Time flies!

Time absolutely flies when we are on vacation! I can't believe it is already day 10 of a 12 day vacation! It isn't fair! And, I was mistaken when I thought it was going to be a relaxing holiday! It all started with B and Lisa's wedding last week. We had the rehearsal dinner on Thursday night and the wedding Friday evening. Since Chris was in the wedding, he had to take Friday off and I worked it out that I had it off too. It was strange to go out 2 nights in a row without Camryn, but it was nice. The wedding was beautiful and we had a lot of fun.

We managed to fit in a doctor's appointment for Camryn that same day. It was her 18 month check up - it is hard to believe that she is 18 months already!! I had to do a checklist based on her development and she got her last shots until age 5!!!! Yipee!!!!! The doctor said that she is doing amazingly well and was pleased to hear that she has wonderful verbal and listening skills. It seems as if she has turned into this little person lately - she communicates and follows directions very well. She is even now understanding that she can change her own behavior to avoid a time out. That's my girl!!

The craziness really began on Saturday with the demolition of our master bathroom. Chris has been working hard ever since on that project. He is currently dealing with some plumbing snags (thanks to the beautiful vanity we bought), but he is getting it done. When it is all done (and it will be very soon), we will have new ceramic tile, a new cherry vanity, new countertop, faucets, lighting, and paint. Yeah! It is all coming together very nicely and Chris is doing a beautiful job. I have been saying all week that WE are remodeling our bathroom - I guess that isn't entirely true since I haven't done much work. But, I picked most of the stuff out, so I will take some credit for that. I just can't wait for it to be done and we can stop invading Camryn's bathroom!!

Of course, we had to take a break from the bathroom for some Christmas fun! We went to my sister's house on Christmas Eve for dinner and gifts. We went back home that night to wait for Ho Ho (Camryn's name for Santa) to come. She must have been a VERY good girl this year because she got lots of great presents!! The 1st gift she got from her stocking was a new cell phone and she insisted on opening the rest of her gifts one handed cuz she didn't want to put the phone down! Needless to say, it took a while for her to open all of her gifts! After spending Christmas morning at our house, we went to Greencastle to see Chris' family. We alternate holidays every year between families and this was our year to spend Christmas with his family. We went to Uncle George and Aunt Lori's house and Grammy and Pappy both came over. Of course, Camryn was spoiled with gifts there too!!! She is a very lucky girl! Now, we just need to find room for all of her fun new presents! She has been playing with all of her new toys ever since, so I guess Santa knew exactly what she wanted! If I ever get my butt in gear, I will venture to the computer upstairs and update the website. We have lots of fun Christmas pictures to share, so I will try to do that soon!

On Thursday, we took our annual Christmas trip to New Jersey to visit Gina. This year was special because she is newly engaged!!! Paul popped the question around 1:00 AM on Christmas morning. She called me first thing that morning to share the news. We are so excited and happy for her and Paul!!! Camryn had fun at Gina's house that day, especially since Gina let her have all kinds of fun in the kitchen! Gina kept giving her all sorts of things to stir and mix and make a mess with! Camryn enjoys "cooking", so she was excited! When she was done, Gina put her concoction in the oven and it turned into a cookie!! Who knew that Camryn was such a good cook?? And, just like when Gina and Paul visited this summer, Camryn attached herself to Paul. She just loves him and he always has fun with her too. Gina and Paul love their "Cammy"!





Last night, we had people over for the Penn State bowl game. It was night of fun, food, and football. The game started after Camryn's bedtime, so I am sure she was disappointed that she didn't get to see JoePa. But, she was dressed for the game anyway even if she didn't get to see it!!




Now, we are getting ready for our New Year's Eve party. It started with only having a few people over, but it has since grown into more people! The more, the merrier! It should be a lot of fun and we are really looking forward to it!

Ok, I have rambled on long enough. I would have written about all of this stuff in spurts this week, but I didn't have time! I hope you all enjoyed your holidays!!!

Oh no!!! (we hate Comcast)

I know that most of you have been thinking that we have completely slacked on updating our website. Well, that is only partly true. I know that most people go to our main page and see that we haven't updated since August and move on. We have updated our page (and are actually in the process again right now) since then, but Comcast won't let us make any changes to our main index page. Chris called them about it and it is apparently a nationwide issue that occurred when they made a huge upgrade to their personal webpage features. Yeah, thanks for the upgrades, but I want to make changes to our webpage!! We can still make changes to Camryn's page, which is most important, but most people haven't seen it because they think we are slackers!! So, really, it is Comcast that sucks. We have never dealt with such incompetent people in our lives! Our list of Comcast issues (and I mean MAJOR issues - even digging up our yard) is a mile long since we have moved here. But, that is a whole other novel to write about. To make a long story short, they have no idea when this problem will be resolved, so please just look at Camryn's page to see if there are any updates until Comcast fixes the issue. Thanks!!

On another note, I guess I should share something about Camryn because that is what I do. We had a 1st tonight. Although, it isn't the type of 1st that I will write in her baby book. Tonight was the 1st time that we had blood - a lot of blood. Thankfully, it wasn't anything serious. She fell and hit the corner of our coffee table. I thought she just hit her head, but as she proceeded to scream and look up at me, I saw blood on her mouth. She bit her lip and took a huge chunk out of it (yes, I had to be graphic - at least you didn't have to see the blood). I never thought that a lip could bleed so much!! Chris wasn't home at the time, so I must say that I handled it quite well. I was a good mommy and made it all better. :)

Santaphobia

It is official - Camryn is terrified of Santa. Her daycare had their annual Christmas program this evening where the kids sing songs for the parents and look adorable. During the program, Santa made a visit to read a story and hand out gifts. Camryn was sitting with her teacher, Krysti, and her friend, Kiersten. She LOVES Krysti and was content sitting with her up front until Santa got a little too close. (Luckily, I got a picture of her while she was content) Then, we saw it coming...complete meltdown. I ran up to get her and was completely embarrassed in the process. Of course, it had to be my child who has the meltdown in front of everyone. Although, I was terrified of fake Santas when I was little, so I can't blame her. I took her to the back of the room and calmed her down. Then, she proceeded to point to Santa and say, "Tanta - ho ho ho." She was fine with him from a distance. When it was time to go up and get her gift from Santa, I thought she would be ok since she was watching him for a while. Nope. She hung on to me for dear life and cried until we were safely away from him. So, I guess it is ok for Santa to leave her presents this year as long as he stays at least 50 feet away from her at all times!!!! It is a good thing she will be sleeping when he comes for Christmas! And, lucky for her, we captured these magical moments on video. I am sure she will love it when she is older!!!!

Princess Nittany

Camryn received a Christmas package yesterday from Rebecca. Of course, we couldn't wait to see what was inside, so we let her open it early. Who can wait until Christmas? Rebecca always gets the perfect gifts - I think she really enjoys buying little girl things! She sent Camryn a beautiful pink princess dress with a tiara and wand as accessories. She was very excited to put her pretty new dress on and loved her new "hat". This is Camryn's first "dress-up" outfit and she had fun being a princess!! After she was done with her royal reign, we called Rebecca to say, "Dank doo!!"

I said that Rebecca is known for finding the perfect gifts. She also sent Camryn the "Baby Nittany Lion" DVD. She found these DVDs online a while ago, but complained to the company that there were DVDs available for random schools, but not for PSU. Apparently, they listened to her and the PSU version came out recently. So, of course, she had to get it for our little Nittany Lion. It has segments on the Lion, the Blue Band, traditions, and places on campus. It also teaches letters, numbers, and colors. Shouldn't every child be able to spell N-I-T-T-A-N-Y L-I-O-N??? Camryn was dancing to the Blue Band section and was enjoying the bouncing paw print to learn the words to various songs. Yes, I guess we are well on our way to brainwashing our child. Nah, not brainwashing...the DVD claims that it is "raising tomorrow's Penn State fan today!" There is absolutely nothing wrong with that!!!

Snow!!

We had our first real snow today. Well, we had snow in Meadville over Thanksgiving (big surprise), but this was our first snow here at home. People here panic so much over an inch of snow that Chris had an early dismissal. That is one thing that I am still not used to here. They cancel school for 2 inches of snow! Anyway, we took advantage of the snow after school. Chris took Camryn out to play. She didn't want to stand in it until Chris started to slide down the hill with her. Considering they didn't have a sled, it was quite a sight to see! After that, she was quite the little snow bunny! She fought when it was time to come in! I guess we need to find her a pair of boots and snow pants so she can play in the snow for real next time. Oh, and maybe Santa should bring us a sled.

Glad to be home

We are glad to be home. We made the long 5 hour drive back from Meadville yesterday afternoon. Camryn traveled really well both ways, so we were very thankful for that. She took a little nap during both trips, sang songs, and read some books. She started to get a little cranky towards the end of the trips, but I start to get cranky then too!!

We had a great visit with Grandma ("Ama") and Grandpa ("Papa"). Fortunately, she is very comfortable at their house even though we don't get to go that often. We were able to stick to her schedule for the most part and she slept well. Camryn really enjoyed her time and completely attached herself to Papa. I have never seen her give someone so many big hugs!! In fact, she went back and forth giving Ama and Papa hugs for about 15 minutes straight one night! She loved playing with Papa and watching the squirrels and birds in the backyard together. And, every morning, she would get up saying, "Papa? Papa?" It was really cute.

Ama and Papa have a lot of fun toys at their house too! She got to build tall towers with daddy, play and sing with Elmo and Cookie Monster, "cook", read new books, and never got bored digging through the toy bins. One night, she even thought that putting a bucket on her head was fun! Apparently, all of the grandkids enjoy being "bucket heads" when they visit grandma and grandpa because they all do the same thing! It was even more fun when she had all of us put a basket on our heads too! And, while we were there, Camryn got some of her very own pillows that Ama made (she loves pillows) and a babydoll crib with a new pillow and blanket (also made by Ama). The crib is special because it was my babydoll crib from when I was little. My dad and grandpa made it for me for Christmas one year. Words can't describe my feelings when I see her put her doll to bed in it - I remember doing the very same thing! We brought it home and I love having it in our house.

While we were in Meadville, she was lucky enough to have a few play dates. Steph came up from Florida to visit her parents with Sarah, so we went to visit them on Friday afternoon. I love when the girls get together. As they get older, it is so much fun to watch them interact and play. In a few years, their 9 month age difference won't show. Sarah was all ready to have a tea party with Camryn, but Camryn wasn't too sure at first. She just kept walking in and out of the playhouse instead of sitting down to have a tea party. Finally, she just decided to carry one of the cups around. I hope Sarah wasn't too disappointed!! Then, they shared a snack of goldfish and played with some blocks. Camryn enjoyed watching Steph's dad build "Cinderella's castle" and Sarah knocking it down! We had a very nice visit with them and Steph's parents were glad to meet Camryn. I say it every time the girls get together - I wish we lived closer so they could play more often.

Camryn's other playdate was with her cousin, Zachary. He is "all boy", so Camryn wasn't too sure what to think of him. There were times that she would just watch him with an interested look on her face. They did play well together, though. There were some sharing issues, but they were easily resolved. Their favorite activity was running up and down the long hallway. Camryn is still working on actually running, but she was having a blast. Zachary would say, "do the hallway" and they would just start running and laughing. Of course, when we go the video camera out, they decided they were tired.

We had a very nice trip and a great Thanksgiving dinner. It is always nice to eat mom's food again!! My grandma came over for dinner on Thanksgiving as well. She is Camryn's only living great-grandparent, so it is special to see them together. I just wish we could see everyone more often, but the 5 hour drive always gets in the way.

Thankfully, Chris and I both have today off to relax. It gives us all a day at home before we head back to work and daycare. Ugh!! Below are some pictures from our trip:

Meadville bound

We are currently getting ready to make the wonderful 5 hour drive to Meadville for Thanksgiving. We haven't seen grandma and grandpa since August, so we are excited to get to spend some time with them. I am just not looking forward to the drive!! But, during our visit, we have plans to meet up with Steph and Sarah who are also home. Camryn and Sarah had fun when they played together last month, so we are excited for that. Alright, Camryn and I need to get some more stuff together for our trip before Chris gets home from parent conferences this morning. Happy Thanksgiving!!

PS Check out how much Camryn loves JoePa on our page on YouTube!!!

We Love You(tube)!

We have finally moved up in the world! We have been wanting to share videos of Camryn, but never really put any thought into how to do it. Last night, Chris posted a video of Camryn's 1st trick or treating trip on YouTube. If we knew how easy this was, we would have done it a long time ago!!! Anyway, check it out: Camryn's Halloween

We will put a link for videos on our webpage soon and hope to add fun videos of Camryn often. Enjoy!!

Trick or Treat!

Camryn is sound asleep after a fun night of trick or treating. We weren't sure how she was going to do, but she was trick or treating like a pro! You would think she has been doing it for years! She held my hand and went right up to the doors for candy. I think it helped that we were with Connor (a tough SWAT team guy) and Ella (an adorable pirate), but she was on a candy mission! I was so impressed with her and her willingness to hold on to my hand and wasn't shy at all. That's our girl! We were out for about an hour and she walked pretty much the whole time. About half way through our rounds, she even started to say "titatee" (her own version of trick or treat) and would say "dank doo" (thank you) when she got candy. She was just so bright eyed and loved seeing the other kids in costume. She wasn't even scared of the "scary" houses or people in masks. The only time she got fussy was when we had to go home!! We had a great time and can't wait to do it again next year!

Halloween practice

We started practicing for Halloween last night. Aunt Jen, Connor, and Ella brought over a Halloween costume for Camryn to try. Camryn is going to borrow the puppy costume that both Connor and Ella wore previously. Chris and I looked for a new costume, but decided that the puppy is appropriate since she LOVES dogs. And, it is free!! Anyway, she was so excited when she saw the dog's face and said "dog"! Then, she proceeded to "bark". I took that cue and began to put it on her. She didn't like that very much. It was a struggle for us to get it on, but we eventually succeeded! Then, she started to walk around and wasn't too sure of what to think. It was so cute to see her little tail wag as she walked!! She must have looked like a real dog because Jordan was going crazy. She just kept running around Camryn in circles. Granted, Jordan isn't the smartest dog in the world. Anyway, we just wanted to give Camryn some time in her costume and hope that she will want to put it on again for Trick or Treat night. We are going with Connor and Ella next week, so it should be fun. She loves them so much and follows them around like a little puppy anyway - now, she will look like one too!!!

Hayrides and Pumpkins

Today, we went to a farm to pick our own pumpkins. The farm is very close to our house, so it was convenient for us to spend some time there this afternoon. In order to get to the pumpkin patch, we had to go on a hayride through the farmland. We weren't sure how Camryn was going to react to the hayride. She seemed a little skeptical of the tractor at first, but she got into the wagon with us. She held on tight to me while looking around with wide eyes. She seemed to enjoy all of the bumps during the ride! When we got to the pumpkin patch, she was so excited. She immediately ran to get to the pumpkins. Unfortunately, a pumpkin patch isn't necessarily the easiest for a toddler to navigate. But, that didn't deter her!! She was all about getting the pumpkins! She found one just her size, then tried to tackle a much bigger one. She tried as hard as she could to pick that one up, but it just didn't cooperate! She finally gave up and moved on. While she was exploring, daddy found a few good pumpkins to take home with us. We loaded them back onto the hayride and we were on our way back to the farm to pay. While on the hayride back to the farm, Camryn enjoyed sitting with daddy on a bail of hay. The only thing that would have made this the perfect fall afternoon of picking pumpkins would have been if it actually felt like fall! There is something very strange about picking pumpkins and going on a hayride when it is almost 80 degrees!!! But, we weren't complaining!!

Sweet girl

Camryn did something today that absolutely melted my heart. She climbed up into my lap with her puzzle, looked up into my eyes, and said, "I uv you." I am pretty sure you don't need a translation for that. She has been saying "I uv you" for a while now, but it has always been in response to us saying it first. Today, though, she said it all on her own. After she said it, she began to work on her puzzle while sitting with me. She is definitely my sweet girl!!

We had a nice weekend relaxing at home. Camryn has a slight cold (thanks to daycare), so we stuck around here so she could get her rest. We had our usual Penn State "party" for the game yesterday. We helped to cheer for the Nittany Lions by reading Camryn's "Penn State 101" board book. It has all of the pictures important to PSU and the campus as well as all of the words to the Alma Mater, Fight On State, and The Nittany Lion songs. As you can see from the picture, she was enjoying her PSU lesson!!

A good day!

Camryn got an excellent report at daycare today. She had a wonderful day and had no time outs!!!
Only one more day and we all have a long 3 day weekend together. I can't wait!!!

Burst my bubble

I wrote last time about how wonderful Camryn is. She still is, but I learned today that she is not an innocent angel. I would love to think that she is, but I would be kidding myself. Her daycare teacher told me that she has started to put Camryn and 2 other kids in time outs because they have decided to scream for no good reason at all. Apparently, they just like to scream and feed off of one another. I would hate to think that Camryn is doing something just because another child is doing something, but that is the nature of kids her age. Of course she is going to. She doesn't act like this at home, so it is frustrating to know that she is picking up these behaviors at school. Yes, this is a definite con of daycare. We started time outs at home a while ago for various behaviors, so I hope their time outs will help curb her screaming. The teacher said she is responding well to it, so I hope it ends soon!! It is just hard to hear that your child is doing something bad at school. I hope this doesn't become a trend!!!

A little bit of Camryn

I know I haven't posted in a while. We are still trying to get back into the routine of work and daycare. I forgot how difficult it is trying to balance work and family. Unfortunately, work has suffered a little because I am finding it hard to be away from Camryn again. I know it has been a month already, but I am still not willing to give work any more of my time right now. It will all get done sooner or later. We have been trying to make the most of our weekends together now. We spent one evening at the York Fair where Camryn enjoyed playing her duck game and eating a hot dog. She was even willing to get closer to the animals without screaming. Chris and I also had a date night last weekend - we went to dinner and saw a Broadway musical. It was great!!! We love to spend time together as a family, but Chris and I enjoy our adult time too.

Since I last wrote, it seems like Camryn is changing more and more every day. From the day that she got brave and took more than 3 steps, she has been walking constantly. She is content just walking around the room, back and forth, and around the room again. She enjoys walking outside in the grass and around stores when we let her out of the cart. She is still working on mastering her skills and falls every now and then, but she gets right back up again. She has even gotten slightly daring and has attempted to "run" when we chase her. :) So much else has changed about her that I decided to give you "a little bit of Camryn":

• At her 15 month check-up, she weighed in at 26 lbs 12 oz and is now 31 1/2 inches tall. She is doing very well and far exceeded the expectations of a child her age in terms of language.
• At last count, she has over 60 words in her vocabulary and is constantly trying to say new words.
• She can point to various body parts on herself (head, hair, eyes, nose, mouth, ears, belly, belly button, hands, and feet).
• She loves belly buttons and enjoys finding hers and is always willing to find yours!!
• She continues to love to dance when she hears music. She is especially fond of Justin Timberlake songs in the car. When she hears his songs, she smiles, claps, and begins to dance in her seat.
  
• She is starting to become a great little "mommy" to her baby, Carmen. She carries Carmen around in her carrier, waves and says bye-bye while she "leaves" with the baby. When she comes back, she gives Carmen her bottle with lots of hugs and kisses.
• She loves seeing and pointing out "buf" (buses) before and after school on our drive to and from daycare.
  
• She really enjoys being outside and likes to walk around and explore.
• She will swing at the playground all day if we let her.
  
• She continues to LOVE shoes. She absolutely cannot wait to put them on in the morning.
• She spots all things flying in the sky and points them out to us.
• She enjoys climbing up the stairs for diaper changes, baths, and bedtime.
• She gets extremely excited when she hears the words "Do you want to go bye-byes?"
• She drinks water like a fish.
• One of her favorite veggies is lima beans - yes, lima beans.
• She totally ignores TV unless her DVD of Dot the Cow is playing.
  
• She gets excited when it is bath time and never fights going to bed.
• She cannot sleep without Bunny Bear.
• She is already "best friends" with her cousin, Ella, and loves to spend time with her.
  
• She becomes camera shy when the video camera is on. She is even beginning to get shy for the regular camera.
  
• She sees dogs miles away and "woof"s at them.
• She puts her arms up and says "touchdown" during PSU games.
• She likes to play with phones and remotes more than her own toys.
• She loves being silly with daddy.
• She likes to blow kisses, give kisses, and hugs.
• Thankfully, she looks forward to going to "school" every day, which makes it easier for us. Although, she is so excited when I pick her up every day and can't wait to come home and see "Diddy" (Jordan).
• Her smile lights up a room.
• Her laugh is infectious.
  
• She is the light of our lives.
  

There is much more, but I am beginning to draw a blank. Needless to say, I am very proud of our little girl and love her more than words could possibly say. She is absolutely amazing.

Future PSU Roommate!

Camryn's future PSU roommate came to visit us this weekend. Steph, Scott, and Sarah came to stay with us for a night during their visit from Florida. It has been a year since Camryn and Sarah were together, so it was a lot of fun seeing them play. It was a short visit, but the girls had a good time. I just wish they lived closer so that, one day, they could be as close as Steph and I. Although, I am sure they will have just as much fun at PSU as we did! Wait...maybe I don't want them to. ;)

"Look! I can walk!!"

Camryn had a blast tonight showing off her walking skills. She has taken a few steps towards us at close range for the past 2 weeks, but nothing compares to the miles she was walking tonight. Chris and I kept moving farther and farther apart and she met the challenge!! We ended up sitting about 6 feet from one another and she would walk back and forth "getting mommy or daddy". She even got to the point where she would lose and regain her balance half way and keep going. Go Camryn! She seemed so proud of herself and she should be! She literally did this for about 1/2 hour tonight and we were enjoying every second of it! I should have counted her steps, but there were too many!! It was so cute - she would stop and get a drink of water and then go right back at it!! Walking is sweaty business! Needless to say, this hard work wore her out and she was asleep almost instantly when we put her to bed. I just can't believe how much she has grown! Before we know it, we will be chasing her while she runs!!

Go PSU!!

Ok, so they only played Florida International, but Penn State kicked some butt on Saturday (59-0). Believe it or not, this is the first time that Chris and I have actually seen a game together in Beaver Stadium in the 6 years we have known each other. Since I met him, he has always worked the games, so we have never had the opportunity to see them together. We were able to get great tickets to this game, so we were really excited about it. It felt good to be "home" again in Beaver Stadium! While we were there, Camryn enjoyed her time with Uncle Jay, Connor, and Ella. It was a great start to the long weekend!!!

Well, that long weekend is almost over. It is back to work again tomorrow. I have already worked an entire week - isn't it time for summer vacation yet?!?!

Shoes!!!

It is an understatement to say that Camryn loves shoes. She gets so excited when we put any type of shoes on her and she proudly displays them to us. She even gets a kick out of trying to put mommy and daddy's shoes on. It is funny to see how much of a little girl she really is! The bad thing is that I know that shoes are not good for kids her age - especially since she is just now learning to walk. Experts and doctors recommend that bare feet are best to learn to walk and it is better for their foot development. Plus, it is just more comfortable to be barefoot - I know I prefer to be barefoot!! Up to this point, her shoes have been merely an accessory to her outfits. Now that she is learning to walk, it is a different story and her daycare prefers that the kids wear shoes. She has a comfy pair of Nike sneakers, but I know that she is not comfortable in them all day, especially since it is still hot outside. She has another cute pair of shoes, but she can easily take them off herself. But, we have reluctantly been putting them on her this week to go to school. So anyway, after some research and recommendations, I found a solution. Camryn got her first pair of Robeez today. I must say that they are very cute and she has had them on since we got home. It makes me happy because they are better for her to walk and they fulfill the need for shoes at daycare. Not to mention, they are adorable and come in lots of stylish designs. It was hard to decide, but her chocolate brown Robeez with pink and green circles are more versatile for her wardrobe. I just hope that Chris is ok with me buying more in the future!!

Ok, I need to get some stuff together for our trip to PSU tomorrow. It is the first game, so Chris and I are excited to have tickets. Camryn will be spending the day with Uncle Jay and Connor and Ella. It should be a fun day for all! :) I am really looking forward to a long weekend. I know I have only been back to work for a week, but it was a long week complete with my finding out that my room in one of my schools was turned into a storage closet over the summer. But, that is a whole different story!!

Farm animals are scary!

We got back last night from visiting Grandma and Grandpa Sheriff in NW PA. If it weren't for the 5 hour one way trip, we would go back more than we do. Camryn really enjoys her visits there, but it isn't a trip we can take often. During this trip, Camryn's cousins on my side of the family (Connor, Ella, and Zachary) were all there. They had a blast playing together, tried their best at sharing the toys (as well as Grandma and Grandpa), and effectively filled the house with lots of noise. :) They also had fun playing with the slip and slide in the yard and enjoyed their time at the Crawford County Fair together. It ended up being a hot afternoon at the fair after a morning of storms, but we all managed to have a great time.

As I said in my last post, I thought that Camryn would really like to see the animals at the fair. Boy, was I wrong!! She could see the pony ride during lunch and seemed so excited to watch them. After lunch, we bought tickets for all of the kids to ride the ponies. I knew I would have to hold on to Camryn during her ride, but I thought she would have fun. Nope. As soon as I got her near the pony, she held on to me with a death grip and screamed bloody murder. I tried to show her that the pony was nice, but she wanted absolutely no part in it. Luckily, they gave me my money back. That taught me that she loves fake horses on the merry go round, but if it moves on its own, she thinks it is scary! From there, we went through the animal barns and she would scream if we got her too close to any of the animals. She was fine looking at them from a distance, but that was about it. She loves her animal books and making their noises, but if they are less than 10 feet from her in real life, it is a different story!! I guess from her perspective, farm animals are pretty big and scary! Although, she enjoyed the tiger show - maybe I need to teach her that she should be afraid of the animals that will eat us and not the animals that we eat!!!

First Steps!!!

Camryn waited until the last possible minute of the summer for us to witness a huge milestone. I have been waiting for it all summer and I was getting depressed that her teachers at daycare would be the one's witnessing her first steps. Her first day back at daycare was today, so I was extremely excited to see her take her first steps last night. We were visiting Chris' family yesterday and we were at our last stop at his brother, Adam's, house. Chris and I were on the floor with her and she decided to take 3 steps from Chris to me all on her own!! Needless to say, we were ecstatic!!! She continued to amuse us and did it a few more times. It was as if she were thinking "I could do this a long time ago, but I wanted you to sweat it out." It doesn't matter - I am a very happy mommy. :)

Like I said before, Camryn's first day back at daycare was today. Chris and I worked today and have to work again tomorrow, but that it is it until next Monday. So, she won't be going to daycare full time until next Monday. We figured 2 days to start would be a nice transition for her since she has been used to being home all summer. I was worried about her today, but she did very well. She had a great day, but I think she was ready to come home when I went to pick her up. I am just so happy that she is better at handling these things than I am!

Since we are only working today and Tuesday, on Wednesday, we are off to Meadville to visit Grandma and Grandpa Sheriff. All of my parent's grandkids will be home this week visiting and we are all going to enjoy the good old Crawford County Fair together. Camryn was only 2 months old last year, so she had no idea where she was. But, this year, we think she is really going to enjoy all of the animals! Plus, all of the cousins haven't all been together in quite a while. They are all really close in age, so it should be fun!! Now, we just have to pray that rain won't spoil the fun!

Flying high

Chris and I went for a plane ride this evening. It is always a good thing to have a pilot in the family!! My brother-in-law, Jason, wanted to log some air time, so he took Chris and I along. I absolutely love to fly! The first time he took us up, he let me fly the plane and I instantly fell in love. Chris has encouraged me to take flying lessons ever since, but I was pregnant at the time and we had more important things to spend our money on. Maybe some day! It was great to go up this evening and spend some relaxing time in the air.

Today is also a very special day for Camryn. Today marks the day that we have completely gotten rid of her bottle. We switched her to a sippy straw cup for her milk during the day and kept her bottle for before bed a few months ago. Lately, we have noticed that she was more interested in playing with the bottle before bed than drinking her milk. So, tonight, we gave her her milk in a sippy cup and read our nightly bedtime story. She sat in my lap, took her cup, drank her milk, and listened to the story. Just like that - the bottle is gone!! :)

Pigtails and the Park

After a few previous attempts, I finally got Camryn's hair into pigtails today! I tried a while ago when I realized her hair was long enough, but she didn't want to cooperate. She would scream and squirm so much that I could only get one pigtail done. I just gave up. I tried again today - she was a little more cooperative, but she still "voiced" her opinions! They weren't the prettiest pigtails in the world, but I did the best with her being a wiggle worm! I must say that she looked beautiful. Although, of course, I always think she looks beautiful!! I figured she would just pull them out, but she didn't. I think she actually liked having them in! After having a successful hair day, we decided to go to the park so she could swing. We realized the other day that we haven't been going the park as much as we should. It was a beautiful afternoon, so we went to the huge park near our house. As soon as Camryn saw the swings, she got so excited! It is so much fun to watch the pure joy on her face as we push her higher and higher. I think she would swing all day if she could! She got a kick out of when mommy and daddy would swing on the swing next to her! After the swings, she went down the slide with daddy and then we all had some fun on the teeter-totter. All in all, we had a fun afternoon in the park!

On another note, as the school year quickly approaches, I am slowly getting back into speech/language mode. I am not happy about this, but that is beside the point. Anyway, Chris and I were trying to figure out how many words Camryn now has in her vocabulary. It was hard to keep track, so I began to write a list. Amazingly, the list had 36 words!! Even I didn't think that she had that many words, so it was an eye opener for me. It just seems like she is having a language explosion lately. She is trying to repeat words we say and is putting 2 words together. Her receptive skills are also doing very well. She follows simple directions and enjoys showing us objects in her books when asked. I have said this before and I will say it again: as a speech therapist, I am very proud of my little girl. As much as I hate thinking in terms of speech and language already, when it comes to Camryn, I don't mind!!

Back from the beach

Unfortunately, we are now back from the beach. I guess it had to end sometime!

After my last post from the hotel room, we went to the boardwalk for a night of fun! Camryn really enjoyed all of the people, lights, and sounds. After a while, my sister's family came down to meet up with us. The kids had a great time playing games!! They are all very lucky because they won most of the games they played!! Camryn played the duck game again (she played at Hersheypark) and won 2 prizes (a big orange ball and a stuffed bear). She looks so proud when she wins!! She cuddled with her bear the rest of the night! At that point, it was getting pretty late and we were hoping that she would fall asleep in her stroller. No such luck. She began to get pretty fussy, so we went back to the hotel. As soon as we put her in her pack and play, she was out. She was a tired girl!!

The next day, we spent some more time on the boardwalk before we had to make the drive home. Camryn decided that it was a good place to take a nap, so we walked around until she woke up. We did some shopping and soaked up the sun. It was a nice and relaxing way to end our vacation! It really was a wonderful vacation and we all had a great time. It was amazing to see Camryn experience the beach for the first time and to watch her have so much fun!

We are now home and counting down the days until we go back to work. Ugh!!! We are working on some more projects around the house. Chris just finished painting Camryn's bathroom and installed new lighting and hardware. The guest room is next. We are hoping to have it all done soon. After that, we are planning on completely renovating the master bath. Fun! It is never a dull moment around here.

After we get something to eat, we are going to post some OC pictures on our website. We had friends over for dinner last night, so we didn't have the opportunity. I would like to get it done before a month has passed!!!

Baby Beach Bum

Greetings from Ocean City, MD!!! We are currently in our hotel suite while Camryn gets a much needed nap. So, I decided to write a little about our week so far.

Our vacation didn't start off on a very good note. Camryn usually loves being in the car, but she was exremely fussy and decided that it was a good idea to scream a good portion of the drive. We finally figured out that her teeth were bothering her, so we pulled over and gave her some tylenol. After it kicked in, that did the trick. She took a nap for the rest of the drive. I was worried that the rest of our week would be just as frustrating, but she has been a perfect little angel ever since. I am very proud of how well she has adjusted.

When we got to my sister's condo, we unloaded the car and set up our room. As soon as that was done, we all got ready to join everyone else on the beach. Camryn was so excited to be in her swimsuit and we weren't even at the beach yet!! We went down to the beach and joined Camryn's cousins, Connor and Ella. Camryn had a blast playing in the sand with them and really enjoyed the crashing waves of the ocean. She would scream with delight every time a wave would get close to coming ashore to hit her. It was so much fun!!! We stayed out on the beach for a few hours having lots of fun. The fun had to end sometime, so we went back to the condo to rest. She was really tired and was in bed by 7:30 and slept the rest of the night. Oh, and Chris surprised me that night with a bouquet of roses since it was our anniversary - what a sweetheart!!!

On Wednesday, we headed back out to the beach for another day of fun. All of the kids were having a blast playing together in the sand and ocean. Camryn wasn't as fond of the ocean that day and kept clinging on to me and didn't want to get in. No big deal - we just went back and played in the sand!! I can't believe how much she loves the beach!! She just looks so happy and relaxed like that is where she belongs!! Again, we spent another few hours on the beach. When we finally headed inside, she took a late nap - she was so tuckered out from being a beach bum all day! Chris and I took advantage of her nap and had Aunt Jen and Uncle Jay "watch" her while we loaded up the car and checked into our hotel room. When we got back, we all went to dinner at an "all you can eat" buffet. Yum - crab legs!!! We all laughed at the fact that Camryn took the "all you can eat" part literally!! I don't think the restaurant knew what they were getting into when they let her eat for free!!!! I have never seen a child eat so much!!! She usually doesn't eat very much and always stops when she is full. But, last night, she ate 6 chicken nuggets, 6 tater tots, some mac and cheese, 2 dessert plates full of fruit, and topped it off with some cheerios!!! We were fully expecting her to get a sick belly, but she didn't! Needless to say, mommy didn't share any of her ice cream with her!! We finally headed back to the hotel around 9:00 and got her a bath and ready for bed. She laid down and didn't make a peep until this morning.

This morning, we were on our own at the beach. We headed out around 9:00 and found a pretty empty beach. We were able to set up right by the water. It was so peaceful. Camryn didn't like the water again, but was very content playing in the sand. Her and Chris dug a hole that she sat in while she played. It was such a beautiful day, but we decided to head in around lunch time so she could eat and get a nap. So, that is where we are right now. After she gets up, we are meeting up with everyone else at the boardwalk. So, it will be a fun evening of rides, food, and fun!!

We are all having a great time and are really happy we decided to spend a week here. Who knew we had a baby beach bum?!?!?

Off to the beach

We are off to the beach tomorrow for our first real family vacation. We are headed to Ocean City, MD for the rest of the week. We will be staying one night with my sister and her family and then we will be staying in a hotel suite for the rest of the week. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Camryn enjoys her first vacation to the beach. She loves splashing in the water, so I think she will love the ocean. I also have a feeling that she will enjoy watching all the people on the boardwalk. It is going to be so nice to get away for a few days and I hope everything goes as planned. Camryn always seems to be rather flexible, but we have her on a set schedule. I will post again to let you all know how it goes! :)

Alright, I have to get back to packing now that Camryn is in bed for the night. I wish I could just blink my eyes and have it be done! But, it is worth it.

Dap?

What child do you know that asks for a nap? What ONE year old asks for a nap? Well, ours does. She started this about a week ago and did it again just now. Around nap time each day, she crawls over to the steps, looks at us, and says, "uh, dap?" So, we take her upstairs to her room, get bunny bear, and she takes a nap. We just can't get over this. She is so easy going - she tells us when she is hungry AND when she wants a nap. How did we get so lucky? I think this means we are in for it with our next child!!!

Ok, since it is nap time and Chris is on jury duty, this is a great opportunity to get back to Harry Potter!!!

Exciting week

Well, I haven't written in a while, so I guess it is time for another update. We have had a busy week and had a lot of fun together as a family.

On Wednesday, Chris and I had a date night and went to dinner and to see the new Harry Potter movie. We both LOVE Harry Potter, so this was very exciting. Our friends, Jen and Steph, came over to watch Camryn and they all had a fun girl's night together. They must have worn her out because she slept in the next morning!

On Thursday afternoon, we headed to PSU for Arts Fest. It was a beautiful day to walk around the festival, downtown, and campus. Camryn really loves cruising around in her stroller, so she was sitting back and enjoying the sights. For dinner, Chris and I picked up some DP Dough (YUM) and fed Camryn her dinner on the HUB lawn. After dinner, she was exploring the lawn and crawling all over the place having a blast. Then, she discovered that she could push her own stroller - she was so excited!! After taking a bunch of pictures, we headed over to the Old Main lawn to listen to a band and let Camryn play in the grass there. Maybe one day, she will be sitting on that very lawn in between classes!!! We got some very cute pictures with Old Main in the background. It is so amazing to watch her have fun on a campus that Chris and I love so much. Of course, the trip would not be complete without a stop at the Lion. She was so excited to see it!! Immediately, she began to "woof" at it. Yeah, we are working on the lion roar. She was able to sit on top by herself (she is growing too fast!!!) and gave the lion bunches of kisses. It was so cute!!! She was tuckered out and slept the whole way home.

On Friday, our friend, Gina, and her boyfriend, Paul, came from NJ for the weekend. They both love Camryn so much and Camryn couldn't stop smiling at Paul. On Saturday evening, we all went to Hershey Park for some fun. I couldn't wait to take Camryn on the rides!!! As soon as we got in the park, I took her on the Merry Go Round. She absolutely LOVED it. From there, Chris took her on a train ride, but that was a little lame for her. We also went on a fire truck ride that she enjoyed. She watched all of the roller coasters with such wide and bright eyes. It looked like she wanted to jump right out of her stroller and get on them!! Something tells me that she is going to be a thrill seeker just like her mommy!!! Someday, she will be sitting in the front seat with me with her hands in the air. I can't wait!!! A little later, she even won herself a prize. She got to pick a duck out of a pond and she won herself a stuffed rubber ducky. I think she was so proud of herself because she wouldn't let go of her duck!! We were all having a great time, but the night took a bad turn when we realized that Bunny Bear was missing. We took Bunny Bear (she sleeps with BB and can't sleep without it) since we would be out past her bedtime. We were hoping that BB would help her fall asleep in her stroller. As soon as we all realized that BB was gone, we all went running to retrace steps. I knew it was a lost cause because there were thousands of kids just waiting to find a dropped toy. Camryn was crying and I had tears in my eyes because I knew she was upset. The 4 of us looking for BB must have been a sight to see. Gina was circling other strollers scoping out if the kids had BB, I was looking at every kid walking by me with a stuffed animal in their hands, Paul was retracing our exact steps, and Chris was trying to keep Camryn calm while zooming the stroller around looking. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do if I saw a kid with it. I was just hoping to see it. After looking for about 1/2 hour, we gave up. It was useless. Finding a stuffed animal in a park full of kids is like finding a needle in a haystack. We went back over to the Storm Runner (where we realized BB was gone) to decide what to do the rest of the night. All of a sudden, Gina yells "Is that BB?!?!?!" A complete miracle. BB was sitting next to a man on a bench. Chris ran over to the man and the man said he saw bunny bear on the ground so he put her on the bench. As soon as Camryn got BB back, she wouldn't let go. She held on to BB so tightly and finally fell asleep. Someone is definitely watching over Camryn and didn't want her to be without her friend. Talk about an interesting night at the park!!

We have a relatively calm week ahead of us. Camryn has had a lot of excitement the past few days, so it will be nice to relax for a while. Our next adventure will be at the end of the month when we go to the beach. I can't wait to take her in the ocean! I feel so lucky that we have the time in the summer to do these fun things as a family. I just hope the summer stops moving so quickly!!!

E-I-E-I-O

Camryn and I have begun a routine during diaper changes. I sing "The Wheels on the Bus" while she does the hand motions. Her favorite motion to do is when the wipers go "swish, swish, swish" - her hands go wildly from side to side while she has a big smile on her face. Since she loves songs so much, I try to think of new songs to sing. The other day, I remembered "Old MacDonald" and began to sing. She thinks that all animals say "woof", so I figured this would be a good way to learn some more animal sounds. Well, it turns out that she loves the E-I-E-I-O part the best and does her own version after each verse. The best part about it all is that she thinks that mommy is a very good singer and she claps for me at the end of every song. Yeah, that probably won't last much longer!! :)

Interesting

It is amazing to me how many people stop us when we are out and about. It has become a bit of a joke between Chris and I. We literally cannot leave a store without at least one or two people stopping us to tell us how beautiful Camryn is. Yes, we know she is beautiful, but it never ceases to amaze me how many people feel compelled to tell us what we already know. These people don't need to say anything to us - we certainly aren't talking to them out of nowhere!! There is just something about Camryn that draws people to her. I am sure it has something to do with her sparkling blue eyes, chubby cheeks, and infectious smile. I even had a middle aged man say something to me in Lowe's one day. I heard him say something behind me, but I had no idea he was talking to me. Then, he said again, "excuse me, I just wanted to tell you that she is adorable." Then, he proceeded to talk to Camryn for a minute and he was on his way. It has never even occurred to me to comment on a stranger's child, so the fact that people do this to us is quite odd. I know all new parents go through this, but a year later, I am still not used to it and I still don't understand it! Of course, I think that Camryn eats up the attention. She has even begun to wave and say "hi" to random people in stores. She is quite selective, though, which I think is hilarious. She will say hi to some people and not others and will even become quite shy when some people talk to her. I wish I knew what was going through her head sometimes. Her personality is coming out more and more every day and it is so fun to watch!

Not a baby anymore

Chris is golfing, Camryn and sleeping, and I don't feel like cleaning (which I should be doing). So, why not write a little about why my baby isn't too much of a baby anymore?

If you haven't seen her in a while, she has changed so much in just a short time. She officially has 4 teeth (with more coming in soon) and is enjoying eating lots of finger foods. She is not a picky eater at all, so that is good for us! She really enjoys fresh fruits and will eat as many Gerber fruit or veggie puffs as I will let her have!! She made a very smooth transition to whole milk from formula, but doesn't like it cold!!! She also loves her water in her sippy cup and drinks from it all day long. She weighed in at 24 lbs 12 oz at her year checkup, so eating is not a problem!!!

Being a speech therapist, I am very proud of her communication skills! She has between 15-20 words/phrases that she uses consistently and appropriately. No, I am not exaggerating! The doctor told us that she is above average for language skills - I already knew that!!! She loves waving and saying "hi" to our dog, Jordan, all day long - yes, ALL day long and telling her "no" when she barks. I think Camryn thinks that something is wrong with Jordan because she isn't saying "hi" back. She calls Jordan "ada" and is absolutely in love with her! She loves to say "woof" when she sees a dog (or any animal for that matter). She also says: all done, hello, love you, uh-oh, wow (another favorite of hers), ow, daddy, mama, do, no, and bath. Those are the ones off the top of my head. Of course, her productions of them aren't perfect and not everyone would know what she is saying, but we do. I have also done sign language with her for a few months now. She consistently uses the signs for "all done", "more", and "eat". When she is hungry, she will crawl into the kitchen and do the sign for eat. It is entirely too cute. It also cuts down on fussiness and frustration. Some people think that doing sign hinders a child's verbal skills, but it just gives them a broader range of ways to communicate. They use sign at her daycare as well, so that is a good reinforcement away from home.

She LOVES to play with her toys and is enjoying all of her new birthday toys. She is content playing by herself, with other children, or with us. She is very good with her hands and is able to sort shapes and put a puzzle together. She will dance to any music and I sometimes think she has music in her head. She is also very affectionate and will give hugs and kisses to her dolls and stuffed animals. She is also very fond of books. We have read to her every night since before she was born - it is a part of our bedtime routine. She is constantly looking at her board books and we are asked to "do" (read) her "itsy bitsy spider" book about 52 times a day. Of course we do - how could we say no? Reading is very important to both Chris and I, so we are always willing to read a story. She loves being outside, going for walks, people watching in public (she takes after us), bath time, nap time, bedtime, and sleeping with her bunny bear. And, being a girl, she has already shown an interest in shoes, clothes, and purses. All in all, she is not our baby anymore.

We are very lucky to have such a wonderful little girl. Now that we are both home for the summer, we have the privilege to watch her grow and learn each and every day. I have struggled with being a working mother during the school year, but I feel very fortunate to have this valuable time with her now. This is a time for milestones and I am eagerly waiting to witness them. We have a feeling that she will be walking soon - she walks along furniture and with her walking toys, so it is just a matter of time. And, we will be here to see it.

A Year Old

Yes, our baby is a year old. Well, she has been a year old for over a week now, but we didn't have this wonderful journal last week. We celebrated her birthday with friends and family and a party with lots of food, balloons, and a fun flower cake. And, of course, she had her very own chocolate cake to eat and destroy. She enjoyed her cake so much that she required a bath and wardrobe change before she tackled her presents. Her awesome gifts included cute outfits, a puzzle, a fun activity piano (which she plays with constantly), a beautiful gold charm from Pappy, books, art supplies (we can't wait to make a mess together!), bath toys, and a huge ball pit from Chris and I. And, as always, Aunt Jen found an awesome gift that I didn't even know existed - a DVD MagIQ interactive friend. It is a DVD that interacts with the cutest and softest cow I have ever seen. It even comes with a travel CD so you can use it in the car during trips. Pretty cool!!! The ball pit was also a hit with Camryn, Connor, and Ella during the party. They had a blast playing in it in the backyard. (Camryn continues to enjoy it during nice days outside and even rainy days in the living room. I am guessing her favorite color is blue since she seems attracted to the dark blue balls!) After the party, Grandma and Grandpa Sheriff spent the weekend with us and Camryn really enjoyed her time with them. They got to see what a wonderful personality she has developed!! All in all, even though I am slightly depressed that my baby is already one, we had a great time for her birthday.

A New Idea

I have been trying to come up with a way to keep family and friends updated about Camryn's constantly changing life. It seems as if she is doing something new and different each and every day. This is our solution, so we will see how it goes. We hope to update often so all of you can read how Camryn is growing, changing, and learning. I will have to continue later, though, because Mountville is starting their fireworks soon and we can see them from our front yard.