Bunk Beds

The time is fast approaching that Logan will be ready for his big boy bed. We decided to get bunk beds for the boys room. Cameron tends to be resistant to change, but then adapts well once it happens. So some friends came over to help take apart Cameron's bed because they were going to take it for their son. Cameron was not ok with this new development for his morning! He is screaming at me here that he does not want bunkbeds.I tried to explain that he was going to be on the top and get to climb a ladder each time he wanted in his new bunkbed and that it was so exciting. He strongly disagreed, still screaming that he did not want bunkbeds. When the screaming did not change my mind, he started crying...
When Andy got the frame of his new bunk bed laid out on the floor, Cameron quickly adapted and became ridiculously excited for his new bed! Once it was finished, the kid would not come down (except for life's little necessities like eating and going potty and letting his little brother take a nap!). He spent a week in his new bed only leaving for necessary reasons. He still spends much of his time in his bunkbed!

Logan and Francis

Some friends came over to help with taking down the old twin bed and setting up the bunk bed and they brought their new puppy. His name is Francis. Logan loves dogs but he gets nervous when they are too close. He started out being scared of Francis but after an hour or so, he started to make friends. He laid here and talked to Francis and even read him a story! It was adorable!

Fancy Nancy

The girls have these books called Fancy Nancy. They are about this little girl who just loves to be fancy, and her family does not. Emma immediately fell in love with this story (I think empathizing with Fancy Nancy!) and wanted to make her room fancy just like Fancy Nancy. I told her we had to ask Briley first because it is her room too. Well, Briley quickly agreed and the fancification of their room began. We started last May and finally finished after New Year's. THis project catapulted me into the seriously crafty mom category!

I fancied up the chair that the girls are sitting in making sparkle-y princess pillows to sit on and the pink shiny satin cover. I put rhintestones on it (they lasted a day-Logan thought they were too cool for the chair!) and pink ribbons. This is what happens when Andy goes snowboarding with the scouts for 3 days!


Emma wanted to fancy up for her picture in her fancy chair. This suits her all too well! She chose her fancy stuff right down to her glittery lip gloss.

Briley has a style all her own. She made her fancy hat (like the bonnets from the old days in the 1700s according to her!) and the blanket makes a beautiful scarf!The before...


...and after of this corner


Before...

...and after
Since the girls share a room and don't have a place where they can go to be alone, I wanted to make curtains for their beds. Now they have their own little space where they can be all alone. You can't see in the picture but the fabric is shiny and shimmery with pink stars and gold swirls backed with pink satin. They both love having a little place of their very own where they can hide.

The fire station

A good friend of ours is a fire fighter. Cameron adores this friend and this is how the fire truck obsession began. I took him to the fire station the first time when he was just 12 months old and that is when it started. Our friend hurt his back and did not work for several months. When Cameron found out that he was going back to work, the very first thing Cameron needed to know was when we got to go back to the fire station. Apparently he missed it as much as our friend did (maybe more!)

Cameron was rather comfortable in the driver seat of the fire engine. Perhaps he will follow in our friend's footsteps and be an engineer! An honorable profession I believe!

Emma is a monkey and will climb and swing from anything, including a fire engine!
Logan was rather intrigued with the size of the wheel and the lugnuts. Then he discovered his reflection!
This smile really tells the story. Cameron is so happy on the fire engine.

Our friend always gives the kids the little plastic fire helmets. Logan thought it was great (right up until he snapped the elastic chin strap against his skin).


Daddy got to try on a real helmet.

Our friend then took us for a ride around the block in the fire engine. I think this was the highlight for all boys involved!

This was Emma's favorite part. She got to spray the "garden hose" at it is referred to by the fire fighters. This is their 1 1/2 inch line, the smallest one they have. Cameron loves to spray water, but the engine has to be on to pump the water from the truck. The noise was too much for him and he didn't want anything to do with it! The nozzle is an aluminum alloy and weighs very little compared to older models. My dad has a nozzle from his day as a fire fighter in the Airforce (in the 1970s). It is solid brass and weighs 30 pounds!

December

Here are a few of the random things we did during the month of December.

I took the kids to the zoo. Cameron just loves the flamingoes. I think he likes them so much because they are so close and there are so many. We sit here for about a half an hour usually. The other animals get 1-5 minutes!

Even though it is not Halloween anymore, he still thinks he is Buzz Lightyear!

In the middle of the month, Emma had her dance recital, Rockin' Christmas Countdown. This is her Jazz class performing. This dance was performed to Jingle Bell Rock. She really loved this class but has decided that she now wants to be a ballerina. Look for that recital in June!

The other class she did was called Key Note Kids. It was singing and dancing. She was in a class of 7 and 8 year olds and she did so well up there. She the littlest one on the left. Thank you so much for those of you that came to support her! It meant so much to her. And to those that came the previous week in the rain to see her cancelled show! We love you!

Her daddy bought her a big bouquet of flowers after her recital. We are so proud of her!

After shopping at Costco one day, I brought my groceries home in this box. Emma determined that this was hers and made a little bed out of it.


Briley earned citizen of the month at school. She earned this award because she is a good role model for others, has outstanding classroom behavior and shows responsibility. We are so proud of her!


It's Logan and all of his cuteness again. This little boy just makes my heart ache in places I didn't know it could. I had no idea it would be this hard to have my littlest one grow up. One morning, after shouting as loudly as he could, Cameron woke up his little brother. Logan was less than thrilled with the idea. I changed his diaper and when I was done, he crawled up into my lap, tucked his "b" under his nose and laid down. He still fits, but I know that is only a matter of time. Under my request, Emma went and got the camera and took this picture. The moment only lasted a short time before it was over. He would have stayed longer but we had to take Briley to school.