Cabin Fever

We've all had a bit of cabin fever around here for the past two weeks. Here is a picture of the snow accumulating on the back deck - we estimate about 8 inches was the grand total. That wouldn't be so bad except for the freezing weather made the roads something fierce and we didn't get out much.

So, what do you do when you can't leave the house. Well, you can sit around the uncomfortable family room floor (near the couch, no less) and watch a Thomas the Train video....

Or you can amuse yourself by putting hats on the baby and take pictures of the funny faces she makes...

Or you can color on the fireplace hearth...

Or try to choose between daddy's new Rainbox 6 video game or a more appropriate kid's video to watch...

When provisions run low, you can either turn to the canned goods or your digger shirt...

We made it to Christmas day!! It was actually snowing outside again as we unwrapped presents. After a yummy breakfast of homemade doughnuts, Camden finally got to unwrap his gifts and play with some new toys. He got some cool new train cars from Uncle Neil - these make cow and chicken noises so Camden got up close to hear them.

Here, Shelby is playing with the canon from Camden's Hot Wheels Pirate track (if she knew any better, she'd hide it so he wouldn't shoot the thing in her face all the time).

Shelby enjoyed a pop up toy from Grandma and Grandpa Lee.

This neat toy came with its very own screwdriver to undo the parts to the airplane and helicopter. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Lee!

Matt got some new sweatpants from Tara's parents. As you can see, he can easily wear them and gorge himself on holiday pie (and no longer flash the company with the holes in his other sweatpants!)

Some comfy new clothes and a new book from Grandma and Grandpa Cochran. This book goes with the Leapfrog pen they also got him - what a cool gadget that is, seriously - it's amazing.

Shelby inspected the toy from Uncle Neil - it is labeled to help babies get motivated to crawl. She thought about it and then continued to just scooch around on her bottom instead.

Yay! New shoes and clothes from Grandma and Grandpa Cochran. Shelby doesn't have to wear Camden's old froggy shoes anymore!

The Hot Wheels Pirate Land.....Grandma Cochran would like this toy - it neatly folds itself back up into a carrying case. You'll be seeing it on our next visit, for sure.

Thanks to everyone for the gifts and while we certainly enjoyed our Christmas Day spent as just our little family, we missed you all too. Can't have it both ways, I guess.

Snowbird

This has been an interesting week. School was delayed 2 hours on Monday and Tuesday due to icy roads from weekend snow and then school was canceled on Wednesday because the forecasters were predicting WINTER BLAST STORM CALAMITY ICE SURGE 2008. The snow hit elsewhere, but the roads cleared and even melted around our house....then overnight we got 2ish inches and we have another snow day. Today Camden and daddy got to shovel the driveway and then get creative with the snow shovel.

Big House

Today we took a trip up to Seattle to the Seattle Sheraton's gingerbread house display. I've never been before and didn't know what to expect, but I certainly hoped it would be the coolest thing ever! It was neat but not really worth the effort involved in getting there, finding parking, maneuvering the streets with a stroller, etc. However, we met Camden's friend Grant and it was fun to see it with them. Here are some pictures. These are done by architectural firms and the theme was superheroes.

Afterwards we all headed back to our house (after missing the freeway onramp and getting a little lost in Seattle - Grandma Cochran knows how that feels!). Grant and Camden had a lot of fun playing together and we all worked on a gingerbread house of our own. It was demolished and devoured shortly after this picture.

Do You Hear What I Hear?

You'd think the pictures would appear in the order in which you chose them. Argh. So, here in another backwards blog....*end vent*

Today, after the Christmas program at preschool, Camden saw a pair of Shelby's pants and decided to try them on. They will be good shorts for him this summer.
After the program, we posed for a picture.

Camden and the boy on the other end both stood quite well serving as immobile bookends to the group in the middle who danced and sang their way through the program. Very cute bookends, that's for sure. We are very proud of Camden who went up and stood in front of everyone, without an adult nearby to cling to. That's a big step for our little guy!

Shelby enjoyed the music and dancing too. She even said "bye" to the teachers as we were leaving.

Here's a little taste of the entertainment....

Life in Slow Motion

After our fun weekend with family for Thanksgiving, we spent the afternoon today putting up the Christmas tree. It was a good day to do so; the fog did not lift all day and doing some fun decorating lessened the gloom outside. Camden hung most of the ornaments (can you see them in the pictures? They are all clumped together at about Camden height?) and Shelby got a kick out of herself rolling around on the floor and grabbing the bottom branches.

Here's a quick look at our afternoon....you may get a kick out of watching the two blurs known as Camden and Shelby. This video has no sound and spans about two hours.

Pilgrim

Here are a few recent pictures of the kids. Shelby is getting her top front teeth so has been a little cranky and not sleeping as well. They are close to breaking though and that should give her some relief. Here she is in her cute hand me down jeans. We just love those cheeks!
Camden has been verbally asking how to spell words but hasn't been writing any letters yet. However, last night he turned to a piece of paper and I heard him saying "M A M A...mama". When I saw what he wrote, I was so surprised!! I haven't seen him write letters before and here he is writing a word! He then wrote "Cam" on another paper....yay!!

Here is what he got to wear at preschool today - it also had a white shirt/bib that they made, but he wouldn't put it on for a picture. He likes the hat because "it's like a pirate hat!" so he got his sword out (pipe insulation) and whacked me a few times with it. The things I endure in order to get a good picture....

And, that is Camden's way of helping me stir up some ingredients. Needless to say, those spoons didn't end up in the batter after all.

Playing Tag

Tagged! By Maggie
Shelby and Camden were tagged by Maggie and I (Tara) sure hope I'm doing this right...



Name/Meaning: Shelby - her first name was just one we picked that we thought would not be very common. Her middle name sounded good with it...then we found out later that it is a family name on my mother's side. So, it wasn't purposeful but we'll take credit for it.

Age: 10 months

Nicknames: Shellbue (Matt's nickname for her), Shelby Roo, sweet girl, muffin, poops (my nicknames for her)

Activities: sitting and scooting around on her bum, saying "uh oh", taking toys out of bins, clapping

Favorite Foods: cheerios, pasta, yogurt

Favorite Music: The Wiggles

Favorite toys: her bear

What Makes Her Happy: her brother!

What Makes Her Sad: when everyone leaves her alone in a room



Name/Meaning: Camden - Camden is from when we vacationed in England and visited Chipping Camden. We just thought it would be a nice, unique name.

Age: 3-1/2

Nicknames: Camden Roo, sweetie, pumpkin

Activities: running, playing with Shelby, pretending, singing and dancing

Favorite Foods: yogurt raisins, fruit snacks, lollipops

Favorite Music: Laurie Berkner, the Wiggles

Favorite toys: train, cars,

What Makes Him Happy: Baby Oliver (formerly Buddy), putting on a show for his family, going swimming, making Shelby laugh

What Makes Him Sad: being put in time out, going to bed, being left with a babysitter



Shelby and Camden tag Trevor!!

Monster Mash

Someday I'll learn to upload pictures in the correct order. Oh well. Here are some photos from Halloween. The kids played Hi Ho Cheerio (or something like that) with Grandma Lee after trick or treating.
Here are Buzz Lightyear and Dorothy, ready to go trick or treating.

Shelby participated, mostly by being cute in her lion outfit.

Grandpa Lee and Camden decorated Halloween cookies together.

Then, this week we did a craft project. Camden made a snack box by painting it and decorating it with stickers. I helped with the words and some with the paint, but he did everything else.

He's all smocked up and ready to go.

Shelby's still not crawling, but it definitely itching to walk. She likes to stand at her table and make her smooshy face.

The Pumpkin Song

On Saturday, we visited Remlinger Farms with Mark, Arin and Maggie. They have a park with lots of fun things for little people to do, kettle corn, a steam train, and a fresh produce market with wonderful pies to take home. Here are a few highlights from our trip. Camden LOVED this slide...we were amazed he went by himself and headfirst.
Uncle Mark took Camden and Maggie on the spinning log ride.

I got to ride on the antique car with Camden this year. He was very focused, turning the steering wheel just as if he were driving the car. He'll be an excellent driver twelve years from now.

Camden and Shelby posed in a tractor.

Maggie enjoyed the steam train ride.

Shelby watched from her stroller most of the day, careful to keep an eye on Camden and Maggie.

Next year Shelby will be standing here on her own!

Camden is getting pretty tall. Too bad the shadows were in the way...

Camden loved the tractors.

A very decent family photo. Might be on the Christmas cards!

Camden and daddy picked out a pumpkin to carve so we did that this evening. He instructed me on what shapes he wanted the eyes and nose, and we had to carve in a tongue to get rid of a rotton spot on the bottom. He had fun and stuck with the process for the whole carving time.