TWO NEW POSTS

In chronological order again...

Still catching up on the blogging...

Dude Scars: A Tooth Story


Parks, Pops & Paps' Office, OH MY!

Happy Hump Day!

Parks, Pops & Paps' Office, OH MY!

Well, we've done it again... another Caden and Mommy road trip here and gone!

On Monday morning Caden and I loaded up the car, who you should know by now we affectionately call Tilly, and headed to Waco to visit Nana and Paps. It just so happens that Aunt Ree Ree happened to be in town too... ACTUALLY it wasn't just so happens... it was all part of our MASTER plan to get to hang out with Aunt Ree Ree this summer. Since Aunt Ree Ree lives in the Swamp we don't get to visit her much, so we are always very excited to see her when we do! It's too bad Uncle Tag didn't make the trip too... we'll see him soon enough though! :) Did somebody say Port A?!!

Man I get off subject so quickly... back to Monday morning... and the car that is all loaded. When Caden and I arrived in Waco, Aunt Ree Ree and Nana were up and raring to go! First stop: Lion's Park! For you Baylor bloggies out there the way you remember Lion's Park and the way Lion's Park is today are TWO different things entirely! Lion's Park has been redone and revamped and it is AWESOME! It is very similar to the Kiddie Park in San Antonio and Kiddie Acres here in Austin... little tykes' theme parks are apparently ALL the rage! :) And of course we all know why...

As per usual Caden needed to have a good warm up cry before the fun could begin! The last two times we've done the amusement park thing he's done this... I guess he needs to warm up to the idea of the spinning and the flying and the floating...

Poor Aunt Ree Ree got to ride with the Chade during his warm up cry...


After he felt like he was nice and warm from his cry he decided to BUCK up and be a big boy the rest of the time as you can see by his "I'm an Awesome Cowboy" pose in the horse-drawn carriages!

Then Caden sauntered over to the rides that cost extra money! Of course he did! And he picked the fire truck to ride. Nana was sweet enough to scrounge for some quarters so we could get the FULL experience! What fun!

Then it was Mommy's turn... just to be sure that the warm up cry didn't decide to come back for a game time debut! We're FLYING!!!

Then it was time for the boats... he is a natural, don't you think?! He'll be driving around the lake in no time in Albi's boat... right?! HAHA!

Back to where we started with the rocket ships... this time went MUCH better!

Here is Caden ALL by himself on the carousel... HARDLY! I am awkwardly ducking behind the horse holding up the Chade so our professional photog, Aunt Ree Ree could snap a cute pic of the cowboy and his horse!

In case you haven't been able to tell by my red-faced lil' man it was H-O-T, HOT in Waco that morning. Not a breeze to be felt anywhere, so as you might imagine I was completely fine with riding a few rides! :) BUT don't worry about Nana and Aunt Ree because we ALL got to feel the wind in our hair at the end of the morning when we road the train! The train ride was by far my favorite thing... not that y'all care what I liked, but it was really neat! The train goes through a tunnel and out on the main road... it is a pretty fancy locomotive!

After our adventures at Lion's Park we braved the lunch crowd at Chick fil a and had us some dude nuggets. Actually, Chade was the only one eating dude nuggets, but we ALL enjoyed a yummy lunch nonetheless!

After lunch the boy was tired so we headed back home for a nap! We had a big afternoon planned for the Chade so he was sure to need his rest...

Monday afternoon was the highlight of our trip... we got to visit Paps at work! And as many of you know Paps is a high school principal so that means his office is a school which has LOTS of very cool things...

HALLWAYS...

Wall murals of BIG doggies...

AND THE BEST PART ABOUT SCHOOLS ARE THE...

Empty gymnasiums with lonely basketballs!

Caden literally RAN ALL across campus... up and down the hallways, up and down the bleachers, across and back along the gym floor! He was LOVIN' the free space to roam. We even got to sit in Paps' office and eat some graham crackers and finish up our Sonic drinks... what more could a guy ask for?

After we had definitely WORN OUT OUR WELCOME at McGregor High we headed home to see Great Poppa who came in for dinner that night!

While Nana was working her magic int he kitchen and after Paps had gotten home from work he gave Caden a very special present...

His VERY own Texas Rangers jersey! Justin is SO proud!

Caden looked like a DUDE in his jersey and was excited to take it home to show Daddy!

Meanwhile, back in the kitchen, Chade was getting a bit impatient aka hungry so Nana gave him a few jobs...

To provide cocktail hour entertainment... Caden on the measuring cups!


To watch the weather report in Nana's old rocking chair!



And to help set the table...

Didn't he do a fabulous job? Nana has an entire drawer full of goodies that are safe for the Chade to play with and after seeing her set the table so nicely he decided to help out. He would take the plates and bowls one by one over to the table... what a good little helper!! :)

After a YUMMY dinner it was about that time... BATH and BED time and then it was time for Aunt Ree Ree and Mommy to introduce Nana and Paps to girl named Ali and her hunky selection of potential hubbies! I'm not so sure they're hooked, but we tired!!

The next morning Caden was up bright and early, ready to start a brand new day. He felt like he was going to need the extra protein so he asked his Nana to whip him up a lil somethin' somethin' in the form of cheesy eggs... and boy did he love 'em! For some reason Caden only likes Nana's eggs. I've made them before for him several times but he isn't ever interested! KK's grits and Nana's eggs... he's a grandmamas boy!

After breakfast we headed to one of Waco's many splash parks and had a great time splashing in the fountains. I didn't dare take my camera out there so there are no pics for y'all... sorry! After the splash park it was nearly time for lunch. We made a quick stop by the park and then ran through Taco Bueno for a yummy bite to eat and then it was POPSICLE TIME!!!

Poor Nana bought a GINORMO box of popsicles for the Chade when he visits, so we had to be sure to eat at least one a day to help her out. I even decided to take one for the team and have one! HA! Grape popsicles might be one of my very favorite things... YUM!

Caden is more of an outdoors popsicle eater for obvious reasons...

HOT, STICKY, MESS of a boy!!

After he finished his popsicle he was stripped down to his birthday suit for a quick hose off. He was enjoying the "freedom" so much that he decided to help Nana water her flowers while he was at it. AND apparently there is something about his birthday suit and his love for nature that made him relax enough to POOP on the sidewalk! GROSS CADEN! Ah, well... such is the life of a boy!!!

As you can see our fun was plenty in Waco and our memories MANY! There was lots of piano playing, lots of "yah-ing" and even a bit of GROWN-MAN-Caden-tooting for everyone at dinner! Caden is loved by his grandparents almost more than he is by his parents and if you knew how much my heart hurts everyday when I wake up to his sweet little face you would know that Caden's grandparents love him a WHOLE HECK OF A LOT!

Thanks for a fun few days Nana and Paps AND Aunt Ree Ree...

We'll be baaaaaaaaaaaa-ack! :)

Dude Scars: A Tooth Story

Well, it was only a matter of time I suppose... especially with my little adventurous toot!

As if his last name wasn't going to cause him enough grief as a kiddo, he's now going to have to worry about yet another nickname...

Just call him Chip!!

Check it out...

You see it? Your right... top tooth? A little something shaved/cracked/broken of the bottom?


His injury happened Sunday afternoon before his nap and we didn't realize he had chipped his tooth until Tuesday evening because of this...

SUPER DUPER fat lip! The pciture really doesn't do it justice! It was a bleeder and a sweller and an all out nasty little boo-boo! Caden couldn't find his brakes as he was rounding the corner into the laundry room and he tripped and fell. Tripped on nothing, fell on the tile and got his lip just right... and his tooth too!

So along with lil man, the Chade, Cade-man, and other fun nicknames, Caden will also be affectionately known as Chip... or Chippy Cox!

We love you Chippy!!

THREE NEW POSTS!!

I'm catching up on blogging this afternoon while Caden is napping and Justin is working... here are three new posts from our exciting adventures last week!

The posts are listed in chronological order!


Enjoy!


Ear Infection Activities



The Wind Up and the Pitch



Albi's on YouTube

Albi is On YouTube!!

Becasue we put him there, but hey...

Here is the FIRST PITCH!!

The Wind Up and the Pitch

Happy Sunday!



I've got lots of blogging to do today to catch up before we hit the road again tomorrow to go see Nana, Paps and Aunt Cori! So let's just hop on in, shall we?!



Caden and I packed up our car, who we affectionately named, Tilly and hit the road again this week. This time we trekked to the booming metropolis of San Antonio to visit KK and Albi and to check on our Uncle Josh and of course to steal of few minutes of Aunt Emily's time too!



Since Caden was recovering from an ear infection (see previous post!) we didn't get to do all of the fun, outdoor things we usually get to do while we are in San Antonio like play in the sprinkler and go to the pool, BUT not to worry, because where Caden is concerned a trip to San Antonio never disappoints! SO MUCH to see and do!



If I haven't told y'all yet, my son is OBSESSED and I am not even sure OBSESSED quite covers it... with guitars! HE LOVES THEM! He spots them everywhere. In Target, on the side of Taco C Styrofoam cups, on his videos, on TV, in his books, you name it! If there is a guitar within a 5 mile radius of him, he'll find it and GO CRAZY when he sees it... I'm thinking the theme for his 2 year birthday party is going to be a piece of cake! :)



Anyway... because of this new found obsession. I say new found... it's been a few months, but it has of course intensified as he becomes more and more aware of the fabulousness of guitars. So Justin and I have been searching thrift stores, Target, resale shops, etc. trying to find him a smaller "real" looking guitar that didn't look too much like a kids toy but we hadn't had much luck. Leave it to KK to brave going to The Wal-Marts and finding the PERFECT Caden-sized guitar.



It had to be tuned and everything... check out Albi with his amazing skills. Funny little side note: my Dad, Albi... played the bass guitar and bass violin in high school, so it isn't completely shocking that Caden likes music or guitars. Paps also has a musical gift too... so he must come by it naturally... Ha! :)

So the guitar of course was a HUGE hit. SO much so that the poor guitar required glue gun surgery on the first day we were there and then again before we could get it back home. Currently, the guitar is awaiting surgery in the garage until Justin and I have the time and/or extreme amount of patience to put it back together... it's much worse off the second time around.

Let's just say that the Chinese should stick to other crafts, but guitars... they might want to leave that up to someone else! Made in China in guitar language is Soon to be Tossed in the Garbage! Ah, well ... it was $20 well-spent. We've talked about creating a guitar-fund so that we can keep replacing these until he is old enough to get him the real deal! :)

So while we weren't playing doctor, KK and I just hung out around the house with the Chade and let him play! One of his favorite things about KK and Albi's house is their doggie Molli. He and Aunt Molli get along GREAT, well at least Caden seems to think so! Poor Molli is constantly being used as a pillow or being petted and hugged OVER and OVER again. Personal space isn't really an option! At least he hasn't gotten into the rough and tough pulling her ears and trying to ride her like a horse phase... he's still VERY sweet to his Aunt Molls!

We picked this particular week to come to San Antonio for a couple of reasons... Originally we were just going to come for one night to watch Albi throw the honorary first pitch at the San Antonio Missions game, but when Uncle Josh had to have surgery a few weeks ago we decided to extend our stay and visit with him since he was still at home recovering. We got to have lunch and dinner with Uncle Josh on Wednesday and even got to play with his dog Griff! It was good to see for ourselves that Uncle Josh was going GREAT! He even headed back to work for a few hours later in the week... a visit from Caden must have been just the right medicine! :)

Okay so back to the game... the pitch!

Albi was asked some time ago to throw out the first pitch at the game this week and so we've all been gearing up for the big day. He's been "mental pitching" and even practiced a few times with Justin at our house and in his neighborhood with a cooler as his target. Like anyone, he wanted to be sure he crossed the plate with the ball and didn't short-hop it into the catcher's face! SO practice was very important!

Before the game started we gathered with Albi and some of his co-workers who were anxious to meet Caden... or as they called him, Mini Bruce! And he really is... he is still a good mixture of both his Daddy and me, but when he is next to his Albi it really is uncanny how much they look a like, with that white blond hair and blue eyes... And of course no one can miss how BIG Caden is... just like his Albi! :)

Here are the boys chattin' about the upcoming pitch before the game...

Caden, of course, was totally loving the attention from the sea of interested onlookers and was hammin' it up... cheesy, silly boy!

Not too long after we got there it was time for Albi to begin his pre-pitch preparations...

Which included, but are not limited to... stretchin' it out on the mound... hanging in the dugout with Cedric Hunter who just got called up to the AAA team and who is also expected be a big player on the Padres in the coming years...

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for...

The wind up...

And the pitch!!!!

I'll save you the suspense!! It was a HARD, FAST ball straight over the plate! It was awesome!! I have a video of it too... see the next post for the on-camera version of the Wind Up and the PITCH!!!

After the first pitch, KK, Caden and I took our seats while Albi entertained customers on the party deck. We didn't last more than 2 minutes before we headed to the berm to let Caden run around a bit!

My red-cheeked lil man was having a BLAST running around and standing at the fence watching the game, but seeing as he was still getting over that nasty ear infection we didn't want to overstay our welcome and decided to pack it up and head home. We grabbed a quick bite to eat on the way home and Caden was in bed WAY past his bedtime, BUT as his Daddy said when we talked to him on the phone that night... for BASEBALL ANYTHING IS OKAY!

It was a great night for Albi and his biggest fans, alike! Way to go Albi!! You're #1!!

Thanks for a fun few days, KK and Albi!! As always we have WAY TOO MUCH fun and not near enough time with you two! We love y'all!

Ear Infection Activities

On Monday night, not long after we put him to bed, Caden woke up screaming... worse than I've ever heard him...



So I sent Justin upstairs to do his Daddy magic and check on him...



He settled, then 20 minutes later... screaming...



So I went up... settled...



20 minutes later... screaming...



WHAT IN THE WORLD?



He never does this! Never! There must be something wrong...



Bad dreams? Tooth coming in?



Hmmmmm....



No fever...



I finally gave him some tylenol convinced that there is nothing else it could be besides teething... this of course was after about 4 hours of the 20 minutes off and on routine. And then he slept the rest of the night...hmmmmm



When we got up the next morning I picked him up and knew... uh-oh... we have a fever. Let's go ahead and make our doctor's appointment... I bet my sweet lil guy has an ear infection which explains the relief from the tylenol!!



The fever kept rising and I could tell my lil one wasn't quite himself...he was walking everywhere and not running and had a pretty short rope! :(



So we went to the doctor to find out that YES we did in fact have an ear infection in one ear and since we have NEVER been to the doctor when they haven't seen fluid in his ears, although this is only our 3rd actual infection they decided it would probably be best if we saw an ENT later this summer!!



I knew that was coming... they've been hinting at it and this infection sealed the deal! So in mid-July we'll be going to the ENT to figure out what's going on, but for now we're just going to have to take these little boogers in stride and take our YUMMY meds! :)



Later in the afternoon after a not so good nap, Caden and I found lots of fun "sick boy" things to do in his high chair. I popped in one of his favorite videos and we started with coloring, then moved to play dough and then stickers, which were our favorite!



I knew he didn't feel well when he never protested being in his high chair without food and was able to sit and play with something/anything for longer than a few minutes! Poor little man!



He only acted sick this one day and then he was back to normal...sleeping longer at night and during naps, but all in all I'd say he's a pretty easy patient! :)

Daddy or Zookeeper??

Happy Father's Day to all you Daddies out there!! What a blessing it is for Justin and I to celebrate his continued journey into fatherhood knowing that our own celebration is just a small part of the HUGE heritage left on both sides of our families. Caden has some big shoes to fill because he comes from TWO lines of VERY strong, Godly men! Thank you, Paps and Albi for all you have done for Justin and I and our families and now what you are doing for Caden! I have no doubt Caden WILL fill your shoes someday because he will have you to lead him there! Thank you to the moon and back!! We love you Paps and Albi!

Okay... so now... are you ready for our weekend recap, Daddy-style?!

Saturday morning, The Chade, Justin and I headed to Waco for the day to visit Nana and Paps. And unlike so many of our visits where the boys spend the day playing golf and the girls and Chade make their own fun, the BOYS actually PLAYED with us! Justin was SUPER excited to pass up his golf game in order to go to the Cameron Park Zoo with Caden for the first time. In fact, this is the first time Justin got to go with Caden to the zoo at all and this was Caden's 4th trip! He was excited to check out all of the...

LIONS...
AND TIGERS...

AND BEARS...

OH MY!!!

The Cameron Park Zoo, if you've never been... is ONE OF A KIND and I mean that in the BEST way possible! It was so amazingly nice and clean. The exhibits were very viewer-visitor-friendly and the zoo is just a pretty place! Lots of trees and shade... even a fun kiddie area for the Chade to run around and stretch his legs!

The kiddie area was complete with a water-feature (which Daddy didn't want Caden to have ANY part of) and a tree-house with a COOL slide! Caden looks like a long, lost boy up in his tree house... waiting for Tinkerbell to sprinkle her fairy dust on him so he can fly back down...


We tried the BIG BOY slide and he did great... Nana helping him in the middle and Paps ready for the catch at the bottom. The camera lady was a bit distracted by the excitement and didn't manage to click it until the end! Oops! :)

I have to say... my boys... well, they are just the two most handsome things ever to have graced that Cameron Park Zoo... I mean come on!! Look at 'em!!

Caden was a very active zoo visitor...running, red-cheeked from place to place. And because the child has zero margins we had to slow him down a few times... placing him in the BOB to cool off for a bit before we let him tear up the zoo grounds again!

There were so many neat little spots for the kids to "interact" with the animals... this little cave gave Caden and Justin (a very flexible Justin, I might add) a nice view of Miss Annie the Alligator...

And her desperate need for a mani/pedi!! Goodness gracious!! Those things are rough lookin'! Girlfriend needs a nail file... Amen?!

At the sea otter exhibit, Caden tried to get up the courage to slide down the under water tunnel slide, BUT when we got to the top he was very decidedly NOT up for it! With a HUGE shake of the head "no" we were clear that it was not time to tackle that slide quite yet...

Probably one of the Cox-Fam favorites were the giraffes... they were spectacular and the viewing area was awesome! I felt like we were up close and personal! It was really great... and of course they are LARGE enough for Caden to spot with ease... he stood in that corner longer than he stood anywhere all day! He liked the giraffes SO much that his Nana and Paps spoiled him to a toy giraffe and an elephant on the way out... and a giraffe t-shirt! So not only will he get to carry his new friend around everywhere he goes, he can also sport him on his shirt... LUCKY boy!

Look at this face... so sweet!!

And as Daddy and Paps agreed, these next guys are SERIOUS animals!!

Agreed?!

The boys were contemplating life as a rhino...

They make me feel so SMALL, Caden says...

Well, son ... it's not about the size of a man that counts, it's all about the size of his...

HEART! The size of his heart...

...you gutter brained peeps... I know where y'all were headed! I'm ashamed!! Ha! :)

Back at the zoo...

Caden and Nana were making the LION roar!!! And roar... and roar again...

It was a FANTASTIC trip to the zoo... even in the sweltering Waco heat and humidity we all had a GREAT time, and the most important person (The Chade) had the BEST time! When we got home last night he sat up in bed for a while and told his "room friends" ALL about his day at the zoo. There were Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...

OH MY, they said!!

That's right, Oh my! What a fun day! Thanks Nana and Paps for a trip to the zoo! We'll be back for round two soon!

Today, we were pretty much business as usual... church, lunch, nap... BUT somewhere in between all of that we stopped and bought Caden a new pair of kicks. His Nikes were a bit small when we put them on yesterday so we went to Academy and bumped him up a few sizes and bought him a new pair of big boy shoes... what do you think?!

To be honest I think Justin likes them WAY more than Caden. It was more of a present to Justin than Caden for sure! He thinks he is NOW the coolest dude ever... of course we all know he thought that before... BUT whatever! Now it's official I guess! It's all in the shoes!

Tonight, we let Daddy pick his favorite dinner spot for a Father's Day celebration! Justin thought Gloria's would be the perfect spot... a fav of all of ours... and of course it was a HIT! Caden couldn't even look up from his food to smile for the camera...

MY BOYS... big-blue-eyed Cox Boys!! What a pair!!

And look... MOMMY made it too!!

SO after dinner... the Chade... well, he was MESSY!!

So the question became...

Is our sweet, wonderful, world's best father really more of a DADDY or a ZOOKEEPER??!!

We'll let you be the judge...

Happy Father's Day!!