The Forgotten Birthday

I have to admit that I feel a bit bad for Olivia. How exciting can it really be for you to have your birthday so close to Christmas? It was especially bad this year since no one (and I mean no one, not even grandparents) remembered to call her. At least she's not one to hold a grudge!


We spent the morning playing at "Jumping Jacks," a little inflatable place just outside of town. It was very touching to see Thomas protecting his little sister from kids that were much bigger than both of them put together, but he wasn't standing for any kind of cutting!

Afterwards we headed to the mall. Foolishly we didn't think about all of the other kids who would be in "Build A Bear" wanting to redeem their gift certificates too and so it was just a tad busy. She seemed to have fun though and even managed to keep her thumb out of her mouth long enough to choose a bear and dress it.



The night ended with dinner at Panda "Bear" Express, which is Olivia's favorite and we picked up a cake from Cold Stone to top it all off. Luckily, Thomas was there to help with the blowing out of candles since Olivia was scared to death of the "fire".

Christmas Day

Luckily, we have kids that like to sleep in (even if Santa has been) and so we didn't get up until around 9.00 am. Thomas came down and was excited to find that his cookies and milk were gone and Rudolph had managed to take a nibble at his carrot. Santa decided that Thomas had been a good enough boy to get the Spiderman final battle toy that he had requested and Olivia got a doll house. Since Zach wasn't overly interested in Christmas this year Santa left him a toy that he will be able to enjoy in a few months time.




Spenser made out like a bandit this year with a Wii that I had to search high and low for, a new car stereo, and a backpack for all the camping trips he believes that he's going to take with Thomas this year. Everyone apparently believes that I need help in the kitchen and so I got new knives, a breakfast making center, and new pots and pans. I do have to admit that I did have very crappy knives and these new ones have provided a whole new cutting experience!




After opening gifts and cleaning up the mess (well, Nadia cleaned up the mess while Thomas and Spenser played on the wii for most of the day) it was back to work cooking dinner. Nadia got to cook dinner while Spenser and Thomas enjoyed some time outside in what ended up being a white Christmas day.




After the food was eaten and we enjoyed yet another showing of Frosty the Snowman and The Polar Express we couldn't take the excitement anymore and had to head off to bed!

Christmas Eve

With most of our close friends either out of town or with their own families we invited over a family who recently moved into the ward. The husband is a dentist in the army right now and so you can imagine what a lot of the conversation involved. Since we were so engrossed with all the talk of gross debridment, lingual cusp fractures, and various ethical debates time slipped away from us and they wanted to get their kids home to bed. Needless to say we didn't get to do a nativity and so there will have to be better planning again next year. We did , however, stay true to being able to open the one pajama Christmas Eve gift and everyone was happy with what they went to bed in.




Thomas left a note for Santa along with some cookies and milk along with a carrot for a very hungry Rudolph. We are not quite sure how the other reindeer manage to make the long trip since they are grossly overlooked, so we hope that Rudolph is a good sharer.


Thomas got a little messed up with how much space to leave and if you are a little confused the letter is suppsed to read:

"Cookies for Santa..Love Thomas Cammack, Olivia, and Zach"

Zoolights!

Since we enjoyed zoolights at the Tacoma Zoo so much last year, we decided that we would go back again. It was a little chilly and being Washington there was of course a damp mist in the air, but we have all got used to that now. After spending some time in the aquarium and conning dad into buying light up swords we decided that we had had enough fun and heard enough people say how we have our hands full with three little ones (I try to think of it as a compliment since we must look so young, not that we look like we have no idea what we're doing!) See you again next year!

Baby Zach

We love having Zach in our family. He has been such a good baby. He has finally realized that there is more to do each day than sleep. I do wish that he would do a little more of it at night though, but I know I should be grateful that he only wakes up once during the night. It's hard for me to remember sometimes that he still only is five weeks old!



He loves to be held a lot and swaddled tightly in a blanket. He loves to look at lights and sleep on daddy's chest. He loves to take a bath and ride in the car. He's not decided whether or not he likes all of the attention that he gets from Thomas and Olivia, especially Olivia! She loves to get close and give him kisses and he just closes his eyes! The other week Thomas asked me why he does that and I can only think that he is scared to death. I think that if I were that tiny I probably would be too. He does seem to appreciate it when she tries to feed him though, although we only wish that she would hold the bottle up high enough for him to actually get something other than air!

Christmas cards..aargh!!

This week I had to subject the poor kids to some kind of photo shoot so that I had something to include with our Christmas cards and letter. This was the best that I could get! Poor Thomas was home sick with an ear infection and Olivia had been throwing up the day before so I guess that I should really be grateful that we did this well. I was just glad when the last card was licked and stamped and they were all in the mail box. I can't wait until next year!

First Snow

When we first visited Washington the people here told us that it didn't snow too much and so when when snow fell last Thanksgiving and arrived on December 1st this year we're not sure what to believe! The snow pretty much tried to fall all day, but by late evening it was eventually managing to stick. Knowing that the snow was to be followed by heavy rain the next day Spenser didn't want Thomas to miss out and so took Thomas and our neighbors out to Tumwater Hill at 10pm. I guess that they weren't the only ones who had the same idea since there were plenty of other people out there too. I guess that just goes to show how desperate we all are for a bit of snow out here.


The next day, before the rain started, Thomas and Olivia got to go out and make a snowman with dad. After that the rain never stopped and led to some major flooding in some nearby areas. When we saw the damage done to some neighborhoods we sure felt glad that the worst we had to endure were road closures due to water covering the road.

Cutting the Tree

On Saturday we decided that it was time to go and pick out a tree. It was raining pretty hard, with some snow, and we were worried about Zach being cold, but we decided that if we didn't go now it would only get harder with how busy December can get. So we braved the elements and went off to Tom's and quickly picked out a tree. Thomas was sad that we didn't take as long to look this year, but we were all so cold. We quickly carried the tree back to the car and got it home to decorate. Decorating was interrupted by a lack of lights, but once we were up to 1,200 Spenser was satisfied with the outcome.

Our Brother Zach

After there being some concern that Olivia didn't like her new little brother very much (mainly due to refusing to look at Zach in the hospital room and talking about how the baby was still in mommy's tummy!) she really is doing much better. She has actually become a big help and rushes to find the nearest bottle to feed Zach whenever he cries, regardless of whether or not it has been sitting around for a few hours after his last feed! We have tried to explain to her that baby's cry for reasons other than hunger but she has yet refused to believe us.

Thomas of course loved his brother from the beginning and cried when he came to the hospital and was told that he might not be able to hold Zach since he had a 103 degree fever the night before. He has been found attempting to change Zach's diaper, alone, on a number of occasions and while I wanted to cry at his tenderness I was also glad that Zach didn't do what he sometimes does best - sprays all over you!

Let us pause to give Thanks

Much like everyone else we spent Thanksgiving cooking, eating turkey and pie, and washing dishes! Nadia's parents and sister Hayley were still here visiting after Zach's birth and so they got to experience Thanksgiving for the first time. They seemed to like everything except for the pumpkin pie, which I guess is somewhat of an acquired taste. Throughout the meal Thomas told us how much he loved Thanksgiving so I guess that we'll do it again next year! Zach seemed to like it too and slept through the whole thing.

Olivia awaiting a meal she would barely touch

How Zach spent the day

Zachary's Blessing

Since both sets of Grandparents had come out to visit after Zach's birth we decided that we would take that opportunity to bless him. We were able to have the blessing at home with a few of our close friends since Zach was only five days old and we didn't want to take him to a church full of kids and germs with an immature immune system! We all had a great experience. The worst part of it all was that Nadia still looked like she was pregnant in her maternity dress and so pictures featuring her tummy were very much discouraged!

The Brothers

Olivia, Auntie Hayley, and Grandma Elaine

The New Family

New Family Addition

On November 13,2007 at 4:30 am, the Cammack Family received it's newest addition, Zachary Spenser Cammack, was born. But of course it wasn't that simple. Nadia was scheduled for a 6 am induction (being three days overdue), but as fate would have it she started having contractions at 11 pm the night before. At 2:30 they rapidly went from 15 minutes to 5 apart and we jetted off to the hospital. Good thing Grandma arrived the night before too, or we may have never made it to the hospital.
By 2:50 Nadia was at an 8, and pushing by 3:30. Zach came out healthy 1 hr and a miracle epidural later at 7 lb 7 oz and 20 1/2 inches. Everyone is doing well, and it is amazing how quickly Nadia was back in action (she'd say out of necessity). Thomas absolutely loves his baby brother, and Livy has really warmed up to him.

Halloween

Well, this Halloween season finally came to a close with trick or treating around the neighborhood. I was pleased to get the kids dressed just one last time and then sent them off with Spenser while I stayed at home and took care of the trick or treaters that darkened our door. Olivia ran to every door proclaiming that she was Ariel and showing all who cared her "pretty shoes" As they made their final approach to the house I heard an all too familiar cry and was greeted by a little girl with plenty of tears and a scraped arm who just barely had managed to make it home unscathed. Oh, how we love Halloween!

Trunk or Treat

After a morning at the pumpkin patch we headed off for more Halloween fun at the annual church Trunk or Treat. Our neighbor Ryan came along too and we all had fun winning prizes at the carnival and then gathering as much candy as possible from the many cars that lined the parking lot. Olivia was in total candy heaven and for the next couple of days closely guarded her candy basket and counted her booty so she would know if there was any foul play going on!

Yes, Spiderman again!

The little mermaid and her dad

Trying their luck at the shooting range

Schiffers Pumpkin Patch

Thomas and our neighbor Ryan

Could there be more trips to the pumpkin patch I hear you say? To be honest I feel like I've been to every single farm in the area during the last month, but I couldn't miss the chance to go with Thomas on his kindergarten field trip. I have really enjoyed going on a few field trips and being able to volunteer in the classroom for the last month. It has really given me a great chance to see how Thomas is really doing (or what he's not doing when he's wandering around!). I have enjoyed being able to help out some of the children who are struggling a little and its been nice to see what a great group there are Thomas' class.


This time we headed out to Schiffer's pumpkin patch where we took a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch. The children were encouraged to make sure that they didn't pick pumpkins that would be too big for them to carry, but of course I ended up carrying a couple back to the wagon. We then got to pet a number of animals and I was so proud of Thomas when he held one of the rabbits since I think he's always nervous that he might lose a finger of two at the petting zoo. The morning finished with a trip around their corn maze which no one but a couple of the kids seemed to be able to get out of without some help from the employees. My main problem was that I was having problems navigating the tight corners with what is now a gigantic belly (well that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!).

Thomas and his classroom buddies