christmas eve crazies

    Despite his sinus infection ( diagnosed this morning at a walk-in clinic in Puyallup), Cooper still got excited about all the presents under the christmas tree. Pumpkin was just excited about the tree itself. The three of us (and Boo) had the house to ourselves for a few hours Christmas Eve. Everyone else went to the Christmas service at 1st Prez.

A Busy Sunday

Cooper on the first night of a virus that eventually led to spending Sunday morning at the Mary Bridge Hospital ER with a temperature of 104-degrees. He's okay now. But it was a little scary to see him shivering and so lethargic. His fever would come and go suddenly.

 In the meantime, Camden and her Grandpa got to build a snowman in the front yard.

Holiday Party in Camden's class

   

Camden had a holiday party in Kindergarten today and she got a special surprise when both her Mom and Dad showed up. They couldn't get into work because of the snow storm. In case you can't  tell, Camden's teacher, Ms. Stewart, is just about her most favorite person in the world.

    And a little bit below, a short video, starring Camden & good ole Emily Drum, that shows what happens when you give School-Agers too many cookies at one time.

Cooper stars in "Ring Them Bells"

    At church on Sunday, Alison, Camden and I looked up from our hymnals and were surprised to see Cooper on stage and ringing a bell for the Christmas pageant. Surprised because this was only our 2nd consecutive visit to First Pres. We can only imagine Cooper's reaction. He's dropped off for some Sunday pre-school playtime. He's happy because they have so many trains to play with and the next thing he knows he's performing for a hundred or so people in a huge church. Didn't faze him in the least. 

   (The picture was taken after his performance when kids Camden's age took over and did a fine job even without Camden who spent the rest of the service crying. Not because she was moved by the story of the baby Jesus but because she couldn't be one of the angels in the pageant).

Snow!

   Of course Camden and Cooper rushed outside this morning to check out the snow that fell overnight.  There wasn't enough snow to make a snowman or even a decent snowball but it's still a magical thing to see your home turned into a winter wonderland.

SNOW! Cooper has an AMAZING time sledding

Something New in the Tree This Year

   Do you see it? Our new decoration. Yes, pumpkins do have a place during the Christmas season. But Daddy doesn't think that "place" is in the tree.

A Sunday with Cooper

  After a Sunday morning service at Tacoma's Romanesque First Presbyterian Church, built in 1925, Camden had a playdate with good ole Emily Drum and Cooper went shopping with Mom. He got a "new" trike which he rode around the block 6 or 7 times at high speeds. Earlier  in the morning he stopped playing with trains for a moment and actually asked to have his photograph taken ...so here it is.

Camden's Kindergarten Report Card

       From Ms. Stewart:

       "Camden is a well-liked student, who's  a pleasure to have in class...While I'm instructing, Camden sits criss cross, hands in her lap and pays attention to each lesson...(She) is very artistic and loves to be creative. She is also very bright and I can count on her to help other students with their work...Camden enjoys reading group and is achieving above grade level."

Camden's Christmas Art: Elf & Reindeer

Camden made outlines of her foot and then used the shapes to form characters.

Many thanks to Mark for scanning the art.

A Visit with Santa

Today Camden & Cooper got some face time with the big man. He was hanging out at the Cannery in Sumner. Camden told Santa she's hoping to get some art supplies for Christmas. 

Cooper says he wants Geo-Trax.

Zoo Lights: Friday Night

Zoo Lights

Zoo Lights, pt 2

Trimming the Tree

   Happy Holidays!

More pictures from Thanksgiving

   There is some talk of Cooper getting a haircut. He's got the opposite of a mullet. All business in back. "Mother Nature's Child" on the sides and in front.

    Camden is wearing "spacers" on her lower jar. They are kind of like braces. After having two cavity-ransacked teeth pulled, she wears spacers to keep the other teeth from moving into the gaps... so her two adult teeth will have room to come in ...some time in 2012.

   She has to be careful about eating stuff like peanut butter which is fine for Cooper. That means more peanut butter for him.

Thanksgiving

     It's a Recession Thanksgiving. That means we can still feed stale bread to the ducks. A Depression Thanksgiving is when you use that bread to snare a duck for the holiday dinner.

We're not there. 

Yet.

And we don't plan to be

  It was a chilly afternoon at Point Defiance. The ducks, gulls and crows seemed especially hungry.

We were getting hungry too. And we got fed in a big way at Aunt Lansing's house.

  We are thankful for all that we have and, number one, is a loving family.

  

Mommy and Daddy's birthday

  Mommy and Daddy are both celebrating their birthdays today. They were both born on November 23rd. But not the same year. "Not even close," Mommy says. Daddy is 40-something. Mommy is 30-something.

As part of the celebration, Camden got to eat pizza for dinner. Yay! Pizza!

A Day at the Beach

This afternoon, Camden and Cooper went to Owens Beach to move sand and rocks from one part of the beach to another.

  This is strictly volunteer work. No one pays Camden and Cooper to shovel the beachfront. If you don't understand why they do it, don't worry. It's a generational thing.

Some recent shots of Camden and Cooper.

Cooper's John McCain costume

  Cooper falls asleep after a long night dressed in his John McCain costume. Pictured here is the infamous blue blanket and baba of 'Nilla Milk.

His big secret: he's wearing spiderman underpants some of the time.

Kindergarten School Picture

The Honeymoon is NOT over

Camden and Pumpkin Mumpkin remain as close as any 6 year old girl and 9 week old kitten can be.

Camden reads ( early November)

Camden surprised her Dad by reading TEN APPLES UP ON TOP to him. This is the first time she has ever read an entire book out loud. There are 75 different words in this book, one her Dad remembers reading around the same age.

On November 17th, Camden read GO DOGS GO outloud.

Halloween

While Cooper stayed home to hand out candy ( sometimes after sneaking a bite), Camden and her dad went trick or treating. She scored big time as a scary witch...but her dad wishes she got more almond joys

Camden's Birthday Party

Camden invited her friends from North Tacoma Montessori and Washington Hoyt Elementary to her sixth birthday party. Among them,  Kalari, Amber, William, Emilia, Emily, Mimi, Kate, Celia, Rita and her cousin Alessio. The kids wrapped each other in toilet paper in a game of "Mummy". After parading up and down the sidewalk, most of the kids sat down for a photo . Camden is a witch and her brother is "Super Cooper".

Welcome to the family, Pumpkin Mumpkin

       For Camden's 6th birthday, we bought her a flea-ridden kitten from  a mobile home in South Tacoma. 

   Camden decided to call her Pumpkin in honor of Halloween.

  Cooper decided to call her Pumpkin Mumpkin.

  We bathed her all night in Joy dishwashing liquid until we killed the fleas.

   She's a very social kitten, constantly on the prowl, looking for every opportunity to tackle our feet when we walk by.

  Her favorite toys are discarded socks.