Say a little prayer

One of the "lessons" I'm currently trying to teach Camden is that we can pray to God anytime that we want. This was a fact that I was very much aware of throughout my childhood...but didn't really put into practice. I made sure to pray at dinner and before bed and here and there as the situation called for it, but it's only been in the last few years that I've really gotten to the point that I just "talk" to God whenever and wherever I feel like it.

I also try to spend a little time each day in God's word and in conversation with Him...but as the laundry piles up, the teething poops get more frequent, and the dog hair accumulates, I have learned that sometimes it's not only "easier" but "better" for me if I simply continue to converse with the One who gets me through all of that each day instead of adding another "task" to my to-do list. It may not be the "ideal quiet time" that I was taught to do in my youth group days, but honestly, some of my best conversations with God have occurred over a sink full of dirty dishes.

So as I am trying to model and prompt this behavior for Camden I try to take advantage of situations that his comments present. For example, there are times when Camden will comment on how much fun it is to play outside and I'll ask him to take a moment and thank God for our nice weather. Or he will make a statement about Daddy being at work and I'll suggest that we thank God for daddy's job and for the things that we are able to have because Daddy works so hard to provide for us.

Recently at a playdate with a friend of mine (who shares this goal of "anytime" prayer with me) and her two daughters, we heard a siren in the distance and her 4 year old suggested that we pray for the people that were in need of a firetruck or an ambulance and for the workers that would be helping them. I know, she's ridiculously adorable...and spot on with how prayer should just be a normal, regular part of our day.

Fast-forward to yesterday morning - we were getting in the car to head out for the day and we hear a siren in the distance. Camden says, "Mommy, we should pray for the firemen like yesterday." Great! He's learning the lesson of talking to God anytime we want! We're getting there!!! So I ask, "Would you like to pray or do you want me to do it?" He volunteers to say it and after a few moments of silence I hear him say, "Thank you God for our good food! Amen!"

Hmmmmm...off to a good start but we'll keep working on it. :o)

So sleepy

Perhaps we should have put her in the bed instead of in her Bumbo seat. And really, I have got to do something about that hair!!!


Click here to see our little sleepy head!

Long awaited photos

Here are the pics that I know many of you were wanting to see...

Here's a shot of Saturday night "bath time" - other nights of the week we approach bath time with more of a "let's get this over with" attitude...but on Saturdays there are bubbles, toys and social interaction.
Alison loves for Camden to dump water on her head!

Here are a few from the pumpkin patch. A friend of Camden's (and Alison's) had her birthday party here in October. It was great - just hard to get into the "fall" festivities when it's still 90 degrees outside!

A high-five for Tyrone!

 And a fist bump for Austin

 Picking out our pumpkin

 

Alison's "bucket pants" say it all...

 Farmer Camden

This one is from a dinner out at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. 

What else would you do with a kid's meal bag?

 The second weekend of October we went to NC for my 10-year Homecoming at Western Carolina University. These pics are from our drive home after returning to Dallas late Sunday evening. The kids were great on the flight...but they couldn't make it all the way home before they passed out asleep.

 

After pulling in the garage, Ryan brought Camden inside and laid him on the changing table. Changed him, got his pj's on and got him to bed...he never woke up. 

And this is a kid that hardly ever falls asleep in the car and if he does, we pray not to hit a red light or traffic on the interstate b/c he'll immediately wake up if the car stops moving.
That'll tell you how exhausted they were!

Here are just a few random ones...

Hittin' the bottle!

Goooooo Redskins!!!

 The first week of November we were all in San Diego as Ryan attended a professional conference. 

Here are a few pics from that trip...

Camden's first time in First Class...don't get used to it, kid. If we don't get our "Unlimited Domestic Upgrade" then you're in Economy Plus!

On the way there our flight from LA to San Diego was delayed so we ended up with a four hour layover. We decided to leave the airport and take the bus to a local park and then have dinner out before returning to the airport. No, we aren't typically that brave...we were traveling with one of Ryan's co-workers and his wife and four kids who used to live in LA and invited us to tag along with them. It was much better than killing four hours in an airport with a toddler and a 7 month old!!!

Happy Halloween 2010

We had already left for San Diego when Halloween arrived so we missed trick-or-treating in our neighborhood and the Fall Festival at church.
But we still dressed up as we made our way around San Diego.

My adventure to the park with the kids (flying solo and traveling by city bus and trolley no less)

A day at Coronado Beach

At the Science Center in Balboa Park

Playing in the water fountain outside the Science Center

Alison's favorite thing on the menu at Hard Rock Cafe?
The actual menu...

At the San Diego Zoo

And probably one of my favorite shots from the zoo...
we're thinking Millie might like to have a "cat" of her own?

First time...last time

I started reading back over the blog and I quickly noticed how much more I posted about things when Camden was little than I am about Alison. It's not that I'm failing to capture photos and video or not writing down things to scrapbook later, it just that I'm not getting around to uploading, writing, and publishing the blog like I should.

I know Alison will probably hold it over my head later...giving me grief for not "caring" about her firsts like I did Camden's. While it is true that everything isn't "new" like it was when he was rolling over, sitting up, cutting teeth, pooping all over everything (see the post from 6/2/08 if you need a refresher on Camden's first poop fiasco) it is still exciting to see it happen for her. She's so pumped that she can sit up now and watch Camden as he makes laps in the house...she just laughs and laughs every time he runs past her. She's hates anything and everything we try to feed her from a spoon...but she can down 8 ounces of milk in about 3.7 seconds - at some point we're going to have to make her learn to eat solids whether she likes it or not. And, she's also got a tooth that's all but broken through her bottom right front gum...which is evidently painful judging from the attitude she's had the past couple of days. 

I love having a couple of days a week to spend with just her as Camden attends Mother's Day Out at our church. It's nice to run some errands with only one kid in tow or to come home and clean the house or do laundry without having to swat a tiny human off of my neatly folded stack of towels...but my favorite thing about MDO is having time to just snuggle, coo and make googly eyes at her while she lays next to me grinning and repeatedly saying, "Da-da" over and over again (Ryan's eating that part up!).

I had a thought just the other day that was kinda sad but special in its own kind of way - the thing that I realized makes posting about Alison's "firsts" just as important. As you may or may not be aware...Ryan and I are not planning to have any more kids. It's something that we've prayed about, talked about, etc. and we feel a great sense of peace about having "just" two kids. Of course, if down the road we feel like God is calling us to something different...we'll be obedient to that call - but as for now, we feel as though our family is complete.

So, in light of the fact that Alison is (most likely) our "last" kid...my thought was that not only am I documenting her "firsts" but I am also simultaneously documenting our "lasts" - several of which we've already experienced...the last time we deal with middle of the night feedings...the last time I carry the bucket seat around...the last time I buy a pack of newborn diapers. Some lasts are just around the corner...the last time I change a diaper...the last time I put a kid to bed in a crib (although if she's anything like her brother, it'll be several years...he's still there and hasn't tried to climb out yet)...the last time I feed a bottle...etc, etc, etc.

And it's not just the "lasts" that I've thought of...it's also the list of "last firsts" that have me thinking too...the last time it's the first time she rolls over...the last time it's the first time she eats solid food...the last time it's the first time she says "mommy" or "daddy"...the last time it's her first day of school...the last time it's the first time some idiot boy breaks her heart...the last time it's her first time behind the wheel...the last time is the first time she visits a college she's thinking about going to...the last time it's the first time she brings home the man that will someday be her husband.

I think what happens is that it's easy to capture the "firsts" - and while the lasts are just as important, you don't realize that's when it was until the time, the moment, the season of life has come and gone. And while I am taking pictures and getting a video recorded now and then and I am writing down things to remember to scrapbook later...I know there are some of you (especially the grandparents) who want to see these "last firsts" too. I had planned to make blogging regularly my New Year's Resolution...but since so much will happen between now and then...I am making it my "November 10th Resolution" instead. I know you've heard this pledge before...but now that I have had my "ah-ha" moment I promise - not you and not me, but Alison - that I will do better.

And if it saves me a little grief through her teenage years by not giving her any additional ammunition to use against me, well that's just a bonus. :o)