Kindergarten Cam!!

8:00 AM 8 Comments »
Sounds like a pretty cool super-hero name, doesn't it?
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Well, I can't believe it's really true...that the day has finally come. My baby boy is officially a BIG boy and has left his adoring mom and baby sister to tackle the everyday joys and struggles that come along with being a Kindergartner.
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It's now been two full weeks that Cam has been in school but this month has been BONKERS so I'm just now getting around to getting this posted. And, the fact that a lot of my readers have already seen most of these photos on facebook added to my procrastination as well. Enough of the excuses though...look at my handsome guy!
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Giving mom the ole' thumbs up in the car on the way to school:

We got there about a half an hour early because we weren't sure how crazy it was going to be with all of the blubbering moms, picture-taking, and room-finding business. Turns out, we didn't need to get there that early, but it was fine because we got to spend time with our little Bubs, roaming around campus with excitement and anticipation!

Nguyen was the camera man...we have LOTS of iPhone videos but I'm too lazy to upload those.

Here's my dude in front of his classroom!

And sitting on the little bench that *I* sit on every afternoon while I wait for him to be released from class. He's such a handsome boy, isn't he?!

While we were sitting on that there bench, his classroom door opened, and his teacher propped it open. He was so excited! It was time to go in!

(I love this picture...you can see the little bit of nervousness he had as he walked in)

We got inside of the classroom and Cam was overwhelmed...but in a good way! The room is decorated so cute. Nguyen and I were even saying we wanted to stay because it looked so pleasant and fun!

He hung up his backpack on the hook and we quickly realized we had no snack to put on the "snack shelf." I was panicked and asked the teacher and she was like "Yeah, didn't you get the postcard I sent?" I did get a postcard but it mentioned nothing in regards to a snack. It was okay though...she had extra snacks for the loser parents like myself.


Awwww!

Eventually, the clock struck 8:00am and all of the children were called to "circle time."


And the teacher said "Okay kids...tell your mommy and daddy you'll see them in a little while." Just then, Cameron blew me a kiss and I shed one tiny tear behind my camera (no one saw)!

And just like that, it was done. Nguyen and I went home and went on with our day. In a way it really wasn't much different than what we're used to because Cam had been going to preschool. The only difference is that he is now gone 5 days a week whereas before, it was only 3.
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I thought about Cameron for the entire three hours and twenty minutes that he was away from me. I couldn't wait to hear all about his first day.
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Finally it was time to go pick him up and this time I had my trusty sidekick.
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And I have to mention...Already (in two weeks) Gabby has made countless new adult friends just by sitting on the blue bench waiting for Bubs to get out of school. I wish I could have some of that charm...She is POPULAR!

Ding! School's out...time to line up!


Cam came running over and was clearly excited and happy about his first day of school. I was so relieved because you just never know what will happen but he seems to have taken well to this new milestone!

And here he is with his two friends, Tessa and Sienna. Tessa is our neighbor and Sienna is a family friend. Cameron was so happy to actually know some friends already!


As we walked to the car, Cameron looked up at me and said
"Mom, I love Kindergarten. I feel so happy when I am there!"
Melt my heart!




Wordless Wednesday!

7:00 AM 10 Comments »

The possibilities are endless!

11:13 AM 4 Comments »
Watch!



And once again, Thank you to Chrystal for always finding the coolest videos to share!

Ooblik!

8:24 AM 2 Comments »
Last week we had some fun with our infant educator, Alysse. She always comes with super-fun things to do and this time was no exception. She pulled out a big sheet from her Mary Poppins bag and I knew we were headed towards an hour of messy FUN! Today she introduced Gabby and Cameron to "Ooblik" aka cornstarch and water. Who knew?



The consistency is so weird. It looks very wet and slimy but once you touch it, it just feels cold and not wet.


Gabby was fearless with this stuff. No texture issues with her!

Cameron thought it was pretty fun too but was a little more reluctant to get down and dirty like Gabby!






She could have played for HOURS if I would have let her.


We added some rice to see if it would create a cool texture but you couldn't really even feel the rice in there.

Concentrating REALLY hard.





If you've never played with Ooblik before, I highly suggest it. I had a hard time sharing all of the fun cooking utensils we brought out. Cameron had to repeatedly ask me for the spatula.
It really is interesting stuff!
:)

Introducing CAIN!

10:05 PM 10 Comments »


Meet the newest member of our family, Cain. Is he sweet or is he sweet? I am so in love with this boy, as is the rest of our family. He is the perfect addition!
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We have been discussing getting a dog for Cameron (well, the whole family but especially for Cam) for about three months now. I have been going back and forth between what kind of dog to get, big or small, long hair/short hair, puppy or adult, from a breeder or a rescue and I gotta say... I'm glad everything fell into place the way it did.
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Originally, the plan was to get a dog around Christmas time and give it to the kids as their "Santa" gift. That was until the wee hours of Wednesday morning...
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It was sometime around 3:15am that both Nguyen and I were frantically woken up by the blaring sound of our house alarm system. It was my worst fear (well one of them.) We both looked at each other and were absolutely panic stricken. We knew that in order for this alarm to go off, either a side/back door or window had to have been opened. I was most worried about my babies and how scared they must have been from the sound of the alarm and I definitely was worried that there was an intruder in our home and that Cameron would be running down the hallway at any moment. At that point, Nguyen and I split up. He made his way carefully through our dark house towards Cameron's room while I grabbed the telephone and called 911, heading for Gabby's room. Meanwhile, the alarm is still blaring.
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Gabby was actually asleep (I have NO idea how...the alarm is viciously loud) but she woke up once I started talking to the 911 operator. I stood in her dark room waiting for Nguyen to make his way back with Cameron but he never came back and I really started to worry. I didn't want to go roaming through the house with Gabby, and I also couldn't leave her in her room all alone. So I waited for the police to come which seemed like an eternity. Ten minutes later, they had finally arrived on my front porch and I still had no clue where Nguyen or Cameron were.
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I followed behind the officer and he asked what my husbands name was. He began calling out for him and we heard Nguyen respond from our master bedroom. He had the door shut and had NO clue I had called the police. Looking back, it was actually a little comical and the officer probably thought we were nut jobs. Anyhow, I am not sure if the officer thought Nguyen was being held hostage or what but I saw him put his hand on his gun and I freaked out. I immediately shouted for Nguyen to come out and he did, thank God! When he finally did come out, I realized he was on the phone with the police as well. :)
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The officer took a look around and we immediately realized our side door to our garage was ajar. Any attempt of opening this door would sound our alarm so we're certain this is what happened. It's not the type of door that could easily become open from wind or anything, which is why we're fairly certain someones hand opened that door. It makes me sick to think about it and I am so grateful we have an alarm system!
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Anyway, that night/early morning we couldn't go back to sleep and we were obviously shaken up. Nguyen looked at me and said "I think it's time to go ahead and get a dog!" Though we're sure the alarm system would be plenty to scare off any predators, the thought of having a dog that would bark before something like this happened and potentially scare off someone is comforting. Not to mention if someone, God forbid, did get into our home, we think the bark of a 150lb Great Dane could be a little intimidating. And so it was settled. We needed to get a dog with a BIG bark STAT!
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So that is how we came to find our big boy, Cain. He is a Great Dane and at 13 weeks, weighs in at 47.4 pounds. His hands are bigger than my own and his legs are thicker than my arms. His blood lines trace back to the largest Great Dane in the world, as seen in the Guinness Book of World Records and his older brother weighs in at 160 pounds.

I have loved Great Danes for as long as I can remember and I am just in heaven with this little temporarily medium-sized guy. I think a Great Dane is actually a very wise choice for our family. They are "gentle giants" but are also known as protectors of their families. Already, Cain fits in so well with us. He is low energy (which I love) but he does still get the urge to play and wants to be walked and horsed around with like any other puppy (which he made me aware of around 5:45 this morning.)
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Because he is already 13 weeks old, he has had some practice with potty training and we started him on a leash yesterday which he did pretty well with for the most part. I definitely have some work cut out for me but he is so worth it. I am so happy to have a big dog in the house and Cameron is absolutely over the moon for him. Also noteworthy: my husband, aka "the guy who doesn't really care for animals" just GUSHES over Cain. I've never seen him like this with an animal ever so that's really sayin' something!
Welcome to the Phamily, Baby Cain!







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