Are we in trouble, or what?

These days Camden can and will say just about anything in the world. The only thing she hasn't said is her own name. She refers to herself as "baby" when she does talk about herself. hmmm...I don't even want to think about the Freudian implications that one could have...

Today she was writing "I write! I write!" with some markers, and managed to get ink all over her hand. (Hard to believe!) Later in the day, she tells me, "I write on me." Wow, I am so impressed! A 4 word sentence, and it makes sense! So I repeat it to her so she can hear the language again (always the teacher, right?) "Oh, you wrote on yourself?" To which she replies... "Abbie did it!" (Katie's friend Abbie was over visiting today.) "What!? Abbie did not do that!" I say. Then I am given the look by my daughter who is not yet even 2 years old; and she says again and again with expression, "Abbie did it! Abbie did it!"

Later, I was changing her diaper. She was holding a baby doll and decided, as she does sometimes, that she wouldn't hold the baby anymore. So, she throws it on the floor and exclaims "I throw! I throw!" (as if I wasn't sure what had just happened, then I would know because she would tell me!) I should have learned from our previous conversation, but I asked her a question and gave her a chance to answer it honestly...or not. I said, "Did you throw the baby on the floor?" and I bet you know her answer... "Katie throw it!" I said "Katie did not throw it" and she adamantly replied "Katie do throw it!"

So, mark this day down in the baby book and on your calendars. The first day Camden told a lie. And she told two of them. And the scary part is, she said them very convincingly! If I hadn't seen it happen, I might have believed her! This is one girl you will want to take to your poker games, I think!

3rd Exhibit Night!

3rd Exhibit Night!

3rd Exhibit Night!

This week on Tuesday we had our 3rd Exhibit Night of the year. First Grade studied America, and 4th Grade studied all kinds of physical science standards. We put that all together into a MYTHBUSTERS theme. Exhibits were amazing as usual! Thank you to all friends & family who helped make it all come together, from all parts of the country! Enjoy!!

So she has a soft spot, after all!

Most of the time, you never know when Camden is going to strike. She can be all lovey for a moment, but out of nowhere she'll lash out and scratch you when you're least expecting it.

Today she came home from school with a scratch on her face (we all know she has been the giver of these most of the time, not the recipient). If she wasn't the one doing the scratching most of the time, I might feel sorry for her when she says " I hurt, I hurt" in this sad, sorry little voice while she touches one finger to her cheek.

But it is somewhat refreshing to see her with her "baby", so lovingly holding it and rocking it to sleep, patting it on the back, and strolling it around the house.
So, I share with you, the proof! She has a kind heart! I'll just revisit this video and these pictures when she lashes out and shows her dark side...

Toothless in Tennessee

OK, well, these pics loaded in the opposite order that I wanted them to, but you'll just have to read to the end to see the Toothless one...

Here is the shot I got of Camden after chasing her around the house and into the laundry room, trying to get her to look at me. She has just "licked the beater" for the first time (as you can see all the cookie dough on her face...)

(Tricia, this is in honor of you! After I read your post about Lane not knowing what to do with the beater, I decided to make cookies. Katie is an expert in beater licking, but Camden needed a little coaching!)

Here are the two girls both licking the beaters after we made white chocolate chip cookies Saturday. Katie and Camden were good helpers!!

Here we (well, Katie and Ben in this picture) are Saturday afternoon in the sunshine on the deck outside. It really wasn't necessary for Katie to wear her winter coat, but she was pretending that she was on an Arctic (or Antarctic) adventure to return her penguin to the South Pole... (or as Ben says, pretending we still lived up north and needed to wear big coats.)

Incidentally, Katie has observantly noticed that nobody here wears a coat as "big and puffy" as hers and she does not want to wear it anymore. She is afraid people will make fun of her! (Yes, she is only in 1st grade).

Last week, the Tooth Fairy came to our house 2 nights IN A ROW! She's been missing the top middle 2 for a while now, but the two on either side are out now too. No sign of the permanent teeth yet, but I have a feeling the poor thing is going to get my big ol' front teeth. I don't know where they'll go in that little mouth!

Last weekend, Katie decided she wanted to get her hair cut like Kit (her American Girl) again, so we went to Great Clips and had it done in about 10 minutes. Which was good, because Camden wasn't going to stick around much longer than that. :)

Congratulations, Ben!

Two weeks ago, the team state tournament was in Nashville. Baylor won the team tournament, and here is the plaque that now hangs on our wall:



I just want to say that I am so proud of Ben and the work he has done with the team. He is an assistant under two Tennessee coaching legends, Jim Morgan and Shaack van Deusen. They have built an amazing program, and I know Ben loves being a part of it. But I'm especially proud because everywhere we go, we meet people who tell us the nicest things about Ben. More than just "we're glad he's here", too. These people go out of their way to express that they think much of the success the Baylor upper weights, especially, are having is directly because of Ben. One father was sitting behind me at the traditional state meet last night and was telling the head of the science dept (whom I was sitting next to) that he was so glad that Scott had been able to get Ben to come here (and that was before I was introduced to him!) So I know the people love him here and he is doing a fantastic job.

Baylor placed 2nd at the traditional state tournament last night. They did a great job. They have been ranked the #1 team in the state all year, but unfortunately one of their top guys came down with mono and was out, which could have given them about 40 more team points.

Ben is one of those people who is good at everything he does. He's a great teacher, a great coach, a great husband and a great father. We love you, Ben!