Cameron lector

I sure hope it's not a sin to sneak out your iPhone and record your daughter as she's doing the second reading at Christmas Eve Mass. I just couldn't help myself.





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Pumpkin Patch 2011

We couldn't let another year pass by without a visit to the Pumpkin Patch! This tradition started when Cameron was about 8 weeks old and I use the annual photos to measure the girls' annual growth and visual changes.

We put off taking a photo this year until after Douglas arrived. Since he was almost two weeks later than originally expected, I was beginning to wonder whether we would be able to pull it off before the pumpkins disappeared. However, this Sunday afternoon turned out to be a beautiful day, although a bit overrun with mosquitos. We managed to get some great photos of the kids. (How strange to say "kids" instead of "girls" now.)

This is Cameron's first Pumpkin patch photo since she began wearing glasses in August, but they don't hide her beautiful blue eyes at all!

Another year older, Brenna still has her confident smile.


Welcome Douglas! Only nine days old, this will be the first of many years of "birthday" photos for him.

These girls really love and dote on their baby brother, sometimes to the point of arguing over who gets to hold him and rock him.

While at the CLUMC pumpkin patch, a lady offering "free photos" asked if she could put my son in a basket. We didn't know at the time that she is a kids photographer just giving back to the church. These next two photos are from my camera at an off-angle from her, but you can see how she carefully placed him in the basket.

I must say that in other photos, his little ears have never stuck out like they appear here! It must be the angle I took the photo. I never would have thought to put him in a basket like this. How creative!

I can't wait to receive the actual pictures taken by the photographer tomorrow or the next day. Depending on how she captured the image, I may consider using one of these for his official birth announcement.

Pumpkin patch

Another year at the pumpkin patch, but this year they don't look like little girls anymore at all.

Happy Halloween!!

Cameron & Brenna are enjoying another year of Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. We had to quell Brenna's desire for a scary, bloody, mask or frightening character. She settled on a Ninja costume, but we couldn't find one in her size. Then she discovered this Astrid costume (from the movie How to Train Your Dragon). In case you're unfamiliar with the movie, here's a picture of the character. She's a young viking girl who is tough, energetic, and beautiful with a strong and determined persona. Sound like anyone in this family?? Cameron chose the Mad Scientist idea several weeks ago, though we waited until the last minute to try and find a white lab coat. Ultimately we had to brave the crowds at Party City, but Bryan had gloves and safety goggles to complete the outfit. Cameron tried to make her hair wild and Bryan added the name tag "D. Mento, Scientist."

Bryan took them around the street for about 45 minutes and they returned with a few pounds of sugar. Any bets how long it will take for them to get in bed and settle down?

Cameron's school picture

How awesome is this?

Cameron's middle school takes their individual photo during the second week of school in order to add the image to the required student ID badge. Is it just a mother's bias or is she just that photogenic? I think she's gorgeous and I'm starting to see her "adult" face emerging out of her youthful childish one.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Another year passes and Cameron is now 11. One of these days I'm going to wake up and she'll be graduating high school, turning 21, getting married, etc. I wonder if this is how my mom felt.

For her birthday we bought Cameron a desk for her bedroom, to create a personal space for her homework and studying; however, I try to have just a little something to open on her actual birthday. Earlier this summer I won a Twitter contest from MckMama and planned to give the prize to Cameron for her birthday, but it hadn't arrived! With perfect timing, the box showed up on the doorstep late this afternoon.

Cameron really likes the young Christian singing trio known as PureNRG and her gift was an autographed CD prize pack.

Happy Birthday Cameron!!

Cameron & the Cello

You may remember going into middle school and having to choose one elective. Last Spring when we read through all the options: Art, Theater Arts, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Cameron had a difficult time choosing just one. Just one. It's kind of like the Robert Frost poem - Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood, and sorry I could not travel both... So she waivered between Art, Theater Arts, and Music.

I pushed a little. I simply told her that if she's ever wanted to learn to play an instrument other than the piano...EVER... then she had to take either Band or Orchestra in sixth grade. She would never have this opportunity again, where if she takes a year of music and decides it's not her thing, she can move into another elective and know that she tried an instrument once. (For the record, in our personal middle school experiences Bryan took band/percussion and I took choir.)

Cameron chose Orchestra, specifically the Cello. It's a beautiful instrument.

Because she can't take the instrument on the school bus, we rent one from a family-owned violin shop in Pasadena for Cameron to practice at home. She uses a school instrument during class-time. Wednesday we brought it home for the first time.

Cameron had a long list of rules to tell us about handling the cello. First, always take the bow out of the case before removing the cello. It's also the last thing to be packed.

When you need to rest your cello, never stand it up and lean it against a chair or couch. You're supposed to lay it on the long side with the strings facing away from any walkway. You don't want to accidentally walk past and knock into the strings.

She has a block of rosin for the bow. I never knew that you used rosin for anything other than your dance shoes!

She showed us how to hold the bow and draw it across the strings. Brenna and I also learned the names of the strings. For some reason I expected the sound to be screechy, but Cameron played a recognizable "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" without any "feedback" sound.



I'm looking forward to... listening ... to her grow and learn more about music and this instrument.

School Days

Both of the girls had a great first day of school. Brenna loves her teacher; she gushed about how they wrote out applications for class jobs to earn Kubena Cash that they can use to purchase special items--like sitting next to a friend--or cool stuff from a class store. Brenna applied for the jobs of Computer Technician, Librarian, and Banker. In addition to the benefits, bad conduct marks are accompanied by a citation carrying a fine to be paid from their "cash."

Cameron rides the bus to WAVE in the morning. During homeroom she swapped out her top locker for one on the bottom. Last week at WolfCamp she became very concerned when we discovered she was too short to see the combination lock to open the locker. Cameron also received her revised schedule reflecting the correct Orchestra period - the draft schedule placed her in Viola lessons. We rented a cello.

Yesterday one of the boys in her carpool joined a number of others who missed the bus from WAVE, so Cameron waited with the carpool mom until they found out what happened and that the school was sending another bus around. Eventually she made it to the neighbor's house, arriving just a few minutes before me!

Today both girls reported good days again, though I can tell they're more tired.

Brenna received her classroom job today - Librarian. Naturally I found some sweetness in this since it's a close relative to my own career as Archivist. Then the irony slapped me full in the face. Brenna will be responsible for organizing her class books? This is my daughter who takes books from her own bookcase, reads from multiple titles at a time, stacks them up on her bed frame shelf, her dresser top, the floor, until I have told her repeatedly to put them away. Repeatedly to the point that eventually I put them away for her. Will being "class librarian" rub off on her, providing the desire to put away her own books? I'm hopeful, but not optimistic.

Cameron submited her first & second choices for the WAVE 9-week mini-course offered every M-W-F morning. I believe she told me she marked the TV News as her first choice, though it's limited to 24 students. Her second choice is a writing mini-course where you choose some fanciful other-worldly writing topic. Selections will be published in the Westbrook Journal in May. (Can we say "just like her mother?") Other mini-course options she expressed an interest in included Photoshop, Stained Glass, and Videography.

For the past two nights I've plowed through stacks of paperwork requiring my signature: proof of residency, language spoken at home, ethnicity/race required reporting, phone numbers x3 for 2, alternate contacts. I've written checks for Orchestra Booster, PTA, Orchestra Polo shirt, school pictures, mini-course supplies fees, and probably one or two more that aren't coming to mind.

I hope the rest of the week continues on such a positive note.

New Beginnings

And they're off! Back to school for another year. Where does the time go??

Though we are zoned for Space Center Intermediate school, Cameron will be attending the GT special WAVE program at Westbrook. Instead of starting at 9 a.m., WAVE begins at 8 a.m. and they bus GT kids from the zoned schools to WIS. Also, I've already noticed a marked difference in the level of maturity between GT kids and regular middle schoolers. I'm hopeful that will go a long way towards making Cameron feel more independent, self-confident, and assured.

She had a little trouble going to sleep last night, but woke on time and quickly got ready. By the time I made it into the kitchen, Cameron had already fixed breakfast for all three of us.

We're not dropping her off at the zoned school, choosing to use the bus from the school closer to our house. We left with plenty of time to figure out the new drop-off procedure. I noticed several other students that we know, so she shouldn't have been too uncomfortable figuring out which bus to get on.

Meanwhile Brenna and I parked across the street and watched to see what time the bus actually pulls away from the school. Brenna became a little sad when she realized Cameron forgot to tell her goodbye, but the feeling was short-lived because we headed over to the elementary school. It feels very strange to have my girls in two different schools this year, though I'm not worried about either of them. Brenna is already self-assured and knows her way around the elementary school without worry. Cameron will figure it out. The school and WAVE program are very impressive and I have no doubts that the teachers will spend much of today sorting out issues and guiding them in the right direction.

We have after-school arrangements for both; Cameron's involves a lot of "let's play it by ear" since hers are more flexible. I did get us into a car pool thanks to a kind and generous Mom I know from both church and elementary PTA. It started as a "helping hand" for the first week, but appears to be evolving into a more long-term solution - at least until after-school sports get started. I expect by then Cameron will have made friends with other WAVE students and we'll be in a better place to figure out what we need.

Yearbook Ad

We purchased a half-page ad in the elementary school yearbook to honor Cameron this year. Choosing which images to use in the design proved challenging, but I finally settled on her actual class photos, 2nd grade through 5th. However, I really wanted to use her fifth grade Spring photo (the one in yellow t-shirt) as it really captured her thoughtful nature.

The poem is one I memorized for 7th grade English when we read it in the book The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. I often recite it for the girls when we raise the kitchen shades and see the sun rising across our back yard. They've also memorized the poem and now will occasionally point out "gold" to me. It seemed appropriate to use the poem for Cameron's yearbook as a reminder to her of those mornings.

Family Fun Run

In an attempt to "journal" or "scrapbook" a bit more of 2010, I'm going to work my way through the first half of the year. To start have to go all the way back to Februrary 13, 2010 when the elementary school hosted their annual Fun Run and Family Fun Day.

Just like last year, the school hosted a 3K run and 1K walk. This year all four of us signed up for the 3K, though I wasn't really sure I would run. Temperatures were pretty cold that morning, you can see how bundled up we were in the photograph. True to form, we arrived late a few moments before the run began and had to check in and get our numbers. We told Brenna and Cameron not to hang back with us, but to run at their own pace and meet us back at the school.

I struggled through the first 1K and Bryan kept pace with me. Brenna and Cameron lapped us and finished well ahead of us, but I managed to keep a fast walk/slow jog and I actually finished 3K with Bryan pushing me the whole way.

After the race, we went home, showered, and came back to the school for the Family Fun Day. The girls enjoyed the Cake Walk, playing it three or four times until they'd both won a prize.

I had a volunteer shift at a pickle spin booth, where players spin a wheel hoping to land on green to win a huge dill pickle. Thankfully Cameron wanted to work the shift with me so she handled putting the pickles into the baggies.

Brenna found her Rodeo Art on display. Even though she wasn't chosen for display at The Arts Alliance of Clear Lake show earlier, she was very proud of her own creation.

At the awards ceremony Brenna received a medal for second place in her age/grade division (K-2). We asked her how she did it and she said she just ran. She said she was running with Hailey, who won first place, and that if she had known they were first and second she would have ran ahead of Hailey to win first!

Living History

The day before Spring Break, Cameron's 5th grade presented their Living History project. Students were asked to choose someone "famous" in history and research their lives. Various portions of the project were due weekly including the Bibliography, Research Notes, Written Speech, Memorized Speech, and Props/Costumes.

Cameron considered many "famous" women before deciding on Marguerite Henry, the author of Newbery Award winning books such as Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, and Justin Morgan Had a Horse. I was so proud of her for doing all of the work herself - including deciding on her costume and props, and drawing a large picture of the horse, Misty, in a stable door.

Students in character lined the hallways in their costumes with props. Parents and other students went up and down the hallway engaging the characters by pretending to press a "button" on a sign identifying famous persons in history such as George Washington, Sarah Palin, Juliette Low, Theodore Roosevelt, and many more - inventors, authors, political figures, explorers, etc.

Cameron, as Marguerite, sat on a little stool as though she was in the stables reading a book. When you pressed the "button," she looked up and delivered her speech, identifying herself and telling about Marguerite's life.

Spring Photos

Our elementary school takes their individual school photos for school and yearbook purposes in the Fall and the class photo in the Spring. We've learned over the past three years that they also take another individual photo with the class photo, even though we didn't receive a notice or payment sheet in advance. It's the ol' take the picture, send them home, and charge parents for the sheets you don't return by the end of the week.

I've never purchased these individual photos; however, this year I think I just might pick up a sheet. How can I turn down these fabulous images?

Close Up

I just love this photo of Cameron. I took the picture while trying to show her that she had orange paint on her eyelash.

Rodeo Art

In January, Cameron came home with a little postcard advertising a Rodeo Art show at The Arts Alliance Center at Clear Lake. On the back of the postcard someone had written, "Cameron - Congratulations!" She received no other information from her teacher. When I asked her whether she had done a lesson in her art class related to the rodeo, she replied that she had painted a picture of a horse rearing.

Still not quite sure what the Rodeo Art exhibition was all about, but fairly certain Cameron's picture must be on display, I made arrangements to take off the afternoon from work so I could take her to the reception for elementary grades.

Crowds of parents and children packed the two-story multi-room exhibit space. This exhibit included the top 2 or 3 pieces of art in each grade from each school in our District. Another nearby District displayed their art on the second floor.

A little overwhelmed, we signed in, accepted a program, and began walking around looking for Cameron's painting. Fifth grade art lined the back wall downstairs and Cameron's eyes spotted it first.

Then we realized it had a blue first place ribbon attached!! All three of us were so proud and there was quite a bit of blushing, hugging, and congratulating! We took photos with the new camera and the iPhone to send immediately to Daddy, Aunt Amanda, and other family.

I think she must have received some inspiration from brilliant sunsets at Silver Belle Ranch and her love of all-things-horse related from riding this past year.

Congratulations to our budding artist!!

Altar Server

Cameron participated as an altar server for the first time this morning. Mom came over to attend Mass and witness her first grandchild (of hopefully many) in this role. Thanks Mom for taking the photos!

When there are four altar servers, two participate in the Liturgy of the Word while the other two take the responsibilities of the Liturgy of the Eucharist. They assist the priests receiving the gifts and they pour the water/hold the bowl as he washes his hands.

You can just see Cameron on the left holding the bowl and towel.

She did a wonderful job and I think she felt very proud of herself. I know I was beaming. Mom took them out for breakfast at Denny's. I had to also attend the 11 a.m. Mass for the Pastoral Council Installation. We were introduced and received our name badges. Fr. Bob invoked a Blessing. The whole experience was very humbling.

School report

School pictures have arrived alongside report cards. This is Brenna's first year to receive number/letter grades and she seemed very proud of herself for earning straight A's. She squeaked by in one subject, but came out very strong in Science. Cameron also earned straight A's, all high marks. Cameron's behavior grades were all E (excellent), while Brenna had a few S (satisfactory).

I had a parent-teacher meeting with Brenna's teacher about ten days ago. In second grade the teachers still encourage all parents to have a meeting once each long semester. Brenna's teacher expressed her concern that Brenna isn't being challenged enough in class. She dismisses the impulsive behavior conduct marks as "just Brenna;" however, she does see improvement and thinks as Brenna matures her conduct will continue to improve throughout the year.

Cameron really loves fifth grade and her teacher. She is singing with the school choir, serves as class representative in Student Council, and re-joined Yearbook Club. Her teacher says no conference is necessary; she's a great student. Cameron is really looking forward to her fifth grade class trip to Washington D.C. over Spring Break!

If you want to see the changes in the girls, check out last year's school photos post. It includes photos of the girls from 2006-2008.

Marathon Kids

Every year the girls' elementary school participate in a program called Marathon Kids, which encourages kids to run 26.2 miles during the school year. They accomplish this by running laps at school, with small toe token rewards for every five miles completed.

Each year Marathon Kids holds a kick-off event at one of the universities and we have never attended, but this year Brenna really wanted us to go.

We joined other students and teachers from our school in the stadium waiting for our turn to run two laps around the track.

Thankfully, I walked with two teachers holding the school banner around the short end of the track, and met Bryan & the girls at the finish line. Each runner received a plastic water bottle. Brenna and Cameron had theirs signed by the UH Cougar baseball and softball players.

Student Council Rep

Second grade is the lowest grade that contributes two class representatives to the school Student Council. Cameron stood for election in each year since second grade without success. This year Brenna could not wait to run for Student Council. On the morning of the election last week Brenna chose her clothes carefully, brushed her hair, practiced her speech, and chattered ceaselessly about the election. She wanted it. She really wanted to be elected.

She wasn't.

On Student Council Officer election day, Cameron had bigger worries - specifically how to choose between two friends running for President? She eventually made her choice and together we consoled Brenna in her loss. And I promptly forgot about Student Council elections.

Until today. Unbeknownst to me, Cameron's class rep election was held today. When I picked her up, she sadly informed me that (sigh) I was going to have to arrange my work schedule to pick her up twice a month after Student Council meetings, because SHE WON HER CLASS ELECTION!

Whoo! We were super proud of her! She asked for Baskin Robbins ice cream after dinner to celebrate and we were happy to go as a family. Poor Brenna struggled so hard to overcome the twisted tangle of emotion within her - all plainly visible on her face. Eventually she was able to congratulate her sister, who gave her a hug and said there's always next year.

The First Decade

My baby is ten years old today. Now how did THAT happen?


1999: Photo taken in the hospital
2000: One year old. Photo take by Kris Toma in Austin at the Arboretum.

2001: Two years old. We had just moved to our new house in Houston. In a few months, Cameron would no longer be the only grandchild.

2002: Three days before her third birthday, Cameron became a "big sister".

2003 - Four years old and in PreK

2004: Five years old, already in Kindergarten and reading "Junie B. Jones" and "Magic Tree House" books.

2005: Six years old and in first grade at St. Clare.

2006: Seven years old. First (and only) short haircut. Finally able to enter public school.

2007: Eight years old, celebrating with brownies and marshmellows at SBR.

2008: Nine years old and Secretary of the Yearbook Club.

2009: Ten years old, last year of elementary school. Definitely a "Tween."

Happy Birthday Cameron. I love you.