My little artist

Camryn has been bringing lots of art home lately, and more and more often her drawings are becoming identifiable!

This is especially exciting since we are used to saying, "Wow! Tell me about this!" in order to glean enough information to figure out what to comment on. :)

This week she brought me the perfect image of a ladybug on a rose, complete with leaves, and all. Can you see it???

Self Esteem

Camryn: Look Mom and Dad! It looks like I'm crying, but I'm not! My eyes are just watering!

Mom: Why are your eyes watering?

Camryn: I don't know. Maybe I just look too good!

The Pumpkin Patch '09!

While they were here, Mimi and Papa got to join us on a trip to the pumpkin patch. It was a beautiful, crisp, fall afternoon, and and the girls had a great time choosing their pumpkins, running through the hay maze, and even getting their faces painted. Camryn was a little wiped out after working so hard at basketball AND skipping rest time, but overall a good time was had. Aubrey especially loved the hay wagon/tractor ride and kept yelling, "Choo-choo tain!" (We just went with it...)

It is really tough to get these two to sit still and look at the same camera! Much harder than you might think...

So tall!

The hay ride out to "the patch"

Silly Aubs! :)

Sweet girl :)

Picking pumpkins with "Meems" and "Pops"

How about this one, Mom?

This one was before she decided she was tired and cranky...

This one was after...

And so was this... Classic Camryn...

Afterward, a little face paint cheered her right up! :)

Our littlest pumpkin :)

Another busy weekend!

Mimi and Papa came to visit this weekend, and we had all sorts of fun activities planned! Mimi went to Gymboree class with Aubrey and I and watched her play with her little buddies. Aubrey was quite the show off, and especially enjoyed crawling through the tunnel and squealing, "Pee-boo!" :)

Peekaboo!!!

Parachute time

Brave girl!

Later that afternoon, Camryn had her first basketball practice, and Mimi and Papa got to sit in the stands and cheer. According to her father, "She wasn't even the worst one! She actually made a few baskets!" (Which is quite an accomplishment, as she tends to follow in my footsteps when it comes to athletics. Poor kid.) She had a blast though, and is excited to have a few friends on her team. We can't wait to see an actual game!

Coach Z explaining the basics. (Their hoop is set at just 6 feet.)

This. Is the ball. This. Is how you shoot the ball.

Good form? I'm not really sure...?

October fun

Our weekends so far this month have been spent together. Relaxing, having fun, and seeing family. Anything to get away from the insanity of the month of September in the household of two educators. Anything. Like:

Enjoying Saturday morning cartoons with Sister...

...doing a little rock climbing...

...but mostly just hanging around. :)

Haircut!

...And what a haircut it is! After many months of arguing, negotiating, and digging in of heels, Camryn finally allowed me to take her to Chelsea and get her cute little bob back. What, you ask, could have possibly changed her mind so certainly and so abruptly? Why, a brief remark by one of her 5 year old friends, of course, who happened to mention that sometime in the near future, she was thinking about cutting her own locks.

That was it. That's all it took. No more wrestling with tangles. No more stringy, lifeless hair begging to be put into braids, pigtails, or clips. No more gallons of conditioner. Just one comment. If I had known it would be that easy, I would have paid Taryn five bucks to say that about six months ago.

So the good news? I got Camryn into the stylist's chair (or pink hot-rod, as it were) without any tears, kicks, or gnashing of teeth. The bad news? Our beloved stylist misinterpreted my personal definition of "chin-length" to mean "earlobe length." Or, perhaps I wasn't clear enough? Either way, it turned out significantly shorter than Camryn or I intended. The best news? Though much shorter than we anticipated, it still looks darn cute on her, and it will certainly grow to the desired length quick enough.

My takeaway lesson of the day: Never underestimate the power of a child's peers. And always have a five dollar bill handy.

Classic Aubrey

I think this photo pretty much speaks for itself, but I'll give you a little background anyway.

First of all: Yes, I am aware that it appears that she is 19 months old, going on 19 years.

Second: On this particular afternoon, Aubrey was talking to her Mimi on the phone, and this photo was taken just before I asked her to give me the phone back, to which she promptly responded with an ear-piercing, "No, Mommy! Noooooooooooooo!" as she ran in the opposite direction from me.

Third: This is the outfit she chose for herself after completely and violently rejecting my selection for the day, which happened to be very cute, and very stylish, thankyouverymuch.

See what I mean? It's like she's a teenager in a tiny little body, which, as you can see by the t-shirt, she fully embraces.