Birthday Celebrations and Feather Boas

Grandpa French had his 75th birthday last week. We had a delicious dinner and fun time helping him celebrate.

We didn't get a good picture of Camden and her GaGa2, but did capture some of her other antics - including dress-up time with a hat and feather boa.

And a closer view of that adorable face!

Beaner is 18...Oops...19 Months Old!

Hard to believe our little one is 1 1/2 years old. We missed/forgot her 18 month doctor's appointment, but went yesterday for the make-up one.


She is 25lbs 2oz. and 32 1/4" long. Still right between the 50-75 percentile. The doctor is very pleased with how healthy and developmentally strong she is. In fact she commented that she seemed a little "above the curve" developmentally. Of course!

She does amaze us with how fast she is catching on to things. The number of words she regularly adds to her vocabulary is astounding. She not only mimics everything, but she remembers it too. She's also stringing words together into phrases.

The newest...and best...phrase she says now is "I wuv you" followed by her perfect hugs and sweet kisses. We simply can't get enough!

Knee Socks

Camden wore her new knee socks with her purple dress to church. I had fun when we got home taking some shots of Camden being her silly, on-the-go self.

Molly the Doggie

We made one final stop on Valentine's Day...to see GaGa and GaGa 2. Amanda and Spencer were there too. Amanda is due any day now and they decided to get a new puppy to add to their family as well. They had "Molly" at GaGa's house.

Camden didn't quite know what to think.

She definitely likes the idea of a doggie - in pictures! She wasn't too sure about touching one that moved.

GaGa showed her how it was done and that there was nothing to be afraid of. I could tell Camden really wanted to try, but just wasn't too sure.

She finally touched it's head, then decided to take the plunge and hold Molly.

Well for a minute anyway!

A few days later when I told Camden we were going to GaGa's for dinner, she said, "GaGa" and then "puppy." So I guess the experience wasn't too bad!

Our Sweet (Spoiled) Valentine

On Sunday evening we met Gramma Pat and Grampa Jim in Lebanon for dinner. Camden got all kinds of Valentine's treats. Gramma sure likes to spoil her!

A new bear to love and hug!

A cute valentine's day card. "Oooohhhh," Camden coos.

Several new, colorful socks. They are knee highs, too. Camden hasn't worn them yet, but I think they will be adorable...and warm!

A few new books. Camden likes to read them in the car. She asks for "book" with a special emphasis on the K sound. She also likes to moo at the cow in the baby farm animal book.

The final surprise was a princess crown. Kinda fitting that she was wearing her princess shirt from her GaGa.

Too bad she doesn't have enough hair to hold it on for too long.

Thank you Gramma! We loved seeing you (even if it was a brief visit) and Camden loves her gifts.

Our Special Dinner

Kevin and I traditionally fix a nice dinner at home for valentine's day. We talked about going out instead, but ultimately decided to fire up the grill and have Kevin's favorite, Ribeye.

The snowy background was beautiful. I always love that our backyard neighbors have a small farm and there is a covered bridge over their pond. It makes for a peaceful view when on the back porch...or even looking out the kitchen window.

We also fixed other favorites - shrimp, asparagus, and baked potatoes.

We had bought a few bottles of wine about 3 years ago at a vineyard in Madison, IN. Obviously, we aren't frequent wine drinkers, because this is the first bottle we've opened.

Camden enjoyed a slightly different dinner, but capped off her meal with a heart lollipop she got at her party at school.

After a few licks she was dropping it everywhere and getting pretty sticky...so we ended up with a not-so-happy baby.

I stopped at Scotty's Brewhouse for our favorite dessert - peanut butter pie - which concluded our special dinner. It was one of the best meals we've had in a while...and we were so glad we decided to celebrate this way.

Daddy's Shoes

Camden thinks it's so fun to put on Daddy's shoes.

She thinks they fit her perfectly...until she tries to walk in them! Now that's a sight to see.

She adores Kevin so much. I picked her up from school yesterday. She excitedly jumped in my arms and hugged me. Then immediately started asking for "Daddy. Daddy. Daddy." It continued on the entire drive home.

And she loves in the evening when he plays with her. Her favorite game is to bring him a ball then turn and quickly run away until he throws the ball at her. "Missed you" or "I gotcha" is always repeated after him. And the cycle repeats itself over and over. She giggles and scampers.

Unfortunately, posing for a picture was a little too much to ask in the middle of the game. The camera delayed a second too long or I would have caught them both with hands on cheeks and looking up.

But after a few attempts, Camden was just plain sick of all the effort and layed her head down.

So we tried sitting up. Forget about it...Camden is so on the go.

She wanted to play ball again! So Daddy obliged.

Super Bowl Cheerleader

Sunday was the Super Bowl and we had to cheer on our favorites - the Colts. We had a house full - especially for our little living room. Uncle Ric, Aunt Carole, RaRa, GaGa and GaGa 2, Papaw, Bill and Roger joined the four of us. We had a great spread - even making our own boneless wings with B-Dubs sauce.

But the cutest thing at the party was our little cheerleader.

Despite the loss, she remains a loyal fan of the Colts...and of pickles!

Sledding

We got another decent snowfall this weekend. Kevin dug our sled out of the shed and took Camden for a ride.

True to form, she enjoyed every minute of it, even wiping out.

She simply picked up some snow and ate it. Then crawled back on for some more.

We found that she liked riding on her stomach the best.

Or simply rolling around in it to get completely covered. Good thing she had three layers on!

She's such a beauty!

Taking Medicine

Today is day 10 of antibiotics. The last drop went in the syringe this morning and Camden was thrilled to be able to throw the empty bottle in the trash can.

The first two days of taking the medicine was a battle. One of us had to hold her arms and head, while the other tried to squeeze as much in her mouth before she could spit it out or just let it drool out. The third day, I tried mixing it in food that she loved. She even had ice cream for breakfast one morning in an attempt to get it in without a fit. The problem was she caught on after about four bites and didn't want to eat anymore. And then I had to figure out how much medicine she'd actually taken and fight her to take some more through the syringe.

On the fourth morning, I put her on her changing table, talked to her about taking her medicine and gave her one little "squirt" at a time. She took the whole amount easily without a fight. We clapped and hugged and I praised her for being such a "big girl." It's been a breeze ever since. She takes it, morning and night, without fuss - all in one squirt. Way to go Camden! (But I'm glad it's over).

Guiding Light

Camden started a new day care this week. We loved PDO, but there were a number of reasons that made it important that we switch. The main reason was because PDO only went 8:30am-3:30pm. That made it difficult for me to get to work at a reasonable time and cut Kevin's sleep. They also were on a different school system then Southmont and closings/delays got to be a problem this past month. We got most of that ironed out, but they also only offer 2 days in the summer and we needed more than that. We knew a change was coming, so we began researching. Several women from our church take their children to Guiding Light at the First Baptist Church in Crawfordsville. They love it, but warned the waiting list can be 3-4 months. I needed to call and get Camden on the list.

When I tried in early January, sure enough, there were no openings. We were still investigating options, so I didn't put Camden on the list. However, the next week at church, one mom mentioned that a note was sent home that 2 openings in the toddler room were available because 2 kids had been moved up to the next class. I visited the next day and signed Camden up. The only downside, so far, is that we have to pay full-time even if we only use it 3 days a week. For now that is our plan. Kevin will still watch her when he's home on Mondays and Tuesdays, but we always have the option to take her if he needs to do something those days.

Another perk is they feed them a hot lunch and will provide breakfast if Camden arrives before 8. On most days, she will go at 7:30. The first morning she had poptarts and yogurt. Today it was donuts and banana. Tomorrow it's cereal. It's a good variety...and she loves her donuts!

Lunch always has lots of fruits and vegetables (Camden's favorites!) in addition to the main course. They provide us a menu each week, so if there is something she won't like or if I want to supplement, I can always pack her something. They also have a morning and afternoon snack.

Camden's buddy from church, Beth (seated on the right) is in her class. They like seeing each other every morning. Beth is an easy-going kid like Camden, so they enjoy playing together. There are 8-10 kids each day that attend. Some of the boys are pistols, but that is to be expected.

So far we are really pleased with Camden's experience. They send home a daily "cuddle gram" which tells how well she did eating, taking her nap, and the frequency of diaper changes. It also tells us what skills they are working on that day, how Camden behaved, and just general information specific to Camden. They do lots of activities - art, education, Bible, etc. They also decorate the room for the month and have the kids' names throughout the room. Her room has hearts in the windows this month.

I was worried about nap time. At her old day care, there were only one or two other kids who were there all day or who needed to take a nap. They usually let Camden dictate when she was ready for a nap. Usually it was after lunch around 1 pm. I tend to do that at home as well and it was similar timing. At Guiding Light, they each have a cot and we provide a fitted sheet, blanket, and pillow. All the kids go down from 11:30am - 1:30pm. On Monday (we took her part of the day for a "break-in" session), she went to sleep within 5 minutes of laying down. Kevin picked her up at 1 and she was still sleeping. On Wednesday, she went down within a few minutes, woke up a little early, but still slept. I guess I shouldn't have worried!

So far the only time she has had any unease is at gym time. The church has a HUGE gym.

The toddlers play in it for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. Apparently, she is a little overwhelmed by the size and has been crying and wanting to be held. Her teacher says that has happened with other kids and on the second day she was much better.

So far, the transition has been seamless. I can tell Camden is happy...which is the most important thing to us.