Dress-up, Part 2

Camden was so excited that Nana fixed her Cinderalla dress, which consisted of replacing the scratchy sleeves with new softer sleeves. She tried it on this morning, complete with all the accessories. Doesn't she look like a princess??

Baby Leighton

We went to see Mrs. Jennifer and baby Leighton last night and take them dinner. Camden and Claire were so excited about getting to hold baby Leighton. We had gone to see them in the hospital, but they didn't get a chance to hold her then. So,they were so anxious about going over there and had been asking all day when was it time. They were also looking forward to playing with Gage and Aubrey. Here are a few pics of the girls getting some practice in before Carlyle arrives.


Claire's all smiles about holding baby Leighton


Camden's turn...Leighton is a bit fussy. Charley's waiting her turn to hold the baby. She and Mrs. Caren came over too to help bring dinner.


Looks like Camden got her all calmed down. What a good babysitter!



Giving kisses

Playing dress-up

When we got home from the party, Camden and Claire wanted to try on their princess dresses that they got for their birthday. Camden immediately got out her Cinderella dress and put it on, but complained that it was scratchy. The sleeves were made of a sheer material that had sequins on it. It was a bit scratchy. She would NOT wear it, even for a picture. Since Nana made the dresses, we called her up to see if we could get some alterations. She's going to replace the sleeves with a smoother material that wont hurt. Claire put on her Snow White dress, grabbed her tiara and a pair of her new shoes and was set. She went off looking for a purse, returned with one and smiled for a picture. Camden asked if she could try on Claire's dress. It was a bit small, but I was able to get a picture before she took it off. They are going to have so much fun dressing up in their new attire.

Camden and Claire's Garden Birthday Party

This afternoon we had Camden and Claire's joint birthday party at the Rose Garden. The theme was a garden party, with flowers and bugs. The girls and their guests had a really good time. We had two cardboard playhouses for them to color on and play in. I think that was a hit. One of the houses had been played in so much it was almost falling apart by the end of the party. They also had visors to decorate with their name, flower stickers and bug stickers. Another fun thing that the girls were looking forward to was having pinatas. I found some that matched the theme and also were not the kind that you have to hit. These pinatas were supposed to open by pulling the ribbon. Claire had a ladybug and Camden had a butterfly. Claire and her friends grabbed the strings and pulled and tons of candy fell out. At first, they weren't sure what to do with it. But, it didn't take them long to figure out they were supposed to pick up the candy and put it in their bag. Then Camden and her friends came to pull the strings on the butterfly. However, for some strange reason, all the strings were pulled and the pinata was NOT open. So, Uncle Rex had to help out and punch a hole in the end. Then all the candy poured out and those big kids sure were happy!! Then, we sang Happy Birthday to each girl, blew out the candles, ate some cake and opened some presents. What a fun afternoon! Thanks to all our friends and family who came out to help us celebrate Camden's 5th birthday and Claire's 3rd birthday! You helped to make their birthday very special!! To view all of the birthday pictures go to: www.jjchilek.smugmug.com and click on the birthday party icon.


Trying for a family photo


Claire enjoying her cake


Camden's all smiles about her party

Cupcake Time

This afternoon Camden saw a commercial about kids making cupcakes and she wanted to do the same. After finding a strawberry cake mix, I discovered that I didn't have any icing. So, we had to make a quick trip to the store. After dinner the girls helped me add the ingredients to the mix, they got to ice their cupcakes and add some sprinkles. YUMMY! What a treat!

Movie Day

During the summers, one of the movie theaters here has kids summer specials. Five dollars will get you a ticket, popcorn, drink and a treat (two summers ago it was gummy bears and this summer it's air heads). It's only Tuesdays and Thursdays during the summer at 9:30. They play different "kids" movies from the past. Anyway, two summers ago I took Camden. It was an Elmo movie, and at that time she was really into Elmo. She was only 2, so I didn't know how she would do, but surprisingly, she did really well. She must have a good memory because everytime we drive by that theater she always asks if we can go to the movies. This summer has been so busy, but we have two weeks off from school, so I thought it was the perfect time to take her and Claire to the movies. I had researched what was playing...today was "An American Tale". I grew up watching that movie and thought they would really like Fievel. Jeremy took off work to go with us and this morning when they woke up, they asked where we were going. I said, "How 'bout the movies?". Camden was SO excited and was asking if it was time to go from 8:00am until we left. We got there before the crowd and were able to get our snacks and get a good seat. They had some advertisements playing while we were waiting for it to start. Claire kept asking when was it going to be over. The movie started right at 9:30, and thankfully, they did not show any previews. About 9:45 or so, both girls said they had to go potty...ugh!!! Jeremy said he would take them, and although I wasn't thrilled about them going in the men's restroom, I agreed. That meant I didn't have to get up and walk through people with two kids. They returned and watched a little more of the movie. At 10:05 Camden said she was ready to go home. Are you serious???? Claire was actually watching it, but said she had to go potty, AGAIN! We decided that it was just time to go. Enough was enough. So, at 10:09 we were in the bathroom again and then we left. Such a waste and such a disappointment. I was sure that they both would enjoy the movie. Guess I was wrong. Maybe it was the choice of movies, or maybe it's just them. Camden has never been one to watch a long movie...actually a 30 minute cartoon episode is really her limit. I guess that's a good thing. It's not that she's ADD..she can focus a long time on puzzles, books, drawing, coloring, etc... It's just movies that she doesn't watch. She does good for about 20 or 30 minutes, but then she's done. Oh well, I guess there's plenty of time to take them to the movies. For now, we'll just settle for Disney Playhouse or Noggin cartoons.

My mischevious Claire Bear

This morning the girls had free roam of the house while I was cleaning and Jeremy was golfing. Claire found a crayon and decided to color on Camden's chair. Of course, I had to take a picture before scolding her. She also found some scissors and decided to find something to cut. Luckily, it was just the tag from her quilt on her bed. It could have been worse and she could have actually cut the quilt, or even her hair, but I guess I was lucky, at least for today. Claire is so mischevious. And here's the sad thing, when she gets in trouble, she doesn't even act like she cares or that she is remorseful. She is definitely going to test me for many more years to come. I think she may be the one who needs some creative forms of discipline, because the old-fashioned spanking and time-outs just don't seem to phase her.