He likes Vicks Vaporub

Another week has gone by. Cayden continues to "entertain" us with his shenanigans, and Beckham continues to grow. All in all, it's been a good week. Heath has been home with us, which makes everything better.

JeJe's pool has had the cover off for about two weeks now, and Cayden is obsessed with getting in it. She is really good about keeping the back door locked so that he doesn't escape, but he wants. in. that. pool. In order to appease him until swim lessons start, I bought him an inflatable water table to play with at her house. I'm sure he'll love it!

I've mentioned his allergies before. One thing I will say for him is that he is really good at taking medicine. We were giving him Zyrtec, but it wasn't doing anything, so we stopped. I hate giving meds just to give them. He sleeps with a humidifier on at night, and when he was super stuffy I put Vicks on his chest. Well, he loves that stuff. When you get ready to go to bed he starts rubbing his chest. Sweet boy. Until...you leave it within his reach. Earlier today he was playing quietly in his room - an ominous sound. I go in there only to find that he has found the Vicks, and is rubbing it all over his shirt, shorts, hands, you name it.

He is getting to that stage where if you don't give him what he wants, he will throw a fit. There have only been a couple of situations where he has had a full blown meltdown, but the whiney phase I can do with out. Most of the time though, he is really good and sweet. He is more into snuggling now. Especially before bed. He sits down with the iPad, watches a Disney show, and will lean on you, and sit right next to you. It's one of my favorite parts of the day.

We went to Race for the Cure on Saturday, and compared to last year, Cayden was a star. We were going to participate in the Fun Walk...but apparently got in the 5K version. I made it about 2 miles. My back started KILLING me! Cayden was great - he had goldfish and cantaloupe, and just rode along. Last year we had to duck out about 1/4 of a mile into it.

Here are some photos from today - Sorry for the repetitiveness of them. I guess we are kind of boring, same old stuff.

 I have no idea why he is making this face, but I kind of love it.

 Toy in one hand - Drink in the other. He's quite the multi-tasker.

 We busted out the chalk, and Heath helped Cayden hone his artistic skills.

 He's also quite flexible. I call this the Pike position. Maybe he'll be a competitive diver?

 This picture is a little blurry, but I don't mind.

 I asked Heath if he liked this picture - He said that Cayden looked older. I agree.

Here is an updated belly shot! It's very modern and artsy and way more appealing to the eye than the real thing. We are almost to the 32 week mark. Bananas. The nursery is getting closer - really we are getting down to the decorative details at this point. We are trying to figure out the few things we may need. The good thing about another boy is that we have a lot of the stuff. I feel okay, minus the back. I've definitely had way more back pain this time. Heath is ready for it to be over. He may or may not be sick of my complaining. :o) We have a doctor's appointment this week, so we'll see how that goes!

Outside - Allergies and All

Cayden loves it outside. You know what really loves Cayden? Pollen. And me, of course. We know Cayden has allergies, not sure which ones, but if it's warm, and there's any amount of gold dust floating through the air - then he will have a runny nose, and lots of drainage. While this is all manageable, it usually turns into a crap-shoot for sleep at night. We have never boasted about Cayden's awesome sleeping skills. We consider an entire week of sleeping through the night a miracle. With that being said, the past couple of days were filled with snotty noses and horrible sleep patterns.

Does that keep us indoors? Mostly, but not all the time. He can't live in a bubble, right? So, out we went. 

(Please ignore the monotony of these photos - green hasn't quite reached our backyard yet)

 I have been trying out a few camera tips from the workshop I took last weekend. The rule of thirds - back light - etc. You know, all those fancy things.

 Cayden could have cared less - he just wanted to run and play and roll the ball and get on the tricycle and get off the tricycle and climb into his truck - and back out, you see the pattern.

 He reminds me of Heath is this picture. Furrowed brow. Not that I don't have a pretty fantastic furrowed brow myself.

 Don't look to hard at this one. If you happen to, you might notice a river of snot running down his upper lip. Sorry. Snot happens.

 This is the very last picture I took, and I love it.

A boy and his ride. Looking off into the great beyond - thinking things that only little boys think of.

Quick Beckham Update:

He moves all the time! I still have crazy sweet cravings and zero desire to cook. I'm pretty sure I could eat Acambaro three times a week. And unfortunately, no one in my family feels the same.

My weight gain has been an issue. I guess not too much of an issue if I can't really force myself to change my eating habits, but it's at least on my mind. It's nothing astronomical, but I think being pregnant perpetuates whatever insecurities women have about themselves. Anyhoo -

We are just past 30 weeks and things seem to be going well. Time is drawing nearer, and I feel like there is a lot I should be doing, but I haven't quite hit that final push (no pun intended) to make sure everything is in tact.

I'm hoping here in the next few weeks we can put the final touches on Beckham's room and I'll post pictures of that.

Sunday in the Park

No, it wasn't the Fourth of July. (Name that group). I digress. Sunday was a beautiful day. Dare I say, a little warm even? I knew it would be the perfect day to go to the park. Cayden loves parks. Any park. Really, if it has a slide - it's a park. Because of testing and busy schedules, we haven't had the chance to hang out with Millie very much. We took the chance and forced ourselves into their Sunday schedule. It was great!

Kristin even mentioned that last summer, we would spend the mornings at the park, with the kids in their jammies. Let me just say, there is a lot more monitoring going on at this point. Those two can book it up the stairs and down a slide before we can blink. It's fun to hear their squeals and see their interactions.

 Of course, as soon as Cayden heard the dogs, he had to go investigate.

Side Note: I took a "Get to know your Camera" Class on Saturday, and it was really helpful. One thing I did learn - how to take a picture of Cayden swinging without it being blurry.

 Up and down the stairs.

 He really had no fear. This was the second to biggest slide. Down he went!

 I just like pictures of the two of them together. Their interactions were in passing. Although there was one time when Cayden went first down the slide, and Millie came after - as soon as he saw her, I think he thought she was chasing him - which he loves - so we screamed and ran!

We got the two of them to go down the slide together!

At one point Cayden was on the slide and for some reason, he decided to "walk" down. It made my heart stop, because I know that he didn't really do it on purpose. But he made it down, with no falls! A little scary!

I'm hoping that we get to spend more time with Mills as the weeks go on. Those two are pretty funny together, and I love spending time with Kristin. I can't say how much of a blessing it is to go through pregnancy with someone else who is pregnant. Not that are husbands aren't fully supportive - they are! It's just different when you can talk to another woman. There are a lot of hairy details that our husbands would rather not discuss. :o)

Oh, and Cayden turned 21 months today! He is becoming more of a toddler each day. I love it, but it makes me sad too. I haven't been super emotional, as far as crying goes anyway, this go round. But - There is something really sad to me about the next couple of months being the last of the three of us. I think it's okay to say that. We love Beckham and can't wait for him to join us, but I want to savor (the good and the bad) of the next two months with that little guy.

Bock-Bock's and Moo Moo's

This past week has been full of visits from friends and family and an animal safari adventure. One of my very best friends in the whole wide world was in town for two whole weeks! Thankfully we got to see each other a few different times, along with their beautiful baby girl. They surprised us after dinner one night with the stroller I've had my eye on! Needless to say, it was a HUGE surprise and one I'm pretty thankful for. Cayden really likes it. He spent the entire next day climbing in and out of it.

I'll admit that having boys can leave something to be desired in the clothing department. Let's face it - Girls have the monopoly on cute clothes and shopping retail space. But mothers of boys do just fine - and really, you find yourself sometimes thinking that it is a good thing that you didn't have a girl, because you would be broke. Cayden is a pretty dapper dresser for the most part - at least, when we go somewhere. During the week, it's track pants and t-shirts. I mean, a boy has got to be able to run, climb, crawl, jump, and get into general mischief with ease. Jeans just don't meet that requirement. This has caused a few fights when it comes to actually making him wear jeans - but I win each and every time. My fear is that he grows up to be that kid in third grade who refuses to wear anything but sweats. Not on my watch, mister! Anyway, recently he decided that he will call the shots when it comes to shoes. Cute Sperry's? Nope. Refused to even put them on. See the cute flip flops - I think this may be the only evidence that he ever had them on. Even if it only lasted for mere minutes. Oh well...he's still cute.

With all the beautiful weather this weekend, I really wanted to get out and do something! I mentioned to Heath on Saturday that we should go to the Gentry Safari. He wasn't too enthused. Our memories of the safari date back about 20-25 years, and his expectations were pretty low. He gave in when I asked Cayden if he wanted to go see some animals, and he whispered "Yeaaah!" How can you say "No" to that? Sunday rolled around and off we went!

We decided to walk around the Petting Park area first. It was great! Armed with a $1 sack of food, we set-off to get up close and personal with some animals!

Cayden loves to make pig noises. He liked the pigs, but he didn't really want to pet them. I really can't blame him. I think they are gross.

 However, this one area combined pigs and chickens and he was pretty excited. He was also excited to not have to hold our hands or be in a stroller. He is something of a free spirit. I'm not sure who he got that from...

 We got to the kangaroo area, and one little one was half sunning itself-half asleep. It was prime for a good pettin'.

 I love his crouch down and point pose. There were times he got really excited and I knew he really just wanted to give them a big hug! Jennifer's cat is often subject to this excitement. It usually doesn't end well.

 I've never touched a kangaroo before. It was SUPER soft! Like bunny rabbit soft. Because animals "in the wild" are wild, I guess I assume that they are rough, and course, but kangaroos and sting rays have proven me wrong.

 I really loved watching Cayden and Heath together today. Heath has been so busy the past few months that we haven't really had a chance to spend time together as a family. Today was perfect in my book!

 Peacocks. Darn it, if they aren't the most beautiful blue. And darn it if their war cries don't sound like they are screaming, "Help Me! Help Me!"

 He wasn't a bit afraid to feed the Moo Moo's. Which I think are actually bison.

 These pigs were pretty cute...for pigs.

 Tiny Turtles. Baby turtles to be exact. They were cute too!

 You can't see it in this picture, but there were five camels all wanting some bread. Cayden wasn't a bit afraid to feed them!

 This is a lemur. He was having a great time sunbathing. Don't worry. He's on a leash.

 With Heath's assistance he was pretty excited to pet this one!

 I think Heath and I might have been more excited about the lion cubs than Cayden. Had there not been a slide in the pen, Cayden might have taken more interest in them too.

 He didn't really want to pet them, so he kept kicking at the gravel. Who knows?

 Running wild and free!

 Bunny!!! This lady was really nice, and chased down this bunny so that Cayden could pet it. Again - He went in for the aggressive hug!

 Walk softly and carry a big stick  - or whatever you can find on the ground.

And then make it look like you are touching an emu. Who, I'm not ashamed to say, scare me a little. Like they are going to peck me to death.

After the petting park, we drove through the rest of the park. There were lots of animals to see. My son, however; was more interested in the fact that he was riding in the front seat. It's the little things, I guess.

Every now and then he would pop up to take a look at something, but really he spent his time sitting in the floor board, piling up loose change from a cup holder. I love this kid!