Saturday/Sunda(y)(e) with a ZBB Cherry On Top!!

It has been A WEEK... since I blogged last... and if you are curious as to how the rest of our week went after the Poop, Pack 'n Play and Plumbing issues... it got better! BUT, I did add a new element to my discipline repertoire... the Spanking Spoon! I thought I'd never... BUT alas I have and it works! But more on that some time later...

How about a little weekend recap?? Much more exciting, don't you think?

Saturday morning, the Cox boys and I headed to San Antonio... Justin had a work obligation all day on Saturday, so Caden and I thought we'd tag along and see one of the many projects Daddy has been working on and then meet up with KK and Albi and spend some time with them!

KK and Albi came to pick Caden and I up at Justin's company's latest model home... one that we have been hearing so much about and one that we have been highly anticipating getting to check out! We were so excited to see the new look of Jimmy Jacobs! If you're in the New Braunfels area... head on over to Vintage Oaks and check it out!! You'll be inspired! :)

Once we made it back in to San Antonio, KK and Albi took Caden and I out to do a little shopping! Caden was treated some new kicks and I upgraded my eyewear... KK helped me pick them out and decided that there was NO better time for a little out-of-my-comfort-zone-preggo-pick-me-up than with a new style/color of sunglasses! Picture later in the post...

During the morning of shopping, Caden kept feeling increasingly warm... like uh oh we have a fever warm! He had been coughing and snotting for days... but really when is he not coughing and snotting?! BUT sure enough... we got home to find out he had a fever! Normally, I wouldn't immediately hop to the doctor because of a fever, but with our recurrent sinus infections and our latest news of LOSING an ear tube I figured we better get that ear checked out... especially since Justin and I would be leaving Caden with KK and Albi for the night on Sunday night...

So to Urgent Care we went...

And a strep test, a gatorade and a few tears later we left with a diagnosis of allergies... which he DOES not have according to our recent visit to the allergist... ha! :) But we did get the all clear on the ear so I felt assured that his ear drum would stay in tact until he got home on Monday! We're praying that Caden just has "first year at MDO" syndrome and not another issue... for now we are in the wait and see process! Prayers appreciated! :)

The rest of the afternoon was pretty low key... just hanging around the house waiting on Daddy to get home from his big event. Once he returned home Albi and Kk treated us to a WAY YUMMY dinner and we topped it off with cupcakes from a new cupcake place in town... WAY TOO YUMMY!

Sunday morning Caden's fever was down and he seemed to be feeling a bit better, but KK and Albi still didn't want to risk it and drag him all around Sea World like they had originally planned so they took it slow and eased into their day and Justin and I said PEACE OUT and headed back to the Rock to get ready for our BIG DATE night...(I am proud to say that leaving Caden is getting easier but I still cried... BUT only once... and only for a few minutes! Progress...)

Before we could get ready for our date we had some errands to run and some yard work to do! Or should I say Justin had some yard work to do while I soaked in some sun in my zero gravity chair in the back yard... shoulder to shoulder time at its finest! :)

Albi and KK took Caden to Toys R Us on Sunday afternoon and let him pick out a few new things... or maybe he PICKED OUT some new things and said here you go KK and Albi I'll take these...

KK and Albi said it was a FULL 45 minutes of, "Yook KK, Yook!!" "Oooooo Albi, yook!!"

And top prize from the toy store was...

GOOFY... yet ANOTHER bed friend!! God bless this child... he's gonna need a bigger bed if we get too many more! It might be time to do the Mommy and Daddy smack down and remove a few of them!! No one ever said being a parent was easy... :) But being a grandparent sure is... :) And they deserve it... they have done paid their dues!!

Sunday night Justin and I had a SUPER FUN date night planned! You could call it a Babymoon Staycation for just ADULTS unlike the Babymoon Staycation we had that was ALL about Caden. For years we have been following the Zac Brown Band... it is a band that we both LOVE and bust out singing together in the car, around the house, getting ready in the bathroom, etc. We have been trying to see them in concert FOREVER and finally they started playing some Texas shows... and dag gum if I don't turn up pregnant! :) We weren't really wanting to travel, find a place to stay, leave Caden for an entire weekend, etc. just to go to a concert, BUT a few months ago I got an email from the Round Rock Express (our minor league baseball team here in RR) saying that ZBB was coming to the Dell Diamond... OMG!! That is in our backyard!! WE are GOING!!

So the DAY the tickets went on sale at 10am I was anxiously waiting by the computer ready to pounce...

And I scored us some pretty GREAT seats!!

Right behind the dugout... front row and center! :)

Me and my cute hubby in our new shades... What do you think?!! A good NEW look?!! :)

Life doesn't get much better for Justin... feet up, good music, GREAT company and a BEER! :) AND a little bit of chicken fried... of course!!

The concert was GREAT! We got there about 6:15 and we left about 10:45 which for me is a HUGE triumph... big, round and pregnant is not the MOST ideal state to be in when going to a concert, BUT for the love of a great band and of course a most wonderful and supportive husband... I was willing to tough it out! :) And I am guessing you can imagine that it wasn't really all that tough!!

Thanks Kk and Albi for taking care of our little man! It was a MUCH need and MUCH appreciated night out on the town!!

Pack 'n Play, Poop and Plumbing

Pack 'n Play, Poop and Plumbing... OH MY, right?!

OH MY is right! I wasn't going to blog about this, but Justin insisted that this is one of those days to remember... and while I can't imagine forgetting it, because let's be real... when it comes to cleaning up poop... we remember! I remember! So for posterity's sake... to read at his high school graduation party, at his rehearsal dinner, or heck... even to one of his little stinkers one day... here goes it... the tale of the Pack 'n Play, the POOP and the Plumbing!!

So, nearly one month ago to the day, we transitioned Caden into his big boy room. He has done exceptionally well and we have been very proud of the transition, so much so that we were affirmed in our decision to go ahead and move him onto the next phase of toddlerhood. That is until last week, before our trip to Arizona, Caden all of the sudden decided that naps weren't his thing. He did not want to stay in his bed and in fact, WOULD NOT stay in his bed. Instead he squirmed out of bed every time I left the room and began playing with his toys. As I mentioned in the last post, he was PUMPED UP about his trip to Arizona with Kk and Albi, so I chalked it up to "Christmas Eve Syndrome" and decided that I wouldn't pick this battle too hard and would see what happened when we got back... it was only two days of no naps after all!

That brings us to Monday (yesterday), our first day back at home after the trip! We had a busy morning at MOPS and he was pretty worn out from our trip still so I KNEW that he was TIRED and I was assured that we'd go right back to our big boy bliss and he'd take a GREAT nap! I mean, of course he would! BUT... just in case he didn't I had already told myself, "Katie, PICK this battle, Caden NEEDS to nap, PUT on your BIG MATERNITY GIRL PANTIES and let's do this thang!"

And turns out... my BIG MATERNITY GIRL PANTIES and I did in fact have to DO some THANGS... Caden was out of that bed before I could ever get to my room and look at the monitor! Little toot! Before I left his room I had laid down the expectations, reminded him of the consequences, made him repeat them back to me just to be sure we were all clear. So I knew I had a challenge on my hands when it took mere seconds for him to escape!

Step #1: Spanking... re-state rules, consequences, repeat back to Mommy and leave the room.

OUT OF THE BED IN SECONDS

Step #2: Spanking... re-state rules, consequences, repeat back to Mommy and leave the room.

OUT OF THE BED IN SECONDS

Step #3: I decided that spanking was getting me no where, so I decided to take it up a notch... so step #3 went something like this: spanking, take away one of his "bed friends", re-state rules, consequences, repeat back to Mommy and leave the room.

OUT OF THE BED IN ABOUT A MINUTE... he teetered on the edge of the bed for a while, as if he was in an intense battle between right and wrong and unfortunately, he chose wrong!

Wash, rinse and repeat two more times... we were down to only a few bed friends and he looked at me and said, "Here Mommy, Lovie... Caden out!" Translated: "Here Mommy you can HAVE Lovie and any other friend you want, I WANT OUT OF THIS BED AND DO NOT WANT TO NAP!"

HMPH! Well, that didn't work!

So I shut the door, ran downstairs (okay so I toddled... not RAN) and crawled back into the TORNADO of a closet where we keep our pack 'n play, ran it back upstairs, opened Caden's door... DID NOT SAY A WORD TO HIM. Set it up, put him in it, with no blanket, no friends, no nothing, turned around the shut the door.

I figured if nothing else was working I had to do something drastic. I thought about putting him back in his crib, but then realized that would only be moving us backwards. If he had to sit in his pack 'n play in clear view of his big boy comfy bed and all of his bed friends then he would realize that this in fact WAS a punishment and he might be smart to obey the rules next time.

And I think it got the point across! After about 45 minutes of fussing, jabbering, yelling, "Mommy, I love you!! Mommy, hold you!!" he finally fell asleep for about an hour. He woke up SUPER grumpy and was a little testy the rest of the afternoon, but I was hoping that my point was made and he would think twice the next time he thought about crawling out of his bed.

Which brings us to today... the glorious Tuesday afternoon!! Caden had MDO this morning and typically does not nap great at school. He usually sleeps for about 45 minutes, so I have been putting him back down once we get home and get settled and he has been sleeping anywhere from an hour to 1.5 hours.

So today I was ready... I reminded him of what happened yesterday and the lead up of consequences that would land him in the same spot. We talked about it, he repeated them back to me and we were set. AND he did REALLY, REALLY well for about 20 minutes... he stayed in his bed and was actually laying down, playing with his bed friends. THEN... I was talking to KK on the phone when all of the sudden I noticed he had escaped... I heard the clanging of his toys through the monitor and I said... "Gotta go KK!"

So off I went... upstairs to start my battle! We went through the process again... spankings and friend removal and then after giving that a go he ended up right back in the pack 'n play. At this point I was only going to leave him in there for about 30 minutes seeing as it was already 3:30 in the afternoon and he wasn't really acting like a TRUE nap was going to happen.

So I came back downstairs and carried on with things, hearing him fuss and cry through the monitor some and then jabbering others. When the clock hit 4:00 I went back upstairs to get him... I opened the door... and I smelled...

You guessed it... a poopy diaper! Not totally unusual... especially on school days when he doesn't get in his normal morning poop. He has a tendency to poop during his afternoon naps on schools days... I was almost expecting it. So I walk in a little further and notice something on the ground...

The wheels in my head begin to TURN... and I think to myself, "SURELY not... NO way that that is poop... right?! NO!!"

So I get closer, kneel down on the ground, touch it, smell it... YEP... definitely a little poop turd laying on the carpet...

WHEELS keep turning...

I look over at Caden and notice BROWN streaks all down the front of his shirt... and then to his hands which are COVERED and CRUSTED with poop!

I take a deep breath and calmly say, "Caden, there is poop on the floor! Where else is the poop?"

And he said, "On hands, pummy (tummy) and bed!"

What? BED?! I hadn't even noticed... sure enough... smeared on the mesh of the pack 'n play and on the mattress and a bit on the side rails was POOP... LOVELY!

So like any SMART Mommy would do I went to start his bath in his bathroom. As I walked over to the tub I happened to step on the bath mat and heard, "SQUISH!!!" and water ran out on the floor. I looked down and around and noticed that water had soaked through the bath mat and our bath rug and was lying in pools or rivers in the grout lines around the toilet!

I thought to myself, "I cannot deal with this right now... I have a kid with poop ALL over him and I have NO IDEA whether or not his hands have made it to his mouth or not BUT they could and I have to DO SOMETHING STAT!"

So I ran to my bathroom, got that tub started, stripped Caden down, wiped him down with wipes and then SCRUBBED him with brand new bar of DIAL antibacterial soap...

Once, I was assured that he was clean from head to toe we went back into his room got him dressed and went downstairs to start the REST of our afternoon. This is of course after he was punished for PLAYING IN HIS POOP. Which he has done before and KNOWS he is NOT supposed to do! ICK!!

Then I called Justin...

No answer...

So I texted... "If you are in a meeting don't worry about calling me, but if you can please do, I think our bathroom is flooded!"

A few minutes later he calls... the bathroom is what?!!

He convinces me that I need to go back up there and check things out and tells me how to turn the water off. The leak does not stop completely but we feel confident enough that it will do until we can get a plumber out here tomorrow.

Okay...crisis averted...

For now...

So the moral of this story... God DOES work things out for good... if Caden hadn't played in his poop I would have never gone into his bathroom until this evening and in that span of 3-4 hours the leak would have only gotten worse and the floors would only would have received more of a beating... and maybe it would have been bad enough to come through the ceiling... YIKES!

While I am CERTAINLY not hoping that Caden decides to play in his poop again tomorrow, I AM remarkably confident that if he does do it again or something even worse, EVENTUALLY it will work out for the good... whether I will ever see it or not!

It has to right?! Or else... why in the heck to we waste our time with all of this stuff... the pack 'n plays... the poop... the plumbing... why work to fix it if there isn't some worth in the fixing process?!

It's worth it!! It HAS to be! :)

Fam Vaca to Zona!

Home again, home again...

Late last night we returned home from a 5 day get-away courtesy of KK and Albi. We traveled out West... and not to Abilene this time... WAY west, where the cactus grow and the sun is hot (well, normally... but more on the un-hot sun later!)... to the great state of Arizona! On Wednesday morning bright and early we loaded up the car and headed South to San Antonio to meet up with KK and Albi before our flight!

We had been prepping Caden for his trip for days, which coincidentally turned out to be a bit nightmarish in the preparation process. We had SEVERAL meltdowns starring Caden, standing at the back door with his suitcase "packed" crying, "I YEADY to GO Mommy! I YEADY!" From here on out we decided that surprise and attack is going to be our motto with Caden. In our attempts to set expectations and get him excited about his first trip out of state, in a plane, etc. we got him WAY TOO fired up... which made for a LONG few days! :) Bless his heart, he must not get out enough! :)

So when Wednesday morning rolled along and we arrived at the airport the boy was a sight to behold... he was in his element... vacation HERE I COME!!

Thankfully, we had plenty of things to entertain Caden while waiting at the airport... #1 form of entertainment...KK and #2 Albi... #3 video player and #4 an insanely STOCKED bag of goodies I prepared the weeks leading up to our trip! I felt confident about our traveling experience...

And turns out... my confidence was well-placed! He did fantastic!! And I'm not just saying that... he REALLY did a great job in the airport and in the air! He even held his own boarding pass...

All buckled up and ready to take off!! We went back and forth with whether or not to bring the carseat, but of course, me being who I am... I decided that the safety guidelines recommended it for a reason so I was going to go with it... BUT turns out not only is it a safer way for kids to fly, but I think it also helped Caden be more comfortable in the air and we all know what a comfy kid means for mom and dad! :)

All smiles before take-off...

By the time we arrived in Arizona, picked up the rental and headed to our final destination Caden decided he was D-O-N-E and caught a GREAT cat nap on the way out to the resort. Traveling is hard on a guy!! :)

As a family (an Evans family) we have been to Arizona more than any other place on family vacations. We started going when I was in middle school. We found Scottsdale to be a GEM of a place, and as a 12 year old I declared it to be my favorite place on earth! AND I am still gonna go ahead and stick with that statement. Arizona is my favorite place to vacation! This trip we drifted away from our normal Scottsdale spots and headed just a few more minutes north to a town called Carefree. We were excited to try something new and still managed to head into Scottsdale for a night to eat at one of our favorite local spots! Typically, we come to Arizona in the spring to soak up some sun as the cooler temperatures in Texas come to an end. It is a great "warm-up" to the Spring/Summer season. We would always come back bronze and fully energized by the GIANT amounts of Vitamin D we'd absorbed, BUT this year was a bit different...

We landed amongst the clouds... we were greeted by 60 degree weather and we concluded our trip with a daytime high of 50 degrees! Sure didn't seem like Arizona weather... at least not what we had experienced in year's past, but God had a treat for us... we just had to wake up and NOT miss it!!

When we arrived Caden immediately found his "spot" for the week... on a ledge in front of the window... setting up all of his Sesame Street friends... PERFECT!

Once we got to the resort, it wasn't too much longer for Uncle Josh and Aunt Emily arrived as well! At last we were all together again... we haven't all been together since Christmas!! We were excited! To adjust to the time difference, we waited until 5pm and decided we couldn't wait ANY longer and headed out to dinner... PARTY ANIMALS!! After dinner we took a little tour of grounds and found the spot that would prove to be of the utmost importance the following day...

THE POOL... Caden and I were YEADY to swim!!

And thankfully, Thursday was a GORGEOUS Arizona day. Slightly cooler than normal, but with heated pools you can't lose... it was PERFECT! And let me just say... I had NO IDEA how much I would LOVE swimming until I did it! OH WOW... the things I missed out on in having a Januray baby... it is SO nice to let it all hang out in the water! It was the best I've felt in weeks!! I didn't want to get out!

Me and my little man had a GREAT morning at the pool with KK and Aunt Emily! We even managed to get a bit of color which was an added bonus! The boys enjoyed two days of golf while we were there so they TOO were experiencing a little piece of their personal heaven on earth!

Because we are the Evans family our pictures from the trip are a little lame... like we NEVER got a group pic... BUT we do the best we can! I need to start hiring Aunt Ree Ree to come on Evans vacations too. If it wasn't for her I'd never have pictures of Cox Family stuff either! I just don't want to miss anything... and every time I worry about snapping a picture I end up missing the fun... and I just can't stand myself... so memories will come from a few pictures and LOTS of words! Which if you've made it this far you are saying... UH DUH!!

I did try to capture a few photos before dinner one night... I LOVE this sweet outfit KK bought for Caden... it's going to be his Easter outfit too... so sneak peak! :)

And then we tried a little outdoor photo shoot with KK and Albi... and as you'll see it was kind of a lost cause... stinkin' Caden! :)

Oh but isn't he handsome in his outfit??!!!

He was the hit of the restaurant... of course that could also be because EVERYONE was out-aging his Mommy and Daddy by at least 30 years, which meant Caden wasn't even close to the average age of the joint! :)

On Friday the weather was nice but cool, and not quite appropriate for pool time so the girls and Caden decided to go on a little adventure outside of the resort and headed into downtown Carefree to explore! We found ALL SORTS of fun things...

A cowboy and his horse...

Sweet Aunt Emily was Caden's hand of choice that day...

And a Gila Monster slide...
Whooooooooo
And the sundial... which by the way... is one of the neatest things I've ever seen! I know it is amazing that people create things like computers and iPhones, but for some reason I am even more astounded at things like this... a sundial! We used the dial and it worked!! The time was right on the dot... SO COOL!

On our way to find a lunch spot, Caden decided he'd wash his hands...

We had a fabulous lunch and got some yummy goodies at a local bakery appropriately named Big Buns and had a fantastic day in Carefree. Back at the ranch the boys finished up their second round of golf and we all got spiffied up for a night out in Scottsdale. We hit up our favorite spot and had a YUMMY dinner!

Each night after dinner we'd retire to the patio and sit, relax and breathe in the cool, dry Arizona air. We also took full advantage of celebrating God's beauty in gazing at the moon and the stars! You forget how impressive the universe really is, until you behold it in the midst of nature... no light/air/sound pollution to disturb your view... spectacular!

Saturday, our last day of vacation, turned out to be COLD and RAINY, which actually worked heavily in our favor as we were all treated to a few hours at the Spa! The girls and Albi went first, while Uncle Josh, Justin and Caden hung back and watched the Masters. Then we switched! We all had our own special thing that we did and I think we all enjoyed our treats equally...

Actually, NOPE... I don't think that can be true, because I had the MOST WONDERFUL treatment I have ever had. I've had facials and massages and even a seaweed wrap and while all of those are well and good NOTHING compares to what I experienced on Saturday. They had several treatments especially for preggos, but one struck my fancy just from the description and now I'm hooked! Not that I'll be doing it often BY ANY MEANS, BUT whenever I have the opportunity to do it again someday I will definitely jump at the chance.

I had a Watsu treatment... which is most simply described as a massage done in the water. Except it is really more stretching than massaging. Basically a woman, a wonderful, gifted woman... cradled me in her arms and carried me around the a private pool leading my body through different poses and stretches that were meant to relax and heal ailing muscles. And bless my heart if I didn't near come to tears when it was over... I have never been more relaxed in my life! It was incredible! AND this little treat was a complete result of the rain... if it hadn't rained i would have never been persuaded to get off of my lounge chair by the pool and experience this... and I am forever grateful for it! I can't quite explain the power of Watsu... it is incredible! (PS: I am NOT in no way shape or form buying into ANY Eastern religious practice because of it. In fact, the phrase that popped in my head most during my treatment was PRAISE JESUS!! Hehe! )

SO after a WONDERFUL day at the Spa and a nice last dinner out with the fam, we packed it up and headed back home Sunday morning! It was a FANTASTIC trip, warm weather or not! There is nothing better than spending time with your family... you can't beat it! Making memories is what it's all about and we certainly did that!

And as you can see... our boy... was WORN out...

Which is the FIRST sign of a GREAT vacation!

We love you KK and Albi! Thank you for treating us to a wonderful get-away! WE had SO much fun hanging out with every one... and of course were glad to get to see our favorite Uncle Josh and Aunt Emily! Caden was one loved little boy!!

Until next time, Arizona!!

Daddy and His Caddy

This afternoon, the boys, Kaki and I headed out for a little family golf outing! Daddy hasn't played since Christmas and was ITCHING to get out on the course, BUT he hates being away from us... for obvious reasons, of course! :) So we decided to load and go with! And boy did we ever have a GREAT time! It is hands down one of my favorite family memories thus far!! I can't wait until we are a family of four hittin' the links! Kaki, Caden and I will all have some serious lesson taking to do, so it can TRULY be a family affair! :)

Loadin' up...

Helping Daddy get on his socks and shoes...
Mommy and ME pic! :)

BEST PIC OF THE DAY... the boys warming up before we hole number 1! Handsome little dudes aren't they?!

Caden brought his clubs... three of them to be exact... his driver, an iron and a putter... we only made it home with the iron... :) Somehow we kept losing clubs along the course! Ha! Good thing we only paid $5 at Walgreen's for them last summer!

He was SERIOUS about his golf! If you are as amazed as we were that he was STILL wearing a hat by this point, you must know that we told him that you HAVE to wear a hat to play on the course! But when he wore it for the first few holes we decided that we had achieved a significant victory and told him that it was okay to take it off! :)

A little help from Daddy...

The best part of golf for Caden was pulling the flag on each hole!! He was a great help to Daddy!

Contemplating his next shot...

We told Caden he had to sit while Daddy was swinging... just to be sure! :)

They are as in sync as they come...

Flag duty...

Back in the hole... thanks Daddy!

Mini me and his Daddy... in step again...

Get that flag outta there dude... :)

Sweet boy...

Watchin' Daddy put 'er in!

Back to the cart...
On hole #8, Caden got his rally cap goin' for Daddy! :) One more hole to go, Daddy... you can do it!!

My boys...
One last time to the cart...

And a family pic to top off the end of our SUPER FUN FAMILY GOLF OUTING!! :)

Cade-man was a little hot... he RAN ALL OVER THAT COURSE! Justin kept telling him it was okay to walk, but he preferred to run... ha! :) He was hot, tired and HUNGRY at the end of #9!

Chalk this one up to one of the best Cox Family outings YET! Love my Cox boys!! :)