Amazing Garden!

Mark and the boys did such a great job with our garden this summer. Everything did great: tomatoes, bell peppers, yellow squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, cucumber, brussel sprouts. The yellow squash died quickly after it produced our first fruit. I think it may have gotten a fungus, but the ones we had tasted so good. I couldn't believe how many cantaloupe and tomatoes we had and the watermelon were huge. Thanks for all your hard work, honey!

Dry tap!

Sorry honey, but brother's num num doesn't have any milk.

The Missing Teeth

This is the famous T-Rex that knocked out 2 of my baby's teeth. He is so tough. We didn't even know until an hour later that his busted lip was actually 2 severed teeth and 2 chipped teeth. Good thing dinosaurs are around anymore!

Fossil Rim Wildlife Center

After we went camping with our friends, we ventured off on our own to Fossil Rim. It is a drive-thru wildlife sanctuary. We waited very patiently till a stubborn giraffe came over for a snack. It was well worth the wait - I love giraffes! The boys got to ride in the front seat of the van with us and it was enjoyable for all of us to be together.

Dinosaur Valley

We went camping at Dinosaur Valley State Park with another homeschool family. We had a lot of fun and relaxed. We went swimming and fishing and had so much fun. We also visted Dinosaur World which has a little museum and life size dinosaurs to see. Everyone had a great time.

Cameron riding his new scooter

Here is a picture and video of Cameron riding his new scooter he received from his Abuelo and Abuela for his birthday. He loves riding and thinks it's such a blast when he gets to ride with Carson on his scooter next to him.

Marionette Show

We went to Slappy's Playhouse to see a marionette show of Charlotte's Web. Carson had just finished reading the book again and was thrilled to see the story on stage. I thought they did a great job for the limited time they had for the show. There were also many lines quoted directly from the novel. Cameron thought the animals were really funny, especially the rat Templeton.

2 YEARS OLD!

My baby is 2 years old! Where did the last two years go? I can't believe it. Cameron is such a fun-loving little guy. He is so easy going and loves art and all kinds of vehicles, cars, trucks, planes, hovercrafts, motorcycles, you name it. He adores his brother, Carson and rarely tells his brother no when he suggests playing some game. He shares very easily and waits his turn as long as you explain what is expected. He rarely wants to be held and wants to walk everywhere we go, even hiking. I sometimes wish he'd let me squeeze a little more baby out of him, but I think he's graduated into boyhood. When we are with friends at the park or field trip, he is gone with the big kids and does just what they do. His best friend's name is Will and he is 4 years old. They absolutely adore each other and when they see each other, they hug, hold hands and play. Will has protected him before, but this tough cookie takes pretty good care of himself. He is so tough, but truly a sweetheart! LOVE HIM!! Notice the last picture is a special birthday banner that his brother made for him. Happy Birthday Cameron!!

Happy Cameron!

Art 2 year old style

Thank goodness for washable markers!

Library Bears

The Plano library near our home has a room off the children's area where they have storytime. It is usually vacant except for the 2 large stuffed bears that Cameron adores. We can't even talk about the library without him telling us about the bears and how much he misses them. When we go, he just sits in their laps and reads and hugs and kisses them.

Homemade submarine

Carson read about building a submarine that sinks and resurfaces. We helped him make it last weekend. Here is the final product. He really liked that is actually worked! To see how to build one: http://www.onr.navy.mil/focus/blowballast/resources/bouancy1.htm

Playday with painting fun

We had a really fun playday recently with some friends from our homeschool group. It lasted the entire day (10am-5:30pm!) and we did so much during that time. Bike, scooter, rollerskating, waterplay, snacks, painting our boxhouse, and more. The little ones kept 'accidentally' getting painted by the big ones as you can see on Cameron's head. The moms also enjoyed painted the box.

Sprinkler fun

The boys had a blast running through the sprinkler. I think it defeats the purpose a little using an umbrella, but I guess that was the fun part :)

A little friend from our garden

Carson was thrilled to find a catepillar on one of our pepper plants in the garden. Unfortunately, the jar he put him into had air holes too large. He escaped overnight and hasn't been seen since.

Who put who to sleep?

The boys' Uncle Chuckie came for a brief visit and played for a few hours. These two crashed hard. Can you tell who put who to sleep?

Shopping

Cameron insisted that we take his grocery cart the last time we went to Costco. It turned a 45min trip into a 3+hour trip. He did very well and walked the entire store pushing his cart.

Who's your boss?

I was talking with 5 year old Carson recently about how everyone has a boss and even Daddy's boss at work has a boss.

Me: "Do you have a boss?"
Carson: "YES!"
Me: "Who?"
Carson: "Cameron"

(That is his 1 year old brother)

Laptop video camera

I was checking out the video camera on my laptop and Cameron stared at himself live on the screen in total amazement for a long time. I took this still image.

Special Lemonade

Check out Cameron making fresh squeezed lemonade. He is only 1!

Robots

Upon Carson's insistance, we went out yesterday to get supplies to make robot costumes. Here are the unfinished robots. I still have yet to intall the dryer-vent arms and legs, antenne and Carson's face shield. Let's cross our fingers and hope the boxes hold up till we get to complete those!
Carson had me label all of his buttons. One of them is labeled "Pillow Slicer with arms" - he told me not to worry because the pillows automatically go back together after he slices them :)

Rainy Day Splashing

We changed our plans this morning and decided to stay home and enjoy the weather. It was rainy and although Carson and I were fine to stay inside and read all day, Cameron had other plans. He insisted upon running through the rain puddles for a majority of the morning. Then they both wanted hot herbal tea to warm up with, yummy :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2008!!

I love Christmas and I wish you all the very best during this time of year!!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Photos

We finally got our Christmas pictures taken. This one of the boys is so cute!

Candle Lighting

Tonight we went to The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting in honor of our son, Cole. I had sent in Cole's digital picture just in time to make it in the slide show of children loved and lost. Even though I am a bereaved parent, my heart always goes out to those families that have endured the loss of their children. It was very sad to see all the faces of the children that have passed away.

We haven't been to a meeting or candle lighting since we moved to Dallas since we have always had a young one in tow. We were very involved with the local chapter in Houston and I realized tonight that I have missed being around other bereaved parents. There is something comforting about being around others who truly know what you go through.

Sweet Cameron!

There is so much to post on Cameron, but I haven't got much time...so I'll just post a few things that happened today. By the way, he is 18months old now!

This morning when getting ready to go to the library, Cameron was playing with the silverware. I didn't realize until later that day when we were home that he had actually set the table with spoons and forks where each family member sits. How cute is that!?!!

Another cutie....Today while rolling on the floor over and over again playing by himself, he would stop and then sign to himself "MORE" and then roll some more. He kept doing this over and over again. It was adorable!

Here is a picture of Cameron from Sunday's party with his Uncle Chuckie and my mom's amazing homemade chitty chitty bang bang pinata!

The BIG 5!!!

Carson will be 5 years old tomorrow and I just can't believe it! He is growing so fast and we enjoy every moment with him. We had his birthday party on Sunday. We had around 45 people over and had a blast. The theme was flying motor car. He loves to challenge me. But, I came up with some ideas and I hope to post party pics soon. We collected toys for tots as we do all his parties and he was happy to do that. After his friends left, he opened a few family gifts. However, before he began, he presented me with a gift of a necklace that he made and wrapped for me. He said that this is the day that I birthed him and I deserve a present too. That sums up his character. He is such a giving and thoughtful person. He shares amazingly well with others and has incredible patience with his 18month old brother. I couldn't have asked for a better son and I am so proud and thankful to have him.

A couple of months ago, Carson started to read very well. It was like a light switch turned on. He reads everything from toddler books to larger chapter books from 4-6 hours every day! His favorite are still the Magic Tree House books. He even reads larger chapter books such as Charlotte's Web, Little House on the Prairie and Black Beauty. I really have to be careful with what he reads because at his level, much of the content in books isn't appropriate for his age. I miss him alot as he spends so much of his time reading, but I am adjusting.

He spends a lot of his time inventing things and has decided that he wants to be an inventor like Ben Franklin and Caratacus Potts. He comes up with some really clever ideas. It boggles my mind how much effort and time he puts into this. Today's creation was a rocket and probably a few other things that I haven't yet seen.

He has been taking ice skating lessons and is really good at it. However, he recently told me that he is getting burnt out and doesn't want to continue. We might try Tae-Kwon-Do next.

Just yesterday at bedtime, he said that he wanted to 'do the weather'. He put on a tie over his PJs and preceded to run his hand over the map and tell us what the weather was like throughout the world. Apparantly, there are 14 hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico right now and there are some fatalities. Also, there are blizzards in Brazil with snow drifts higher than our house. He said that Cameron was his colleage and they work together at the weather station. Cameron's contribution was driving a matchbox car under the map.