First Day of 1st Grade!

Brett officially became a 1st grader on September 8th and so far the year is off to a great start! We all really like his teacher, Mrs. Weid, and Brett has been enjoying his new class. And the best part? Carolyn is in his class and sits right next to him, AND their lockers are next to each other! The Klinks are good friends of ours and we get together often, so knowing Carolyn was going to be in his class really helped ease Brett's nerves about the first day.  Thank goodness for friends! :-) Brett had a few rough mornings the first couple weeks of school due to anxiety and adjusting to early mornings again...but this week is going much smoother and we are very proud of our boy! 

Both boys were all smiles on the first day!

We ran into Carolyn as soon we got to the parking lot!

Love this picture of these two next to their lockers :-)

And here is Brett in his classroom, all ready to learn! 

Camden!

So, sitting here tonight, it dawned on me....I never took Camden's 10 month pictures! I have really been out of sorts living in this rental house and am more than ready to be settled again in a real home that is ours. And unfortunately, some of the details in life have been put on hold...like Camden's monthly photo shoot! So, since in less than 2 weeks he will be 11 months old, I figured that's a good excuse to just nix the 'formal' 10 month shoot, and just post some fun ones I've captured lately of our adorable little guy :-) 

Just checking things out :-) Love how his little butt is in the air!

One of Camden's favorite spots in our rental? Looking out the front window that his height!

Hello!

Emma loves Camden! This picture just melts my heart.

Camden now sits in a booster seat at the table with us for dinner, and the shenanigans between these two is priceless! Let's just say there is a lot of laughter that goes on...and I love it!! 

Checking out one of Brett's TV shows....I couldn't resist his cuteness as he looked up!

My cup runneth over...I am so in love!

Camden is pulling up on everything these days...and had a quite a fun time practicing his new skill at the library one day (while attempting to pull every book off the bookshelf of course).

My mom and I went to 12 Oaks last week, and before we left, we stopped at the play area to let Camden get some energy out. He sat down for a short moment, taking everything in...and then was off! Unfortunately, he is now suffering the consequences of putting his mouth on everything....poor little guy has his first bad cold :-( 

Did I mention that he is into everything these days? He is so proud :-)

Kyle made the mistake of leaving his electric guitar out one day...Camden was jamming!

Playing the guitar together is now a favorite past time :-)

I'm going to save most updates for his 11 month photo shoot....but I will say this. I can't get over how much more of young toddler Camden has turned into this past month. Of course, he is still my baby....but he is just interacting in more of a little person way verses a baby. He loves to mimic us and seems to be learning new skills almost daily...like throwing a ball and playing "catch", climbing stairs, and cruising. He brings our family so much joy and laughter and I could never put into words just how fortunate we feel to have him in our lives! We love you, Camden James!!

The Toledo Zoo and Aquarium!

All summer long, Brett had been asking to go to the Toledo Zoo to visit the new Aquarium...and all summer long we had been been putting it off because our weekends were filled. Then, finally, a couple weeks ago we had a free Saturday so off to the zoo we went!! 

Our first stop? The Aquarium! 

Brett was all smiles...

..while Camden had the look of utter amazement and awe the whole time! 

Being able to touch some of the sea life was our favorite part...

...especially the friendly Sting Rays!

The huge aquariums were pretty cool too!

After the aquarium, we were off to visit the rest of the animals at the zoo!

We always love the penguins :-)

This was seriously the largest spider I had ever seen....at least a foot long!

Along the way, Brett turned into a snake....ssssssssss!

Quick photo opp!

Kyle and Brett had fun watching some hippos through these little windows.

Elephants are so fascinating to me...definitely one of my most favorite animals!

Camden stayed awake the whole 4 hours we were there...but passed out on the walk back to the car. Not much is more precious than a sleeping baby!

We love the zoo and look forward to going back next year!