My Three Year Old

Camden turned three on August 9th and along with a few other major life changing events that took place in August (my sister moving...) I have yet to blog about it.  Not because it wasn't important or wonderful...mostly because I just haven't had a chance to sit down and really put all the words onto paper.  I wanted to remember all of the things Camden did and learned this year, the silly things he does and says...I write a note to him including all of these memories and milestones in his yearly photobook that I make him and I finally wrote it all down tonight. 

Camden – Happy 3^rd Birthday!  I can’t believe what a big boy you are now!  You bring so much joy into our lives.  You are funny, kind, caring and smart although you do throw a pretty incredible temper tantrum.  You are a wonderful big brother to Micah (most of the time).  You guys like to wrestle and read books together and you can make him laugh better than anyone else can! You learned so many things this year.  You wear big boy undies now (although you still wear a pull-up at night) and you stopped using your binky around two and a half.  You love numbers.  You know how to count up to 30 (although you do skip a few numbers here and there) and you like to do simple addition using your fingers.  You know all of your letters and the different sounds they make!  You can spell Mama, Dada, Camden, Ami, Bepa, Nan, Pop, Stop and Cake.  You also just recently started drawing real pictures with little people on them!  You have the best imagination of any child I know.  You love to play certain games that you’ve invented: Ambulance, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the Three Little Pigs, The Berenstein Bears, the baby game (where you pretend to be in my belly and then are I give birth to you and you pretend to be my precious little baby), the baby birdie game and the list goes on and on.  You love books!  You can sit and read for 45 minutes by yourself, on the potty, or with Mommy or Daddy.  You also love to play with trucks, trains, balls and your new swing set.  You have the funniest little expressions, “What say?” “Deal McNeil” “Okey-dokey-smokey.”  You have a really good vocabulary, but sometimes you have a difficult time pronouncing certain words, which can lead to serious frustration on your part when we can’t understand you.  Even though  you have grown up SO much this year, you are still our little boy.  You need a kiss from Mama if you hurt yourself and it helps you feel all better.  You don’t like to go to the church nursery, or anywhere else, by yourself.  You are much better at falling asleep on your own, but you really like when Daddy lies with you.  You always say, “Daddy, take your shirt off, I want to touch your nipples” when you are falling asleep.  You like it when Mama sings you lullabies and you still like to snuggle throughout the day.  You are passionate, joyful and full of life and we couldn’t love you any more if we tried.  Happy Birthday, my big boy! 

We celebrated with a small family party.  We were planning a cookout at the lake like we did last year, but when we got there it was cold and windy so we relocated to my in-laws.  We had a blast celebrating our boy...

Our family's special Birthday plate!

Yummy Birthday Breakfast

Hmmm...what to wish for...

 Goofing with his cousin at his party...

 Showing off his new watch!  (like father, like son!)

 Precious...

 3!!!!

 I could not get a good picture of us...this will have to do!

 Clara and Ami...

 Yummy cupcake!

We will never forget the moment you came into this world, Camden.  You changed us forever!

Summer? Still?

I'm having a hard time figuring out what season it is here in NH.  Generally by late September it is full-fledged fall.  And there are moments when it seems like fall has finally arrived.  Many leaves have fallen off the trees already.  Colors are starting to pop.  But it has been unusually warm.  The last couple days here have been nearly 80˚!  The mosquitoes are horrible and Scott and I are both anxious for the first frost!  I know a few months from now I'll be wishing for summer weather again, but right now I want to wear sweaters and sweatshirts and cozy up by the woodstove.  I'm ready for fall, but I have to say, it's been nice having a slow transition and enjoying these last few days of summer.

This weekend, Camden and Micah had a blast playing in a huge leaf pile at Nan and Pop's house!  These pictures are deceptive though, because it was hot out!  Even the (Great) Grandpa Allenby got in on the fun!

 

Yesterday, my friend Molly and I brought our kids to the beach for one last hurrah!  We were the only people there and it was absolutely gorgeous!

 "How big is Micah?...Soooooo big!"

 Linden and Camden...

 Brothers...

 The water is still really refreshing!

Rain and colder weather is heading our way.  Goodbye summer!  I'll miss you!  

Catch Up...

We have been busy, busy, busy around here lately...but still finding plenty of time for fun and adventure!  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately...

Playing with trucks in the yard...

 My new chalkboard that I made with materials and lots of help from my mother-in-law!  Chalkboard spray paint is amazing!

 My funny little almost-one-year-old!

 Wrestling in the kitchen!

 Matching jammies...

 Camden worked very hard helping Daddy spread woodchips on the area around our swingset!  These two boys LOVE projects!

 He makes the funniest faces...

 We had fun watching Daddy's first home soccer game on Wednesday.  Here's Camden hanging out with Tucker (who used to hang out at my soccer fields with his Dad who coached me in high school...funny how everything seems to come full circle!).

 Micah and Morgan (another girl I've known most of her life).  So fun that our boys have such great teenagers to grow up around!

 I'm telling you...this kid can dribble a soccer ball so well.  Watch out world!

 Resting in the shade of the Gator...

 We had Paigey and the twin boys over to play (with their mom's Amy and Kate) yesterday.  Even though this is a little blurry, I think it's so cute how Camden and Paige are taking such good care of little Leo.

Sometimes when I want to pull my hair out from the stress of raising two very high-energy boys, I look at these pictures and am reminded what a wonderful life we live.  I have so much to be thankful for.

Swing Set

Today was a big day!  We have been wanting to get a swing set for the boys ever since we moved into the new house, but hadn't had much luck finding anything on Craig's List and buying a new one was not an option for us financially.  We often drive by a house of a family we've gotten to know during our years at Proctor - (their son just graduated last spring after playing soccer for Scott and is now beginning his first year at Dartmouth) - and we used to eye their swing set and discuss how we wanted to get something like that for our home.  On a whim, Scott asked the parents if they'd be interested in selling it to us, and they said they would be thrilled to just give it to us if we could figure out a way to move it!  Their two boys have out-grown it, and they loved the idea of passing it along for our boys to enjoy! 

We work with a woman at Proctor whose husband owns a flatbed trailer and they were so generous to take the time to help us move the swing set to our house this morning!  Scott went over early and dismantled parts of it while I stayed home with the kids and tended the fire (more on that in another post) and by shortly after noon we had the whole thing set up and ready for action!  We are ordering new swings to replace the old ones, but otherwise (especially considering it's years and it's use) the set is in great condition!  We are SOOOO thankful to the Howards for their generosity and we've already enjoyed hours of entertainment on it in the very first day! 

Ben helping Scott get set up

Micah watching the excitement from the garden

His first time down the slide

Have I mentioned how much I love our backyard??  :)

My parents and Nan came over to see the swingset and hang out with the boys!  We're so lucky to have family in the area!