A summer in pictures...

We're back in the blogging world after a LONG hiatus! We've had such a great summer with lots of time with family and fun in the sun! I can't even believe school starts a week from tomorrow!!!! I have loved every minute of being home with my babies this summer, but always look forward to the challenges of a new school year. I am so blessed by being able to stay home part time again this year! Joel is busy at work, still loving what he does.....he doesn't like much complaining that summer break is over. Ha! Ha!

OK...so I decided that I would just post a ton of pictures and hope that they would explain the highlights of our summer....here goes.

We kicked off our summer with a Novak, Royer, Farmer, and Trent family trip to Siesta Key, FL. The kids loved living together and playing in the sand! We had a blast and can't wait to go back. Joel and I celebrated our 5th anniversary while we were there...unbelievable! Love that kid more everyday! :)

Camden and Gage were the cutest little ringbearers in Christa and AJ's wedding. Thankfully Christa was laid back and her expectations weren't high for our precious 2 year olds, because Camden took off in a dead sprint down the aisle and dropped his pillow. Gage, being the polite gentleman he is, picked it up and shouted "Cam, wait!!". Down at the end of the aisle, Camden took back his pillow and we heard a very polite "sank-you". Oh dear. Thank you AJ and Christa for the fun experience! :)

We celebrated Camden's 2nd birthday on June 13th....can't even believe my baby is 2! Our house was decked out in a fire truck themed party and Camden got so many cool things like a firehouse, basketball goal and sand & water table! Cam was super healthy at his 2 year check up weighing in at 26lbs and 36 in long. He knows all his colors and shapes, lots of letters and a few numbers too! He cracks us up everyday with the new things that come out of his mouth. We're so proud of our boy!

July was filled with lots of relaxing at the Dolphin Club, an awesome visit from my bestest Jessica and her sweet family from Arizona (can you believe we didn't take one picture, Jess? Terrible!!) and an attempt at potty training....(yep, I said attempt).

That brings me to our Kendall Jo. Let me just brag on this baby for a minute. She is an absolute joy in our lives and Joel and I are just head over heals in love! Kendall is as easy as you can get...hardly ever fussing and her face just lights up in a huge smile whenever she catches your face. Kendall is sitting up like a pro and army crawling to whatever she sets her sights on. My prediction is that we have an early mover on our hands. Yikes. Camden adores her, continuing to talk in the highest pitched voice you can imagine..."Try it baby...no crying Kendall Jo...come here baby"...we love watching them together! Kendall checked out beautifully at her 6 mo check up in July weighing in at 17 1/2 lbs and 26 in. long. We're so proud of her, too! :) Some of the latest pictures of Kendall...

This is where I found my sweet baby while I was busy making breakfast for child #1. Opps! Never said I was Super-Mom! :) Time to get the gates out, huh?

Finally, Wade and Steph worked their magic again and took some awesome family pictures (really they were for Kendall's 6 month-ish pictures...but we got some cute ones of Camden too.) Here are some of my favorites...

Shewww!!! So sorry for the summer break in blogging...I promise I'll be better. Hopefully no one has given up on us! Have a great week!

Special Mother's Day

Being a mommy is definitley the hardest job I've ever had. It's crazy to think that sometimes I feel more confident in a classroom full of 35 sixth graders than braving the grocery store with only 2 kids! Sometimes I struggle day to day to get past all the piled up laundry, papers I should've graded a long time ago, snotty noses, and POOP....but yesterday during church I was just overcome with joy at how blessed I am by my husband and babies. All three of them are absolutely precious to me and I feel so lucky to be their mommy and wife. I am learning to let go of the list of things around the house when Camden pats the couch and says "mommy, sit down" (no way that will last much longer!!)....the dishes can wait. I'm learning to curb my frustration when Kendall wants to eat (STILL!!!!) in the middle of the night. We have the rest of our lives to sleep through the night. God is teaching me to find joy in all aspects of mommyhood...even when I don't know the best decision, I'm exhausted and feel like crying! :)

In the (almost) 2 years that I've been a mom, I've developed a new appreciation and love for my two moms! My mom and Misty are constant supports to me and I'd go crazy without their help and guidance. They are such special grandmas to my kids and we're all so lucky to have them....Happy Mother's Day Mom and Misty!

Here are some recent pics of me and the kiddos....

Just had to throw this one in for a laugh....Camden was working those heels! :)

Easter, Pics, and April Thoughts

I will start with pictures of my beautiful new (3 months old now!) little girl. As you can see, Hillary loves putting her in various different hats and headbands with bows and flowers galore. I think Hillary is psyched to have a girl to dress up instead of giving Camden her purse and high heels to wear around the house...I know the purse picture already made the blog, but I am trying to keep the high heel pic for our archives only (that is until his graduation day when I flash that photo in front of the school auditorium).

Kendall is growing and changing more and more everyday. She smiles more often and we are getting the most precious giggles out of her. She is really coming to life and is a joy to be with. Camden is a good big brother and always gives her some of his toys to play with, pacifier when he thinks she needs it, always asks if she wants to go do something fun like "ride in the car," "go outside," or if she "wants a snack." It is so sweet to hear him include her and say things like, "no crying, Kendall Jo." It truly melts your heart to see your kids get along. I know that can change on a dime, so we are cherishing it now.

Easter was so much fun. Hillary loved picking out the kids outfits and taking Cam on 3 Easter egg hunts. This is my favorite picture of my kids and me ready to go off to church. Don't they look adorable? This is going to be my new wallpaper on my computer at work.

Camden loved "finding" eggs on the ground and putting them in his basket. We hunted Easter eggs at my Aunt Debby and Ervin's with cousins Lily and Chloe, at Nana and Poppi's with cousins Gage and Daniel, and at church with a whole mess of other kids. It was pretty easy pickings at his age level, you just scatter the eggs in the yard and watch the free-for-all. P.S. doesn't Cam kinda look like Don Johnson in Miami Vice with his pastel blue suit with shoulder pads complete with sandles...hot stuff dude.



Here are some fun pics of the kids hanging out together. On the right, Cam thought it would be fun to play in our sump pump clean out and splash around. Mommy LOVES messes. It was pretty funny, though...and he had fun.



April is a tough month for our family. It has been 3 years since we lost my brother, Zach in a tragic plane crash April 20, 2006. We miss his so much every day, but especially around Easter when we all spent our last holiday together. It is sad to know that our kids can't hang out with their Uncle Zach and be blessed by his words, smiles, hugs, and music. He was the best man/brother anyone could ask for and he is sorely missed. His influence is ever-present in our kids lives and we are so thankful for that. Zach, we miss you and long to see you again.

Elmo & Chicago

It has been a while since I have posted on here, but we wanted to update everyone on how we are doing. Hillary and I went to Chicago for an extended weekend and left our two "precious" children with their grandparents. By the way, they are way more "precious" after you have been away for a little while. We saw the musical, Rent, actually got to sleep in some, go shopping, enjoy time with just each other, and eat an entire meal without interruption...that was the best (well, maybe not the best!!)

Anyway, we dropped Cam off with our good friends, April and Ryan where Camden got to experience his first live show featuring one of his favorite TV stars...ELMO!! I can only imagine how excited he was. He got this cool light-up toy that spins and has Elmo on the top. He plays with it ALL the time. They said Cam was mesmerized and was pointing to all the characters he knew (Elmo, Big Bird, Ernie, Burt, Oscar, The Count). He just loves hanging out with the Docks...and doesn't Ryan look like such a big boy with his Cars back pack? Thanks guys, for taking care of our little guy, he adores you both.

This picture is my favorite, because Camden has been into trying to smile lately (you can see how well that is working for him). He scrunches up his nose shows his teeth, but thinks he is making the coolest face ever. He cracks up after he does it everytime; probably because he makes everyone laugh at his ridiculous face, but he thinks he is a comedian. Camden walks around the house holding any number of objects up to his eyes and saying, "cheese" then pulls that goofy face. It is a riot to watch him pick up things we do in his own interpretation. He is always surprising us and making us laugh. Cam is also a really good brother to Kendall. Sorry no pictures of her this time, but she is still healthy and actually starting to laugh a little with some of mommy's tickling. We are so blessed to have two wonderful children. Stay posted for upcoming Easter pictures...don't think that Hillary hasn't had at least 3 outfits on Kendall already in preparation for the big day (Happy Easter, Jesus). And yes, the outfit that has been decided upon, has been laid out with all its accessories all week.

Birthdays, Doctors, and More!

Our precious niece, Lily, turned 1! It's unbelievable how fast that year went! She is the sweetest little girl....so smiley and good natured. She and Cam have so much fun playing together. Brytni and Jason put together an ADORABLE flower-themed birthday party. The weather was gorgeous and we had so much fun celebrating Lily's first year! Is this not the cutest picture???? We love that little girl...and her mom and dad, too!

Miss Kendall checked out great last week at her 2 mo check up. She is weighing in at a healthy 11.5 lbs and is 23 1/4 inches long....both ranking in about the 75th%. We're so proud of her! I have to give a shout out to Ashley Sommer with Simply Bow~licious Bow~tique for adding to Kendall's cute factor with this adorable headband/bow. I went a little crazy on Ashely's website buying all kinds of oversized bows, flowers, hats and tu-tus to accessorize sweet Kendall. Thanks Ashley!

I never know what Camden will get into while I try and steal 15 min to put myself together in the morning. Sometimes it's my makeup....sometimes our toothbrushes....today it was Joel's glasses. If that boy isn't the spitting image of his Daddy....

We've blogged before about how into hats Cam is......he INSISTS that we all wear one at all times. Finding all the hats is seriously the first thing he does when he wakes up! I caught some cute pictures of him putting one on Kendall this morning.

Back to work tomorrow!! This maternity leave has FLOWN by! I'm excited to see my students and get back into the swing of school, but I'm a little nervous about the transition back intobeing a working mommy! :) Joel and I are counting down the days until our "date weekend" in Chicago coming on FRIDAY!!! Topping our to-do list is eating a peaceful meal....sitting down....and not holding a baby. Ha! Also, sleeping later than 6:30 and getting ready without little people at our feet!!!! Have a great week!

Smiley Baby!

I was able to catch some sweet pictures of Kendall smiling the other day! This first one is a tad bit close because I was holding her while snapping the pic. I had to include it though, because it truly captures our Kendall Jo's massive double chin! Ha! Kendall is definitely growing at a healthy rate and, as you can tell, doesn't miss many meals. She melts our hearts when she lights up....the baby talk is unbearable around here right now! :)

Camden is saying new things everyday! Lately there has been lots of roaring, since we're really into dinosaurs. He's also been saying "Awesome" a lot too....very cute. Manners are my favorite right now as Cam is always saying Peas mommy, ank-you mommy, and I'm warry (sorry)mommy. I'm telling you...ANYTHING is ok by me when he says those things. Here is the latest pic of Camden playing with an old purse....Joel was very proud.



We're anticipating lots around here....Cousin Lily's 1st birthday, Kendall's 2 mo. checkup...unbelievable, Camden's ear follow-up, mommy's return to work...yikes, and a MUCH NEEDED adult only Chicago weekend! Stay tuned....

My Babies....

I've decided that seeing my two kids together, starting to interact, is one of the most special things I've experienced! Kendall is starting to give us little smiles (we still have to work pretty hard for them...but she's getting it!) and Camden hears us talking all kinds of high pitched sweet talk to her. Camden wanted in on the action, so we frequently hear him goo-gooing and saying "hi Kendall Jo" in the highest voice he can manage. So funny! You don't realize how stupid you sound until your 1 year old mocks you.

Here are my two babies....

Joel and I were in the kitchen making dinner the other night, and here's what we found when we looked into the living room! Watching Camden love his sister on his own melted my heart. I know the pictures are all similar, but I thought they were so precious...I wanted to share them all. I love Camden giving Kendall her pac in picture 2 and then sticking his tongue out in picture 3. Ha!

They are both growing so fast! I hope one day when they are fighting like brother and sister that I can remember how sweet they were on the floor together like this! :) Have a great rest of the week!