V-Day Prep

The kids have been enjoying prepping for Valentine's Day. Cayson, being our firstborn, takes it so seriously. Saturday morning, he had to start working on his projects first thing (7 am) so he wouldn't have to work all day long. His words, exactly. 

 

He also cracked me up because he knew the days of the week. He reminded me (while I was still attempting to sleep) that Monday was his school Valentine's Day party and it was the 13th so it was only one day before Valentine's Day because it's on the 14th. Whew. He is really fascinated with dates and times. He checks the calendar every day to see what day it is and always tells me what day of the week it is.

Cayson-isms

It's been a long time since I've posted "Cayson-isms." He really is always saying something that cracks us up... though, he also asks a ton of questions that we don't know the answers to! He's always talking.... except when he's sleeping...

Cayson in the car on the way home from the airport the other week. I've never seen him this passed out in the car. At this point, we were pulled over by a local police officer & Cayson slept through the whole thing. Unusual for him!

A cute "Cayson-ism" from Sunday: We were looking through his Bible for a story to read before bedtimes and he told me he was looking for the story with the "Americans". I asked if he was talking about the Samaritan and he said no. I still have no clue which Bible story has "Americans."

On the way to the city last week, I was talking to him about towns, counties, cities, states, countries and trying to explain the differences. Complicated, by the way. I was quizzing him on our town, county, state & country. When I asked what country we live in, his reply was "United States God Bless America." We sing God Bless America quite a bit in our house - he knows it word for word so that's where his answer came from. lol.

Cayson has been asking several times a day when we are going back to Disney World. I told him maybe when he's 7 (and Taryn's 5). He keeps complaining because he wants to go NOW. 

After the Rangers lost their game last night, Cayson exclaimed, "What's up with my Texas? I need to tell them to practice every single day before their next game!" Little coach in the makings... 

Our happy boy

Packed & ready to go!

This boy cracks me up every.single.day! Today, I told him to pack a bag of toys/entertainment to take on a day trip to the city. He packed his backpack, put it on and was off. I didn't realize what he packed until later in the day.... he brought his water bottle, drumsticks, a blow-up parrot (say what?), and of course, cars. I was laughing that he brought drumsticks and an inflatable parrot in his bag as "entertainment."

4 Years Ago

I just realized that this post didn't post - it was in my drafts. Now that it's nearly a month old! Cayson turned four on April 28! 

I seriously cannot wrap my mind around the fact that my first-born baby turns 4 today! Four years ago, we welcomed our sweet boy into this world. Last night, he asked for many extra cuddles and kisses from his momma (his last night as a 3 year old!). I think he knew I was nostalgic and a little bit sad that he is growing up. I'm sure I ended up kissing him about 40+ times! He usually asks me or Dusty to lay with him for a few minutes after we tuck him in at night. Sometimes, we oblige and sometimes we let him drift off to sleep. I treasure those cuddles though... he's not going to want our cuddles forever.  One day, we will miss these days.

I must admit that I had a proud Mommy moment on Sunday when I overheard Cayson telling his cousins that Easter isn't about Easter eggs and bunnies but about Jesus dying on the cross. Awe! We had many, many, many conversations about this... there were many questions - some that I had no idea how to answer. But hopefully, we are heading in the right direction with our curious boy.

To add to my sadness, he started telling me that he'd be 5, and then 6, and then 7, and then 8.... and so on. He told me he'd stop at 10. Thank goodness I'll always have my little 10 year old! Ha ha! 

The other day, I asked for Cayson Cuddles and he told me, "Maybe tomorrow, Mom." Aw, doesn't that sound grown-up? Too grown-up for me!

Every day, he grills Dusty about his night shift. "Did you catch any bad guys?" is always his first question. Followed by "How many cars did you pull over?" "How many crashes were there?" "Who did you work with?" How many cars did they pull over?" and so forth. Many, many questions. He'd make a great supervisor! He even throws in comments like, "Dad, that's a big zero!" when Dusty tells him he had no arrests. 

I love the little boy Cayson is turning into. He is full of happiness and smiles and he loves his family and friends! He loves God and is grasping the concept of our Heavenly Father and Savior. I could not have dreamed of a better son and I thank God every day for our precious Cayson.

Amazing photos by RM Photography as usual! She's the best!!!

Tuesday 10!

One of these days, I'll actually get Tuesday 10 posted at a decent time! I'm usually so busy on Mondays between CDO, dinner, baths, payroll and bookwork and then I don't mess with blogging until after bedtime on Tuesdays. Thus, my late posts. Hope everyone is having a good week! I have tons of pictures that I've taken but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to import/organize them on my Mac using Lightroom.... hoping my sis comes through to show me the ways of the wise! I was able to add a few pictures to this post today!

1. Sickness abounds around here.... well, the quarantine abounds. Taryn has never slowed down.at.all. One of the main symptoms of HFAM is no appetite. Apparently, that doesn't apply to our monster girl. She's still eating us out of house and home! Cayson, on the other hand, was extremely miserable Saturday and Sunday. He slept sporadically Saturday and Sunday nights thus I was up frequently with he and Taryn. Monday afternoon, he seemed to take a turn for the best (read: hyper and busy). Today, both kids have been going non-stop- they are both polka dotted but feeling pretty good. We have to keep them from other kids for a few days still to make sure they don't "share" this virus. No CDO this week for us.

2. Our garden is semi-planted! I hope to get it finished this week! Dusty tilled up a bigger and new plot for me and I've planted a couple tomato plants and 3 types of peppers. I also experimented by planting a few seeds to see how they do.

3. Instagram is one of my newly favorite iPhone applications. I love how you can snap a pic, add an effect and post it to Twitter & Facebook. I know people are probably annoyed with my abundant posts from Instagram. I used Labelbox to add the label to this one.

4. Cayson wrote my dad a "ticket from the POlice" today for running a red light - several weeks ago! He told me he was writing Granddaddy a ticket and I asked what for. He explained that Granddaddy ran a red light when they were coming home from Lucille's and he needed a ticket.

5. I threatened to shut Taryn in her room until she's 18 today out of pure frustration. Cayson was quick to pipe up that I would go to jail if I did that. Geez....

6. I guess related to Taryn being threatened, she was into EVERYTHING Tuesday. She poured out the salt and pepper (on separate occasions), ate cat food (twice!), climbed onto the dining room table (countless times), drank from Cayson's cup, drank Cayson's slush, rubbed mac & cheese into her hair, climbed on a file box that was very unsteady so she could get into my crafting supplies, filled a water pitcher with rocks from our fireplace, and the list goes on and on. Are you jealous that I get to chase this child all day long?

7.  I got out my Easter/Spring decor this week. I found these cute bunnies hiding in my tote. :) 

8. We enjoyed the beautiful spring weather today! We had a picnic lunch in our yard, took a walk and I taught Cayson the joys of "helicopters."  We were thankful for a less windy day with beautiful sunshine! (And yes, I even put a bib on Taryn when we picnic! That girl is a messy eater!)

9. Cayson told me this morning that he can't wait to be a policeman so he can have his own computer and tell people where the bathroom is. I asked if that's what policeman do and he replied with a yes. Ha ha. His dad sure got a kick out of it too! 

10.  My dad and Dusty's brother are always bringing us interesting things that they find while working. Today's find was this HUGE moth. I don't know if this picture does it justice but it looked like a bat!  Massive, I tell you! Last week, Greg brought us this.

Family According to Cayson

Cayson has made some fun "art" at school over the past week... I thought I should share.

Exhibit A - Our Family
Do you recognize us? The person on the left is Dusty. I am on the right. The leggy thing beside me is a spider (I'm deathly afraid of them!) and the fancy colored thing by Dusty is his "police game on his phone." Yeah, I didn't quite get that one either.

This picture is our family but I especially love his description on the bottom. 

Yeah, that's right, we're so fast. Take that, peeps! 

Another "family" portrait using magazine cut-outs. This has to go wrong... especially when all his pictures are of females. There's an unknown crossed arms included that he was unable to tell me who that is.

This beautiful lady in the business suit is none other than, Unk Rebecca (also known as Aunt Rebecca). Rebecca, you might want to cover that gray hair soon. You're too young to have gray!

 

This beautiful African American woman with braids is Mommy! Yeah, I know... I've got awesome skin. Ha!

 

And these three women are.... wait for it..... 

HIS GIRLFRIENDS!!!

Yeah, these are definitely good for some laughs.... I have another one to post soon that had me rolling. 

Outdoor Play

We headed outside today to get a little “run-ergy” out. (Cayson’s made up word, btw).  A little scooter time and basketball time (with the helmet…. you never know! He IS a Jarnagin.)

 

Cayson is actually pretty decent at making shots with the goal lowered. I was impressed by his sills!

Here I am… taking pictures with a baby on my hip. I was practicing some of the info I learned last weekend in my sister’s photography class. It was so helpful for me! I’m hoping to improve my snapshots of the every day fabulous in our house!

 

The Newest & Latest

I know these might seem boring to others or they might not see the humor in the moment but these are little things about Cayson that crack us up and I want to remember. He is always saying the funniest, cutest, sweet things and I am loving this season of his life.

 

Cayson told me that my food was the best ever. I asked if it was better than Pizza Hut (one of his favorite places to eat) and he said, “Yes, Mommy!” Love that!!!

Cayson told Dusty that his nose was running. Dusty jokingly asked where it was running to and Cayson replied, “My mouth.”

Dusty was doing some cleaning with bleach and I told him to be careful. Cayson kept telling Dusty, “Be easy, easy, easy, easy, Daddy.” Then he would come and tell me exactly what he told Daddy. He likes to do that…. repeat something word for word to the other parent. I might tell him what something is and he’ll turn around to Dusty and explain it exactly how I did to him.

When Taryn is screaming bloody murder crying, Cayson yells to me, “Taryn is crying!” Um, kthanks.

Today when Taryn was crying, Cayson said this in one long run-on sentence, “Taryn, calm down!!! Aw,  man! That didn’t work.” I was dying laughing. He said it several times all in one breath.

While washing his hands, Cayson exclaimed, “That water poked me in the eye!”

I was making nachos and Cayson was playing when he hurt his finger. In the midst of his cries, he told us that a chip would make him feel so much better. I handed him a chip and he exclaimed, “That’s a really good chip!”

Cayson calls jelly beans “jumping beans.”

The other morning, he said, “ I can’t see outside because it’s froggy.”

He still loves to imitate Dusty. He pretends he has a pager like Dusty’s fire pager and listens to it just like Dusty. He also called one of his cell phones, his “iPod” and told us not to drop his “iPod.”

The other evening, he was pretending to go on police calls like Daddy. He told me had to go on a call and it was a really, really, really bad one.

I told Cayson we were going to get dressed, and he enthusiastically exclaimed, “You betcha, Mommy! You betcha!”

I often use the phrase “I’m going to hop into the shower” and Cayson ALWAYS corrects me by saying, “No, Mommy! You might fall.”

He always wants to sing “The B-I-B-E-O” instead of The B-I-B-L-E.

Conversations with Cayson

We’ve had some cute & fun conversations with Cayson lately and I want to remember them.  These are all conversations from today.

C: “What’s your ring for?” while wearing the leftover ring part from a Christmas ring pop type of candy.
Me: “Daddy gave it to me when we got married.”
C: “Why"?”
Me: “It means Daddy & Mommy will be together forever.”
C: “I want that too.”
Me: “You want to be with Daddy & Mommy forever?”
C: “Yes, what does that mean?”
Me: “Wherever God takes us, we’ll go together.”
C: “Like to Grandma & Grandaddy’s?”
Me: “Um, sure.”

C: “What’s all over you?”
Me: “Nothing.”
C: points to my freckles/moles
Me: “Freckles and moles. “
C: “Okay!” and runs off.

Tonight, after I tucked him into bed, Cayson hollered after me, “Mommy, I’m glad you’re my friend. And Kourtney (Bridges) too. And Grandma too. “ I love that he considers us all his friends. He’s so sweet!

We’re ready for spring!!!

Cayson spent just about all day on Wednesday outside. He is very into bubbles right now and enjoyed pushing his bubble mower (Thanks, Scott, Lindey & Rylan!) and using his bubble gun (Thanks, Grandma!).

  

He kept using his bubble gun to clean Dusty’s lawnmowers and used the rag to clean his bubble gun.

Dusty took him for a spin on the Dixon… Cayson was a bit frightened by the ride.

I don’t have any pictures, but Cayson kept driving his Jeep behind the house next door to look for “red gooey fish” – a reference to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He has quite the imagination and goes 100% when imagining. He can have you believing he really is fishing for red gooey fish by the enthusiasm in his voice and body language.

Growing Miss T

I took Taryn for her 2 month checkup this week – at 2 1/2 months old! Slack, much, Mommy?

She weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs, 1 oz… she’s gaining slowly… still a petite little thing. She’s still wearing all her newborn clothes but a few of them are getting small. I realized she has so many adorable 3-6 month winter things that she’ll more than likely never get to wear. :*( Boo! On a happy note, I did order her this adorable swimsuit. I couldn’t resist the ruffles!

She is sleeping through the night – has been since 1 month. We are lucky in the aspect! She has a fussy period every evening which is difficult because it occurs when it’s time for me to get Cayson ready and into bed. It’s a little stressful having a crying baby and trying to bathe, dress, cuddle, read books, pray, etc with the 2 year old. I made the mistake of trying to bathe them at the same time one night… Miss T in the baby bath and Cayson in the regular bath. Won’t be doing that again!

The pediatrician did prescribe a med for reflux. Taryn spits up some bit and I thought the cause of the fussiness might be attributed to reflux. The fussiness has eased up some but is still present. :( She’s such a sweetie most of the day… giving us big smiles, laughing and looking adorable.

We are so blessed to have her in our family! We love her to pieces! Cayson still adores her – he asks all day to hold her or look at her and is quite the doting brother. The other day, he kept telling me “I take care of Baby Taryn. You go.” And shooing me away. Um, pretty sure I won’t be trusting my 2 1/2 year old to babysit!

Our Big Girl!

When I call Taryn a big girl, Cayson quickly corrects me that she is a “yiddle” girl! We got out the Bumpo to try out the other night. The first time, she wasn’t sure what to think as seen by this “Deer in Headlights” photo. 

The 2nd try, she was less than pleased with the situation…I “might” have been trying to appease her so I could make cute hair bows! :)

Cayson kept crying as well because he wanted to use her Bumpo seat. Yes, that’s the story of our days… Cayson wants Taryn to be unhappy with a baby toy – playmat, Bumpo, swing, etc. so he can play with it!

All New Cayson-isms!

Cayson was proud he could reach the bathroom faucet without his stool. He told me, “Mommy, I’m tall like Grandma!” Ha ha. If you know my mom, she’s not exactly “tall.” Probably the 1st time she’s been called tall.

Cayson informed me he is a “yiddle (little) big brubber (brother).” He has a thing with being little and not big – most of the time.

He calls firefighters fire guys and basketball players basketball guys.

Since we’ve been a household of sickness the past 4+ weeks, there have been several Cayson-isms that have come with that.

When Taryn sneezed, Cayson told her to sneeze into her elbow. That’s been my mantra over the past month or two… cough into your elbow, sneeze into your elbow, etc.

He was telling us that “boogers were coming out” when he needed his nose wiped. Then he started saying, “I can see my snot” when he wanted it wiped. Where did that come from?

Keep Rolling, Rolling, Rolling…

Last night, we surprised Cayson with a trip to the local bowling alley – his first time. He was soooo excited – as in, I can’t describe his enthusiasm as he ran around the house shouting, “Yay! Yay! Yay!” jumping up and down and raising his hands.

He had such a blast… he’s asked all day today if we could go bowling again. He doesn’t quite understand why we cannot go every day. I tried to explain that it cost money and he told me, “I have money and Baby Taryn have money!” talking about their piggy bank money.

My pictures aren’t the best. Strobe, Black, and Flashing lights don’t make for good photos!

Cayson kept calling the bowling shoes his “new shoes.” He loved them!

  

Before we left, the “kids” had to ride the horse and drive racecars.

All in all, our first bowling night was successful!

Nice to meet you, Baby Taryn

This is what I found Cayson saying to Taryn while shaking her tiny little hand this morning. How funny!?! Then he shook both Dusty & my hands saying, “Nice to meet you.” Apparently he pays close attention to adult conversations and actions- NOTE to Mommy & Daddy!

Here are a couple pictures from this morning… 

Smitten!

Sweet Kisses

Cayson told me he was going to “nap with Baby Taryn.”  He sat/layed in this position for 10ish minutes.

Cayson-isms

I know I’ve posted most of these on Facebook but I really wanted to record them here as well. Just a few of the funnies that come out of Cayson’s mouth…

The other day, Cayson has a "problem" picking up his cars... I didn't know the word "problem" was even in his vocabulary.

Today, while we were out running errands, Cayson asked if I was going to put clothes on. I told him I had clothes on and he replied, “No, those pajamas.” Apparently, I can’t go out in public wearing my sweatpants!

Cayson “called” Dusty today on his play phone to tell Dusty he had a “problem” with the Christmas tree. Dusty asked what his problem was and he told him, “The lights are off.” Oh, if all our problems could be solved so easily!

The other day, Dusty told Cayson that he was funny. Cayson said, “No, I amazing!” Yes, he takes after his father!

This one is terrible… Dusty & Cayson were playing in the other room and I was doing something in the living room. Out of the blue, Cayson blurted out, “That’s not a cow, that’s Mommy!” Oh, I should be offended but it’s pretty stinkin’ funny.

He also was kind enough to tell me that I have big toes… I didn’t remind him that he has his daddy’s crooked toes.

Cayson’s been singing “Do you know the muffin man?” except it sounds like he’s singing, “Do you know the MARTIAN man?” We honestly don’t know where he learned the song in the first place.

Our “Yiddle” Boy

Apparently, Cayson does not want to be a big boy… he prefers to be a “yiddle” (little) boy. If I mention something about his big boy underwear, he corrects me with, “No, yiddle boy underwear.” If someone asks him if he’s a big boy, he responds with, “No, Cays yiddle boy.” It really cracks me up. He is eager to sleep in his big boy bed though… he asks at least once a day. He wants baby to come sleep in his bed so he can sleep in the big bed.

He is very excited for his baby sister to arrive. He likes to talk into my belly button to her… he even holds Minnie Mouse to my belly button so she can talk to baby sister. He told her to come out the other day and wanted me to move my skin so he could see her. Life is hilarious around here… can’t you tell? Last night when I asked him what he wants to name her, he replied with “Jesus.” Hhhmmm…. let me think about that one…

I told Cayson she will probably be here around Christmastime so when Mom asked him what he wants for Christmas, he gleefully replied, “A baby!!!!” Think he’ll change his tune after she makes her grand appearance?

Cayson’s Sunday School lesson was about Zacchius so I went over his take-home paper with him and sang the Zacchius song with him. Later, I asked him who his story was about- who climbed the tree, and he replied with something that resembled the name Zacchius. Isn’t it amazing what they retain? We can still ask him, and he remembers the story.

Last week, we were eating hot dogs at an event at our bank and Cayson pointed to the stop sign and said, “stop sign, 8 sides.” Wow! I asked if he knew what shape it was and he responded with, “Oct-gon” (octagon). Now when we pull up to a stop sign, instead of saying, “stop sign", he points and says, “Oct-gon.” The toddler mind is an amazing thing!

As you can guess, he is constantly coming up with things… I am trying to use this blog to document it because I rarely write in his journal. I know I forget half of the Cayson-isms but I am trying to keep up with them!