The Lunsford Family

More Christmas and other stuff.

2012-01-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

With the Duncan Kids in San Angelo, TX

Cam and Ava

At G'ma Maylene's

Brooks loved the boxes of course

At G'ma Charlene's messing with all the presents

Cowboy Cam with Aunt Le Le dressed for G'dad's party

With Charlene's sister Aunt Pam

"Jimmy" masks! Happy birthday!!

Brooks and Uncle Gene

Cousin Michael was great with Brooks

Reading advice to Grandad Schulle

Michael got a Snuggie in the Dirty Santa Exchange, hahahaha!!

Lil Santa Opening presents at The Lunsfords

It's tough being this cute!

With our mustache suckers I made for stocking stuffers

With second cousin Emily (my cousin Michael's daughter)

Walker loved his fireman costume

Brooksie chilling in the folding chairs CeCe got all the boys

And Dr. Cam giving out shots and medicines

All the Cresswells and Graves kids

Santa brought this fun ride on toy

And a giant house to color on

And a ball pit (pack n' play filled with balls!)

I promise I will try to do better this year with postings! It's a little hard to remember to do it when I have so many other things I want to do but I know we have some people to keep up with us through this. So, we have had some real fun over the past few weeks. I love having a break from school and even some weekend shifts off which we have taken full advantage of.

"Savannah"

Side of the house you can drive under the back side

gorgeous kitchen!

Dining area this will feature a waterfall wall

The frame I made for Leigh Anne, inspired by Pinterest

Trey's parents lakehouse is complete and we have gone down the twice now and it is going to be so much fun especially in the summers. We had my mom's side over the Friday before Christmas. It was good to see my cousins who I don't see often. We did gifts with my parents that night and got to give mom her big gift from my dad, brother and sister- an iPad!! She was completely shocked. She never guessed we would do that for her! I couldn't wait for her to open it! The boys had a great Christmas morning and Santa spoiled them as always. I also wanted to include a couple of Pinterest inspired creations that we made over the holiday. Currently, I will be beginning my final semester of obtaining my Master's this week. I will be doing 2-3 days a week in a family practice clinic (unpaid) plus a thesis like writing class (ugh!) as well as my regularly scheduled Sat/Sun shifts at the hospital. I am praying that God has a wonderful job in store for me after I finish, because I can't even focus on that right now! On other news, Brooks has officially started walking! He started pulling up and cruising on furniture around 7-8 mths, crawling 7 months, first step at 10 months and now is walking all over the place. He's still a little unsteady, but he gets where he needs to go! He is finally sleeping through the night (thank you Jesus!) unless he's sick (we've had stomach bugs and ear infections lately) or teething. He's still our little needy, rough housing kid. He is going to be tough when he grows up. He will be beating up his big brother any day now...I've never seen a child so full of energy. He never stops moving. Constantly on the go and then just crashes at bedtime. I'm currently working on my new year's resolutions and photography uploads (I make a shutterfly book of the entire year's worth of photos every year instead of printing out photos or scrapbooking, I highly recommend it!!). I have been dieting to get off the last few pounds of Brooks' baby weight. I have started back going to Zumba last week (actually 3 x's last week!) and have lost a few pounds already (woo hoo!). I hope that this year brings you a ton of health, success, properity, happiness and closeness to the Lord.

Fall/Winter Happenings and Photos

2011-12-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

Sweet brothers before bathtime!

So alots gone on since my last blog. Brooks is growing like a weed he's now 10 months old and I've been so busy that I totally forgot to take his monthly photo in my grandmothers rocker! He is crushing around on furniture like a champ and has taken a step or two but still not brave enough yet to take off! He'll stand up so well without holding onto anything and just clap for himaelf;) he has a seconD ear infection this time with a little RSVP bronchiolitis mixed in;( his daycare teacher calls me and tells me his fever is 102 and he's wheezing so of course I'm freaking out, well after a trip to the minor me clinic a cheat X-ray and 2 breathing treatments an inhaler and an antibiotic, we were diagnosed with double ear infections and bronchiolitis! I has to put him to bed with Vicks rub and humidifier it was rough but he's doing much better! I think his older brother + daycare germs has resulted in all of these illnesses. But cam is doing great he has been obsessed with drawing coloring drawing and anything art related. I love it as an artist myself, I truly think he could draw or color all day! He is learning his letters and can now write his name very well too!!! He has leaned so much this year with mrs stacy.

Brooksie baby loves bath time!!

He thought this was too fun!

Pumpkin picking

These are old and from October I believe, but I've been so slammed this semester with school and work. But these are from October when the boys went ot pick out our pumpkins!

Brooks and Le Le at the Ole Miss vs Alabama game in the Grove

With Mommy at the tailgate

Cam doing what he does best, steal cupcakes!!

Brooks took a nap in an empty cooler. (we didn't bring the pack n' play) he didn't notice!!

And awake with Gallegah

With some friends of ours in the grove

7 months old!

Brooks' first Halloween!

Before Trick or treat, my little Cars' pitt boss and Chick-fil-A cow

The cow didn't last long while Trick or treating!

Our friends Jack and Abby brought over their little "Yoda" (Jackson-2)

Cam is such an artist, this is his wall of masterpieces!!

Brooks likes to swipe food from the fridge!

With Daddy Trick or Treating!

Cam did this all by himself! I am so impressed!

The boys daycare photos

Again in the refridgerator! This time I think he grabbed a box of cheesecake b/f I noticed him!

Our finished kitchen:)

My little messy:)

Crawling on his grandad at the farm in Hickory Flat

My Sunday school friends Rachel and Misty (both pregnant)

More ladies from Sunday school at a social we hosted last month

This was about half of the kids who were there! We're a fertile class! hehe

My friend Rachel and I

Cam, Walker and Brooks cousins taking a group bath while visiting CeCe at the farm

Brooks eating spaghetti = topless for less mess

We're excited about Christmas this year. We've just finished our travels to Texas which went great! We decided to break up the trip a little and for the first time we stayed in hotel rooms. With a family of four now especially with my lite sleepers we just couldn't put any family out this year! On the first leg if thw journey we made on 2nd annual stop at the huge bass pro shop in fort worth to santa. We got to stop through San Angelo where trey grew up and stayed with treys beat friend growing up chad and his family Jana, and their 3 beautiful kids miles (9) jack(6) and ava(2). We got to spend some time with them in their new beautiful home and it was so fun catching up and hagunf out for a night! Then we did the annual enchiladas at treys grandmother maylene's. Everyone chipped in and had a good lunch and then good time opening gifts. The next day we celebrated treys g'dad Jimmie's 80th bday with the whole Fam. It was funny bc we all had a list of advice to give him since he is always dsoiling it out to us! It was so funny, he also received about 30 star tobacco packs (all he asked for) so he's stocked for the year!! Then we did the dirty Santa exchange which is always funny. We watched the Help( a wonderful tear jerker you should watch when you could get chance) and we decided to get a head start on the long drive back while the boys would be sleeping and went ahead and drove to Dallas and stayed the night so the trip would be shorter. Brooksie is not a great car rider. The last time we put him in his car seat after being in the car all day he just starting crying " no, no, no , no!!!" ;(

Christmas cards hung by ribbon on the cabinets (saw it on Pinterest-if you don't know about this look into it! It's changed my life!!)

8 months old

10 months (oops missed 9 month picture!)

These were featured on our Christmas card this year. (again all ideas were inspired by pinterest)

Professional shoot at the Collierville town square with Ramblin Rose "Merry Christmas!!"

Cute lil' guys!

Cam is getting so tall and thin. He looks like a big kid now :(

Grandad Schulle with his birthday haul!!

Camden thanking Great Grandma Maylene for his gifts

Deep convo with Old Saint Nick...

In your dreams boys....

The boys with the Santa at Bass Pro Shop outside Dallas. They loved it!

Brooks got spoiled rotten with toys and gifts!

1st attempt at a family photo...

multiple attempts for a family photos :(

Camden Claus with Grandad

All in all we travels about 1400 miles wen through 4 states, stayed in 3 different hotel rooms and a friends house, met up with 4 friends from trey's high school, had a family bday party, and 2 Christmases! Whew!! It was a whirlwind but fun the boys did pretty good we just stopped a few times to let them play in a burger king playground to release some pent up energy!! I'm going to upload a second entry tonight or tomorrow with more pictures. My 7 th semester in grad school just finished, I got an A and a B. I also was invited to be in the Sigma Theta Tau honor society;) I cannot wait until next year I will be through withy masters program and off to work as an FNP. I have no jobs lines up but I know God will lay something out for me. I'm so ready to be off weekends to spend time with my family and give trey a break from total dad duty every weekends! Plus we will be making many a trip to pickwick with the lunsford's new lake house being complete any day now:) hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and please take time to remember what the real reason for the season is! Jesus Christ!

Brooks' 6 Month pics and Eventful weekend at the Lake

2011-09-21T08:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some great pictures from the past couple of weeks. Brooks is crawling all over the place- not in the traditional sense he does more of a snake move but he gets where he needs to go (and sometimes where we dont want him to!!). We have a bottom tooth finally and he has been a much happier camper. He is getting so big. Most of his clothes are at least 12 months and he can fit in some 18 months outfits. Here are some pictures from his 6 month shoot with Ramblin Rose Photography, we love Kim Miller's work and cannot wait for his 9 mth shoot!!

Playing in our backyard, Brooks and Wrigley having a little chat :)

Daddy threw Camden in the air he looked like he was flying!

Were at a standstill on the kitchen renovation. We have been so busy with work and school that we just tabled it for now. Mainly we just need to finish grouting the backsplash and painting the stairwell up to the second floor. Here's how it looks so far

The espresso brown bar and white cabinets look really good with the sagey green

We have all the bricks up (even though this picture doesn't show that). Just need to finish grouting!

"Savannah" (the name of the house picked by Jo Jo since it is located in Savannah, TN)

is coming along!

This past weekend we decided to go check the progress of the lakehouse Trey's parents are building at lake Pickwick (about an hour and half drive from our house). So we went to Hickory Flat in MS to my late grandad's place and spent the night with mom and my nephew. We all got up early Saturday and drove over to the lake. On the way mom had a little car trouble and luckily we found a place in Burnsville, MS that could replace an alternator on a short notice. So we all piled in Trey's truck and went on over to the lakehouse lot. It is coming along great! I think we will have many fun summers over there. The weather was so nice, sunny and just right not hot and not too cool.

Riding the tram down to the boat with a friend of James and Joan's

The tram is a little scary (it's high up and has no door!) Better hold on tight!

Daddy and Cam on the boat

Mom and Camden

Walker had a blast!

The water was cold, but the boys didn't seem to mind!

Having fun

Trey, Cam, Walker and I took the boat out for an hour or so to ride around the lake a little and let the boys swim. The boys were doing great until when Walker and Cam were rough housing in a little closet/bathroom on the boat and Cam got his finger slammed in the door. It was quite traumatic and his finger looked mangled and was gapping open bleeding quite a bit. I just knew that it was broken and we at least needed stitches... So, Trey and I scooped him up we pulled the boat back in to the slip and jumped in the car towards Corinth's hospital ER. I held pressure on Camden's finger in the back seat while Trey sped to the hospital (we did get pulled over, but a bleeding crying child got us out of a ticket!) Once there Camden was very calm as long as I kept the finger covered he didn't seem to be in pain, but whenever a nurse or doctor needed to assess it he began wimpering again. He and I got xrays of our hands (mine was holding his flat on the plate) and luckily it wasn't broken! So, then the fun part of a nervous doctor trying to stitch a screaming 3 year olds tiny finger up as we held him down. It was quite an experience and he got a total of four stitches (I thought he needed at least 6).As a nurse, I've seen so many patients in pain and suffering but there is something so different when it is your own child. I teared up as I had to hold Camden's sweet little hand in mine as the doctor inflicted more pain on him to attempt to heal his wound. He was precious as he simply cried, "I want to go home" but it was over before we knew it and they doctor really did great considering how stressful the situation was. They were so nice at Magnolia hospital and they treated him so sweet by turning on cartoons in his room so he would be distracted and gave him a popsicle and he's been doing great ever since! The nurse who took care of him even called us on Sunday to check in and make sure he was ok. I loved that they seemed to really care.

So of course the experience made me nervous about going back and the possibility of either of my boys having another accident but I already talked to JoJo about the house and boat, etc and making sure it will be safe and secure and she assured us that it will be :) We will just have to really keep an eye on them and be cautious and respect the boat and water because we know boys will be boys!!

On another note, please keep our friends from church Brittany (also great friends with Leigh Anne, Trey's sister) and Brenton Montgomery in your prayers. Brenton is a Captain for the US Army and will be deployed to Afghanistan in October for a year to lead a group of soliders in some dangerous missions. They are a young married couple and have a massive test of faith over this next year. Our church had a prayer service for the family last Sunday (we were able to attend due to Cam's accident-that was a blessing!). It was so emotional and a huge group wrapped around them and sent up prayers to the Lord to provide a hedge of protection around Brenton as he defends our country in a foreign and turbulent land. We know Brittany will be a nervous wreck the next year, but she is a believer and we know that God will bring her peace beyond her own understanding... Our sunday school class also had a barbecue in honor of the Montgomerys that unfortunately we were not able to attend but I included a picture of that group.

Most of our sunday school class. Brittany and Brenton are in front she is blonde in shorts and he is wearing a baby blue shirt and jeans.

We are praying for them and their families and friends for peace, sanity, protection and safety as he carries out this mission he has been called to do.

Renovations...

2011-09-06T15:38:00.000-07:00

Brooks' mean mug

5 months old picture

Since I had my pediatrics rotation this summer I was pretty consumed with it. I had clinical 2-3 days a week for two months plus work on the weekends it was alot plus trying to study and keep up with the boys you can see why we haven't updated in a while. But the boys and I stayed home together one week and played and went to checkups and Camden's first dentist visit (went great, no cavities!!). We have been doing alot of stuff like swimming at JoJo and Grandad's every week. The boys went down to check on the Lunsford's lakehouse at Pickwick a few weekends ago. I can't wait until next summer when I'm through with school and can get off weekends!!

Here are some pictures from our summer adventures:

Cam jumping off the diving board (he has no fear)

at the Hessers at a college friends get together

At the Sprinkler park with Walker, Cam we met up with Brooke and her kiddos and Cappy

Tracy's birthday party with her and Jimmy

This was my attempt to get all the kids to look at me:) Walker and Cam in matching robes (thank you CeCe) and Brooke's two Bryce and CeCe on the right

Brooks and Dad taking a dip at JoJo's

Wednesday night swim night

Cam at the playground

The boys in the sandbox that Aunt LeeLee gave Cam for his bday

Sweet boy

I had two weeks off before my fall semester started, I decided to tackle the enormous task of redecorating the kitchen/den/breakfast area. I have been dying to do this since we bought the house and I laid eyes on that awful burnt orange walls and orangey natural wood beadboard cabinetry.
Here is the before:

So first mom and I refinished/painted the cabinets, then we went on to refinish and paint the front bar as a dark brown. It This process took the better part of the week (cleaning, stripping, 2-4 coats on the cabinets, glazing...UGH!!) and Trey finished it while I was at work that weekend by putting the top coat on (thank you babe!).

Coat one pre glazing:

Bar first coat:

Then this week was spent painting the kitchen and den a beautiful sage green that I'm calling a wasabi (the real name is tadpole). Mom took off a few days off and helped me tremendously. Without her, we would still be working on the cabinets! Then Labor day weekend Trey took the boys to the Grove in Oxford to enjoy tailgating with the family (I of course was at work!) But then we started the brick backsplash when I got off Sunday night and on Labor Day. I ordered the bricks from a place in Memphis that specializes in repurposed stuff. They took antique bricks from Chicago and cut the fronts off to create a veneer that we glued to the backsplash like tile. We still need to grout but I'm so excited it looks so much better already. I still have a few more things I want to do but I need to take a break from spending money for a while I think! Camden even helped with the painting. Yes, I let a 3 year old loose to paint my walls. He actually did really well!

Finished with the sage (wasabi)!

Beginning the brick backsplash. it changes the whole room!

bye bye orange!!

I will post a final picture when it's all done!

Other than that, Brooks is trying his hardest to crawl. He is eating like a little pig and I think we have our first tooth about to make an appearance any day now. He just took his 6 month pictures with Kim Miller cannot wait to post them!

6 mths old

Camden is learning so much in his new class. Ms Stacy is incredible and he knows his ABCs, can recognize most letters if he sees them, even knows the sounds they make. He has learned what month his birthday is in and how to trace his name. I cannot believe he can do all these things and he's only 3! The school has been really good for him. He also started Karate this summer and he loves it. They come to the school and do the lessons and he comes home telling us about how he kicked and punched things(the punch through xray films to make a loud noise). My clinical for my women's health starts tomorrow and I'm anxiously awaiting what this rotation has in store. I hope and pray that I can learn a ton and become even more skilled and knowledgeable as a nurse practitioner.

Bad Blogger, but lots of pictures!! :)

2011-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:00

Here are a few of my favorites from Brooks' 3 month shoot with Ramblin Rose. He was such a ham. We brought the quilt that Leigh Anne's boyfriend's mom made for Brooks. It was a hit! I love how colorful it all was.

We got a little silly with the newspaper/trunk/fedora shoot. It was so funny.

A month or so ago, me and Cam had a fun mommy/cam playdate at the zoo. It was so hot, but we had a really fun time just the two of us:)

Brooks' 3 month picture

and his four month shoot. He is definitely eating well as you can see:)

We had a Memorial Day cookout before I had to return to work at our house. We had brisket, BBQ, burgers, slip n slide and of course cornhole. It was so fun. Everyone brought their kids and we had a great time!! Trey's first attempt at the brisket was awesome, there wasn't a scrap left over.

Most of the ladies with their kids

Brooks and mommy

The kids LOVED the slip n slide!

Aunt TT with Brooks

Aunt Lee Lee with Brooks

And Uncle Jimmy with the Brooksmeister. I guess we were passing him around alot!

The "Bud Guys" playing cornhole

The next day mom Brooks and I took off to Hot Springs, AR for a little mommy spa getaway. We stayed in a sweet bed and breakfast (that had a great jacuzzi tub). We enjoyed the wonderful breakfast in the main house each morning with the owners and other guests. Our room was in the carriage house out behind the main house and it was so great, Brooks slept better than ever. I indulged in the spa baths that everyone talks about. It was interesting, not for the modest and probably not something I would do again! But we ate at some great places suggested by the locals and shopped quite a bit. The last day we went to this fun spa where I got another massage, and mom and I both got paraffin hand treatments and parafin spa pedicures. It was wonderful!! If you are ever in the area, check out Andrea Rose Spa. They were great!

Brooks and I downtown Hot Springs

Our own personal jacuzzi tub

The main house at the Spring Street Inn, so nice!!

The fun little spa (in both buildings) we went to on the way out of town

Every Wednesday this Summer the Lunsfords have opened up their home to us for swim night. We have gone a few times already and both boys enjoy it!

Spiderman goggles and flippers Cam got from Aunt Leigh Anne

Mr. Brooks in his exersaucer he loves it!

About to hit the pool with Gran Gran

Of course a few weeks ago we had Cam's Funky Weird, Wacky birthday. Everyone was asked to wear their craziest, mismatched outfits and we headed up to JUMP! it is an indoor jumping slide place. It was blast and alot of our friends' kids and kids from Cam's class came. It was hilarious. Camden loved all the attention and playing with his cousin and friends.

Brooks dressed the part with Jo Jo!

Ethan came in his mismatched outfit! He is in Camden's "Billy Goats" class at daycare

Gallegah (my dad) feeding mismatched Brooks

Walker has grown up so much!!

Cam Cam coming down the slide

My brother doesn't have to have his arm twisted to dress up crazy!!

Or my sister either...

Some of my girlfriends Amanda and Abby at the party

The kids about to dig in to pizza and cupcakes!

Singing happy birthday to my little boy! Cannot believe he is already 3!!

Attentive for a picture while Ethan's mommy read them one of Cam's new books!

Cam in the big birthday chair!

My crazy family...look close Brooks is the one with the orange wig:)

Tj, Joan and Jimmy!

This was on his invite

Modeling his mismatched outfit!

Brooks is growing so big, I think he is at 17 lbs now! I'm still nursing, so I guess he taking the fat from me (at least I hope so!!) Here are some cute pictures from the last few weeks..

We recently celebrated Father's day with Trey. He got a mug Cam made a school and some picture frames that both boys classes made. It was adorable!! We also made a book for him where Cam recorded some stories that he had for his dad and he was so cute and funny. It will be great when he grows older to listen to his young voice and see how much he's grown.

This past weekend, Trey's grandmother came to visit from Texas. She had been complaining of headache and sinus congestion. We thought she had a cold from the week before, but by Friday her headache had worsened and she was vomiting. James and Joan took her to the ER where she was admitted and transferred to the neuro ICU for a hemorraghic stroke! We were all shocked, but she has been since fine and was transferred to a step down unit and I just received word that she will be released today. She was in the hosptial for a week, It was a little scary, but she is in great spirits and feels much better. We love you Great Grandma Schulle!! I'm not sure when she will be returning home, but I know she is anxious to get home and resume a normal life!

April/May goings on...

2011-05-25T09:44:00.000-07:00

So sorry I am waaay behind posting any updates. I guess I've been enjoying my time off from school and trying to get a few things accomplished around the house. Brooks is doing really well. He is growing like a weed and smiling up a storm. He is a strong little guy and pushes up with his legs in his bouncy seat and when you are holding him up right. He tries to sit up from a laying position by himself already. I think he is going to be VERY active once he becomes mobile, I better start the baby proofing now!

Easter was a fun week. We took Cam and Walker to Cedar Hill Farms in Hernando, MS. They have hayrides out to a field of easter eggs, petting zoo, and a playground. It was fun! Cam and I dyed easter eggs and I honestly dont remember it being so much work! Camden loved it though.

These are from a little Easter photo shoot I had at the house since we didn't go to church on Easter since we were in St. Louis:

We baptized Brooks at church. It was very special. We stood before our church family and dedicated our child to the Lord. And vowed we would raise him in the church and in a Godly lifesyle. Big responsibility!! My parents came and Joan and James. We went to eat brunch afterwards at Mesquite Chophouse which was yummy!!

Our sunday school class has a get together once a month to socialize April we went bowling. Camden enjoyed it for a minute but he didn't like having to wait his turn and quickly got bored.

Learning tee ball:

Brook loves his backpack carrier. He falls asleep in it every time.

Cam is being his typical funny self. Some of his funny sayings are:
When Brooks is crying he looks at me and says "he wants to eat your ninnies" (aka wants to nurse!)
I asked him who he wanted to invite to his birthday party and he said "I don't want anybody to bite me!" then when I explained what invite means, he said "everybody...and their mommies!" when he eats all of his foodand we say something about how great he is eating or the happy plate he made, he'll just look at us and say, "I'm going to be fat." just very matter of factly! (I guess he picked that up from me and his daddy since we are both trying to lose some weight). And anything that happens in the past he describes as "last night" as in "I had my birthday party last night" (meaning last year).
And last night we were talking about the tooth fairy and how when you lose a tooth the tooth fairy give you money. And he said almost tearfully:"I don't want the tooth fairy to put money in my mouth! I want to keep all of my teeth..." He is our constant comedian..

City Museum

A couple of weeks ago over Easter weekend the entire Cresswell clan and our family trekked over to St. Louis and had a mini family vaca. We weren't deterred by the thunderstorms (or tornado warnings!). We hit up the City Museum which if you haven't been was so cool. It wasn't like anything we have ever seen. It is a labyrinth of tunnels, caves, slides etc all made from recycled items (buffet tins, letterpress tablets, sponges, etc). The boys had a blast. The guys (my dad, brother, nephew, trey and cam plus my sister) went to a St. Louis Cardinals game. Trey has never been more proud as he was to take his son to his first major league baseball game. They even got a baseball from the bullpen catcher! Camden was so excited. Mom, Brooks and I went out to eat at a nice restaurant by our hotel and rented a movie (for $16!!!) back at the room. The next day we traveled to Six Flags which was great b/c of all the overcast skies, noone hardly was at the park and that meant no lines for us! We had so much fun and the boys got to ride a ton of rides. The easter bunny even made an appearance to the hotel room with lots of goodies for all the boys.All in all it was a great trip and I was so glad we got to make it before I had to return to work.

six flags

easter bunny came to the hotel

walker and cam..two mean dudes.

Work is good. I have been picking up a few extra shifts (besides my Sat and Sun shifts I work) until I start back to school and it's been a nice change of pace. I know my pocketbook has been missing it! But Brooks has been staying home with me on my off days and on my workdays he goes to the little daycare provided by my work. I love it, its super organized, clean and convenient. I wish there was something more like it where we live! You can pay per day and there are very few children there. Cam loves his school and he is doing great. Everyone knows him there he is mister popularity:) Brooks will be starting there in June when I resume my classes.

Brooks' 2 month shot

As far as the flooding in memphis goes, we are not affected at all. Our friends who live downtown have seen the water up to the road, but haven't had to evacuate. Other areas of Memphis aren't so lucky however, and they need prayers as they have had loss of belongings and valuables. I will post pictures of the 3 mth shoot as soon as I get them from Kim my photographer friend.
We just took Brooks' 3 month pictures which is hard to believe! He was such a little ham, I cannot wait to see how they turned out:)

Professional Pictures and Birth Announcements

2011-04-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

When Brooks was about 2 weeks old, we went to my photographer friend Kim Miller's studio in Memphis to get his newborn shots. I think Cam was the star of the shoot, but we got some great ones of Brooks too. I so longed for those sweet sleepy newborn shots but neither one of my kids take to being photographed asleep it seems! Brooks was wide awake the whole time. But here are a few of my favorites. Cam was cutting up and he acted like a little Gap Kids model in every frame.

I think he fell in love with Nicole, Kim's assistant whatever she said to do he did! He was so cute. Also I finally completed the birth announcements. It took me forever because I was having to design them pretty much one handed (Brooks was in my other arm the whole time). But I will post a pic of them once everyone receives theirs in the mail I don't want to ruin the surprise;) Other than that we have Trey's annual Chili cookoff, should be really fun. I'll post pics of that after Saturday. I'm working steadily on my weightloss, so far 24 lbs with many more to go! It's not coming off as easily as it seemed to with Cam. But I also wasn't in grad school and I didn't have a broken foot, so I'm trying to cut myself a little slack. I joined Weight Watchers, so we'll see how that goes, so far I enjoy the game of keeping up with my daily points on my android phone app. If anyone has any pointers, I'm all ears!!

Sip n' See Success

2011-03-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Buffet table

Delicious sweets tables

The fodd was unbelievable!

Juice and Mimosas!

Visiting with the ladies

Cam reading a book with Jude, they had a ball playing!

Little Preston was adorable!

Who could have taken a bite out of the desserts and put it back??

Our friends Blakely and Jude (and Jasper) happen to be in town from Alabama!

Cam playing with friends

Can I have another cupcake??

(I think its safe to say this was the dessert swiper and taster from the above picture!)

and just one more??

Adorable diaper cake Aunt Le Le made!

The Man of the hour Mr. Brooks!

Shrimp and Grits bar. My favorite!!

Tissue balls tracy made. So cool!

Last Saturday, the ladies in my family hosted a wonderful "sip n' see". I insisted that it was not a shower, but people still felt compelled to give us a ton of lovely gifts. We opened our home to a slew of ladies to come enjoy a wonderful brunch that the hostesses prepared and take a look at the baby. One of my coworkers jokingly nicknamed it the "lick and look!" Hilarious! But, it was nice to have many people over to our house who had never been and show them the nursery. We had a ball with all the kids who showed up, Cam was in heaven playing. He was hopped up on sugar since the cupcakes on the table were in his reach and he had ample oppurtunity to swipe one when noone was looking. I think I counted 5-6 he devoured! Brooks did great but all the excitement and lack of nap left him a little fussy that night and I had to rock him and give him some gripe water to get him to finally go to sleep. He has started settling into a small routine he stays awake for most of the morning until after lunch (unless I go somewhere and he'll sleep longer from the car ride) and then a long nap in the afternoon. I usually am doing some sort of homework during this time. School has been killing me lately! I have had at least 2 papers a week it seems and then online postings and discussions. I cannot wait until May when I get a break!! But Brooks has a little bit of a fussy time at night usually around 7 or 8. He will just cry and cry and nothing seems to help. He'll usually fall asleep from exhaustion and then sleep for an hour or so and back up again, but not crying just hungry. I can't seem to get him on a great sleeping schedule at night. He doesn't like the bassinet that much and I prop him up on his boppy to sleep since he's got reflux and some sinus congestion. He doesn't sleep flat much. We've been dealing with the reflux for a few weeks now. He spits up constantly! I have never seen a baby throw up as much as he does. It isn't affecting his health, he's gaining weight like a champ. He weighed 10 lbs 4 oz at his one month checkup, but it isn't great for my laundry load! I think I get spit up on at least 4 times a day and he has to change a few times as well! Ugh!! I took his four week pictures like I did with Camden in my grandmother's rocker with the stuffed monkey (I can't see to find the giraffe that I used with Cam) but we also did some with an owl from Brooks' nursery. I included Cam's one month old picture so you can see how much they favor. I call him Cam all the time on accident, it feels like I had the same baby when I look at old pictures of Camden!

Brooks with his monkey

Four Weeks Old with Ollie the Owl

Camden as a four week old:)

I had Cam sleeping at least 6 hours a night by this point, so I don't know what I did differently, but Brooks has only gone 5 hrs once. I guess since I gave Cam only bottles he probably ate more at a time than Brooks (and he kept it down!) I'm open for suggestions from any of my mom friends though! We're doing the stay awake for play time after eating deal but it doesn't seem to matter. I think it has to do with his sleeping arrangement, maybe I'll move him to the crib soon.

Our other development is Brooks is starting to smile (not jest when he's sleeping when he's awake)! He almost talks to me in the morning when we get up. He'll coo and grin at me like he's telling me what he wants to do for the day or about his dreams he had last night. It melts my heart, sweetest thing ever! Other than that we're just having fun watching our little ones grow. I finally ordered the birth announcements (a little late due to grad school) and they should go out next week, so watch your mailboxes! I'll post our professional photos once I mail out the announcements! They turned out beautifully.

Growing Bigger

2011-03-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

We've been doing well the last couple weeks. This baby is pretty laid back and not very fussy. He is pretty content to swing in his swing or look around in his bouncy seat (something his older brother didn't enjoy at all!) He's nursing great making my life easier (especially at night).

Sink bath..not a fan:(

He does not like being cold, Cam is the hot natured one so this is a change for us! Pretty much the only time Brooks cries is when he is being undressed or having a diaper change. He's growing too. We had some issues with a plugged tear duct and have been to the doctor twice about it in the last 2 weeks. It's starting to resolve, after lots of tear duct massage, warm compresses and antibiotic ointment. But he now weighs 9 lbs 4 oz! I'm pretty happy about it! He's almost outgrown his newborn clothes and diapers. Everyone always says how little he is, but I feel like he's getting pretty big.

Sweet Brothers

Cam is settling into being a good big brother. He does have his jealous moments and has some acting out times which is in part to his age I think. Still doing great with the potty training. We have about one accident a week, mostly at home. The daycare is proud to say they have no accidents.

We've been blessed with lots of visitors and everyone has been so generous! Our sunday school class has signed up for 2-3 days a week bringing us dinner, which has been a Godsend! It really helps us out to not have to worry about cooking a dinner and having something prepared for us special. We have been sent lots of happies (money, personalized gifts, etc). Trey's sister's boyfriend, TJ's mom was so sweet to make Brooks a owl quilt which I'm in love with!

Mrs Milcic's owl quilt, so sweet! And the outfit is from the Richardsons, cute!

She also remembered Cam as a big brother and got him a Noah's Ark with all the animals which he plays with daily and has even tried to take to bed a couple of nights :) He lines up the animals in "trains", one of his favorite things to do.

Our Sunday School had four babies born within 2 months of each other. 2 boys and 2 girls. We all decided to meet up for lunch last week to have some adult convo before the first lady goes back to work. I have to say I know I have some work to do on my weight, but I'm at least 4 weeks behind everyone else and I think once I can start doing some walking it should come off better (I'm in a walking boot for the next 6 weeks!) but I included the pictures anyway.

Other than that we had our newborn photo shoot 2 weeks ago with Ramblin Rose Photography and they are precious! I will include some photos soon. Next weekend is our sip n' see for all the ladies in our lives to get a chance to come enjoy brunch at our home and get to meet Brooks! Trey's mom and sister along with my mom and sister are hosting and it is going to be great!

It's a BOY!! Brooks' Birthday

2011-02-21T09:01:00.000-08:00

Ryan Brooks Lunsford. 7 lbs 7oz, 21 1/4 inches long, beautiful:)

Well, we finally know the sex of baby #2! It's a BOY! I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of this little bundle of joy and scheduled for Tues (feb. 15th) for an induction, but this little guy decided to make an early appearance! I woke up early Saturday morning (feb 12th) around 1 am with cramps and what I thought was contractions. So, I got out my contraction timer application on my phone and began tracking them. They were coming every 8 to 10 minutes so I started getting my belongings together without waking Trey yet. I wanted to be sure I needed to go to the hospital before I totally woke up the whole house. I sat up and watched TV, my sister came over and we hung out. I started having more regular contractions around 3 am and they were coming at around five to seven minutes apart at this time. I went ahead and woke up Trey and he called his mom to watch Cam. We packed up the car and were on our way. Of course, my contractions began to slow down a bit but I figured I was past my due date and I might as well go in. The hospital triaged me and monitored me for what seemed like forever and then decided that I wasn't really progressing and I should be sent home!! I was devastated! I was hurting and tired and they wanted me to take an Ambien sleeping pill! I was horrified. I hate that drug and refused to take it. I don't even give it to my patients in the hospital, it makes people do crazy things. So I went home and was very emotional. I tried taking a hot bath, tylenol, ate breakfast drank a large glass of water whatever I could to maybe ease the pain, nothing helped. My mom came over and I decided I would go to the hospital again I was hurting really badly. When I got there, Trey and I sat in the parking lot for an hour or so to see if my contractions got closer together. We didn't want them to send us home again! Meanwhile, I fell asleep so Trey thought it best that we go back home. I ate lunch and felt better for an hour or two then the contractions became unbearable. I told Trey I didn't care what we had to do but I was not going to go through this labor all day without something for pain. We went back for the 3rd time at 5pm and I had progressed to 4 cm and my contractions were more regular and stronger. They decided to admit me this time! I was in my room and got my epidural( a Godsend!!) at around 7, they started the pitocin and by 8 I was already 9 cm and they were calling the doctor. By 9pm I was fully dilated and we were waiting on Dr. Lacy to arrive. Once it was time to push I only had to push 4 times and he was out! He was definitely ready to be born. It was miraculous! We were so happy and then my inlaws came in with Camden and he was pretty excited, somewhat confused but excited. He didn't understand the hospital bracelets and all the machines and wanted to know why he couldn't stay! We named the baby Brooks which turns out was my great great grandmother's maiden name :) We didn't know it was a family name until after we had already picked it out. I have been feeling remarkably well, with little pain and the baby is doing wonderful. He is nursing great and sleeping well. He's not fussy and doesn't have to be held constantly like Camden did. I have really been blessed with so many wonderful men in my life now I'm a little outnumbered in the house with all these boys! But we couldn't be happier. We are enjoying all the visitors and everyone has really been great to include Camden and not let him feel like it's all about the baby. He has gotten almost as many presents as he did at Christmas! Brooks is sleeping pretty well at night we had one fussy night the first night we were home but I think it had to do with all the chocolate I ate that day for Valentines! Other than that he will sleep about 3-4.5 hours at a time which I can handle just fine. He doesn't nurse too long so we only are up for about 30 mins each time, eating, burping, changing his diaper and back to bed!

I also included some pictures of a few weeks ago when it snowed once again and Camden's daycare was closed and Trey's work opened late so they enjoyed some fun in the snow! It was a blast for them. I will be posting more pictures from our newborn session with Ramblin Rose Photography and from the Sip n' See that Joan, Leigh Anne, Tracy and Mom are throwing us coming up in a few weeks. For now, thanks for your thoughts prayers, phone calls and emails we really appreciate them as well settle into a family of four!

Love at first sight!

Meeting mom

and CeCe

With Aunt Tracy (TT)

and Big Brother Cam!!

Hey JoJo!

Camden got baby Brooks a present!

With the rest of the Lunsford clan

Happy family of four!

So proud!

Some friends came to visit

So cool little snowboarder dude!

Look Mom :)

Snow dog!

Watching and waiting...

2011-02-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

So, my due date came and went yesterday :( I thought for sure that we would have a new baby by now, but nothing has happened yet. We had a false alarm last week when I thought I was having contractions and we packed up and took Cam to stay with my dad but then they went away and we were still pregnant! Two weeks ago I somehow messed up my foot at work transporting a patient across the hospital and was unable to walk on it. I thought it was a sprain but a week later it still hurt and I could barely walk on it. I went to my doctor and he xrayed it and told me I had a stress fracture. It was small, but it sure does hurt. So he took me off work, so I'm just stuck at home and not really able to do anything. I need to be up walking and cleaning to get the house ready for the baby and all the visitors I'm sure we'll have after he/she is born but I am not able! It's very frustrating. I have been catching up on my school. I'm taking 2 online writing classes so sitting on the laptop most of the day is how I roll these days! Our doctor tried to move up our induction date (now scheduled for Feb 15th at 5 am) to yesterday (my due date) but we were expecting a massive snow storm and the hospital said they would most likely be short on nurses so I decided it's probably better to just wait and not push it. We did get about 4 inches of snow yesterday and Cam's daycare closed early and Trey's work closed early. I am glad that I am off work now since it would be a nightmare getting downtown and back through the icy roads! Now we are just watching and waiting for baby # 2. We're still bouncing around the baby's name ideas (horrible right??) We are settled on a girl's name, but the boy's name is still up in the air. I guess we will make the final decision when we see the baby. I'll be sure to post pictures as soon as anything happens! Pray for us to have a safe and healthy delivery:)

Lately..

2011-01-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had a day off and so me and Cam went downtown to the Fire Museum. I've been wanting to take him forever and of course the day I take him it started raining :( We decided to go anyway and it was ok. I have to say I was expecting it to be more on a little kids level, but it was more advanced and "museum like". It was still fun for him to see the big red fire engine and the toy room full of tons of fire engines big and small, old and new. We have been to see mom at work (same as mine) downtown and to see a few of my coworkers. Cam loves going to meet CeCe for lunch!

Cam dressed as Woody

At the Fire Museum in front of all the toy fire engines

Cam wore his Fireman coat from CeCe and the new fire hat from the museum

The girls of my Sunday school class threw me and another pregnant friend, Stephanie a baby shower recently. It was so sweet and I could not believe how generous these women were! This was especially surprising since we haven't even been able to go very often since I started weekends at work. But we racked up! I also finished the nursery so all we need is a sweet new baby to fill it :)

The New Members Sunday School Ladies

Two weeks ago, Camden starting having what I thought was an allergic eye with redness, swelling and drainage. When it didn't go away after several days I started him on his antibiotic eye drops we were on last time he had conjunctivitis. After 3 days of this an no improvement and then a inflammed tissue hanging down into his actual iris/pupil I decided to make a trip to the pediatrician. Our MD is very nonchalant and never gets very excited about things, but one or two looks at his terrible eye and an immediate referral to the opthamologist we went! Luckily it was 2 doors down and they worked us in right then. The eye doctor did a dilated eye exam and informed me that it was a granuloma. It's a benign inflammation of the eyelid and it was caused by the eye infection going untreated for too long. I felt terrible!! But we were started on 4 times a day steroid eye drops and after a week the granuloma is almost gone. We have another full week of drops then tapering down over the next week. Cam really has been a trooper and didn't put up too much of a fuss over the drops which I thought was going to be a nightmare.

You can sort of see Cam's little lazy eye here on the left this is at the beginning of his eye drop treatment

Aunt TT joined in on the snowman building fun with a mini me snowman :)

Also we have been getting a couple of snow days here lately. Two weeks ago we got 7 inches then another inch or two this past week. I'm praying that we don't get any around the delivery date!! Camden and Trey were able to build an almost indestructible snowman which lasted for 3 days! It started leaning on day 2 and on day 3 it leaned almost parallel to the ground. It was unbelieveable!

On another note, my pregnancy is almost through! At my last Dr's visit my OB thought that the heart rate was too high in my abdomen and that the baby could possibly be breech, so she scheduled us for another ultrasound. I was so nervous for a week imagining the worst only to have a great ultrasound. The baby was perfectly upside down like he/she is supposed to be and the amount of amniotic fluid level was good, the heart rate was great at 150 bpm and the weight was estimated at 7 lbs even (give or take 6 ounces). The doctor told me I was 2-3 cm dilated already so I anticipate that labor could happen at any moment! Keep us in your prayers over the next couple of weeks!

Southaven Christmas & Children's Museum

2011-01-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

We had a busy Christmas once we got home from Texas. I actually had 10 days off in a row which was a Godsend! I haven't had that many days off since our summer vacation last May! I worked alot on Christmas gift shopping, the nursery and just little to do's that had been put on the back burner. We bought an old dresser and have been working to refinish it for the nursery. Camden helped me put the glaze on it. I still have another coat to go, but I already love it! On Thursday day we met the Dukes (our friends from college who were in town from Florida) at the Children's Museum in Memphis. It was too fun. Camden loved playing with Bryce and Ce Ce and was worn out after it was all said and done.

Cam helping me paint the baby's dresser :)

CeCe Duke at the Children's Museum! Dont you love those pigtails??

Camden scurried around the little grocery store loading his basket like he was on "Supermarket Sweep!"

The boys rocking out on the green screen (they were in a music video on a big TV not pictured)

CeCe in the little Escalade at the Museum

Cam fishing in the scaled down version of the Mississippi River

We did Christmas with Trey's family on Thursday night and Cam got spoiled as usual. He got a new John Deere bike, a Titan tackling dummy, Tonka trucks and much more! We all gave each other gifts $10 or less (minus Cam's gifts) which was nice for the budget!

Cam entertained us by talking smack to the Titan tackling dummy and knocking him down as well as placing him in "time out" for a short while! He was hilarious with that thing.

Santa's loot

The Cresswell gifts under our new tree

the notorious "big truck with all the cars in it" as Cam called it all December

Stuffing his face with yummy lunch that CeCe made!

Opening presents with Walker and Gallegah

Fell asleep on my big belly after a big day :)

Friday morning (Christmas Eve) Santa made an early appearance to our house (mostly b/c I had to work Christmas morning and leave the house by 6 am). Cam got his big truck with all the cars in it that he had been asking for ever since the word Christmas was mentioned. He was excited about that and the Mater truck he got and had a blast playing with everything until my mom, dad, brother sister and Great Uncle came over for a huge lunch. We opened even more presents and needless to say by 5pm we were all tuckered out, Camden woke up from his nap grumpy and so I held him for a minute and before I knew it he had fallen back asleep on my belly. I couldn't help thinking how sweet it was that I had both of my babies in my lap and Christmas couldn't be more perfect! We are so blessed and are thankful for the birthday of our Jesus to make hope and everlasting life possible.

Thanksgiving and Texas Christmas

2010-12-19T19:00:00.000-08:00

One of the table settings

Homemade floral arrangement

My parents/Trey's parents table

Dining room

Closeup of a place setting, I had everyone's names on little leaves with Thanksgiving Bible verses on the underside!

Food table (minus the food) We used almost all of mom's Peter's/McCarty's pottery to serve on

We hosted our very first Thanksgiving in the new house and as a married couple actually this past November! We had my parents, sister and brother, Trey's mom, dad and sister and the Milcic's Trey's sister's boyfriend's family from Illinois. It was a ton of people, ton of food and alot of fun! We did a dinner instead of lunch (much to Trey's dismay) b/c leigh anne had to work. I had three tables of place settings and enough food to feed a small army. I was exhausted by the end of the day but was so happy we did it, although I may opt for Cracker Barrel next year!! Luckily I only had to cook a few items, we all chipped in and cooked pieces of the meal so no one was stuck with a large amount to cook! Mom, Tracy and I did the big Black Friday shopping trip and got up around 5:30 to get some deals. I did get myself a canon SLR camera that I have been waiting and saving to buy for months and a few christmas gifts. I finally finished up my semester last week and couldn't be happier!! My life has been consumed with school lately and have been feeling guilty that I haven't spent more time with Trey and Camden nor have I gotten very prepared for the new baby. I did end up with a B in my class and hopefully an A in my clinical making my overall gpa 3.6! I am very proud of that. I still have another year and a half to go though, so it will be a much longer road but the next few years but well worth the work I think!

My beautiful cousin Melissa on her wedding day

My family

Trey and I at the reception

The majority of the Cresswells at the reception (minus the bride's mother and father and my mom) See how pregnant I looked?? I felt like I took up half the picture!!

Dad, Walker and Cam at Cheesecake Factory enjoying my dad's ice cream!

Trey and I celebrated (briefly) our 5th wedding anniversary December 3rd. It's hard to believe where we are now compared to where we started. In 2005 I was a graphic designer in a dead end job and Trey was a professional baseball player on the disabled list. We had gone through career changes, lay offs, continued education, new jobs, financial strain, the birth of our first child, buying our second home, returning to graduate school and now preparing for yet another child! Whew, that makes me tired! I couldn't be happier with my family and all the things we have built together. Also, I celebrated my 31st birthday which seemed like a blip on the screen with all the things I had going on that week! I had clinical or work every single day plus shopping for christmas and studying for my final exam. The next weekend we traveled to B'ham, AL for my cousin Melissa's wedding. My sister and I were both bridesmaids. I wasn't extremely pumped about being a bridesmaid at 7.5 months pregnant, but I think that it ended up being fine. I hated that I was so big, but hopefully everyone understood! It was a sweet ceremony and fun weekend with bridesmaids luncheons, rehearsals, dinners and of course the wedding and reception! Camden and Walker had to stay with a babysitter in the hotel, and they must have scared her off b/c she backed out for night #2 and Mom and Trey had to take turns missing the wedding/reception so they both could come. All in all it was a great weekend and my family treated me to cheesecake factory on Sunday on the way out of town for my birthday. It was great!!

" Hey, Santa I want the big truck with all the cars in it"

The "North Pole" at Bass Pro shops

Hey, Mom can Santa bring me this for Christmas??

This past weekend we made the annual trek (10 hours) to Dallas then on to Brownwood, TX to visit with Trey's grandparents and spend a few days with them. We made it to Dallas on Thursday night and stayed in a hotel rather than with Trey's uncle Gene who was out of town which was interesting (we went for the cheap route, rather than luxury). We stopped in Dallas at the huge Bass Pro shop by the interstate to let Cam meet Santa. I was nervous he would chicken out like last year and cry, but he was so brave and sat in Santa's lap and even told him what he wanted! I couldn't have been a prouder mom! He was so sweet up there innocently asking Santa for " the big truck with all the cars in it" (that is all he keeps asking for) and smiling for a few pics. We then traveled to see great g'ma maylene and spent the day and night with them even taking Cam to his first movie Yogi Bear in 3-D! I was so amazed how well he did and when he finally was convinced him to put the 3-D glasses on he really got into and laughed and clapped and sat still in his Jo Jo's lap watching the movie intently! We then went to the other grandma's house the next day to open even more presents and ate, ate ate. While there we celebrated Trey's uncle Craige's 50th birthday (late) with a big party! Then we played Dirty Santa which was a fun change and twist to our usual Christmas gift exchange. We got up this morning at 6:00 am and drove straight back and did pretty well on time. We had a great time on our short trip and enjoyed visiting with this side of the family whom we usually only see once a year.

Such a little poser!!

Opening one of his many stuffed animal gifts!

Happy 50th birthday Uncle Craige!!

Enjoying some of Uncle Craige's birthday cupcakes

Camden watching the guys shoot guns intently through the den window. Not quite old enough yet to participate.

Showing off his new rain boots

With uncle uncle Gene with some of the gifts he got Cam!

Halloween and other fall fun

2010-11-19T18:09:00.000-08:00

Long overdue, but here is our halloween photos. We went to the Ole Miss vs Auburn tailgate then to a friends party where Cam was Napoleon Dynamite, I was Flo the Progressive Insurance lady and Trey was teen wolf. Camden also had a Frankenstein costume he wore around the neighborhood trick or treating and to his school party.

Random bubble bath shot!

He is doing awesome potty training. I would venture to say that he is 85% potty trained. He tells us when he needs to go (#1 & #2!!) and wants privacy as he does his business :) pretty funny he's so grown up acting! He and one other little boy at school are the only ones on the "Master's" potty training list. They rank everyone according to their level of potty training (ie. Beginners are diapers, no pull ups, High School is wearing pull ups, Bachelor's is pull ups using the potty sometimes, Master's is big kid underwear and pottying on the potty, etc). So needless to say out of 15 kids he's doing pretty good! He has been telling us repeatedly what he wants for Christmas from Santa and he actually understands this year about who he is and we have made a few "phone calls" to Santa if he started getting out of line! He falls for it everytime:) Other than that we are gearing up for the big Thanksgiving meal and getting the house ready for our guests. I haven't put up my Christmas tree yet, but will probably do it the day after Thanksgiving (the way it's always been done). I don't know when Christmas started in November, but it seems like it moves up every year!

Trey and I got to go to game 5 of the World Series which was super exciting. So when I was pregnant with Cam we went to the Master's, with this baby we went to the world series, if there is a #3, then I guess we'll be off to the Super Bowl!! Pregnancy is going ok, I had a scare this week with some severe cramping, but after a trip to the Dr. everything turned out fine and I just had a stomach bug. I am now 28 weeks meaning I'm in the 3rd trimester, which is hard to believe. I have so much to do to get ready for this baby. I feel behind by this time with Camden I already had the nursery almost completely done, but I know over Christmas I should be able to do alot. Pray for my sanity the next 3 weeks of school. It is pretty taxing with being at work or clinical all but one day a week. I'm pretty exhausted. Hopefully after this semester I will enjoy a nice break getting together with family and friends. We have a wedding that I'm in December and then the next weekend we are going to Texas for trey's side Christmas then Christmas! It's coming up fast! Hopefully I will post after Thanksgiving some pictures.

Fall Fever

2010-10-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

I have not been a good blogger lately. Mostly because I have been working, doing clinical, and being a mom & wife in between. It's been crazy! Some weeks I have one day off which I typically use to catch up on housework, laundry, studying, decorating...
But the pregnancy is going well. We have had two ultrasounds and they both look normal.

Can you guess if I'm a girl or a boy??!

We aren't going to find out the sex of the baby, even though it's driving everyone nuts!! I think it will make the baby's birthday so special. I have been able to get a few things done around the house like get a couple of rooms almost completely furnished and decorated. Mom and I went to several nurseries and bought alot of pansies, mums, snapdragons and cabbages for my flowerbeds. I love all the fall flowers and pumpkins!

Getting my thanksgiving table ready

My grandmother's (Ma) wash stand it looks perfect in my entry, I think of her everytime I see it!

Front den, finally complete!

My mom came and painted the nursery (pics to come soon). We are having all of my family and Trey's family over for Thanksgiving at our house this year which is excited (and stressful). But all the women are going to cook some portion of the meal so that no one person has to do the lions share of the work which is nice. I'm pretty pumped to host this year and I hope it turns out beautiful :) Other than that we are working with Cam on potty training. He seems to do it more at school than at home. He usually says " I already did it at schoo!" when we ask him to peepee on the potty. He is a pretty funny guy these days and keeps me and Trey cracking up alot! When he counts he'll go "one, two, eight!" I love his little expressions and what a great kid he is.

Cheesin after bathtime!

Clean Cam Cam

eating chinese food (he can even use chopsticks!!)

He loves going to "Pa's" (my late grandad's place in Hickory flat, MS) wit Cece and Walker. They play with choo choo trains and have lots of open land to run around in. Plus there are horses to look at and a four wheeler that his uncle Jimmy rides him on. We've been to pickwick to ride on Trey's dad's new boat, Sunflower. Should be lots of fun in the future!

On a friends yacht at Pickwick. Cam is hugging his new stuffed monkey friend!

We also have made it to a few Ole Miss games (Starkville is a little too far for us right now!) All in all, we have been doing great and staying uber busy as always!!

With cousin Walker at Pa's house

Helping daddy fix a hole in the wall in the game room

Camden is going to be a Big Brother!

2010-08-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

Long overdue post I know, weve been traveling, going to the lake, school, starting a new daycare, working etc... And I guess the biggest thing we have on the plate is we found out we are expecting baby #2! I am currently 15 weeks along (due date Feb. 9th) and I've been to the doctor 3 times all good visits. The baby's heart rate is anywhere from 180's to 150's which makes me think it could be a girl but there is no telling. We have decided that we will not find out the gender of the baby and let the sex of the baby be a surprise on delivery day! It may be hard (for me especially since I'm such a planner) but I am determined to make the delivery day a special exciting day even more than it already would be! Camden has been told he will be a big brother, but we aren't sure if he really understands he will not be the "baby" anymore! He says, while pointing to my belly "dares a baby in dare" (translation: there's a baby in there). And when I mention the baby in my stomach he always says "I wanna see!" Sometimes when we are talking about the baby he'll tell us that in his belly "dares a frog in dare" (there's a frog in there!) It's hilarious, so I guess we will have to wait until February to find out what our little frog is a girl or a boy. I've been feeling alot worse with this pregnancy than the first. Alot of nausea and VERY tired. Somedays I just want to sleep the entire day. I've gotten two different prescriptions for nausea medicine and chew ginger gum frequently. I was anemic prior to this but that seems to have resolved. The doctor is confident that I should be coming out of all of it since I'm now in my second trimester, and I hope she's right! It's strange b/c other than that and my ever growing abdomen I sometimes forget about being pregnant. I guess it's because I've been so busy with this summer session with school and work and trying to make the transition to my new position at work as a day weekender (starting early September). I cannot wait to be on a day schedule! I've worked nights for the past 2.5 years and it is pretty taxing on me and Trey. My sleep schedule will hopefully begin to stabilize and I will feel like a normal wife and mom.

In other news, Trey's parents (gran gran and jo jo to Camden) bought a boat for the lake at Pickwick. The bought a lot last year and plan to start building in March of 2012 (which can't get here soon enough!) We took it out for the first time 2 weekends ago and had a blast. It was still a little hot for Cam and since he has to wear the life jacket the whole time he got a little fussy but luckily we met up with some of James' really wealthy (and generous) friends who allowed us to troll around the lake on their 3 story (air conditioned) yacht! It was a blast, we hope to make it back down there soon and looking forward to many summer trips to the lake with friends and family.

Camden is doing great, he started a new daycare a month ago and is finally starting to do well there. His other daycare was on the verge of closing (which is did a few weeks after we left) and I thought it was time he was around more kids. Some days he was the only child there! So we got him in a the Little People's Learning barn and the first 2 weeks he cried every day when we dropped him off and many days was crying when we picked him up. It broke my heart and I prayed about it everydayand finally he just started walking in like a pro and made friends with a little boy named Henry. The teacher informed me that they were "BFF's" (best friends). He has been playing and acting like his old self again.

Like I said I start weekends in the fall in order to accomodate my clinical hour rotations. I begin with Adult health where I will spend the fall semester in a family medical clinic in Olive Branch with Dr. McClatchy a family friend and my primary care physician. I am really looking forward to learning alot and hopefully starting to feel like a real Nurse Practitioner. The spring I chose not to do a clinical due to the baby coming then and then resume in the Summer of 2011. My expected graduation date had to be moved back a semester due to the birth of our new little one, but I would rather not be completely overwhelmed and stressed! We are praying that all is well with this new little life and God will bless us with a healthy baby girl or boy in early 2011! We have 3 other ladies pregnant in our sunday school class so it's been fun going through all the labor pains with others who can sympathize with me! We will be keeping you updated on all the exciting news our ever growing family has in the works.

Keep us in your prayers as we approach our first ultrasound September 14th. I'm anxiously awaiting seeing the baby and making sure that it is healthy and growing well!

Camden is TWO!!!

2010-07-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

I know I have been WAY behind on my postings! But we have lots of reasons, and as always we're busy busy.. We had Camden's pirate themed party a few weeks ago and it was wonderful! We had over 30 people show up and even though it was HOT, everyone had a ball. We rented a moonbounce/waterslide and had a sand box filled with "buried treasure" for the kids to dig up, kiddy pools, water table, etc. My mom made the most amazing cocunut flavored pirate cake and cupcakes and it turned out better than anything I could have ordered and spent a fortune on! Camden played so hard and got totally spoiled with toys and clothes. On Camden's birthday I want to write him a special letter:
Dear Cam Cam,
Mommy wants to tell you how much I love you and how wonderful you have made our lives since you entered it two years ago. We laugh at you all the time, you have the biggest personality. I love how you have never met a stranger and will say "hey!" to people as they pass by. You are mesmerized by other children and will stare and imitate them whenever you are around them. Me and Daddy love how you must give Wrigley a hug before you leave and you always give us kisses and hugs. Sometimes you want "knucks" from us when we drop you off somewhere. Lately you have been saying "watch this momma!" and then do some sort of trick or tumble! You have been sleeping in your big boy bed lately, but still having a hard time staying asleep since we took away the passie away. We usually hear you around 4 in the morning saying "daayyyiiiieee (daddy) or mommmiiieeee!!!" and me or daddy will come and lay on the floor next to your bed to get you back to sleep. I love your little toothy grin and how silly you are. Your little curly head is your best feature. You get tons of compliments on your cupid hair! I dread when you are a teenager and the attention the girls are going to give you. You are a morning person like your daddy and every morning you wake up in a good mood, usually smiling and jumping around in the bed! You are very independent and are always saying "me do it, me do it!!" when we try and help you with something. You are a great eater, and especially love cake and cookies (which you call koi koies) We couldn't be happier with you and cannot wait to see how much more you learn and grow over the next year. Mommy and Daddy are so blessed God chose us as your parents and we pray for you everyday that you will be a strong young man who loves and respects us as much as we do you. Love mommy and daddy

Here are a few fun pics from the party.

Summer Beach Trips

2010-06-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

So we just got back from our two beach trips! And we had a blast on both! First we left to fly to Corpus Christi, Texas with Trey's parents to see Trey's sister graduate from pharmacy school. It was a little scary, I hate flying and we flew through some rough storms and our flight was delayed in Dallas. Camden did great he sat with Jo Jo and Gran Gran and colored and looked out the window and overall was really well behaved. We got to the beach house in Port Aransas, Texas and it was amazing! Three stories (with an elevator), and several bedrooms. We had the bottom floor with our own bathroom, kitchenette, couches etc. Trey's mom, dad, sister and her boyfriend stayed upstairs. Other family was in town for the graduation and it was nice to see them. We went to the beach a few times and Trey and his dad played golf a few times even taking cam with them for a few holes. While we were there we celebrated Trey's 31st bday! Happy birthday daddy!! We love you :)

Catching a nap between flights

Brother and sister at pharmacy graduation reception

Look how curly his hair is!

the condo!

With Grandad ("Gran Gran") at the seafood restaurant

Cool Cam riding around Texas in a convertible

We returned home on Tuesday and unpacked, did laundry and relaxed. We then repacked to go to Pensacola to visit my friends Brooker & Anthony. Tracy went with us and we spent one night with the Dukes visiting with their 2 kids Bryce (4) and Ce Ce (11mths).

CeCe and Anthony Duke

It was nice to relax and Camden stayed behind with Mom & Dad part of the time and JoJo and Gran Gran for the weekend. We traveled Friday to Foley, AL and hit up the outlet mall which was sucessful on all counts! Then we went on to meet up with our friends at our condo in Gulf Shores.

our condo crew at Lulu's

Tracy, me, Amanda (friend from High School/College)

Gorgeous white sandy beaches in Alabama

We had a great time eating at Lulu's for the rehearsal dinner for our friends Jay & Christie's wedding. We spent Saturday at the beach (luckily we were not effected by oil spill which has been devastating!!) and hit up the wedding and then rode around on their" party bus" that the bride and groom rented. It was a long day but very fun. By Sunday we were exhausted and ready to get home to our little boy. We are enjoying the new house and had a cookout last weekend with a lot of friends.

The guys enjoying the fruits of their labor:)

part of the bbq crew

The ribs were fabulous! We're still in the process of painting some rooms. CeCe (my mom) was kind enough paint Camden's room while we were in Texas so it would be aired out by the time we got back. We graduated from the crib and now are in a toddler bed! The first few nights were rough, but I put his bumper pad back in the little bed and he now sleeps in it like a champ. I changed the design from Beatrix Potter to vintage baseball. I had some cool B&W photos of old timey bball players to hang on the wall and it looks so cute and grownup! And we are gearing up for the big 2nd bday party next weekend... Man time flies! Stay tuned :_)

Spring Update ~

2010-04-25T04:47:00.000-07:00

Walker with the Easter Bunny, Camden wasn't so brave!

At Trey's chili cookoff being a boy..

We had a wonderful last few weeks. Camden had a blast on Easter. His daycare had an easter egg hunt and they said he was a natural! They had to hide the eggs twice since the kids had such a great time. Then Trey took Cam with my brother and nephew to the church hunt that Saturday (I had to work Friday night so I was sleeping!) he loved it!
Then they made a routine trip to Home Depot and they happen to be having a kids workshop, which we found out takes place the 1st saturday of every month, where he and Trey got to build a piggy bank together! It is so cool, and totally free, he got his own personalized apron with a pin of the project they worked on together. If he does more projects, he gets new pins for each project. I think we are going to try to make this a monthly tradition! I finished one of my classes, Advanced Research, and couldn't be happier with the completion of that one! I have one more final this semester then out until June! I am debating on taking only one class this summer so I can concentrate on spending more time with Cam and Trey plus work on some house projects I've been dying to get to (namely painting).

I took Camden to the zoo last week with a friend of ours and her baby and he had too much fun, we may have to buy a membership! He knows so many of the animals names now and it is so much more fun taking him to show him the animals.

Mommy & Camden zoo field trip

checking out the turtles.

abby and Jackson on our zoo playdate (he slept the whole time!)

Sacked out after a long day at the zoo!

He is talking up a storm and even shocked us by counting the other day. We routinely count as we slide down the stairs on our bottoms (our trick to keep him from tumbling down the stairs) and he just started doing it on his own the other day! He doesn't always get them in the right order, but I will say "one, two..." and he'll say "five, six" its really cute. He is becoming very outgoing and never meets a stranger. He loves to entertain (i.e. dancing in the middle of a crowded restaurant, running up to friends of ours and tapping there leg to make them laugh!). Also, Camden has become quite accident prone lately. I think it is the boy in him. 2 weeks ago he was staying with his CeCe (my mom) and took off running and dove face first into the concrete patio! His whole nose was skinned off and had a big scab for several days (he looked like a puppy dog costume ;( then the same weekend we went to the Lunsford's house and Trey was outside fishing in their pond and I wanted to get a pic of him and Camden together fishing and Cam took off only to loose his footing and fall completly under the water in the pond!! Scared us to death, but Trey jerked him out so fast that he was only in the water for seconds.

poor boo boo nose...

Then a few days later he decided to use the doggie door as his own personal portal and skinned his face on the door mat! And finally, last Thursday he found a hole in our backyard fence and was sticking his hand through the fence trying to make friends with the neighbors dog and the dog bit a chunk out of his little finger! I was at work and Trey called and said he was balling and had part of his nail missing. It scared trey pretty bad when he came in crying and had a bloody hand! He was crying and saying "dog bite" really pitifully.. I am hoping and praying that this is not a recurring theme. I know he is a boy and will get into all sorts of things but I just hope it stays with the scrapes and bruises nothing major!!

Some of our friends live on our street and they have a little boy almost 3 (Griffin) who Cam has had a blast playing with they have played together 3 times already and I suspect many more times this summer! Of course he always loves playing with my nephew Walker. They both beeline for my closet when they're together and pull out my heels, much to the dismay of their daddies :)

Other than that, We are gearing up for our family vacation in the next few weeks. Trey's sister is graduating from Pharmacy school in May so we are going to that in Corpus Christi, Texas with most of the fam and staying in a beach house on the coast (yeah!!). Then we come back and spend a few days at home then Trey and I are off to Pensacola, Fl and Gulf Shores, Alabama to visit our friends as well as attend another couple's wedding. We're pretty excited! Both of our works are stressful these days and we are need of a week off on the beach! Pray I can figure out my fall schedule. I will have to work weekends most likely so I can get my clinical hours in. I am sad to miss out on our family weekends together and possibly miss church some sundays. But it won't be for long and then once I finish school I won't have to work nights or probably weekends anymore. I am so excited about that so I guess the sacrifice will be worth it!!

At a surprise party for our friend Adam, the newest member in the "dirty 30" club! ha!

ALOT to update!

2010-03-27T13:15:00.000-07:00

So sorry for the delay in my postings, the Lunsford family has kicked it into overdrive over the last few months. I guess I will start with February. Trey and I went out on Valentine's Day on a great surprise date orchestrated by Trey. He surprised me with great dinner reservations at Harry's Detour downtown which was a wonderful new orleans inspired restaurant followed by tickets to the Orpheum theatre to see the sold out Broadway show "Jersey Boys". It was so fun and I loved the show! We were singing Frankie Valley songs for weeks!

Snuck a quick picture of the finale!

Camden at a little gym open house he was trying his hand at pullups!

We had 4 showings on our house in 2 weeks and then had an offer with a closing date of 3/19! That gave us one month to find a new home and move! So after a few counter offers, we accepted the offer and began searching for our new home. It was divine intervention that the very next day we saw the house we wanted, it was a foreclosure that we just happened upon driving around and later our realtor showed us what he described as the "best deal in Southaven". It was HUGE, and only slightly more than what we paid for our small house. We went to see it the very next day and by lunch had an offer on it. We were one of 4 offers and by the grace of God ours was accepted!! We were so excited. Finally, we had some of the amenities we were looking for at well beneath or budget. This house has 3600 sq. feet, 4 bedrooms, tile and hardwood, granite countertops, game room, media room , huge master bath with a walk through shower and 2 shower heads, it was a dream come true. There are a several rooms I want to paint and there a few cosmetic things that need to be fixed, but other than that it is perfect :)

Hearth room connected to the kitchen and second set of stairs (we plan to paint this room)

Kitchen (will be painting the cabinets as well)

Master bath with walkthrough shower

Another view of the master bath Trey and I have our own sinks and closets!!

Game room upstairs with media room as well

Huge fenced backyard

God meant for it to happen this way and he was the reason it did. We closed on both houses as planned 3/19 and moved that same day so needless to say it has been a busy month! We had much help from Trey's parents, my parents and my brother, sis, and cousin and a friend moving everything. We used one the Bud Light 18 wheelers from Trey's work to move the majority of everything which was amusing to the new neighbors, but made us new friends! I couldn't be happier with the neighborhood, it is not far at all from where we were and everyone is very friendly and there are alot of families near us who have block parties, movie nights, halloween parties, etc. It has a walking track around a pond down the street and all the houses have nicely manicured lawns and noone parks on the street, which is nothing like the old place. I am already envisioning massive family gatherings with both the Cresswells and the Lunsfords. It is a great entertaining home.

We have been so blessed with help landscaping, furnishing and cleaning our new home from both sets of parents. Joan helped a ton the week of the move with Camden to keep him busy while we packed. Mom took him the first night in the new house so we could unpack. He loves his new stairs which we quickly installed babygates :) We hope to have our game and media rooms up and running this summer and will start the parties. I have been really busy with my 2nd semester in school, gearing up for finals. I am training a new graduate nurse at work for 12 weeks so that has been new and challanging. Trey has a new territory in Oxford and Corinth which means lots of traveling which I'm not crazy about but he likes it. Overall we are doing great. Looks like our summer will be filled with painting, installing and landscaping:)

Here is some funny pics of camden's newest obsession cars and he loves to line them up along the wall or on a table he can do it for an hour. He will put them end to end or nose to nose or side by side. But when he starts its like he's on a mission and in a hurry. He runs back and forth to the toy box grabbing ever car he owns and put them in formation! It is so funny :)

Getting the cars in line while Wrigley looks on, note the fleet of frogs behind him. He put them that way!

This day we had to put every car on the table, again Wrigs is helping!

And on this day they had to park against the wall...

And another funny thing about my kid is he loves pickles! I don't know any child that likes pickles but he will eat them like candy. He also loves tomatoes, bell peppers, green beans, even onions! He'll eat any kind of fruit. Dont get me wrong he loves his candy and junk food, but it is nice to know he'll eat some veggies too! I am keeping my fingers crossed he doesn't outgrow this!!

Lately..

2010-02-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we took Cam to the bull riding at the Southaven Arena. Trey's company were one of the main sponsors so we were VIP and got to send ringside (meaning all that seperated us from those huge monster bulls was a small metal gate). It was pretty cool, camden was more interested in pulling his JoJo (Treys mom) around and showing her the cows and the bulls. The clown was really funny and Camden had a ball. We only had one scary moment when a wayward bull got a little too close for comfort and started charging towards our side of the arena and snorted at us, I sat paralyzed and Trey jerked Camden up off the ground in case we needed to make a break for it! The cowboy in charge headed off the bull and nothing happened, but it was scary for a second! Other than that we've just been super busy as always.

Trying to be like the cowboys...

Trey's been moved to a Sales Director position instead of Service Manager which has been really nice. His phone hasn't been ringing off the hook like it normally did from as early as 5 am until 9 pm at night. Last weekend we went to a fun Super Bowl party at our friends Carl & Rachel's beautiful house. And our team from the Who Dat? nation won!! We came decked out in black and gold and had some mardi gras beads as well. Also we had a ton of snow the next morning unexpectedly.

Who dat said they gonna beat dem Saints??!

This was the closest we got to the snow. Camden pulled his chairs up to the window when I wasn't looking:)

I guess the weathermen were all watching the game so it was a shock monday am to awake to 6 inches of snow! Camden stayed home with me but never got to play in the snow b.c it was raining the whole day so we missed out on the fun :( School has been pretty stressful lately, I'm a little lost and trying to figure it out. My first test is 2/22 so pray for a good grade!! I'm hoping for an A!

We're looking forward to a movie date night this weekend for Valentine's Day while Cam takes turns spending the night with my parents and trey's on saturday! I am so happy to call Trey my Valentine for the 8th year in a row!! We met in late 2001 so we have spent 8 years together and I still have every card he has ever given me. We are boycotting candy this year b/c we are dieting but I am excited for special time to express my love for this wonderful man whom I call my Valentine!! I tried to find some old pics from Trey and I in the beginning but we are on our third laptop since then so I unfortunately don't have any I may have to take a picture of one or two for nostalgia's sake!. But here's a few pics of my other special valentine just being cute!

Trying on mommy's boots and looking like a lil Robin Hood !

With the "frof" that Cece got him for Valentines Day. Its his new BFF.

Eating a well balanced meal,all the food groups represented!

30th birthday party (80's style) and Camden's 1st haircut!

2010-01-25T04:54:00.000-08:00

Our 80's inspired cake!

So, alot has transpired since our last post. Of course I hit the big 3-0 last year and so myself along with 3 of my very close friends from high school decided to throw ourselves a totally tubular 80's shindig. We all turn 30 w/in a month of each other so we decided to celebrate with a bang! We had the party at a bar in Southaven where they had booked the 80's cover band Aquanet in our honor! It was a costume party so everyone dressed in their 80's finest. It was hysterical! As my sister saids, "Pure D. Hilarium!" We had an awesome time and it was cool to celebrate in a big way. We had a photographer come and she had a photobooth set up where we could pose and be silly plus there were shots from inside the party as well. If you want to look at them in their entirity go to ramblinrosephotography.com and under proofing type in: thirty. Just please know we were having a really good time in many of the pictures ;) But here are a few of my faves:

The birthday kids.

With the lead singer of the band!!

Me as a Madonna wannabe, Tracy as an aerobics instructer

Mj.

The weekend before last Camden hit another milestone and had his first big boy haircut. It has taken his hair so long to get long enough to warrant a haircut that I wasn't sure this day would ever come! He has the headfull of wavy curls that I didn't want to totally get rid of and his bangs are still really short with just some uneven places around his ears and a stage one mullet in the back so we decided it was time! He did ok, we went to Sportclips and he watched Daddy go first and they bribed him with suckers and he was a little squirmy wouldn't wear the drape, but never cried and it went really quick and now he is so handsome!

Front view of his long hair b/f church

Mullet....

What's dada doing?

Finished product!

Learning how to spell our names

trying on Walker's big boy underwear (and sucking in for the camera!! haha)

Lately he has been babbling alot and even showing some interest in potty training (I think b/c most of the kids in his class at school are as well as Walker so it peaked his curosity) he will say pooh pooh and they I will put him on the potty and he will grunt like he's trying but nothings happened yet (sorry Camden for sharing your business!!) He loves the word "no" says it in response to everything, he says "I won moore" when he wants "more" or something, he can tell us where all his body parts are and he can make the sounds of a cow, dog, cat and horse when cued. He is super silly and cracks us up all the time. He likes leading you around and making you sit where he wants you to. He will pull me and trey both in the den and make us sit on his little couch and play cars, read books, etc. It's pretty funny. He loves baths, cars, sweets,most any food (even veggies), shoes (which he calls "soos") especially my high heels (red are his fav), playing outside ("ah-ha") and playing with animals in particular Wrigs! He is getting so big and independent and doesn't like us to help with holding a big person cup he wants to do it all by himself. He's gotten kind of bossy:) Other than that Trey and I are going through the "Love Dare" w/ our SS class. If you aren't familiar it's the book that the movie 'Fireproof'' is based on. It really great and we have enjoyed going through the first week and it's a 8 wk series meant to bring you and your spouse closer and kind date them again. If you haven't read it you should check it out! Below are some pics from our friends Jack and Abby's diaper/wipe shower we threw for them last weekend.

Pampers...A much needed neccessity!

They are due in Feb with their 1st but he has 2 brothers with a total of 14 children b/t them so hopefully the 15th grandchild doesn't get lost in the shuffle! ha ha!! pray for a safe and healthy delivery for them! And finally are some pics from Walker's 3rd bday at Bounz in S'haven we all had a great time, especially Cam!

He went down the titanic slide at least 10 times!

Daddy's chasing

Wrestling with Uncle Jimmy

Christmas and our Puerto Rican adventure!

2010-01-10T14:09:00.000-08:00

With his new spiderman trike Uncle Uncle Gene got him!

Helping hand out presents at G'ma Schulle's house

This was a game we played where we raced to put the balloons in a pair of hose and then you put them on your head and it looks like a reindeer! I love the face Trey's G'dad is making!!

At Great G'ma Maylene's house

On the road back from TX, fell asleep with his hand in his snack trapper!

Sorry it has been so long since my last post we have been either on the road/plane traveling, working or sleeping occasionally! The weekend before Christmas we made our annual trek to Brownwood, Texas to see Trey's grandparents and aunts, uncles and cousins. It is always a wonderful fun time. We went on a Thursday and came back on Sunday so it was a whirlwind and a long 12 hour drive but well worth it! We stayed at both Trey's mom's mother's house and his dad's mother's house. Camden got completly spoiled and did very well sleeping and playing (minus one night he had missed his nap and had a complete meltdown during our gift opening) but did fine otherwise. We got back and then it was straight back to work for a week, then Christmas with our immediate families. We had a wonderful time and it was so exciting for Trey and I to play "Santa" Camden didn't really understand but just knew Christmas morning that he had a slew of brand new toys and came into the den and just pointed with wide eyes and said "oooooooohh" and "wow!!" we loved it!!

Christmas morning at our house Santa was good to us!

Cam's car town that Cece gave him

loving his new tent

Helping Grandad open his presents

I have a few videos of him oohing and ahhing over his toys and then dancing his new little dance to the muscial car we got him that played "funky town"!
Then the week of New Year's Trey and I flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico for my sorority sister from college's wedding. Several of my Mississippi girls were there with their husbands and we had a blast.

All the Tri Deltas in PR

Happy New Years!!

Gorgeous!

the view from our balcony

Trey and I at our hotel

Me and Debbie before the bachellorette party

Mardi Gras themed bachellorette party

the guys before the bachelor party

Old San Juan sights

the groom and his best man (the guy from Chuck!)

At the gorgeous wedding in a courtyard

bride and groom leading the "second line" a new orleans tradition

Courtney's from New Orleans so her family were so much fun and we felt like part of the family by the time we left. David, Courtney's fiance works on the TV show Chuck as a prop master, so several of his friends are actors or songwriters, singers, etc. The actor who plays Chuck (Zachary Levi) even was his best man! And the guy from Avatar and Dodgeball was a friend as well. We had fun meeting them and they both have since made TV show appearances promoting their projects and mentioned the trip on Letterman and Chelsea! We had a blast in our hotel there was a huge Puerto Rican party NYE and that was fun, there was a casino on site and we had many functions like dinners, showers bachellorette parties and of course the wedding to occupy our time. We also loved just laying out by the pool everyday and relaxing with now alarm clocks or schedules. Not to mention the weather was fabulous! It was around 80 everyday and sunny. It was a shock to come home to 20 degree weather and snow...It was a much needed vaca! I had my group 30th bday party last night with 3 of my high school friends and will have to post pics in another post due to the large volume I'm posting in this one! Hope everyone had a safe and happy holidays!

Thanksgiving and Texas Tech game

2009-12-07T21:59:00.000-08:00

We had a great joint Thanksgiving this year. My mom, dad, brother, and nephew (my sister was visiting NYC with friends) joined the Trey's mom and dad at their home for Thanksgiving lunch. I was supposed to work the night before but the Lord blessed me with a cancelled shift! I was so happy to go to bed normally and be able to get up and watch the parades then make some Paula Deen mini pumpkin cheesecakes and Grits and greens (which both turned out yummy!). It was so nice and relaxing to not have to rush around to several Thanksgivings and there was less oppurtunity to overeat :) Then I got up early hit a few Black Friday sales and we left for Dallas area of Gun Barrel City where Trey's uncle has a beautiful lakehouse. We then met up with his sister and traveled to Dallas to meet Trey's best friend from high school/college Chad and his wife and 3 beautiful kids for a quick lunch before heading to the Texas Tech/Baylor game at the new Dallas Cowboy stadium. Trey's uncle and his friends got us tickets and box seats which was AMAZING!! The stadium was state of the art!

At church in our sunday school class we have been helping with the Operation Christmas child. We fill shoeboxes for various age group boys and girls and then the church has them mailed to underprivelaged kids all over the globe. We had a big breakfast potluck and stuffed 42 boxes! The goal for the class was 20 so we were so excited that all of these children would be blessed this year!

We went Sunday to my mom's neighborhood cookies w/ Santa to have Camden's pictures made. He did not enjoy it like we had hoped... He pretty much had a meltdown. Most of my pics were blurry because he was trying to wiggle out of his lap but there were a few and you can see how much he didn't enjoy it :(

Wedding Day December 3, 2005

Trey and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary this week. I am so happy to call Trey my husband and happier today than 4 yrs ago on our wedding day. Also I celebrated my 30th bday last week. I have to admit I had some issues with the big leap out of my twenties, even jokingly wearing all black in mourning of my 20s! But it is a blessing and I am happy with where I am in my life and excited to see what the next 10 years has to bring.

Our Christmas Bulletin Pic (had to tickle Cam to get him to laugh!)

Cam's post bath curly fro!

I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and remember to say that and not "Happy Holidays" or "Merry Xmas" it only takes the most important part of the celebration- Christ- out of the equation. So just remember HE is the reason for the season and give thanks for the blessings he has given you throughout the year. Pray for our friends Bethany and Casey who are dealing with a very serious illness in their family. Bethany's dad was diagnosed with stage 3-4 esophageal cancer with mets to the liver last summer and not responding to the chemo/radiation. We know Mr. Bill and love him and are praying for them fervently and hoping for a full recovery.

Fall Fun

2009-11-21T20:14:00.000-08:00

So it's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is this week, but it is!! We've been having a great time lately. We went to Audobon Park a few weekends ago and took some family photos with my photographer friend Kim. I am planning on using them for our Christmas cards. My sister, brother and nephew all came to so we could get a family shot for my mom for Christmas (I won't be showing that one so it'll be a surprise :) After that we went around the corner to the Cancer Survivors Park and took some more shots in front of this cool tiled mosaic, a hidden gem in Memphis for sure! Last weekend Trey's uncle Gene and some friends came in from Dallas we went to the Ole Miss game. We had a great time tailgating even though we had to wake up at 5:45 to get down to Oxford in time to have time to go see some friends. Camden and Walker have been having a ball playing. I took them to the Snowden park around the corner from our house and they played so hard. We are currently attempting to sell our home. We went through realtor Larry Webb and we now have it officially listed on MLS. I am excited and nervous at the prospect of moving into a newer bigger home. We are busting at the seams as it is!This weekend we are excited to go to Dallas to see the Red Raiders play!! Trey went toTX Tech and his best friend Chad is coming over as well with his sons and wife. We are so excited to see them! Gene is going to allow us to stay in his lake house and we get to go to the game at the new state of the art stadium and hang out in a box!! We are so blessed to have such great family connections. Pray for safe travels and Camden will cooperate with the long drive its always a challenge.

Happy Halloween - Never Roam Alone!

2009-11-04T03:00:00.000-08:00

Travelocity Gnome. Never roam Alone!

Camden loves books, he had our friend Abby read Peter's busy day to him!

Handing out candy

Ready to go trick or treating!

Here are a few pics from the past few weeks. Trey and I went our to Cedar hill Farms in Hernando, MS a few weekends ago and had a blast! They have a real pumpkin patch, hayride, petting zoo and lots of other things for little ones to get into. Camden had a great time. He even made a new friend (a girl) on the hayride and went over to her grandad and just climbed up in his lap! The man was very sweet and let him ride there for a minute, we all got a kick out of it. Last week mom and I went with Cam and Walker's daycare class to the zoo for a field trip. The weather couldn't have been better it was a sunny break from the downpours we had the rest of the week. We had so much fun admiring the fall trees and the new exhibits at the zoo. The Tetkon Trail was amazing! It is a huge log cabin that has an "old faithful" out front and features a huge bear's exhibit as well as elk, wolves, and other northern animals. The boys, mom and I had too much fun I was so glad I didn't work that night and got to enjoy the whole day with them. Last weekend was Halloween of course and Camden went as the Travelocity Gnome. We had come up the idea months ago and I was just going to make the costume, but then we actually found it in a store and he really wore it all night so we were excited! We went to Jo Jo & Grandad's house and had hotdogs, then went Trick or Treating down our street and they handed out candy to all the neighbors (camden's favorite part) and then had a cookout with some friends. We are looking forward to some traveling soon, Oxford next weekend for the Ole Miss TN game, Dallas after Thanksgiving for the Texas Tech game and then of course our annual Texas trip to see all the great grandparents. Camden is getting more and more advanced. He now knows all of his body parts and is recognizing more things and calling them by name like "cat", "plane" (points up to the sky every time one flys over), and even said "TT" tonight when my sister came over (she is known as aunt "TT). We are having a blast watching him learn and grow!!

Cousins on their field trip

Loving the fall trees at the zoo!!

Made a new friend on the hayride! Ha!

Cam's first hayride!

Before Church

What we've been doing lately...

2009-10-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted mostly because school is alot more time consuming than I thought it would be!! Camden is grown into a full fledged toddler. He is now 16 months old and every bit a boy. He loves his new daycare and now Walker goes there too which is nice and the boys have a blast playing together. They have lots of activities - Fire Safety Day (with real firemen & firetrucks!), a St. Jude Trike a thon (cam rode his push car and raised $75 for St. Jude!), and we have a field trip in 2 weeks to the zoo (I'll be going too). Trey's work had the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales in town 2 weeks ago and it was a blast! Trey took Camden and Walker to the rodeo and saw the Clydesdales show then on Sunday we went to meet them up close and personal. Camden loved it! We also went to pick out pumpkins. Last weekend was the Ole Miss Alabama game and we braved the rainy cold weather to take Camden to his first tailgate. James & Joan had rented 2 RV's and had a big tailgate setup and we went and saw other friends in the Grove. I had alot of family in town from Alabama and we had a great time visiting with them too. Then this weekend Mom, Walker, Cam & I went to the Litcherman Nature Center to see the scarecrow exhibit it was so cool! There were some hilarious scarecrows. Both boys had fun. Lately we have been getting involved in church more. We joined a young married sunday school class which has some great couples our age and we really love hanging out with them. We had a couple's dinner tonight at the Ruff's house which was nice. Camden's new words are : Hot (he thinks anything that is warm, cold or hot is "Hot", he says "Bye" and somehow has learned "My" (he means it as "Mine" I think this comes from daycare :( and is constantly babbling. He knows where his bellybutton is, ear, and nose and will point to it when asked. He likes to climb -alot, on everything. He is in 18-24 mths clothes. He likes to pretend to talk on the phone. He's been going through a sleeping transition, some nights he will go to bed at 8:45 some we can't get him to sleep at all or he will wake up screaming at 2 am. I think he is teething and he no longer has the passie which I will still give him at night since he has started waking up crying. It's been a rough couple weeks especially on Trey since it always happens the nights I'm at work and they are there alone. Please pray this is a phase!! We are staying busy and have alot of traveling coming up!Here are some pictures from the last few weeks.

Decisions, decisions....

Going to class with "Mrs. Kittie scarecrow"!!

Tin Man scarecrow

You can't have a contest without an Elvis scarecrow!

This one was made of recycled trash

Cece and Camden

Meeting the clydesdales, they were HUGE!

The professional tailgaters

Uncle Trey/Daddy at the rodeo

Visiting the Dukes in Florida

2009-09-23T20:36:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday we made a long awaited trip to visit our great friends the Dukes. Brooke and I were sorority sisters at MSU and have been best friends ever since. She and her husband Anthony have been good friends of ours for years and we have all been through college, weddings, showers, lake trips, children, etc together over the past 10 years! So we have been dying to make it down to Florida ever since they were transferred there and once they welcomed their newest addition CeCe Duke in July we knew we must go. We did a ton during the few days we were there. We made it to the beach (Cam's first time), great restaurants, a naval museum, shopping at the outlet mall in Foley, AL and just chilling with the family at their house. Camden loved the beach and got pretty brave running into the waves, we had to keep a close eye on him. He also had a blast playing with Anthony and Brooke's 3 year old Bryce. Camden learned alot from him and had a ball trying to immulate him. They had great toys and he had too much fun playing with them all. They took us to some cool restaurants one of which, Lulu's (owned by Jimmy Buffet's sister) that had a life size sand box and fun waterfountains. Cam and Bryce got filthy and had alot of fun playing while we enjoyed a yummy lunch. CeCe was the sweetest, most mellow baby I've ever seen. We loved looking at her and holding her. All in all we had so much fun that we totally forgot to take any pics of Brooke, Anthony, Trey & I! But I did manage to snap quite a few of the kids! We had a great time and the hospitality was perfect. Thanks again Dukes!!

Absolutely loving the waves

Exploring the beach with dad
Can't believe he let us do this...
Playing in the ocean with mom

Lulu's Restaurant, playing in the fountains
Pretty girl.
Hi CeCe!!With Daddy in a real fighter jet
At the naval museum, these real sailors were sweet enough to let Camden take a shot with them! It was so cool!

Eating breakfast together
Playing with Reagan. She was so tolerant of Camden, he loved climbing all over her;)
The boys playing w/ Bryce's water table we added baby shampoo to the water. Cam loved it!

15 months old, children's museum and 1st day of school

2009-09-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

First day of school (well daycare) w/ his new backpack doesn't he looked thrilled??

So this has been a busy month! I started back to school and it has been quite an adjustment! I'm taking 2 classes, but it feels more like a full load with working full time and being a wife and mom! Camden started to his new daycare and is loving it. His teachers send home report cards everyday and he always gets a smiley face and his moods are usually "silly" "happy" or "playful" and he is napping great on his new nap pad which I was worried about since he always sleeps in his bed. They have chapel daily where they learn christian songs and Bible verses which I am so glad about! His teachers say he acts like he has been here all along. Walker my nephew started this week and so it is a nice addition to have his cousin in his class to play with. We have been busy with going to weddings, tailgates, the children's museum and little local carnivals. We ar looking forward to going to Florida this week to visit our friends Anthony & Brooke and their newest addition CeCe :) We want to wish a special Happy Grandparents day to all of Camden's grand parents and great grandparents! It is bitter sweet since this is my first Grandparent's day in which I have no one to call. But I know in my heart they are all in heaven having the best Grandparents day imaginable! I do love and miss them (Ma, Pa, Granny & Grandaddy) though.

At the children's museum. Learning how to drive.

Cowboy or construction worker...decisions, decisions...

With Daddy at the Children's museum in the big red firetruck

Again at the museum, his first and last time in the back of a cop car! HA!!

My future pilot
Learning the importance of teeth cleaning.
In the mini grocery store, always my favorite exhibit! Camden's too as you can see.

With Dad on the big carnival slide near our house

such a big boy he rode this one all by himself!! He did great, we were scared to death!

New favorite hobby, trying on all of my shoes. his favorite- heels!
And you can't forget the boots!

At my friend from college Erin's wedding

At our tailgate for the Memphis vs. Ole Miss game. Too fun!

14 months old

2009-08-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

Camden with his new chucks! He is ready to ball!

These are picture from my grandad's place in Hickory Flat, MS. It's out in the country and I couldn't resist just letting Camden run around naked. He loved it! I had to redress him when the bugs started biting and he wasn't happy:) He'll probably kill me when he gets older and knows I put these up but I can't help it!!

Running down the gravel road

Helping CeCe water the flowers
Just taking a hike...

So Camden is growing super fast! I cannot get over how much he has changed in just the past two months. Cam's newest things:

-he has a total of 12 teeth even all of his molars. we are just waiting on the incisors on top and bottom
-he is running, literally runs around the house chasing the dog, his cousin etc
-Camden is a big climber. The other day I was on the phone and turned my back for a minute and when I looked back he had pulled out the kitchen table chair and had climbed up on the table was standing up and hanging onto the chandelier!! So he was literally swinging from the chandelier. We have our hands full....
-he has began using a spoon by himself, still eats mostly with his hands but trys with the spoon in between
- only drinks out of sippy cups - no more bottles here!
- still takes a passy, we are working on it but I'm not pushing it until he is through teething
- can do a forward roll all by himself! We just say "hands down" and he puts both hands on the floor and his head down and does a little roll! We learned it at Little Gym
- Loves mac n cheese, grilled cheese, ravioli, peas, potatoes, watermelon, oranges, all fruit really
-says Uh oh, mamma, dada, bye bye (sounds more like dah dah), says 'dat' (meaning "that") and points when he wants something
-loves the pool and playing outside I usually let him play for an hour outside in the morning whn he gets up b/f breakfast and the same thing in the afternoon after nap
-loves his dog and plays with wrigley all the time wrestling and giggling
-waves bye bye, plays patty cake, and slaps his hands together like saying "all done"

eating breakfast with a fork
a normal morning playing outside. Although he usually has a handful of rocks!

He is starting a full time daycare in a week and we are nervous but excited. Up until now he has been with me on my off days and with a sitter or my mom on the days after I work my night shift and I pick him up when I get up at 2:30. This has worked great and we love Billie Jo ( a friend of mine who I worked with at Chili's and found again on facebook) who keeps him. But since I'll be starting back to school in two weeks and I feel like he is starting to grow bored of staying at home with just me we thought it was time. He will be going to a small Christian Academy daycare where he will be one of the only one year olds but have full 2 and 3 year old rooms. They have a curriculum where they are big on activities and learning. A friend of ours had her little girl there and they got her potty trained by 18 months...oh we could be so lucky!They also have a cook who makes them homemade breakfast lunches and snacks which is nice. I got him all of his school supplies last week and I was shocked. He had to have crayons, glue, stickers, markers plus the traditional changes of clothes, nap maps, etc. It's funny that a one year old would need such grown up things but makes me excited to see what he is going to learn! I will have to make a picture of him on his first day like my mom did each year with us.

One of my oldest friends Amanda is expecting her 2nd child which is a girl so we threw her a surprise baby shower at a mexican restaurants near our house. It was so fun and she was truly shocked!

Losing Granny

2009-08-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

This seems like a recurring theme in my blogs but unfortunately we have lost another grandparent this past week. My dad's mom Olene Cresswell otherwise known fondly as "Granny Cresswell" passed away last Thursday at the age of 85. She would have been 86 in September. We knew that her time with us was drawing to a close since she had been diagnosed with stage 4 liver cancer with mets to the bone last year. She had been living in a hospice center in Tupelo, MS and was doing well except she had lost alot of weight and in the past few weeks took to sleeping most of the day. My dad's brother Eddy lived close and so when the nurses called and said she wasn't really responsive he was able to rush there in 4 minutes and there when she took her last breath. She was surrounded by the nurses who were holding her hands and speaking softly to her to hold on until her son could get there which she did until a few minutes after Uncle Eddy arrived. The visitation and funeral were this past Sunday in Grenada, MS where she lived most of her adult life. She was a remarkable woman who grew up in Alabama where she was the oldest of the Sanford clan with 2 brothers and 3 sisters. She was a short fiery redhead who was nicknamed the "little general" b/c even if she wasn't in charge she always thought she was!! She met my grandaddy on a greyhound bus from the army base that she worked on back to her hometown of Alabama. She tells the story that he gave his seat up for her and that they were the only two on the bus awake on the long drive and he swept her off her feet she had turned her class ring around at first to give the impression of being married but after getting to know him she made sure it was turned back so he would know she was single! He was in World War II and was stationed in Paris, Germany, etc while they were dating and he wrote her often. We found some of their love letters while going through her house this past weekend and it was like reading the notebook! So sweet and so wonderful to read. They were married 54 years when grandaddy passed from lung cancer in 2003 at 80. She had 3 boys and a daughter who kept life interesting. She was a wonderful story teller and the stories she told on those boys would make you cry with laughter. They were all so funny and into trouble constantly. In her 40's she went back to school and got her nursing degree and worked as a nurse into her 70's. She was known for always dressing in her nurses' whites and never left the house for the hospital without donning her nurses cap and pins. She was a staunch patient advocate and never afraid of standing up to a doctor or administrator. She was a forty plus year breast cancer survivor. She was a wonderful sister, wife, mother, grandmother and greatgrandmother and will be sorely missed. She had an incredible faith in God and spoke about it often praying over everything. I know that she died a believer and she is in Heaven smiling down finally reunited with her loves Jesus and Grandaddy aka "Chick". The service was nice and we had quite a bit of family in town whom we hadn't seen in years. It was nice for them to meet Camden and Walker and see them again. The church that Granny attended in Grenada had a luncheon for us and one of the little old ladies of the church who was in charge of the children's ministry volunteered to watch camden and Walker during the visitation and funeral which was a life saver!

At Christmas 2007, After I graduated from Nursing school Granny was so proud she gave me one of her nursing caps. At Mother's day when we went to visit her at the hospice home. You can see how small she had gotten and how she had lost her signature red hair. She loved Camden and he always made her laugh.
This is almost all of the third generation cousins and second cousins at the visitation those on the right reside in MS, those on the left reside in AL

Sprinkler Park and Uncle Gene's visit

2009-07-28T06:01:00.000-07:00

We recently discovered a hidden gem in Collierville, TN! The city park there is incredible they have walking trails around a fishing pond, HUGE playground and a water park for kids (and adults). It's about 45 minutes from our house but it's totally free and we've been twice already. If you live in the Memphis area you must visit, it's usually crowded with birthday parties and play dates but very fun. We went with Camden's cousin Walker one night and then again last weekend with our friends Christie and Sienna (14 months old). Camden wasn't as gunghoe as Sienna (she has water day every week at daycare) but still played pretty hard.

Also in the last few weeks we had a visit from Trey's Uncle Gene from Dallas. Camden will refer to him as "Uncle Uncle Gene" because great uncle gene doesn't quite fit! While here we had a great time visiting and cooked out at Trey's parents house for an early birthday celebration for Gene. He got Camden a late bday present which was very "green"- literally! He got his own tree! We planted the Magnolia at Grandma Jo Jo's house since they will be at their house for longer than Trey and I hopefully will be at ours! Pray we get more action on the house we have had a couple of calls, but nothing serious. I am placing a craiglist ad today so maybe that will generate more interest! We are busy and having lots of fun. Looking forward to the fall for football season, fall festivals, the fair, a trip to Florida etc. I cannot wait! Stay tuned...

Camden with some new friends at Little Gym! He loves going and is now a seasoned flipper of the "bird" group! Tracy and I at Wicked at the Orpheum a few weeks ago. It was awesome!!

Zoo pictures

2009-07-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

In front of the elephant who gave birth later that day to a healthy 200 pounder!!
Cam pointing out his favorite lions
riding the carousel and getting a snack (doesn't he look big??!)
At the Northwest Passage exhibit
Looking at the polar bear
The polar bear was putting on a show and swimming up to the window for us!
Hey, who are you??
The Camster and mommy
Mr. Ed
Chasing a chicken around the farm exhibit

Here are the promised pictures from the zoo. We had too much fun! Camden was so funny growling at every animal and trying to chase some of them.

Professional Pics from 1st bday & zoo

2009-07-13T08:00:00.000-07:00

Kim of Ramblin Rose Photography sent me the pictures she took from Camden's birthday party this past week. They turned out so great! This was the final installment of his "watch me grow" package and it couldn't have been better! She got some great ones especially of him eating the cake and some wonderful family shots. She is so talented and has captured some wonderful moments in our life. My house looks like a gallery of her work :) To look at the full shoot go to ramblinrosephotography.com click enter site, proofing login, then type in Lunsford.

Trey had off the monday after the 4th off so we decided to take advantage of the cloudy day to make our first zoo trip with Camden. He fell asleep on the way there and slept for about 30 minutes into the zoo but we woke him up to see the giraffes. He loved all the animals and started growling at every animal he saw! He especially loved the train ride and the farm animals where he got up close and personal with a chicken and a horse! It was so fun and Trey and I had just as great of a time as he did. The zoo was much better than I had remembered. Looking forward to more and more of these fun little excursions... (check back for pictures)
New developments, Camden now is walking everywhere (almost running), he has 9 teeth (even some molars!), he loves tennis shoes, has started pitching little fits when he doesn't get his way (like throwing his head back and arching that back until he is almost upside down!), will "march" when we say "march, march march!!", dances to music, pushes trucks and cars around just like a little boy, loves playing in the sand and in water, likes to pick up rocks and throw them, does an indian "pow wow" with his hand and mouth, drinking whole milk exclusively from a sippy cup, eats anything we do loves grilled cheese, oranges,mashed potatoes, bananas, quesadillas, peas....I could go on and on but will spare you!

Family Vaca & Mommy/ Daddy Vaca!

2009-07-04T23:22:00.000-07:00

So since Cam's bday party it's been a whirl of travel packing/unpacking working and more travel! The week after Camden's bday we left with my mom and sister and went to St. Louis! We left early and were to sikeston, MO by 10 AM and HAD to go to the famous Lambert's home of the 'throwed rolls' (don't know why they don't call it 'thrown' rolls but whatever). Of course it didn't open until 10:30 so we killed time in this great metropolis HA! None of us were very hungry but loved the rolls and food it was all delicious.
Then off to St. Louis. We only got pulled over once, but camden is a great ticket diverter and the cop asked Trey if 'they had those white signs w/ the black lettering on them in MS (speed limit signs) and we all laughed & he let us off!
We toured the Anheuser Busch Brewery (Camden loved the clydesdales), checked into hotel, CeCe went to the botanic gardens, then trey went to a Cardinals game and Tracy & I took off to a Dave Matthews concert...and that was just the first day!! Thurs, we went to Chicago and checked into our hotel rooms. We waited until last minute to book the rooms but a friend suggested we look on hotwire.com and we got the best deal! We got 2 rooms at the palmer house downtown (4 stars) for $80/night each! We couldn't find 1 room for less than $160 on other sites!
It was perfect we went sightseeing, shopping, ate deep dish pizza.

The next AM we went for breakfast at Yolk and it was fabulous, walked around the city some more and then CeCe took Camden for naptime back to the hotel and the rest of us went to Wrigleyville for a Cubs game. It was pouring rain once we got off of the subway so the game was on rain delay we of course bought our cubbie gear!

The game was so fun and Tracy and I ended up playing "pass the cup" with a couple of other fans in the stands (you put $1 in a cup per batter and then if they don't get a double or better you keep passing to the next person if they do get a double or better you keep the $$!) and I won! It was fun, then we rode the subway back met up with mom and the Camster and headed off for a boat tour which was not what we hoped for 5 minutes w/in leaving port it began pouring! We spent the remainder of the tour huddled under the roofed part of the boat and not seeing many sights or hearing a work the tourguide said.

The rest of the trip went great alot of great pizza, a awesome double decker tour which was so fun, great shopping and a good farewell dinner at a 'mob owned' italian restaurant. All in all it was a wonderful trip and everyone had a good time. Camden was a champ in the car playing with alot of his new bday toys.
Then last weekend Trey and I went to Spring River in Hardy, AR with our good friends Debra and Brent and Kelley and Luke. We had a cabin on the river and cooked out and canoed the river all day Saturday.
It was so fun visiting with friends although Trey and I were not the "novice" rafters we had hoped for we fell out twice which was pretty scary. We will probably stick to the sidelines the next time we go to any river activities! Camden stayed with CeCe & Galdegah (that is what Walker calls my dad) Friday night and she took him to Little Gym and then JoJo and Grandad's Saturday night. He did great and we missed him so much. That was the longest we ever have been away from him! It was fun but we are still recooping from all the traveling. God is so good to allow us the ability and resources to be able to do such fun things!

Little Gym and Camden's First Birthday!!

2009-06-15T10:30:00.000-07:00

After little gym...pooped!!
So we have had a very busy couple of weeks. I have picked up a lot of extra shifts the past few weeks to make extra money for our vacation and gearing up for Camden's bday party! Also, CC enrolled Cam and Walker in little gym classes. Camden is in the birds class and Walker is in another class. We've gone the past 2 saturdays and he loves it! He climbs, places with the bells and is learning to to a forward roll. The entire class he just smiled with his mouth wide open! He's our little gymnast. Then Sunday we celebrated our baby's first birthday!! It is unbelievable to me that we are at this milestone already, it truly seems like yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting his arrival in the delivery room. Camden's actual birthday was on saturday and started with Trey and I singing happy birthday to him when he woke up then we had breakfast at the Lunsfords since his aunt Leigh Anne and Great Grandma Charlene were in town from Texas for his birthday! I pulled Cam Cam aside and I told him the story of his birthday and how wonderful it was to hear his first sweet little cry and he just grinned while I was telling him softly in his ear and then imitated me when I told him what his cry sounded like! It was hilarious. Then the big party Sunday was better than expected. We got really nervous b/c Friday and sunday bad storms hit our area and a ton of people were without power which as a blessing neither us or the lunsfords lost any electricity! We had a luau themed party complete with grass skirts, kabobs, leis, pineapples and limbo. It was so fun. Alot of camden's buddies came and he got some amazing gifts even though we asked everyone not to bring gifts! He is completely spoiled! His cake was sooo cute a lady made it to look like a hawaiian waterfall complete with a hula girl on top and his "smash cake" was a little tiki hut with a surfboard cookie on top. She also made flip flop and surfboard iced cookies. Everything was amazing and I think everyone had fun. Kim Miller the photographer came to do Camden's final shoot from his one year package and those pics should be ready in a few weeks and I will post them when I get the link. We went to the Dr. today for his 1 year checkup & vaccines and I pointed out what I thought was a heat rash on Camden's midsection and the Dr. diagnosed him with rosceola! So no shots for now and we are just to put cortisone cream on it for the itch and benadryl if we think he is fussy b/c of the rash. She said it is most likely at the end and should be too contagious at this point but to stay home for a few days and no going to Mrs. Billie Jo's house :( So I took off tonight and Trey is taking a half day tomoroow and We are so excited about our vacation on Wednesday to St. Louis and then Chicago!! Pray for a safe trip and good weather and Camden's rosceola clears up soon.

Selling our house

2009-06-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

We have decided to put our house on the market. There are so many good deals to be had right now and since we haven't bought a house in the past 3 years we could qualify for the new $8000 tax break. So we are just doing for sale by owner for now but my get more agressive if we don't have any bites. If you or anyone you know want a great house in a really good neighborhood in a wonderful school district in Southaven, MS let us know! It's 3 BR, 2 Ba one story with an open floor plan. All appliances to stay and we will help with closing cost. We are asking $149,900 but will consider all serious offers. Here are some pics:

Had to post a pic of Camden. Here is borrowing his cousin walker's push car. We are going to get him a powerwheel car for his birthday. It's a surprise don't tell him :)

Happy Birthday Trey!

2009-05-31T19:56:00.000-07:00

Doesn't he look happy?
Here is the swing set minus the flags

Cam and Daddy swimmin'

In his playhouse

Budweiser Cake made by the Caky Lady

With some of the girls at Treys bday party

Most of the group at the party

Memorial Day weekend gave us another reason to celebrate Trey turned the big 3-0! We went to the Lunsford's house Memorial Day to play on the new play yard/swing set that grandad james and g'ma jo jo got Camden which was AWESOME! It has a slide, several swings and a rock wall to name a few plus they got flags made that look like pirate ship flags with Camden and my nephew Walker's name on them! We got Camden in the pool for the first time and he liked it pretty well, I think he just needs to get in a few more times to get used to it. Trey was a good sport with the cake and the birthday hat:) We had brisket which was delicious! Then this past weekend Camden spent the night with G'ma Jojo and G'dad Lunsford and we had a second bday party for Trey with our friends. It was really fun, we had brisket again (this time cooked by Trey) and a budweiser cake! We played cornhole and had a really fun time hanging out with everyone. Other than that we are gearing up for the luau themed first birthday for Camden. I included what the bday invitations look like! Oh and a huge development, camden started walking this week! It was like one day a few steps here and there to full fledged walking. He can get up off the floor with no support & squat and pick up things and keep walking. its been very exciting and so much fun to watch. I will include a video in another post.

11 months old - it's summer time!

2009-05-15T22:47:00.000-07:00

Splashing in his turtle pool

Yeah mom, this isn't going happen.

I don't want to be still!

One reason we don't go in the backyard much - rocks, they are just so tempting to eat!!

So Camden is now 11 months old! I could not get him to cooperate with his monthly photoshoot as you can see he was getting too silly for the pictures he wanted to get down and look out the window or play with the baseball! It was pretty funny. He now has 4 teeth two uppers and two lower. We started giving him a little real milk today so we will see how that goes! He is crawling, pulling up and cruising along on furniture like crazy. He is getting really good at mimicing people. Trey was throwing the ball outside for Wrigley today and Camden was watching through the window and starting rotating his throwing arm like he was chunking a ball! Of course that was a delight to Trey:) I bought him a little baby pool today and we went "swimming" it was hot outside but the water was still pretty cool but he sat in there for about 30 mins splashing around b/f he got tired of it and climbed out. We are looking forward to going to the pool at Jo Jo's this summer! I am busy planning the birthday party. We are having a luau theme and it should be really fun! I cannot believe he is getting this old...

Happy Mother's Day

2009-05-11T12:31:00.001-07:00

One of our first picture together
Meeting G'ma Jo Jo

Meeting CC!

Happy little family sweet little boy
With Granny Cresswell
With Aunt Misty
With Aunt TT (Tracy)
So we had a busy weekend and a happy mother's day! Friday night we went to the country and stayed at my grandad's old house in Hickory Flat with my whole family. Saturday we got up early and drove to Tupelo where we went to the huge flea market and then went to see my Granny in the hospice center she is staying at. She looked pretty good, but definitely tired and very thin. Her hair was all white which I had never known her to have any other color than red! She is doing pretty good considering. She was diagnosed with liver cancer (which they thought was on her kidneys) last year and has spread to her bones. She chose not to undergo chemo treatments which I think is better because I think that would make her feel 10 times worse. But it was a great visit alot of my dad's side of the family made it up both brother's families, two of granny's sisters and their famalies all made it. We all went to dinner and had a blast. It was so great to visit with this side of the family who we rarely see and they loved meeting Camden! I forgot to take pictures of the whole group but I got some of us with Granny. Sunday was my first mother's day! I was so proud to be a mom, ever since I was a young girl I wanted a baby. I loved children and had even wanted to be a pediatrician at one time. I always wanted to babysit and worked at several daycares.o be near kids. When we found out we were going to be parents I was esctatic! Camden and Trey got me a sweet card that Camden came in holding which was so sweet, and a pedicure gift certificate! We went to Trey's moms house Sunday night to celebrate with her and had yummy steaks and potatoes. It was a great mother's day and then I rocked my baby to sleep last night which was probably the best mother's day present of all. I was just thinking how precious this time is and that I won't always have the oppurtunity to rock my little boy to sleep. I know there will be a time in his life when he is too big to love on his mommy so I am cherishing our cuddle time and love being a mom to this sweet little boy! Trey and I are blessed to have such great moms to emulate. I wrote in my mom's card thank you for setting the bar so high since she is such a wonderful and giving mother! We thank God for our moms on mother's day:)

2009-05-08T15:14:00.003-07:00

2009-05-08T15:14:00.001-07:00