Nursery Make-Overs!

This post is months over due but here it is.
Connor's room used to have a glider rocking chair and changing table in it.

Before:
This was taken before the new toy storage but after he pulled up on the side table I had next to the rocker. He pulled it down onto himself, broke 2 legs off the table and the lamp that was sitting on top. It was pretty traumatic for both of us.

Now, we added some cube shelving to house toys and books.
After:




I still have bigger visions for Cameron's room but for now, this is where we're at. His name is on the wall hanging from painted stick vines and green ribbon.





Why elephants?
We decided to go with an elephant theme based on what we've learned about the importance of a father figure in a male elephant's life. In Donald Miller's book To Own a Dragon: Reflections on Growing up Without a Father, he talks about how male elephants take very seriously the role of "mentoring" young males in the herd. And more importantly how aggressive and rebellious the young males become (even fighting each other to the point of death) without that older male to guide and teach them. The older males teach the young to be care takers, providers, protectors, etc. of the herd. This really resonated with Matt and his desire to father his children well. Having two boys first has deepened the desire to raise Godly, responsible, wise men who will in turn father well. So...elephants are on Cameron's walls & shelves!

Brothers!

My boys are so sweet individually but they rarely interact at this stage of life. As they grow they will play together more and more and truthfully, Connor will not ever remember life without Cameron. I caught a sweet moment the other day though. Connor loves to help Cam with his paci and this time he was actually successful!

Just hanging out together on Mom's bed.

"Oh, Cameron! Here's your paci!"

Precious Brothers!

The typical "help" Cameron receives.
(Note Connor's clenched jaw - not a tell tale sign of gentleness!)

The Time has Come...

I needed a bigger car. The Altima was great but it was getting up there in miles and with two car seats in the back, there was NO extra room. We know we would like more children and decided that now was the time to upsize. Here it is...my new (to me) van! I have been back and forth for years now on my opinion of mini vans but ultimately we decided that it was the best fit for our family and our needs.
Top ten reasons we chose a van:
1. Seats 7 people comfortably.
2. Easy access to both car seats.
3. Tons of cargo space.
4. Better gas mileage than an SUV of similar size/capacity.
5. Low insurance & cheaper tires to replace than an SUV of similar size/capacity.
6. The price was right.
7. We really weren't that cool to begin with, so it wasn't really going to hurt us there!
8. Connor loves it and thinks it's his own personal jungle gym!
9. Avery can travel with us again!
10. There is room to seat more than just our family, such as friends or grandparents.

Pictures of Cameron

two and a half months old

Busy Week!

This week has been quite jam packed. I guess I am just restless staying at home all day. Sunday morning my car battery died which I discovered after loading the boys up to go to church. (Not an easy task, my friend.) Matt came back, got us and caught a ride home after the late service. After church he changed my battery and headed right back to church because he had his leaders meeting in the afternoon and finally I hosted a baby shower/dinner party for my friend Jill.

Monday we stuck around the house and tried to tackle laundry and other boring basics but since Tuesday, it seems like we haven't stopped.

Tuesday we grocery shopped first thing in the morning, brought the food home and got right back in the car to meet friends at McDonald's for lunch. They have $1.99 happy meals on Tuesdays! And of course, Cameron slept through it all. I had my last night of bible study that night too. (No pictures Tuesday, sorry!)

Wednesday we went with friends to BLORA (Belton Lake's Outdoor Recreation Area) for swimming at the lake. I had been to BLORA but not to swim. It was so great! I mean the lake was a little murky but what lake isn't? They had a roped off section for swimmers and at least 3 lifeguards on duty. Connor loved playing in the sand (throwing it mostly) and he was thrilled for me to take him out into deeper water. He clung very tightly to me but kept pointing to go out farther. My little adventurer! We closed out the day with our usual Wednesday night church service.

I think he's working on his sand castle building skills here.

After a blow out diaper, Cameron just hung out in a clean diaper.

Connor really enjoyed pouring sand on his friends. Luckily Colin is pretty agreeable to most anything.

And once again, Cameron slept beautifully!

Thursday was Energy Busters at Gym Kix, a local gymnastics center. It got very chaotic and Connor was very clingy but I got a few shots of him having fun. We'll give it another shot once school is back in session and there are fewer big kids.

Having some fun in the bounce house.

Reagan whizzed by in some fun dress up clothes! Connor would have NONE of that! Believe me, I tried.

Kaitlyn & Connor paused for only a moment before running off to something new!

His favorite thing was the silly little slide we could pick up at any given garage sale.

No shot of Cameron, but trust me, he slept right on through.

After resting up we had a quick dinner visit with Grandma Julie but it was cut short because she unexpectedly got called into work. While at dinner though, it is worth noting that Connor ate chicken strips & honey mustard!

Friday we went swimming with friends at the home of next year's MOPS Mentor (Melanie Phillips!) & checked out their goats and donkey. Connor kept pointing to the goats and saying "arf arf!" Oh well, he'll get it one day.

Kaitlyn & Connor got pulled around on the "boat."

Out of all the toys available Connor honed right in on the gun. What a boy! It's like it's written on their DNA.

All dry and enjoying a quick snack before heading home.

So because of the week we've had, my kitchen looks like this. Oh well, it was totally worth it to do so many fun things with my precious baby boys.

(I also must note that all of this fun cost me a total of $10! Yahoo for cheap summer fun!)

Make it Work

When you have to make dinner, bake for visitation, guys poker night & a church pot luck and have a fussy baby you have no choice but to make it work!

Adventures Around the Table

Connor ate stir fry! For months now we have had to make our food & then Connor's food. He refused to eat real food, still requiring pureed veggies and only a select few of them. Recently he has become more and more adventurous and tonight we made only one meal. Honey Lemon Chicken with stir fried rice and veggies. He never batted an eyelash; just picked up his spoon and went to work. By no means did he eat it all or even try it all, but he was willing and didn't make a fuss. Major progress in this house!



On top of his new found tastebuds, Connor is learning to speak more and more all the time. Tonight he wowed us again. When we all sat down we told him we were going to pray, so he clasped his hands together and Matt coached him through the following prayer.
Matt: God
Connor: Dah
Matt: Thank you.
Connor: Tah too.
Matt: Amen.
Connor: Men Men! (With much enthusiasm and a big grin!)

zzzzzzzzzzzz

Play group sure does wear this boy out!

Weekend Project

Matt and I have learned that our thumbs are any color but green. In fact, we now know that we are just not do-it-yourselfers in any sense. We usually just end up frustrated and disappointed in the outcome of whatever project we attempt. Because of this, buying a new house with no landscaping was a big mistake. In our two years in this house we have done basically nothing to our yard. We planted some bushes, one of which we killed with bug spray stuff. My parents however, are quiet good at lawn & gardening projects so while they were here for the holiday weekend we put them to work. We dug out (note: when I say "we" I mean "they") the bushes that have been not growing for nearly two years and the grass around them. Then we put down compost then top soil and mulch with white bricks as a border - which we (again, not really me) lifted from a nearby house being built. Don't worry, they were in the trash pile. After that, I placed the bushes where I wanted them as well as 2 Lantanas, 3 Mexican Heather and 2 Esperanzas. Here's the result:

Planting the bushes the first time around. Notice the sod still hadn't taken yet.

The front of the house back in July of 2008. (Pregnant with Connor here.)

Closer up, November 2008. (Connor's first walk in the stroller.)

July 2010

See that ladder? I brought it to them!

I also got them to hang my welcome sign that's been in my garage for over a year now!

I have bigger visions and hopes for flower beds, trees and lush landscaping but the bottom line is those things take time and money and most of all, sweat! I don't like that. This may be as good as it gets folks - and I appreciate others sweating to make it happen!

Sweet Baby

Cameron needed some dedicated blog time. Okay, maybe I needed some Cameron-dedicated blog time. Oh, I love this baby! He is smiling and starting to coo. He likes to be around people and gets sad when we realizes he's been left alone. He is sleeping very well most of the time, only waking up twice a night to eat. I appreciate that! He is a BIG baby though. Not only did he enter the world nearly two pounds heavier than Connor, I think he's growing faster too! He is 8 weeks old tomorrow and weighs roughly 17 pounds and is wearing 6 month clothing! He is very strong too, holding his head up all the time. His eyes are light in color, sometimes blue and sometimes green. He is beautiful! Such a precious gift!

Connor wanted to hold his brother.