Amy January 31st, 2009
I just finished reading Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson. It is a really good book about a guy who was an accomplished mountain climber, but after he gets lost coming off K2 he ends up in a remote tiny village. After seeing their “school”, an area outside where the kids were doing their lessons in the dirt with sticks, he vows to come back and build a school. This has led him on a new direction for his life and he has since built several schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
This book shows another aspect of terrorism and wars. His philosphy is that in order to fight terrorism for the long term, that education is the key. If the poorest of poor have no options other than the radical madrassas for education, then the teachings of hate will only grow. And it really makes you think about how the radiacal Islamists are going about this war. They are in it for the long haul and are looking down the road 20, 30, 40 years. They are planting the seeds now. If we don’t do something to counter this, then I wonder what type of world my kids will be living in. After the invasions and the purging and the military might, what do we need to do in these countries to promote peace and understanding and tolerance? Greg’s philosophy to me has a lot of merit, but it is going to hard to counter the oil money that is being spent on madrassas (not all of which are radical, but enough are). I wish him luck and I think that I have found a worthwhile charity that really seems to be making a difference. He has the connections and makes sure that these schools are being built. The money is not being funneled off to some warlord who is using it to buy guns for his own militia rather than improving the lives of the villagers.
I recommend this book and I hope it is as meaningful to you as I found it.
Amy January 31st, 2009
Camden has reached the stage of “me help!”. And for the most part he is helping. We have a stool in the kitchen now that he is constantly asking for us to open so he can help. He helps make his lunch, make lemonade with Daddy, wash dishes, etc. The other day I was cleaning house and he had to have a rag and the cleaner (which was actually empty) and he went all around the house “spraying” things and cleaning.
He has really proved to be a big help with Jackson. He is always picking up his rattle and giving it to him or starting the music on the swing and bouncer or just generally entertaining him. The other day he went over and put Jackson back on his pallet after he rolled off. And if there is a bottle sitting around and Jackson starts crying, Camden immediately goes and gets it and sticks it in his mouth. Jackson is lucky to have Camden, because Mommy is not always the quickest to get to him when he starts crying. I can tune him out for a bit while I finish doing whatever task I am involved in. Camden however either can’t tune him out or is just being a great big brother. I at least tell myself that it is the latter….
Amy January 21st, 2009
Camden has lately taken to sitting in various baby items. He lays in the baby carrier, sits in the Bumbo seat (which sticks to his bottom when he tries to get out) and today I came down from putting Jackson down for a nap and found this. What was really funny was watching him try to get out…
Amy January 19th, 2009
We had a minor crisis this past weekend. I was upstairs in the office on the computer with Jackson in my lap when I hear a crash and then Camden crying. I wasn’t too concerned until I hear Mike yell up at me to come down now! I rush down and as I am coming down the stairs Mike informs me that Camden has knocked his 2 front teeth out. Well, it turns out that he didn’t knock them out, but he did knock them loose. They were both pushed back and would be behind his bottom teeth if he bit down. I got a cold rag and wiped the blood away and was able to push the teeth back in their somewhat original position. We are now feeding our child soft foods and hoping that his teeth stay in. I think they will be ok…
Of course this happened at 4:59 on a Friday and apparently our dentist does not believe in emergency contact, so I instead went to the next best place…. Google. It told me that there wasn’t much more I could do, so hopefully my dentistry skills will do no harm.
I think that this is one of the hardest parts of parenting. The horrible knot you get in your stomach when your child is hurt and there is not much that you can do for him. I can handle the scrapped knees, the bonked head, but the knocked out teeth is a bit daunting. I am hoping that there are no, or at least not many, broken bones in the boys futures. Now broken hearts will be a whole other feeling of helplessness…
Michael January 13th, 2009
If any of you have ever watched Wall-E, the lovable little garbage compactor, you’ll relate to this.
Camden got Wall-E for Christmas from his Great Aunt Enda. He’s watched it twice already. Today he came down from his nap and I was watching the National Geographic Channel and there was a piece on the mars rovers Opportunity and Spirit. Camden saw them and said… “Wall-E?”
M.
Amy January 12th, 2009
We all deserve a pat on the back occassionally and I got one tonight.
Whenever Camden does something good I always tell him “Good Job!” Well tonight he returned the favor. After our dinner of spaghetti and garlic bread (of which he had three helpings), he looked at me and said, “Mommy did good job.” It is probably one of the best accolades that I have ever received as it came from a 2 year old who had no agenda behind the remark.
So tonight I can sleep well as I know that at least for today, I have done a good job. 
Amy January 12th, 2009
I know that there have been a lot of Camden news lately so I thought that Jackson deserved a little print time.
He is 6 1/2 months old now and growing up way too fast for my taste. He is taking in everything around him especially his brother. Camden can get him to laugh better than either Mike or me. As soon as Camden comes around, Jackson stops crying or fussing and starts kicking and bouncing. Camden is always looking out for him and loves to dance for Baby.
Jackson got his first tooth on Christmas Eve, which is a bit ironic as I was singing to him the day before that all I want for Christmas is my 2 front teeth…. His second tooth is now making its entrance as well. And with a bit of luck and manuevering, he can sit up on his own for a few seconds. I am sure he will be sitting like a champ before we know it.
He had his 6 month checkup last week and here are his vitals…
Height: 26 1/2″ (Camden at same age – 26 1/2″)
Weight: 17-10 lbs (Camden at the same age – 17-1 lbs)
Soon he is going to be running around the house like crazy and I will be completely enveloped in toddlerhood, but for now I am still enjoying our early morning snuggles as I feed him his bottle.
Michael January 11th, 2009
Camden doesn’t pitch fits. At least not many. He has had one. He was tired, though and I can’t blame him. He does have an “episode” every once and awhile. Anyway, to the point. When he’s at that point where he is repeating “Wanna watch Joe!” or “Go outside!” over and over and you either ignore him or tell him no, and he starts crying or lays down on the floor; usually I just pick him up and ask him to quiet down and explain to him why he can’t “watch Joe” or “go outside”.
Well, it usually goes like this (shortened for brevity):
Camden: Go outside. (notice this is not a question at this point) Go Outside! Go OUTSIDE!! GO OUTSIDE!!!
Me: No Camden, not now.
Camden: Waaah! (lays down on stomach on floor)
Me: (picking him up) Camden, listen. We can’t go outside right now. It’s time to eat. We can go outside after you eat. OK?
Camden: Go Outside?
Me: Yes, after we eat.
Camden: Otay daddy.
I thinks that’s pretty good for a two year old.
M.
Michael January 7th, 2009
Camden was in a mood today!
First, he got out of his bath today and I turned to do something and hear him start laughing. I turn back around and he is peeing on our dog! Poor Diamond! I guess it must be funny because it made me laugh too. Anyway, the look on Diamond’s face was priceless.
Later, I had to drop him off at MDO, but I didn’t know they were opening late because of some weather we had last night. So we stopped at Gigi’s for awhile. Gigi, Jackson, and I are sitting in the sun room passing the time while Camden is (we thought) playing with some toys behind us. It’s awfully quiet (which, if you are a parent of a two year old you know something’s up). I turn to look and the doors are closed to the sun room. I open them and there stands Camden, with two big balls of yarn that Gigi hasn’t learned to put up wrapped around him. Immediately my mind sees what’s coming next. Can you guess? …. That’s right. He grins at me and starts running. Before I could catch him, he has run through two rooms in the house with yarn trailing out behind him. I had to untangle and rewind two balls of yarn. (wish I had the camera!)
And finally, this evening on the way to visit my parents, he “wanna watch Joe!” (Blues Clues for those of you toddler challenged). When he starts this “wanna watch Joe” he doesn’t stop until he either gets his way or one of us parent types deflects him someway (Look Camden, a cow over there!). Well, today Amy pipes up and turns “wanna watch Joe” into a pantomime dance routine with her hands. Now can you guess what Camden started doing? Of course you can. Waving his hands in the air and moving his body around he sings “wanna watch Joe!”.
M.
Michael January 7th, 2009
Remember Harlequin? Our cute, fluffy, sweet, adorable kitten? We love her very much, but lately she’s developed a really annoying habit. She’ll go and get a bit of Diamond’s dog food and enthusiastically bat it around the floor. With our wood floors she can get some really long (and loud!) hits. That’s why I’m up at 4:30 this morning blogging.
Well, at least she’s still fluffy.
M.
