Precious May Moments

May was a special month for our family as our little guy turned two. Is that possible? Could two years have already passed? According to his Thomas the Train cake (which sports the 2 year candle) it is true. He is two, and we couldn't be more proud.

We enjoyed a small birthday party at Mama and Papa Lyons' house in WV with his cousins all of whom are 4 and under. It made for a busy but beautiful celebration. Camden loved his consignment-sale-find birthday gift - his new Thomas the Train ride-on toy. He rides it to get a diaper change, to brush his teeth, to chase the dogs (yes, we try to prevent that from happening when possible) and to give hugs. He loved his special cake made by one of my wonderful colleagues at the Library. He has never been one for sweets and cake in general, but this time, he was all about it. He even enjoyed his birthday dinner which featured some of his favorites (hence the corn on the cob in the picture). Given his aversion to many different textures and foods, the corn on the cob has been our greatest culinary accomplishment thus far. Yeah Camden!

Our resident photographer (my wonderful sister, Kelly) was trying to take a family picture and could not get him to smile. When she tried making faces to get a laugh out of him, all she got was his making the same face right back at her. Thus, the family photo with Camden and his silly face! Isn't it great!

All in all, we had a wonderful weekend. Camden thoroughly enjoyed the time on the farm, particularly playing in the garden and riding around on the golf cart with great-papa-Lyons. We created some very special memories that weekend and came home to what will be another special memory - his very first rainbow. Ahhh - we sure love the view from our front yard, particularly when such a beautiful rainbow fills the sky above us. We are blessed!

On a side note - Billy has (as most of you know) been working day and night, night and day on his dissertation. Tomorrow, he goes before his committee at noon for the first of two defense processes. We have sacrificed so much as a family over the last 3-4 months. Billy has come so far. Camden and I are so proud of him. Any prayers of support and positive thoughts tomorrow as Billy goes through this trying process would be greatly appreciated. Good luck Billy! We love you!