Happy Birthday, Dear Camden

Dear Camden,

Now you are two. I can hardly believe how quickly you've gone from my baby to my big boy. I stayed up late and decorated the house for you. I don't think you noticed anything but all the balloons. I was still asleep when Daddy brought you downstairs and your squeals of delight woke me up.

Riley and I made you special birthday pancakes with whip cream and liberal amounts of sprinkles. Hey, you only turn two, once. She also asked me to pull out the Dora party hats we used on her birthday. You refused to wear it until you saw her don one. We sang "Happy Birthday" to you, but you kept saying "No Mama. No."


Riley was so excited for you to have your birthday. She was so loving and sweet to you all day.

We didn't have your party on your actual birthday so Riley and Daddy went to soccer and you happily accompanied me to Zumba and played with Juju in the daycare. After lunch at home with Daddy and Riley we went to a new indoor playground in our town for their grand opening. You had refused to eat lunch and it was a bit past your nap time so the first few minutes were rough, but Daddy got you calmed down and then the real fun began.










We came home and you took a much needed nap before spending a quiet evening together. We had cupcakes in your honor after dinner. You were so excited when I came out with your cupcake. You kept saying, "HOT! HOT! CAKEY! CAKEY!" By the end of the day you were okay with us singing Happy Birthday to you.

You didn't blow out your candle because you tried to grab it and I had to quickly get it out before you hurt yourself.  Clearly we need to work more on the meaning of hot = ouch.  You didn't mind though and dug right into your birthday cake.


It was such a happy day and we're so proud of you. We've definitely had some rough times leading up to two, but you're growing into such a funny little man. You idolize your Daddy, adore your sister, and love your Mama.  We feel the same way about you and we're so thankful for all the joy you bring to our lives.

Even though you're growing up, finding your voice, showing us more of your personality and making us laugh all day long, I have a feeling it will be hard for me to ever look at you without seeing you like this.

Happy, happy birthday my Camden.  I love you.

VOGUE

Don't just stand there,
let's get to it.

Strike a pose.


There's nothing to it.


Come on, vogue!


I asked Riley to smile for a picture before soccer this weekend.  This is what she gave me.  Repeatedly with a small head turn here and a pivot of the food there.  After a couple shots she said, "Let me see my posies!"

And not to be outdone.  Little man struck a pose too.



 

An Easter Garden

We got back from Gigi and Papa's late Saturday afternoon.

Easter Sunday dawned bright and sunny. After a relaxing morning and quiet time together as a family we loaded up and took the kids to our favorite park. While we were there TG and I discussed our plans for the rest of the day. He mentioned that he would like to get a bird feeder since our kids loved Gigi and Papa's so much. We made plans to go to Home Depot and buy one when they were done playing.

Except we left with much more than a bird feeder which is what I assume happens to many people who visit Home Depot's garden section in the spring. We might have actually made it out with just a bird feeder and some flowers, but while searching the aisles for those particular items I spied a raised garden bed. I read a lot about them on the blogs last year and really wanted one. Lucky for me TG was game.

So we bought it.  And lots of different types of dirt. And some veggies. And fruit.  And lots of mulch.  And something called a shepherds hook.  And TWO bird feeders.  And some flowers.  And a few bushes too.  Score 1(hundred plus) for Home Depot.

While the kids napped, TG headed outside to clean up the area we call a back yard. It's kind of shameful because we keep our front ("yard") patch fairly nice and well the back yard not so much. On either side of us the neighbors boast lush green grass and ours is mostly brown. It was also filled with a random assortment of kid things and two grills. One of which was broken and sinking into the mud. TG did a lot of hard work organizing and cleaning before we tackled our little garden.

The raised bed advertisement was right. Assembly was easy - just snap the cedar planks and corner pieces together - and (almost) tool free!




Little man was all about tool time.  Sassy was too busy playing pretend to help.

Taking our order for food. "What would you like ma'am?" (Can you tell it had gotten windy by then???)

And catchin' some rays.


Cam was for serious about our work. Especially when Daddy broke out the big tools.

After all the hard labor was done Riley wanted in on the action.  Then a fight broke out over the rake and they were banished to the hill to play.


While TG and I planted our crop.


We started off slow this year with three strawberry, two basil, a chocolate mint, a cucumber, two zucchini, and two cherry tomato plants.  We've already had some unwanted visitors eating our strawberries so we're looking into protection options now.  Can you tell we're new to this?  Still we're optimistically excited for our first harvest and if we can do this, you can too!

Down The Shore and Over The Ocean

We left Chincoteague and our lovely bayside rental early on Thursday morning. It was a bittersweet goodbye because we were sad to leave, but excited to head to Gigi and Papa's house.

Riley and Camden love their Gigi, Papa and Lolo. In the car on the way there Riley said, "When we get there I am going to run up to my Gigi and give her the biggest hugs ever."  As usual Cam played shy guy at first, but after about 2.2 seconds he was all about them.

Gigi and Papa's house is quite a bit larger than ours and Riley and Camden love having all the extra space to run and explore. This visit watching the birds at the new bird feeder in the front yard became a favorite activity. Camden would stand there watching the birds and every time a blackbird came in he would yell "GET! OUTTA! DERE! BIRDS!" at them.


On Thursday night TG and I snuck away to see Hunger Games.  Friday we visited the renovated children's museum and on Saturday morning before we left for home Gigi made a delicious Easter brunch for us. Brunch is my favorite meal and Gigi's cooking never disappoints.

After our bellies were full we convinced the kiddos to pose for some much needed family photos.




It was a quick visit, but it was so worth the detour down the shore and over the ocean.  We love you!

Assateague Beach

After our quick stop at the lighthouse we continued on to the beach.

My children are very lucky. They have been able to put their little piggies in the ocean at lots of different beaches in their short lives.

They know just what to do when they see an ocean. Riley ran down the beach and wasted no time getting ankle deep in the chilly water.

Camden was right behind her.   The first evening we were there we headed straight to the beach in hopes of seeing the wild ponies.  We didn't see any ponies, but we did learn that Camden thought he was there to swim.  He sat down and rolled around fully clothed and soaked himself.  This time we put him in his swimsuit and packed a change of clothes.  Business on top, party on the bottom.

I didn't forget to take a picture with their names in the sand. Riley was a willing photo participant.

Cam was too busy enjoying himself to pose, but I love this picture anyway.

While I was taking Cam's picture Riley came running up to me and said she had something special to show me. She made me close my eyes and led me over to this. She had written my name in the sand.

She took that photo of my name and then begged me to take "jus' one more pictures with your big camera please Mom?"   TG and I rarely take pictures together and we thought she did a pretty good job, even if we had to squish down a little.

It was a beautiful day. Camden was so happy to play with the "WAH-TER!".

While Riley played in the sand and dug a hole big enough for her to sit in.

Eventually Camden sat all the way down in the water and got his sweatshirt soaking wet. He was not happy about us putting the nix on his water fun, but flying his "INA-MAN!" kite with Daddy helped.

After a yummy picnic lunch (pretzel sliders, WHAT?), we reluctantly packed up and headed for home.  On the way out we kept our eyes on the marsh in search of ponies and we weren't disappointed.
And by "we" I mean, "I" since no one else was as excited as I was about finally spotting the wild ponies. If only aunt Tata had been there.

Little Red Corvette

The last day of our vacation was gorgeous.

There was not a cloud in the perfectly blue sky, a warm breeze was blowing and there was lots of sunshine. We spent the morning playing at the park where the ponies make their yearly swim from Assateague Island.  There was an awesome view of the marsh and the lighthouse as well as playground equipment, basketball courts, tennis courts, a baseball diamond and a skate park.

After the babies were sufficiently worn out, we hopped in the car and trekked back around the Eastern side of the island to feed some apples to the ponies we visited on our first day.  After that we were on our way to find lunch when I asked TG to make a quick stop at a gift shop so I could find some souvenirs.  There were a bunch of electric cars lined up outside the store and TG was intrigued enough to inquire about how much the rental fee was.

We didn't get one at that particular place, but in the end we couldn't resist the low price and the promise of an hour of fun in the sun.


This thing was awesome.  It's basically a two seater (with seat belts and a helmet for the kids) scooter.   TG and I switched off and gave Riley and Camden turns as we cruised around the island.


We all agreed it was one of our favorite parts of the trip, but Riley really loved it.  She suggested that we trade in "Daddy's Black Car" aka my collegiate years Pontiac Sunfire and get one of these cars instead.  With the ridiculous gas prices these days I'm thinking a tiny car or moped might not be a bad idea.  Just have to get TG one of these first...

Assateague Lighthouse

The beach on Assateague Island is part of a large wildlife refuge with walking trails , scenic stops, Tom's Cove and the Assateague Lighthouse.

On our way to the beach we stopped to check it out.  It was a quick walk up to the lighthouse from the road below.


My handsome hubs could not be convinced to pretend like he was lifting the lighthouse up on his shoulders, but he compromised and gave me an adorable smile.

We stopped at the top for our only group shot of the trip - no tripod, just my self timer and a fence post. :)

We were sad to discover that the lighthouse was closed, especially since there were no signs at the bottom notifying us of that. Some of us were sadder than others, ahem Riley. She had her little heart set on going to the top.  She (barely) agreed to let me take her picture in front of it anyway and that was only after we promised her Gigi and Papa would take her in a lighthouse at the Outer Banks this summer.