This Weekend

I love weekends. It means that Andrew is home and I get to have some "me" time! It's great! Every two Saturdays, Goodwill has a 50% off sale. When we went two weeks ago, we got there at like 10am and all of the shopping carts were gone and the store was packed. There's something about buying other people's used stuff that people just love. You'd think it was Black Friday or something. Okay okay, so this time I was one of "those" people. I woke up at like 7:15, ate breakfast and headed out.

Since it was still so early, I decided to see if I could find a garage sale. I went over to QT, picked up a strawberry lemonade so that I could break my $20 bill. I didn't want to go to any of the garage sales with big bills. This way I could talk the seller down. I spent $6 at the first sale. I bought a key/mail holder, yarn, some fabric that I turned into three door mats, two life jackets for KJ, some toys, and a wicker trash can and two tissue covers. I think I bought some more stuff there but I couldn't remember.

I got to Goodwill at like 8:30 and there was already a line of like 15 people. The store opened up at 9am. Those people really took off after that stuff. Everyone mainly headed towards the back where the furniture was. I would love to buy some furniture, but we only have our tiny Honda Civic so we wouldn't have a way to get the furniture home. Anyway, I picked up a really cute orange and brown picnic basket/suitcase, a white rack to hang jackets on (I plan to paint it and then modge podge some pretty scrapbook paper on it), some books for KJ, and super cute golden pillow covers.

Other stuff I bought at garage sales: bread box, three pair of slacks, a sweater, and a night stand (I plan on spray painting it yellow-gold and modge podging scrapbook paper to it).

On the way back home, I decided to stop by this place called "Consignment Home." I had been wanting to stop by there because I thought that it would probably be similar to Goodwill or Ross. Well...my expectations were a little low. I pulled into a parking space and the first clue that I had that things weren't as they appeared is that there wasn't a Black person in sight. And there are usually Black people in Goodwill and Ross. Not at this place. And the people were all wearing nice clothes. I had already wasted gas parking the car, so I was going to brave it. I got out of the car, opened up the door to the "Consignment Home," and walked into a place that was way out of my league. The furniture was SUPER nice. The cheapest thing in there was like $50 and it was a lamp. Heck, I could get three boxes of diapers (that would last a few months) for that price. If I wanted a lamp, I could have simply spent $5 at Goodwill.

I didn't want to look all intimidated, though. I walked around the store, sipping my strawberry lemonade, looked at all the furniture, and acted as though I belonged. It was pretty dang fun. Maybe next time I'll walk in there dressed all fancifully and talk with a British accent.

Where Did That Come From?

Today Kayson did something that I did not know he could do. Usually I leave a jar (the kind that the Prego pasta sauce comes in) of water on the floor beside the sofa. It's just convenient for me. Today I was sitting on the couch, writing a blog post. Kayson had walked over close to me, but I wasn't paying much attention. I heard a little bit of jingling, looked down, and Kayson had picked up my pasta jar. I was surprised to see him drinking from it! The only time he has drunk from a glass or cup without a lid is if Andrew or I was holding it for him. There he was, sitting on the floor, holding the glass to his lips, barely spilling anything. Like a little drinking pro. I was pretty taken aback. Man, the things this kid does. Is he really only 13 months?!

Toddler on a Plane

I was super duper nervous about having to fly on a plane with a toddler. A 3 hour flight with a little boy that can give the kid in Sister Act 2 a run for his money. (You know, during the "When Jesus Walks" song and that guy hit the super high note?) Seriously, Kayson could belt out a high note.

When he was a newborn, he was fairly easy to take care of. He slept most (if not all) of the flight. We did have one incident, though, when he was laying on my lap and I was trying to change his diaper. I had just opened up his diaper and he just let it--poop, that it--go. It was pretty funny. But I was SO uncomfortable on the flight. The Airtran seats were not comfortable, and there was hardly ANY space. This time we flew in style--we flew Southwest.

Some tips (reminders for myself) I have about flying with a toddler:

-Gate check the carseat: I did a Google search to see if it would be better to gate or counter check his carseat. Someone put a link to this video on BabyCenter. I didn't want my little guy's carseat just tossed around. We paid good money for that. Also, you're never supposed to use a carseat that's been in an accident, including a minor one, and the way this guy tossed that carseat...Another reason to gate check: Our flight wasn't full so we got to use it on the plane!

-Get a luggage carrier: We got this amazing thing from Walmart.com. It cost less than $15 and it's called a "TravelKart Metal Luggage Cart." It was pretty amazing. We put the convertible carseat on top of the cart (once we had unfolded the cart) and we sat the carryon suitcase in the space where Kayson would usually sit. Then we strapped it all down with the bungee cords. It folds down so that it's small enough to fit under the seat on the plane. Super awesome!

-Distractions, distractions, and did I mention distractions?!: KJ slept for the first hour and last half-hour on the plane, which left me with about 1.5 hours to entertain him. Oh, and did I mention that Andrew slept just about the whole time? It was probably due to him starting to get sick, though! I jumped onto Pinterest and found a few budget friendly things to keep me sane and not break the bank!

I made this using a Gerber Graduates Puffs container. I punched a few holes in the lid big enough for a pipe cleaner to slide through. (Note: I let Kayson test it out about a week before our trip. He had a super hard time getting the pipe cleaner through the hole, so I took off the lid and let him practice sliding the pipe cleaners through the bigger hole. After a few days, I put the lid back on and let him try to put a pipe cleaner through the hole. It took a a little while, but with guidance, he eventually mastered it!) This thing is great for practicing with fine motor skills!

I folded the pipe cleaners in half and manipulated it so that the ends of them wouldn't poke him. 

I used the Graduates Wagon Wheels container (really, any container will do) and cut out three circles from the lid. I bought some little puff ball thingies from the dollar store and this little "toy" was finished!

 This little toy was fun, quiet, and kept him busy for a little while. It didn't take up a ton of space, either, so I was able to just place it on the tray that lets down the seat in front of you on the plane.

 -My creative genius: I made some sensory cards using stuff I found around the apartment. For the base of all of these, I cut up some USPS priority boxes.

Far left: Yarn for hair and I used some googly eyes that I had.

Bottom left: Pennies super glued onto scrapbook paper circles

Bottom right: Aluminum foil

Far right: For practicing untying and tying. I just used yarn

Top: Puff ball thingies glued onto cardboard

Middle: Lentils glued onto cardboard

You can really use anything from around the house.

-Exercise: Every 1/2 hour or so, Andrew or I would let Kayson walk up and down the aisles (and we would walk behind him) to release any pint up energy. There was a time on the second flight when the "fasten seat belts" sign was on for an hour! That's as long as sacrament meeting. (But he does stand up and walk around in the seating area during that time.)

The flight actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. On the way back there were quite a few babies on the plane and they were probably as loud (if not louder) than Kayson. When Andrew, Kayson, and I had lunch with my mom at a little sit down place, this man said something to me that I'll always remember. It was something along the lines of "Don't apologize for your child making a lot of noise. They are babies. We should be enjoying them because they grow up too fast."

The Sweetest Thing

(I started this post a few days ago, and I'm just now finishing it up.)

We try to make sure that we read our scriptures and say our prayers together as a family every night. We've gotten better at it and we're usually pretty consistent. I just started telling Kayson "Prayer, fold your arms" earlier this week and I would fold his arms across his chest for him. A few days ago, before prayers, I told him to fold his arms (without doing it for him) and he did! It was the sweetest thing. He just placed one arm on top of the other in front of him and smiled up at me. So cute! He would only hold that pose for about 15 seconds at most, but it's a work in progress.

Our little guy is starting to sign "more" and he points to what he wants. It's helping to lessen frustration a *little* bit. He does have this weird thing going on with his play phone that I can't figure out. He always gets upset whenever he's playing with it. And he hasn't been able to tell me why it's making him so mad. I think it's kinda funny to watch him have his little tantrums. He just waves his hands around.

He has really good manners. He knows how to say "please" and "thank you." He also knows how to put things in my hand if I ask for them.

Today, he kept bringing this book called "Juno's Musical ABC's" for me to read it to him. I've read that book so many times this week, I'm sure I'll have it memorized. After the last time I gave the book to him and said, "Read it to Mommy" and I laid down beside him. He opened the book and proceeded to read it to me!

During prayers tonight, I simply said, "Prayers, Kayson" and he folded his arms. Of course he unfolded his arms as soon as heads were bowed and eyes were closed. At first he tried to grab my arm and unfold it. He quickly gave up on that because I wasn't budging. I had my eyes slightly open and watched as Kayson looked from Andrew to me and then he folded his arms over his chest. It was the cutest thing!

I caught a picture of him just as he was starting to put his arms down to unfold them.

Right Leg Slumber

Earlier this week, KJ slept AMAZING! I don't know what caused it (could have been the fact that he had a super stuffy nose and it was too much trouble to wake up to nurse), but I was so happy. He only woke once or twice to nurse. AMAZING, I tell ya. Once Wednesday hit, all bets were off. He wanted to wake up EVERY. FREAKIN. 45. MINUTES. I should have expected it. I should not have let my guard down. But I did. I have been so exhausted that I just crash on the couch at the end of the night. I usually wake up at midnight and drag myself into bed, contacts and all.

Last night was not really all that different. Andrew and I were chillin' on the couch watching "Early Edition." I wanted to go ahead and finish off the disc so that we could send it back to Netflix today. We only had one episode left. I remember being the one to press play and that's the last thing I remember. I was OUT. I don't even remember taking out my contacts or walking to the bedroom. Somehow it happened, though. What I do remember is Kayson waking up every hour or so to nurse. I have no idea what he's pulling out of "there." I'm thinking that's some pretty thin milk because right now "they" feel like deflated balloons.

Anyway, sleep sucked. And before I know it, Andrew's cell phone is going off in the kitchen. (He uses his phone as an alarm clock and leaves it in the kitchen instead of putting it on the nightstand beside the bed so that he's not tempted to shut if off and go back to sleep.) I open my eyes to see Andrew sit up in bed and then he stood up. He took ONE step and the next thing I knew, he was on the floor. I didn't think much of it because I was tired and I had just had a super weird dream before the alarm went off. I just closed my eyes and went back to sleep.

I wake up this morning and Andrew says, "I think I must have slept on my right leg last night because when I climbed out of bed and stood up, my leg--" I didn't even let him finish. I started cracking up because the image flashed in front of my eyes.


My legs seriously gave out on me because I was laughing so hard. Oh man.

Georgia on My Mind

Four days after moving into our new place we were in Georgia. The past two weeks have been THE most stressful two weeks this year. It's tough trying to pack up one apartment, move all the furniture to another place, beginning to unpack and then packing up suitcases for a 6 day vacation. Never again. I learned my lesson.

Then, the first night that we were there, Andrew got really sick. He had a fever, bad headache, nausea...it sucked. We drugged his butt up, though, with some medicine. Within about 3-4 days, he was feeling better. But remember, our trip was only about 6 days! Half the time, Andrew was sick. (And now that we're home, Kayson and I are sick! YAY! *insert sarcastic look*)  Maybe we'll go again next year...who knows?

Kayson loved playing with his big cousin, Jahquez. 

Standing at the front door, wanting to go outside.

 Yummy food

CHEESE

Hanging out with his cousin

Nap time with Dad

Hahaha! I love this face!

My mom doing her homework

Again with that face

On the porch swing with his cousin

KJ with his great great grandmother

At church

This beautiful lady was my Young Women's leader from 2006-2007. I love her!

The last time I saw her (Sadie), she was a little girl! Now she is definitely a young woman! (She makes me feel old and I'm only in my early twenties!)

The baby of one of my cousins. I love cuddling with this little chunk!

Kayson took all the flash! This is a pic of him and my aunt (my Dad's sister).

KJ and his great-grandmother (my Dad's mother)

My grandma (my mom's mom) made some salmon and oatmeal for breakfast! It was so good!

Kayson, Andrew, and my mom

The fam playing cards at Bigma's house on Labor Day

Andrew kicked butt in football 

With Andrew's permission, I share this true story: The day before we left I was washing all of our clothes so I had Andrew gather up his and add them with the rest of the whites. Before I shut the lid, I noticed that the machine didn't look full at all. And it should have. I mean...there should have been like 5-6 days worth of underwear.

Later, I asked Andrew about it. After him dodging questions, I came to the bottom of the white clothes mystery. Andrew didn't pack a single pair of underwear. For the whole trip, he only had one pair--the ones he had been wearing when we got there. Here's what he did (He didn't want to tell me because he was too embarrassed): Each night he would wash them by hand before he got into the shower and let them air dry while he was in the shower. He managed to do that for 5 days. I couldn't help but laugh because it was just hilarious to me that he managed to forget to pack him underwear!

August 12-28 in Pictures

In the weeks leading up to moving, I didn't take many pictures. But I do have some. They're all pretty random.

I love his hair in this picture. It's so wild!

I experimented in the kitchen and came up with this delicious masterpiece.

Cost about $5 to make, and we had leftovers!

KJ was super quiet so I went to see what he was up to. He was just sitting in the bedroom playing with his Dad's shoe. It was so cute!

After I caught him

I was going through a bunch of papers and throwing stuff away when I came across this sheet!

On our first night of being in our new place, we spent about 4 hours in urgent care because Kayson had pooped about 10 times in 8 hours...really bad diarrhea.

He found my jar of vaseline and put it all over his face. It's a step up from him constantly trying to eat it!

I couldn't be upset with this precious face.