Are you smarter than a 5-year-old?

Last night we were talking to Cameron about how the Earth spins and makes night and day. This was totally cool to him:-) We used a flashlight with his globe. We even pointed to where we lived, so he could tell us if we were in night or day as the globe spun around.

Then, Cameron let us know that the atmosphere on our planet is what creates the bright blue sky. He said if we took the atmosphere away, then the sky would just be black. We could still see, though, because of the light from the sun.

This is something I SHOULD have known, but I didn't. Or rather, I never thought about it before, so it wasn't high on my list of things "to know". So, my five-year-old taught me something. I really didn't expect stuff like this to happen until he was much older. This kid is smart!

And yes, he really did say "atmosphere".

No girls allowed!

We were talking with Cameron about his friends. Cameron has a few "best friends", who he is practically inseparable from. During this conversation, Cameron suddenly exclaimed:

"I want a brother!"

"But what if you get a little sister?" I asked.

"Nooooooooooo!"

Apparently, I am not allowed to have the girl I have always wanted, lol.

Christmas and so forth

I have been CRAZY busy with work lately, so I am just now getting around to blogging about Christmas. I know that sounds like such a cliché excuse, but it's true. The nice thing is that I have ultimate job security - babies are never going to stop being born:-)

So, Christmas. We headed down to sunny Las Vegas, and that made me HAPPY! In case you didn't already know (and if you don't, you don't know me very well), I HATE winter. I hate the cold and the snow. I am a warm weather and sunshine kind of girl. I am still trying to figure out why I live in Utah, but it may have something to do with how so much of my friends and family live here. So I tough it out every winter:-)

Whoops. Sorry for the tangent. Back on track now. Cameron was SUPER excited about Christmas this year. Last year he was just starting to get the whole Santa Clause thing, but this year it was magical! I have noticed that as I have gotten older, Christmas has lost a lot of that "magic spark". But having Cameron has brought so much of that back. Christmas is such a special time for children.

This year Cameron asked Santa for one thing. He just wanted a space ship:-) Cameron is into anything and everything space related, so this request came as no surprise. And of course, Santa delivered! Cameron got a little model space shuttle with astronauts. For the first few days he would not let it go. It went everywhere with him! But as soon as we got home, he made a special place for it on his shelf, so that "he can always look at it." He still plays with the astronauts a lot.

Cameron also got a model planet kit, where we can paint the planets (we have done the sun and four of the planets so far), several space related books, and LOTS of dinosaurs. That is another favorite of his. I sometimes make up stories for him - "The Adventures of Charlie and Bob". Two dinosaurs (a stegosaurus and a triceratops) who go on many fantastic adventures and meet lots of new dinosaurs. Cameron is excited that we have more dinosaurs to add to the adventures. Finally, I made Cameron a warm pair of jammies with a space theme. I looked all over in the stores, and couldn't find any, so I decided to make some. They are his new favorite pair of jammies, of course:-) After Christmas, Cameron used some of his gift money to buy Spore: Galactic Adventure. For those not in the know, Spore is a computer game where you can create creatures and have them evolve. It is a pretty simple game, but gets a little more complex as the game goes on. The upgrade is all about space adventures. Cameron loves being able to create his own worlds.

I got two things this year that I was especially excited about. The first was a gift card to Massage Envy. I have never had a professional massage, but I have been wanting to try it for a LONG time, so Craig surprised me:-) I already used the gift card, and I LOVED it! I was a little sore afterwards, but it felt good. I might have to go back again!

The second big thing was my new point and shoot camera. it may seem silly for me to want a little "dinky" camera, but sometimes bringing my big camera around can be such a hassle. DSLRs are bulky, and fairly conspicuous. For those wanting to know, it is a Nikon Coolpix L20.

Shortly after Christmas we got to celebrate my niece's birthday. Aubrey turned 4 this year, and had a princess party. EVERYTHING is pink and princesses with her. I often wonder what I will do if we have a little girl who is so into pink and princesses. Not really my thing, never has been. Maybe I can get her excited about space, too:-)

Now that the holidays are over, it is back to work. I am working on some new promotions for my studio that I am really excited about, and of course I am very busy taking photos for Bella Baby Photography. Love those newborns! Cameron is doing very well in school, and now reads whole sentences. He has made several new friends this year, but especially Hayden and Damien - his two best friends! They are inseparable, and have a lot of fun together. Craig is also staying busy at work, and in his downtime he enjoys playing Magic: The Gathering and playing video games. Orion (our dachshund) turned a year old this December. I love him to death, but I HATE his chewing habit (which he apparently inherited from his mom). He's smart, though, and knows LOTS of tricks. His favorite is "beg". This is normally very hard to teach a dog, but he started doing it all on his own, and does it ALL THE TIME. It's his was of getting attention. Do you think it works?

We'll see how long it takes me to blog the next time:-)