Thanks to my Dad ... Lafawnduh Campbell. :). Spelled just that way, too! I'm not sure which middle name would go best, though -- Lafawnduh Tina Campbell? Lafawnduh Deb Campbell? Lafawnduh Dianamite Campbell?
In other news, Thomas managed to break our printer. Admittedly, we don't have a very good kid-safe place for it right now. I could move it up higher onto the desk, but I don't think it would be completely out reach even then. Anyway, Thomas managed to open the top of the printer and pull out some sort of transparent ribbon thing. It didn't look essential to printing (it wasn't located near the printer cartridges or electrical cables or anything), but the printer knows it's missing and it won't print. Fortunately, I have an older printer that still works, so we're using that for now, but I need to take the other printer in to get fixed because it reads our camera memory cards and prints out photos nicely. Hopefully it will be an easy fix!
Tomorrow the tree trimmers are coming to give haircuts to our 2 mulberries out front and to some trees overhanging our roof and carport, and also our apricot tree. I'm excited!! I'll admit that I'm mainly excited for the "free" entertainment that Jack and Thomas will have while watching the tree trimmers through our front window! And it will be nice to have the mulberries trimmed so we have more sunlight in the front yard -- it may end up being the best place to grow some of the fruits and vegetables that I'm planning for our spring/summer garden.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
The Name Game
So the BIG ultrasound is on Feb. 5th (Fat Tuesday) at 9AM. We're excited -- only a week and a half more to wait before we find out whether we're having a boy or a girl! But don't think we're sitting around on our behinds and waiting until then to start the search for the perfect name. Oh no, we've got a few great possibilities already picked out:
-Nathan Xavier Samuel Campbell (aka NXS Campbell, aka "In Excess Campbell" :))
-Helena (pronounced HELL-ena) Handbasket Campbell
-Tabitha Catherine Campbell (aka TabbiCat Campbell)
-Cameron (boy) or Camille (girl) Campbell -- Cam Campbell or Cami Campbell for short
As we think of more great names, I'll be sure to share them!
-Nathan Xavier Samuel Campbell (aka NXS Campbell, aka "In Excess Campbell" :))
-Helena (pronounced HELL-ena) Handbasket Campbell
-Tabitha Catherine Campbell (aka TabbiCat Campbell)
-Cameron (boy) or Camille (girl) Campbell -- Cam Campbell or Cami Campbell for short
As we think of more great names, I'll be sure to share them!
Friday, January 25, 2008
Enjoying our backyard
So, our plans to sell our home and move to a home with a flat backyard are on hold for the forseeable future. With a new baby on the way, and a larger car needed to cart around 3 kids in a few months, we would have to take out a sizable home equity loan to fix up our house before selling .... and, with the housing market being what it is, that's not happening anytime soon. At first, I was frustrated and sad that we'd have to wait even longer for a yard that the boys can run around in, but lately I've been trying to turn my attitude around and truly enjoy what we do have.
Jack and Thomas love our backyard. Jack is like a little mountain goat and he trots up and down the hill easily. Thomas is a little less steady on his feet, but he does really well (and has a blast!). He follows Jack up and down the hill and picks himself up quickly when he falls down (so far, thankfully, no one has rolled down the hill :) ). The boys play with their sand toys at the bottom of our hill, and pick grapefruits at the top of the hill and roll them down. (We have a handful of citrus trees -- our grapefruit tree, which none of us really care for since we don't eat grapefruits, is of course the healthiest and most prolific of all of them!). Today we picked tiny oranges off our little orange tree and ate them them right off the tree -- the boys loved it!!
Anyway, I had been hesitant to put much work into our backyard because I figured we'd be selling it sooner than later, but now I'm thinking of things I can do to make it more enjoyable for us while we're here. While the boys play out back, I've been trimming and removing shrubs, opening up a little more space back there. There are some spots toward the bottom of the hill that I think I can flatten out easily with a myself, and I plan to build a little frame for a garden (with lots and lots of bunny wire to keep out bunnies and gophers!). I'm buying some watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, tomato seeds, strawberry plants, etc. so I can start a garden this year. Not only will the boys have fun taking care of the plants, but it will also be awesome to harvest the results!
So, I'm finding myself enjoying the "ups" of our house more and more, and I've noticed that I'm much happier here. I'm sure that we'll eventually get a bigger house, flatter yard, etc. but it might be a few years and rather than grumbling about it, I'm very much OK with that thought.
Jack and Thomas love our backyard. Jack is like a little mountain goat and he trots up and down the hill easily. Thomas is a little less steady on his feet, but he does really well (and has a blast!). He follows Jack up and down the hill and picks himself up quickly when he falls down (so far, thankfully, no one has rolled down the hill :) ). The boys play with their sand toys at the bottom of our hill, and pick grapefruits at the top of the hill and roll them down. (We have a handful of citrus trees -- our grapefruit tree, which none of us really care for since we don't eat grapefruits, is of course the healthiest and most prolific of all of them!). Today we picked tiny oranges off our little orange tree and ate them them right off the tree -- the boys loved it!!
Anyway, I had been hesitant to put much work into our backyard because I figured we'd be selling it sooner than later, but now I'm thinking of things I can do to make it more enjoyable for us while we're here. While the boys play out back, I've been trimming and removing shrubs, opening up a little more space back there. There are some spots toward the bottom of the hill that I think I can flatten out easily with a myself, and I plan to build a little frame for a garden (with lots and lots of bunny wire to keep out bunnies and gophers!). I'm buying some watermelon seeds, pumpkin seeds, tomato seeds, strawberry plants, etc. so I can start a garden this year. Not only will the boys have fun taking care of the plants, but it will also be awesome to harvest the results!
So, I'm finding myself enjoying the "ups" of our house more and more, and I've noticed that I'm much happier here. I'm sure that we'll eventually get a bigger house, flatter yard, etc. but it might be a few years and rather than grumbling about it, I'm very much OK with that thought.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The Show
The other day I realized the importance of the pepper-shaking waiter at a restaurant who comes around and asks if you would care for some freshly ground pepper on your salad. It's not really about the taste of the black pepper, or how much it enhances your salad. It's about The Show. The chef could have sprinkled on a little black pepper on the salad before the waiter put it in front of you, but it's The Show that actually makes us think it tastes better.
Jack and Thomas demonstrated the importance of The Show to me the other day. I was serving waffles, and fixed up their plates with a little syrup on their waffles before placing the plates in front of them. Jack asked for some syrup, and even though I assured him that I had already put syrup on his waffle, he wasn't really buying it. So the next time I served waffles, I got wise. I served the waffles without syrup, then asked the boys if they would like some syrup on top. They both shouted "Yeah!!", and then I made a production of pouring the syrup from the bottle onto their waffles. They loved it and were "Mmmm"ing the entire breakfast. :). I now perform the same "Show" with gravy, grated cheese on top of beans, etc. etc. It's does wonders for how much Jack and Thomas enjoy the meal!
Jack and Thomas demonstrated the importance of The Show to me the other day. I was serving waffles, and fixed up their plates with a little syrup on their waffles before placing the plates in front of them. Jack asked for some syrup, and even though I assured him that I had already put syrup on his waffle, he wasn't really buying it. So the next time I served waffles, I got wise. I served the waffles without syrup, then asked the boys if they would like some syrup on top. They both shouted "Yeah!!", and then I made a production of pouring the syrup from the bottle onto their waffles. They loved it and were "Mmmm"ing the entire breakfast. :). I now perform the same "Show" with gravy, grated cheese on top of beans, etc. etc. It's does wonders for how much Jack and Thomas enjoy the meal!
Glad I bought a bigger laundry basket
I've been getting by with a ratty old laundry basket for a while now, until last week when I couldn't stand it any longer and picked out an extra large, extra sturdy one. The boys love it!! They can both fit in it, and Jack invents imaginative scenarios which Thomas is all too happy to follow along with. Today, for example, they were sitting in the laundry basket, pretending to eat popcorn out of a plastic contruction hat! In this picture they both had their plastic hammers, but other than that I have no idea what they were pretending :).
Teeth Marks
Here's a photo taken the other day when Thomas bit Jack's nose. The marks are gone now, but I wanted to preserve them for our photo album :).
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Playing Catch Up
It's hard to believe so much time has gone by since my last post here! I did have a decent excuse, at least for the first 3 months or so :). I was on basic survival mode trying to get through the first trimester of pregnancy, and most days I didn't have the energy to sit here at a computer and think up something interesting to post. Thankfully, I feel much better now and am enjoying my 2nd trimester! I am halfway through this pregnancy as of tomorrow (20 weeks), and can feel the baby move just about every day. Our big ultrasound is on the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 5th, so that's when we'll be able to tell if it's a boy or a girl. My money is on another boy, but several family members have told me they're having "girl" vibes, so we'll see. I can also imagine the baby being turned around during the ultrasound so that we won't be able to tell -- I have a feeling this little one is going to be a little feisty :).
Jack and Thomas are doing well. The weather has been gorgeous here lately so we've been spending more time outside. Now that Thomas's cast is off, we've been playing in the backyard and they both enjoy that. Jack is like a little mountain goat and he navigates his way around the steep inclines and valleys very easily. Thomas is a little less sure of his step, but when all else fails he plops down on his bottom and scoots down the hill! They also love helping me pick weeds in the front yard and sweeping the deck and garage - although they fight over who gets which broom.
Even though Thomas's vocabulary is getting larger and clearer, Jack has appointed himself the official Thomas Translator. It's really funny to listen to his interpretations!! Mostly it's funny because I think they tend to reflect what Jack wants, rather than what Jack really thinks Thomas wants :). For instance, we'll be driving in the car and Thomas will be making random noises and babbling back there. Jack will ask "What is it, Thomas? What do you want?". To which Thomas responds with more babbling. Then Jack says "Oh, you want a smoothie when we get home?". To which Thomas excitedly responds "Yeahh!!!" (although in all honestly he'd probably respond the same if Jack ask if he wanted a swift kick in the rear end). And then Jack, being a diligent translator, has to inform me of his findings. "Mom!.... MOM!". "Yes, Jack?", I ask. "Thomas said he wants a smoothie when we get home", Jack reports. "Oh, is that right?" I say. :).
Another Jack funny -- we just got finished putting away all of our Chrismtas decorations and everything, but Christmas is still fresh in Jack's mind. We've been singing Christmasy songs at mass up through this past Sunday, so he gets lots of reminders about Christmas stuff. The other day he asked David to sing him the sheep song. David and I looked at each other and shrugged, because we had no idea what he was talking about. I think David even asked Jack if he meant "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", but Jack said "No, the sheep song ... about a sheep on a mountain way far away". David and I almost gave up, because he wasn't making any sense, when I had an idea. "Do you think he means "Go tell it on the mountain?"", I asked David. I figured maybe Jack heard it as "Goat ell it on a mountain" and figured that goat and sheep were closely related. We asked Jack about it, and sure enough, that was the song he was asking about!
One more Jack and Thomas funny before I sign off and fold some clothes ...
Today Jack and Thomas were playing nicely on the back deck for a little while. I was in another room, and I could hear Jack making really loud and annoying noises right at Thomas. Thomas started to whine, and I could hear them both (loudly) making their way into the house to bring their problem to me. All of a sudden, Jack started crying loudly and Thomas stopped his fussing. Jack rushed up to me and said what sounded like "I bumped my nose!". OK, that would explain the crying. I asked him how he bumped it and he corrected me "No, Thomas bite my nose!!!" I guess Jack got *right* in Thomas's face with his loud and annoying noises, so Thomas bit him! I laughed so hard when Jack said that -- and he and Thomas started laughing, too. I told Jack that maybe next time he won't put his nose so close to Thomas's teeth! What's even funnier is that Jack still has 4 little red Thomas teeth marks in his nose!!!
Jack and Thomas are doing well. The weather has been gorgeous here lately so we've been spending more time outside. Now that Thomas's cast is off, we've been playing in the backyard and they both enjoy that. Jack is like a little mountain goat and he navigates his way around the steep inclines and valleys very easily. Thomas is a little less sure of his step, but when all else fails he plops down on his bottom and scoots down the hill! They also love helping me pick weeds in the front yard and sweeping the deck and garage - although they fight over who gets which broom.
Even though Thomas's vocabulary is getting larger and clearer, Jack has appointed himself the official Thomas Translator. It's really funny to listen to his interpretations!! Mostly it's funny because I think they tend to reflect what Jack wants, rather than what Jack really thinks Thomas wants :). For instance, we'll be driving in the car and Thomas will be making random noises and babbling back there. Jack will ask "What is it, Thomas? What do you want?". To which Thomas responds with more babbling. Then Jack says "Oh, you want a smoothie when we get home?". To which Thomas excitedly responds "Yeahh!!!" (although in all honestly he'd probably respond the same if Jack ask if he wanted a swift kick in the rear end). And then Jack, being a diligent translator, has to inform me of his findings. "Mom!.... MOM!". "Yes, Jack?", I ask. "Thomas said he wants a smoothie when we get home", Jack reports. "Oh, is that right?" I say. :).
Another Jack funny -- we just got finished putting away all of our Chrismtas decorations and everything, but Christmas is still fresh in Jack's mind. We've been singing Christmasy songs at mass up through this past Sunday, so he gets lots of reminders about Christmas stuff. The other day he asked David to sing him the sheep song. David and I looked at each other and shrugged, because we had no idea what he was talking about. I think David even asked Jack if he meant "Old MacDonald Had a Farm", but Jack said "No, the sheep song ... about a sheep on a mountain way far away". David and I almost gave up, because he wasn't making any sense, when I had an idea. "Do you think he means "Go tell it on the mountain?"", I asked David. I figured maybe Jack heard it as "Goat ell it on a mountain" and figured that goat and sheep were closely related. We asked Jack about it, and sure enough, that was the song he was asking about!
One more Jack and Thomas funny before I sign off and fold some clothes ...
Today Jack and Thomas were playing nicely on the back deck for a little while. I was in another room, and I could hear Jack making really loud and annoying noises right at Thomas. Thomas started to whine, and I could hear them both (loudly) making their way into the house to bring their problem to me. All of a sudden, Jack started crying loudly and Thomas stopped his fussing. Jack rushed up to me and said what sounded like "I bumped my nose!". OK, that would explain the crying. I asked him how he bumped it and he corrected me "No, Thomas bite my nose!!!" I guess Jack got *right* in Thomas's face with his loud and annoying noises, so Thomas bit him! I laughed so hard when Jack said that -- and he and Thomas started laughing, too. I told Jack that maybe next time he won't put his nose so close to Thomas's teeth! What's even funnier is that Jack still has 4 little red Thomas teeth marks in his nose!!!
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