunt Emily and Caden were trying to see how close they could get...

We had a DELICIOUS dinner at Auntie Pastas that evening... seriously it was SO good! Josh and Em kept saying "what good sports we were" and "how sweet we were" in saying how YUMMY the food was... BUT I wasn't trying to be a good sport or sweet... JUST HONEST! It will become a MUST stop on EVERY future trip to Nac!

After dinner we were fortunate enough to spend time with one of our FAVORITE people from college who lives in Nac with his wife Mary, who Emily grew up with. If you think the world is a big place you are SO wrong... because it is the tiniest place sometimes! Bobby and Mary just had a baby girl Emma four months ago so of COURSE we were super excited to meet her and get to catch up with the Bob! :) I took a pic but I am not sure Mommy and Daddy would appreciate me plastering their SUPER CUTE baby up for the world to see. (not that the world reads my blog, but they could... and that is the point!! :) ) You'll just have to take my word for it... CUTE! And I think I'm gonna LOVE having a little girl in my arms someday soon (8 weeks!! eek!)!!

The next morning the Cox crew got up early and starting packing up to head to Waco to visit Nana for Mother's Day... BUT first we celebrated KK... and me too! My boys wrote some super sweet notes in my cards that started my morning off in tears of joy! :) And KK and Albi followed up with a SUPER cute diaper bag for the Kak-ster... and the pattern is called "Peacock"... how cool is that?! I know KK must have enjoyed having ALL (5) of her kids there with her to celebrate Mother's Day morning... such a sweet gift!

After we hit the road the fabulous four went to brunch to do a little bit more KK celebrating... Emily took this sweet pic...

After stopping through Waco for lunch and a (too) quick hang out with Nana we hit the road yet again... on our way home to the Rock...

It didn't take 10 minutes for Caden to do this...

And our sweet, sleepy boy stayed like this ALL the way home where we lifted him ever so gently out of his car seat and plopped him down in his big boy bed... and he stayed there until 5pm! :) Poor thing was WORN out after a weekend of celebrating!!

AND when he woke up there was still more to do. My boys treated me to Chipoltle and Maggie Moo's last night for dinner and dessert... the perfect combo to top off our weekend!

Mother's Day couldn't have been better... got to celebrate with my one and only Momma and then my sweet and always supportive Mother-in-law and then... my boys... I got to celebrate with the two people that make my job not only possible but worthwhile!! I love being a Mommy more than I could have ever imagined loving ANY job! I am thankful!!

Happy Birthday Josh!

Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Happy Mother's Day Sharla!

I love you all very much!!

And that my friends should do it...

Happy Monday!

YRH, Katherine Murray Cox (at 31 Weeks)

Kaki and I had our FIRST, of what I hope to be MANY, mother-daughter dates last Friday afternoon while the dude of the house napped... Unlike my mother who I consider to be a TRUE historian of the times, I did NOT get up at 3am to watch the Royal Wedding coverage live, BUT I did in fact have several hours recorded and ready to watch at my disposal.

Friday was the day... Kaki and I had high hopes of a great nap from Caden after a morning at the allergist and thankfully our Fairy Godmother granted our wish and turned us both into Royal Wedding spectators for an afternoon of splendor and delight!

I watched the coverage from the beginning through the end of the wedding, fast-forwarding through the processional and straight to the kiss(es)... both of them! Kaki and I thoroughly enjoyed EVERY minute of the coverage and couldn't help but LOVE the fact that sweet Princess Kate and Kaki and I all shared a namesake! Although both Kaki and I agreed that she does spell her name completely wrong, but we are willing to overlook this seeing as she seems to get it right with the spelling of her nickname Kate. We thought about making Kaki, Kate, but in the end we felt like it was too formal for our family and I think we might have been right... after all ROYALTY is nothing short of formal!

While I know there are A LOT of Royal Wedding haters out there... I just want to say this... when do 200 billion people ACROSS the GLOBE ever get to hear the name JESUS CHRIST that many times in one sitting?! And Kate's brother's reading of Romans 12 was perfect... delightful... and downright awe-inspiring! So the next time you haters think about getting all righteous on us Royal Wedding lovers... think about it... :) Plus who can resist the pagentry of the whole thing... from the hats to the SUPER clean windows of all of the royal cars... it's all out of this world!

And look at that couple...

Clealry in love... I think you'll agree with Kaki and I when we say that we think this one was made to last! I mean especially when you watch Lifetime's version of the William and Kate story which we did... it is obvious that this was LOVE at it's very best! :)

Kaki and I had a GREAT girly Royal Wedding weekend date! I haven't been able to bring myself to delete the coverage yet... I think it might be EXCELLENT late night nursing material... and I know she'd appreciate the sights and sounds much more on the outside!

In other news Kaki is 31 weeks TODAY! I can hardly believe it... my weeks are down to the single digits... woah BABY (literally!). And what could have been a better gift than this delicious cold front that took me from sweating and swollen after lunch on the patio yesterday to dry and cool by dinner. Normally, I would be cursing a cold front his late in the Spring, but things are a changin' around here and I am thankful for every breath of crisp, dry air I get to enjoy! Bless my sweaty, hot heart!

I went back through my posts when I was preggo with Caden and found my 31 week picture with him and decided to do a little experiment and put on the EXACT same clothes for the truest comparison between the two! BUT first, Super Grover Caden in Daddy's Super Grover red cape decided that HE needed a picture too...

And NO we did not tell him to grab his belly... simply what he felt like he must do after watching Mommy pose for her belly shots ever so gracefully! :)

Alright... ready to play the matching game?!

Here I am at 31 weeks with CADEN...

And here I am at 31 weeks with KAKI...

What do y'all think? Same?! Different?! Justin says he thinks it's pretty darn close...

So for now we're taking heart that Kaki is growing just as she should... and following in her brother's footsteps... grow baby grow!

My sweet boy wanted to get in on the action... me and my two babies!! Wow... TWO... what a blessing!!

Happy Monday!!

Two New Posts...

Two new posts for y'all... scroll down to check out a "monthly birthday post" for Caden and a little tribute to our Daddy!

Happy Weekend!

Super Grover Daddy!

It's a bird... NO it's a plane...

NO... it's SUPER GROVER DADDY!!!

On Saturday, Justin participated in a race called the Hell Run, in Smithville, TX. Appropriately named, the Hell Run combined a military style ropes course with a 5k and expected people to sign up...

AND apparently there ARE people in the world who think things like that sound FUN and they do in fact spend nearly an entire Saturday participating in them! Beyond me... simply beyond me! :)

Justin asked one of our good friend's Rachel and her boyfriend Justin to do it with him and they agreed, well kind of. Boyfriend Justin actually forgot to sign up (or he is actually SANE!) so he became the photog for the group. Rachel also knew a few other crazy people who were ready and willing to race it up so they had a nice little group of friends to make "hell" not seem like such a lonely place!

Don't they look full of hope and aspiration before the race... all flexing their muscles... in their fancy Super Grover capes, as Caden calls them?!

But then the race started... and they did things like this... Justin is in the yellow...
And this... again find the yellow shirt attached to the bobbing head...

And then TIRES... and this is NEAR the end... after nearly an hour of running UP hill and through the obstacles...
And then... they finish... still smiling...

And with medals...

And while they all say it was HARD and there were times when they thought hmmmm... was this worth it?! In the end they SAY it was SO MUCH FUN! Crazy people in this world I tell you... crazy!!

But, if you have a toddler at home who thinks you have ALREADY hung the moon and you show him your SUPER fancy medal and even better your COOL red cape... you'll get the best compliment anyone could ever hope for...

"Yook, Mommy... Super Grover Daddy!!"

That's right Caden... Daddy is a Super Grover Daddy and not just because he does things like the "Hell Run" but because he loves, cherishes, leads and supports our family to the VERY best of his ability and he affords us the FUN, EXCITEMENT and special moments we get to share as a family! And that definitely gives Daddy SUPERHERO status in my book!!

We are proud of you Super Grover Daddy! We love you!!

Caden at 27/28 Months!!

The other day I was browsing blogs and I came across a blog where the author/Mommy of the blog said the following, "I am NOT going to be one of those moms who documents the month by month birthdays after my kids turn one!" I chuckled to myself when I read this BECAUSE... I AM SO ONE OF THOSE MOMS she was making fun of!! YEP!! I am a "Month'er Mom!!" and I am proud of it... I just can't help myself!

I missed April 1st last month and didn't put up ANYTHING, but I decided to cut myself a little slack and do a combo post come May 1st... and that's today... when did that happen?! It's already May?! WOAH! And I must admit being a "Month 'er Mom" is not as easy as it looks... I mean... the math can get pretty intense. In my head it goes something like this... 24 months, plus May... which is the 5th month of the year, so 24 plus 5 is 29, but then we subtract one because we are actually at the beginning of the month not the end, so that would be 28?! And actually, after I have done all of that computing I ask Justin, "how old is Caden, again?!" Just to double-check my calculations...

SO... I guess to be fair to that Mommy blogger who made fun of moms like me... it IS a little silly! :) BUT when your blog is your scrapbook every month is important! My lil man is still changing each and every day!

Like for instance... Caden and I are now in full-blown conversation mode. It is no longer, a few words here and there and me scrapping to try to figure out what he is trying to say. Now... we talk, we reason, we bargain, we sing... and I love it! I have always heard that once they start talking you sometimes wish they couldn't or perhaps wouldn't and recently I have understood that a little better...like when I am on the phone and Caden SHOUTS, "Bye, bye KK, I love you too! Bye, bye KK!" Translated: Get off the phone now Mommy it is time to play!

Or when I am talking to him in the car and he says, "Shhhhh Mommy Shhhhhh!" I guess I can be a bit chatty at times myself! :) They way he entertains words off of his tongue is quite unique and sometimes darn right surprising. The other day we were driving and we saw a school and he said very matter of factly, "Yook Mommy, school. That not Taden's school. Taden's no go to school over there!" I mean now that is a sentence!

I think his improvement in vocab is no doubt directly related to the serious conversations that he and Justin have on their dude dates. They have been having "dude dates" for a while now, but lately they've stepped it up to REAL restaurants and have been dude dating at Chili's or "Chibi's"as Caden calls it! AND they ALWAYS get chips and queso... per Caden's request of course!

So I'll give Daddy the vocab improvements, but the sweet angelic sounds that squeak out of his tender vocal chords are a direct result of ME! :) I mean I AM the singer of the fam... clearly! :) His favorite songs to sing are his ABC's, the Wheels on the Bus (go yound and yound), Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star (a childhood favorite of mine), Jesus Loves Me, Hosanna (MY FAVORITE song to sing with him) and the theme song from Elmo's World! He is really trying to sing along with MOST songs, especially the songs on the CD from the Sesame Street live show we went to last year... Riding in the car is so much fun when he's in the mood to sing, sometimes I make an extra lap around the neighborhood just so we can finish BUSTING OUT our favorite song!

Toys have never been a HUGE interest to Caden until the last month or so. He is REALLY starting to PLAY with his toys and playing with them in fresh new ways, which has led to our house being a disaster zone on any given day, BUT I'll take it. It is really exciting to see his little mind working in such creative ways... he always has a plan in mind. The bulk of his play revolves around his "character friends..." we have about 11 friends (little characters from both Toy Story and Sesame Street) that he carries everywhere. He puts them inside the trains on his train table, inside his airplanes, cars, etc. AND we have even starting bringing our friends into the GREAT OUTDOORS...

Recently, in one BRILLIANT (rare) Mommy moment I decided to put dish soap into his water table and suddenly... it was a SUPER FUN bubble bath for our friends to play in! So we are out at the water table daily... with my bottle of Joy and my water hose, creating a fantasy world for all of our friends! AND it allows Mommy to pop up her Zero Gravity chair and hang out while he plays and tells me all of the exciting tales of life in the bubbles...

Caden is getting taller by the day it seems like... and sadly he is losing more and more of that baby look (or the baby chub) BUT he's still holding on to some of it... God Bless those thighs... I CANNOT get enough of them. Kaki's rolls will come just in time... at least we hope she's got some chub... HARD to imagine she wouldn't if she is anything like her big bro! :)

This spring we had our backyard re-sodded (FINALLY) and have since REALLY enjoyed playing in the backyard. Having a mud pit for a backyard didn't stop us from playing out there before but I must say it is a much more pleasant experience when there is grass in the mix! AND it makes it much more practical to use things involving water like our SUPER COOL new ball that Nana and Bop gotta Caden for Easter! We finally got Justin to blow it up last night and we had a blast!! I think Max and I enjoyed it the most... we are both the BIGGEST and HOTTEST of the group! :)
Caden is REALLY starting to soak in more and more of Jesus... and understanding to the best of his ability the importance of prayer, church and our Bibles. One of my favorite times is spent praying with Caden. He makes sure we cover EVERYONE and many times we never have a chance to even turn on the radio on our way to school because he has SO many people he wants to pray for! These are seeds... little tiny seeds...

And we all know that where there is a toddler there is also a bit of trouble... and a tired parent at the end of the day. There are some days when it absolutely whips me, but then as God's mercies start afresh each morning so do a Mommy's and we go at it again. We work for those light bulb moments and we rejoice in times of obedience and press on when the story is not quite so!! And know that this is only a season... just a season... (right?!!) :)

Each morning when I wake up, I get excited to go in and and hear my sweet boy say, "G moanin' Mommy!" And I am refreshed every time he responds to an "I love you, Caden!" with an "I yuv you too, Mommy!" What can top that?! It's these things that make the yucky parent stuff not seem so bad!

It's hard to believe that my little baby is going to be a big brother soon! He is becoming increasingly more excited about Kaki and has recently been asking for Kaki to come "OUT!" So now we're counting down the weeks with him. Telling him that in "9 more weeks!" she can come out... to which he replies, "No 1 week, Kaki play!" Gosh, we hope he doesn't know something we don't know! :) As Justin tells Caden, "Only God knows when Kaki's really going to come..." But to a toddler NOW is always the best! Especially Caden... he is ALWAYS "Yeady..." for whatever is next, even if he is thoroughly enjoying the moment... he is always one step ahead! We've got to teach him to stop and smell the roses, huh?! We'll work on it...

We are abundantly thankful for each and every month of life we get to celebrate with Caden... it's hard to imagine that just 28 months ago we had never met... and now he is undoubtedly our favorite little person on this earth!! Happy 27/28 Months Sweet Caden!! WE love you!!