Happy 2nd Birthday, Cameron!

It actually happened.  Cameron Nicole turned 2 on Friday.  Two!  She was all smiles from the moment she woke up.  When she came downstairs, she saw decorations hanging from the ceiling and balloons everywhere.  The theme for the day was "Things that Make Cami Smile."  I think it was a big success. 

This sweet sugar slept until after 9am on her big day.  After she got up, I asked her if she would like to go get donuts, which got a big "yes!"

Several sprinkle donuts later, this kid was loving life even more.  We played while the big kids were at school and then she took a nap.  When she woke up, Bubba and Lila were home and we were ready to go meet some friends at the park.

It was an unusually beautiful day in January.  The sun was shining so brightly and the kids were ready to play outside.

Madison, Finley, Brooklynn, Cowen, Corbett and Dylan all met us at the park.  Feeding the birds and ducks was the first thing on the Birthday Girls' list.



She stood right near the edge and hollered at the seagulls to come closer.  "Come here Seagulls!"

We had a few ducks come over our way, but they must have recently been fed.

Thank goodness the seagulls were hungry, though!

 

One very happy little chickadee.

Even though this was an impromptu park celebration, her sweet friends still brought her birthday presents.

This water bottle from Finley and Brooklynn was at the top of her list!  Just ask her and she'll tell you--"Mine water bottle."



After gift time, Cami was monkeying around on everything.

Smiling from ear to ear--I love it.

After the park, we kept the party going and headed to Braum's for some ice cream--another Cami favorite.  Yep, I fed them ice cream at 5pm--before dinner.  Livin' large!

Dylan came for ice cream, too, and after a few minutes decided that he really needed to be near the birthday girl.  He shimmied over in the booth and started to go in for a hug. 
Needless to say, she was not impressed!

Unrequited love.

She kept saying, "No Dylan. Dop (stop) Dylan.  Go way, Dylan."  This may have been the only time she wasn't smiling, but the rest of us were dying laughing. 

She was still talking about Dylan during dinner, too, and told her daddy how Bubba made him stop.  He's such a good big brother.  We ate hot dogs, mac and cheese, bake beans, and fruit in honor of this little gal.  So easy:)

Then we lit her candles, sang Happy Birthday to you!, and watched as she blew out her candles like a pro.

 

Still smiling--such a great day so far, and the fun wasn't over yet.  Next up--presents!

Before she opened her gifts from us, the kids played with the balloons.  This kid loves some good balloon fun.



Since she'd been talking all about her "hoccer game," we got her a pink soccer ball, shin guards and pink soccer socks. 

Then we set up the goal.  She placed the ball and promptly kicked it into the net.  Goal!!!

Being two is pretty darn cool.

But it's also really exhausting.  She partied hard all day. 
Happy Birthday, Cameron! We couldn't love you any more.

College Week

As much as dress-up days can be a beating, this week wasn't too bad.  The kids had fun dressing up each day for the different themes and I'd like to think that four years into elementary school, I'm finally getting the hang of it! 

 

Step one: read the school emails. 

Step two: print out the dress-up calendar, highlight important info and put on bulletin board. 

Step three: lay out clothes the night before.

 

Great success! 

 

Day one was wear your school colors--Hunt Hounds shirts.  Easy!

Day Two was Dream Big - wear comfy jammies.  Easy!

 

Day Three was wear the colors of the high school you will attend.  Since we don't have any Plano East gear yet, we broke out a relic--Uncle Scott's GHS football shirt!  Jared's mom had it made for Scott to wear to the Garland Owl football games so that he could support his big brother.  Lila just went with a cute outfit that had mostly Owl colors!
 

#20 in the program, #1 in our hearts!  Love it.  J said that teachers asked him about it all day at school.  The greatness was noticed for sure.

Day Four was Career Day--my favorite!  Jackson is really into football right now and feels as though the Cowboys might be calling sometime soon.  After all, they are in desperate need of a good quarterback.  He went as a Cowboys football player and Lila went as a pediatrician.

She had a blast at school...

and was even kind enough to give her classmates a free check-up!

Her sweet friend Charlotte went as a firefighter, and her cool teacher went as a Hunter's wife. 
So creative!

 

I was able to see Doc Hays in action because I finally made it back to school to work in Big Centers.  This kid was so happy.  She makes me glad that I chose "Mom" as my career!

 

And finally, day five - College Day!  Lila went with Wake Forest, so Jackson went with the Longhorns.  I know that he really wanted to wear his new Wake shirt that we bought in NC, but he was afraid of hurting my feelings.  Sweet boy!  I'll take the UT love any way I can get it.

Last day of being 1

How in the world?  My, how time flies.  Yes, I know.  So cliché.  But also, so true.  My baby--yes, my baby is turning two years old tomorrow.  TWO!!!  Oh my.  Tears come to my eyes as I think about that.  She is everything we needed and the best possible little human to round out our family.  God knew what he was doing when he created her for us.

 

This sweet sugar pie picked out her clothes today, including her socks and shoes.  She even made sure we put in a bow.  Wouldn't want anyone at Party City to think she was a slacker, now. 

After she approved of her attire, she asked me to take her picture outside.  She knows the value of natural light--genius baby!  Oops.  Genius toddler.  See, it's happening too fast--baby to toddler shouldn't go at warp speed.

Cameron Nicole, you have the most kissable cheeks and melt our hearts when you say "I love you Mama or I love you Dada."  There is nothing sweeter on God's green earth than hearing that from your child as they wrap their arms around your neck to give you a hug and kiss. 

God has big plans for you, my precious girl.  You are funny.  Really funny.  You love with your whole being.  You run to meet Lila at the bus stop every day, giving her the biggest hug.  You ask to give your brother a hug and kiss every night before bed and never forget to tell him goodnight and "I love you Bubba."  You are smart.  So smart.  You are athletic and would join a soccer team today if they had one for your age!  You long for the day that everyone cheers for you.  In fact, this week you started telling me about your soccer game.  You say, "Go Cami, go!  Hooray Cami!" and have the biggest smile on your face as we all cheer for your pretend game.

I am totally smitten by every single part of you, Miss Cameron, from your curly hair to your infectious laugh.  Thank you for still letting me rock you to sleep and for being a mama's girl. 
I can't wait to see you blossom into a little lady, but please, let that take a long time.

Happy Birthday, Gigi!

Even though the holidays are over, the party is still going around here!  It's Gigi's birthday this week, along with Cameron's, too.  Rest assured, we are consuming plenty of cake!

After church on Sunday, these two little Betty Crockers-in-training helped bake Gigi's chocolate coke cake.  They took turns pouring in the different ingredients and made sure no one got to stir more than the other.  Then came their favorite part (and who are we kidding, mine too!)...

 

 

time to test out the batter!  After they were done with their spoons they started scooping it out with their fingers.

 

And the younger baker may have even tried to lick the batter straight out of the bowl with her tongue.  The main-most baker had to put the kabosh on that plan. 

We decided to celebrate early this year because Jackson had hitting practice for baseball on her actual birthday.  We went to Outback and then back to her house for cake and presents.

 

Maddie and Lila were so excited to try their cake, and Jackson and Cameron were, too!

 

On Gigi's special day we made a spur-of-the-moment plan to go bowling before J's practice. 
I'm so glad that we did--it was really fun.  Jackson showed us that he really doesn't need the bumpers any more, and even threw a few strikes!

And after watching for a few rounds, Cami got in on the action, too.  She loved getting to bowl.

Believe it or not, she got a strike, too!  Go Cami, go!

Happy Birthday, Gigi.  You are so very loved!

What Girls Like

We are pretty sports-centered in our house, but never fear, there is plenty of girliness too! 

So what do girls like to do?  They love to dress up!

Cami styled herself the other day--I chose the outfit, but then she accessorized with non-matching socks, too pink-shoes, and then added a bracelet and sunglasses.  Too funny!  I took her to Gigi's to play...but that's as far as we got with her looking like this.

Girls also like to look cute for dance class.  Mandy and I bought these dance outfits for the girls for Christmas.  Glittery sparkles.  I love it.

Girls also like dates with cute boys!  Cami and Nash were the cutest ever at dinner on Friday night.  They held hands and then danced to the music together.  So adorable, we could hardly stand it.

And finally, after playing a tough soccer game, the girl on the left loves getting her hair, make-up and nails done for a friend's birthday party.  It was a fun weekend, full of all our favorite things.

Sip and See for Mandy

We started things off right for 2016 with a party welcoming the newest addition to the Shubzda family.  They had their third baby a few days after Thanksgiving and everyone was overjoyed to find out it was a boy!  Mandy and Tim already have two precious girls, so they were due for a boy this time.

Lindsey and I hosted a Sip and See for everyone to come meet Baby Matthew.

We let the big girls come, too, and Lila was thrilled to see sweet baby Matthew again.

He is such a handsome little guy!

We rounded up the girls before they went wild and ran outside.  So many people think that it's only little boys who are crazy, but these girlies can be just as nutty as any boys I know!  They had a blast running and swinging and jumping outside.

Since the shower was mid-afternoon, we served fruit, hot appetizers and some yummy dips.  I simply had to find some good dessert, too, and finally succeeded with these cupcakes.  Who knew so many bakeries closed down way after the holidays?!  Not me.



Lindsey found some cute décor, too, including these signs and pretty hydrangeas.

We also decorated with framed pics of the precious newborn and a few boy onesies. 
Simple, but cute, was our goal:)

Four of the Yayas were there, including Shelley, Barb and my mom.  Matthew liked them immediately.

Our Garland roots run deep!  Mandy, Chrissie and I went to GHS, along with Taylor, who was also there.  DeLayne went to Naaman HS, and Hillary and Courtney went to Rowlett HS.  G-town!



While the big girls chatted, the little girls made time to sign Matthew's frame.  Maddie wrote, "Baby Matthew, you are such a handsome little boy."  I hope it's a treasure for years to come for Mandy and Tim.



Mandy opened her gifts and liked the black outfit I got Matthew. 
It says, "I Like Girls with Big Bows."  Perfect for him, I thought!

All the Yayas and their girls.  It's always so fun seeing this group.

Before the party was over, Lila and Madison got to hold Matthew.  Lila was in heaven.

What a great group of ladies.  We so enjoyed welcoming Baby Matthew into the crazy chaos of our group.  Love y'all, Shubzda family!