Merry Christmas!

This year, we drove to Van Horn to spend Christmas with my family. We had a nice surprise as we were driving into town, SNOW! The high was only 28 degrees! The kids had a blast at the ranch with Grandpa. They chased the goats, fed the cows and built fires! A few of the teenagers got a few lessons in learning how to shoot a gun. It really is amazing how different the world is when I go back home.

Go Gophers!

Today, the Gophers had a great game.  Cameron scored his first goal!  Yippee!
Cameron, you gave me a lot of anxiety during today's game that I can't imagine this is what I have to look forward with you playing sports. We are so proud of you bud!

Christmas Ornament Exchange

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2011 with wonderful friends!

My Loves...

A sneek peek to some of our Christmas photos...

Go Gophers!

Today was Cameron's first soccer game with The Gophers! He absolutely loved it! I was worried he would be intimidated but he got right in there and ran his little heart out. His friends Evan & Jacob are on the same team, so I think it made a difference.

Cameron, you are growing up so fast! I love you chingos!

Happy Birthday Gracie!

Happy Birthday Gracie! Today, you are 8 years old. I know I say this every year, but I can not believe how fast you have grown. You have outgrown Nick Jr. and like to watch shows like "Good Luck Charlie", "Phineas and Ferb", etc. You don't like for me to kiss you at school anymore either (sad). You fight with your little brother ALL the time. I know this is only the beginning. I am anxiously awaiting what you will be up to next year. I love you my sweet princess.

Love Mom

Cars, Cars, Cars

Cameron is such a car fanatic just like his Daddy. He literally has over 300 toy cars all over the house. Every day, we play races, or take them to the shop, get gas, etc. He also has a love of airplanes and motorcylces. Today, Kenny told Cameron they were going to be washing his car engine. Cameron's eyes lit up! He was so happy! Thanks honey, for making his day!

Rogers Elementary School Dance

Tonight, we attended our first dance of the year. It was American Idol themed, so the kids got to dress up and play the part. Here is our little "rocker chic". She was super thrilled I let her wear mascara!

Gracie, Gracie, Gracie

Today, I wasn't able to go to the school because the Department of Public Safety told me I needed to go visit their office ALL day. This is my conversation with Gracie when I picked her up.

Me: Hi Gracie, how was your day?
Gracie: Mom, don't give me a snack today.
Me: Why Gracie?
Gracie: Because my stomach is full of regret and embarrassment.
Me: Woah Gracie, what are you talking about?
Gracie: We didn't get a smily face in class today because of those two naughty boys.

Note: Gracie has 2 friends that like to chat quite a bit.

Me: Well Gracie, sometimes when the noise level gets really out of control, the teacher has no choice other than to punish the entire class.
Gracie: I know, that's why I am full of regret and embarrasment.
Me: But why Gracie? If you didn't do anything, you shouldn't feel that way.
Gracie: Well, I am just embarrassed by their behavior. How hard is it to do what your teacher says?
Me: Well Gracie, it's not as easy for others
Gracie: That doesn't make sense to me. I will never talk to them or play with them again. They are "RULE BREAKERS".

Wow, was all that was running through my mind as we drove home. She's only in the 2nd grade!

"Sing to Jesus"

Today, Cameron melted my heart. As we were getting ready for his bath he said "momma, I learned a new song today". I sat down on the step stool to listen. My little man started singing "Deep and Wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain flowing deep and wide...deep and wide, deep and wide, there's a fountain flowing deep and wide" He used his hands and all of himself as he sang. I hugged him tightly and gave him tons of kisses! I told him I was so proud of him and he said "Momma, I love singing to Jesus. Do you think little Grandma can hear us"? I told him Little Grandma could definitely hear us. I continue to be amazed at how much kids absorb and comprehend.

I love you little man!

First Day of School

School has started and things are in FULL swing at the Mueller Household! I still can not believe Gracie started 2nd Grade. She is going to have an amazing school year. Her teacher is Mrs. Strickland (I didn't get a photo of them yet) and has been at Rogers for a number of years. This summer we received a letter from the State letting us know Gracie passed her Gifted and Talented test. She will participate in the QUEST program at Rogers. This will give her one on one time with Mrs. Dinger who oversees the GT program. We are still getting used to homework and a routine again.

Our 2nd Grader - YIKES!

Cameron also started school this week. He was so lucky to have the same teacher he had for part of the year. His best friends Cole & Will are also in his class. How awesome is that?

(Mrs. Orgeron and Cameron)

My handsome Pre-K student (notice his new spiked hair - YIKES to that too)
This past week we also bought a "BIG BOY" car seat for Cameron. He has been so excited to sit in his new booster seat. He's a little smaller than Gracie was when we transitioned her but he was so ready!

Hot, Hot, Hot!

It has been extremely hot these past few weeks! I am wishing it was about 20 degrees cooler. We try to stay home and avoid the heat but then we go stir crazy. Last week we headed out to the lake with some of my family members. The kids had such a great time! As long as we stayed in the water, we didn't feel the heat. Gracie and her cousins actually caught some fish! She freaks out when a fly flies by here yet she goes out trying to catch fish!

Today, my Gracie woke up feeling not so good. She is running a fever but doesn't really complain of anything else hurting. It has been a long day! Hopefully tomorrow we can go out and about. I only have 3 weeks left with my babies before school starts!

Happy 4th of July!

We had a wonderful Holiday weekend. The kids and I drove around, again, looking for fireworks to buy. We bought quite a few on Friday and popped quiet a few. Saturday, we hung out in Arlington with my family and then drove back home to see the Freedom Fest Fireworks. They were wonderful! This morning, I literally yanked the kids out of bed and drove to Arlington for the Parade. My nephew was marching in the Parade this year, so we had to show our support. It was really hot but fun. My nephew Nathaniel. We are so proud of him! This is most of the Solis Clan...there were alot of us!

Binkie Withdrawals...

Both Cameron & Gracie have LOVED, LOVED, LOVED their "binkies". When Gracie was about 3 1/2, we talke to her about being a big girl and not needing a binkie anymore. She was really sad at first, but we told her if we put the binkies in a bag and tie it the tree, the Angels would fly down from Heaven and take them to the babies in Heaven...SOLD! She hung those binkies one night and never asked for them again. Whew! Cameron was a little (alot) more attached to his binkie. We tried the dwindling down on usage, not having it at nap times or in the car, etc. His 4th birthday was D-Day! We did COLD COLD turkey. We did the same we did with Gracie. We talked to him the importance and the milestone of his turning 4. We are on the cusp of becoming a "big boy" and there are babies in Heaven who really need binkies. So, he sucked each one as he put them in a bag and said goodbye. It took him a long time to finally go to sleep. The next morning he ran down the stairs to see if his bag of binkies was still on the tree. It wasn't, the Angels had flown down from Heaven. His beautiful little eyes had these big tears fill them and it broke my heart. Thankfully, the Angels left him a little present. The next few weeks were extremely hard and painful. But we stuck to our guns. Things seemed to get a little better and better. About a week ago, he started asking for his binkie again. He cried how much he loved his "roundie roundie". That's what he called his favorite one. He's been crying and crying and crying and crying and crying...(see what I mean). So today I thought I would print out a picture of his "binkie" for him. Dear Lord, what did I do??? That's what I have been asking myself all day. I tried to explain to him that it's ok to be sad and miss his binkie. Those are his feelings and we understand what he is going through. I showed him other pictures and explained that pictures are moments of happiness we capture. I don't know if he got it or not but he did stop crying. However, he is now carrying that darn picture everywhere. Did I just create another little monster? We'll see...

We love you so very much Cameron. We will get through this! I promise.

Love Mommy and Daddy

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Today, our sweet little boy turned 4! I can not believe how fast time has flown. I still remember driving myself to the hospital when he decided he was ready two weeks before he was due. We love you so much dear son. We had a good day today, even though Cameron had to visit the doctor today. He weighed in at 36.2 pounds. He has gained two pounds since last month. Cameron has had a really bad cold this week so he has stayed home all week. Yesterday morning, his cheeks and neck had this rash. I thought he was having an allergic reaction to something so I gave him Benadryl. I prayed....Benadryl affects Cameron differently than most people. Instead of making him sleepy, it makes him really hyper. We went to the Rough Riders game but didn't make it to the 6th inning. This morning, it was much worse so off we went. He has Fifth Disease. It sounds scarier than it actually is. It can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months. He's not contagious or anything, it just looks bad. We went to Toys R Us and he got to pick out a toy for his birthday. I made him Stroganoff for dinner (at his request) and we baked a cake. He said he had a really good day!

Open House

Gracie had open house last month. I am a little behind in posting. I have been volunteering quite a bit at the school. It is so much fun. The week before I spent each day decorating the Kindergarten and 1st Grade halls. Here is Gracie with her Ocean Diaroma...she and "Dad" worked really hard on it. They don't have "chalk boards" anymore...and they have class projectors.
Gracie & Mrs. Shade. I just adore her, she is such a wonderful teacher.

Donuts with Dad

Last Friday, Cameron had "Donuts with Dad" at his new school. He was so excited to have Dad come and visit him at his new school. I love these picture of my "boys". I so do love them with all of my heart.

He is so going to town with the donut. Poor teachers, they had a bunch of kids hyped up on "sugar".

Growing Veggies

We are growing our veggies! Or we are at least going to try to - ha! I have been trying really really hard to get Gracie to eat or even taste veggies. For Mother's Day last year, Kenny and kids bought me a small ready to make garden. We had some work done in the back yard to work on some drainage issues, I had a bed put in especially for a family garden. The kids were extremely excited and were on board 100% with helping. We purchased a small greenhouse from Home Depot to start out seeds. Gracie even said she would taste some of our veggies when harvested. WE SHALL SEE! We have planted Cucumbers, Green Beans, Broccoli, Tomatos, Corn, Bell Peppers, Watermelon, Cantaloupe, Basil, Oregano. Aren't these labels adorable? Gracie made them herself.

Spring Break Day Five

For our last official day of Spring Break, we heated up the pool and enjoyed the day with family. The day didn't start off so good as we had to replace our water heater ASAP. We had been running out of hot water in the master bath (were I bathe my babies) and I was getting pretty tired of hauling hot water from the kitchen. Every time I did it, I remembered the days we used to visit my Grandma in Mexico. Anyhow, called someone out and they said we were lucky we had not had a fire. LORDY....really? Scared me to death. Of course, Kenny is out of town so we have to try to figure this out by phone. The company I had originally come out gave me a quote of $1011 - OUCH. So I call Home Depot and Lowes. Lowes prices were so much better so I haul down there to sign the paperwork. As I am paying, they are on their way to install the new water heater. Thank God!