Happy to Be on Two Feet

She's a little wobbly, and prefers to hold on to something, but Camden is back to standing and walking (with assistance only).

We got her music table out again and she is in hog heaven. The first thing Kevin remarked on was how tall she was.

In fact, she had her 12 month appointment (a month and a half late) to get her immunizations yesterday. We asked to have her weighed and measured, since last month she was in a cast.

She weighed 22 lbs and was 30 1/4" long. She actually lost 1 lb in the 5 weeks in the cast.

Look at her stand on those tip-toes! What a cutie pie!

The Day Before

The day before the cast came off, Camden, Kevin and I went to Lafayette to visit Grammy. Aunt Linda and Gramma Pat and Grampa Jim were there too.

Camden likes to sit on Grammy's lap and plot what stuff she can get into.

She likes that Grammy wears cool shades to protect her eyes.

Grammy's the greatest! Camden sure adores her (just like the rest of the family).

We spent the afternoon at the mall, then made a stop at Nine Irish Brothers to celebrate Labor Day...and the day before that old, nasty cast came off. Oh...and because I like their fish & chips!

It's Off!

Everything at Riley went smoothly this morning. Except the parking garage was closed and Kevin had to park farther away and almost missed the cast being cut off. The nurse kindly waited a few minutes for Daddy to get there. Good thing, too...Camden needed his strong arms. She was not happy.

The screams started before the procedure even began. Poor girl has had enough of doctors. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she has to go to her pediatrician tomorrow for her 12-month shots that we had to delay because of her cast.


The saw blade doesn't spin or cut like you might imagine. It just rocks back and forth, so she's never in danger of being cut. However, it's loud and vibrates and is just pretty scary.

"Momma help!"

When it finally is pried off, you can see where the material had retained a lot of moisture.

Between sweat, urine, and other bodily functions, the moisture left Camden with a pretty bad rash. I cried more seeing it than when she broke the leg to begin with. I couldn't help thinking I could have done something better to prevent it. However, the doctor and nurses assured me it was VERY common and would actually clear up in just a few days with airing out and some prescribed powder. They cleaned her off, too, so the brown guck was gone immediately. But even now, just 5 hours since it's come off, it's already less red.

They said she may be in some pain from stiffness and may not walk right away. Leave it to my determined little one to already be standing up and wanting to get around. She's a little unsure how to work the legs, but she's trying. The doctor also said she'd probably limp initially, but that it would stop quickly as well.

What a welcomed sight!

Camden Shows Her Hand

Grandma and Grandpa French came over for Labor Day cookout last night. Of course, we had to play some Euchre. We hadn't played in several months. Since Grandma's knee operation, sitting for long periods of time has been difficult.

Camden sat in her high chair the entire evening and played right along with us. We gave her the rest of the pack of cards in the box. She played "52 pickup" in between hands.

She wasn't very good at keeping her cards to herself, though!

One Day!

Tomorrow morning is Camden's appointment at Riley. One day!

She is showing us she is ready to get the cast off. By that I don't mean she is grumpy and complaining. She's actually been very, very patient and pleasant throughout the last 5 weeks. She is showing us that her leg is strong. Because she is preferring to stand whenever she is allowed. This morning she was even standing when I came to get her out of bed.

She looks like a very bow-legged cowgirl, but she can even walk. Of course, she has to hold on to things and when she falls down (it's happened twice) she just falls backwards in slow motion. Unfortunately, the back of her head gets bonked...but again, she's pretty good at keeping it slow.

It's funny in this dress, at this angle, she doesn't look like she has a cast at all.

Tomorrow...Camden gets a bath!!!!

Let the Countdown Begin!

Three days until we return to Riley to get the cast removed! We can hardly wait. Camden continues to amaze us, though, with how she handles it. Today she crawled over to me as I sat on the couch and pulled herself up to a standing position to try to reach me. She's amazing...and determined.

She's developing quite the sense of humor, too. She laughs when we laugh and giggles at her own stunts. It's really adorable. She also hams it up with her daddy. Kevin taught her to stick out her tongue and now she does it whenever we walk in the room. It's almost like her new "hi."

This is what greeted me as I came out of the bedroom just now.

What cracks me up is that Kevin does that sometimes, too. When he's being playful, he'll stick out his tongue at me. It seems it's in the genes, cause Camden does it as well! She'll also do it on cue.

"Where's your tongue, Camden?" (Guess I could have waited until the goldfish were gone).

Cracks herself up!

What Soccer Game?

We spend two to three evenings and sometimes Saturdays at soccer games. They each last about 1 1/2 - 2 hours. This is a long time for a 13-month old! She has always enjoyed being outside, so that is a plus (except when it's too hot...especially in a cast).

But we especially love it when the people around us join in the fun to keep her entertained. The bigger bonus is when it's her own Papaw.