Visit with St. Nick

Walmart was taking free 5x7 pictures with Santa last weekend, so Camden and I stopped by.  I was really surprised that she was willing to sit on his lap.  Two seconds after this picture was snapped she was smiling much better.  Regardless, it's still cute!  Camden loved that she got a candy cane after her visit.

Black Friday

Camden and I ventured up to Lafayette for a little shopping on Friday.  We ended up meeting Gramma Pat, Grampa Jim, and Grammy for a late breakfast at IHOP and didn't do too much shopping. 

Camden so preferred her time with Gramma, playing at Chick-fil-A and shopping the toy aisles at Target.  Later that afternoon and evening she also got to spend time with ReeRee, LaLa, Aunt Carole and Uncle Ric.  By the end of the day she was exhausted...and grumpy!

Illinois Thanksgiving

We made our annual trip to southern Illinois to spend time with Kevin's grandmother and extended family.  Once again, we met at the Sims Community Center.  After a yummy meal, Camden headed out to play.  One of her favorites was the foosball table.

But she spent the majority of her time in the gym chasing balls and running along the bleachers. 

She laughed and laughed with her "other" Uncle Rick when they rolled balls back and forth to one another. 

I was a little terrified of all the other kids kicking balls so hard, but, thankfully, Camden avoided getting hit!

She also got some snuggle time in with her great grandmother...although she was a bit of a stinker when it came to taking a picture.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bathtime with Haliana

Everyone needs a picture with their siblings or cousins in the bathtub when they are little ones.  

Camden and I spent the evening with GaGa while the guys were out finding and bringing in the buck Kevin shot.  Amanda and Haliana were there too...and Camden wanted a bath in the big tub at GaGa's.  So Hali and Camden got the photo op.

Haliana had a major fit shortly after these photos.  Even though her mommy was right next to her, she is not quite used to a full tub bath, yet.  Poor thing...glad we got a few good shots in first!

Camden, apparently likes to look in the mirror once she's all soaped up.  Provided a nice bottom shot - sorry!

The other "tradition" when Camden gets a bath at GaGa's is to wrap up in a towel and come show Grandpa.  She sure "cheesed" it up for this picture.  Makes me laugh everytime I look at it...look at that wild hair!

WARNING: Kevin's Buck

DON'T SCROLL IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE....

Kevin got a really nice buck last night.  He thought he might be "bullwinkle" but it didn't turn out to be the monster that he had hoped.  It has a really nice 8-point rack, though, and weighed 150 pounds - which is a lot of meat. 

We're going to get some summer sausage made from this one, since we have good meat from the early ones that everyone got.  Our freezer is going to be FULL! 

Bucket of Fun

Camden had a good time the other night playing with a laundry tub.  First she pretended it was a horse she had to ride.

Then it became a drum set.  We stopped at a playground a week or so ago that had plastic drums and she's been really into drumming on things ever since.

Can you believe how long her hair is getting?  It's still so fine, but it's definitely past her neck and getting to the point that a ponytail will be an option for the back of it.

WARNING: Pictures of Kevin's Doe

Don't scroll down any further if you don't want to see a dead deer. 

(I'm leaving enough space so you have the choice to see or not).

Kevin got his first deer last night.  It's a doe and should be good, tender eats.  Camden was happy for him and to see (and touch) it.  Uncle Ric was with Kevin, so Camden was most excited to see him - even if only for a few minutes.

Kevin's back out today and several more times this week to hopefully get the elusive buck.  There have been some MONSTER ones he captured on his trail camera right before the season, but he hasn't seen them close enough to be able to take a shot.

Grandpa and GaGa have gotten 3 already - 2 does and a buck. 

I think that's enough filler.....

Big Girl Update

This was Camden's daycare picture this year.  She looks sooo adorable (if I do say so myself)!  They captured her so well.  And you gotta love the backdrop.  My, oh my, she sure looks like such a big girl.

Potty training update:  Tuesday and Wednesday at daycare, she held it all day.  She'd stiffen up and refuse to sit on the potty whenever they tried.  Then at about 4pm, she couldn't hold it anymore and she'd wet her pants every 15 minutes or so.  They figured she was done and change her, only to have to do it again a short time later.  She went through 4 sets of clothes both days.  On Wednesday, they got her to sit on the potty, but never go (until she was taken off and then she'd go in her pants).  She was at GaGa's on Tuesday night and had a few accidents (I think her bladder was still out of sync from trying to hold it all day) and on Wednesday she was in the nursery at church and had a few accidents.

Yesterday (Thursday), I picked her up and she was in the same clothes I dropped her off in!  Apparantly, she finally figured out it was okay to not have mommy with her and that she prefered to go on the potty and not be miserable.  She only likes to go in a specific one of the kids bathrooms or a specific one of the adult bathrooms, but the staff is willing to take her there so that she can be successful.  Yea Camden!

Daycare Setback

Well...Camden refused to use the potty at daycare, so we had 4 sets of wet panties and pants when I picked her up. Good thing I sent that many. She actually ended the day in a diaper. She was perfect the rest of the evening at home. I'm sure it's fairly normal, but makes the potty training road a longer one than I had hoped. Wish I could have been at home with her for a week and got a good solid chunk of training under our belts. Oh well...it will work out. She really wants to do it; she soooo prefers panties. She's just not comfortable with the school toilets and not having mommy with her yet.

Big Girl Weekend

This weekend was a big one at our house.  First...the bed rail came off, so Camden officially has a "big girl" bed. 

We plan to eventually get a twin, but thought it was time to progress a bit.  She didn't sleep in it, but now LOVES to play in her room by herself.  She sits on the bed and plays with toys, etc.  Of course, she also loves to jump on it!

She puts her babies to sleep, too.  She'll carefully cover them up, lay beside them, and pat them on the back.  She's a great little "mommy."

And, of course, when they need a diaper change, she's quick to take care of that task, too.

And, did you notice?  Those are panties she's wearing!  This weekend was the official start of potty training!  She's been using her potty chair for the past few weeks on and off.  Sometimes she'd ask to take off her diaper and go.  But this weekend, no more diapers!  She wears only panties and has only had a few accidents.  They were all completely understandable...and partially my fault since she was playing on her own and I wasn't there to remind her.   Plus she was trying, but just couldn't get her panties off quick enough.

She really is a big girl now!

Home Depot Kids Workshop

On Saturday morning, before heading to Lafayette to visit Grammy and Aunt Carole, Camden and I stopped at Home Depot to check out their Kid's Workshop.  I wasn't sure if Camden was too little to be able to do the project, but I thought we'd give it a try.  Thankfully it was a simple project and I was SOOOO impressed with this program.  I hadn't taken my camera, so all pictures were taken last night at home.  I'm disappointed because there were so many photo ops!

Home Depot sets out a few rows of boards for tables and upside-down 5 gallon orange buckets for seats.  We signed in and they gave us a kit with the days project.  They also gave Camden an orange Home Depot work apron and wrote her name on it.  Camden and I sat down and got to work. 

The project was a little spice rack.  She put the two dowels into the holes and squeezed the glue bottle to temporarily hold the sides in place.  The she used the full-sized hammer to hit the small nails into place.  She really did it!  I held the end of the hammer to make sure she didn't get too wild, but she was able to hammer properly (I guess the tool kit Gramma Pat gave her for her birthday has paid off!).

When we were done with the project, we went back to the sign-in desk where Camden received a pin to put on her apron to show she had completed the project and a certificate.  If she attends 10 sessions and collects 10 pins, she gets her picture taken and placed on the Kids Workshop Wall. 

We will definitely be doing this again.  The projects may be too difficult some days, but Camden and I both thoroughly enjoyed our time together working on it.  And the icing on the cake:  it was all FREE!

Mommy's Coat

Last Spring, my mom gave me the coat I wore when I was Camden's age.  At the time, the weather really didn't reflect the need for a winter coat.  As we got into this fall, I was worried the coat wouldn't fit Camden.  However, I got it out on Sunday and slipped it on. It's a 24 month, and it still fits her well.  It's designed with a loose body, but the arms will be too short before too long.  It was so beautiful on her...and people at church commented on how pretty she looked.

One of the regular steps upon arriving at church is getting a drink at the water fountain.  Camden goes and gets a little chair to stand on and then must drink from both fountains.  It gave me another chance to photograph the coat, too.  In doing so, I discovered the hood is too small for her big head!  Oh well, we'll wear it to church and other special events as long as we can.

What can't be seen in these pictures is the lining is pink with little white polka dots.  It's such a beautiful coat.  I'm so glad my mom kept it!

Sleeping Beauty

These days, Camden usually sleeps on the couch.  I'm not sure what's wrong with her crib in her room, but she has never liked to sleep there.  We are looking to buy a "big bed" soon, so hopefully her opinion of her room will change, but I think it's more about the noises at that end of the house.  We'll see.  

She snuggles up in a comforter and has her own pillow which MUST always be with her.  It has become obvious that she loves to sleep.  Each morning she is reluctant to wake up.  She usually spends several minutes tossing, saying, "no mama" and covering herself back up.

It's become quite humorous the lengths she will go to to get another few minutes of shut-eye.  Usually I'll get her to crawl into my arms and snuggle for a few minutes or let me take her to our bed so I can finish getting ready while she wakes up.  Once she's up, however, she is pleasant as can be and ready to go.