July Schmuly

Our July started out with a bang by celebrating the day of our Independence. We celebrated by grilling out at my parents and then attending our first (and last) Stars game. Let's just say baseball is way too slow moving to keep my kids interested, and they would rather run all around on the steep concrete steps. Me = panicky. Add the ridiculous heat and humidity of the South, AND the fact that the game took forrreeevvveerrr so the fireworks didn't even start until 10:30! 3 whole hours after my kids bed time! It. was. awesome.Who's idea was this again that I fought hard core because I knew it was a bad idea?? Oh wait. Yeah, it was Chase. 

waving

This is at the beginning when everyone was still happy.

The next day (when the kids still woke up at 6am) was Reece's birthday and doctor's appointment. Let's load my already cranky kid up with some shots, shall we? Awesome day #2. Then, those shots gave him a fever and made him relentlessly clingy, cranky, miserable. Awesome day #3, 4, 5, and 6. The first part of July was fun, wasn't it?

Here are some of July's finer moments:

Waiting for Nonni, Papa, and Seth at the airport. 

Cade came out of my room giddy because he put my boots on all by himself. I was laughing more because they almost touch his butt.

I had some scrap paper from cutting coupons, and Cade was dying to cut with the scissors, too. He was more than pleased with himself when he realized he cut an L. I told him L stood for Layton. He was so excited. "Yeah! Like Mommy Layton and Daddy Layton!" and on and on listing everyone we know as a 'Layton' even if their last name is not Layton.

So handsome all ready for church.

Making Family Night treats. Cade LOVED these. He thought eating 'dirt and worms' was the best thing ever. Too bad we aren't making these ever again because he went haywire for hours every time he ate one.

Oh the misery of having to eat a yummy dinner that I really like. It's such torture to have to sit still and focus on eating. Meal time is always a battle.

But not for this kid:

Every time I glance over at this kid while I'm eating, some variation of this is usually what I find. Hysterical.

Crazy.

I love these cute baseball pant jammies. Skinny whinny. 

Found a cute little train for Cade to paint at the Dollar Store. Sticks his tongue out when he's concentrating just like his Mommy. 

The finished product. Too bad the blue and black were already dried out in that cheap Dollar Store paint. He really wanted to paint it to look like Thomas.

Cade decided to clean out Reece's ENTIRE room and closet and throw it in Reece's crib while he was still in it. I was less than amused. It's hard to tell from the picture how much stuff was actually in this crib. 

We are in the process of cheaply trying to update our bathrooms. We are painting, staining the vanity, and spraying all the ugly fixtures this rubbed oil bronze color. So far it all looks good, but we are far from done. We will see how the wear and tear works out on the fixtures. More to come on that later.

And for the part where July hated me- We came home from church one Sunday to a blazing hot house. The temp reached 88 in most of the house (our bedroom was 97!). Needless to say, we slept at Chase's parents that night. And I'm pretty sure we got big time ripped off when the guy came to fix it. I wish I knew everything about fix it stuff so I could call people out on dishonesty. And after much research and many calls, I still can't find out if I was ripped off unless I pay another expert to come look at it and tell me. (So if anyone knows how to tell how much freon my unit holds, please come over and enlighten me! My unit doesn't say on the back like everyone else's.) Then, the air in Chase's car broke. Then, a stupid apple from the neighbors tree got caught in the weed eater and did this:

Please, Wheel of Fortune, call me to be on your show. I'm on the verge of a breakdown.

Thanks for giving me a bad attitude, July.

Happy Birthday Reecie Piecie!

I really can't believe he is already 1! Maybe I'm not remembering right, but I almost feel like Reece's first year went by much faster than Cade's. It may be due to life just becoming busier with the addition of another child. Or it could also be that I was more prepared for that complete 'my life is over' shock that took me a really long time to cope with when I had Cade. But whatever it may have been, as we all know (and are probably annoyed with by now!), it makes me really emotional thinking about my babies growing up. As crazy and frustrating as they can be, they are my whole soul, my ultimate joy.

Upon reaching milestones, I do, however, like to look back and think how I've cared for this little human being for this long and look at how much he has grown and changed (or simply survived!) and how I helped that happen. It's very fulfilling and humbling.

The birthday boy trying to cheese for the camera. What a sweet, LOUD, busy little boy he is! He's always either mumbling something in a whisper, making that hawking a loogie in the back of your throat noise, or yelling really loudly. This child does not know proper volume levels.

The birthday cake. Best looking cake I have made to date. I am horrible at decorating cakes. Baking them is   no problem. Decorating them requires a whole other set of skills and patience that I do not have. It took me an hour and a half just to smooth out the icing! Luckily, I didn't have to draw the picture on top because I found that you can order online almost any kids character/theme on edible sugar paper and have it shipped to you! And it's not expensive- yahoo! You better believe I'm doing this for every cake from now on.

He had his own little cupcake to chow down. He actually did a really good job of demolishing it, but for some reason, the photographer thought it was best to only take super close ups of Reece's face while he dug in. Due to possible embarrassment, we will leave that photographer nameless (starts with a Ch and ends with the name of  a playing card).

We celebrated twice. One was swimming and lunch/cake with Grandma and Grandpa, Aunt Kim, Uncle Chris, and cousins. Two was dinner/cake when Nonni, Papa, and Seth came home from visiting Cody and Jordan (where are the cousins on this side?!). It doesn't matter how many times you light candles or who they are for, my boys are all over it.

At Reece's appointment the day after his b'day, he weighed in at 21 lbs (30th percentile) and is in the 90th percentile for height! Reece was his usual never still or quiet self, and his doctor seemed quite amused and said that Reece is definitely far more active than his other 12 month patients. Great.. I mean I already knew it, but when his doctor confirmed it, I wanted to just yell, "I KNEW IT!". I knew I wasn't crazy. It's not me. It's him. And since Reece is just like Cade, it's them. And maybe a little me...

I will say that I do love how much Reece loves his Mommy (except when I am trying to cook!). He always wants to be with me, holding on to me, doing everything with me. He is such a Mommy's boy. He may be wild as fire, but when he comes to me and holds those little arms up for me to hold him and then lays that little head on my shoulder and tries to make the 'aww' sound, in that moment, all the other worries grow dim. 

Love my Reecie :)

June Happenings

I am WAY behind on the blogging. We are almost into August, and I'm just now talking about June. Oops. Let's dive right in.

In June, the boys and I were able to accompany my parents and my sister's family to the Chattanooga Aquarium. Since the boys and I had never been, I was excited to introduce them to some animals/fishy life up close. I thought Cade was going to absolutely love it and would be fascinated by all huge sharks and turtles, etc. It was going to be a great time.

And...it. was. NOT. From enter to exit, Cade was in his usual bouncing off the walls mode. Did he care to watch the animals move or even give them the time of day? Not for more than 2 seconds and then off he'd go running around. Totally regretted not bringing my monkey backpack leash (I better not be hearing any judgmental sighs or eye-rolls!). Aquariums, museums, zoos, etc. are great, but there is just so much to see and happening at once, that it's too much stimulation for my unable to focus child. Next time, we will definitely not be going unless Chase can come. He is much better at helping Cade in those settings than I am. 

And then we had Mr. Whiny in the stroller who always has to be moving or he'll scream at the top of his lungs. It was such an enjoyable trip indeed. Although, we did stop and get some amazingly good ice cream before making the trek home so not all was lost.

I believe these were sturgeons??

As still as we could get Cade for a picture.

Cade with cousins- Jack, Kate, and Madison

Shark tank. Nice face Madison.

This tank had sting rays to touch and Dorie fish from Finding Nemo. Cade yelled, "DORIE! DORIE!! Come over here! DORIE!" over and over. Hmm..they must not actually speak English..

It was a nice aquarium though. And when Cade talks about going to the aquarium, he talks about how cool it was and he saw all the big sharks. You don't even know, Buddy.

The next special event June brought us was Chase's 30th birthday. And since I'm such a good wife, I threw him a surprise party at his parents neighborhood clubhouse/pool. I did a dang good job of never slipping up or creating any suspicions, too. The diversion? Our friend Brad asked Chase to go golfing with him which enabled us to get everything in place at the clubhouse. What a fine plan since Chase would never turn down a game of golf.

My friend Misty (who is also Brad's wife) and I were "swimming with the kids at the pool", but when they pulled up he put two and two together since the parking lot was completely filled and he recognized all the cars. That's the best I could do.

The turnout was amazing- 41 adults and 31 kids! Cade is freaking out because he fell in the pool a little bit prior to this. He was fine (thanks to David for seeing it and pulling him out!), but when he saw Chase he broke down.

I was too busy to take any pictures besides these, and I'm regretting that I didn't. We had great food, cake, and fun.

And June's last memorable event- Reece started walking! We came home from church one Sunday, and it was like he just decided he wasn't going to crawl anymore. It was such a quick change. I was in the kitchen, and in my peripheral vision, I see a really little person stumbling down the hall. I remember thinking- what in the world?? He was just walking all over the place. And if he fell down, he would just get right back up. He had started teetering between 2 people a little bit a week prior to this, but that was only a few steps. 

Here is the action:

And another gem I found on my phone:

Things Here and There

I think you've got a little something stuck to your foot. That could be embarrassing.

 Found him playing in the train tracks box.

 Yes. Yes, you do.

 Firefighters were in front of us in line at Publix one day. They let Cade take a tour of the firetruck. Could it get any better for a 3 year old boy?

"Take my picture, Mommy."

Chase has classes right now Monday through Thursday 5:30-9:30. So the kids don't get to see him most days. Needless to say, they both need some Daddy time on Fridays when he gets home. 

It's always entertaining to quite frequently find completely random pictures on my phone. They mostly look something like this:

or this:

 But this one is a rare gem:

My delicious Mother's Day dinner cooked by Chase the non-cook. This is probably the second meal he has ever made in our entire marriage, or his entire life. And this filet, my friend, was the best steak I've ever eaten. Every bite was moan worthy. Therefore, it must be documented.

And then fondue. Those french bread cubes baked in butter and cinnamon and sugar- amazing. You no longer have an excuse to not help out with the cooking, my love.

Cade's preschool teacher- Mrs. Nikki. I wish he could get her next year, too!

Her teacher's gift. This vase was my first go with trying to somewhat be craftsy. Pretty amateur. Give me time. Lots of time.

 Our first swim for the summer! Cade shocked us by swimming from one side of the pool to the other all by himself! With floaties on, of course. 

 Reecey sans hat.

Looking around at Kohl's one day, and I hear, "Look, Mommy! These fit me perfect!" 

Does this picture look familiar to you?

How about now?

Cade on Christmas morning when he was 12 months. The boys put a bow on his head and called him Little Black Girl for like an hour.

 Reece is even giving us some black girl sass.

Moments like this are what it's all about.

CROUP. Croup ba-doop, ba-doop, ba-doop.

I know many of you have experienced croup with your children before. I, on the other hand, have not. That is until 2 weeks ago. And it is scary.

Friday afternoon, Cade rather suddenly came down with a high fever and sore throat. He would just lay on the couch and not move (and if you know Little Antsy-Always Moving My Body-Full of Energy-Never Still-Cade, that is not like him at all). He also wouldn't eat anything and kept complaining about his throat. Since those were his only symptoms, I just knew he had strep throat. I talked to my dad about it, and he brought home a test that night. It didn't show anything, but those tests aren't always accurate. So since I was really paranoid about Cade actually having strep and it going untreated, we went ahead and got him the antibiotics and sent him to bed.

The next morning, Cade woke up breathing kind of hard and loud. It worried me so we took him over to my parents house. My dad listened to him and said it wasn't in his lungs, and his throat must be swelling a little bit from the strep but the antibiotics will take care of it. Cade seemed to be breathing a little better as the day went on so I stopped worrying about it.

When Cade woke up from his nap that afternoon, however, he was having major difficulty breathing, and he started to panic (which made it worse). Chase tried to calm him down, but Cade was still struggling. We didn't know what to do so we immediately got in the car to take him to the Pediatric ER. When we got there, one of the nurses doing the paperwork in the waiting room heard him wheezing and got us back to see a nurse rather quickly. They immediately told us it was croup (I was glad to know what the problem was so quickly), which I was surprised because the little bit I did know about croup, you have a nasty cough, and Cade wasn't coughing at all (that came the next day).


We were taken to a room where Cade received breathing treatments, a steroid medicine to help with the swelling, and other meds for his 103.7 fever. Poor, pitiful Cade, as miserable as he was, was so sweet and so good the entire time we were at the hospital. He never cried or whined at anything the nurses or doctor did to him. He lay still and would just whisper in his horse voice, "Ok" or "Yes" or "Thank You". The respiratory nurse told him that he was her best patient that day.

We were glad that he responded well to the breathing treatments. If he had to get one more he would have been admitted into the hospital.

What was Cade's favorite part about his hospital visit? Popsicles. After he had his first breathing treatment and the steroid medicine, the respiratory nurse asked him if he would like a popsicle. Cade lit up (well, as much as he could at that point) and excitedly whispered, "YES". After he devoured that purple popsicle and had the 2nd breathing treatment, our regular nurse came in and asked him if he'd like a popsicle. He was so excited that he was being offered another popsicle. He asked for green. A little while later, there was a shift change and we had a new nurse. All she did was walk in the door, and Cade (feeling much better by now) blurted out, "Can I have a red popsicle?" 

After 2 breathing treatments, meds, Chick-fil-a, coloring some fun pictures, and three popsicles later, Cade was feeling and breathing much better and started getting his energy back.

Then we were able to come home. I must say that our experience at the Pediatric ER at Huntsville Hospital for Women and Children was the best I have ever experienced. The staff was extremely friendly, and they took very good care of us.  

Since the doctor told us that croup typically gets bad in the middle of the night and children often wake up with difficulty breathing, I made Cade sleep in the bed with me that night. I was not about to leave him alone, and I literally did not get any sleep. 

(Might I add that my good little boy does not get off of his bed, ever. He yells for us in the morning, and we come and get him. So during this whole ordeal, we finally taught Cade that he could get out of his bed all by himself and to come get us if he doesn't feel good or can't breathe. It took him awhile, but he's finally figured out that it's okay to get out of bed on his own. Well, that backfired the other day, when I woke up at 5:30am to find him in the kitchen playing games on the computer. And it looked like he'd been awake for awhile. Awesome.)

The next night, Reece and I come down with fevers and all the other croup junk followed. It took about 6-7 days for Cade and I to get over it and a little longer for Reece. Luckily, Reece's breathing didn't get as bad as Cade's. The next week, Chase came down with it. It's been lovely.

I am finally glad to say our house is officially rid of the croup. See ya later croup. I don't ever want to see you again.