Big girl!!!

Camryn is proving to be a very big girl. She has been almost completely potty trained here at home for a while now and only wears Pull-ups when she is sleeping. We have even ventured out in public with her wearing only her big girl panties (well, not ONLY her panties - you know what I mean). We were worried that her success wasn't going to transfer to daycare, so we have been sending Pull-ups with her. But, she has been a very big girl and has been going potty there since the first day. She would usually go in her Pull-up at least once each day, but we were still happy that she was going potty. This week, she had two successful days in a row where she stayed completely dry all day - even after nap. Like I said before, she has been doing this at home for a while, but we were so excited that she is doing it at school!! She proudly posed with her good report so mommy could share the good news (you just have to ignore the goldfish she still had her in mouth while posing).

While we are on the topic of Camryn being such a big girl, I would like to share an email that Chris sent to me this week at work:

"Camryn is a genius. We saw 5 buses this morning at varied intervals. After seeing the last one, I decided to ask her how many buses we saw to see how she would do. This was her response:

"1,2,3,4...saw 4 buses! (long pause) No, I saw 5 buses daddy!'

Such a smart girl!

Whirlwind

Things have been overly crazy for the past few weeks, so I have been kind of MIA. I could write a novel about all of it, but I choose not to because I am just too tired to. Let's see if I can summarize it in as few words as possible. First of all, we found out why Camryn was so tired at Hersheypark - it was the beginning of her being sick. Yes, I said sick. Needless to say, this frustrated me because she wasn't even back in school yet. I thought it might be allergies, but I have been told that allergies don't start this young. By that Friday, we were all tired of her runny nose and terrible coughing. Since we were going to the beach that Sunday, we took her to the doctor and she was put on antibiotics. The good news, though, is that her tubes did their job - no ear infection!!! Bad news is that I got whatever it was that she had. That weekend, Chris was in New York for a golf tournament while Gina and Paul came to visit. We had lots of fun shopping for a flower girl dress (she loved looking in the mirror and spinning in them). After a full day, we successfully found a dress for her - and she looks beautiful in it!! As soon as they left on Sunday, we were packed and ready to drive to the beach. We drove there in some terrible storms and prayed that it wasn't going to rain for the duration of our short vacation. We were hoping to go to the beach that day, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we hung out with Rebecca at her beach house. We did walk to the boardwalk for dinner, but it started to rain while we were there. It stopped, so we tried to hurry home before it started again. Good thing that Camryn isn't afraid of storms because we got caught in one. Thankfully, we found an awning to stand under. We thought it would pass over, but it just got worse - absolute downpour with the loudest thunder we have ever heard. Camryn thought the whole situation was silly and kept yelling, "KABOOM". When the sidewalk we were standing on started to flood (no kidding), the guys ran to get the car to pick us up. While getting Camryn in her carseat, I was standing in water up to my calves in the street. Fun. The next day was better and we were able to go to the beach. I could talk endlessly about how much Camryn LOVED the beach. She had so much fun in the sand and water. She kept saying, "I go to the beach!!!" It was very difficult to get her off of it!!! Unfortunately, Rebecca had to leave that day, so we moved on to an inn a few blocks away. This place was adorable - Camryn even had her own room that was connected to ours. We spent the night on the boardwalk and Camryn rode some rides. The next day, we drove up to Atlantic City to walk around and walk on the beach. Much to Camryn's dismay, we didn't allow her in the water that day because I didn't want her to be sandy for the ride home. We had a really great mini-vacation - I just wish I wasn't sick the entire time!!! As soon as we got home, we began planning for our next trip that weekend and getting the house ready for my parents. In the middle of that, Chris and I fit in an adult trip to Hersheypark on Thursday night while Aunt Jen hung out with Camryn - very fun! My parents got here on Friday and Chris and I were headed back to NJ for the weekend for Tom and Rachel's wedding. That was the longest that I have ever been away from Camryn - it was nice, but I missed her a lot! We both had a great time at the rehearsal dinner and wedding - it is great to be an adult every once in a while. We were both very thankful to my parents for coming down to stay with Camryn and Jordan for the weekend. I think it was a great weekend for all - my parents really enjoy time with her and Camryn absolutely loves them both. They stayed until Monday so we could spend time with them too. Then, the dreaded Tuesday was upon us. Camryn went back to daycare and we were back to work. How did the summer go so fast?!?!? Now that we have been back for 4 days, I am exhausted. But, Camryn is really enjoying her fun at school and talks to me the ENTIRE ride home each day about her friends and what she did that day. I truly think she was getting tired of hanging out with mommy and daddy so much!! We really did have an awesome summer, but all good things must come to an end. We just have to figure out how to be working parents again. Ugh!

PS Pictures from the beach will be posted soon...

Sweetest Place on Earth

We continued our tour of local attractions and amusement parks yesterday by going to Hersheypark. We went with a few friends of mine and Camryn had a friend to play with too. Camryn had fun playing in the Boardwalk, which is a huge water play area, until lunch time. After that, we got her dressed for some rides. She rode a bunch of new rides and was even able to ride some grown-up rides with us like the Scrambler and The Flying Falcon. She seemed very tired most of the day, but every time we asked her if she wanted to go home, she would quickly say, "No - ride rides!" It was a long day at the park and we were all exhausted when we got home, but it was worth it! As always, check out the pictures!! Chris and I plan on going back next week for a night of adult rides. I was able to ride the new roller coaster yesterday with my friend, Erin, but Chris didn't get the chance due to long lines. So, we are looking forward to a night to ride together!

Unfortunately, I return to work 2 weeks from today - ugh! But, we have a packed schedule until then with some summer fun. We still have a trip to the beach, a visit from Gina and Paul, and a weekend at a wedding in NJ. While Chris and I are at the wedding, my parents are coming to stay with Camryn, so I am sure she will have a blast with them. I am just amazed at the fact that the summer is almost over. But, we still have a few things to look forward to before it is back to work!!

Future American Idol

While Chris was golfing today, Camryn and I found a new fun activity. I discovered that she enjoys posing for the camera on our laptop and making her own music videos. She loved singing while watching herself on the computer screen. She is constantly singing around the house, but every time I get our video camera out to tape her, she stops. So, I was thankful for the chance to finally get her talents taped! Check out some of her wonderful music videos - enjoy!

More local fun

Lancaster has a lot of fun activities for kids and Camryn is finally at a good age to enjoy them. We took her to Hands-on House, which is a children's museum with a lot of interactive exhibits. She was very serious while she was there and you could tell that she was soaking it all in. She went from one exhibit to another and learned all she could. It was a little crazy for a while due to a bunch of kids on a field trip, but they didn't phase her at all. She was on a mission to have fun and learn! I just added some pictures of our fun on the website. Check them out!