Wrapping Presents

I usually love to wrap presents, but the last several years I have learned that I can be a little too particular especially when it comes to letting Cameron help wrap. So, this year I let him enjoy wrapping a gift all by himself and he actually did pretty well. He picked out an old toy (one of his old toy phones) for Laura Cate and it was such a thoughtful gift. It is big and makes lots of sounds (yay! :)) He knows his sister well! He enjoyed wrapping it for her (in the picture below) but he also insisted in wrapping his own gift to give himself...another little phone that he used to play with and we put away in the toy bin for a while. He was so excited to see the phone again and that he and his sister were both getting phones for Christmas :) I tried to explain that gifts are to give people, but he was more interested in wrapping and having another gift under the tree, so he got more practice at wrapping this year!

Here it is!!

Christmas Festivities!

Oh, the joy of being a kid! I had so much fun with Cameron this Christmas making goodies and crafts, singing, and getting ready for Jesus' birthday. Cameron enjoyed making gingerbread men (pictures on the left), sugar cookies, and "trying" the other yummy desserts! Laura Cate watched all of the action usually from her Hop n Pop chair that a friend lent to us. She loved being with us and watching either in the kitchen or by the kitchen table. Just wait Laura Cate, next year will be even better :) We discovered that she LOVES music and got really excited when we had music on or at night when we would all sing together; she played right along with a tambourine and maracas.



















The more sprinkles the better!
Laura Cate loves to watch her brother.

Laura Cate's Wheels at 6 months

We mentioned Cameron getting a bicycle, but we also were pretty excited when Laura Cate had her first ride in a stroller, at six months old. Sometimes she likes it, sometimes she doesn't, but having her brother around always makes it more fun and it helps mommy out too.







Here they are in their PJs before bed! Laura Cate's pajames say, "Warning: may cause sleepless nights" That was so true her first 6 months, but she is such a good sleeper and napper now. The Lord has been so gracious to us.

Fun Times

The local culture here does not celebrate Halloween and most of the people do not even know what it means. We as a family don't really talk about it, but we try to make it a fun time for the kids to dress up and celebrate Fall. This year was different than the last several years because we are around a ton of American kids. So, we gathered after Cameron's birthday party (which was actually on October 31 because Cooper's birthday is November 6th, so we had a combined party in between the two birthdays) in a one cul-de-sac of our complex and had some games and treats for the kids. It was fun for all of us and even Laura Cate got to dress up in a friends costume as "Tigger"...the cutest Tigger ever! The kids had to sing or dance to get candy, but some people were very generous and Cameron is still working on eating all of his candy.



The next day we got to celebrate Alan's birthday. We just loved being together, going to our International Fellowship and our friends took us out to lunch at a wonderful hotel restaurant. I love this picture are Cameron is enjoying Alan's cool new umbrella while we are enjoying chocolate-chip pankcakes (Alan's favorite). Cameron kept wanting to open Alan's presents or let it be his turn to open a present...it can be so hard to wait!

Party Time

October and November are always busy times for us as we are blessed to celebrate Cameron and Alan's birthday (Cameron October 23 and Alan November 1st) and we always squeeze a little "Fall Festival" on October 31! Cameron and his friend Cooper got to celebrate their birthdays together (the more Hero/super hero power the better, right! Cameron of course was an Engineer (" a super hero engineer" as he said.) I can't believe we have a four year old. The time has flown by and each year gets better and better. Cameron LOVES being four...which he thinks entitles him to lots of big boy things now, such as four cookies, four pieces of cake, and playing for 4 minutes...sometimes it works for him, sometimes it works against him :( !
Here are some pictures of our favorite engineer on his birthday! We have been so blessed the past four years to have Cameron as our son!






This is Cameron's buddy, Cooper. They go to school together and have so much fun!







Probably his most exciting and usuable gift was his first bicycle! We had so much fun picking it out and waiting to give it to him. Now he is outside on his wheels at least once a day cruising around our apartment complex and seeing how fast he can go...don't worry, we make him wear a helmet. Riding a bike is another reason why he loves being four!Next post will be for Alan!

Four Months Old!

Look at me, I am 4 months old! It is so hard to believe that Laura Cate is four months old. Time has flown by as we continue to get settled into a new community and new apartment and enjoy our wonderful blessings, Cameron and Laura Cate. She is slowly starting to sleep better and I am getting into more of a routine with both kids. We are blessed to have a sweet, happy girl who lights up when her daddy comes in the room and always laughs at her brother. This month she has been full of bubbles, smiles, laughs, and rolling over front to back and back to front. She also started scooting a little bit. She is growing up way too fast! She is also cutting her first tooth, poor thing.

Joys of Having An Older Brother

I have an older brother, whom I adore, and I pray that Laura Cate will love, respect and enjoy her big brother as much as he loves her. Cameron loves to tell me what Laura Cate is doing and he even runs to get her some of his stuffed animals if she is crying. He also loves to run in and greet her in the morning, saying, "Good morning, sweetie, how are you?" He is ready for her to grow up and eat all the food he does and he often tries to share his food with her. Cameron (our little engineer) loves our bouncy/activity seat that we have for Laura Cate. He often tries to get all the sounds going at once while she is in it...I think it is a little overwhelming for her (and for me!) but he really does care and wants her to get the most out of the seat! What a great big brother! :)

Am I loved or what!













So, once in a while I let Cameron hold Laura Cate (it never lasts for long). But this time the conversation went something like this.

Cameron, "can she lay down next to me?"
me "yes, but remember, you may not lay on her."
Cameron "Can I share my animals with her?"
me "yes, but she may not like them"
Cameron "look mommy, she loves it!!"
me " I am not sure about that, sweetheart" (who wouldn't like a dozen fluffy things falling on their face?! )

Sweet blessings

Laura Cate is 3 months old (in this picture, June 24...I am a little behind)

Settled?

Lots of people ask, how are you all doing, are you settling in? I am realizing that the biggest adjustment is to life with two kids! They are such a blessing, but my time is different than with just one. I really have to pray about how to best spend my time and that the Lord would give Cameron understanding, patience, and love for his wonderful new sister. I often remind him that she (and he) are gifts that we need to take special care of. So far he has been sooo extremely helpful and loving on her. He loves to call her "sweetie", "baby", " cutie"and he always warns me when she is crying or might need her pacifier.

I will have to say unpacking and organizing is slooooow going, but I am learning to be ok with that...putting their needs above my own needs for order and control.

Indigenous?

So, I crawled into bed with Cameron for our time to sing and occasionally talk a little and I never know what is swirling around in his little brain. We started talking about Jesus and the cross and he said some things that a mother will never forget. He said, "If I died and went with Jesus, would you cry, like the Mary and Martha did when they saw Jesus on the cross? Would Laura Cate cry?" 5"If you went to heaven would you take Laura Cate with you? Who will take care of her?" (he observes that little babies need their mommies a lot!) Then started to get excited that he wanted to go to heaven and get a crown, but then I had to gently remind him that we don't have it for very long, but give it to back to Jesus and lay it at his feet. He ask what his crown would look like, maybe painted blue (his favorite color). "But how will we get paint and glue in heaven? How will I get to heaven...in a san lun che or a tuk tuk " (a san lun che is an Asian 3 wheeled little taxi and a Tuk Tuk is very similar in Thailand.) So, he gave me a new perspective when I think about adapting the Gospel to different cultures!

Moving...again

I have not written in a while because we were packing to leave the States with a three-year-old and a newborn. Then when we arrived back home we were furiously packing up our apartment (and getting over jet lag) to move...again. We moved to a different city, but this is our 4th apartment in five years and we really hope we are in this one longer than all the others. Now we are busy unpacking and asking ourselves "how did we get all this stuff?" We are still tired due to moving and a sweet baby girl who has colic (in laymens terms, she is gassy and uncomfortable a lot, but mostly at night and therefore she doesn't sleep well and she is tired the next day and it is a bad cycle).

I haven't taken many pictures recently, but here is one from right before we left of Cameron and Alan "camping" in his parents backyard!

We are so blessed to now live near many other families. Cameron is having a blast with lost of new friends and our new community has been so helpful to provide meals for us, have Cameron come over and play or come over to our apartment and hold Laura Cate. We are incredibly thankful for our new city.

Easter

With a baby only a few weeks old I wasn't sure how I would be spending Easter, but I that in the weeks and days leading up to Easter I would we would be able to focus on the Cross and the resurrection. God is so faithful and we enjoyed reading daily and teaching Cameron about the real meaning of Easter. It was a glorious day and Laura Cate and I walked to church and made it for the last 15 mintues and then left before the crowds came out. We had a wonderful afternoon with family and an Easter egg hunt with Cameron and his cousins.

Cameron loved the hunt in the front yard and made sure he had more eggs than everyone else...a little competitive?

Laura Cate arrived!

Our precious baby girl finally arrived March 24 at 2:41 p.m. After a long night at the hospital with lots of contractions, but no dilation we decided to take Pitocin, which helped things along, as well as an epidural. I was so excited when the nurse said I could start pushing at 2:15. She was born quickly after that, beautiful, healthy, and bigger than we expected, weighing 7 pounds 5 ounces, one ounce smaller than Cameron was.

Alan's parents took care of Cameron while we were at the hospital and brought him by after his nap. He was so excited to see me and his baby sister. Cameron said, "she is soo cute!" So far, Cameron has been super great adoring his sister, looking after her, and praying for her. He is such a sweet big brother.

The transition from one to two has been pretty smooth as we are blessed to be living with Alan's parents and they are a ton of help. Cameron has been very understanding when I need to tend to Laura Cate, which I am so thankful for.

God has answered so many prayers...I was not crazy about being induced and prayed that it would be clear whether or not I needed to do that and after a long night, we had no doubt that I should take the Pitocin.

I have prayed for Cameron to not be jealous and to know how much he is loved by us and by God. He continues to enjoy Laura Cate and even today called her "my buddy".

It is still hard to believe that we have two kids, but here we are!

Fun with family

While being in the States, we really desired to spend quality time with our immediate and extended family. We were able to attend a cousin's wedding in Lexington, KY, as well as go the the Gulf Coast for the weekend. It was so great to get special time with family and allow Cameron to know them as well. Here is a picture of Cameron getting into dancing at the reception...he was not shy!!





We had fun together.






Before the wedding we spent time on a horse farm feeding the horses...it snowed and was soo cold!

North Carolina

We have had so many fun memories while being in the States. Cameron has grown so much and been able to do so many great things. From getting his first hair-cut at an American barber shop where his Granddad gets his hair cut, to playing in snow (it snowed 3 inches in Pinehurst in February - just enough to get on a tobogan!), playing at Imagination Station, going to the park,
and playing outside a ton! Enjoy the pictures!

Pre-school

We are blessed to be able to put Cameron in a pre-school right across the street from Alan's parents' neighborhood, at his parents' church. He goes three days a week for half a day and LOVES it! Cameron probably wishes he could go more often, but I wanted to spend extra time with him before his sister came and his life was forever changed! He loves doing puzzles, going to music class and playing with the other kids. I have enjoyed getting to know his teacher and I often walk to pick him up and then we take a leisure walk home, talking about his day, singing, praying, and of course collecting "really good sticks"

There was an Art Fair at his pre-school and we enjoyed seeing all that he has been doing.

Belated Birthday Party!

After being with my parents for several days, we met up with Gran C and Papa (Alan's parents) and they had a surprise birthday party for Cameron...3 years old! We were still jet-lagging, but Cameron managed to stay awake (how can you not have fun at a pool party) and enjoy some friends (mostly our friends and their kids) and family.


Enjoying yummy cake with Safari animal theme.








Cameron, Alan, and Papa all enjoying Cameron's new Handy Manny tools and car

Visit with Grandma and Granddad

Grandma and Granddad picked us up from the airport in Atlanta and we got to spend some time with them at a nearby lake.










Cameron feeding the ducks.








Picking apples off a tree. We even washed and ate them.

Holidays

Thanksgiving!

We have had wonderful time with family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving we spent in Americus, Georgia on the "farm" (an hunting lodge that some family own) with Alan's extended family. Cameron had a blast with his Papa and lots of cousins. It was so wonderful to be on the preserve and out of the city for a little while. We are blessed with a large, sweet family. It was my first time to spend Thanksgiving with them and Cameron had lots of "firsts" as well...first time to see a hog cooked, first time to see deer skinned, first time to ride on a hay wagon and first time to ride on an ATV. We stayed in an old hotel, but spent most of our time on the farm, hanging out, playing outside, and eating!

Of course we stopped by Auburn on our way to Georgia! Cameron drove his tri-cycle around campus :)



He loves his tri-cycle!


















Cameron got hold of the steering, yes, I was a little scared.








Christmas!

We went to a Christmas parade. It was cold, but they had free hot chocolate for us and during the parade they threw candy and beads to all the kids. Lots of fun vehicles for Cameron to look at, even though we left early. Alan had to miss it because he had a migraine :(




For Christmas we were in Norfolk, VA with my sister-in-law and kids while my brother was deployed (Navy). We wish he could have been there, but we enjoyed being together for Christmas the first time ever and Cameron got to play with more cousins. My parents drove up from North Carolina and it was a sweet time celebrating the Lord as a big family. Sean (6 years old) taught Cameron some bible verses and he was really kind to share his toys. Karen and I had fun late night talks, we all went on walks together and enjoyed watching "White Christmas" which is Alan's favorite Christmas movie. It is becoming a Christmas tradition with us.

We all went to the Christmas Eve service at church and the kids did pretty well. Amazingly, they went to bed pretty quickly when we got back and were looking forward to Christmas day! It is so fun to have cousins near the same age to play with. They are such a blessing.

Back in America

I can't remember the last time I updated our blog. There are so many things I can write about, but I will just give you some highlights from the past several months in the next several blogs (hopefully it won't take me months to do!)

Overall the transition has been really good back to life in America and full of lots of "firsts" for Cameron. We have some wonderful memories with friends and family here. Right now I feel like I am just waiting for our baby girl to come, but also trying to spend good quality time with Cameron as I know our little world will soon change when Laura Cate (named after both grandmothers) arrives (due March 25).

Cameron loves riding in the car, which has been such a huge blessing since we have been traveling a lot. He loves to be on the road and watch the other cars and trucks go by. He still loves trains and has been blessed to be able to play on some (see picture above).