Artist

Camden put her artistic skills to work on Saturday and created a few masterpieces. She's in a "pointillism" stage. The marker tips will never be the same.

Sleeping Beauty

Last month, we battled Camden going to sleep. She'd fall asleep in my arms, but the second we went to put her down in her bed, she'd wake up and cry...no, make that scream. I spent many a night on the couch, sleeping with her. Or I'd bring her to sleep in bed with me. It was getting old. I still haven't quite figured out why. Her end of the house has lots of noises. She was cutting some serious teeth. She was sick on and off. I really don't have the answer. All I know is that we spent a night in a hotel. She slept peacefully through the night in her pack-n-play. So we set it up in the living room when we got home and she's slept every night since.

And wakes up smiling!

She now "cheeses" for the camera - scrunching her eyes, nose and mouth. It's hard to catch because she doesn't hold it long, but she really hams it up for a second when the camera gets pointed at her.

She also has discovered she can zip and unzip zippers, so now she can model the 70's disco/ machismo look. Usually that's reserved for men with lots of chest hair, but Camden sports it well.

She's getting amazingly tall, too. Kevin walked in just as she peeked over the edge and remarked how he remembers, not too long ago, that her head barely hit the top edge.

I love that we are finally getting some hair. Pony tails and barrettes are still a month or two away, but it's coming in fast.

Uh Oh Spaghetti - O

Kevin let Camden feed herself lunch. That's not unusual, except today it was spaghetti. Oh what a mess she made. Avert your eyes if you are squeamish. It's not pretty.

He even captured it on video...at least the jabbering after the carnage was over (notice the poor cough, too).

It's That Time of Year

Camden has had a wet cough the past week and was wheezing and crying in her sleep this weekend. I know bronchitis, pneumonia, and RSV is going around, so I thought I'd better get her into her pediatrician.

The doctor did a quick examination...mainly 'cause Camden was fighting it all the way. Boy is she a strong one! Dr. Nag basically downplayed her cough. "It's that time of year." That kinda bothered me until she said, "But she does have an ear infection and a sore throat." WHOA!

Poor baby. When I think about it, she had been tugging on her ears on Sunday. So we've got some bubble gum flavored antibiotic for the next 10 days. UCK!

And Gramma...I like my dress. I wore it to church a few weeks ago. It's a little big, but it will probably fit me next fall/winter too. Thank you! I luv you - Camden

Lunch with Gramma

From all the pictures it looks like all we fed Camden at lunch was whip cream and cookies, but she actually had a very healthy, veggie-filled lunch before indulging in pudding and cookies. We all thought she looked too cute with the whip cream mustache to not post.

She loved having Gramma there to help her eat and to talk to and to give her so much attention.

It was a fun lunch and we are so glad we took the time make the visit. We also decided that since we were already there, we would shop at the Edinburgh outlets instead of in Indianapolis. Kevin and I both found some shoe bargains for ourselves...and some adorable outfits for Camden. The OshKosh B'Gosh store proved to be Kevin's weakness. I had him run in there while I went to another store. By the time I got back to him, he had selected 4 new outfits for his baby girl. For someone who normally hates shopping, he did a great job. They are so adorable!

One of Camden's favorite parts of the shopping excursion (and the life saver for our backs) was the stroller we rented. I hadn't packed ours because I figured we would be at stores with carts. She loved driving her car the whole day and didn't fuss about being contained like she does in a normal cart. Worth every penny!

MLK Day Surprise

I had Monday off for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Since it's Kevin's regular day off, we decided to head to Indianapolis for some "hang-out" time. We realized that we wanted to head as far south as Greenwood, which is only 1/2 hour from my mom. Camden thought it would be fun to surprise Gramma Pat and take her to lunch.

It was a great idea! Gramma had moved to a new office and Camden loved checking it out. She, of course, went straight for the desk and computer. What is up with this fascination?!? I guess it's just the keys and buttons, but she is so happy whenever she gets near a keyboard or a mouse (check out how she turns the mouse wheel).

Gramma is a CPA, so she also has an adding machine (is that what you call it?) on her desk. Camden decided she would assist Gramma in getting all the tax documents ready for her clients.

She sure looks like she knows what she is doing!

Ice Fishin'

Kevin went ice fishing on Tuesday. He and Grandpa Raymond caught about 100 small fish from ponds at Twin Lakes Camp Ground where our friends from church live/work. They were excited to have such a "mess." Unfortunately, when they went to clean them, the fish had spots inside and neither were comfortable with us eating them. The good side is that they had a great time...and Camden was fascinated with the fish and was even brave enough to touch one. Now, when we talk about the fish, she will touch her palm repeatedly to tell us that she touched the fish.

Pool Party

Okay, not everyone in our family loves watching football. Good thing we were at a hotel with an indoor pool. So while the adults had a football party, the "kids" had a pool party.

By the look of the "cheeks" hanging out the back, Camden will definitely need a new swimsuit soon.

Camden loves her cousins. I always talk about how much ReeRee and Camden love each other.

Camden also if pretty fond of LaLa. Lauren had a meeting at Purdue and was the last to arrive. As the girls waited in the lobby for her, Camden started saying, "LaLaLaLaLaLa" as she entered and ran to her with arms outstretched. Lauren definitely loves her "Cammie" too.

And the newest cousin in the mix is Amanda (she married Joseph last May). Not quite sure she wants to be ManMan, so we need to find the best nickname for her. I'm guessing Camden might just say, "Manda."

Camden wasn't ready to put her head in the water, although she did put her mouth in and blow bubbles (and drink pool water). I don't think she liked the goggles either.

Being goofy proved the best way to entertain Camden...who loved every minute of it!

The four girl cousins had a fabulous pool party!

Then after a quick shower, Camden enjoyed a cookie (in the buff) with Auntie Carole - who is still trying to get Camden to say her name..."CC" perhaps?

Football Party

We are football fans. We love to watch football. Not everyone will agree on that activity, but it also is a good excuse to get together with friends/family for a party. Kevin and I decided to go to Lafayette for the evening/night and do just that. We pricelined a hotel and got a good deal on the new Courtyard by Marriott in Lafayette. It's beautiful and was perfect for having Aunt Carole, Uncle Ric, and "the girls" over for the evening. I made a crockpot of chili to take and we enjoyed the evening of games, food and fun. Camden enjoyed the arrival time because she found a new "toy."

Then she got comfy right away in one of the big chairs and relaxed until everyone else arrived. (Notice she didn't care that the Colts weren't playing, she still wanted to cheer them on by wearing a Colts sweatshirt).

Finally her cousins arrived to shower her with attention and love. What more could a girl want?

And the other reason we had to party was it was Uncle Ric's birthday.

Happy Birthday Uncle Ric...Camden loved helping you open your presents and giving you lots of kisses!

Random Thoughts

Life has been busy...and not busy at the same time. However, for some reason, I just haven't found the time to blog. Camden has been active and happy...despite a lingering cold and a nasty eye infection.

A few of her latest escapades:

* climbing on anything and everything. She loves going into the kitchen and climbing up on the desk chair. She'll then sit and type on the computer keyboard and run the dial on the mouse. It's truly hysterical to see her mimic us...but frustrating that she is so persistent even when we have repeatedly told her to stop doing this! The gate has been up much more often then before.

* rocking in a chair of her own at home.


* walking on her tip-toes. She'll just be walking through the living room and decide the view is much better when on her toes.

* singing. I'm getting really tired of Itsy-Bitsy spider, You are My Sunshine, ABC's, and If You're Happy and You Know It. But Baby Girl is not...so I sing and sing and sing and sing.

* taking everything out of her bottom two drawers and throwing them on the floor or bringing them to me one item at a time. "OHHHHHH," she'll exclaim...over an old cloth diaper! She loves her stash of hats and likes to put each of them on. It's getting pretty old to keep folding (or not) and putting things back in the drawers. This weekend it's my project to make those drawers her "toy" drawers.

* ice. She loves chewing ice. I'm not sure if it's because those hard eye teeth are coming in (only one more needs to break the gum) or simply because it's really cold water, but anytime one of us has a drink near her, she'll start asking for, "iccccce."

* talking. She loves being on the phone (real or pretend) and has a whole repertoire of words. Standards of yes, no, mama, dada, hi, bye, ucky, etc. Plus special ones like shoes, socks, hat, thank you, ice, apple, nana (sometimes banana), and many more that I can't think of right now.

She is such a joy!