Country Music Singers? The future is now...

Cameron and Isabel have really taken to country music...the only problem is that most of the country songs they like are about drinking..."It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," "One More Drinkin Song," "Red Solo Cup," etc., etc. So they may have futures as country singers, or as raging alcoholics. Although I guess they also could be country singers who love to party :-)

See below for some early audition tapes for "America's Got Talent".

Isabel singing"It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" with a strong twang.

Cameron also singing "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere" improvising on some of the words!

Olympic Swimmers? The future is now....

Cameron and Isabel are growing up fast.  They recently started swimming by themselves, and one potential future career choice could be Olympic swimmers.  They have loved watching the Olympic trials and are becoming little fish in the water.

See below for some videos...

Isabel showing her "awesome swimming"

Cameron showing championship freestyle form

Naming Baby Darling

Snugglebuggy Darling...it has a nice ring to it.

Baby Says Hi to the World

Without much of a winter in North Carolina this year, we have enjoyed lots of warm days and time playing outside. The kids are growing up fast and will start swim lessons and Saturday morning soccer in a few weeks. Other than that, we are starting to get prepared for life as a family of five. We found out at a recent ultrasound that we are expecting a baby boy in late July 2012. Cameron is excited to welcome a "baby brudda" to the family, but Isabel is disappointed to not be having a "little giwl" baby.


Baby Ultrasound Photos...he has Jason's eyes.


Cameron showing off his ambidextrous skills while coloring.


Isabel showing some excellent sticker placement.


Enjoying some time with a new hand-me-down train set. As you can imagine, this did not leave much room for walking around the living room.


Cameron flexing his muscles....call me Hans!


Isabel showing off her winning smile, that she uses effectively to get whatever she wants from her daddy.


Our little climber enjoys anything that she can climb.


At the same time as being a little climber, Isabel is also a little Diva and enjoys dressing up in trendy clothes.

Career Choices

We figure it is never too early to start thinking about career options for Cameron and Isabel. There are lots of options out there, and we need to start guiding them towards the ones that are safe, lucrative (so they can pay for us in our old age), and, of course, lots of fun! So see below for some of the options we have considered as a family...

1. Rockclimber: Unfortunately this does not pass the safe or lucrative screens, but it sure looks like a lot of fun! Isabel loves to climb everything, and this is a photo of her on a mini rock wall at the U.S. National Whitewater Center outside Charlotte.


2. NFL Linebacker: Cameron loves to run around, slam into things, and tackle his sister, so he is showing early signs that he may be destined for sports greatness. Of course, NFL Linebacker probably does not pass the "safe" screen, but it sure could be lucrative and fun!


3. Golfer: Both Cameron and Isabel seem to enjoy trying to hit golf balls. Though on our first outing to the driving range, Cameron hit Isabel in the head with BOTH the club and the ball (he threw the ball), so maybe he is destined to have his Dad's golf prowess and will NOT be headed to the PGA.

4. Lawyer: Cameron really enjoys reading and I hear there is a lot of reading involved in Law School, plus the world always needs lawyers, so this could be a good career choice. That is, of course, if we can ignore all the bad jokes about lawyers.

5. Farmer: Cameron and Isabel (see her in the background?) both love tractors and all sorts of farm animals and farm equipment. Plus their Grandma (Meghan's mom) grew up on a farm, so it is in the blood!

6. Mechanic: Yes, those are socket wrench attachments on the kids fingers. So while they may enjoy playing with the tools, I am not sure they truly understand how they are used, so this one may be a long shot!

7. Princess: Isabel was born to be a princess. She loves to wear pretty pink dresses, pink shoes, crowns and headbands, earrings, nail polish, and lip gloss. I am sure the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will have kids soon and maybe, if they have a son, he will be interested in an older American woman?? Isabel has a chance....

8. Model/Actress: Isabel also really enjoys making funny faces and acting like a dumb blond ("what, I need to use my hands to pick up my food and eat? really?"), so she would be a natural for a Miss America pageant or being an actress. Though that would involve dressing her up and getting her on "Toddlers & Tiaras" (http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/tv/toddlers-tiaras), which is a bit disturbing.

9. Artist: Last, Isabel has exhibited a growing interest in drawing and all sorts of crafts. If there is a career that involves mashing all of the play dough colors together into a giant multi-colored ball, then she will be a superstar.

October Professional Photos

In October, we finally got around to having some professional photos taken of all of us outside. We had the photos taken at Jetton Park in Cornelius, NC, and the photographer did a great job snapping lots of quality photos in a little less than 30 minutes! The kids actually looked at the camera, smiled, sat still, all behaviors that they failed to exhibit in their first 3 years of life! Maybe it was the lollipops we offered them as a bribe for good behavior...

Anyway, below are the photos.

August in North Carolina

We got out first taste of how hot August could be in North Carolina. The month included lots of time at the neighborhood pool to cool off, especially when our air conditioning system went on the fritz (we have since had that fixed...). Cameron and Isabel have really enjoyed the pool. See the video below.

At the end of August, we all went out to Burnsville, NC, to visit with the Lunn's. We spent a great weekend at a golf resort and enjoyed some hikes, cool days and cool nights, and great sunsets with a red sun. Thanks to Matt, Samantha, Little Olivia, Tom and Mandy for hosting us for the weekend and putting up with our little balls of energy. Some photos from the trip are below.

The Darlings during a morning hike, with the NC mountains in the background.

Isabel and Cameron enjoying some time on the deck.

One of the great sunsets. Isabel and Cameron liked seeing the orange/red sun go down behind the mountains to go to sleep.

The Darlings and the Lunns (Samantha, Matt and Little Olivia) at the top of an observation deck during a hike.

Cameron trying to hide from the camera!