"Cam-a-rooney"

"Cam-a-rooney" - That's his nick name, or sometimes it's just "Rooney." We have lots of fun with our newest little buddy. He's going on 10 months old now, with no teeth yet, but it sure doesn't stop him from eating!

He's also unstoppable around the house. If he's on the ground, he's crawling around, military style, finding anything and every thing, all over the house that he can try to eat. Luckily, Austin and Brooke are great at being the "choking hazard" patrol. If he's not crawling, he's cruising around in his walker and hanging out by Mommy's side. He follows me all over the house and is actually great at navigating in and out of doorways and making turns. He's a walker-pro. It's so cute to see him turn and look over his shoulder to back up. :-)

Austin and Brooke love to push him around in his walker, as well as play with his toys with him and read him books. Cameron tries to thank them by babbling away, but we have to take guesses at what he's trying to say. The only clear sounds are ba and da-da. The rest of his talking is true baby talk, it sure is cute to hear him go on and on though. He will mimic the sounds we make a lot and the kids love it. He cracks us up and is happy almost all the time.

Cameron has had his first boat rides this week. He fell asleep while we were out today, just like Austin and Brooke used to do as babies. He also had his first trip to the pool this week. It's in the genes I guess, because he loves the water, just like the rest of us!

just for kicks . . .

Austin and Brooke just finished up a fun soccer season. They had a good time playing ... And a great time admiring their trophies when it ended!

Graduation Day!

Ya hoo!!

Brooke is officially a kindergartner! Well, she's officially graduated from pre-school, that's about the same, right? We had fun celebrating her graduation. Austin even got to skip school in the morning to attend the cap & gown ceremony.

Brooke has come such a long way this school year! She has really blossomed socially the past few months. She flourished with this class and these teachers. I can only hope she loves kindergarten as much as she loved her class this year. She sure has grown up into a sweet, smart, funny little girl!

And so it begins . . .

I figured it was about time I got a blog going. I have certainly enjoyed so many other blogs of family and friends. In this busy, busy world, it's a great way to keep in touch. So, I'm joining the band wagon!

This week marks a milestone as far as I'm concerned. Brooke graduates from pre-school. . . can that really be? It feels so impossible to me, even more so than when Austin started kindergarten. I can't believe how quick they grow up.(in age, not necessarily size in this case. :-) Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time and hold onto them a little bit longer. Brooke is so excited though, about her graduation and about kindergarten. Considering how she felt about school a year ago, that is great news!

Austin is finishing 1st grade in a couple of weeks. He is doing fabulous. I am often baffled by the rave reviews I get from his teacher. Is that the same boy that hangs out with us at home??? Seriously though, he is such a good boy that always tries hard to make good choices. He is a bright one too! Austin recently tested into the "Discovery" program in our school district. He passed the 5th grade level reading comprehension test, and was excited to tell me about "how easy it was". He's really humble . . . well, not really, but at least he's confident! He cracks us up. Today was Austin's first swim meet of the 2008 summer season. He was very excited about that and did a great job. He won 1st place in his heat for backstroke and was thrilled to bring home that ribbon. He enjoys swim team quite a bit, it seems to be his sport of choice. Which is great!

We were fortunate enough to have Rob and Shannon at the swim meet today. It was great to spend a little time hanging with them and fabulous to have them there to cheer Austin on, especially since John was out of town. As an added bonus for Brooke, she got to ride around on uncle Rob's shoulders a good portion of the morning, which she loved. (sorry if you have a sore neck Rob!) She adores him! But hey, what's not to love?

With Brooke playing with Rob & Shannon, my hands were free to hold onto Cameron and help Austin, which was very helpful. Cameron is at a fun, fun stage, but also a difficult one. He is crawling, so he loves to be down on the ground exploring. That isn't such a great thing to do outside, in the grass and dirt, since he needs to know what EVERYTHING tastes like! If he can fit it in his mouth, he'll eat it, so we have to watch him carefully. He is so happy and funny though. We all just love him to pieces. He's such a part of this family, whatever did we do without him??