"Goopy" goo and other fun stuff

I just wanted to make a quick post about a few things we have been up to recently. 

The other day I was home with Cason (thank you President's Washington and Lincoln!) and we were looking for something fun to do inside.  I had some left over corn starch in the cupboard from some finger painting we did months ago and decided to make a little mixture with water.  We added some blue food coloring for effect and had ourselves a ton of fun with what Cason termed "goopy."  We layed a sheet on the floor of the kitchen and went to town.  Cason was excited about it at first, until he got his hands in it.  Then he kept saying "ucky ooooouy" and refused to touch it.  He somehow managed to get it all over himself before we decided that it would be more fun to paint the sheet with it.  Who would have thought two ingredients could combine to be so much fun!

Cason loves to paint and it is something we do a lot of in this house.  The other day he spent, literally, an hour and a half on one painting.  This includes the time he spent taking the caps on and off and on and off, counting the paints, and lining them up perfectly (he's a little OCD).  By the time he was finished we had paint everywhere.... notice his nose.  Luckily it's washable :).

Speaking of OCD.... we always find Cason's toys lined up in perfect rows.  Recently it has been his trucks.  It's hilarious to find them in various places throughout the house.

Today I am also home with Cason (thank you shingles... not so much!).  He is such a smartie pants recently and I'm trying to find ways to test his knowledge.  We made a new game this morning that will help with sorting colors and counting.  It wasn't much of a challenge for him, but we had a lot of fun playing it together.  And afterward he had a lot of fun throwing the poofy balls around the living room :).

There's so much more I could post about.  It is something new and exciting everyday with this boy.  He is 21 months old today and I can't even believe it.  I've been thinking a lot lately about what a miracle it is to have children.  Being pregnant and actually giving birth is a miracle in itself.  It's incredible to think that Jeff and I created something so perfect!  But after that we have this infant that grows and develops so quickly into an intelligent human being.  It's hard to fathom.  It is amazing how smart, caring, compassionate, fun, intuitive, energetic, spunky, sarcastic, tricky, beautiful, bright, and lovable he is at 21 months.  In 21 short months I have realized that having children brings so much meaning to life and I feel so blessed that I got the best one! 

Crafty

Something has lit a spark under me and I feel like I've been so on the ball recently.  My house has been spotless for over a month.  I've been making dinner every night for about the same length of time.  And.... drum roll please... I've been working out 3-5 times per week.  It has been amazing!  I've also been feeling a bit more crafty lately and have completed a couple more (small) projects.  The first project directly contributes to my being more organized lately.  I made a cute weekly calendar that keeps track of dinners, chores, and events going on throughout the week.  It helps me stick to the dinners that I have planned and also helps me to get little chores done throughout the week.  This makes it so that I don't spend my entire weekend cleaning my house and allows me to use the coveted weekend nap times to get bigger projects done or -better yet- do something for myself without feeling guilty about it!  My second project is a cute little wreath for our front door.  We cleaned up the front yard a couple of weekends ago and it seemed to me the house was missing a little touch of something.  So, even though Jeff thinks that wreaths are meant solely for Christmas time, the project began.  I'm pretty pleased with the final result.  Take a look!

A Date with Cason

This year for Valentine's Day Jeff and I decided to take Cason out on a little date.  We went out to dinner at Red Robin and then headed over to Jumpin Jacks for the rest of the night.  We have never been there before and Cason absolutely LOVED it.  His face lit up as soon as we walked in the door and he saw all of the toys.  He ran around to each thing saying "this one, this one" then "other one, other one."  He loved the "big big slide" and at one point made us laugh when he said "too funnnn!"  It was a blast.  He was giggling and smiling the ENTIRE night!  Jeff and I had a ton of fun too.  It definitely gave me a work out carrying him up the slides and chasing him around.  I couldn't think of a better way to spend my Valentine's Day than with my two boys.  I love them so much!

Blue's Clues Valentines

Cason is really into Blue's Clues right now so I decided to make Blue's Clues Valentines for all of his friends and family.  We made sugar cookies and decorated them with the famous Blue's Clues paw print.  I did most of the baking while Cason colored the back of the Valentine's and watched Blue's Clues (of course!).  He loves pointing out the "clues" while watching the show and thought the cookies were pretty awesome.  He knows all of the actions to the songs that Steve sings and also sings most of the words.  It's pretty cute to watch him as he watches.  He gets right up next to the t.v. and becomes so engulfed in the show.  We spent the afternoon of Valentine's Day running the Valentine's and cookies around to all of our friends.  It was great to see everyone and spend a little bit of time with our family, especially my grandpa and grandma.  We don't see them near enough!  We saved the biggest cookie for Cason to enjoy at the end of our Valentine's Day date.  Needless to say... he loved it!

Cason and I also made a cute little Valentine for Jeff.  Cason has recently started saying "I love you thiiiiiis much" and giving big bear hugs.... although it actually sounds more like "I you iiiiiis muts."  So, we traced both of his hands on cute Valentine's paper and cut them out.  He then colored on another piece of paper which we cut into strips and glued together.  We folded the strips (accordian style) and glued them between the two hand prints.  I wrote on the paper "I love you thiiiiis much.  Happy Valentine's Day Daddy.  Love, Cason."  I thought it was pretty cute and Cason had a fun time helping to make it.

Yardwork

This weekend felt like the beginning of Spring.  It was beautiful weather and Jeff and I took the opportunity to get out and do the first yardwork of the season.  Cason is at such a helpful age and loved to be out there with us all morning playing and working.  While mowing the lawn Jeff held his hand, then held him, and then Cason finally pulled out his own lawn mower and started mowing alongside his daddy.  So cute!!  At one point he had his wagon, bike, car, and lawn mower all on the lawn... and in his own little OCD way, lined up perfectly along the edge of the grass.  (He is his mother's son!)  He even took his first bike ride down the sloped driveway.  I could see the fear in his eyes as he realized he didn't have control.  When he hit the pavement of the road he wasn't sure how to react, but after a few seconds burst out in laughter, and then did it again!  It was a great morning and feels so great to have the front yard looking in tip-top shape.  Can't wait to work on the backyard next weekend.

Chicks Dig This

"Chicks dig this"... a line from one of my favorite movies, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.  But seriously, my kid is a stud!  Today I found him in the front room trying to start up his bike with my car keys.  To top it off he was wearing his new sunglasses and had my cell phone in his front pocket.  Love, love, love him!

Just for Fun

Cason was helping with laundry the other day and I just have to post a few photos.  He's such a ham!

Cousins- Weekend trip to Kingman

This weekend we took a short trip to Kingman, Arizona to spend time with Jeff's sister, Natalie, and her family.  She has a daughter, Olivia, who is almost 3 years old.  She and Cason rarely get to see one another and it was so fun to watch them play together.  For the most part they seemed to have a lot of fun together.  While we were there we went to the airport where Natalie's husband OJ works to watch the planes take off.  We also went to a neat park that has an old train in the middle that you can climb on.  Cason loves airplanes and trains and of course thought both were amazing.  We spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing at the house and watching the kiddos play.  Wish we could have stayed longer.  Thanks guys for letting us come!