Happy Halloween

Tonight was a fun night! Braden and Melissa came over so Braden and Camden could trick or treat together. I was so glad that Baden (as Camden calls him) had decided to dress up and come over so he and Camden could have some fun. Melissa had sent me a picture of the mask that Braden had picked out on Sunday, hoping that it would not scare Camden. When I showed him the picture and told him it was Braden, he kissed the picture on my phone, so I did not foresee him being scared. WRONG! When Braden came over and put on his mask, Camden immediately got frantic and started saying, "No, no, no" while running to me for comfort. After we headed out the door to go trick or treating, he seemed to be fine with Braden dressed up as a scary joker. It amazed me how it took Camden no time at all to understand the whole concept of Halloween. After going to about three houses, he was saying 'Trick or Treat' and then 'Thank you' after receiving his candy. He would not let Shane nor I carry his bucket, even though it was weighing him down. He wanted to walk the whole way and loved looking at all the other kids. His Elmo costume was a hit with the little kids that saw him, which was really cute!

After we got back to the house, we were able to get some pictures of he and Braden together since he was no longer scared of him.

The most precious Elmo ever!

Daddy and Camden

Braden and Camden

The family Halloween picture

Camden with all his candy.

Fall Festival

This evening we attended the Fall Festival at Camden's school. I was really excited about seeing Camden in his Elmo costume, and he did not disappoint! He was the most precious Elmo EVER!!! I was a bit apprehensive about how he would do wearing his costume for an extended period of time, but as usual he amazed me. We put on his Elmo outfit at home and headed to his school, which is about a 15 to 20 minute drive. He did not seem a bit phased by having it on. He had a great time at the festival seeing his teachers dressed up as well as seeing some of his friends. He played games and received lots of candy. Halloween, here we come!


Elmo



Ms. Caroline and Elmo

Playing games

Elmo having fun

A Sponge

I am steadily in awe at how fast Camden is learning things and how he is like a little sponge repeating everything we say or do. I realize that his teachers work with him daily in teaching him different things, and occasionally I catch a glimpse of things he has learned that I know good and well I have not taught him. It is just amazing to me. He has known his basic colors for quiet sometime, but out of no where he was playing with something pink, and just for grins I asked him what color it was and he said, 'Pink.' I had no idea he knew that, but then he amazed me even more when he knew the color purple as well. Also this week, out of no where, he started counting to 6. He has been counting to 4 for awhile, but has not been really precise each time. But now, he counts to six and gets it right pretty much all the time. I LOVE how smart he is!!! (Now I realize this may be the norm for all kids his age, but let me bask in the glory of thinking that my child is the smartest for right now!!!)
 

Unexpected But Good News

For those of you who know me, my desire to have a family has always been a priority in my life. With the birth of Camden 20 months ago my dream had definitely been fulfilled. After Camden turned one I would hint around to Shane that we needed another child because I did not want Camden to be an only child. I had several reasons for not wanting an only child. First, I enjoyed and still enjoy having a sister and being an aunt to her children. Also, I do not want Camden to be here alone if something were to happen to Shane and me. I just can't imagine him having to deal with that on his own. Obviously with our situation the past year, it was not a good time to have another child. Then Shane started his new job teaching which has been nothing but stress and disappointment, which is another story in itself. All that being said, we had not visited the idea of having a second child. Now I will say that I had been praying for several months for God to either remove my desire to have another child or to soften Shane's heart to the idea of another child. Well let me just say that God answered that prayer in an unexpected way. Even though we, with everything that was going on in our lives did not feel we were ready, God saw otherwise and we are now expecting our second child.

Pumpkin Patch 2011

Today after church we made our way to the local pumpkin patch for our annual fall pictures with the pumpkins. It sounds so weird to say something like 'annual' but I like the ring of it, because to me that is the start of traditions with our family. Camden looked as cute as ever, but was a bit tired. He has been fighting different ailments for several weeks and I believe it is catching up with him. But none the less, he did a great job!

Tooth #18

The long awaited tooth #18 finally made its arrival!!! Now, if Camden would quit using his teeth for biting his friends at school, Shane and I would be thrilled!!

The new arrival on the top right.

Happy Birthday Daddy

Today is Shane's 37th birthday and Camden was excited to celebrate. We practiced all the way to school and all the way home from school how to say 'Happy Birthday Daddy'. I must say, when his daddy walked through the door and I gave him the cue to say it, it was the cutest thing ever!!! It was not perfect, but you could definitely understand the gist of what he was trying to say! The cards were a hit as well as the cake and blowing out candles. Isn't great how a little one can add so much more to our birthdays? If only we could be as excited about birthdays as they are. We can learn so much from a 20 month old!

Camden loved 'reading' the cards

Camden worked very hard to help his daddy blow out the candles