Dinner is so much fun

So I decide to take the fam out for a nice dinner tonight...they have half price sushi at this Japanese place down the road. Whenever we go out to eat, especially with the car seat, we prefer a booth. It makes it easier to keep Amaria pinned in, & it keeps Cambree from being knocked off a chair or sitting out in the middle of the restaurant in one of those car seat holders. So Heidi & I decide to split forces...she takes Cambree & I take Amaria.

Well, we order Amaria some pan-fried gyoza & Heidi & I load up on a wide variety of sushi....a few pieces of which have caviar on them. Of course, me being the eat anything dad that I am, I ask Amaria if she would like to try the little black things. She agrees & goes on & on about how good it is. Then I tell her they're fish eggs. I thought she was going to hold her breath until she passed out, but then she calmly asks, "So are there baby fish inside?" I explain that there aren't & she continues to chow down on caviar.

But that wasn't even the best part. We are finishing up eating & Amaria slides all the way down the booth, up against the wall, as far away from me as she can. She then pats the seat & says, "Come sit over here, Daddy." So I slide on over, put my arm around her, & ask, "Yes?" She replies with the sweetest, most sincere eyes, "So how was your day at the office? I want to hear all about it!" Fortunately, for her, it was a good day! ;)

The Joys of Hand-washing

There really never is a dull moment around here...it's just a matter of me getting to a computer in time to blog it before I forget.

We just finished up eating dinner & Amaria was preparing to make a very important phone call. The process began with her washing her hands--with extremely warm (almost hot) water.

"My hands LLLLOOOVVVEEE the hot water. My blood loves it so much, it's dancing to the hotness."

Hands washed...important phone call coming up!

Back on Track

Just when you think you may not have the substance necessary to maintain a regular blog, Amaria comes through in the clutch.

Me (to Cambree): Hey, sweetie...you & I are going on a road trip later today?

Amaria: I wanna go.....wait....where are y'all going?

Me: To the bank.

Amaria: BORING!

And then she runs out of the room...only to return a matter of seconds later:

Amaria: Unless they are going to give me a lollipop!

Where to go?

So after a great start to the blogging process, I really hit a snag last week. Not wanting to blog just for the sake of blogging really left me without much to talk about. I had the time, & searched my mind, but it ended up being one of the most normal, uneventful weeks around this house in quite some time--which is really strange considering it was Amaria's Spring Break, so she was home all week.

One thing that we have been discussing is what to do for fun this summer. We don't have any big plans, but have a few ideas of little things to do. The problem is, I don't know if we are going to have time to squeeze all of them in. So, I am asking for your input/advice keeping in mind we are traveling with a 5 year old & a 6 month old. What are your experiences & recommendations on the following list:

1.) A trip down to Concan & maybe a little Frio floating. We have done this trip multiple times before, with some great friends & family--once back when Amaria was little. We had a blast every time. We haven't been recently, due to lack of water, more than anything, but would really love to go back.

2.) Schlitterbahn--When I was growing up, the family used to take a 2-3 day trip out to Schlitterbahn, rent a room right there at the resort, & play in the water non-stop. I'm thinking Cambree would be easy because she could ride with either Heidi or myself. Our big question is would Amaria be okay.

3.) Camping in the Palo Duro Canyon with a trip to Groom. I think this is definitely something we want to do. Amaria keeps wanting to go camping, & I don't know of a prettier place to go than up to Palo Duro--& when you throw in the trip to see the 2nd largest cross in the Western Hemisphere, I just don't see how we could top it.

4.) Sea World. With the Fun Pass, I think it's something we are going to do, it's just a matter of how many times. Amaria has been going to Sea World since she was 2, & I don't want to stop taking her there now. The big question on this is, would you give up one of the above for a trip to Sea World.

Your advice on this would be greatly appreciated, & if your family was planning some of the same trips, it may be a great opportunity for us to get together. Please let us know if y'all have the same plans.

Aggie basketball is over, so the week should be so much less stressful...make it a great one. God bless!!

The Art of 'Sciencing'

Well, the weather was too nice yesterday not to get out & enjoy it, so Amaria decided to take a walk. We quickly ended up in an empty field just outside of our neighborhood 'hunting for meat so we could survive'. After a while it was time to go home to get ready for our small group meeting yesterday evening, but Amaria wasn't ready to go. "But I'm not done sciencing....Sciencing is what I do when I don't want to go home & want you to think that I'm getting smarter."

Then today, Amaria informed her mother that she was burping Cambree wrong. You have to pat her back "top, top, bottom, bottom, middle, middle, middle." Thanks a lot, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

On the infant side, Cambree rolled over from her stomach to her back for the first time today. Our new camera was shipped on Sat. so hopefully we'll have some photos to add to this thing soon.

Thanks for reading & we love & miss all of y'all. God bless!

The Fun Never Ends....

Just a short one before we head out:

Cambree is laying in her Co-sleeper. Amaria walks over to her & says, "I want her to stand up." I reply, "That's probably not going to happen anytime soon." Immediately, she says, "But if we made her like a puppet she could stand up." I'm quickly beginning to realize, I'm in WAY over my head!!!

Quick follow-up....I just asked, "What do we have to do to make her like a puppet?" And the reply...."Make her into wood!"

Enjoy this beautiful day the Lord has made....let us rejoice & be glad in it!

Amaria the Multi-tasker

So we were spending a little time together this evening...Heidi & I watching Glenn Beck from earlier today, & Amaria making sure that her baby sister is having fun (which isn't hard to do when those two are spending time together).

Anyway...it was determined that Cambree needed a diaper change. Amaria proceeds to go & get 6 new diapers (I guess in case Cambree has multiple accidents during the diaper changing process) & then runs back to get some wipees. Amaria then begins to change Cambree's diaper under Heidi's close supervision.

All this time, Beck is educating us on this crazy gathering of American Nazis @ Madison Square Garden during 1939. In mid-diaper change, Amaria stops what she is doing, runs over to me & says, "Daddy, I have to warn you...THERE ARE NAZIS IN AMERICA!"

That led to a very indepth conversation about what Nazis are & why they are so bad. Never thought I would be explaining that to a 4 year old, but at the rate we are going as a society, it might be something that she may never learns in school!

And it begins...

So, every morning starts like this in the Bruce house: Sometime between 6:30-7:00 Amaria comes & crawls in bed with us. This quickly leads to her making repeated request for something to drink because she is "dying to thirst" (she is still working on starving to death & dying of thirst), & wanting to watch a show.

Well, this morning she had already quenched her thirst & was watching a show before school when Cambree started fussing. Heidi was getting herself some coffee & Amaria was laying in bed closest to Cams, so I asked her to try to give her the pacifier. She replys, "You do it. You are the parent. I'm just the big sister." As Bill Cosby would say, "Kids say the darndest things."

Have a great Wednesday everyone, & God bless!

Well, Here we go....

I finally have given in. There have just been too many "I thought I told you about that" instances in our lives recently, & quite frankly, I just can't keep up. I feel like life gets going so fast at times that so many of you are missing out on the little things that are going on in our lives. I don't know how else to keep everyone up to date on the things that are going on. That being said, I'll probably start doing this & quickly realize that we have nothing important to share. Haha!



My goal is to give everyone short little updates on a regular basis. The ADD in me finds it hard to read long letters, much less type them, & I think it would kind of defeat the purpose. If I save things up over a week or 2, the little things are what would probably be left out, & it's those things we really wish to share.



So, for starters....Cambree is growing like a weed. We took her in for her 2 month shots a couple of weeks back & she was over 11 lbs. & had grown 3 inches. Amaria seemed to get WAY too much joy out of watching her little sister get her first round of immunizations. It looked something like this:




Overall, the two are get along great. If anything, Amaria attempts to help too much at times, which is kind of hard to complain too much about. Cambree truly loves her big sister, & laughs at her on a regular basis. We are so blessed to have 2 healthy, happy girls in our lives.


Cambree fell asleep tonight, in her CoSleeper, all by herself. I think Heidi & I are getting really close to having our bed back to ourselves...what a great night that will be.

Heidi has started tutoring as of last week. It's just a couple of hours a week, but it really seems like something she will enjoy. She has always had a passion for educating & helping, & it is something that she is really good at. Her first 2 clients are a 4 year old working to get into a private school next year & an older woman taking a college algebra class...I'm not sure which one will be more of a challenge.


Well, this is a start. Hopefully I can get better at this as I go. Feel free to leave comments, make recommendations, etc. Thanks for reading, & God bless all of you.