End of Summer

As the summer draws to a close (although the heat seems to linger), I wanted to make a short pots of all the fun we have had these last few weeks.

We just got back from a great trip to see my Meme in Alabama, and a trip with Jared's parents to Destin, FL. We It was so great for Camden to get to see his great Meme in Alabama. She took him to the explorium in downtown Mobile, and she also had a birthday cake for Jared while we were there. It was filled with good southern food and of course, Krispy Kreme.

Jared's parents picked us up in Mobile and drove us the rest of the way to Destin. It was a long journey to get there, but it was a really nice condo and we had a great time with them. We got our share of beach time and pool time where Camden could show off everything he has been learning in swim lessons!

We took 4 total weeks of swim lessons this summer. It was totally worth it and he love being in the water now. Here are some shots from the lessons.

 Camden loved all the songs and splashing in the pool. I think he has learned the wheels on the bus bc of singing it everyday at the pool!

 His favorite part of the lessons was jumping off the side. Pretty much the entire lesson he would struggle to get back to the edge of the pool to jump again. By the end of the 4 weeks, he was jumping unassisted in to the water and going under water. Then with my help, doggie paddling back to the side of the pool. :)

 Ignore my ridiculous face!

Our good friend Kimberly and her daughter Amelia. Camden's BFF for sure. He only says her name 5 times a day looking for her! :)

On a total side note, this summer has been filled with challenges as well with Camden growing up and becoming an individual....A toddler!!! Dun, Dun, Dun! We have had our fair share of ridiculous tantrums (one complete with me getting a huge bite mark on my arm that bruised and looked like I had the worst hickey ever!! Haha!), but Camden has really started to settle in to our routines, understand his choices, and understand mom and dad better. We also have a lot of new words, now, and he even is starting to sing along to some songs (on pitch!!).

Well, hope you enjoyed the update! I will try not to wait as long next time between posts!

Basketball

The school park across the street was open yesterday, and we had some fun with a mini basketball that another kid at the park was letting us play with. Camden got his first slam dunk! He was so happy going up to the basket!



We had such a nice visit with my parents last week, too. We went to the Hollywood Bowl, a screening of The Amazing Spider-Man at Sony, ate lunch on the Sony lot, and also got to go see Brave. It was so nice to see Camden starting to recognize both of our parents and he definitely started to form bonds with them this time. I am so grateful they could come help us out this week! Thanks Nana and Pop Pop! You were a huge blessing to us this last week!! Miss you!

Fruit and Veg

Here is a link I found on another blog I read that has some interesting info on food digestion. I've always wondered why sometimes it's harder for me to digest certain fruits and vegetables. Hopefully this will be a good jumping off point in figuring out better food combinations for easier digestion.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/444046-should-fruits-vegetables-be-mixed-together/

We have also started making smoothies with different combos of fruits and veggies for Camden. Sometimes I sneak in my own while making his. He is obsessed with smoothies. I can get him to eat so many greens and vegetables in a smoothie bc he will drink 3 cups full! Another tip I learned is to drink them alone within an hour of eating anything else to absorb all the nutrients.

Any other good fruit/veg tips out there?

dancing and playing the piano

Here are a couple recent videos of Camden. The first one is at my friend Kimberly's house. Her daughter frequently has little dance parties and requests a song to be played on the computer. This one happened to be Fun and Camden was way more into it than Amelia was this time. Usually she is the one dancing away! He had a pretty good groove going on so I had to post it!





This is a video of Camden playing the piano after I had it set up to practice for church. My mom always let us "doodle" on the piano when we were little and has all these cassette tapes of us playing, so I thought it would be fun to keep the tradition alive and let Camden do the same.

Lil Bro got married!

My little brother (not so little anymore) got married last Saturday and I couldn't be happier for him and Lauren! It was a beautiful wedding (outdoors in the hill country) and Jared, Camden, and I had a fun time seeing all our family while we were there. 

Here are some shots from the rehearsal dinner and wedding

 Me and the beautiful bride!

 My mom and her sister, Molly. We got to see her stunning new house in the hill country while we were there, too.

 Bride and Groom

 Me and Jare Bear

 Me and my Meme

 Me and Andrew at the wedding

 Me and Jared with his sister Jordan and Mark

We got to go back to Houston for 2 days post wedding and were able to get all the babies together for a  picture. This is the best we could do! Mason, Estelle, and Camden...toddlers...doing their own thing!

Old Easter Pics and A Bridal Shower

I just uploaded the pictures from our camera today and found some fun ones from Easter that I never posted.
We had a great day at church with friends and then had a little egg hunt with Camden in the front yard with our friend Casey.

 So excited to get more cars at Easter

 playing in the front yard!

Wanting to play ball with Casey!

This is just a silly photo from yesterday. He pulled out the basket in the living room with the blankets and thought it was really funny!

I also attended a bridal shower for a friend Saturday. She is actually from the town where Jared and I grew up and is marrying an old friend as well. Here are some shots from the party. 

Me and Jenn

We had such a fun weekend (our first one in a few months together as a family without Jared working Saturday). We had a BBQ for some friends and neighbors which was also really fun! Next weekend we are planning a little getaway with some friends in the mountains of Malibu. We are excited to get away from the city and our routine for a couple days and relax in nature and enjoy God's presence. Here is a great verse I read today from the desiring God blog that was super encouraging!

The Lord your God is in your midst,

a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.

Zephaniah 3:17

Sometimes I don't believe that the Lord wants to rejoice over me. I know we all struggle with our own guilt, fears and failures, but the fact is, He wants to rejoice over you in spite of these. He gave us great freedom through His son Jesus and I'm learning how to live in that place and learning to fear Him and not anything or anyone else. :)

Start of Summer

We are enjoying the start of summer here in LA! It's warming up a lot more and we have even been to the beach twice! We have been enjoying going to the school park across the street, too. 

We are full on running now! :)

Trying out the swing for the first time.

Baby sized picnic tables! Always wanting to take other people's snacks and water cups.