Aha!

My Camden boy is, well, so Camden!!  He is one-of-a-kind for sure!  He definitely adds a specific dynamic to our family.

He does this thing where he cuts his eyes at you, which generally signals that he's getting ready to do something he shouldn't.

When someone {especially a stranger} speaks to him in public, he's likely to cross his arms and look halfway over at them with his eyes partially rolled and his mouth puckered to the side.  Its hard to describe, but if you've seen it, you know.

He's also completely random....to the unseen eye.

But, I think I've figured {at least part of} it out.

The boy wakes up thinking about the exact same thing he was thinking when he went to sleep.

For example:

This morning, he was {as he is every morning, no matter the time} waiting for me to get up so he could do the same.  No "Good morning" or anything like that.  Nope.  He says, "I threw my dinner in the trash last night.  I wasn't supposed to do that, so my brothers got suckers because they ate their dinner all gone, but I had to go to bed because I threw my dinner in the trash."

Good morning to you, too, son.

The next statement, about 45 seconds later, had something to do with boys being tall, tall, taller, and baby sisters being little because they are babies.

Then, he wanted tea to drink with his lunch today, but I never got around to making it before nap time.  So, after a 2 1/2 hour nap, he emerged from his bedroom and promptly began to cry because he wanted tea.

Oh, and as a side note, he likes to run around in his underwear.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Whew. Life as a family of 6 is busy. And fun. And adventurous. And {slightly} chaotic. Okay, completely chaotic. But, its OUR chaos and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Sometimes, Jess and I just meet eyes over the top of our kids' heads {and whatever mess they've just made}, and give each other THE LOOK. You know, the one that says, "Don't you dare laugh. These are YOUR children. I mean it. No laughing. Seriously." And, then you decide its more fun to laugh anyway.

During the course of today:

-we have stopped Laney Kate from crawling to and digging in the trash can approximately 14 times

-we have cleaned up Laney Kate's spit up messes from the floor around 5 times

-we have pulled a crawling Laney Kate away from a place she shouldn't be (ie, the bathroom (left open by a brother), the boys' bedroom, the fireplace, the stove, the screen door (left open by a brother)), somewhere in the ballpark of 64 times

-we have fished minute particles of whatever Laney Kate can find to stick in her mouth about 3 times

-I grocery shopped for our family of 6 (including coupons and ad matches, having the oil changed, and filling up the gas tank...hey, at least Wal-Mart is a one-stop shopping experience!)

-ran children to and from school

-prepared Valentines

-staunched the bleeding on Ayden's face after he "pretended" to shave like Daddy in the tub and cut his lip for real

-studied for the spelling bee with Ayden

-practiced Landon's nursery rhyme he has to memorize for school

-made dinner with the help of my little chef, Cams

-wiped {and suctioned out} Laney Kate's nose

-gave baths

And, then we looked at each other and wondered why we are so tired tonight?

But, what a fun day we've had. The boys played with their Play-Doh for a record amount of time before arguing, and then it was only brief. Laney Kate is a crawling, pulling up, teething little 8 1/2 month old with a sweet disposition and the prettiest smile EVA. Dinner was NOT a battle. And, tomorrow is the last day of school before our first 4 day weekend.

I'd say we're pretty blessed.

Ready for sleep.

But, definitely blessed.