Go Texan Day

Today was Go Texan Day at the boy's school, so of course they had to dress up as cowboys. I will tell you, it is a bit difficult for us to come up with 'cowboy' outfits in our house since the boys are always in athletic wear, however I was able to come up with something that somewhat resembled a cowboy. If only we had boots . . . .

A New Family Member

I will be honest, I will have to be somewhat vague with this next post, however since this is a part of my children's lives, I feel I need to include it in our family blog.

I have a student named Olivia who came to my school in November of 2012. The first time she came in my clinic ill, she had to wait a lengthy amount of time for her mom to come and get her, so she and I bonded. Over time she would come and talk to me and I knew she had some personal/family issues, but as time had progressed I learned there was much more to her story. We talked weekly and I did my best to show her what it was for someone to truly care about her and her well being. Unfortunately, this past week, something happened where she was removed from her home by CPS. She is originally from Canada so has no family here and her parents have no friends here. Shane has known all about her, as I have spoken with him regarding her and when he found out her circumstances, he told me she was more than welcome to stay in our home.When her parents were asked where they would like for her to stay, they had no one for her to stay with.  When they asked her where she wanted to go, she requested me. So, as of 9:30 pm this evening, we now have a 14 year old living with us. I know this is going to be a change for everyone, however at this time in her life, she needs to see what a safe, loving environment is like.

Superintendent Fun Run and Soccer

Since his last race, Camden has asked multiple times when we were running another race. I have known for awhile about the Superintendent Fun Run, however we did not have Camden's soccer schedule until this past week to know for sure if we could participate. Since he didn't have his game until this afternoon, we were able to run. Camden was especially excited because his Aunt Melissa and cousins, Mason and Braden, were also running in this race. And what was even more exciting, were the cape and mask that were included in his race packet.

My Little Superhero

Braden, Mason and Camden

Casen ready for the race 

What made this race fun was that our whole family was able to go and have a good time. Camden did awesome - we ran over the first half of the race and then Camden got a cramp in his side so we walked a little and then ran off and on until the end of the race. Camden did really well the last little bit of the race because people were standing along the road cheering him on and he loved it. He sped up as hear the cheers and crossed the line before me. He finished in 38:34.9 and I finished in 38:37.2. That was his best time so far (and mine as well). Shane and Casen were there to cheer us on as we crossed the finish line.

Mason headed to the finish line

Braden headed to the finish

My little super hero in the final stretch

 

Fun on the slide

We stayed for the awards ceremony, which was a bit of a disappointment. The youngest category they had was a 5 and 6 year old category, which Camden finished faster than the 5 year old, however he did not get a medal and the other boy did. : (  Mason finished first in his category, which was awesome.

I don't know when the next race will be due to him having soccer games, however he is already asking when he can run another race!

Today was also Camden's first soccer game of the season. He is still on the Blue Crocs, which is all the same players from last season, minus one player, with the addition of another boy who actually lives in our neighborhood. Camden played well today and was so glad to be back on the soccer field. It looks like we will have a good team this season!

My handsome little soccer player

Heading to make a goal

Getting a pep talk from Dad

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Generally, Shane and I really do not do much for Valentine's. However, much to my surprise, this year was a bit different. Shane had set it up with my mom ahead of time that when they were here for Camden's birthday, they would watch the boys while Shane took me out. "What," you may ask, "A date???" I know, right???? And not only that, he gave me an Ipad as well!!! I must haven done something right this year!!!! So today we did not really do much celebrating.

The boys, on the other hand,  had their Valentine's Party at school and exchanged Valentine's with their classmates. It is always so fun to see what they bring home!

The boys' loot - along with a Valentine's card for us from Casen

Candy from Nana and Poppa Ron

Gymnastics Fun

Camden's friend, Zachary had 'Bring a Friend Night' at a local gymnastics place called K-2 Gymnastics. Zachary asked his mom if Camden could go with him to which of course I said yes. Camden had a great time, not only seeing Zachary and playing with him, but also participating in all the different activities they offered.

Playing with the parachute

Camden and Zachary being little monkeys

On the zip line

Buddies!

Lets Party!

Today was Camden's birthday party. Several weeks ago, each of his current classmates as well as a few of his classmates from years passed, received their invitation in a wax sealed envelope.

 

We had his party at a place called the Great Play which is a place that offers a party with different games geared towards the kids' age and interests. Camden was fortunate to have a lot of his friends attend (21 kids in total). They had a great time playing the different games with the coaches and then enjoying cake and juice afterwards.

But before I tell you about all the fun he had, let me give you a little history behind Bucky, his awesome cake. When he told me he wanted a Jake and the Neverland Pirates themed birthday, the first thing I did was look at cakes so I could send a picture to my mom, since she is my personal baker. : )  I ran across a cake that looked like Bucky, Jake's pirate ship. I found it on a blog where the woman gave step by step instructions on how she created her cake and immediately sent it to mom to see if she felt she could recreate the cake. Of course mom agreed! The cake required two 9 X 13 cakes, which I made prior to mom's arrival on Friday. We got up yesterday morning, had some breakfast and then started tackling the cake. Mom generally ices her cake in decorators icing which she makes, but following the instructions I found, she decided to ice the cake with canned icing. Looking back, perhaps that was not the best choice. We got the ship together, however the back part of the ship just did not seem to stand up nicely, instead it kept falling back. So mom stuck extra dowels and toothpicks in it. She then went to put this top piece on the back and when she did, part of the back just crumbled. She fortunately got it to stick back together and was getting her icing mixed up so that she could add the different colors to the cake. As she was doing that I was watching the cake and all of the sudden it just started falling and I yelled to her that it was falling and she made it back to the cake in time to catch the back falling off. UGH!!! So, we decided we were going to scratch all but the bottom layer of the cake and start over. So off to the grocery store she went to buy more cake mix and more icing.

After the back end fell off

This time mom used her decorators icing and this time it all seemed to go together a bit more smoothly! And as no surprise, she did an awesome job! How lucky I am to have a mom that can always seem to produce the cake that I have envisioned in my head?

 

Due to the amount of people we were going to have at the party, one cake was not going to be enough, so she made another cake to look like a treasure map. I know I am picky (which mom can vouch for), however I was not picky on the second cake since Bucky was our main cake. Since we had been in the kitchen literally all day and she was only half finished icing the second cake by 5:00pm, I gave her an idea of what I wanted and left it to her.

And now, for the party details. Like I said earlier, we had it at the Great Play. When we got there, this is how the play area was set up. (Notice the picture of Camden on the back wall.) Camden was so excited and was so ready for his friends to show up so they could have some fun.

Once his friends arrived, the were each introduced to music (as if they were on an NBA basketball team), then ran through different obstacles courses and played all different types of games that kept them entertained and active.

I love how Camden has his arm around Casen

Camden having fun swinging

Casen had a fun time too.

Fun hitting balloons

Casen and Malachi playing with balls.

At the end each participant received a gold medal.

Camden blowing out his candles

Pirates Camden and Carson. Argh!

It was fun not only watching the kids have a great time, but also watching the parents enjoying watching their kids.

 

Due to time constraints, we brought his gifts home where he excitedly opened them. Surprisingly, he did not receive one duplicate gift!

 

 

Four Year Old Check Up







 

Today was Camden's four year old check up and he is awesome! Honestly, the whole time they were taking his measurements I could not help but think about how we fought and fought to get his weight up the first two years of his life so that he was not less than the tenth percentile. Funny how things can change in just a few short years. Today he weighed 41 pounds which is 86th percentile for weight and was 3 feet 7 inches which is 95th percentile for height. After re-explaining the hearing test which he failed the first time since he never once acted like he heard anything, he passed it with flying colors and easily passed his vision test reading 20/30 out of both eyes (which is exactly what is expected at his age). He received four vaccinations and proved just what a big boy he is by not crying one time! I was so proud of him!!!!

Happy 4th Birthday Camden

Happy Birthday to Camden!!!! He woke up bright and early this morning on his own because he was so excited that he was turning 4. He got dressed and was ready to go to school so he could have his party with his friends at school. I love how he considers eating cupcakes with his friends a party! (I will enjoy this while I can.) Since his birthday party theme is Jake and the Neverland Pirates, I ordered cupcakes and added a little pirate decoration on them.

 

 

Prior to leaving home, I asked him to take a picture now that he was four, and he requested to include Casen in his birthday picture. Such a sweet big brother!

On our way home from school, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner and as I suspected, he didn't want McDonald's or any other fast food restaurant, he wanted peanut butter and jelly. And so that is what he had. After supper he opened his gifts, which he got exactly what he wanted, a microphone and a Spiderman scooter. As you can tell from each of his pictures, he was a happy birthday boy.

My tatted up birthday boy

Thank you Casen for my microphone

Testing out his new scooter

You might recall from last year that I asked Camden a set of questions on his 3rd birthday with the intent to ask him the same questions yearly on his birthday to see how the answers change over the years. So here are his answers this year - a few of which did not change at all.

 1. What is your favorite color?  Blue
 2. What is your favorite toys? Dirt bike with blue guy
 3. What is your favorite fruit? Cuties
 4. What is your favorite TV show? Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Little Einsteins

 5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Peanut Butter and jelly sandwich 
 6. What is your favorite outfit? Black basketball shirt and blue shoes
 7. What is your favorite game? Four Wheeler game (on his I-phone)
 8. What is your favorite snack? Popcorn
 9. What is your favorite animal? Ostrich
10. What is your favorite song? The Indian Song (One little, two little, three little Indians. . . )
11. What is your favorite book? Elmo
12. Who is your best friend? Carson and Casen
13. What is your favorite cereal? Lucky Charms
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Play on the playground, play basketball and play ball
15. What is your favorite drink? Orange juice, apple juice and fruit punch
16. What is your favorite holiday? When you hunt eggs (Easter)
17. What do you like to take to bed with you all night? My dragon (Stuffy from Doc McStuffins)
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Lucky Charms
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Peanut butter and jelly sandwich
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A worker that works on the road

I love how this year and last year his answer to #16 was Easter. I always think he is going to answer Christmas since it is the holiday that is most recent in his mind, but he proves me wrong. The only reason he chose Ostrich for #9 is that he had just gotten a stuffed ostrich out of the treasure box at school, so that is what was fresh on his mind. I honestly don't think he had a clue what an ostrich was up until that time. And as for #20, I pray he has higher aspirations as he gets older. : )

I am so proud of the young boy he is becoming. He is smart, very loving, a great helper, always very complementary and just a great kid. I am so fortunate to call him my son! Happy Birthday Camden!