Cam's 10th Birthday dinner

Each year we let our kids choose what they want for dinner on their birthday. No matter what they choose, whether it's venison and mashed potatoes at home, sushi takeout, or dinner at our local Mexican restaurant, our whole family shows up! Britt's parents and mine join the four of us for a birthday dinner celebration!

This year Cam chose to have dinner at our local Mexican place!

Cam doesn't really care for traditional birthday cakes. Or cakes of any kind, really. He usually asks for a chocolate chip cookie "birthday cake".....this year it was in Alabama colors, of course!

Our Mexican restaurant is so funny. They sing a song in Spanish and usually they just dab whipped topping on your nose. This time.......they went a little crazy!!!!!

They smashed a small plate of whipped cream right in his face! He just sat there laughing! We all were!

I had left my real camera at home, but this was so funny I had to get out my cell phone and take a couple pictures!

He licked most of it off around his mouth, but it took 3 big napkins before I got it off his face! It was in his eyes and he blew his nose and whipped cream and chocolate came out!!!! Cam thought that was hilarious!

My boy had a great 10th birthday. He'll have a party in January (it's too hard to do it during the holidays!) But he got lots of birthday money from his grandparents. He informed me he is going to buy a PlayStation 3 with it!!!! Guess I'm going back to Walmart tomorrow.

Anything for my boy!

Happy 10th Birthday Cam!

10 years ago today......

I became a mother!!!

At 2:55 PM on Monday, December 27, 1999. Cameron Austin was born via cesarean section. He weighed 7 lbs and 15 oz and was 21 inches long. He was the most beautiful baby boy his momma and daddy had ever laid eyes on! (his momma however......needed some highlights, some make up, and a tan!!)


Today my little boy turns 10.

TEN!

I still can't believe 10 years have gone by!

Today Carlie said "In 6 years Cam will be able to drive me around!"
To which Cam responded, "Maybe to school, but that is it!!"

It seems like only yesterday.....

Cam smashing his cake on his 1st birthday.

Cameron's 2nd birthday! He was still an only child back then....for another 4 months anyway!

My little cowboy on his 6th birthday.
We had his party at Nanny's barn.
Cam's 1st horse, Ruby, lived there. He had just learned to ride and begged to have a party there so everyone could see him ride. He didn't even care that we made him stay in the round pen!

Carlie & Cam on his 8th birthday

You make Daddy & me so proud! We thank God for making us your parents. You truly are a blessing. We are enjoying watching you grow into the young man that God wants you to be. I will always cherish those days that you and I spent at home playing Bob the Builder, and watching Blues Clues. I'll always miss the way your said "Rubberband" and "I want to do it again.". But I look forward to the coming years and the things God has planned for you. I'll always be here for you, through thick and thin. And no matter how old you get, you'll always be my baby. The first baby I ever loved. On the day you were born I didn't think I could ever love anyone more. Ten years later, I realize I was wrong. I love you 10x more than I did on that cold December day in 1999.

Happy 10th Birthday, Cam!

I love you forever, Peanut!

Love,
Momma

Christmas through the years......

Just thought I'd share some snapshots of Christmas over the last few years. It makes me a little sad to see how much my babies have grown!

2004

Matching GAP sweaters, cutting our Christmas tree!
They would NEVER wear matching clothes now!

This is Cam and Carlie with my nieces, baking and decorating Christmas cookies at Nanny's house.

The kids and Britt mixing up our annual Birthday cake for Jesus.
Look at those little faces!

2005

My cuties by the tree!

Little did I know that this was the last Christmas of Carlie's curls!!

Carlie was excited to get "Big Sister Dora" that year!

Cam got his first 4 wheeler that year!

He still loves it!

2006

My 4 year old princess with short hair, me with brown hair, and my 6 year old little man!

Carlie cut her hair off up to her ears in March, with "safety" scissors while I was at work and she was with my dad! It had grown out ALOT by the time we took this picture!

Cam and Carlie with my nieces.....they've grown so much in just 2 years

Hugging the tree we chose!

2007

Every year we bake Jesus a birthday cake on Christmas Eve

Carlie started collecting American girls that year. This was Emily, Molly's best friend. Santa brought her Molly!

Cam got a new set of golf clubs for Christmas!

And a Brett Favre, Green Bay jersey!

Our house, with our Christmas Eve luminaries.

Each year on Christmas Eve each house in our neighborhood sets out luminaries. People come from all over the town to ride through and see the lights. It's so beautiful!

2008

This picture of Carlie makes me smile! She wanted a violin more than anything! That face says it all!

Cam wanted full football gear for Christmas!

Santa brought him pants, a helmet and a jersey with his name and number on it!

Another American girl.....Nellie!

2008 was also the year Britt surprised me with the best Christmas gift!!

I opened this box last. In it was a beach towel, a sun hat, a swimsuit, sunscreen, and our passports!

I was so excited! Britt told me he had booked us a trip to Excellence all inclusive resort in Playa Mujeres, Mexico! I cried I was so surprised! He had never surprised me and in 10 years he had NEVER booked a trip without my help!!

2009

I can't wait to take all the Christmas pictures this year! So far we only have our Christmas card. Here it is......

I designed this one myself with my Creative Memories StoryBook Creator. This was one of our favorite pictures from New York. Ice Skating on Rockefeller Center.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A few more pics from NYC

Here are a few more pictures from our Thanksgiving trip to NYC. I took over 600 pictures, so editing them was such a daunting task! I put it off as long as possible! I've finally finished, and will gradually add more to the blog. Here are just a few that I had stored on my thumb drive.

The kids walking down Broadway.
Notice: Carlie is holding MY Diet Coke, not drinking one herself.

My girl and I sitting on the fountain across from Radio City Music Hall.

My handsome guy and I going to see the Christmas Spectacular!

We ice skated at Rockefeller Center. I love this picture of Britt and the kids!

The kids had the BEST time skating! It was their first time to ever ice skate. They both took to it easily. After a couple of shaky laps around the rink they were both off and skating like pros!

I love this picture of the four of us. It actually turned out good. I just wish there wasn't scaffolding in the background, around the iconic gold statue. But they were putting up the enormous tree at Rockefeller Plaza while we were there. The scaffolding was there to support it.

We had a wonderful time that night! Carlie begged to ice skate every day after that! She said it was "the most fun thing ever!". My poor ice skating deprived Southern children!

Hunting like Bill Jordan, without the camo, or game, or outdoors....

I've been meaning to blog. But with Christmas on the horizon I've just been too busy hunting down Zhu Zhu pets to write about anything!
My children have a knack for telling me what they want for Christmas on Dec. 1st, then changing their mind, always adding the "hard to find" gifts sometime around Dec. 12th. Lovely.
Carlie turned her nose up at the ever elusive Mr. Squiggles, and Num Nums back in October when a dear friend told me about the "Furby of 2009". Like a fool, I took Carlie at her word that she was not interested in a fake hamster with wheels for feet. I can be an idiot of the highest order sometimes.
Then round about last week Miss Carlie informed me that she just HAD to talk to Santa because she HAD to get a Zhu Zhu pet for Christmas! I began my hunt for the elusive wheeled rodent. I was so excited when I heard they may be poisonous, because then I was off the hook. No such luck. But fortunately, I was smart enough to buy one while there was rumors of toxic rodentia! I got Mr. Squiggles at a bargain basement price of $35. Yes, I'm well aware that price is 7x the retail price for wheeled rodents. But considering the day before the price had been around 15x the retail price, I considered the hunt a success!
That wasn't the only "impossible to find" toy Miss Priss wanted this year. She had been asking for Barbie's Glamour Camper. When we were in New York City she saw the 1,000 of them stacked inside the lifesize Barbie house inside Toys R' Us in Times Square. I told her no, and made up something about packing it and getting it home. Really I just didn't want to mess with it. One week later I realize again, just how big an idiot I really can be.
I started hunting for Barbie's overpriced motorhome only to find it has been sold out of every single store both online and bricks and mortar! I checked it out on Amazon and eBay. Anywhere from $120 to $200 for the retailed $70 camper. Unfortunately there were no rumors of toxic Barbie vehicles! I had to pull out the big guns. Just like I'm sure Bill Jordan would do when searching for rare game, I sent out emails, Facebook updates, Twitters, etc. about my need for a Barbie camper at retail price! I went as far as to offer all 200 of our employees a $25 "Finders Fee" if someone could come up with the camper! A real hunter knows no boundaries people. No boundaries.
Within 48 hours I had my very own pink Glamour Camper! Much nicer than the 1970 hooptie that Barbie used to have to camp in. Ken must have gotten a much better job in the last 40 years. Anyway. Score one more for the rare 'game' hunter!
Cam is a different story. He asked for nothing except a wresting video game for PSP and PlayStation. I found both with no problem. The problem with him is I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO GET HIM! He gives no clues. Nothing. There is like one measly little "boy toy aisle" at Walmart, compared to the five girl aisles. But he doesn't even play with toys. He has lots of video games already, and doesn't play with them much. He plays football in the yard, or shoots critters that enter our yard at their own risk. He has footballs, he has guns. He has a bike and a scooter. What do you get 10 year old boys? Poor guy. He's going to have very little on Christmas morning compared to his sister if I don't get it in gear! But how do you hunt down something when you don't know what you're hunting?
I bet Bill Jordan would know.