Let the Holiday Season Begin!

Hi family and friends!  We hope you had an excellent Thanksgiving like we did.  I can't believe tomorrow is December!  What the heck happened??  November was a busy one for us but not nearly as busy as December is going to be.  The kids had multiple play dates, visits from family and friends, MyGym, Husky football games and doctor appointments.  The beginning of the month started off with a wonderful neighborhood friend dinner party hosted by our new friends!  It was amazing to be invited into such a warm, welcoming group of people.  Every couple there had at least 1 child around Cammers' age (8 adults, 8 kids!!).  We had a lot of fun getting to know our new neighbors and decided to make it a monthly date.  Every month it will be hosted at another friends' house - we are excited!  Cameron loved to play with new friends - and their toys! 

Thanksgiving was wonderful for us this year.  We had dinner at Aunt Rosie and Uncle Mike's house in Renton.  All of the food was delicious and visiting with the family was so much fun.  Uncle Ty, Uncle Dan and Aunt Sandie surprised all of the grandchildren with special gifts.  They put together personalized wooden boxes that had a picture of Grampi on the front and the quote: "When someone we love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure".  It also had his name and birth year - death year on it.  Inside the box, it was filled with special treasures my Gramps collected while in the war.  Each grandchild got a little bag of coins and a piece of war memorabilia.  The coins were from Germany and England.  The memorabilia included Nazi arm bands, Solider hat pins, shrapnel, pins and more.  Each box also had a typed description of my Gramps' experience in the war - written by him.  This gift was beyond special to me and I am so thankful my Uncles and Aunt took the time to make those for us.  It will be treasured forever.  This year, we are thankful for a lot of things.  A roof over our heads, heat, food in our tummies, our beautiful, healthy children, family and each other.  Oh yeah, and of course the Huskies winning the Apple Cup!!  GO DAWGS!  

Now to the best part of the blog - the kids!!  Cameron has grown up a lot this past month and we are in shock.  Everything from his speech to his growth has improved.  He is still obsessed with cars, plans, trains, boats, trucks and emergency vehicles (especially).  He understands that a siren means someone is either in trouble or hurt - he puts on a very sad face and says "Ohhhhhhh no."  Its incredibly cute.  His vocabulary has increased dramatically and he is trying to put more sentences together.  He now says, "cars, trucks, boat, firetruck, trains, balloons, lights, darker, moon, baby, Bas, Lola, Mama, Daddy, Nona, Papa, Uncle, Auntie, Dog, Cat, Mouse, Tree, Santa" and a lot more. He always says, "Mama I walk, I do, I did it!, Yeah!, OK, No, Yay!" and more.  We couldn't be more proud of him!  Cammie knows 22 out of 26 letters in the alphabet, a lot of animals and objects and recognizes different emotions.  He can now count to 3 (Sometimes) and knows the colors, Red, Blue, Green and Yellow.  He understands who Santa is and that he says, "HO HO HO!"  He moved up to the Gymster Class at MyGym and now is the youngest in the group.  The class consists of kids ages 23 months to 2 1/2 years.  Last week was his first class and he loved it!  It is amazing to watch him interact with other kids, other parents and his teachers.  This class focuses more on colors, numbers and sharing.  You can tell it is a little more challenging for him which is great.  

Cammie caught his 3rd cold this month and it was awful.  It was by far the worst one he has had.  And of course it turned into an ear infection - which he told us about!  He pointed to his ear and said, "Owie!"  After a 10 day dose of amoxicilin and ear drops, he is feeling much better.  Cammers also started to become a little more opinionated about his food choices.  Lately all he wants in fruit snacks, blueberries and salsa.  Of course thats not all he eats, but that is all he wants!

I cannot believe that next month my sweet baby boy will be 2 years old!  Where has the time gone??  Although I am sad my baby is growing up, I'm having so much fun watching him, playing with him and interacting with him.  He is a special boy who brings everyone so much joy.  There is no doubt in my mind that he will continue to impress us and excell in everything he does.  

Natalie is also growing like a weed!  She had her 2 month appointment on the 4th of November and everything looks great!  Her MD said she is "long and lean."  She is hitting all of her milestones on time and has even hit some early!  She takes long naps and even sleeps through the night most nights (if she doesn't sleep all night, she only wakes up once).  She eats like a champ too and still nurses every 3-4 hours during the day.  She is extremely animated when she smiles (her whole body is involved) and LOVES to talk!  She can go on and on for about 30 minutes!  She sleeps through Cammie's special time at MyGym and allows us to go on long car rides and walks.  Because she is so good, we decided to take the kids to Ocean Shores last weekend!  It was so fun to see Cammie walking on the beach, digging in the sand and running away from the waves.  Nattie of course slept the whole time.  We are SO excited for Nattie's first Christmas!!  We are taking the kids to meet Santa the beginning of next month.  

I can't believe we have two extremely laid back children who are outgoing and sweet.  If I could hand pick my kids, I would personally choose Nattie and Cammie no questions.  I was nervous when I was pregnant with Nat because I counldn't imagine myself loving another child as much as I love Cam.  Now, I can't imagine myself without Nat and Cam.  Life didn't begin until both my babies were in my life.  I now know my purpose on this earth and love each and every second with them.  Being a mother is so much fun and I'm beyond thankful that I have the opportunity to stay at home with them during the day.  

As always, to finish up the blog, here are this month's pictures!  We hope everyone has a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends and fun!  Much love from the Thodys!