Fireworks and Warbird Flyover

Most nights, Cameron is very tired by 8pm and wants to be in bed. We were lucky that he had a long late nap which allowed all of us to go to Kaboom Town. We really enjoyed watching the old military planes. The boys liked the fireworks which they began by having the planes shoot sparks (A biplane is shooting sparks in the first picture). They made a few friends sitting near us and played with them. However, we left before the fireworks were finished since Cameron had gotten very tired and was miserable.

My knight in shining armour

Carson and I made a castle with his megafort building system. Then he dressed up as a prince. He was so adorable. Notice my old costume jewelry necklace that made up his crown?

Cornstarch play

As you probably know, my husband is a Drilling Engineer. So, it is only natural to put something on my blog about drilling fluids...
In Drilling Fluid: The Lifeblood of the Well you can read about Visplex*, a substance used in the drilling fluid that transports cuttings from the bottom of a borehole to the surface. Visplex has the unusual property of being able to change form. When it is at rest it is a gel. When it is in motion it becomes a free-flowing liquid. A mixture of cornstarch and water also changes viscosity depending on whether or not it is agitated, but in a different way. When it is under pressure, it becomes a solid.
The other day, we spent the entire afternoon playing with the properties of this mixture. Carson loved to ooz his hand slowly into the liquid and then try to pull it out quickly only to have it trapped.

Stuck on Peas

At the park last week, Cameron was eating some of the freeze-dried peas that I brought to snack on. He put his face in a bunch of them and when he looked up, this it what I saw.

So much to do, so little time

This afternoon after playing hide and seek, a bowling game, going to a balloon magic show, reading stories, doing a craft, riding his bike and many more fun things, Carson layed down on the floor and took a big breath. I asked him if he was tired and he angrily said, "YES!". I asked him why he was angry and he replied, "Mom, there is SO much to still play and do and if I rest I won't have time to do it all!!"

Oh Noooooooooooooo!

We went to my brother-in-law's home for dinner recently. As the dinner table was finally set, and all the food was on the table, I reached up to turn on the light. I pulled the light chain on the ceiling fan and the glass globe fell right on all the food. OH Nooooooooooo! I felt so bad and poor Cameron was scared and crying.
We finally were able to clean it up and instead of a big spread, we had brisket and a lovely green salad. Thank goodness that my sister-in-law's homemade pie was still in the kitchen!!
Check out some of our glass filled food in the photo :(

Child-led reading

Carson loves for me to read to him. He loves short stories and long chapter books such as "Magic Tree House series", "Black Beauty", "Little House books", and the latest, "Chronicles of Narnia".
I know that he knows his letter sounds and some sound combinations, but until now had no interest in reading a book himself.
Well, a couple of days ago he dug out some phonics books that I had put away (for lack of interest). They are books 1 - 14 from the hooked on phonics series. Anyway, to my amazement he immediately read books 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5! He loved them and understood the silly jokes that he read. The next day, he picked them up and read books 6 -14. He asked a couple times about certain words, but otherwise read and understood what he read quite well. He has such pride in knowing that he read them all by himself.
This sums up my teaching style of child-led learning. Many times I see myself as a facilitator of his learning rather than a teacher to him. He chose to read without any influence from me. This is what I want for him, to have interest in things and not lose interest because it has been forced upon him.

First Lollipop

First, let me preface this by saying that we don't eat chemical food additives, colors or preservatives. Carson knows and accepts this happily as we have educated him that these additives are not actually food. Think about that...m&ms, chicken nuggets, most candy, prepackaged food.
Carson received a lollipop in his gift bag at Gavin's party. He kind of knew what a lollipop was and whispered to me what was in the giftbag and was a little disappointed because he couldn't enjoy his entire giftbag. I told him that Whole foods sells lollipops without colors and he was so excited that he convinced me to drive to the store straight from the party. He was thrilled! He chose mango and was so excited. He said, "Mom, I can even eat the lollipop without holding on!!".

Gavin turns 3!

Carson's friend, Gavin just turned 3 and had a petting zoo at the party. Carson rode the pony twice and loved every minute of it. They had the softest bunnies to pet and it was hilarious when the goat decided to hang out on top of the turtle for awhile. It was a large party with a lot of fun. It was so hot, but they had an ice-cream cake to help cool off - Yummy!

Cameron Walking!

Cameron started walking the day after he turned one. He has total confidence while he goes about the house. His ability to balance in the most precarious positions amazes me. He walks so fast and can be out of sight in just a second. My days of sitting on the sidelines at the homeschool park days are over. He wants to be on the playground with the big kids and climb the play structures.

Still fits in the spoon!

Carson loves to go to the play area at Willow Bend mall. This is one of the first places that we went to play after we moved here when Carson was 17months old. Since it is a great place for babies to play and explore, we have made a few trips recently for a place for Cameron to enjoy too.
Take a look at the two pictures below and notice that they are both Carson! One from 3 years ago and one recently taken. He is still fits in the spoon :)

Cousin Jessica

My sister's family came to DFW to visit from North Carolina. She spent the majority of the time in Fort Worth at my parent's home, however they came to Cameron's party and stayed one night with us. It was really nice having them over and look forward to their next trip!

Cameron's 1st Birthday party

I postponed Cameron's birthday party so my sister's family could be here. We had family over, ate fajitas and the cake that I made. The boys had so much fun wrestling with their uncle and their cousin.

Paint & Pool

Fun day at a friend's house spent spraypainting. Carson really likes to squirt water, but this is his first time to squirt paint and he thought it was really cool. We also spent a little time in the pool cooling off.

Melt my heart....

Cameron learned a while back how to kiss (which is actually an open-mouthed wet kiss) and he'll give you a kiss if you ask. Well, today Cameron and I were playing on the floor with some pretend food. All of a sudden he stopped playing, turned and looked at me and leaned in for a kiss. It was the sweetest moment. Okay....everybody now, "AAAAHHHHH!".

Cameron is 1!

I can't believe that it has been a year since Cameron's birth. It has been a good year and I am surprised at how smooth and easy it was taking care of 2 children. Cameron is a very sweet, easy-going child. I can easily change his naptime by getting him a 10 minute cat-nap before a busy day and he'll be in good spirits until a long nap later. He is a serious child and will only smile and laugh if something is actually funny. But get him going and his laugh will melt your heart. Putting him on a riding toy will always make him smile, but he always checks me to see that I am smiling first. He adores his brother and I think he sometimes thinks that he is also 4 1/2 years old. He will follow Carson around and learn all that he can from his big brother. He has the most incredible balance of any baby that I have ever seen. He hasn't had near the bumps and bruises as his brother due to the fact that his balance is so good and he catches himself well if he falls. Of course, he is still nursing but refuses to nurse in public as he is too distracted. I love having 2 healthy boys in my life everyday. I didn't know how much I would love being a mother until I was one.
I decided to put some pictures of Cameron's birth in honor of his special day and also share a couple of recent pictures. Cameron was born at home and it was sucha beautiful birth, I wish I had birthed Carson at home (he was born in a birthing center). A whole year has gone by, where did all the time go?
Happy Birthday Cameron!!!

Cameron's Birthday Watermelon

Our preschool co-op had a pool party that happened to be on Cameron's 1st birthday. I took the opportunity to have an impromtu party by bringing a watermelon and a candle. We all sang happy birthday and Carson helped him to blow out the candle.

Saveena's Birthday!

Our friend's little girl recently turned 2 years old. They had the party at Grisham Farms for an animal-themed party. The kids really liked touching and seeing the animal up close. It was such a fun day! Cameron is really starting to participate in more activities. He really liked the seesaw.

Coppell Middle School Band

At the end of May, we went to Coppell to hear Henry's Band (the boys' cousin). We first met for dinner and then made our way to the school. They started playing at 7:00pm, but both Cameron and Carson were so tired we had to leave early. We loved hearing the band play and were impressed at how well they sounded. Carson's doll Tommy even came to hear. It was very hard for Cameron to sit still, he kept crawling away from Aunt Beth! Carson was surprised to see what a school looked like. He has only read about a schoolhouse from Little House books and he said that Henry's school was big, tall and like a 'doctor's building'. I suppose he thought it would be a little more home-like like when Laura and Mary went to school.