Watercolors

Got the watercolors out on Saturday for a bit of painting fun.



Camden was very careful not to mix paint and to clean her brush out between each color change.

For about 15 minutes.  By the end of the session, every color in the paint tray was a shade of grey.  She created three nice colorful pictures, though.  And enjoyed every minute.

Camden's Beauty Shop

When she does her own nails...

Pirate Crew

A few weeks ago, when Kevin picked Camden up from daycare, he went to the gym to find her in the corner surrounded by a bunch of other kids.  My first thought was she was getting picked on, until he said that she burst out from the center, ran across the gym toward him with one eye closed and eyebrow cocked, shouting, "Arrrggghhh, matey."   She was being a pirate.  And apparantly she is captain of the pirate crew. 

Yesterday, her teacher (Mrs. Debi) told me that Camden asked her for a pirate hat.  Mrs. Debi found some blankets in the gym toy storage and decked the crew out in hats.  Thankfully she took a picture on her phone and sent it to me.  Thrilled to hear stories of her using her imagination...and leadership.

Recycling Assistant

Kevin and I are addicted to Diet Coke/Pepsi/Dr. Pepper/etc.  We have started buying a lot of cans of soda to take to work to save a little money on our daily habit.  All of this means many, many aluminum cans.  We realized we needed to start recycling more faithfully.  We just bought a can crusher this weekend, so in the meantime, a big garbage barrel had amassed the cans.  Sunday was time to start crushing them down.  Camden was a huge help to Kevin in making a big dent in the pile.

Dance!

On our visit to New Jersey at the end of October, a couple of UrbanPromise interns watched Camden, Rimere and Salim while Elizabeth and I went to Pam's party.  They had a dance party while we were away.  One of the babysitters took a video of Camden doing her thing and copying the other babysitter's (Aunjel) dance moves.  Rimere makes a great cameo appearance as well.  I'm working with Aunjel on a project for UP and she remembered she hadn't sent me the video.  Here it is:



So much energy!  And such great moves!



Picasso in Training

While in Terre Haute, we stopped at Gander Mountain.  Camden saw a painting kit that had some butterflies in it and she had to have it!  Too bad it was $20.  I told her we'd pick up something later (thinking some cheaper craft at Walmart).  Long story short...I forgot!  So Saturday evening (sans nap) we had a meltdown about paint. 

After church on Sunday morning, I ran into the dollar store and, thankfully, found a $1 suncatcher paint craft that had a butterfly on it.  Crisis solved.  And talent discovered....well, discovered that Camden had patience and enough skill to complete an entire craft project.  She did all the work herself, besides me cleaning up in the small crevices. 

The paint was thick and gooey (she called the yellow paint, "honey" which was an accurate analogy).  This was to give it a stained-glass look.  I'm not sure if it made it easier or harder, but she was successful none-the-less.

Love that shot!

She is so careful and focused.

Can't see a thing about the painting in this picture, but I loved her expression!

Ahhh...final product:

We actually hung it in our kitchen window (but dishes weren't done, so no picture at it's final spot).

Cheeseburger in Paradise

A trip to Terre Haute on Saturday with a brief visit to THCM (aka, "the dinosaur museum") and some shopping.  For lunch, we choose Cheeseburger in Paradise.  I have only eaten here about 3 times, but have never been disappointed with the food.  I just had a turkey burger patty and broccoli and it was still fantastic.  Gotta love a place like that!



Look at those long legs!  Camden was still under the weather a bit (you can see it in her eyes), but felt well enough to get out of the house.  We enjoyed being out with our silly little one.

Camping In

Camden had to come home early from daycare because she had a fever.  She was simply feeling crummy, so we picked up a few videos to watch before heading home.  We knew we'd be housebound for a day or two.  After dinner (applesauce and a few crackers was all she wanted), we got her small video player out.  Kevin also suggested she might enjoy her tent.  That was a "great idea" to her.  She and Max spent a good amount of time in it watching, "The Incredibles".  

 Max liked it so much we had to move it to her bedroom for the night, otherwise we had a kitten attacking a tent and trying to claw his way up the sides.

 First thing this morning she asked for it again and it's back in the living room for her to enjoy relaxing in today.  Good news, MUCH lower temperature this morning. 

Sunday Afternoon Nap, Part II

Snowball Fight

After a few minutes of sliding, it was time for a snowball fight with Daddy.  Camden takes aim!

And runs quickly when Kevin gets a handful.

Together they gather snow off the picnic table.

She enjoys tossing it in the air.  Wheeee!

Until Daddy points out that she could also get me!

Snow Sliding

Kevin had to get something out of the shed on Sunday afternoon, so Camden thought it was a perfect opportunity to put on her boots and go outside for some fun in the light layer of snow.



She watched Daddy for a few minutes then realized that her park needed some attention.  First, she cleared the deck with her mittens.

And, of course, while she was up there, decided she needed to give it a go - snow or no snow.

And back up for round two!

Shaving Cream Painting

We pick up Camden early from school on Thursday's so she can go to dance class.  When I showed up yesterday, they were in the middle of "painting" on the table with shaving cream.  I happened to have my camera with me and snapped a few pictures. 

I pointed the camera at these three girls and they all immediately said, "cheeeeeesssssse." 

Camden knew we had to get going so she got to the sink to wash her hands.  I found it just so adorable to watch her wet her hands, get soap, and scrub off the shaving cream.  I guess being so biased makes even the most routine task something to love.  She's a keeper!

Family Project

Camden had a "homework assignment" from her teacher at daycare.  They are talking about families this month and Camden needed to make a family banner.  She got to select the color of paper that she wanted from school and her only requirement was that our handprints had to be on it.  We could include anyone that was part of our family in the banner.  I planned to put some pictures of our extended family around our hands, but then when I traced Kevin's HUGE hand I knew it was not going to be possible.  So we concentrated on our immediate family.  Inside each of our hands are images of things that we like/describe us. I like how it turned out!



And yes, I did put Max's paw on the paper and trace around it.  I then drew the circles to represent his paw pads.

Happy 21st, Amanda!

GaGa had us over for dinner last week to celebrate Amanda's 21st birthday.  She fixed some of Amanda's favorites - chicken and noodles and mashed potatoes.  They are also some of Camden's favorites!

The cream cheese frosting on the homemade cinnamon rolls (Amanda's birthday cake) would also rank up at the top of Camden's favorite list - especially when licked off the bottom of the candles.

After dinner, time was spent playing with cousins and having a tea party with GaGa.

Camden has become quite the pro at spinning jacks, too.  She tries to show Hali how to do it.

It was a very nice celebration.  Happy 21st!