Tiny, tiny baby steps

Preschool dropoff is getting a tiny bit easier. A tiny bit. The tantrums are shorter and Cameron goes through the motions of putting his bag in his cubby, washing his hands, etc. all while sobbing away. Tiny, tiny baby steps...


So last night when I left to go to SC yet again, he sobbed hysterically "Don't leave me, Mommy! Don't go to Norf Carolina." (Repeat 30 times, while following me from room to room to garage as I packed the car.) That makes this MUCH easier, Cam-O! Really! If only he still had his boppy to soften the blow...

p.s. Cameron's All About Me poster, as seen here, was done ENTIRELY by Deane. U da bomb, Dee!

Two peas in a pod

Even though he's like 6 inches taller, Tanner is only 2 months older! And all these boys want to do is ride bikes together around the circle. They are so much fun together and get along sooooo well.

(Ignore the pink helmet. We couldn't find his, so we improvised.)

Boppy Be Gone

After 3+ yrs, Cameron no longer uses a paci, affectionally known as his 'boppy'. I made Dave do the Dirty Deed when I was out of town for business, which has been so frequent Dave had time to teach Cam-O Spanish. But that's for another blog. ANYWAY, Cameron still asks for his boppy at nap time and at night. But only 15 times or so, rather than 200 times. He really misses that thing, but then again, Lucy missed her foster mom for a few weeks...

My Girls

EAT THEM UP!!!

Lucy's Baptism

Today we had Lucy baptized at our new church - or rather, baby dedication to Christ. It was a wonderful afternoon service at the baptismal fountain with the love and support of our dearest friends and family.

Grandma Dee loves all her grandchildren.

And is loved by them all.

Lucy was NOT okay with Pastor Benji holding her.

But did great once she sat in Mama's lap.

She LOVES Miss Karen. As do all the kids on our street!

BFF.

BTW, Lucy was swimming in her baptismal gown. It was the same one Jackie wore, made by Grandma from my wedding dress. Jackie was secretly plotting a way to squeeze herself into it again.

Soccer for CMan

We finally got our act together and enrolled Cameron in soccer. He's only been begging us since spring. So he's in a league with 3-5 yr olds. Cameron is the youngest AND smallest player on his team and he LOVES it! He's blue number 10.

Initially, we weren't sure it was going to work out when when he needed help getting his head unstuck from the soccer net.

But he ran drills with all the kids, smiling the whole way. Even though he was a few steps behind, his little legs were turning over like Road Runner. And each time he rounded the corner, he waved at us and gave us a HUGE grin. If only he liked preschool half as much.

Thanks Daddy-O for taking the lead on this one!

Where in the world is Mommy?

In BOSTON! Where it's 58 degrees and freezing. But it doesn't matter, b/c I won't be leaving the hotel until Friday due to a number of meetings in which my new job will be outlined (hopefully) and I'll find out when I need to travel back to Boston for new product training. (Sorry Babes. It's not looking pretty for Oct & Nov.)

In REAL news, We are getting Lucy baptized on Sunday. I keep forgetting to tell everyone that, so I'm posting it HERE. It's at 4pm at newhope this Sunday. I hope you can all attend. (Sorry Grandma, Grandpa, GMa Holly and Grandad.) I have a feeling Lucy will fit Jackie's baptism gown. At one year, Lucy weighs only 6# more than Jackie did at 6 wks!

"I Am Crazy, Mommy!"

If it’s funny once, it’s funny 1000 more times. (But really, it’s not. Only you are laughing the 1000th time.) Also, it’s funny when I get louder and louder. And when I add arm flailing to exaggerate the point. Adding ‘eeeee’ at the end guarantees hysterics. (Whatever, Cam-O. I have 20 minutes to get dinner made A-L-O-N-E and I hear y’all laughing instead of destructing.)

In other news...Jackie and Hunter had a great time making chocolate-covered strawberries. Other than arguing for a day about who gets the biggest strawberry, they did a great job working together.

FYI... I'll be traveling A LOT more these days since I now cover the ENTIRE states of NC and SC AND Augusta. (No, no I'm not bitter. At least I have a job, which is more than I can say for my colleagues and my manager.) Sooooo, you'll get a lot less daily blogs, or you'll hear more about the fine cuisine of low-country cooking, swamp foxes and the true meaning of "Bless your heart." And if I happen to meet Paula Deen, that's a GUARANTEED blog entry. I may even add arm flailing for effect. Now, off to Boston...

Outtakes

Am I ever again going to get a real picture of my Sweet Baby Girl? BTW, she won't let me kiss her at 'the bus stop' in front of her friends anymore.

Second Day of Preschool..

...was worse than the first day. Cameron wouldn't even get in the car and took his shirt off in protest. Since I was out of town (on a business trip in Myrtle Beach :) ) Dave got to enjoy his antics. But I got a phone call on the way to school from Cameron sobbing that he doesn't...(sniff, sniff)... want to go... (cry)... to school. (Repeat 15 more times. See previous blog entry for the remainder of drop-off and pick-up.)

Anyway...

I don't know how their teacher, Tamiko, had time to take pictures, but these are from her. And it appears that Cameron and Leigh were fine during the middle of class when they forgot about us.

First day of preschool!

Which one of these kids is clueless about what's actually happening today?

You would think by his excitement, Cameron had a fantastic first day at preschool, but not so much. He cried and clung on to my leg as I dropped him off. And apparently spent the next 30 min crying. He was so pathetic that Leigh joined in and the twosome sobbed together on the floor for a good 15 minutes while the rest of the 3-yr-olds ignored the noise. At pick-up he resumed the sobbing. Leigh, being the more level-headed of the two, realized preschool was only 3 hrs long and made the best of it.

In the car I asked them who liked school.

Leigh: ME!!!

C : Not Me!!!

Me: Did you have fun?

L: YES!!!!

C: I did NOT have fun Mommy. I do NOT want to go back to school.

The entertainment never ends with bubbles

The Girls

Jackie's dream of making her baby doll, I mean sister her understudy is finally realized!Lord, give me strength...

...the routines, and the BLARING music already.

The 3 Amigos at the 'bus stop', which is actually Mia & Anna's driveway.

Grow old along with me. The best is yet to be!

Dee reminded me that I have yet to post these pics from August. So here they are! Our 3 babies.

Today is our 9th anniversary. And Dave is in TN for another day. Nine years ago we had a ton of free time. What did we do and what did we have to laugh about? We've laughed more in the last few yrs than in the beginning years. We're more tired than 9 yrs ago, and more wrinkly (well, Dave only). Here's to another nine, Baby!

School and veggies

Getting Jackie to talk about school is like getting Cameron to eat veggies; it ain't happening.

Me: How was school today?
J: Great.
Me: What did you do today?
J: Stuff.
Me: (trying to be more specific) Who did you sit next to at circle time?
J: We don't have circle time in kindergarten. Oh! There's a girl in my class named Zoe, like from Sesame Street. Only she's not a monster.
Me: That's cool. Did you sit next to Zoe at lunch?
J: No.