A Very Special Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas this year, complete with snow! For the first time ever, in a feat that many families never accomplish, we saw both sides of our family on Christmas day! Dennis took Friday off and we sent a letter to Santa asking him to arrive at our house 1 day early. Not only did he do so, but Grammy, Grandpa, and Aunt Catherine all arrived on Thursday night as well. On Friday, we spent the day playing with all of the goodies that Santa brought (check the video above to see Danny literally falling over in excitement!). On Christmas morning, after saying good-bye to Grammy, Grandpa, and Aunt Catherine, we headed to Mama and Papa's house where we got to see all of Dennis' family. The boys had a great time spending the day with their cousins and they even got in some sledding. Why is it that little kids never seem to get cold out in the snow? We had to drag them inside after the sun went down! We couldn't have asked for a more perfect opportunity to spend Christmas with family.

Cameron the Elf . . Call Sign Candy Cane

So, Cameron is currently OBSESSED with the Disney Christmas special Prep & Landing. http://disney.go.com/partners/prepandlanding/ It was on this Wednesday night and we recorded it. Since then, he has watched it twice a day. Here is a picture of him dressed up as a "prep & landing" elf. You will notice that he is wearing a tool belt with a flashlight and some candy canes. The candy canes actually have two purposes: they can be used to direct Santa onto a rooftop, similar to an air traffic controller, and they can be used while climbing or repelling down from homes. What appears to be binoculars are actually night vision goggles so that he can see at night. Just in case if he needs a second pair, the goggles on the fireman's hat serve the same purpose. Why the fireman's hat you might ask? Well, one of his jobs is to go down the chimney first in order to make sure that there is no fire in the fireplace for Santa! Plus, doesn't he just look so snuggly in those footie pajamas?

Cameron's Christmas Program

Well, Cameron's school Christmas program was last night and, just like last year, he sat there mute for almost the entire thing. Cameron has been practicing the song and poem for weeks and knew both by heart but the crowd was just too much for him. He stood next to his class throughout the entire thing with a look that said "who are you people and what are you doing." When his grand performance was over, he turned to us and gave us a thumbs up!





And who can resist a picture of Danny dressed up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?

Nascar

As promised, here is a picture of Cameron and Papa at a recent Nascar race. Cameron had a blast. Unfortunately, we had a bit of a picture snafu (Dennis forgot his camera and Papa accidentally took all of his pictures in sepia!) so we only got a few pictures.

Happy Halloween!

We had a fantastic Halloween weekend full of activities and visitors! Grammy, Grandpa, and Aunt Catherine were all in town for the weekend and we all had a blast.










Mama and Papa were also in town last weekend . . . stay tuned for pictures of Cameron and Papa at a Nascar race!

Flashback

I got a chance to talk with a friend from San Diego today and it made me think of Cameron's first trip to a pumpkin patch three years ago. I love this picture of him!





Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?

Halloween is Coming Soon!!

Today we attended a Halloween party for a local mom's group. Introducing Frankenbaby and Iron Man!

There is a chill in the air . . .

And it feels like fall around here!

We have had a busy month already. The boys and I recently visited a butterfly garden and, in addition to having thousands of amazing butterflies flying around, they had these fabulous sculptures . . .

Fall also means marathon season! Cameron and Danny have been my training partners for the past few months (i.e. I get to push an extra 60 lbs in the jogging stroller most days) and Daddy brought them out to cheer me on for my final marathon. After 7 attempts, I finally got the time that I wanted and now I am happy to retire my marathon shoes. Anyone up for a half marathon?

Cameron wore my medal proudly for most of the day. What can I say, he earned it by going many miles with me and he looked cute wearing it!

And of course fall means pumpkin picking!! Cameron told us that he was going to pick the biggest pumpkin in the pumpkin patch . . .

And I think he did - a 28 pounder!

Danny is working on getting some additional teeth so that he looks less like a jack-o-lantern which is why his shirt is covered with drool!

Now, the circus doesn't have anything at all to do with fall but it is fun and the boys had a blast!

An Ordinary Life

While my mom prepared to go home this morning, Cameron told her, "when you leave, life will be ordinary." Just like my Granny did, Grammy makes life less ordinary!

Apples, Apples, and More Apples

Grandpa had to travel for work this week and before he even got to the airport, Grammy was in the car and on her way to see her grandsons! We've had a wonderful week. Today, we went apple picking again and both boys loved it . . . And, in preparation for Halloween, here's a video of Frankenbaby . . . two weeks ago Danny started walking as a novelty, last week he decided walking was a form of transportation and today he discovered running!

A BUSY Weekend

Well, it feels like fall is right around the corner here! We had a fabulous weekend. Dennis' brother Michael came to visit with his daughter Alexis. Our weekend highlights included the zoo, apple picking, an airshow, and Cameron's first musical. Daniel and Alexis both worked on perfecting their walking skills, and mommy even managed to squeeze in a 20 mile run!

Okay, so the above picture was doctored a bit but only because the camera was a few seconds too late!

Master Negotiator

Cameron has been perfecting his negotiating skills for the past year now. Since he attempts to negotiate EVERYTHING that he is told to do, he's getting pretty good at it. Today, while negotiating something with Dennis, Cameron told him "well, you have a good point but . . ." and then he proceeded to provide a counterpoint! That's my son!

Bigfoot

We had a few errands to run on the other side of St. Louis today so we took a little detour to see Bigfoot. I have learned all kinds of neat stuff as the mother of little boys - including the fact that Bigfoot is the original Monster Truck. Aren't you better for knowing that?

Cameron's First Day of School and Danny's Future Golf Career . . .

So, I tried to take a nice picture of Cameron on his first day of preschool this year and this is what I got . . . .




Nice, huh?

While Cameron is in school, Danny is working on improving his golf game. I think he might be less of a hacker once he learns to walk . . .



I have a video but for some annoying and frustrating reason, the computer isn't letting me upload video right now!

Yes, We Are Raising Nascar Fans

Or at least Dennis is . . .


Cameron and Daddy attended their first live NASCAR race together last Saturday night at the Gateway International Speedway just outside of St. Louis. Cameron had been looking forward to it for weeks, and the experience didn’t disappoint. Upon entering the parking lot and driving by countless shirtless guys playing various tailgating games, Cameron immediately asked if he could take his shirt off. Daddy’s response was of course “no”, and when the inevitable “why” followed, the excuse was that they didn’t bring sunblock (more on this later). Cameron thoroughly enjoyed the pre-race singing of the national anthem and fly-by, and when the green flag dropped and 43 cars came roaring by at 170mph, his eyes were as big as saucers. He of course had his ear muffs on the whole time, and he alternated between watching the race and playing with his new NASCAR toy he got before the race (he even got his little brother something). He was a real trooper and insisted on staying for the whole race, which was a good thing because on the last lap, there was a 10-car crash directly in front of them. When it was all over, and the smoke from the post-race fireworks cleared, Cameron asked if his favorite driver Kyle Busch won … Daddy didn’t have the heart to tell him Kyle Busch wasn’t even in the race. All in all, it was a bit of sensory overload for Cameron, but he’s already asking when he gets to go again. A couple nights later, while brushing his teeth, Cameron stopped and told Daddy that when they go to their next race, he has to remember to put on lots of sunblock so he can take his shirt off. Git ‘er dun!

We Aren't In California Anymore . . .

So, I thought that our transition to Midwest suburbanites was complete when Dennis bought a riding mower but apparently I'm still adjusting to our new location. Today, Danny and I attempted to go for a run along a trail in our neighborhood. I didn't get 4 minutes into our run before we came upon a raccoon acting very weird. Now, I guess that I don't really know how a raccoon is supposed to act but there were some other people trying to scare it off of the trail and it refused to move. Then it started arching it's back and walking in circles. Since I had Danny with me in the jogger, I decided that it was time for us to leave. We ended up meeting a friend a for a workout and she convinced me to call animal control. Now, this is the part where I realized that I wasn't in California anymore - I was informed that I should "knock it over the head with something and dispose of it." Apparently I sounded unsure when provided with this advice because I was then told that I could ask a friend or a neighbor to do it!?!

A Couple of Videos and A Random Observation

So, for those of our friends who are military families, have any of you ever been swimming in an outdoor pool on base when the play the National Anthem? How come on Army Wives they don't show everyone jump out of the pool and stand next to it dripping wet, facing the direction of the flag (even though you can't see it), with hand over heart? It certainly makes sense but it was a bit surreal the first time that it happened to us this week. However, I must say that Cameron looked cute standing there in his swimsuit trying to figure out which hand to put over his heart! And speaking of military life, when you play store with your kids, do you first have to pretend to drive past the guard and show your ID to get on base before you can go to the pretend commissary?

So, my brother is the king of cool birthday gifts for little boys. I think it's because he's still a kid at heart! He got Cameron this hovercraft/UFO thing that flies around the house for his birthday. It's entertaining even for adults and it's perfect for rainy days.

While we were in Fresno, my brother also got this short clip of Danny's first birthday . . .

And Danny and Vince both practiced their communication skills (those years of speech therapy really paid off Vince!). . .

Summer Fun

Well, summer is officially here as of tomorrow but we have been experiencing some high temperatures lately and lots of water fun. Cameron finished two weeks of swim lessons on Thursday, and Danny has discovered that he LOVES playing in water fountains - shocking for a little boy who screamed during every bath for the first ten months of his life!

Boy I Am I Glad that May is Over!!

So apparently I took a blogging break for the entire month of May. It was an insanely hectic month for us: Danny's turned 1 (where did the time go!); my Granny, who was a very special lady, unfortunately passed away so we took a a trip to California to attend her funeral and stayed for a week to visit family and friends before attending a family wedding and returning; the boys suffered from a couple of ear infections, bronchitis and an unexplained hand injury resulting in multiple trips to the doctor and two trips to the ER (my mother-in-law warned me that I would be in the ER often with two boys); and I can't even remember what else, all I know is that I haven't checked my email or my blog in about a month!

However, we did have family pictures taken on Memorial Day weekend so here are some cute pics of our two troublemakers!!