Amy April 30th, 2009
The boys are growing up SO fast. It is fun to watch them grow and change, but also a bit poignant as it seems to go by so quickly. Only 16 more summers with Cam before he is off to college (hopefully).
The other day Cam went into the bathroom, got on his stool, turned on the water, got soap, washed his hands, and then dried them. He looked up at Michael and said, “I’m big!” All too true.
Jackson is now clapping and saying “Da da da da” upon request. Last night I left him in the middle of the living room floor by himself. The tv was on and Wheel of Fortune was playing. When I looked in on him he was clapping right along with the contestants. Maybe he’ll go on one day and win Mommy a new car. 
Today we had his “9 month” pictures made. I have 9 months in quotation marks, because he turned 10 months last week. Ah well… at least he is getting pictures made. He did so well and was so happy today. He made me proud. He is a bit cautious around new people, but the picture lady had him laughing in no time. I even got naked pics. This is the first time I have had these made with either boy, but they turned out sooo cute! I’ll bring these out and show his first date.
The minutes that seem to crawl by when you are whining and hanging on my leg as I wait for Daddy to get home, turn into the hours that make up the days that seem to fly by in front of my eyes. Time is a funny thing that minutes can seem like days and days like minutes. Cherish your family and friends as you never know how many more minutes we are blessed with. tick tock…. tick tock.
Amy April 16th, 2009
This is the first Easter that Camden has been really aware of the traditions of Easter – dying eggs, hunting eggs, etc. Unfortunately when it came time to dye the eggs, he was sick. He dyed a few of them, but then I finished. The good part is that the eggs turned out really bright because they sat in the dye while I got him ready for bed and then into bed. The bad part is that all of the pictures I took of this event have Camden with a runny nose and not happy. He would say “Cheese”, but there was no smiling involved.
The next day he was still not 100%, but I drugged him up and off we went to church. Both boys looked really cute and after a great dinner at Mom’s, Camden hunted eggs over and over again. 
As to the point of the title of this post, when I told Camden to tell Gigi “Happy Easter” when he said it, it came out “Happy Easter Egg”. You can tell what he was thinking about.
Amy April 15th, 2009
Love is not a static emotion. If it is, then most likely it is not love. Love ebbs and flows and grows as people grow together.
This morning as I was holding Jackson and he was jumping up and down and looking at me with the sweetest smile, I felt my love for him blossoming into something greater and richer. You always think that you can’t possibly love any stronger or deeper until you do.
I have felt this way on numerous occassions watching Michael with the kids. He is so wonderful with them and I sometimes feel overwhelmed with love and emotion for him when I watch him interacting with the boys. To look at this man and to realize that he is the reason for our children being here and to know that our love has culminated in two beautiful generous loving individuals is sometimes almost more than I can bear. I really get the feeling that my heart is going to burst, but it doesn’t. It grows. My love grows. Our love grows. He doesn’t know that I watch him while he works and while he plays and while he loves our kids, but I am and it is in these moments that I feel so blessed and honored to have him in my life.
And Camden is showing me everyday the meaning of generosity and selflessness. We always seem to concentrate on the selfishness of toddlers, the screams of mine, and do it myself. But more often I see Camden sharing with his brother, soothing his cries and his hugs and kisses for Mommy and Daddy and his statements of ” I’m GLAD your home” or “You make me HAPPY” and it is these actions and comments that define his toddlerhood for me. These are his true feelings, not tainted by any obligation he feels or favor he is seeking. He is a good kid… a warm and caring soul… a sweet and loving little boy who brings more joy and happiness and LOVE to my life than I ever imagined.
I am so lucky to have this incredible family and I look forward to more candid moments that cause my heart to stretch and ache and grow. I love all my boys and I thank you!
Amy April 9th, 2009
This afternoon when Michael and Camden got home, we all went to the park in Menlo. For those of you not familiar with this area, Menlo is the “town” at the bottom of the mountain from us. It is a very small town, one 4 way stop, and therefore there are usually no people in the park. I thought about going to the Summerville park, which is about 10 miles away, but it was after school was out and I didn’t want to navigate all of the kids. I have strong anti-social tendencies that my kids are forcing me to deal with, as Camden would rather interact with the other kids than play alone. Go figure.
Anyway, as we arrived at the park I noticed that there was a birthday party under way. DANG! Oh well, I had already promised and the the entire 4 minute trip Camden was telling me how he was going to slide on the slide and Mommy was going to push him on the swing and he was going to PLAY IN THE PARK! So to the park we went. It actually wasn’t bad, as everyone pretty much ignored us and the parents pretty much stayed in the pavilion and let their kids free (including the 2-3 year old girl who was going down the 6 foot slides by herself, but that is just the playground safety nazi in me coming out).
For most of the time at the park, Camden played on the swings. He was in one toddler seat and I put Jackson in the other. 
Jackson’s first time on a big swing! Jackson looked like he was just kinda hanging in there, but he was smiling! Camden kept telling me that he was flying and was really really tall. He looked over at Jackson and said, “Go baby go!” That made us laugh. What made me laugh harder was watching Michael climb into one of those big Geo Dome climbers. He barely fit and I was hoping we wouldn’t have to call out the fire department to extricate him with the jaws of life. He’s a good daddy! Once he got inside, Camden said “Daddy trapped.” Little did he know….
It was a beautiful day here and I hope that if you had great weather like we did, that you got to enjoy it.
I also tried to be a bit creative today and took photos of Jackson. He wasn’t feeling his best so I had trouble getting him to smile, but here are a few of the shots.
Amy April 7th, 2009
I mentioned in an earlier post that Camden is exploring the world of emotions. Here a few of the latest examples.
Tonight-
Camden: Mommy, Daddy made me mad.
Me: What did he do?
Camden: He made me mad and made me cry.
According to Mike, he took away the toy that Camden had taken from Jackson and thus made Camden mad. We have to be careful now, because he also shares his feelings.
Earlier this week-
Camden: I want more beans.
Me: OK, I’ll get you some more.
Camden: No, want GiGi’s beans. (meaning off of her plate)
GiGi shares her beans with Cam
Camden: (Laughing) GiGi made me happy!
This also made GiGi happy, as I am sure you can imagine.
The other night, Camden woke from an apparent nightmare. We never did figure out exactly what happened, but he told us that GiGi made him mad and that this DiDi (monkey) hit him and made his leg hurt. After a while we finally got him to calm down and I rubbed both of this feet to make him feel better. The next morning he still remembered that DiDi hit his leg and that Mommy rubbed his feet to make him feel better.
So happy, mad, and sad, we are getting them all. Luckily it is mostly happy and the other two are fleeting. So I hope that today you have made someone happy and that someone has returned the favor.
Amy April 1st, 2009
The trees are budding and the dogwoods are blooming throughout the woods that surround our house. As spring brings about rebirth and new beginnings it also brings about a revitalization of our blog.
We have been dealing with a major case of the blah’s lately. Sorry we have been out of the blogging world for so long and I hope that we still have some people who are reading.
So since our hiatus here are some updates:
Michael -
He is still looking for full-time employment, but he has been successful in getting a couple of contract jobs. One is ongoing for repair and maintenance as needed and also for some web development. These are keeping him busy and some money flowing in. Both of which we are grateful for. We still hope he can find a job in the Chattanooga/Huntsville/Birmingham area that offers a great salary and full benefits, but until then he is doing a GREAT job at providing for us all. Who knows, maybe his contract job will turn out to be full-time and he can work for himself.
Camden -
Cam is as wonderful as ever. I am constantly amazed at how much and how quickly he learns things. He is now talking in full complex sentences and is a non-stop chatterbox. He is learning how to play with his little brother and has learned the art of swap and yank. Whenever Jackson gets something that he wants, he finds another toy and offers it to Jax and then yanks the other one away. He has even learned to sometimes do this without making Jax cry. Cam is all about emotions lately and is continually commenting on who is sad, mad, happy, etc. He likes saying that he makes Jackson happy! (which is true) I sat Jackson up the other night and made him cry and Cam ran and told his Daddy that Mommy made Jackson mad.
One last note on Camden…. This morning as he was leaving with Michael to go to MDO, he came up to me and gave me a hug and said “I love you. Have a good day.” Melted my heart….
Jackson -
He is growing like a weed. He now has 6 teeth and puts them all to good use. He is constantly chewing on whatever he can get this octupus arms on. The other day he tried eating a paper towel which was met with gagging and projectile vomiting, but most of the things that make it to his mouth just get slimy. He is sitting up really well now and will play for long periods of time by himself, as long as someone is in his eyesight. He loves watching Cam and laughs at him all the time.
Amy -
I don’t have any major updates about myself. I am still enjoying staying at home with the kiddos and I am really enjoying the beautiful weather we have had lately. It is fun to get out with Camden and Jackson and enjoy some sunshine. We will soon begin opening up Mom’s pool, so hopefully in the next month or so we will be going swimming on a regular basis. Yipee.
