Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat!!!

We just wanted to share a few "treats" from Camden's 1st Halloween. He wasn't able to stay in his costume too long...the monkey suit wasn't really meant to be worn when it's 82 degrees outside! It hard to believe that Halloween was canceled a few years ago in Omaha because of all the snow...what a change being a few states south can make!

There are also a couple of pics from our pumpkin carving play date last weekend.

On a side note...Ryan and I were quite under the weather this week, but we think we've managed to get through it without Camden getting it too. Hopefully we won't wake up tonight with him being sick...that would take Halloween "tricks" to a whole new level!

Happy Halloween!



Ryan and Camden carving a "baby Jack"



















Mandy and Camden carving pumpkins











What a cute little monkey!!!















Camden at our church's fall festival













Camden and his pal Zachary...two cute little monkeys!

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Okay...so all my mommy friends cautioned me about introducing the fruits before the veggies for fear that Camden might not take to veggies if offered the sweet fruits first.

We've had peas, carrots, and green beans. Thinking that some sweeter veggies would be a great transition to the fruits, we've also had squash and sweet potatoes. How'd Camden do with those you ask? Take a look at my kid...he obviously has no trouble eating.

That all changed with the bananas. Not a big fan of those...

Bananas from Mandy Jo on Vimeo.

I'm not complaining...I'd much rather face a future of trying to get my kid to eat his pears than to eat his peas.

Just because it's hilarious...

This is what you get when you have a kid with three chins that doesn't mind if you use them to entertain yourself and others...


Three Chins from Mandy Jo on Vimeo.

Dorothy said it best...

There's no place like home.

And that's where we've been for the past couple of weeks. Ryan, Camden and I left Dallas on October 3rd and headed for North Carolina.

Our trip began with a Saturday at our alma mater, Western Carolina University, for Ryan's 10 year college reunion Homecoming game. We went with Ryan's mom, my parents and my sister. We tailgated, we watched the Catamounts lose, we listened and watched the phenomenal band, and we burned in the fall sun. We celebrated Ryan's birthday there and then went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant from my college days...okay, my favorite one that wasn't delivering pizza at 3 a.m.

The day after the game, Ryan, his mom, Camden and I headed to Holden Beach, NC to spend a week with Ryan's brother Derek, his wife (my sister-in-law-in-law, or SILIL for short) Jen, their son Jay (who's only 20 days older than Camden) and Jen's family.



It was Camden's first trip to the beach and I think it went well. He ate about 3 pounds of sand, but he doesn't seem to be any worse for the wear so I'm not worried about it.






We had a fabulous time. Jay and Camden were pretty much the source of entertainment for the entire week. When they weren't just playing on their mat and being cute, they were posing for pics on the beach being even cuter.

Between the book reading, the junk food munching, the cards and board game playing, and the walks on the beach, there's no way I can complain about a single moment of the entire week. Okay...one complaint, Ryan had to leave on Wednesday and go back to Dallas. We all wished he could have stayed longer. But...with Ryan gone, and the kiddos with the grandparents...Jen and I even managed to escape for a day to go shopping and out for lunch without babies in tow.

After the week at the beach, I headed to Elkin to spend a week with my family. It was a great week there too. I got to be with my entire family one day to celebrate my youngest brother's birthday and then the rest of the week was spent just hanging out - a day in the mountains with Mom, Dad and Maria - hiking near the viaduct on the Blue Ridge Parkway - a day shopping and eating out with Mom, a day with my grannies...sometimes the best times are just being with family...and not doing much of anything.

After a couple of weeks at my favorite place...home...I am reminded that the best things in life aren't things.

Busy...busy...busy...

Oh my goodness...where does the time go? I just turned around today and it was OCTOBER! I can't believe that Camden is over 6 months old now. It seems like just yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital - so much has changed since then - where we live, where we work, the size of our kiddo...

At Camden's 6 month check up he weighed in at 18 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces with a length of 27 inches. Both of those are in the 60th percentile - a far cry from that less than 3rd percentile he was in at 2 months old! This past Saturday (9/27) marked this 6 month milestone and with it we added peas to the menu and he also rolled off the couch. He dislikes the peas way more than he disliked falling off the sofa! :o)

We've also done a lot of exciting things these past few weeks. Our previous post told you all about the Children's Museum in Boston but here are a few other shots from our Boston trip...



In Boston Commons reading
"Make Way for Ducklings"
with Aunt Doody







In line with the duckling
statues in the park -
Jack, Kack, Lack,
Mack, Nack, Ouack,
Pack, Quack...and Camden







Dinner...where everybody
knew our name...







We got back to Dallas late on Wednesday night so we rested up for a few days because on Sunday, Ryan got to use his first Father's Day gift from Camden...his tickets to the Cowboys vs. the Redskins game at Texas Stadium.

We had a great time. Our tickets weren't nearly as "nose bleed" as I had anticipated and the crowd around us was a nice mix of fans from both teams...so we didn't fear for our safety as the clock ticked away to a Redskins victory...


Camden in his Redskins romper.
A Cowboys fan behind us kept
yelling "child abuse" and calling
for Child Protective Services to
come take us away...
very funny :o)




Two of the cutest guys on the
planet enjoying a Sunday
afternoon of football







A happy family celebrating
the Redskins victory!






We're headed to North Carolina this Friday for a week at the beach with the Foster family and a a few days in the mountains with the Rogers family. We're anticipating lots of fun times that we'll look forward to sharing with you as soon as we get back!

Oh...I almost forgot...after posting Camden's 2 and 3 month "measurement pictures", several of you requested that I continue to post those monthly shots...here are the 6 month ones:



With Freckie...Ryan's old Pound Puppy from his childhood days











With his dog that Oma and Papa
gave him...we're still trying to
come up with a name for him...