Uncle Matt, Aunt Amy, and SCOUT Visit!

The weekend after Camden's birthday, Matt, Amy, and their awesome dog Scout came to visit! The first night they were in town, my parent's babysat the boys so we could go out with Matt and Amy, sans kids! We first met up for drinks and appetizers, just the four of us, and then we joined some of Matt's best friends for an adventure called "The Escape Room". Basically, you all get locked in a room and then have to uncover different riddles and clues to find your way out. We had such a great time and I loved hanging out with such awesome people!

We escaped! (And I guess this is a pretty big deal because most do not!).

The next afternoon/evening we all hung out at my parent's house for a relaxing evening of good food, family time, and more presents for Camden! Brett had such a blast playing with Scout, and I now know, more than ever, that a dog of our own will be in our near future (springtime maybe?)!

My bro and I.

My dad is always so happy when we are all together!

Camden is obsessed with any kind of dip, so he dove right in to the chips and salsa!

I really wanted a few pictures of the boys with their awesome uncle, but since Brett was too busy with Scout, Camden went solo. And notice the chips in his hand (and mouth)?  I guess he was busy too! :-)

Love this picture of Brett as he played with his favorite dog!

Aunt Amy showed Brett how to do a few tricks with Scout...

.....And then it was his turn to turn to try! Go Brett, and Scout!

And lastly, here is a picture of Camden, all ready to open his gifts from his aunt and uncle and my parents. Do you think he had enough celebrations?! He sure is one lucky little boy who we all love very much!

After presents and dinner, we all went outside for a bonfire and S'mores! We sure had a great weekend hanging out with family and look forward to all being together again at Christmas time!

My baby is TWO!

Okay, so I'm not really sure what happened here or where the time went, but my baby is somehow TWO years old now!! The past two years have gone by in a flash, and it's hard to believe that the little baby we longed for for over 3 years, is now officially a toddler! Crazy, right?

Although Camden's official birthday is November 1st, we decided to spread the fun out and start celebrating the day his first gift arrived from Grandma and Grandpa Bingham!  As you can see from the pictures below, the Little People race track was a huge hit, and Kyle had lots of help putting it together :-)

The next day was the most fun of all because we had a small family birthday party full of presents, balloons, and cake! Camden was in his glory with all of the attention and loved every minute of his special day!

Brett was so proud to give Camden the gift he picked out all by himself...a fun piggy bank with big plastic coins! Brett actually had this toy when he was Cam's age and absolutely loved it, so it was quite fitting that he picked one out for his little brother to enjoy too! Oh, and see that adorable hedgehog sitting next to Camden? My mom just couldn't resist the cuteness when she spotted him at the Potting Shed, and I don't blame her! We love hedgehogs!

Celebrating with Yana, Papa, and Grandma Mo! 

Camden was so excited for cake, it was next to impossible to get him to eat any of his pizza! He kept saying 'Cake, cake, CAKE!!! Please, cake!" So stinking cute!

I had to light my little pumpkin candles to add to the festivities :-)

Waiting for cake!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you....

Yay for cake and tractors!!!

Kyle couldn't resist feeding him his first bite.

And then it was his turn to dig in!

After cake, it was time for the best part, presents!!!

Brett was always close by and such a great helper all night!

Camden is completely obsessed with cooking these days, so his big gift from us was a brand new kitchen! He also got some cute red dishes, a tea set, a coffee maker, and toaster to add to his culinary experience :-) And man, does he love that thing! He pretty much insists on making us "coffee" every day, and every time you ask him what he is cooking, he says "hotdogs!". We find that so funny because we rarely make actual hotdogs, and when we do, he isn't even a huge fan! 

A couple days later was Camden's actual birthday, so he got another gift (dot paint!) and enjoyed blowing out another candle and eating more cake! The cutest part? We must have re lit that damn candle at least 10 times for him to blow out over.... and over.... and over again. Watching the joy this simple task brought to his face was the highlight of the night!

Camden had his 2 year well visit last week and continues to thrive.....65th percentile for weight and 96th for height! He is talking up a storm these days and says the funniest things. For instance, sometimes when he makes a big mess, I'll look at him and say "Camden, did you do this?" and he instantly responds, "No, Brett did it!" with a huge grin on his face. Cracks me up every time! He has a tender heart and loves taking care of his little animals. When someone in the family is sad, he will give us a big kiss and then bring us a toy to make us feel better (so sweet!!). His favorite stuffed animal is Curious George and he often snuggles with him while he watches TV and when he is going to sleep. His favorite TV shows are Little People, Curious George, and Caillou. Although he says a ton of real words that we understand, he will often have full on conversations with us in baby talk, expressions and all. He is very animated and loves life! Him and Brett have the cutest morning ritual that I have to share too. Camden usually wakes up first, then toddles into Brett's room, yelling "Hi!, Hi, Hi!" over and over again until Brett finally wakes up and responds. Then Camden climbs in bed with him and they snuggle under the covers together! I mean, seriously, I don't think it gets any more precious than that. And now that Camden is just a little bit older, the two boys are really starting to play together more, which I just LOVE. They wrestle together, play hide and seek, build things, swing together, and Brett even invites Camden into his room sometimes to play legos with him. There really is nothing in the whole world that melts my heart more than seeing my two boys adore each other, and I love watching their bond grow and change as they both get older. And to think Camden is still only 2! Lots of adventures lie ahead for the two of them, I'm sure :-) Camden was clearly meant to be part of our family and we are so thankful he is all ours!!! He is proof to never give up on your dreams because he made ours come true (along with his big brother!). Happy 2nd birthday, sweet boy! We love you to the moon and back, forever and ever!

Halloween!

As much as I love fall, I've never been a big Halloween person. Even as a child, I was never super into dressing up, and mostly just did it for the candy! Brett's never been a huge fan of dressing up either, so like me, he mostly does it for the goodies and fun of trick or treating. We kind of missed out on Halloween last year because my brother and sister in law got married that day (my brother loves Halloween!), plus we had literally just moved into our house so the holiday went by without much celebrating. Brett was a little sad to miss out on all the fun, but that didn't last long once he realized our wonderful friends and neighbors on Howard street still had candy to pass out to Luke Skywalker once we returned :-) Fast forward to this year, and we were all excited to celebrate on the actual day, and Kyle's mom, Mary, even came to town for the festivities! 

A few days before Halloween, I joined Brett in his 2nd grade classroom for a celebration at school. The kids watched a Charlie Brown movie, did a Halloween craft, and had yummy treats to munch on. Brett is always SO HAPPY to have me in his classroom with him, and the look on his face when he first spots me is one of my most favorites because his whole face lights up! I treasure these special times together, just the two of us, and I know he does too.

After the movie, getting ready to start the craft!

Cathy couldn't make the party, so I took a few pictures of Carolyn for her :-) 

Workin' hard on his creepy spider!

And Ta-Da! Brett and the finished product :-)

Brett took me around his classroom to show me different things, including this Jack-O-Lantern that he made! Pretty cute, huh?

The boys were so excited when we went to get our mail one evening and noticed this bag on treats on our porch! They got BOO'D! Camden had fun pulling out all the goodies; chocolates, suckers, little flashlights, and glow in the dark eye balls (that you could freeze to put in your drinks!).

The boys also had fun making Halloween Luminarias that night!

High on sugar and life.

The weekend before Halloween, we decided it was finally time to carve pumpkins. There was only one minor setback....because of all the warm weather we had, Brett's pumpkin had turned to mush! Fortunately, Camden didn't mind sharing, so Brett was still able to carve a pumpkin and no meltdowns followed! 

Surprisingly, Camden didn't care to get into the action of carving, and was content to just work hard on his own creation....with markers!

Brett was quite proud of himself this year because he did all the carving himself!

How cute is this picture?! Camden and his little pumpkin :-)

Brett enjoyed looking at Grandma Mo's pictures after the carving was complete.

Love his concentration as he colors his pumpkin some more....

And these close ups!!!

Then finally the day came.....HALLOWEEN was here!!!  Kyle grilled up some brats and burgers for everyone to mow down on before trick or treating, and then we were off! Mary stayed back to finish eating and enjoy some down town, while my dad handed out candy and my mom walked around town with us :-) And guess what? Apparently we had no idea what "a lot" meant when we asked the neighbors how much candy we should buy....we ran out TWICE!!! 

Our family (with my dad photobombing in the background!). I still can't get over how cute Camden was in that lion costume!  

I mean, seriously. Does it get any cuter than this?!

Luke Skywalker was thrilled to run into his best bud, BB8 (aka Albert) while out on the town!

Zoey happily smiling for a picture with our cute little lion (who is looking away!)

Camden refused to get out of the wagon so he got star treatment :-)

Love this candid picture of Brett looking through his stash. 

Brett never lasts long trick or treating because he is so excited to get home and eat his candy! He did later tell me that he wished he had gone back out....but I surely don't mind, the less sugar in this house, the better! 

Camden was happy to share the non chocolate pieces!

Hamming it up for the camera....oh how I love these two!

Although this American celebration isn't one of my favorite holidays, it IS one of my favorite times of the year. Seeing the joy it brings my boys is priceless!