Superhero B-Day Pics (Late I know...)

Here are some LATE pictures from Cameron's 4th Birthday at our house.  We had tons of fun and the kids seemed to really enjoy all of the activities.  All the kids got their own capes to decorate and masks, and then we played cool superhero games with silly string (Spiderman's web) and a glow stick (Kryptonite).  Of course we topped it all off with the most awesome Batman cake!  We were wore out by the end...but as always...it was all worth it! ;)

Tina, Cameron, and Helica

Super cool Batman cake (YUMMY!)

Decorating capes...

Super Addison!

Opening up gifts...always mass chaos!

Surgery...here I come, again!

Well, somehow, someway, God has decided that I need to spend a 2nd spring break recovering from surgery.  Last year, I had my gallbladder removed after a 4 day stay in the hospital....and now a year later I am having hernia surgery.  They believe it is from one of the incisions from my gallbladder surgery.  While most people are heading off to sunny beaches, I will be laying around on the couch once again.  Now, I won't complain about the laying around part, but I just want to be sure that I get to spend good QUALITY time with Cameron.  I know a lot of people have it a lot worse that I do with medical problems, so I am thankful that it is something that can be easily fixed and hopefully I can recover and move on quickly!!!! Prayers are welcome!  Now my bank acccount might not recover as easily...but that's what I get for having teacher's insurance. :)  Gotta love it...

Fantastic at Four!!!!!

Happy Birthday to my sweet baby boy!!!  On Feb. 20, 2006, at exactly 10:28 p.m,  we were blessed with the sweetest miracle around...Cameron Antonio Mennsfield.

Cameron,
       It is so surreal to think that 4 years have already passed since that day.  Each year that passes it is amazing to see what type of person you are becoming.  You have got the funniest personality and you remind me so much of Grandpa with your sense of humor.  I am blessed to say that you make me so proud and I love you  more each day too.  Here's how....
1. I love how you remind us to pray before we eat
2.That you say "The Our Father" all on your own during out night time prayers
3.You have learned to write your name all by yourself
4. You have a true love and passion for football
5. You give me a kiss on my cheek and tell me, "I love you Mommy...you are the sweetest and best Mommy in the world."  (That melts my heart every time.)
6. You are able to beat me at checkers.
7. When you are playing a sport you always try to stop and check on a person if they are hurt.
8. You say the darndest things...like when a commerical for the Victoria Secret Fashion show came on, you looked at me and said, "I wish my Mommy was like that."
9.  You love, love, love Michael Jackson!  Hearing you sing and dance to his music is the best entertainment out there.
10. You are YOU! (And we wouldn't change anything about that!)

I thank God EVERY chance I get for bringing you into all of our lives.  Don't ever forget how much you are loved and cherished on Earth and in Heaven.  I know you will do some amazing things in all of your years ahead.  Your Daddy and I will be right there cheering you on each step of the way.  Happy Birthday sweet boy.
                                                                                           Love,
                                                                                           Mommy and Daddy
  

Checking out his new surroundings for the first time.

Cleaned up and looking handsome.

All Star Jam Session-2010

We were so excited to get the chance to check out the All Star Jam Session this past weekend.  It was more crowded than we could have possibly imagined, but Cameron got to try out some cool things.  We also got to see Josh Howard, Avery Johnson, Biz Markie (Cameron remembers him from Yo Gabba Gabba), Chris Webber, and Carmello Anthony(for a split second). 

Check out the skills. (Ok...the man set it up for him to spin like that, but it looks pretty cool!)

I just realized he has his tongue out while getting ready to make his shot...can we say Michael Jordan style?  I think we may need to go NBA instead of  NFL!

I know...blurry.  They were rushing me. :(

I think in just a few more years we'll be ready to take on the big boys.

Snow Days

11 a.m.-Leave it to the football fanatic to play in the snow! :)

5p.m- Back out for more snow and more fun!!! (and yes he was bundled up, we took a quick picture after we were already about to come inside.)

Looking forward to our snow day tomorrow!  At least Val and I both get to stay home this time. 

Feeding the Ducks

The weather was SO nice this past weekend and the Cowboys were losing ;( , so my mom and I took Cameron and Emma to feed the ducks on Sunday.  My sister lives right by this pond in Carrollton, and I don't know why we had never taken Cameron before!  Needless to say, they loved it and we will definitely add this to our list of things to do this Spring...and I for sure will remember to bring more bread. I thought I had plenty, but with 2 excited kids and greedy birds flying around, our bread ran out pretty quickly!

Say a Little Prayer

I just wanted to remind everyone to say a prayer tomorrow for my co-worker, Tracy, and her family.  Tomorrow is Nash's 2nd birthday, and I can't even imagine how it feels to see this day pass by each year and not have a little one in your arms to celebrate with.  I'm sure that Nash will be celebrating up in heaven tomorrow, and so many here on Earth will be thinking of him. :) Although Tracy is expecting another blessing in just a few weeks,  I know their hearts and thoughts won't ever let them forget their second little boy.  So if you can...take an extra few minutes to pray for this family tomorrow, and each day after that. 

MUST READ BOOK!

If you get a chance during 2010 to read a book, please try out Mitch Albom's, Have a Little Faith!!!! If you don't have much time to read, no worries, because his books are pretty short reads, but they pack a powerful message!  I just spent the past 20 minutes crying at the end of this book, and it left me feeling so touched and inspired by faith and hope.  What more could we need in life than faith and hope in God (or maybe another higher power you believe in.)  The last time I sat and cried like this was right after I had Cameron and I read another one of his books, For One More Day.  That one hit me like a ton of bricks, since it was about a son going back and spending one more day with his deceased mother. His books are truly inspiring...so I hope you find the time to read his latest!

Christmas Blessings

     I'm so sad...another Christmas has come and gone.  It always makes me sad after Christmas, just because I always feel so much joy leading up to this time of year, and now it's all gone. ;(
     Although I'm bummed, I have to say that we were so blessed to have spent another great Christmas together.  Each year that Cameron grows older, we get to see another side to the holidays.   This year we really focused on Jesus being born this day and the fact that Santa brings him 3 gifts because the Wise Men brought Jesus 3 gifts.  He seemed to really understand the overall concept, so that was a plus.   We had also been using the advent calendar to count down to the big day, and I was really happy with how Cameron kept track of the days. He would wake up each morning and first look for "Boy" elf and then remind us that we had to open another door on the calendar.
     Although getting home from Christmas Eve Mass was a little scary, it was all worth it.  We were also supposed to have a party that night with Vals' family, but because of the weather, we only had a few guests, and we managed to make the best of it. 
     Cameron was THRILLED Christmas morning when he saw that Santa had ate his cookies and that he brought him his Spiderman Mask and Web Shooter, a Transformer action figure, and a SuperWhy Computer.  What a lucky guy. Just like last year, everytime he opened a gift, he said, "Wow...this was just what I wanted!"  I'm guessing this phrase might stick around for awhile.  We then managed to make it over to my mom's to open gifts with my side of the family and then I came back with my mom and made my first Christmas dinner.  (Ok, my mom did 90% of the cooking, but I helped!)  I was completely exhausted by the end, but SO glad that we did it.   
     Reflecting on this day...it's kind of funny because it's been exactly one year that I had been praying to God for another blessing for our family.  At times I feel like he isn't listening, but looking all around me I know that I have so many blessings right in front of me to be thankful for.  God has his own path for our family, and I'm a firm believer that just because I'm not getting the answer I want right now, doesn't mean that God doesn't already have it all worked at for me in his own time.  As hard as it may be at times to accept that, I am praying on it each day.  I'm truly blessed with the family that I have all around me and spending this extra time with them this holiday just helped me realize it even more!  Here are some photos from the day...

Grandpa and Dani put a smile on his face!  They got him tons of X-Men action figures to play with and Cameron hasn't put them down since!

Buzz Lightyear...who broke a few hours later.  Bummer.  Luckily we found another the day after X-Mas.

Where's Daddy you ask?  Either passed out after eating dinner or playing Wii, we don't remember!

This was the best shot we could get of the 3 of them...we probably tried about 15 times!

Let it snow...

We have been gearing up for Christmas Day this entire week.  We've been busy making gingerbread houses, baking cookies for Santa, and building snowmen! :)  I was SO excited to get a white Christmas this year, and Cameron was thrilled to get the chance to play in it.  (Although we did a lot of praying while sliding all the way home from the Children's Mass on Christmas Eve!)  The Lord truly watched over us to get us home safely.

I think the Gingerbread house was supposed to look like this...

but our special house looks like this! ;)  Thank you Caroline and Andrew for helping out!

Getting those cookies just right for Santa!

Brrr..it was quite chilly out, but totally worth it for this snowman! (Cameron also spent

alot of time trying to catch the snow in his mouth to eat!!!)

Christmas Eve...how could Santa not love our cookies????

All Aboard the North Pole Express!

This past weekend, we had the chance to visit the North Pole Express in Grapevine.  We missed the opportunity to get tickets last year, so we were excited to have the chance to see what it was all about.  My mom and niece, Emma, had the chance to join us.  It was REALLY cold out there, but the kids had the chance to take pictures with Santa (this is Cameron's 3rd time at this!), play in a bounce house, and watch/be part of a Christmas show before boarding the train in their PJ's.  On their way to the train they had snow coming down which the kids thought was so cool!  Santa managed to make his way onto the train, and that was quite a hit too!!! 

Emma and Cameron getting the chance to be part of the show! (And I just realized that if you look closely they are holding hands...so sweet!)

Jolly St. Nick again!

Waiting for the train to leave the station.

Grandma and Emma!

He's BACK!!!!

"Boy" elf has made it back to our home for a second holiday season! :0  ("Boy" was the name that Cameron gave his elf last year.)  He made his way in from the North Pole on Thanksgiving Day, and hopefully he can work some magic on our little boy.  We've been going through a bit of a stage with Cameron these past few weeks.  (To give you an idea of what we've been dealing with, we've already taken away 2 gifts from under the tree that we had bought for him...(Santa's gifts come on X-mas morning, unwrapped...duh!)  Cameron's little elf goes to visit Santa every night to report on Cameron's behavior, and then reappears in a new spot the next day.  Here's the first day that "Boy" came in...Cameron seems pretty happy that he came back this year. 

Go Texas Longhorns!!!!!

No, it's not what you're thinking...Val and I have not become big Texas Longhorns fans. :)  But we are fans of the Texas team that Val has been coaching for the past few months.  His nephew, Chris, has been playing with the Frisco Football League for quite some time now, and this was their last year to play in this league.  Their goal was to finally make it to the championship this year, so Val was on board to help join the coaching staff, and it paid off!  Not only did they make it to the championship game...but they WON!!!  It was quite an exciting game, and Cameron loved cheering on his Daddy and his cousin.  I loved that Cameron got the chance to see such a big accomplishment happen for these kids, and he got to see his dad's coaching in action.  Congratulations Val...and to the entire team. :)  

My Little Champion

I'm sad to say that Cameron's 2nd season of soccer is officially over.  I am thrilled to say though that this season was 100% better than the first one last spring, and his team won every game!  The first time around it was such a learning expereince for the entire team who had never played before, and this time around Cameron was a seasoned pro!  He was so enthusiatic to get out there and score, and I have never been so proud as a parent with his attitude. (Granted...I pray that God gives me many more moments to be proud of my sweet boy, but I am blessed to already have these proud moments!) Now I know that the kids on the team ranged from 3- 4 years of age, and kids at this age can be very emotional.  There were kids out there crying when they got knocked over, crying because the didn't want to play, crying because they couldn't get the ball to score a goal.  You name it, there was a kid crying over it.  Thankfully...that was never Cameron.  When he got tripped up, he got right back up and kept on running to get that ball.  When others were crying because they didn't want to play, Cameron was ready to get out on that field and score.  If the other team (or his own teammate) had the ball, Cameron would run at warp speed to take that ball away and score, but if someone else happened to score, Cameron would happily skip back to the center of the field and was ready to try again.  Now,  I know he gets his love and talent for sports from his Daddy, but I'm pretty sure he also gets this attitude from him too.  I'm totally a sore loser when it comes to any sort of competition and when things aren't going my way with a game, I'm ready to give up. ;)  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Cameron doesn't one day wake up with my winning attitude...ha!

Here he is with his medal and his team...

Thank you Cameron for playing your heart out these past few months...you make your Mama and Daddy proud!

Now comes the next hardest decision for Val and I....T-ball or Flag Football next?  Guess we'll just have to wait until next year to see. :0

Trick or Treat!

Whew!  This has been an exhausting weekend for all of us! Trick or Treating can really wear you out!  In August, Cameron wanted to be Buzz Lightyear, but soon changed his mind to Wolverine.  He has been on an X-Men and Iron Man kick, so Wolverine it was.  He truly had a blast and was literally running house to house to get to the door first. My mom, sister, brother in-law, and Cameron's 2 cousins, Chris and Aaron, came over to trick-or-treat.  Lilly, or "Wonder Woman",  made a visit earlier in the evening for pictures.   I was sad that the 2 super heroes couldn't go out together for the night, but Wonder Woman had her own neighborhood to head off to!
Cameron had us cracking up as always.  He was so excited, that he kept mixing up what he was supposed to say.  He knew he had 3 main phrases, "Trick-or-treat", "Happy Halloween", and "Thank you.", but sometimes he would come back and tell us that he forgot to say "trick-or-treat" first, or he would say "happy halloween," but forgot the "thank you." I guess the sight of candy had him all confused!

Don't be fooled, he really didn't have much to do with the carving of this pumpkin! I have finally figured out that I am the only one in my house who really likes carving pumpkins. :) But Cameron did pick the design.

 

Here's our own 2 super heroes of the night.

Grandma and Wonder Woman

Cameron and Mommy!

Too cute!

Just had to post this adorable picture of Cameron, Emma, and Lilly. :)

Cameron's New Room!!!

Whew...I am thrilled to say that Cameron's new big boy room is 90% completed. Surprise, surprise, we went with a sports room. :)  We wanted a room that would last for quite a while, unlike his baby room.  These things can get expensive, so I told Val, he's using this until college!  Probably not, but it's worth a shot.

We had the worst expereince with getting his furntiure delivered though, and we are still waiting for a net sports rack to hang over his bed. Granted, he still doesn't sleep in his room, but we have mananged to get a few naps in with his new "big boy" bed. Val and I really don't mind him sleeping with us, but we figured he was getting to the age of switching over from baby room to big boy room.  Hopefully in the long run the new room will encourage him to want to sleep in there instead of in our room.  My overall theroy about it though is that life is short. He's not going to sleep with us forever, so as long as it's not causing a problem, why not get that extra snuggle in while he still likes us!!!! ;0 Not to mention, my sisters and I were all raised sleeping with our parents when we were little, and I don't think we are too dysfunctional because of it!

Here's his first nap in his new bed.

A friend of Abby's had these on her blog...and I knew they would be perfect for his sports room.