Jackson Family

American Idol Season Premier

2011-01-19T20:33:00.003-06:00

Camden was actually really showing an interest in American Idol this season. He kept giving people thumbs up and thumbs down and was cheering when the ones he liked got letters to go through to Hollywood. He thinks that Jennifer Lopez is "beautiful" and he thought Steven Tylor looked funny until Mark told him he was a rock star and played a Aerosmith video for him. 1/2 way though the video, Camden disappeared! We had no idea where he went. Turns out, he ran to the basement to get his guitar out! He hasn't put it down every since... Oh boy, look out world!!!!

Sparring Finally!!!

2011-01-13T20:39:00.003-06:00

Camden has been asking about sparring since we first started TaeKwonDo back in June. Since the equipment "Sparring Gear" was almost $200, we decided to make sure that TaeKwonDo was something that Camden was going to want to stick with in the long run before investing the money. I think Santa was watching from the North Pole and knew how much Camden loved TaeKwonDO because he brought Camden sparring gear for Christmas.

Geautreaux's only has 1 week every month that they dedicate to sparring, so Camden was so excited for his first sparring week (January 10-14) Geautreaux's runs on the school districts weather guidelines. This is where the problem begins...

Monday=Snow day=Class Canceled= No Sparring

Tuesday=Snow day=Class Canceled= No Sparring

Wednesday=Snow day=Class Canceled= No Sparring

Thursday=School in Session= 1st and only sparring class for the month!!! YEAH!!!!!

Camden was very nervous for his first sparring class. He ended up having a very good time and is very excited for next month!!! Here are a few snapshots from Camden's very first sparring night!!

Camden and George! Talking instead of sparring.. shocker!!!

Snow Day Fun

2011-01-13T20:04:00.004-06:00

Snow Day # 2 was filled with getting the Tahoe fixed. I had to call and get insurance taken care of and then we needed to make arrangements for a rental car. Day 2 was not so fun!!

Snow Day # 3 was another fun day!! Camden and Katelyn were arguing about what they were going to make for breakfast. Camden wanted Cinnamon rolls and Katelyn wanted donuts. I thought to myself, "What the heck, it's a snow day." We ended up making them both:) YUM!!!

Sibling bantering is at it's best right now in the Jackson house. I seem to hear the following scenario on a regular basis:

Camden- "My Mommy" while hugging my arm

Katelyn- "No, My Mommy" while screaming and hugging my arm

Camden- "No, My Mommy" etc...

Katelyn- "No, My Mommy" etc... etc...

I guess I should be thankful that my children love me, but the arguing is driving me crazy!! I hope this is a stage they grow out of fast!!

Later in the day, we made soap for the bath tub. Their soaps were so pretty, I almost hated to let them take them in the bath tub! They did love their baths that night!!

First Snow Day!!!

2011-01-10T20:52:00.009-06:00

Katelyn came into my room sometime around 4:00 in the morning (Bad Habit, I know) Camden snuck in sometime after Mark left for work and when we woke up around 7:45. It was nice waking up late with both my babies snuggled up in bed with me! The first thing I told them to do was to go and look out the window. You should have seen their faces!! They were so excited as this is the first good snow we have had this winter!! They wanted to go out immediately, but I told them we needed to wait until it warmed up a bit!

I actually had a lot planned for our snow day today.... I was hoping that we wouldn't have school. I even stayed up late and cleaned the house so I could spend the entire day with the kids and not have to worry about anything around the house. I hate getting phone calls before 6:00, but the phone call that says school is canceled is always welcomed!!!

We started the day off with a wonderful breakfast which included all our favorites: Camden loves scrambled eggs, Katelyn loves sausage, and I love French Toast!! YUM!!!!

Next, we broke out the tent! Camden and Katelyn both love to "camp out" in our living room! They were playing so well together. I love it when they get along!!!

Next on the list of snow day activities: Chocolate Chip Cookies!! We used my favorite this time: Dark Chocolate Chips!! Oh these cookies are just amazing!!!

I held the kids off in playing outside until 2:00. I thought that was an accomplishment in itself!! I could hold them off no longer, so we all bundled up and headed out in the snow. I was curious how Kate would react this year since she was NOT a fan at all last year. This year, she LOVED the stuff! She was so bundled up, that I don't think she could feel a thing from her head to her toe. The snow was not very wet, so Camden's dream of making Dreamsy (snowman) come back to life faded fast, but we had plenty of fun making snow balls and snow angels. Katelyn loved to eat the snow. I think she liked the way it felt on her tongue. Before I knew it, we had been outside for an hour and a half! We were so bundled up, we didn't get cold at all! We had a terrific first snow day together!!

Camden's friend George came over to get Camden when he saw him outside in the yard. They had a really good time playing in the snow together!! With Camden playing with George, Katelyn got my undivided attention, which doesn't happen very often! She loved going down the slide with all the snow on it. It didn't matter how many times she would go down, she would just laugh and laugh!! I did have to help her up the ladder every time. She had mittens on and she couldn't quite get he hang of putting her thumbs in the thumb holes, so she had no use of her hands. It was kind funny trying to watch her shovel and climb up the ladder without being able to use her hands.

I love this little grin on her face!! When you look back on your children's lives, this is the face I will remember her making!! It's kinda sneaky, sweet, and obnoxious all in one!! I love you Katelyn!!!

Our Macy girl loved playing in the snow too!!

Chiefs Playoff Game... At Home!!!

2011-01-10T20:16:00.004-06:00

It was really hard on Mark this year not going to the playoff game!! We went to every home game this year and then when it really counts... the playoffs... we didn't go!! We decided to watch the game at home on our high def. TV and save the 400 dollars it would have cost for tickets. Even thought we weren't there, we still go to witness the flyover!! Mark took this photo from our back yard! It kept circling and making laps waiting to get the timing right for the stadium!! We had a wonderful view!

Katelyn was so funny the morning of the game. I kept telling her to say, "Go Chiefs" and she kept saying, "No...Go Broncos." It wasn't until we broke out one of Camden's old Chiefs shirts that she started cheering for the Chiefs. She looks kinda cute with that jersey on with her little tights.

Katelyn looks thrilled watching the game with her dad. This is one of those pictures that I had to take just to prove to Mark that she really does love him. She is kinda a Mommy's girl!! Every once in a while, she shows her Daddy side! This was definitely one of those moments!!

I had a sudden flash back as we were watching the game with Camden. He disappeared up to his room where he keeps his dress up clothes. When he reappeared, he had on his Chiefs helmet and had his football. He was ready to play ball. This exact same thing happened when he was 2 years old. Every time we would watch football, he would go and get his ball! I just had stroll down memory lane and pull out a picture. Look how much he has grown!! My little football star!!!

I can't believe his Little pretend helmet actually fits on my head!! He was trying to get a sack!! He was successful, but then Dad forced a fumble!!!!

Even though our Chiefs lost, we are still so proud of their season! They are a very young group of men who have gotten some experience in the post-season! Next year, we are going to come back and go to the playoffs again!! GO CHIEFS!!!!

It's Finally OUT!!

2011-01-10T20:08:00.002-06:00

When Camden gets a loose tooth, he totally fixates on it until it is out of his mouth!! When I say he fixates on it, I mean that's all the thinks about!!! Since his last tooth started wiggling, he has had his hands in his mouth wiggling that little thing trying to pry it out!! It finally worked... He came home from school last Thursday night and didn't give up until he got it out! He couldn't wait to find the pillow that Grandma made him for his tooth. The Tooth Fairy left Camden $5.00. He was upset because the last time the tooth fairy came, he left him 2 dollar bills and 2 quarters. He still doesn't quite understand the concept of money... He wanted 4 things again instead of the $5.00 bill. I need to get smarter, I should have offered to trade him...just kidding! What kinda mom do you think I am??? :)

Beersman Family Pictures 2010

2010-12-30T23:08:00.005-06:00

Lauren, Marks cousin, is a wonderful photographer. She took advantage of us all being together at Thanksgiving and took family pictures. This is Marks side of the family in case you can't tell. Mark looks a lot like his family!!

The Jackson Family

The Beersman Family

Great-Grandkids with Papa Billy and GG

The original Jacksons

Kansas City Jacksons

Cousin Love!!

The babies: Jaylee and Liddy

Katelyn and Jaylee having fun!!!

Beersman Christmas

2010-12-30T22:41:00.003-06:00

Mark and his Grandma... Wanda!!!

Katelyn became a Jenny's girl this trip!! She sure loves her Aunt Jenny!

Smile Jaylee!!

Marks grandma gave everyone quilts this year for Christmas. Mark and I got the history quilt. It was made by her sister, Dorthy, after her first year teaching. On each section of the quilt are names from her very first class. She had some spaces left afterwards so she filled the rest in with her family. It is a very special gift that we will treasure forever!!

Katelyn had a great time playing with her cousin "Baby Jaylee"

Nana helping Kater open her gifts

Katelyn with her baby doll. She has good instincts:)

Chris with his little girl... Liddy!!

Camden and Katelyn were both exhausted by the end of the night!!

The next day we opened presents with Nana and Papa. Katelyn was so cute when she opened up her present from both Jenny and Nana... she yelled, "puter." She got a letter writing leapfrog from Jenny and a laptop computer from Nana. She does love technology!!!

Boxing gloves from Papa!!!

The best gift of all perhaps came from Nana. She gave Camden a whole box of Scientist materials and a book of experiments!! Here is a picture of Nana and Camden doing an experiment together! We are going to have so much fun!!!

Chistmas Day

2010-12-30T21:47:00.008-06:00

Camden was really excited on Christmas morning. We had to go in and wake Katelyn up, which is not always a good thing if you know what I mean, but with presents from Santa waiting downstairs, it wasn't as bad as it usually is:)

WOW.. Look at all those gifts from Santa!! Can't wait to read those dinosaur books!!

Katelyn just sat and looked at her presents for a few minutes... then she got really excited when we told her she could open her stocking. She took one or two things out of her stocking and threw it aside b/c she wanted to open her presents.

Can you tell Camden LOVES his dinosaur puzzle??

Once Katelyn saw all the great stuff in Camden's stocking she wanted to go back to hers again:)

Camden is a HUGE Denver Broncos fan:( Makes me really sad, but it is what it is and I did tell him that I will love him no matter what so... I am allowing Santa's gift in my house!! Santa took the time to write Camden a letter telling him it's OK to cheer for the Broncos even though his mom and dad are Chiefs fans. He does look happy with his Tebow jersey!! BLAH!!!!

Here is a picture of Camden opening his presents from Santa. He got his sparing gear for Tae Kwon Do! He immediately had to try it on!! He is so excited!!!

Finished product... Gotta love the cup on the outside of his PJ's... He cracks me up!!!

Katelyn got all kinds of baby doll stuff. Santa even brought her a wardrobe for all her baby doll clothes. From Mommy... she got a scentsy buddy... Ollie the Elephant. She loves it!! I kinda had a feeling she would:)

Camden and Katelyn gave Daddy a new Chiefs watch!! They were so excited to give it to him!

Katelyn with her daddy and her favorite present... Ollie!!!

Every year Katelyn reads books with Great Grandma in the morning after breakfast.

This was about the time my camera ran out of batteries:( I will have to get more pictures from the day from my parents. We had a GREAT holiday together!!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-30T21:20:00.003-06:00

Every year we spend Christmas Eve at my parents house. My dad always plans a 4 course meal for the occasion. Over the years, we have had some pretty interesting meals: fish soup, squash soup (blah....) This year was wonderful!! Shrimp Cocktail, Salad, Prime Rib, Potatoes, veggies, and for desert... red Velvet Cheesecake!! We got to spend Christmas Eve with Aunt Nonna and Uncle Ryan. Everything about Christmas Eve was perfect. Then we headed home quick to spread out our reindeer food and set out milk and cookies for Santa!! We did learn something very interesting this year... Macy our dog likes reindeer food too! Every time we would throw a handful, she would run and start to try to eat it. We had to put her in the house fast so the reindeer would have plenty of food to re energize them for the long flight ahead of them :)

Right before bed, we checked the Santa tracker to see where Santa was. He was already in Florida so we needed to go to bed quickly. Then, the news lady gave out the five rules for staying on Santa's nice list. One of the requirements was to make sure you stay in bed. If Santa knows you try to sneak downstairs to see him, you will have to be put on the naughty list.

Well... anyone who knows my son knows that this is a problem!! He then started to panic that he might forget and go downstairs. After 10 minutes of convincing him that he would remember and stay in his bed, he finally calmed down. He made me shut his door that night to make sure he would remember that he needed to stay in his room. He was asleep within 30 minutes.

Hurry Santa!!!!

TaeKwonDo Orange Belt

2010-12-23T21:40:00.006-06:00

My little Orange Belt!!!

Little pep talk from Miss. Timlee and Mrs. G before

graduation!

Right through that board!!! 2nd try this time, but you got it with great perseverance!!!

Camden and Mrs. G!!

Aunt Nonna came to see me graduate! Love you Nonna!!

Christmas Cookies

2010-12-23T21:21:00.004-06:00

Camden's specially made cookies for Santa!!

Can you tell these kids are excited??

I hope this is a tradition that keeps on forever and ever!!!! I am so happy that my children love doing this as much as I do!!

Christmas Decorating

2010-12-13T22:03:00.004-06:00

Camden very excited to put up our tree!! He was playing outside, but the second we told him it was time, he ran in, took off his shoes and posed in front of the camera!! He looks like a little gangster though! Katleyn just wanted to climb on dad and tackle him while he was trying to get the tree together!! She has taken football season to the next level!!

Katelyn putting up the Christmas Bear!!

Camden putting up the Christmas Bear b/c "Sissy didn't do it right!!"

Camden found his Baby's First Christmas ornament!! Oh my gosh, how time flies!!! That will always be one of my favorite pictures!! Here he is trying to make a baby face (???)

Katelyn really got into decorating the tree this year!! She kept saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho."

Breakfast with Santa

2010-12-13T21:36:00.005-06:00

Breakfast with Santa this year was so fun! Katelyn was completely star struck when she saw the big man!! She had so much fun!!!

Camden and Katelyn made some beautiful glitter pine cones for our tree! Thanks for the help Grandma!!

Grandma is so funny... she is pretending to be Santa!! The kids sat on her lap anyway!

My little Piggie Face!! She eats like a pig! I can't believe she is so small!

There he is... Hi Santa!! Ho, Ho, Ho!!!

Santa brought us a special present!!

Camden was being very shy!

Smile Princess!! Santa loves you!!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-11T21:48:00.004-06:00

Playing with Jaylee

Camden trying to take down Uncle Ryan and Shawn!

Katelyn and Jaylee posing together for a picture in the adorable shirts my very talented mother made!! Thanks Mom!! They looked so cute together:)

Katelyn is totally a block hog!! She has like five in her arms to Jaylee's one!!!

The ultimate toy at Papa Billy and GG's... The wooden train!! Camden Loved it, Katelyn Loves it, I am sure Jaylee will love it to in a few years!!!

Playing Cards with Nana and Papa Billy!

Chillin with Aunt Jenny!

Cheesy Uncle Mark!!!

Katelyn was SO TIRED!!! She was asleep in her car seat before we even pulled out of the drive!!

Halloween 2010

2010-12-03T20:18:00.007-06:00

When we took Camden to the costume store, we went with the intention of being a vampire. We walked through all the aisles and Camden instantly changed his mind when he saw Batman. My little Katelyn was a cowgirl! She was a very cute cowgirl, who LOVES her boots!!

We started off the Day making Halloween Desert Pizza!! Camden had so much fun designing spider webs and putting creepy crawly creatures all over.

The look on Camden's face pretty much explains it all, but he did touch the pumpkin guts for the first time, even though he didn't like it!!

Katelyn with her "Cute Ghost" and Camden with his "Silly Pumpkin Face."

My Little Batman!

Come on Dad... Lets go Trick-or-Treating!!

2010 Pumpkins!!

We ended the day Trick-or-Treating at Grandma's house!!

Halloween Cupcakes with Grandma

2010-11-22T21:30:00.007-06:00

My family always finds the best Halloween presents.. Check out the band-aids!! Katelyn is in boo-boo heaven!!!

Decorating with Aunt Nonna!! Yummy!

Camden and Katelyn's cupcake philosophy...
decorate two, eat one..
decorate two.. give one to mom!!
What little piggies!!!

Connor and Drayton master designers!

Grandma's Girl!!

Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-22T20:34:00.009-06:00

This year we went to Carolyn's Pumpkin Patch. This was the first year that Katelyn and Camden really got into feeding the animals. They had so much fun!!

My Little Pumpkin!

Running through the corn maze!!

Katelyn and Grandma!

Love the Pumpkin Donuts and apple slush!!

Family Pictures 2010

2010-11-20T22:21:00.002-06:00

Diego at the Zoo!!

2010-11-20T20:32:00.011-06:00

So Mark had plans one day in October, I decided I wanted to take advantage of it, but I didn't know if I could do it by myself, so I asked me mom if she would like to go to the zoo with me. I had heard on the radio that morning that Diego was going to be at the zoo and they just opened the new polar bear exhibit which I have been excited to see. Katelyn is totally in love with Diego and Baby Jaguar!! She loves them. You should see how she flirts when the song comes on. It's hilarious!!! It ended up being a perfect day!!

A quick ice cream treat before we left... Thanks for the great day Grandma!!

They really do love each other.. :)

2010-11-20T20:13:00.003-06:00

Mark and I were watching a movie one night down stairs. When our movie was over, we went upstairs to go to bed and found in our bed...

This is one of those moments as I mom that I will never forget. I should print this and look at it when they are screaming and fighting! They really do love each other!!!

Camden's Yellow Belt Graduation

2010-11-20T19:46:00.007-06:00

This was the day Camden has been working for for 4 months now since we started Tae Kwon Do. His first belt graduation!! He has been a white belt for a long time, but tonight he will graduate to his yellow belt! He has been so nervous about breaking the board that is required for graduation. We knew he could do it, but he was extremely nervous! You should have seen his face when he broke the board. He turned back with this look of amazement. He couldn't believe it!!

My cheering section!! Grandma, Grandpa and Sissy!

Ready... Set....Go

"I did it... I did it"

Mrs. G signed Camden's first board! This night was so special!!

Our Little Yellow Belt!!!

Knight of the Round Table

2010-11-20T19:33:00.003-06:00

Camden was chosen as a "Knight of the Round Table" at John Nowlin for the month of September. He was the Prime Time nomination! Mark and I are so proud of him!! He got to eat lunch with the principal.... Sonic corn dog and tater tots! Keep up the good work this year at school Camden!! Love You!

My Little Artist

2010-11-20T19:26:00.003-06:00

My little artist. Here lately, you have wanted to color, draw, paint more than anything. Every time you see a piece of paper or a pencil/crayon you ask to, "color Mommy." Of course the teacher in me LOVES your pencil grip. Mrs. Samantha will be very proud of you next year!!!I just adore your masterpieces!! Love you princess!!

Monday Night Football... Go Chiefs!!!

2010-11-17T22:00:00.003-06:00

The Chiefs home opener this year was on Monday Night Football! It was so great. The kids even dressed up for the occasion. Thank you to Shawna for coming over to watch the kids for us on a Monday night!! The weather was TERRIBLE!! It rained the whole game, but man was it fun!! The stadium was so full and alive... It's gonna be a good year!!!

The Chiefs won and man, their looked good!!!

2010 Fall Soccer Season

2010-11-17T21:39:00.005-06:00

Katelyn's favorite part of soccer games... playing on the bleachers!!!

Up and Down.. Up and Down!!

Camden's soccer season was amazing!! He did so very well! Overall, he scored 7 goals and boy was he proud!! He even asked us if he can play again in the spring! I am so glad he is excited about playing soccer!!

Kite Flying Fun!!!

2010-11-17T21:25:00.002-06:00

We love our new house. Living by a school with no power lines has been wonderful. Especially for flying kites... We had a blast one afternoon flying a kite when we put our Katelyn down for a nap right in our back yard!! Camden had a blast flying his kite!!

Marks 15 Year Reunion

2010-11-17T21:12:00.004-06:00

Well, we made a trip down to Bolivar for Marks reunion. The Bolivar Liberators were playing football on Friday night, so we drove down as quickly as we could. We were lucky enough to get to see Danielle playing in the band at 1/2 time!! Yeah!!!

The kids got to spend some time with their cousin Jaylee... Oh my, they just adore her!!

The kids also got to play at the park! Here is a picture of Camden with Dometri. Mark went to high school with his mommy. They were born within a few weeks of each other. Funny thing about the story is that his aunt and uncle ended up being our neighbors in our first house. Small World!!!

My Little Brain Surgeon

2010-11-17T20:54:00.003-06:00

Camden loves Prime Time at school this year. The only thing I have ever heard him complain about is that since he is in first grade, he can't go on all the computer sites at school. Some sites are only for 3--5th graders. Since Camden is a pretty good reader, I put some of the sites on our computer at home.. especially the non-fiction/science websites. One morning he got up very early and asked me if he could go and play on the computer downstairs. I told him yes and that I would be down to make breakfast in a few minutes. I went down and started making breakfast. While I was making breakfast, I head this coming from the computer, "make an incision in the first quadrant. Press down firmly and ..." This immediately caught my attention. I asked him what he was doing and he said he was doing brain surgery. Then he informed me that he wanted to go to medical school and be a surgeon!!

Guess we better start saving up now!!!

Jason and Lisa's Baby Shower

2010-11-17T20:18:00.005-06:00

Before the shower, we invited Kristin and the kids over to our house to play. Camden was so funny. Mallory kept crawling on the floor and Camden was chasing her with his remote control dinosaur. She kept sitting and laughing like crazy and then she would take off again!!!

Here they are... the master baby shower ladies!! They should go into business throwing showers. Look at this table and these details... WOW!!!

Katelyn and Great Grandma! She wanted to sit on her lap all day long:)

Great Grandma and Aunt Millie playing with Katelyn

Kristin and Mallory!! How beautiful they are:)

The shower was beautiful... Baby Butler is a very lucky baby:)

So Behind....

2010-11-16T22:14:00.001-06:00

Broken computer.... soccer and Tae Kwon Do...... School Starting.... I could go on and on!! I have really missed my blogging! I am going to try to catch up. Every night I will post a few things from the past couple months!! To all my blog followers, I am sorry I have slacked on my job!! I will try to do better:)

First Grader!!

2010-11-16T22:06:00.003-06:00

Well, the Emotionally Disturbed program in Blue Springs was split up. Now Camden will be going to his 3rd elementary school and he is only in first grade. Good news he gets to go to school with his cousins and his Aunt Amy. He is very excited!! Mark dropped him off and only took this picture... seriously!!! More good news... I loved Camden's mainstream teacher. I couldn't have picked a better first grade teacher for him. He had a great kindergarten teacher and will now have a great first grade teacher.... now to just get him in the regular education classroom...hmmm...:) I know it will come with time!! I don't know much about his SPED teacher, but she seems nice.. It is very weird this year with me teaching first grade and him being in first grade! I think it's gonna be a long year for me!!!

Chiefs Home Opener

2010-11-16T21:33:00.006-06:00

Every Year we take Camden to a pre-season football game... Every year we ask ourselves, "What were we thinking?" The sensory pressures of a football game are just to overstimulating for him. The lights, sounds, smells, crowds. Every year he begs us to go. I think it's because he knows how much his mommy and daddy love going to Chiefs games! I know I will never have the kind of kid that will get to go to football games with me, but I love how he tries every year!! I love my little Chiefs Fan... Broncos Fan... Jets Fan... Whoever he is rooting for at the time.

This year, with the remodeling of the stadium, we found the brick with our names on it!! Camden loved seeing it and pointing it out. He was pretty proud:)

Summer Fun Memories

2010-11-16T21:27:00.003-06:00

We had a great summer together. This year, Katelyn and Camden both LOVED playing outside! They both enjoyed swimming in our pool in the back yard!! Here are a few of my summer pictures.

Girl Day with my cousin Zoe

2010-11-16T21:21:00.002-06:00

In August, Zoe came to town to stay with Grandpa and Grandma fro a few days. Amy took Camden so the boys could have a "boys day." I took Zoe so we could have a "girls day." I love how Zoe tries to teach Katelyn new things and how Katelyn just looks at her with huge big eyes of admiration!! She really likes her big cousin Zoe!!

Katelyn's Big Girl Bed

2010-11-16T21:01:00.003-06:00

Back in July, we decided it was time to put Katelyn in her big girl bed. We remember how hard it was with Camden at first, so we thought we would get it started before we went back to school. While Camden and Katelyn were staying with their Nana and Papa, we took the crib down and turned her room into a toddler bed. She was so excited when we showed it to her... Camden was so excited for her too!!

Little did I know, Katelyn was SO easy in the beginning. She would just lay down and snuggles with her doll and her baby and go right to sleep. She hated having her door closed, so she would ALWAYS stay in her bed. If she got out, we told her we would have to shut her door so she always stayed in bed.

It wasn't until around October when she started getting up out of bed and coming to find us. She started sneaking down stairs and would hide around the corner and peek at us without saying a word. Once she had a few days of us taking her back upstairs, she stopped. She is a pretty quick learner!! Next, she went through a phase where she would just sit on the stairs. She wouldn't say a word, she would just sit there!!

Currently, she has learned how to open the doors in the house, so we can't threaten to shut her door anymore, so we had to resort to the gate on her bedroom door. It took about 5 days of her screaming at her gate, but now she goes straight to sleep every night!

She does love her bed:) Night-Night baby girl.

Houston Space Center

2010-08-02T21:18:00.008-05:00

Our last day of vacation was spent at the Space Center! Camden wasn't near as excited as I thought he would be, but I knew once he got inside, he would love it and I was right!! There were so many neat things to see!!

Camden checking out a model of the very first satellite the US put in orbit!!

Mark and Camden trying on some helmets for size!!

Man were they HEAVY!!!

In the astronaut history section, Camden got to see how space suits have changed over the years and how they differ from country to county. I love that Camden is reading so much now, he just wanted to read all about each of the suits and the men/women who were wearing them!
Next, we took a tram ride tour over to "Mission Control." This was the actual room where everyone was when the brave astronauts from the US walked on the moon for the first time! I had always pictured it being in a elaborate building and fancy, but it was so PLAIN! I was shocked!! It was still kinda neat to think about the excitement that was going on in that room not many years ago. I did learn something pretty amazing: At the time when we landed astronauts on the moon, the computers that they used only had enough memory as 2 digital pictures that we take today.... AMAZING!!! Just goes to show how far our technology has come in the past few decades!!

After mission control, they took us to see the the rocket launcher. It's turned over on it's side so it can be enclosed in a building, but oh my gosh... SO HUGE!!!! This picture of me and the kids just shows one fuel igniter. There were a total of 5! I guess you can't really imagine how big those shuttles are until you see them! I was amazed!

Next, we took a simulation tour. We saw all kinds of simulations from the astronauts on the moon to the astronauts showering and doing somersaults due to the lack of gravity. It was really interesting!

Next, we went the the kids activity area... Camden and Mark got to play together for a while!! Camden was mission control and Mark was actually upstairs in the space shuttle. Here is a short video of their correspondence. It is so great to see Camden in his imaginative play. He has really come a long way!!!

Camden got to see how heavy things were on other planets. Here he is lifting to see how heavy this dumbbell would be on Jupiter... Really heavy!!! Come on... You can do it!!!

Life on a Space Shuttle... was a little presentation where they actually walked us through what it was like to live on a space shuttle in outer space. They showed us how they exercise, go to the bathroom, shower, cook, eat, etc.. It was pretty cool!!!

Katelyn enjoyed herself too!! Here she is checking out the gear!!

Mark and Camden went in the space ship to check it out! Here are some pictures of Camden in the control room!!! Look out NASA.. I think you could have a future engineer astronaut on your hands!! :)

Here is one for show and tell at school... Camden can literally say, "I have touched the moon." They have a moon rock on display and they allow people to touch it, so they can say they have touched the moon. This took about 45 minutes to explain to Camden. He is so darn literal... he didn't understand how he was actually touching the moon. He thought we were lying to him:( He just didn't get it. Here is a picture of my little astronaut touching the moon!!!

The most amazing thing about the space center was a presentation that we went to towards the end of our visit. There was a lady giving the presentation and she opened it up to the audience for questions. Well... Camden ALWAYS has questions... His hand shot up like an arrow!! She pulled him aside after the presentation and told him that if he promised to never stop asking questions, she had a special surprise for him. He was so excited! She gave him an autographed picture of an astronaut in space right now. His name is...Douglas Wheelock. Camden might of well thought he won the lottery.... He wouldn't put that picture down the rest of the day!! Matter of fact, he ran over to the astronaut wall to try to find him! He LOVED it:)

Star Wars... Clone Wars..

Good Guy/Bad Guy... Why does he have to look so darn cute as a BAD guy???

Day 4- Galveston Beach

2010-07-14T21:15:00.011-05:00

Today we drove 30 minutes to Galveston! We decided to go to Stewart Beach, which we read online was great for families and children. I know they are still trying to recover from Hurricane Ike, but I think a beach is a beach! I loved it and so did the kids:)

When we first got to the beach, I was thinking it was going to be a very long day! Katelyn refused to stand on her own! She hates getting her feet dirty and the water freaked her out!! As the time went by, she started to love it and in the end, I couldn't keep her out of the water!! She kept saying, "swimming.... all done.... swimming...finished...swimming." She couldn't make up her mind! She loved the beach!!!!

Camden loved swimming in the deep water with his dad which honestly made me really nervous!!! I watch way to much of Shark stuff on Discovery Planet!! Mark taught him how to dive in the waves. He was in love with the beach!! He is begging us to go back to the beach again tomorrow after the space center. We had such a good time, we might actually do it:)

Without a doubt, my favorite photo of the day!!!

Day 3- Exploring San Antonio

2010-07-14T08:22:00.011-05:00

Tuesday, we spent the afternoon exploring Downtown San Antonio. ; We met a couple in our hotel that went to the Riverwalk and strongly recommended taking a Scenic Riverboat Tour. It was pretty interesting. San Antonio definitely has lots of history!!

When we finished out tour, it was around lunch time, so we picked a little place off the river that served.... Corn Dogs and Brocolli!!! I will give you one guess who wanted it for lunch:) We knew we had to drive to Houston in a few hours, but Mark wanted a margarita, so we decided to split one. Our margarita was.... Thirty Bucks!! I have never paid so much for 1 margarita before!! They were really proud of it!! We did get to keep the margarita glass as a souvenier:)

Next, we walked over to the Alamo! You hear about it in history and make this image in your mind of it being so bigger than it was! In reality, it was very small compared to what I would have thought and right smack dab in the middle of the city. All these huge buildings and then... the Alamo! Camden LOVED it!! He loved hearing about the history and seeing all the old guns, knives, bullets, cannons, etc... He even got to make a wish from the old wishing well! He took the wish very seriously and didn't tell anyone and took his sweet time while a line was forming behind us!! That is so my son:)

After the Alamo, we headed in the car for the drive to Houston! Our trip has just begun. We still have the space center and the beach!! The three hour drive was really short in comparison to the drive on Sunday! We decided to hit the hotel pool again upon our arrival. This hotel is absolutely beautiful!! It has only been open for a few months and it is amazing!!!! It is almost to nice.. I hope we don't get kicked out for having loud kids... Just kidding!!!

Day 2-Sea World

2010-07-13T07:15:00.004-05:00

Day 2 of our vacation was SO fun!!! It was really the whole reason to come down to Texas....Sea World!! Camden was so excited, he couldn't sleep again!! We were all up at 7:00, ready to go!

We had to start out at the sharks of coarse!! Camden was so funny!! He kept telling complete strangers about all the different sharks. I think they thought he was crazy! He was telling them about Dwarf Sharks, Port Jackson Sharks, and my favorite... he described in detail how Bull Sharks are incredibly dangerous because they are the only shark that can live in fresh water and swim upstream in rivers. He definitely knows his stuff:)

Here is Mark and Camden checking out some Purana's and Lobsters!

Camden had a really hard time understanding the lines and waiting!! We had one minor meltdown when he realized he had to wait in line to feed the dolphins!! He wanted to feed them so bad, but he wanted to do it on his terms...right now!! Once we practiced what it would look like and sat down for a while, we were good the rest of the day!!

Feeding the dolphins in Dolphin Cove was the coolest thing I have ever seen!! I was so thrilled that Camden got to experience this. He was very hesitant at first, but then he LOVED it! Katelyn was scared to death of the dolphins and wouldn't have anything to do with them at all, so she stayed with me and we played photographer:) I asked Camden what the dolphins felt like because he got to touch them and he said they felt really rubbery. I was shocked at how big some of them were!

By the time we finished feeding the dolphins, there was about 30 minutes left until Believe started. Seeing Shamu was the one thing that I definitely wanted to do no matter what, so we figured we better do it next! I remember seeing this show when I was younger and I LOVED it!!! I am still amazed at what these amazing creatures can do and how beautiful they are!! One of the whales had a baby back in January, so the baby was following her around during the show! It was so cute:)

Next, Mark and Camden wanted to ride a ride!! By this time, it was starting to get very hot outside. The heat index on the day we went was 107 degrees. WHEW!!! The ride they wanted to ride was a water ride... I know, this made me very nervous because Camden doesn't always like to be wet, but he did it anyway and was totally fine!! He is such a daredevil, I am not surprised at all that he wanted to ride all the rides!!

Our meet-up place just happened to be in front of another show going on! We sat and watched for a while. I can't believe what those guys were doing with boats and Ski's! It was amazing!

Katelyn loved riding around in her stroller and playing on the little kids gym area! We decided that we needed to do something as Camden called, "boring" for sister!! So we went to Coconut Cove to see a Dance Party with all the characters all dressed up. You can see from the pictures, that Camden got more into it than she did. He actually got up and played limbo with all the other kids! If I didn't know any better, I would have sworn someone switched my kid out with an impostor!!

Next, Camden and I rode Shamu's Express. It was the only roller coaster that he was tall enough to ride, and he LOVED it!!

Alligator Alley was on the way to the penguins, so we decided to check it out. You could tell it was hot outside because none of them would budge. They were just laying out or staying in the water to keep cool!

We saw some beautiful Scarlet McCaws and even through this wasn't Camden's M&M car, he still wanted a picture with a real race car!!!

We had to stop for a few minutes, because Camden found a butterfly that he just had to stop and watch! You can barely see him, but Camden just wanted to sit and watch it for a while and he wanted a picture with the butterfly! I think he thought it was part of the Sea World exhibits!!

We couldn't get very good pictures from the Penguin Encounter exhibit! It was to dark in the building, but it was airconditioned!! We spend a good 30 minutes in there to cool down!!

ANOTHER RIDE!!!!! WWWWEEEEEEEEEEE~~~~~

Snack time!! Katelyn and I enjoyed a delicous funnel cake while the boys ate ice cream!!

Waiting for Daddy to get off the Great White!! This was the roller coaster that Camden wanted to ride so bad, but he just wasn't tall enough yet! Mark and I took turns riding it and watching the kids! It was GREAT!!!

The last show we watched was probably one of the best ones! It was called AZUL! It is their most recently developed show, but it was interactive with dolphins, whales, birds, syncronized swimers, divers, etc... It was beautiful!!!

One last thing to do... Pick out a special someting from the gift shop! Grandma gave the kids money to buy something special, so they got to pick out their gifts. In the gift store was a frog display, so we had to check it out!!

Katelyn actually fell fast asleep after she picked out a dolphin puppet for her special memory. She hadn't napped all day and at this point it was 7:00! I even gave her her pacifier because I really was desparate for her to just get a little nap in!!

Here is a picture of the happiest boy on the planet! Here he has his special memory... A shark tooth neckalace!! I don't think he will ever take it off ever again he loves it so much! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa!!!

Sea World was great! We were so hot, Camden and Mark went down to the pool for a quick dip at the hotel while I gave Katelyn a bath. Then everyone was so exhausted, we all went to bed!!

Day 1- Driving Day

2010-07-13T06:29:00.007-05:00

I couldn't help but snap this picture on Friday although it's really blurry. Come to find out, Camden was playing with my camera and my lens was smeared with fingerprints. Not exactly good for clear pictures. Anyway, the kids were so excited about our upcoming trip! While Mark was working, I decided I would go ahead and bring the suitcases up from the basement and put them in our bedroom so all we would have to do was fill them on Saturday:) Camden disappeared for about 15 minutes or so. I kept asking him what he was doing and he said, "something special mom, Don't Come Up." When he finally emerged, he had packed one of the suitcases for Katelyn with Elmo and Big Bird inside and brought it all the way back down stairs to the living room. The instant Katelyn saw this she ran and jumped in the suitcase too!! Oh man, if they only knew the suitcase was for clothes, not stuffed animals:)

Mark and I worked feverishly on Saturday, so all we would need to do on Sunday is get up in the morning and put ourselves and the kids in the car and go. We set the alarm for 3:30 in the morning. We had been telling Camden that we were going to come in and get him in the middle of the night and carry him to our car, but he could continue sleeping if he wanted. When Marks alarm clock went off, I turned on our light and two minutes later, Camden came bouncing into our room asking us if it was the middle of the night yet. I really did expect Camden to be too excited to sleep in the car, but I was not expecting it from Katelyn. The kids were wide awake from the time we got into the car at 3:45 watching. They watched Speed Racer and Elmo on their DVD players since it was still to dark to do anything else.

Mark had arranged the trip, so we could stop for breakfast in Oklahoma at the Will Rogers McDonald's which is actually over a highway. Here are some pictures of us enjoying a quick breakfast while cars and zooming under us on the highway!!

We made pretty good time. We pulled out of our driveway at exactly 4:00 in the morning and made it to San Antonio at 5:09 and even stopped twice and got out to eat breakfast and lunch. Camden did surprising well. This is one of those times, I wish he was a movie watcher. Here he had his own DVD player, but he just doesn't like to watch anything. The only time it was used was when it was to dark to do anything else when we first left our house. Katelyn on the other hand, gave her DVD player a complete workout!!! That thing ran all day long with Elmo and Little Einsteins. We filled the rest of the trip with reading books, coloring, snacks, ring pops and asking, " how much longer until we would get there?" Camden started getting antsy about the last 4 hours, but oh my gosh, did surprisingly well!!!

Katelyn did finally end up going to sleep for a little bit at 11:00ish. She slept for about an hour and then we had to stop for gas and lunch. This was the only time she slept!! My kids just are not sleepers in the car!!
Our hotel was beautiful when we arrived. The kids went straight to our balcony and saw the pool when we arrived. After being in a car for 15 hours the pool sounded awesome to all of us!!! We decided to go swimming for a few hours and just order dinner in! We also went to bed a little early, we had a very busy day at Sea World planned for Monday!!

4th of July

2010-07-13T06:27:00.003-05:00

I will finish this post when I get home. My pictures are at home, but I am having my blog made into a book at the end of the year, so I want everything to be in order.. and I am way to excited to post our vacation pictures to wait:)

Lake of the Ozarks

2010-07-13T06:27:00.001-05:00

Coming Soon!

Kansas City Birthday Party

2010-07-13T06:26:00.001-05:00

Coming Soon:)

Pasta Girl

2010-07-07T21:48:00.005-05:00

I leave this girl for one second to answer the phone while she is eating her favorite dinner and this is what I came back to! She loves her pasta! I just can't wait until she can eat it without getting it all over the place!!!

Date Night with Camden

2010-07-07T21:31:00.005-05:00

Oh my gosh... how can anyone resist this little man!! He can be so totally sweet at times!! Mark and I called up Aunt Shawna one night to see if she could babysit Katelyn for us so we could take our favorite son out on a date!! Camden decided he wanted to play miniature golf, so off we went!! We didn't keep score, we just played for fun and we did have a blast!!

After our game of mini golf, Camden drove the Go-Karts! He was super fast!! Perfect date night with my two favorite boys in the world!!

Tae Kwon Do

2010-07-07T21:05:00.004-05:00

For a long time we have heard that Tae Kwon Do is very good for children with anger/aggression issues. It teaches them about respect, self-control, teamwork and so much more. Mark and I have been talking about this for a along time, but we have put it off and put it off. I think because sports have been such a difficult thing in the past. With him doing so well in soccer this spring, we decided to go for it. Our neighbors recommended a place where her son took Tae Kwon Do. She said that they were amazing!! I called them up and scheduled us a time to bring Camden in to watch a class to see if it was something he wanted to try out.

When we got there to watch the class, Mrs. Norris asked us if he wanted to watch or try it tonight. Mark and I both looked at each other and said, we will just watch tonight, but Camden was like, "I want to do it tonight!" He was so excited! The lady disappeared behind the counter and came back with a uniform. Camden ran and changed and tried the class out! HE LOVED IT!!!!! We are actually about 2 months in now and he still just adores it!! Mrs. G, the head teacher and owner, is wonderful with him!! Here are a few snapshots of Camden in action!!!

Birthday Madness!!

2010-07-06T21:48:00.011-05:00

Here it is.. The 3 birthday peeps!!! Katelyn shares her birthday with her Papa (Marks Dad) and Uncle Wes. Their birthday just happened to be on the day of the Beersman Family Reunion, so I was able to get some good pictures. Marks very talented cousin Lauren took Katelyn's 2 year old pics for me which I will post when I get them. She is so very talented. Here are a few pics I took from today!!!

The kids love their Nana and Papa!!

Total Daddy's Girl... sometimes:)

Cousin Danielle!!

Katelyn sure loves her GG (Great-Grandma)

Nana and Papa's

2010-07-06T21:09:00.005-05:00

We went down to Bolivar a day early to spend some time with Marks parents before the big family reunion on Sunday. Camden and Katelyn both got to open their birthday presents. Here are some of their favorites!! Here is my little Rock Star Diva!!!

Katelyn got a motorized Jeep from Nana and Papa!! She loves it!! Now if she could just learn to steer that thing, we would be all good:) Camden was happy too!! He keeps trying to get Katelyn to chase him on his motorcycle, although his motorcycle is way faster than the jeep will ever be:)

Nana and Papa sent Camden a special present since they were not able to be here for his birthday! She sent 3 robots that you make out of cans. This was a very cool gift, especially if you know my kid!! He LOVED it!! Here is Camden with one of the robots that Mark and him made together!!

Baby Cousin Jaylee

2010-06-29T21:42:00.007-05:00

Ryan and Holly had their first baby girl on May 26th!! We had to wait almost 2 weeks to meet her, but here she is. Katelyn just adored her as you can see from the pictures. Camden was so great with her!! Now, he tells me that he really wishes he had a baby brother!! WOW... I don't think I can handle that right now or ever!! I think my hands are totally full as things are now:)

Camden's Six

2010-06-17T20:48:00.004-05:00

I can't even believe that my little guy is 6 years old!! We had a little Spider man birthday party with our family to celebrate the night before his birthday!! He got to open all his presents early, which he didn't mind at all.

Some things on his wish list were: Nintendo DS, DS games, and a fish tank so he could have his very own fish!! After opening all his presents, he got a DS, DS games, a really cool football chair, but NO fish tank. He was a little bit disappointed, but we reminded him that there was always Christmas or he could save up his money and buy his own fish tank!! Little did he know...we saved the best present for him to open in the morning on his REAL birthday:) Mark and I stayed up late and set up the fish tank so he could be surprised in the morning. I could barely wait for 6:15 to come around so I could go in and wake him. Mark and I sang him Happy Birthday and presented him with one last present when we woke him up... it was a box with fish food and a gift card to Petco so he could pick out his own fish!! We told him his fish tank was set up downstairs in the kitchen. You should have seen how fast that kid jumped out of bed. He didn't even put clothes on! He just ran downstairs in his underware!! He was so excited!!

Off we go to Petco to pick out his fish!! Camden took Katelyn over to see the kittens before we left. Camden found 3 perfect fish. He named them Mikey, Flutter, and Monster Nightmare. He was so excited to get them home:)

My Dinosaur Lover!!!

2010-06-04T23:10:00.005-05:00

For Easter Camden got a dinosaur cookie making kit!! I have never seen the kid so excited about cooking anything in my whole life. I told him we would make them on Saturday. Sure enough... he woke up at 5:00 on Saturday morning!! Serves me right!! Next time I will have to be more specific in my response and instead of saying Saturday I need to give a specific time!! The cookies were fantastic!! That's my little chef!! Of coarse... we added the dinosaur cookie cutters to our collection to make a few every time we make our seasonal sugar cookie batch!!! YUM!!!!

For the love of READING!!!!

2010-06-04T23:07:00.004-05:00

It must be genetic!! This little girl came to my classroom and was instantly drawn to the books. She ran over to my reading area and plopped herself down and helped herself to a few books!! I am so glad that both my children are readers!! I hope they never lose their love of reading!!!

New Sand Box

2010-06-04T22:56:00.003-05:00

When we moved, we emptied our sand box at our old house with the intention of getting new sand when we moved in. Well... 9 months later... Surprise kids. Camden was so excited! He loved it so much! I thought Katelyn would love it too, but she wants nothing to do with it. She hates getting dirty, wet, etc... I know, I know... reminds me of another one of my children!!

Soccer Star!!

2010-06-04T21:37:00.009-05:00

Camden's soccer season was a HUGE success!!! I can't believe that this was the same child that would hide under out chairs last season at the mere thought of going out on the field to play in a soccer game. Practices didn't go so well, but put that boy out on the field in competition and WOW... he is a different person. I have to admit, I had tears in my eyes when I watched him play. I never thought I would see my kid excel in sports... team sport, I guess I should say:)

My # 1 Fans!!

With the season coming to an end and only two games left, Camden has still not scored any goals. That second to last game, he got his first taste of victory by scoring a goal in the first quarter. I guess that first taste of success went along way because he scored another goal before 1/2 time. Here is a picture of my proud boys at halftime showing me how many goals he had scored. He even scored a third in the 4th quarter!!!!

The last game of the season came around!! I wish I could say I was at the game, but it was raining and in the lower 60's and Katelyn was sick, so Mark took him to the game and i stayed home. One of Camden's major sensory issues is his head getting wet... Soccer Game---- Outside---Raining!!!! I kinda felt sorry for Mark trying to get Camden there, but his team was depending on him!! He had a really hard time at first, but as soon as he saw the trophies in the coaches bag, he played like a rock star. He ended up scoring 7 goals that game!!!! I am so proud of my little soccer player!!!!

Easter 2010

2010-06-04T21:06:00.008-05:00

Grandma, Nonna, and Uncle Ryan came over to do Easter eggs with us on! We had a really good time together and made some beautiful eggs!!

Easter Morning was very fun in our house this year! Both Camden and Katelyn were very excited when they saw all the Easter eggs all over the house. Katelyn put about 5 eggs in her basket before she realized they had candy in it and it was all over for her!! She stopped collecting eggs and just focused on opening those eggs and getting out the candy! Since Katelyn bailed out, Camden's basket was overflowing and there was no convincing him that he should share the candy with his sis. He got the eggs, that means it was his candy!! Eventually, he did give in and share. It just took a lot of convincing!!

It wasn't long before they saw their presents over by the fireplace. The Easter Bunny, Grandma, Aunt Cathy and mom and dad were very good to them this year. They LOVED opening all the fun Easter stuff!

Next we headed outside to try to get some pictures of the kids all dressed up, however, Camden didn't agree with the decision! All he wanted to do was stay inside and do nothing!! We had a busy day ahead of us and decided it wasn't worth the fight. Here are some funny pictures of Katelyn outside with her not-so-full Easter basket:)

We went to Easter brunch with the family and then off to Grandma and Grandpa's house!! Of coarse, Elmo had to make the trip too!! I love this picture!!

Snuggling with Aunt Nonna

Macy even had a Easter egg of her own filled with doggy treats!! She guarded it like her life depended on it!

Elmo

2010-04-13T21:22:00.002-05:00

My friend had a consignment sale last weekend. I had intended to price some things myself and take, but Katelyn getting hand, foot, mouth sure put a damper on that plan!! I couldn't put her down for several days. I took Katelyn to see if we could find any cute summer dresses. Over on the table in the corner Katelyn saw this Elmo. I knew there was no way we were going to leave without it. She loves her Elmo!!!

Swing Set Fun

2010-04-13T21:01:00.005-05:00

When we moved into our house in August, we ordered our new swing set for the backyard. By the time we got moved into our house and settled, it was getting cold outside, so we decided we would keep it boxed up in the garage until the spring. Mark ser aside a weekend to build the swing set, but it started pooring. Didn't stop the boys however, they built the swingset piece-by-piece in the garage until the weather was nice enough to put together outside!!! The kids love it!!!!

Glasses

2010-04-13T20:48:00.003-05:00

Camden is so funny in his perceptions of things. He has a very difficult time understanding why Mark and I wear glasses, but he doesn't. He begged us for over two weeks to get a pair of glasses. He kept stealing my glasses out of my bathroom, so in order to make sure my glasses stayed in tact, I decided it was time to get him some glasses. It is hard to find glasses with doesn't have a prescription in them for children. I finally found these sunglasses looking glasses for really cheap. I promised him that if he took care of these glasses for 1 month, I would buy him a new pair of glasses that he could wear to school!!!

The really funny part to this story is that once he got them, he has been reading like the glasses are magic!!!! He used to want me to read everything to him, even though he is very capable of reading just about anything. Now, the boy is reading EVERYTHING!!! He loves reading to his sister every night:)

My Good Luck Charms

2010-04-13T20:46:00.002-05:00

Here are my little cuttie pies on St. Patricks Day!!! All decked out in their GREEN!!!!!!

Spring Snow

2010-04-13T20:40:00.003-05:00

The first day of spring brought with it almost a foot of snow. It was the perfect snow though...wet, sticky, and perfect to play in. Not to mention the weather the day after was in the 40's, perfect for playing in all the white stuff!!! What a great time we had!!!!

Invasion of the ants!!!

2010-04-03T14:43:00.002-05:00

Finally, out Internet is back!! AT&T came today to install a new wireless transmitter! You will never guess what happened to the old one!!! A colony of ants invaded it and made their home inside it!!! About two weeks ago, we started getting ants REALLY, REALLY bad!! With all the rain and warm weather, they are looking for higher ground. I started cleaning the entire kitchen and house with vinegar to help get rid of them which has seemed to work, but I didn't realize I that by blocking off their path to our main floor they headed straight for my basement. I didn't make the connection at the time that our Internet was going on and off and eventually shut down completely. The wireless transmitter gives off heat so the ants were attracted to it!!! The guy said when he took the thing down, that thousands of ants came crawling out... GROSS!!!! Guess who I am calling on Tuesday... bug control to spray around my house!! I guess the vinegar is just not cutting it:( In the meantime, I have a lot of catching up to do on my blog!! So many things have happened in the past few weeks. I have a million pictures on my camera just waiting to be downloaded!!

I'm so BIG!!!!

2010-03-15T20:51:00.001-05:00

Look at me!!!!

First Soccer Practice

2010-03-15T19:57:00.003-05:00

Camden's first soccer practice was PERFECT!! Mark is helping out the coach as an assistant. He confessed right away that he had no skills for soccer, but he would be there for crowd control, etc ... At our first practice, Mark was surprised because only 4 kids were there. We did learn some great information about the soccer league that Camden is signed up under. For his age group, the kids play 3 on 3 and do not have a goalie. There are a total of 6 kids on his team. I think this will be great for Camden in reliving some of his anxiety when going out on the field to play. All the kids get an opportunity to actually learn the sport and work together as a team. I think this is going to be a great year!!!

Coco Key Water Park

2010-03-13T13:22:00.006-06:00

We went to Coco Key this year with Grandma, Grandpa, Shawna, Connor, and Drayton. We had such a really good time!! We knew going into it that it could be very interesting taking Katelyn this year. Katelyn has been the girl who has LOVED bath time her entire life. As soon as she hears the water, she starts taking off her clothes and jumping up and down. Two weeks ago, I started the water and Katelyn started to get so excited!! She took off her clothes and her diaper. She was standing by the side of the tub ready to get in and it happened... Katelyn had a little potty accident and her diaper was not on:( She panicked!!! Screamed like I had never heard before and then refused to get in the bathtub. When we did put her in, she was terrified!!! Two days later, she did it again. She will not get in the bath tub anymore without clawing our necks like she is in the worst pain of her life. We have tried everything from me getting in with her, showers with Dad and I, and getting in the tub with Camden, but here two weeks later and we are still getting terrified screams as soon as the water turns on. We thought maybe if we take her to a pool, she will start to like the water again, but we were not correct in our assumptions;(

Katelyn did much better as long as she had her little bathtub duck!!!

Connor and Drayton enjoying lunch together!!

Water basketball is really fun!!!

Katelyn wasn't a fan of the water, but she was a HUGE fan of snuggling with Grandpa!!

DYE Carnival!!

2010-02-28T21:37:00.004-06:00

Friday night we took Camden to his school carnival. He had a really good time playing all the games and seeing Mr. Aggson. Camden wanted to do the cake walk. He saw some kiddos leaving with a beautiful cake. Instantly Mark and I both looked at each other. It's funny how insinc our minds are when it comes to Camden. Instantly, we knew we needed to explain to Camden that you didn't always win a cake just because you play the game. He said he understood, but we were still nervous. Well, as luck would have it Camden stopped on Lucky 13!! He got to pick out a cake, not just any cake, but the BIGGEST and HEAVIEST cake there!!! He was so proud. We decided to take the cake to the car. The entire way, he kept telling everyone he saw that he won the cake at the cake walk. He was pretty proud!!!

BOWLING FUN!!!

BOOM BLAST!!! Camden was so cute. He was having so much fun pumping the balloon and then when it was getting close to popping he put his hands over his ears and tried to pump the pump with his elbows. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen!!! He was so worried about the loud noise of the balloon popping that he didn't want to finish pumping. I ended up holding his ears so he could finish pumping:) Eventually, it went POP!!!!

Big Helper

2010-02-28T21:29:00.003-06:00

I love the look of clean carpet!! We have lived in our house for 7 months now and have been saying we would shampoo the carpets every month since. On Monday, we had a very unexpected snow day even through the roads we not bad at all!!! SO..... I took Katelyn to Robin's so I may actually get something done and Camden and I brought the carpet cleaner up from the basement and tackled the carpets in the house!! Camden vacuumed the house and I followed him the the carpet cleaner. We managed to do the entire house! We did take a break around lunch and went out on a "DATE" to Subway:) We make quite a team!!!

Soccer Time Again

2010-02-21T21:47:00.003-06:00

I received a phone call that brought tears to my eyes last night!!! Camden has been asking us if he could play soccer again for a while now!! Looking back to the last time we played soccer, I cringe at the thought of going through it again!! Camden is an awesome soccer player by himself in the back yard!! He is incredible at dribbling, control, and most importantly he loves it:) When it came time to play a game, he would freak out! It was the anxiety of the whole situation: lots of kids running around and most importantly, people watching!!! On my perspective, I just remember the looks I would get from others as my son was hiding under a fold-up chair refusing to come out, kicking and screaming!! Oh, it was a nightmare!!!

When I went to sign Camden up at soccer sign-ups, I was so nervous because Blue Springs is so competitive when it comes to sports. I made sure I had them mark on his sheet that he needs a coach who will be understanding due to Camdens disability. She marked on his sheet a little Astrix and said that she is the one that makes the teams and she would make sure he was taken care of. This was 4 weeks ago... We got the phone call from a man last night, Camden's new soccer coach. He said Camden was put on his team for a reason, his oldest son has Aspergers. I can't tell you how relived I am!! Just the thought of having a coach for Camden that truly understands the magnitude of Camden's disability, the highs and lows.

I am so hopeful that this will be successful soccer season!!!

My little climber!

2010-02-21T21:11:00.005-06:00

Humm....
I wonder....

Here I go...

Almost there...

Is anyone watching me?

Here I go...

Whew... These are pretty:)

"I just wanted to give you a flower mom!"

Busted twice...

Once for climbing on the table!!

Once for the chocolate all over her face!!!

Aunt Marti and Uncle Joe

2010-02-21T20:40:00.007-06:00

We were so glad to have Aunt Marti and Uncle Joe here for the weekend!! Since they moved to New Mexico a few years ago they have been very missed!!! We went over to Uncle Darren and Aunt Amy's house for dinner Friday night to spend time as a family!!

Aunt Marti and Katelyn

Aunt Nona and Katelyn

Connor, Drayton and Camden had a blast!! Here is a cute picture of Drayton and Camden posing for the camera!! Aunt Amy even asked Camden if he wanted to spend the night, which made me very nervous... but it ended up OK. There were a few tears at bed time and then again at 5:30 in the morning (sorry Amy) but it was nothing that a quick movie in the DVD player couldn't fix!!!

While Camden was playing with the boys at Aunt Amy's house, we were busy cleaning Camden's closet. I had a box I was filling with all the clothes Camden has outgrown. It was quite counterproductive, I would put two things in the box and Katelyn would come behind me and pull 1 thing out! This one made me SPRINT for the camera. Katelyn thought it was so funny to put Cam's underwear on her head. This is one of those blackmail pictures when she gets older:)

Look at that smile!!! What a cutie patootie!!!

Katelyn loves to sit in her bucket chairs. I was upstairs changing the laundry over and I came downstairs to find Katelyn sitting in her chair, with her pillow and her toy in her lap! She sat there for almost 15 minutes!!

Camden just loves playing with Katelyn, especially when she plays with the toys that he gave her. Katelyn loves filling her shopping cart with babies and strutting around the house. Proud Bubba walking by her side!!

Walking in my Bubba's Shoes

2010-02-21T20:37:00.002-06:00

I ran for the camera quick tonight as Katelyn was strutting herself across the living room in Camden's shoes!!!!

My little Macy Girl!!!

2010-02-21T20:27:00.002-06:00

I just love my little Macy girl. Losing Maggie was really hard for her. She had anxiety issues even before Maggie died but afterwards, I was so worried about her. Sometimes she gets so lonely it just makes me sad. She spends hours laying up on our bed by herself. The past few days, she has been so social with us. I feel like my little baby girl is coming back to us:)

Bye, Bye High Chair.... Hello Booster Seat

2010-02-21T20:21:00.004-06:00

This weekend, I scrubbed the old high-chair down and towed it to the basement!!! For the past couple weeks, Katelyn is not happy sitting in her high-chair. She just wants to sit at the table with us, so I ran to the store and bought her a booster seat so she can join us at the table!!

I love watching Katelyn eat. She is usually so careful and precise with getting the spoon into her mouth. She LOVES cheese and yogurt, which is a great thing since she refuses to drink milk:) She got kinda messy tonight which is highly unusual, so I just had to grab my camera!!!

Valentines Day 2010

2010-02-15T20:18:00.006-06:00

Valentines Day was bitter sweet this year! My big boy came down with Strep-Throat AGAIN!!!! We did have a great time together even being a little under the weather. We were one of the first cars to pull into urgent care... Thankfully. When we left, the waiting room was completely filled!!! Even sick, my little guy made me a handmade card all by himself!! I LOVE IT!!!!!

These are the gorgeous flowers that my amazing husband sent to me at school!!! TULIPS!!! I LOVE TULIPS!! They are just beautiful:)

Here are a few pictures of the kids opening their Valentines presents. They were very spoiled this year. They have received everything from candy, purses, paper airplanes, money and books!! SPOILED, SPOILED, SPOILED... ROTTEN!!!!

The rest of the afternoon, we all watched the big Daytona Nascar Race together. YES.. even me!! Mark has kinda drawn Camden in to Nascar, totally against my better judgement!!! Camden loves the M & M car, Mark's guy is Tony Stewart. We all know who I route for... the man I played Roulette with in Vegas... Carl Edwards. The really funny part of this story is that I had no idea who he was until we left and Mark goes, "Do you know who that was?" I was like, "No, should I?" Now I kinda feel a connection to him. If my son is going to insist that I cheer for a car in Nascar, it might as well be him:)

Kindergarten Program

2010-02-11T20:55:00.006-06:00

After the pre-school programs the past few years, I never thought I would see Camden up in a group singing like other kids, but tonight his Kindergarten program was amazing!!! I think I was truly the most proud mother there!!! Last year he panicked with other students around him singing and this year he was smiling and singing!! Oh my gosh, that anxiety medicine is such a blessing. He is doing things that I never thought he would be able to do!! I LOVE seeing this side of my little boy!

Camden's New School

2010-02-11T20:42:00.004-06:00

I haven't blogged for a while. To tell the truth, I have been kinda nervous that I would cry when I finally did so. A lot has happened in the past few weeks with Camden. The evaluation that Mark and I requested was concluded and Camden was determined through the school district to be "emotionally disturbed." I hate that title, but it is getting him some much needed help in order to help him be successful in school. Mark and I were faced with a very difficult decision to keep Camden at my school or pull him and put him in another elementary school that has a special program to help kids like Camden. It would have been a no-brainer except for Mrs. Richeson has been the most amazing kindergarten teacher in the world. Losing Mrs. Richeson was really our only hang-up. Mark and I toured the other school and their special program for kids with similar disabilities. We decided it would be in his best interest to go ahead and make the move now so next year he would hopefully be mainstreamed full time. When we told Camden, he was sad that he was not going to have Mrs. Richeson anymore, but he was happy that he was going to have a "boy" teacher and he was going to be able to ride the bus!!! It has been a very smooth transition for him. I am very proud of him!!!!

My Tough Guy!!!

2010-01-16T18:36:00.003-06:00

Sometimes, I forget about Camden's very high pain tolerance. When we got home from school last night, he said he just wanted to play Wii. Dinner came and he didn't want to eat, which is actually nothing new due to his medicine. He went to bed as normal, but when he woke up this morning, his entire body was covered in a terrible rash. Of coarse, we rushed him to urgent care. Dr. said his throat was as red as a tomato and the strep test came back positive the instant they put it in the culture. He never once complained of a sore throat, he just says he was tired!!! I remember strep as a kid... OUCH!!!!!! It felt like my throat was on fire!! He is definitely one tough kid!!!!

Family Snow Day

2010-01-08T20:07:00.012-06:00

I think Mark has been dreading these snow days. Getting up and going to work when the rest of us get to sleep in! I think it finally got to him with 4 snow days in a row, so he took a vacation day today to spend some time with us!! Don't worry, I put him to work! I finally finished my toy room project that I have been wanting to do since I moved into our new house.

Before we started!!!!

My pretty princess vacumming the floor for me:)

She loves her new Christmas toys!!!

Camden was so mad when he learned that we did not have school on Thursday and Friday!! He misses Mrs. Richeson and says he wants to learn. I told him to go and grab some books and we would read together and learn. He came back with the book "All About My Body," complete with puzzle pieces of the human skeletal system. We went through the pages as we learned about the skeletal system, circulatory system, digestive system, muscular system, etc... Camden makes me laugh all the time, but when our parent educator left our house last night for Katers, he told her that it takes 17 muscles to smile and 42 muscles to frown. That kid just soaks in new information!! I wish I had that kind of memory in school!!!

I Love My Comfy Sweater, How Cute are these Boots?

2010-01-05T21:38:00.004-06:00

Lets just say the new GAP kids commercial of little girls in their sweaters and boots totally stole my heart this year. So much, I ran right out and bought an outfit for Katelyn's 18 month pictures. Darn good advertising if you ask me!!!!

"I love my comfy sweater.

I love my comfy sweater.

How cute are these boots?

How cute are these boots?"

Dinosaur Scientist

2010-01-05T21:06:00.005-06:00

Today was our first of potentially MANY snow days! I decided since the roads were fine in town that I would take Katelyn to Robin's house to play with her friends and spend some 1-1 time with my little man. He had received some 3-D puzzle dinosaurs for gifts, and we have just been dying to put them together!!!

I have a new found respect for paleontologist after today. I had step-by-step directions and was very frustrated. I can't even imagine just guessing how bones go together!! Camden was in heaven. Of coarse, he is a dinosaur scientist, so he knew everything. All together, we made 6 dinosaurs. I would type them out for you, but I have no idea how to spell them:)

Harlem Globetrotters

2010-01-02T20:07:00.008-06:00

Today we went to see the Harlem Globetrotters at the Sprint Center!! Grandma and Grandpa bought all the kids their very own Globetrotters ball!!! The kids loved playing with them before the show started and practiced their dribbling during half time!!! They did a great job!!! Afterwards, all they wanted to do was go home and practice their dribbling!!

After the game, everyone stayed to have their balls autographed by the Globetrotters. Grandpa took Connor and Drayton to have their balls autographed. Mark asked Camden if he wanted to have his ball signed by a Globetrotter, but he insisted that he didn't want them to sign his ball, he wanted to sign it!!!!!

Katelyn fell asleep right when they started and slept until the 3rd quarter. I have no idea how he slept through all that commotion, but she did!!!

Happy Early Birthday Mark.. Lambert's Style

2009-12-31T11:12:00.004-06:00

For Marks birthday dinner, we went to Lambert's. Camden caught one of his dads rolls that was thrown at the table! Katelyn and Camden both loved the balloons!!! We had a great evening!