Oh the things you'll see...

Wow, its been quite a long while since I've had the chance to update the world on the kids - its been about 5 months too long, almost to the day! Anyhow, we've gone through and done so much since my last post, it'll be difficult to try to squeeze it all in one shot. So for now, here's just a short list of what we've done and where we've been... The biggest thing we did this year was take our very first family vacation. And I'm not talking a weekend drive down the coast, or just a quick visit out of town, I mean a real vacation. Though many people told us to wait for the kids to get a little older, we opted to take our first family trip to Disneyland! What a great time we had! The kids were beside themselves, and with so much to take in, it was sensory overload for their little minds! Makenna got to meet almost all the princesses she's read about, and Isaiah got his fill with the Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story rides! While the trip was exhausting, both mentally and physically, a great time was had and sweet memories were made!

During our Disneyland trip, Isaiah surprised us all with his desire to advance with his potty training! Not quite sure what the spark was that set him off, but since our return, he's been on point with doing his duty! I think he caught on to it faster than his sister did. They say that boys are harder to train, but I beg to differ, at least in this case. At the time of this post, he's been diaper free for approximately 7 weeks and still going strong! We are so proud of him and continue to applaud his drive! YOU GO BOY!!!

Isaiah's ready for anything!

Makenna & Isaiah meet Belle

Makenna was one of the flower girls in yet another family wedding this summer. Her current count @ 3 years old is up to 3 weddings now. That averages out to one wedding per year! She's definitely catching up to her mommy with how many weddings she'd been a bridesmaid! Isaiah wasn't in this wedding, though he did look absolutely handsome in his new Barong Tagalog!

Isaiah rockin' his new Barong Tagalog

Flower girls Makenna & Patricia with junior bridesmaid Alexis

Makenna has officially started preschool. Talk about a hard pill to swallow! We can hardly believe that our "baby" has grown so quickly, and that she's taken that first step of her scholastic life. Sure its "only" preschool, but it provides a whole new opportunity for her to grow and develop as she explores daily life outside the home. Wow, even though we've been preparing for this, we're still in disbelief. She's already made some terrific connections, and its only her second week! The first Friday of the school year was picture day, and we can't wait to see how those pictures turned out!

Isaiah's been more on the mellow side at home now that he doesn't have his sister constantly picking on him. That's not to say that they fight all the time, but it seems that Kenna knows that she's got the edge on Isaiah, age-wise that is, so she exploits it. Sibling rivalry in its purest form I guess! Don't get me wrong, though. He does miss his "sissy" during the day, but having some one-on-one time with myself, mommy, or grandma means a lot to the little man!

Makenna happily walks to class with mommy

Isaiah wishing Makenna luck on her first day

Makenna getting ready for her first day at preschool

Finally, we kept up with the family tradition and took the camping at Manresa State Beach this past Labor Day weekend. Though we only camped for one night, and as tiring as it was, the kids had a blast! And of course, on the day we left, the weather was more than perfect without a cloud in the sky. Go figure! The weather at the beach is always so unpredictable, but since we all enjoy it, we hope to keep this tradition alive for the years to come.

Kenna runs on the beach

Isaiah prefers to stay dry and just play in the sand

So that's all for now, or at least until I find the time to get back on track. I hope to keep posting as the year comes to a close, so stay tuned =)

Spring time

It seems that my posts are becoming few and far between, but it's not for lack of content nor the desire to write about the kids. It's mainly due to a lack of time these days. When I find myself with a free moment, the first thing I like to do is catch my breath because it seems like there's always something happening, or we're always on the go. As the kids grow older, I'm sure things will become a lot more hectic, so I'm jumping on the opportunity now to take a moment and "smell the roses" so to speak =)

Quite a lot has happened since I last wrote about the kids' birthday party. Here's what the kids have been through, in a nutshell:

- Makenna finally became FULLY potty-trained! YEA! She corrects us every time we mention her name and the word diaper in the same sentence.
- Makenna got accepted to preschool, and will begin this coming Fall. She is so excited to be around lots of new kids, and in a new environment. We're both so proud of her. I'm sure the tears will flow that first day (from Mommy), but nevertheless, we know she's been ready for this next stage in life!
- Isaiah has started to learn to use the toilet, all on his own. He's been letting us know when he has to go #1, and will even initiate it by walking into the bathroom while attempting to pull off his diaper. One morning he woke up completely naked and told us he had to go pee-pee as he casually strolled into our bathroom! What a clown!
- Isaiah has finally come out of his shell, and is no longer the "shy kid" of the family. Then again, neither one of them are, so it's been good to see Isaiah become so outgoing and outspoken! It seems that he's doing and discovering things faster and at an earlier time than his sister. But that's to be expected since he has her as his "mentor!"

As the warmer months rapidly approach, we're all looking forward to the time we'll spend together as a family, doing all the family stuff. This summer we're taking our first family vacation, and the kids are already SO excited! We can't wait to see their faces light up when we take that first step into Disneyland, and you know our camera will see it's share of work on that vacation!

Isaiah's silly face

Makenna's silly face

posing on Easter morning

The Camero Family - Easter 2010

Pump It Up 2010

This year we decided to combine the kids' birthdays in an effort to save a little coin. Having back-to-back parties isn't always feasible, though this is only the second year we've had to worry about such a thing. The turnout was the norm for a Camero party, filled with family and friends, and we all had a great time!

Isaiah proved to a lot of "non-believers" that he's a strong and independent two-year old. He took on all of the obstacles and slides like a trooper! Grandma was worried that he wouldn't be able to go down the big slide on his own, but he repeatedly showed her that he was more than capable of keeping up with the big kids! After that, she finally did what we all did and just let him do his own thing. It worked out well because by the end of the party, he was all tuckered out!

Makenna became a little more daring this time around. Unlike a lot of the other kids who wanted to slide down together with adults, she opted to do it all herself. We always knew she would end up being the independent one, we just didn't realize she would be that way from the start! She got creative with some of the other kids, and slid down backwards, sideways, and any which way! Needless to say, she had a blast.

Though her birthday isn't for another couple of days, I don't think she minded sharing her special day with her brother. If their birthdays were any closer, we would probably end up combining their parties every year, but it looks like we'll do the big milestone celebrations separately. For now, they were both content on thier big day at Pump It Up.

Isaiah sliding down on his own

Makenna attempts a different method of slidingReady to go again! That was fun, let's do it again! "The Cousins"

Isaiah turns 2!

Last Friday was Isaiah's 2nd birthday, and to celebrate, we took our little man to Chuck E. Cheese! Despite the bad pizza, Isaiah had a blast with all the fun games and little kiddie rides! Makenna enjoyed celebrating with her little brother, and it appeared that she was more than ready for her upcoming birthday. Its hard to believe that two years has already passed since we welcomed our little man into this world! Seriously, where did all the time go? It seemed like last week he was wearing newborn diapers, and that yesterday he was taking his first steps... They weren't joking when they said that time flies when you're having fun! Can't wait to see how these next couple of years pan out, as Isaiah gets exposed to new things as a two year old.

As many kids are, we were surprised to see that Isaiah wasn't afraid of Chuck E. Cheese. In fact, he wanted to approach the oversized rat, but we couldn't get to him before his break time. Oh well, there'll be other times! For now, we were able to ring in Isaiah's 2nd year with a close and personal celebration with the four of us! At the moment, it's hard to believe that we have two 2 year olds running around the house, but that'll change in a couple of weeks. I guess this is kind of what it would be like to have twins, huh?

The birthday boy on his "throne"

Isaiah enjoying his birthday cupcake

Singing Happy Birthday to the little man

Our silly two-year olds!

Back to normal...

Things on the homefront have finally gotten back to normal, at least until then next big event. And while the holidays are now a thing of the past, the kids still have a couple of fun things to look forward to. In a couple of short weeks, our little man will be hitting the two-year mark, and only a month after, our baby girl will be three! Seems like last week when we found out we were having a baby. That would make it seem like yesterday when we found out we were having another-it was THAT quick! Thoughts still abound on whether or not we plan on having any more, but that's another story...

For the most part, the kids are still their goofy selves! We've been on the hunt for a preschool for Makenna, and we can see the anticipation in her eyes whenever we bring up the topic. She is more than ready to be "unleashed" into the real world, and we hope it's ready for her! It'll be interesting to see how Isaiah reacts to his sister being gone for most of the day. And while he'll miss his big sister, it'll also give him a chance to have time to himself, as well as some one-on-one time with his grandma (or whoever watches him). Since we've had Isaiah, he's only known life with a sibling, so to see how he is on his own while she's in school will be a treat!

Isaiah's mohawk

Makenna's fluffy after-braid fro...
Our goobers =)

Christmas 2009

Wow, how quickly the holiday season came and went! Not long after saying "Happy Thanksgiving," we were counting the days until Christmas. Once that passed, we counted the remaining days of 2009 and welcomed 2010 with open arms. Now we're into the second full week of the new year, and we find ourselves anxiously looking ahead for the next big holiday. It's a vicious cycle, and before you know it, we'll be getting ready for yet another holiday season! But there are many things that'll take place way before then, so let's slow our roll just a bit, shall we?!

Christmas is, and always will be, a great holiday, especially to a couple of fun-loving toddlers! This past Christmas was no different. Both Makenna & Isaiah greatly anticipated this one though, as they developed a better understanding of the whole "Santa Claus" thing! It was a lot more fun to see them light up whenever we brought up the topic of old Saint Nick and the idea that he had a naughty and nice list. Of course that brought out some of the best behavior in the two of them, but that's not to say that they didn't test us at times! Then again, at this age, what kid doesn't disobey every once in a while?! Aside from walking the fine line between naughty and nice, the kids enjoyed themselves this season. Makenna especially learned to tell us, almost on a daily basis, exactly what she wanted from Santa for Christmas. And she was fairly specific too, down to the type and color! Not bad for an almost-three year old. Isaiah just went with the flow, and was excited in general. Whenever Makenna would get excited about something, he would act the same, even though he didn't know what all the excitement was about!

When it came down to Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, the kids were speechless! They thought the gifts were limitless, and that they would never end! What more can I say? The Christmas season through the eyes of two young children is full of priceless memories, and we can't wait until Christmas of 2010!!

The Camero ladies bake cookies for Santa's arrival!
Makenna's Christmas dress
Opening gifts on Christmas Eve

Isaiah's models his safety goggles from his Home Depot workbench
More Christmas Eve gifts
The silly Camero men
The kids reluctantly say "goodbye" to Christmas (the day we put the tree away)

Holiday Season 2009

So its been nearly one month since my last update, and quite a lot has gone on. Its not for a lack of trying that I haven't been able to update, just been really busy. But then, that's basically how life is, especially with two rapidly-growing "little" ones!

Thanksgiving was definitely one of the longer days this past month. After starting the morning early to get the turkey ready for our family, we headed off to church. After mass, we started the eating festivities with Enza's side of the family first. It didn't take long for Isaiah to show signs of tiring out, so he let us know that he was ready for a nap by mid afternoon! Makenna was a little more stubborn, and avoided her nap for fear of missing out on all the action. Who would've known our little girl would be so hard headed, so young! HA! After winding down party #1, it was off to party #2 with my side of the family. And since party #2 included extended family & family friends, it was a lot more chaotic. The kids had a great time playing with all of the other kids in the family, and it gave us adults more time to relax without too much worry. All in all, Thanksgiving was fun for the entire family, allowing us to spend time with both sides!

With Christmas less than 2 weeks away, the kids have been all about Santa Claus. They love having the tree up in the house, and have done their very best to not touch it, and not play with what they're not supposed to! Sure we do catch them slipping every now and then, but hey, they're both kids, and their curiosity is bound to get the best of them every time!

We're definitely looking forward to watching the kids light up when they get to tear into their gifts this year, especially since they've been doing their best to remain on Santa's "nice" list! More details and pictures to come, stay tuned!

Isaiah hanging out near the Christmas tree @ Santana Row

Makenna doing her best to remain off the "naughty" list Thanksgiving 2009
Zae & Kenna cheesin' it up