The Justice Family

We've Moved!

2010-04-18T19:04:00.001-07:00

It's official...the new blog is up and running. From now on, please follow our family at www.justicefamilyblog.com. All old posts will remain on this site - there is a link on the new blog which will bring you back here if you like. See you there!!!

MIA

2010-04-08T08:45:00.001-07:00

So I've been missing in action for about a week and a half! What's my excuse this time? Well, let's see...first Campbell was a little sick with a slight fever. Then I started feeling a cold come on, but thought maybe it was just allergies since everything is blanketed in bright yellow pollen. I ended up at the doctor last week to find out that I had a double ear infection! What in the world?? Am I two years old?? Luckily my ears only hurt for a day or so and the antibiotics seem to have helped knock that right out. But I have had a terrible time trying to kick this cold. I haven't been able to taste food, AT ALL, for a good week. That is sheer torture for a pregnant lady who derives such pleasure from a yummy meal! Seriously, I've been depressed about my lack of taste and I just keep eating, hoping that maybe all I need is a burger, a candy bar, some chips....to get my taste back. :) We also had a great Easter weekend despite the stuffy noses, and this week Travis has been off work for a few days. He's been working tirelessly in the backyard and it's really shaping up so hopefully we can use it this spring and summer.

And on top of all those excuses...we've been looking into revamping our blog!! With my new computer, I apparently have so many more options of cool stuff to do. I've been having a terrible time getting pictures to post the way I want them to ever since we switched to a Mac. Which really doesn't make sense since Macs are designed for creative applications! So anyway, to make a long story less long, I think Travis found some solutions to make the blog much easier to use and it will probably look cooler too once I find some time to build the new blog! So I've been procrastinating putting up our Easter pictures because I just want to wait for the new format. Look forward to those, they are super cute!!

So that's that. I'm still here. New Baby Girl is doing great and I feel a few more teeny, tiny kicks each day. Campbell started running a fever last night out of the blue and was quite pitiful, so today we are laying low while Daddy finishes some work in the backyard. She is currently slurping down her second pickle (one of her favorite treats) so I hope that is a good sign that she's feeling better! Maybe if she cooperates with a good nap today or tomorrow, Travis can help me get this new blog up and running.

Surrounded by GIRLS!!!

2010-03-29T17:16:00.000-07:00

This morning we had our ultrasound and it's definitely a GIRL!!!! At least that's what the ultrasound technician told me, so she better be right! Let's take a quick inventory here - me, Campbell, New Baby Girl, Lexi and Harley - all girls. Travis - he'll be the one and only male around here - surrounded by girls!!!

The appointment was at 8 a.m. Travis followed me and Campbell there so he could leave straight from there to head to work. When we had the ultrasound to determine the gender with Campbell, we wanted to find out in a more special way than the technician just saying, 'it's a girl.' So we had her write it down, put it in a sealed envelope, and we waited until we sat down to dinner at Ruths Chris to open it. It was a really neat moment for us and we had a perfect date night that night. Well...this was lesson #537 in things are different with baby #2! We totally wanted to do something similar and make it special. But Travis had to leave straight from the appointment to head to an out of town client with a possibility of staying the night. Therefore the whole dinner thing wouldn't work. Not to mention we have a sweet one year old who wouldn't exactly be welcome tossing green beans at Ruths Chris. So...we had to opt for the less exciting reveal and just let the technician tell us!

Well, even that plan went a bit awry. Campbell and I both developed terrible headcolds over the weekend. We are both miserable! She woke up a complete mess this morning. We felt so sorry for her and had a hard time consoling her. Once at the doctor's office, things were better for a short time. Unfortunately, New Baby wasn't cooperating and was being lazy and napping. Therefore the ultrasound took a little while because I had to lay on my side and move around a lot to try and wake her up. In this time, Campbell turned on us, was screaming bloody murder, and really causing a scene. Poor Travis had to step out of the room with her and walk her down the hall because she was being so disruptive. Of course, that is when our New Baby Girl woke up and gracefully gave us a glimpse of...well, you know what. So I was alone in the room when she made the 'it's a girl' declaration. I must admit I was a bit sad that Travis wasn't there. He admitted later he was pretty disappointed to miss the announcement too. But in the big scheme of things, that was just one tiny little moment. We have a very healthy baby girl who is growing normally and looking great and we couldn't be happier with that news!!! She's also a sassy little thing. Right when Campbell threw her fit and had to be escorted out by Travis, New Baby Girl threw up her hand with her middle finger sticking straight up. The technician cracked up, snapped a quick picture of it for us, and told me she is certain that gesture was for big sister. I love it!

So let's talk about this girl thing. I AM SO EXCITED!!!! I really didn't care - boy or girl. Honestly, I wanted each for different reasons. But now that I know it's a girl, it just makes perfect sense and feels so right for our family. I am so looking forward to having two girls only 21 months apart in age. Of course I hope they are best friends but that will be up to them. It's going to be so easy to welcome a girl into our family because that's what Travis and I know. We have girl stuff and girl clothes and dolls and the like...so it really will be pretty easy to add another girl to the mix! I wanted a girl because I wanted Campbell to have the experience of having a sister. My sister and I are so close and I just feel like every girl deserves to have a sister, so I'm excited that little dream is coming true. So how does Travis feel? He really is excited too. Honestly. At least he says he is! I'm sure there is a part of him that wants a boy, I think all men do. That's a no-brainer. But he has said a million times how he adores having a daughter and would be completely happy to have nothing but girls. He is so good with Campbell, and seeing how he relates to her, it just makes sense that God would give us another girl to raise! The only thing that's stressing him out is he keeps thinking about paying for two weddings.

I'm feeling little tiny, faint baby movements these days. It's very sporadic and I have to really be sitting still and concentrating to feel it, but it's there and it's amazing. It makes me erase all those memories of throwing up and feeling like death just a couple of months ago. It is all worth it!!!!!!!!

Pancakes-2, Campbell-0

2010-03-28T06:34:00.000-07:00

If you've been around for a while, you know about Campbell's food allergies. You may even remember how on her first birthday, Travis and I took Campbell to IHOP for a special birthday treat of her first pancake and scrambled egg. Then you would of course remember how the poor birthday girl broke out in massive hives and we ended up racing to the doctor's office for bloodwork and massive doses of Benadryl to celebrate the big day!

That was our first run in with the pancake. This morning, we had our second. :( Allow me to set the scene for you. Travis is doing a triathlon as I type, his first of the season. His start time was 8:43 a.m. Campbell and I reluctantly decided not to go. The venue wasn't very kid-friendly (I could just see Campbell diving into the indoor pool), and the forecast was calling for temps in the 40's with rain and thunderstorms likely. So us girls stayed home. Me, being 17 weeks pregnant, and suffering from a headcold and a headache, and a little bit bummed to not be watching Travis, decided I would make us a special Sunday breakfast. I decided to make Campbell-friendly pancakes, with Bisquik, soymilk, and her special egg replacers (a powdery substance you mix with water to replace eggs in baking, designed for vegans or people with allergies). I threw in a little of Campbell's applesauce to moisten up the batter, fired up the griddle, and the end result was pretty normal-looking pancakes!

I gave Campbell a few small bites. She told me "mmmmm." So I tore up an entire pancake for her, and even dipped some of her bites into syrup (which had none of her allergens per the label). All was going well. I made myself a plate with 3 pancakes stacked up high once I finished cooking and was just sitting down next to Campbell to enjoy my breakfast when I saw it - her bottom lip was huge. OMG. Everything I've ever read about food allergies says not to worry until you have swelling of the face, lips, or tongue. I freaked. It was 8:39. Couldn't call Travis because he would be standing on the starting block, ready to dive into the pool in 4 minutes. Didn't know if I should stick her with the EpiPen and call 911 or not. I was so scared to make this call on my own! So I did what every grown woman would do...grabbed the children's benadryl and called my Mom. I'm also having the thought - great, I'm in my pj's, barefoot, pregnant, contacts aren't in yet, alone...and I'm going to have to ride in an ambulance like this. Call me vain, but yes, I thought of that.

Campbell's lip went down to normal in no time. Really, from the time I noticed it, it was only swollen for less than 30 seconds I'd say. Got some benadryl in her, ripped the pancakes off her tray, and let my Mom calm me down. We decided I needed to call the on-call nurse to make sure it was OK to quit worrying. The nurse walked me through a bunch a questions. I checked Campbell for hives (there were none), for a swollen tongue (nope), irritable or agitated (yes, but then again I'd just taken away her pancakes). The nurse was super sweet and we determined that Campbell had some reaction, but that she seemed to recover on her own and the benadryl in her system would help.

Who knows what happened? I feel kind of crazy, because her lip was DEFINITELY swollen, and then it was just fine again! My mom pointed out that maybe she bit it? Who knows??? It was swollen enough that I nearly dropped my plate of pancakes and ran for her bag with the benadryl and EpiPen in it. It was definitely scary. Campbell is now 0-2 versus the pancake. I guess she'll have to stick with bananas and dry wheat toast for breakfast from now on. So much for Mommy trying to make a Special Sunday Breakfast for the Girls! :( I'm not sure my heart can handle another incident with those darn pancakes!!! In the meantime, we'll wait patiently for the call from Travis from the finish line and I guess I'll have to fess up and tell him about the nonsense that went on around here this morning!!

Goodbye Normie

2010-03-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

Meet Norman. (This is a funny picture of him, exactly how I'd like to remember him). Tonight my family said goodbye to Norman, the dog we got when I was in high school. Of course my sister and I had to say our goodbyes from afar, in our hearts. My parents had to make the heartbreaking decision that it was Norman's time to go be in Doggie Heaven. Norman was sixteen years old with failing health and some major dementia. He's really gone downhill pretty fast, which I guess is a blessing since we know he wasn't suffering for long. We all talked about it and agreed with my parents that they would be honoring and respecting Norman by letting him go be at peace. My heart truly aches for my parents and what a hard day they've had. I also know tonight and the coming days will be tough as they see reminders of him all over their house and miss the sounds of doggie footsteps and a jingling collar.

I was with my parents when we went to the SPCA and picked out Norman. He was an absolutely adorable puppy who didn't bark for the first couple of weeks we had him. He was some sort of terrier mix we think - ended up at about 35 pounds, mostly black and white, some resemblance to a cross between a jack russell and a beagle or something like that...and he learned how to bark. The first weekend we had him, we struggled with a name. Someone came up with Norman, from the movie Psycho. He had done something mildly psycho like running around or acting crazy, so it seemed appropriate. Norman Bates Reid was his full name. He earned that name in the next few years! As a puppy, Norman was quite the psycho dog. He ate EVERYTHING, including the TV cable that he chewed in half, the vinyl flooring that he ripped to shreds, and even $60 cash of mine from a paycheck I'd just cashed! Despite the wildness, we loved Norman to pieces. He was never the most cuddly dog. Just a cool dude. Always full of energy and just happy to be a dog and do doggie things, like run laps through the house. All of my friends have always known Norman and loved him. I can't really describe what was so cool about him. Just trust me, if you had known him, you would've called him cool too. Everybody loved Norm and Norm loved everybody!

Over the years, Norman has starred in the Roanoke Valley SPCA's calendar quite a few times since my Dad sat on the board there. He was quite the handsome fellow and Norman never forgot where he came from, and was happy to support the cause. In the 2010 calendar, my parents put in a picture of Campbell and Norman together. So that picture will be really special to look back on.

I know Norman is happy now, tail wagging, hiding a massive bone behind a huge cloud in heaven. He will be greatly missed but he will always live in our hearts. Goodbye Norman!!

Eavesdropping

2010-03-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is to eavesdrop. On Travis and Campbell. Most nights, it's Travis' job to put Campbell to bed. If he is at work too late, or if she is pitching a Mommy-fit (which she does on rare occasions), I will. But otherwise, that is special time with Daddy and daughter. I am usually downstairs trying to find a place for all our dirty dinner dishes, or maybe in our room changing into comfy clothes. Either place, there is a monitor and I hear it all go down. And let me tell you, sweetest sound in the universe.

Just recently we started changing the routine a bit so that Campbell has her sippy cup of milk (soymilk of course) before bedtime. I've also started bathing her after dinner most nights. I find that she is much more cooperative in the bathtub if I don't wait until she's overtired to do it. And then her hair has time to dry and she can unwind for a little while in her pj's before Daddy gets home from work. So when bedtime finally rolls around about 7:30ish, it's just time for books and cuddling.

Campbell goes through phases with different books she's obsessed with. These days, it's "Pat the Bunny." (NOT a favorite for Travis and I, but we let her pick!) Any given night, I hear Travis read it at least 3 times in a row because it's so short. She'd rather hear it over and over again than switch to a new book. Hopefully next week it'll be something different! Then I hear a bunch of rustling around on the monitor. He tells me this is usually the point when she insists on getting down, takes a few laps around her room looking for something fun to do. Finding nothing, she always returns to Daddy's lap and that's when she snuggles up. I hear his gentle voice tell her it's time to get in her bed and go night-night, and that he loves her and will see her in the morning. I tell you, it gets me every time!!! It gives me the sweetest mental picture to know he's tucking her into bed. I just love eavesdropping on them.

Just for the record...she is usually great at bedtime. But she isn't without fault. So yes, some nights he does all the same things, and I hear wailing in her room because she just isn't ready to call it a night yet. But for the most part, bedtime is pretty easy these days and a time I just love to listen to Travis and Campbell together.

One final note - a week from today is our ultrasound where we hope to find out whether Campbell is getting a sister or a brother!!!

Fifteen Months and Fifteen Weeks!!

2010-03-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Campbell was fifteen months old on Thursday! Yes, I'm getting pretty slack about posting her monthly updates. Can you tell I have my hands full with a very active toddler and another baby in the works?? (Can you also tell I'm still learning on my new Mac? Travis figured out how to drag and move pictures, but I can't get it to work and I'm tired of fooling with it. So enjoy the few pictures above, and a few more down below). :)

This month, Campbell has been brightening our days just being herself. A happy little girl who

loves to dance, run, giggle, clap, climb and play. She signs 'more' and 'please' very appropriately now. She is trying to say new words everyday. She still requires a translator, really only Travis and I understand most of them. But she's getting very good at imitating speech and each try is a little closer to the real word! I think she's going to be a talker like her Mama, watch out world! The newest thing this month is the climbing. One day I walked in the living room and found her sitting on the couch. Um, OK, didn't know you could get up there! I wouldn't mind, if she understood the concept of edges. She does not! So it's been a bit treacherous as she is constantly scaling the furniture and dangling from whatever she can swing her leg over! I really think she's going to be athletic! Campbell is crazy about throwing a ball, that is probably her favorite thing to do right now. She also likes to sit on the low window sill in our breakfast nook and look out the back window which is just too cute for words. She absolutely hates riding in a stroller these days. Running errands is becoming increasingly difficult for me as my little angel does NOT want to be strapped into anything, yet can't be trusted on her own because she runs around like a crazy person. We've got to work on this whole stroller thing before September rolls around!!!! Yesterday morning we took her to the indoor pool at the gym. It was her first water experience since last summer. She fussed a little here and there, but overall was the same little fishy from last summer. Travis put her face all the way underwater three different times! She didn't choke, didn't cry, and came up frantically signing 'more'!!! Apparently she loves the water just like her Daddy and I do.

Campbell gives hugs on command, and blows kisses too (sort of, she kind of sucks on her palm but never lets go of the kiss). She is sweet and funny and even a little devious at times. It's really fun to watch her explore and climb and get into things, we just hope it doesn't land us in the emergency room anytime soon!! :) (I just knocked on wood).

Now onto the fifteen weeks part, happy fifteen weeks to New Baby! :) I am now fifteen weeks pregnant and cruising along happily in my second trimester. I hate to say it outloud (knocking on wood again), but I think the morning sickness is finally gone. The last couple weeks have been significantly easier on me. I still feel a little run down at times. But hey, why should I blame that on the New Baby? It's Campbell who makes me run around all the time! The New Baby is about the size of an apple now. I appear to be about six months pregnant, no lie. Just like last time, my stomach popped out into a baby bump pretty much the day we got two lines on the stick. Now that I'm feeling better, I'm enjoying being pregnant again and ready to start planning! I MIGHT have felt a few tiny baby kicks last night, and I'm so very anxious to feel the baby again. I adore that part of being pregnant. My latest obsession is bedding. The nursery willremain the nursery, and just be modified if we are having a boy. Campbell will move down the hall to a big girl room, so that is what I spend my time googling. I'm craving a ton of fresh fruit, which is great, but quite random for me. I was mildly allergic to fresh fruit most of my life, so have never really eaten a lot of it. Now I want to dive headfirst into a huge fruit salad. I also crave salads and other fresh, cold things. Weird...am I having a child who likes to eat healthy?? Whose baby is this, anyway??? That is not to say I don't have a Bojangle's chicken biscuit every now and then, and a little ice cream to wash down all that fruit... All is well and if I ever feel cute enough, I'll make Travis take a picture of me so I can show off the new bump. Two weeks from today we have our Level II ultrasound to determine whether we are having a girl or a boy! Can't wait!!

Enjoy just a few more pictures of Campbell from the recent weeks.

Happy Fifteen Months, Campbell!!

A Big Whole Much Prayers for Nanny

2010-03-10T13:39:00.000-08:00

My niece Taylor uses the cutest phrase, "a big whole much." It is obviously used to describe anything you want a lot of. That's why it's so appropriate here, because I really want a lot of prayers for Nanny. A big whole much, to be exact.

Nanny is Travis' grandmother and a very important part of our lives. Travis has always been extremely close to Nanny. Growing up, she was ever-present and a huge influence on Travis and his brothers. In his adult life, Travis' relationship with his grandmother did not weaken. He talks to Nanny on his drive home from work every night. There's probably not a lot to talk about each day - the weather, something funny Campbell did, any upcoming plans - but still...they talk. They have a very special relationship. I too have become close to Nanny over the years, and now Campbell is too! Without going on and on any more, just trust me, she's part of the glue that holds our family together.

A few weeks ago, we found out that Nanny has bone cancer. Five years ago, she underwent chemo for breast cancer and has been doing well ever since. Over the last few months, she's had a nagging backache which turned into severe back pain. Apparently the doctors don't think the two cancers are related. In other words, bone cancer usually starts somewhere else and spreads to the bones. They haven't yet determined where this cancer started. The worst part of this terrible news is the amount of pain Nanny's in. She is in a tremendous amount of pain, and painkillers are not able to make her more comfortable. She is in week two of a two-week radiation treatment for her tumors. They continue to run all sorts of tests, scans, MRI's, etc. to learn more about her cancer and how to best treat her. Our prayer is simple - we just don't want her to be in this pain!! Of course part two is that we want her body to heal and strengthen and recover. But first and foremost, we just can't stand to see her hurt like this. She is such a strong woman and never quick to complain. If she says it hurts, boy, it really hurts.

We are trying to get to Marion often to spend time with her and to let Campbell brighten her day by saying her name, blowing her kisses and showing off her dancing skills. It may not cure the cancer, but it sure is good medicine! I'll update the blog with her progress as we learn more, but for now, we just really appreciate your big whole much prayers.

Meeting Baby Leif

2010-03-02T17:34:00.000-08:00

Last week, Campbell and I journeyed to Virginia to meet my nephew, Baby Leif. (I will explain below why all these pictures are in no order and not moved to the bottom like I usually do). I took Campbell to the pediatrician on Monday and got a pretty clean bill of health. She just had a minor cold and my sister and brother-in-law told me to 'bring it'! Tuesday we drove to Roanoke and spent the night with my parents, giving Campbell another day to shake the cold before meeting the baby. Wednesday we headed up to Northern Virginia. Somehow I survived all these roadtrips, each leg being about 3-4 hours, with Campbell by myself. She did amazing in the car and I was so proud of her.

My sister and I thought Campbell would not even notice Baby Leif. Wrong! She was OBSESSED with him. She was constantly saying 'baby, baby' and would light up every time he made a noise or moved. We often caught her perched on the edge of his pack-n-play, trying to climb the side to see in and look for the baby. Knowing there's going to be a baby at our house this fall, it was interesting to see that she was already so into babies!

It was kind of a crash course for me in dealing with more than one child. I tried on several occasions to manage all three - Taylor, age 3, Campbell, age 14 months, and Baby Leif, age 2.5 weeks. It was far from easy, but not impossible. Campbell was definitely the most difficult of the three. Baby Leif just lays there and looks cute, and Taylor is old enough to follow directions and listen. And then there's Campbell - who just walks around and destroys things! :) Snuggling with Baby Leif was heavenly! You forget how tiny they are, you really do. Just to have a tiny baby laying on my chest, asleep most of the time, inching up higher and higher until his little warm head rested under my chin...ah...perfection!

Taylor and Campbell played REALLY well together. I was super impressed with Taylor. She not only has a new baby brother getting a lot of her parents' attention, but she then had to share all her toys with Campbell. She liked helping me "babysit." One of my favorite quotes of the week came when I asked Taylor to watch Campbell for a minute. They have bookshelves with a sharp corner and I was very paranoid Campbell would fall into the corner. I guess Campbell approached the shelves because I heard Taylor say, "Campbell...that's not a good idea! You are going to bust your head, get a bleed, and then you won't have a brain!" Well said, Taylor! Another favorite memory came one morning when Campbell had woken up early so I brought her into my bed. We were both dozing again when I heard the door to my room open. I kept my eyes closed pretending to be asleep so Taylor would maybe sneak back out and let us sleep some more. Wrong. First she started opening and closing the door, a little louder each time. Then she got on Campbell's side of the bed and started whispering, "Campbell, Campbell!" I was trying so hard not to laugh. I can see these two cousins getting into trouble together later on, and thought it was so cute that Taylor came to get Campbell up. I put Taylor to bed each night I was there and completely choked when it came time to say prayers. I thought, I can handle this, I pray. What I wasn't prepared for were the questions about who is God?!??!?!? Based on my terrible answers, Taylor probably thinks God is some man who lives in her room and "will never leave her." hahahaha I need to read up on teaching my own kids about God!! I realize Baby Leif isn't getting much airtime here, but it's a lot easier to tell stories about the ones who can talk! I truly enjoyed my time with both of them, and of course loved the time with my sister and Big Leif too.

We had a fantastic trip, complete with some great quality time with my parents in Roanoke. Campbell LOVED both of my parents, and was especially clingy with GrandDad. I was pleased she remembered them and was so fun at their house so they got to see my crazy baby!

We were so ready to get home, we drove 130 mph the whole way. No joke. Sort of. Leaving Northern Virginia, I looked down to see my speedometer say 130 mph. What? Traffic was flying past me, and I thought, man they really do drive fast up north! Then I stopped at a stoplight and it said 60 mph at a dead stop. Great, a broken speedometer! Thankfully, I have a GPS that I could use as my speedometer, but it sure is weird to look down when you're cruising through a residential area and it tells you that you are driving 90mph! The problem seems to be correcting itself, each day it gets a little closer to being accurate. This morning it was down to 2 mph when I was stopped, so maybe I won't have to pay to get it fixed?

Campbell and I were pumped to see Travis because we REALLY missed him. Little did I know he had a surprise waiting for me! He got me a new computer! This post is coming to you from my new MacBook Pro, which is why my pictures are at the top and unorganized. :) There is a bit of a learning curve when switching to a Mac, but I'm learning and will hopefully get better soon. I am so in love with this computer! Not only does it have a "k" key, but it does so many cool things with pictures and video. Travis wrote me a really sweet letter about why he got it for me. Let's just say I was reduced to a crying mess from all the sweet things he said. This blog may get fancier now that I have the capability to do so! I just have to make sure Campbell doesn't get a hold of this keyboard. Thanks, Travis, I really, really love my new toy. And the amazing man who bought it for me.

Justice, Party of...FOUR

2010-03-01T04:56:00.001-08:00

It's time to make the official announcement! Sometime around September 5th, we will be growing from a party of three to a party of four! In case you didn't get that, yes, I am pregnant and we are expecting Baby #2. I will go ahead and answer the question that seems to be on most people's minds when we share the news. Yes, it was on purpose! Travis and I have always said we wanted our kids to be close together in age. There are many reasons for this. He grew up being only 15 months younger than his brother Alex. They were, and still are, the best of friends and I think he recognizes the special bond between siblings so close in age. Travis and I aren't old - but we aren't in our twenties anymore either. Considering we aren't sure how large of a family we want to have, we decided we wanted to go ahead and grow to a family of four and go from there! We were very blessed to find out on December 23rd that we were in fact expecting this New Baby!

We have been calling he/she just New Baby. Real creative, huh? We called Campbell "Baby J" until we met her. I kinda thought we'd call this baby the same thing, but it hasn't stuck! It's like Baby J was Campbell's name, so we needed a new nickname for this kiddo. New Baby is all that we came up with!

I am now 13 weeks along, happy to be finishing up the last week of my first trimester. I have been much sicker this go round, which is quite challenging when you are home with a 14 month old! Campbell has spent many mornings leaning over the toilet with me. It has also been very challenging NOT to blog about this! I am not the best secret keeper in the world. And this is BIG news! I have been sick and tired, literally, and wanted so badly to complain to all my blog readers. :) I also wanted to share when I went grocery shopping in a snowstorm and came home with $165 worth of groceries, consisting mostly of things like guacamole and Cocoa Pebbles.

Campbell and her new little brother or sister will be about 21 months apart. We will have 'two under two' for a short time. I am very excited to have a fall baby. The summer may be a bit miserable being so big when it's so hot outside. But it will be worth it to have a newborn in a mild season. It was no fun being trapped inside during the cold winter months when Campbell was itty bitty. Hoping that this fall, we'll be able to take walks or at least sit outside a little when New Baby joins us.

Last Monday was our first ultrasound and our first opportunity to hear the heartbeat. I was so nervous, going 12 weeks without any confirmation that my belly was in fact growing because of a baby, and not just because of the guacamole and Cocoa Pebbles! Travis and Campbell came to the appointment and we were all thrilled and amazed to see a perfect, tiny baby moving around. There was a perfect heartbeat at 162 beats per minute. We were shocked at the 4d pictures of the baby - even at 12 weeks, the features were so clear and we could see our sweet baby.

Life is going to be wild and crazy and wonderful at our house and Travis and I could not be more excited to become parents of two. Thanks for sharing in our excitement!

I spent last week in Virginia with my family so there will be a big post to come with many pictures of my new nephew and our trip!

Freedom!

2010-02-21T17:13:00.000-08:00

Last night, Travis and I did something we never do! We went out without Campbell! The night was made possible by Travis' parents. We took Campbell to Marion to spend the night with her Gangy, PawPaw Butch and Nanny for the first time. Then we headed uptown for a night out with friends to celebrate Holly's 30th birthday! Campbell did amazingly well. She didn't even cry when we left - just a little whimper as we waved goodbye and that was it. They said she never fussed, didn't get into anything, and just played sweetly all evening. She went to bed right at her bedtime without a struggle, and they had to WAKE her up a little after 7. WHAT? Lately, we've been doing everything in our power to get her to stay in her bed past 6. I guess grandparents have the magic touch! We had a great time getting out, having a nice grown up dinner in a restaurant that likely doesn't even have high chairs. We left our table without a collage of green beans, bread and cheerios strewn about the floor below us. It was really, really nice. Then we stuck around for a while and hung out, but by 11:30 we were feeling our age and decided to call it a night. Coming home to a house without a baby was weird! Without the monitors on, our bedroom was completely silent. There was no need to go check on her in the night, and we woke up from the sunlight in our room, not her little cries! I must admit that I was awake at 6, laying in bed counting the minutes until we could go get her. I tried my best to take advantage of our ONE morning to sleep in, but I didn't do a very good job. I missed my little alarm clock! There's just something about waking up to that little voice saying "mama" that makes me not care that it's so early. Our reunion with her today was super sweet and she went nuts for Travis. I barely got any attention for the first five minutes because she had her face buried on his shoulder in a huge hug. I waited my turn and got plenty of snuggling in shortly thereafter. We took Nanny out to lunch for her birthday, and then headed home to enjoy a long walk outside on the first warm and sunny day we've had in ages! It was a great weekend, and a nice treat for all of us to switch it up and have a little freedom.

We weren't the only ones to experience freedom this weekend. This afternoon, I let Harley out of the garage for about a half hour and let her explore the backyard! She's been living in the garage for about a month now since we were having so many issues with her inside. She has seemed complete content out there which has definitely made it easier on me and my conscience. After she got used to living out there, I wanted to introduce her to the outdoors. She just turned 9 years old in January, and I adopted Harley when she was only 5 weeks old. She has lived strictly indoors that entire time, only setting foot outside the one or two times she escaped onto the back porch. She was definitely hesitant at first, not so sure about the grass. But she eventually got up the courage to walk the perimeter of our fence and check it all out. The fence runs along the ground and is six feet high, so it should, in theory, keep her in the backyard. After about 30 minutes, she was hanging out on the back porch by the back door which made me sad. So we took her back to the garage and fed her which always improves her mood. Eventually we hope to be able to open the window in the garage, and let that serve as her kitty door so she can come and go as she pleases. Also, she could escape to the garage when we let Lexi out back, and obviously Lexi can't jump in the window. I hope that Harley learns to like it outside, enjoys time to explore nature, and will enjoy some spring days with the sun beating on her back. I want the best for her. I know we made the right decision moving her to the garage because she was destroying our things and making it unsafe and unclean in our house. But that doesn't mean I don't love her and want to find a way for us all to live in harmony! I hope we are on the way to that solution.

The plan for tomorrow is for Campbell and I to head to Roanoke for a night before making the trek up to Northern Virginia to meet Baby Leif and spend some time with his family!! The only problem is Campbell doesn't seem to be 100% well. She's acting just fine, but has had some tummy issues for a few days now, flushed cheeks that won't go away, and now a bit of a runny nose. I'm going to take her to the pediatrician tomorrow and hope for a clean bill of health so we can go to Virginia as planned! I really don't want to postpone going to see my family any more, so let's hope all these little symptoms are nothing and the doc says she's free to go meet her new cousin!!! If so, we'll be up there all week and I'll try to capture a lot of our time on film so I can share it here when we return. Wish me luck in the car alone with Campbell for all those roadtrips!!

2010-02-14T11:53:00.000-08:00

Campell is fourteen months old!! She has been since Friday, but Mommy is a little behind on this post. I always start these updates about Campbell with then intention of being brief, and then by the time I've written out all her new tricks, I am halfway through writing my first novel! I'll attempt once more to be brief, but you know me well enough by now to know that won't happen...

Chatty Chatterson...that's Campbell! She is talking up a storm. I wonder where she gets it from?? :) Only Travis and I really speak her language. She has words that she definitely uses in the right context and says them the same everytime. But it will take a while for the general public to understand these words. The current list includes Mama, Daddy (those two are spot on, said perfectly every time!), Baby, snack, turkey, chicken, cracker, juice, toast, bye bye, paci, moo, Nanny, Lexi, kit kat (for Harley), Elmo (pronounced Elbow), belly button, all done. She understands so much more than she says! I can tell her to go upstairs, and she runs to the foot of the stairs and waits at the gate. I can tell her to go look out the window and she runs to the front hall and pulls back the blinds to look for Daddy. She definitely knows what a diaper change is because now she runs like the wind in the opposite direction! In addition to speaking, she signs 'more' and 'please' like it's her job. The please one is new, and so adorable. You're supposed to rub your palm on your chest in a circle. Half the time, Campbell's 'please' is a very frantic belly rub. She is so polite, signing please ALL the time. Not quite sure she totally gets the concept, but she is catching on that in order to get us to do something for her, she needs to sign it first. Sometimes she uses more and please interchangeably, but I guess they are sort of similar concepts, one is just more demanding than the other.

Notice I just said she runs. Yes, she runs. Her fast walk has become a nicely paced jog. It still often ends in a crash and maybe a new bruise, but nothing slows her down! In the mornings, Campbell is stuck to her Daddy like white on rice. While he's getting ready for work, she won't leave his side. He is usually juggling Campbell while he tries to shave, brush his teeth, put on his tie. She knows that he's leaving I guess, and she won't even come to me. I have to pry her out of his arms so he can leave for work and she sadly waves to him as he goes down the sidewalk each morning. It is pretty cute, though.

Campbell is still a dancing fool, starting to bounce everytime she hears some music. Her favorite toys this month are probably her Baby and her ball. She carries her baby doll all over the place, puts her in the stroller, puts her in the chair and sits on top of her, and asks us to 'please' put her hat on Baby quite often. The ball is new and she LOVES playing ball with Daddy. Books are still of course a favorite and she's becoming a little more interested in slightly longer stories. We're still not ready for paragraphs yet, but she can sit still through a sentence or two per page and is completely engrossed in the story. Her other favorite pastime is playing with Lexi's dog bowls which I'm not a fan of. Luckily Lexi eats all her food at one sitting, so there is only some occasional water to splash in. We weren't so fortunate at a playgroup one Friday when we caught Campbell and her friend at the dog's bowls, with handfuls and cheekfuls of dog food. HAHAHA Oops. Bad Mommy. In addition to dog food...Campbell enjoys singing songs and playing games like pattycake and other little rhymes. This is starting to sound like a singles ad...long walks on the beach, candlelit dinners, I should move on.

This month Campbell has been super busy with playgroups, storytimes, going to church on Thursdays and Sundays, and spending a LOT of rainy and snowy days trapped inside with me. Cabin fever has been in full effect around here for both of us! We did get to go to a nature museum with our playgroup, something I thought would be totally over her head. Not at all! Don't get me wrong, she wasn't studying the exhibits or anything, but had an absolute blast running around. The nature museum was totally geared towards little ones and she had tons of things to touch, water to splash in (the biggest hit of all), and things to climb on. Travis and I took her to the community arts center before Valentine's Day to make Valentines for the family. She was most interested in the water bucket used for clean up, but we managed to get some handprints made and glued them on hearts to send out.

And last but far from least, she got a new baby cousin this month who she'll get to meet next week when she and I go to Virginia to meet Baby Leif! It's been a fun, full month and she is still growing up at the speed of light.

Below are some favorites of the past couple of weeks, showing Campbell and all her favorite things. Somehow I caught her in a few posed pictures, a rarity these days! These first two are of her playing with her Valentine's card from her grandparents that makes jungle noises. She thought it was hysterical!!

Look how TALL she is!!

Giving Baby a "kiss." This picture won't rotate for some reason, but I still had to share the kiss.

Happy Valentine's Day 2010!!!

Baby Leif

2010-02-09T10:32:00.000-08:00

On Friday, February 5, 2010 at 2:09pm, my nephew Leif Egon Hansen III made his grand entrance into this world! My sister and brother-in law, Leif, have been through so much over the years when it comes to having babies. Now they are the proud parents of not one, but two, perfect little sweeties. Baby Leif, as we've been calling him, weighed a hefty 8 lbs 4 oz and was 21. 25 inches long. I think he knew he'd have to be big and tough to be able to keep up with his big sister, Taylor! My sister was a trooper throughout the whole process. She didn't have the easiest of pregnancies, not to mention all the drama associated with getting pregnant in the first place! Then when the time finally came for him to arrive, her first epidural didn't work. WHAT? Didn't work??? Are you kidding me??? That just seems so cruel! So poor thing had to have a second epidural!!! Luckily it worked and helped her out a little in the process. He was born during the biggest snowstorm in the history of Northern Virginia. They got about 33 inches of snow over the weekend! Their kind neighbors shoveled the driveway so they could bring him home Sunday night. There's nothing in the world like good neighbors, is there? He was greeted by my mom and his proud big sister who continues to proclaim just how happy she is. Adorable!! They are settling in and attempting to teach the little guy the difference between day and night. I think he's got a lot to learn still in that department, but he'll get there. They are still trying to decide if they will call him Leif (for those of you that don't know my family, that is pronounced like the word "life" - it's Danish) or some other nickname. The other one on the table right now is LT, short for Leif the Third. Call him whatever you want, I call him adorable, sweet, precious, perfect...and my nephew. And I love him! Counting the days until I get to go meet him in a couple of weeks. Welcome to the family, Baby Leif!!!!!!!!!

K-tastrophe

2010-02-04T13:11:00.000-08:00

First, let me say that I hope you truly appreciate all the k's in this post. Why, you ask? I'm not sure who is responsible this time, Lexi or Campbell. But someone has taken the k off of my keyboard. It is currently resting on the spot where the k belongs, and if I very deliberately push on it, I can get it to work. Campbell has previously picked off the F8 and one of the shift keys. I don't even know what F8 does, so I haven't missed it. The shift is kinda like the k key at this point - it works if you really push it. I left my computer on the couch, I think out of Campbell's reach. I was dumb enough to leave it right where Lexi launches off when she's making a mad dash for the front of the house to scare off a UPS truck or school bus. I found j and k laying on the couch. J was an easy fix, k continues to be a work in process. So far it's working, I just hope you appreciate all the time and effort that has gone into each k in this paragraph!! As I typed this, Campbell approached and popped the b off with little effort. I think we have identified our culprit...

On to more exciting things. You may have noticed the decline in pictures recently. No, they didn't rip the lens off the camera (not yet at least). The issue is me! I used to hear parents say that it was hard to take pictures of a toddler because they were too fast. I thought that was an excuse lazy picture takers used. Nope, it's legit. Either my camera got slower, or Campbell got faster. I think it's the latter. I keep capturing the back of her head, or that moment right after she was doing something cute! I'm telling you, it was a LOT easier to stage photo shoots with a baby who wasn't mobile! I know, we need a new computer and a new camera, but neither is happening anytime soon. I did get a few pictures of some funny stuff over the past couple of weeks which I'll post below.

I also want to share another little milestone. Campbell is now signing 'more'!!!! We have been signing 'all done' and 'more' since she was about six months old. For about a month or two, Campbell has been signing her version of all done, and has now progressed to saying it. She only says it when prompted, like if we ask her is she's all done. Believe you me, she'll let you know if she's not! But last week, we were floored when Travis gave her a bite of his banana, and completely umprompted by us, she looked up at him and signed more. We both had the same reaction - oh my gosh, get the child a banana quick! We need to reward her for asking for it! After a few days, she's gotten a little confused and now signs more quite often. I think for Campbell, it means "give me some food." We've noticed she does it when she's hungry or frustrated. So cool to watch her try to communicate with us! She definitely uses it appropriately as well, and will ask for more when she's in her high chair and runs out of food. The people keeping the nursery at church got a laugh out of her frantically signing more when her Cheerios were all gone. That's my girl!! I'm trying to use 'more' when we're singing a song or playing a little game that she likes. Like, do you want to sing some more? I think she's catching on that you can have 'more' of things other than just food!

Enjoy the pictures below that I've been able to catch in the last few weeks. I'll keep trying, but get used to seeing the back of her head until she is old enough to learn how to pose!!

She's learning to follow simple directions like, put your blocks in the box! She LOVES to drop them in and make a loud sound.

Campbell LOVES to wear Daddy's hats.

There's something about my little girl in her Daddy's hat that melts me everytime!

Background for this next pic: Lexi was in a "time out" on her doggie bed for following Campbell around and stealing her snack. So what does Campbell do? Plop right down on the doggie bed with Lexi to have her snack. Lexi was upset about being sent to her bed, so she didn't even try to eat a Cheerio from this point forward. Campbell was happy as could be sitting with her pal Lexi for snacktime.

Keep in mind, this is the child who is supposedly very allergic to dogs. Riiiiiiight...

Crazy Baby before bedtime!

Red 80, Red 80!

2010-02-02T12:43:00.000-08:00

This post is dedicated to Travis. In fact, he begged me to write about this. So here's the story. Last Sunday, he was upstairs putting Campbell to bed and I was watching the ProBowl. I know that makes me sound like quite a cool chick. Truth is, it was 15 minutes before the Grammy's started and so I was just killing time. Anyway, I am watching this play when the AFC team is on offense. The AFC team is in red. Their quarterback, Matt Schaub, gets down and yells "Red 80, Red 80!" just before the ball is hiked. Then he drops back (did I say that right?) and throws a beautiful pass to the guy wearing #80 (in red of course) and they score! I'm like...you've got to be kidding me. He called out the number of the guy he was going to throw it to? Shoot, I'd like to play defense against Matt Schaub. He went to UVA, my school's rival, so I figured he just wasn't that bright. ;)

Travis comes downstairs and I tell him what happened. I'm thinking, maybe because it's a ProBowl, they haven't really practiced much with their teammates or maybe they don't have a lot of fancy plays. But man, that seems pretty dumb to yell out the play for all to hear! Travis died - I mean he died. He thought that was the cutest statement I'd ever made. Can someone please back me up here?? I mean, he said Red 80!! And he threw it to Red 80! Was my observation really that airheaded? Apparently he yells Red 80 before every play, which I saw in the next series (just before I switched it over to the Grammy's). I thought I was just making a good observation. Travis thought it was the biggest "girl" football comment ever. He said he couldn't wait to wake up and go to work on Monday morning so he could tell his coworkers all about it. Well there you go honey, here is your funny story, forever to be remembered now that it rests on our family blog. :)

Pause Button

2010-01-28T16:32:00.000-08:00

Can someone please tell me where the pause button is? On our life right now. I just want to hit pause so I can really soak it in and make sure I enjoy every millisecond. I was just rocking Campbell in her chair for a few minutes before putting her to bed. Travis usually does this, but he had to work late tonight so we had a few quiet minutes to cuddle before bedtime. Lately she's so independent and such a "big girl" that it's quite nice when she's sleepy and wants to lay on me. I was just having a moment, thinking about this stage in her life, and in our lives.

What an amazing time for Campbell right now, and in turn for us. She is turning into a little person. Everyday I get a little more insight into her personality, who she is, what she likes, what makes her tick. It is truly fascinating to watch a person develop. She's learning so much, so fast. I feel like each day Travis comes home from work, I have an "oh yeah, you're never going to believe what she did today" story. And each day, he's so impressed because it's always something we had no idea she could do! These are just the little things I'm talking about. But my oh my, how sweet those little things are.

I have a collection of mental images in my head of the place where we are right now and of our little baby girl. I am trying to get those images burned in my head because they are so precious. Like when we strip her down for a bath, and send her down the hall in front of us to the bathtub. She is waddling down the hall with her bow-legged chubby little baby legs and a tiny baby hiney, just as happy as can be. And it never fails, she always pees on the bathroom floor when we start up the water. Ha! Or her new found love for dancing. She bounces when there is music on TV, when I sing, when we just tell her to dance. She's a dancing fool and takes so much delight in being able to move to the beat in her head (which is not always quite in synch with the beat of the music, but she's getting there!). Or how about how she moo's? All of a sudden I realized this noise she was making was her "moo." I'd been trying to teach her to moo like a cow. Everytime she sees a picture of a cow in a book or we say cow, she makes a noise much closer to that of an elephant. I love her moo, and I especially love how proud she is of herself when she sees a picture of a cow and makes the sound. The recognition in her eyes and the smile on her face is just plain adorable. And last, when we are coming home from being out and about, I'm holding Campbell while I unlock the front door. Every single time my key turns in the lock, she laughs like someone has just told her the funniest joke in the world. How great is it that coming home and the anticipation of opening our front door makes her so happy? I always end up laughing right along with her, it's contagious.

I guess my point is I want to pause and enjoy these tiny little parts of our big long lives so I don't ever forget them. I don't want to rewind, I don't want to fast forward, I just want to sit right where we are and enjoy the moment.

Cookie Monster

2010-01-24T04:34:00.000-08:00

So you think Campbell's our Cookie Monster? Wrong. Campbell is our Cracker Monster.

THIS is our Cookie Monster.

Lexi. This past Wednesday, I was running around with a ton to do. Travis' Mom was coming Wednesday night to watch Campbell while we went to the Bobcats game. I had errands to run, cleaning to do, and still needed to grab a shower. Lexi polished off an entire package of Chips Ahoy cookies, as well as part of a package of uncooked rice and the dried flavor mix. You'd think I'd panic right? Nope! The weekend of my baby shower, Lexi ate an entire batch of chocolate chip cookies and an entire batch of brownies. Whoever said chocolate is really bad for dogs hasn't met Lexi. She never even got sick or had an upset stomach! And the rice...well that was old news too. A few weeks ago, we pulled up in front of the house from church and heard Lexi inside howling. We had no idea what was wrong with her. We ran inside to find her frantically pacing by the back door. The reason? She gotten into a rice mix - only this time she'd eaten the whole package...including the zesty spicy sauce mix. Ouch. She went out quite a bit that day, but was fine. We didn't think much of it.

But the other day when she ate the cookies and the rice, I called the vet. They kind of freaked out. Not about the cookies, but about the rice! Apparently their concern was that the uncooked rice would expand in her stomach and potentially explode. Yikes. So they insisted I bring her in to induce vomiting. Not exactly how I planned to spend my morning!!! Lexi is fine. We are trying to be much more vigilant now about keeping food off the counter since she can obviously reach it.

In other pet news, we are sad to report that we've been having some major issues with Harley. We have been treating her for some urinary tract problems for well over a year. The medical issues will seem to be fixed, but yet she continues to pee outside her litter box. The vet says that now it's not even clear whether the problem is medical, behavioral, or a combination of the two. The problem is getting out of hand, and it's really affecting our quality of life. The "cat pee hit the fan" a couple of weeks ago when Harley peed on some of Campbell's things. It's not safe and it's not acceptable and we have been talking to our vet about what to do. Yesterday, we moved Harley outside to her new retirement condo - our garage. Our garage is detached and we weren't currently parking in it because we'd been working out in there. So we decided as a temporary solution, we'd see how she did outside. We have a nice radiator-style heater that has a thermostat, so we turned on the heat, put a radio out there for her, and took all her cushy beds, blankets and towels out to the garage. She did really well yesterday, and even stayed in the garage overnight. The vet suggested she may even like it out there better. She was obviously miserable in here and acting out, so maybe a change of scenery will be appreciated. We had planned to do the move gradually, but decided it might be even more traumatic for her to go back and forth. Eventually, if this garage thing seems to work, we plan to let her start exploring the backyard since it has a six foot high fence. We are at the end of our rope and just looking for ways to let Harles stay a part of our family without ruining our house and all our things! It was a sad day for me and I'm still not too happy about kicking her out. But I know it has to be done and I am looking forward to having a cleaner house and less worries. Wish us luck during Harley's transition time!!!!!

Tragedies and Miracles

2010-01-19T05:45:00.000-08:00

I didn't fall off the face of the Earth. I know it's been a week, which is a little unusual for me. I didn't really have any details to bore anyone with. And then there's that old saying, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! The weekend was kind of a bummer with bad news. First, there was a terrible tragedy at my parents' church. A wonderful family that I grew up with lost their 25 year old son. He was actually killed, and his roommate was charged with his death. To make matters even worse, both families are active members at the church. I know their church was totally rocked by this horrific event. The day I heard about it, I tossed and turned all night dreaming about it, and I'm pretty far removed. I can't imagine the impact this tragedy will have on those families and all those close to them.

Then we had a death in the family. My aunt's father passed away this weekend. This is my mom's brother's wife's dad - if you can follow that. I was also very sad for them and their loss.

And then to top all that off, the news is a collection of devastating pictures and stories of all the devastation in Haiti. All these terrible things happened in the world, and here I sat in my happy little home with my sweet, safe and healthy family. So...I just didn't have much to say! I guess instead of being silent, maybe I should vocalize my concern and prayers for all those people more directly affected by those events. I have been making a very conscious effort to lift them up in prayer and hope that someone, somewhere, felt it!

On an extremely happy note, yesterday brought good news to a close friend's family. My friend's sister became a mom yesterday! A long journey finally had a happy ending when her adopted son was born healthy. Wow! Talk about good news. I know the sister too - she did some sewing for us for Campbell's nursery, and I could not be happier for her and her family. Boy, did we ever need that good news!!

Don't get me wrong, we didn't just sit around the house and sulk all week. Campbell and I have been enjoying getting outside on the playground now that the weather has turned nice. We have been to storytime, playgroup, and my Thursday morning Oasis started back up again. So I guess we've actually been kind of busy! We're off to storytime again this morning because Campbell had so much fun last week. I mean, how could she not, they ended with bubble blowing - her favorite!!

Counting my own blessings and trying to remember everyone in need right now!

Thirteen Months Old!!

2010-01-11T16:58:00.000-08:00

OK, I know I say this all the time. But I really mean it this time. I think Campbell has grown and changed more in this past month than she has during any other month of her lifetime! Sure, in other months she had huge milestones like rolling over, crawling, eating table food, walking, etc. There is no huge thing that Campbell mastered this month. There is just a laundry list of little things that have totally amazed us this month!

First - her babbling is becoming more like talking everyday. Cracker is still her best word. She knows how to ask for one, she knows what the different cracker boxes look like, she knows when I'm eating one and not sharing...this girl knows her crackers!! She has the m, d, b, g, n and k sounds down pat. She can now imitate a sound that we make and usually gets it right. She calls her Elmo doll "el-bo" and can accurately refer to us as ma-ma or da-da. She doesn't call out for us yet, but definitely identifies Travis as da-da and me as ma-ma. Ah, how sweet it is to hear her say our names!

Even more impressive than her ability to talk has been her ability to understand this month. We had no idea she was capable of listening and following a command. Yep, she is! It all started when I told her to go into her playroom and get her purse. She got up, walked in there, and returned with her purse. I thought maybe it was a coincidence, but she quickly proved it was not! She got a baby doll for Christmas and she calls her Baby. You can tell her to go get Baby, to hug Baby, to put Baby in her stroller...and she does it all! I think the most clever stunt she pulled relates to Travis' iPhone. He often calls his Nanny on that phone, puts it on speaker phone, and we try (sometimes successfully) to get Campbell to say 'na-na' to her Nanny on the phone. We realized the other night that she was trying to get his iPhone by asking for na-na! She took it into her playroom and left it there. A few minutes later we said, Campbell, go get Nanny! Sure enough, she went directly to the playroom and emerged proudly holding out the phone to show us! So cute...we were stunned. She says bye-bye in the appropriate context and can wave simultaneously. We're working on only having a paci in bed, so she now drops the paci into her crib, waves at it, and says bye-bye!

In addition to being cute and sweet and bright...this month she introduced us to her evil twin. :) She taught us what it's like to have a very clingy, cranky, sick, teething, mommy-crazy child. I took this picture today looking down. I saw a LOT of this in the last month, but thankfully, she's returning to normal and this was just taken when she was sleepy today. (If you look close, you'll see those molars that were part of the problem!!) She still has her mommy moments, but we've had several occasions lately where she was with Travis and wouldn't come to me. Daddy's little girl is on her way back we hope!

Campbell's walk is often a jog/shuffle. Not to say that she still doesn't crash a lot, but she is becoming much steadier on her feet and gets around extremely well...and fast! She is able to crawl up the stairs on her own, with one of us of course right behind her to catch the inevitable stumble. Bathtime has gotten a little challenging as she decided out of the blue that she hates having the shampoo rinsed out of her hair. She stands up in protest and demands that bathtime end immediately. We are still working on this one. To my dismay, one of her favorite pastimes is playing in Lexi's water bowl. She likes to splash in it, and then she likes to put things in it...like her sippy cup. Nice. I'm sure there's no bacteria in there, right?? She is drinking straight soymilk now - no more formula! She has FINALLY figured out how to tip up the sippy cup to drink out of it, and we are using bottles less and less. Over the next month or two, we hope to say bye-bye to the bottles for good!!

We are adjusting well to the news of her food allergies. It doesn't seem like a big deal to always pack her a meal when we're on the go. We've never known any differently, so it really hasn't been a huge change. I get a little bummed when I think about all of the things she can't taste and enjoy, but I hope that she'll outgrow the allergies and someday know the joy of a Reese's peanut butter cup!

I won't be doing the posed pictures in the chair anymore. I'm kind of sad that era is over, but she's one year old now and we fulfilled the first year photo tradition. I've got a few pictures below from the past week or so of Campbell playing and just being herself! Love you, you adorable little thirteen month old cracker-aholic!

Campbell has been working hard on using a spoon. Sometimes, she is successful!

Other times...she just doesn't have time to bother with a spoon.

Still a bookworm! This month she has started "reading" a lot more on her own. Instead of insisting we read them to her, she spends a lot of time flipping through them by herself, staring intently at the pages. Or just chewing on the cover. ;)

The Hair. Aaaah. Sometimes it's wilder than others. Today she just had messy waves in the back. But right after a bath, she often has complete curls all over the back! She sports everything from a feathered look, to a Carol Brady-style flip out, to a wavy mullet, and occasionally the Mad Scientist. But regardless, we LOVE those wild, red locks!

Saying Thank You

2010-01-05T11:24:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I wrote about a meeting I attended at the Levine Children's Hospital for a potential to serve on their Family Advisory Council. This council is for parents of previously hospitalized children and works with the hospital to improve their goal of family-centered care. Seemed like a really neat way for me to give back, considering a monetary gift isn't an option now. I was blown away by the parents I met at that meeting and their stories. There wasn't an ounce of doubt in my mind that I wanted to be on the council. However, our story was so minor compared to all the ones I heard that day. These parents had sick kids - and I mean REALLY sick kids. Campbell was really sick, but she was curable. We spent twelve days in the hospital total, whereas some of these families have spent years of their lives in and out of the hospital. This council is chosen based on applications. They had a huge interest and could only select those families that they felt could bring a new perspective to the council. Therefore, I was doubtful that I'd be picked. I put some thought into writing my application. I even ended by saying that I understood that I may not be what they are looking for. My plea was that I be considered because there are many parents like us with sick kids...who will get better. That didn't make it any easier for us when we were faced with Campbell's hospital stay. We represent the parents whose stay may be short, but the feelings of helplessness and worry are still very real. I asked that they consider my perspective and my desire to help, and that if they didn't choose me, I understood and would still like to volunteer in the future. Further, from our short stay, I didn't have much that I'd like to change about the hospital. Instead, I just wanted to say thanks. And the best way I could find to do that was to be a part of a council like this.

Two months later, I got the word that I was chosen! I was so excited, I can't even tell you. I just feel like this is a phenomenal way to celebrate Campbell's complete and speedy recovery from the potentially fatal bacterial infection she was born with. Today was our first meeting. We spent the majority of the time telling our stories and getting to know each other. Next month we'll get down to business and start finding ways to suggest positive changes at the hospital. But wow...what an inspiring and humbling morning to sit in a room among all those brave parents. The only wavering voice while telling their story was my own! I had the least sick child of everyone there, and yet I was the only one nearly in tears while talking. I think the other parents have become so used to the sickness, they are somewhat desensitized when it comes to talking about it. I, on the other hand, don't relive it too often. So it is fairly emotional for me to recall the first few days of Campbell's life and the fear Travis and I experienced. On top of that, their stories were so touching that I was already an emotional basketcase by the time it was my turn!! It is really an honor to serve on this council and I'm excited to really get started next month! I feel really good that just a little over a year later, this is finally my way to say THANK YOU for sending me home with a healthy baby.

My "reason for being thankful" was the only child in the nursery they provided today! She did extremely well for over 3 hours, in a new church, with a babysitter she'd never laid eyes on. Apparently she didn't fuss once, played hard, ate a huge lunch, and even took a little nap. I was so relieved and so proud of how she did. You've gotta remember, I'm a stay at home mom, so it's a big deal for Campbell to do something like this. (And for me too!) And I'll tell you what, after hearing the stories I heard today, I will think twice before I complain about Campbell's food allergies!! It was really nice to get a healthy dose of a perspective and such powerful reminders of how blessed we are to have our health.

What the heck, North Carolina??

2010-01-03T13:22:00.000-08:00

Seriously, 27 degrees? Really? Is this for real?

There are a lot of reasons I live in the South. One very important reason is the weather. I am way too weak to endure cold weather. To me, "cold" is anything south of 55 degrees. I realize I don't live in the deep South, and yes, it gets a lot colder than 55 in Charlotte. But really, I'm just a wimp and not equipped to handle it. For one, I hate all things bundle-y. You name it - coats, hats, scarves, gloves - hate 'em all. Sure I think they look cute, but as functional pieces of my wardrobe - can't stand 'em. Unless you're going outside for a long period of time, I just don't see the point. You put on all these bulky, itchy layers for a brief run to the car. Then you can't drive because you can't bend your arms, nor can you turn your head to see out the back. You pump the heat in the car and then you sweat. Same thing when you reach your destination. You then have all these layers to strip out of and carry around and the whole process just makes me hot. And if you think I hate being cold, you really don't want to be around me when I get too hot! (Ask Travis, I was pretty much boiling for the 9 months I was carrying Campbell, and I was miserable to be around). How do you people up North handle this all winter long? I'd be cranky all the time too! HAHA That was totally a joke, we'll see if my Northern friends read the blog... So anyway, enough of my ranting. Let me just conclude by saying that I'm not particularly enjoying the cold snap we're having this week with temperatures barely making it into the mid 30's at the warmest part of the day! Travis was outside all day today at the Panthers game, so something tells me he's not enjoying this weather either!

Campbell is finally feeling better and getting somewhat back to her old self. At the very end of her regimen of antibiotics, she broke out all over one side of her face. BRIGHT red. Turns out she's allergic to amoxicillin. Sometimes the reactions don't come until you're well into the dosage. We'll just add that to the growing list of things our baby girl is allergic to! She is much less of a leech this week. :) (I know, kangaroo/koala/velcro was a much nicer mental picture - sorry). We're still having some issues with her insisting on me doing stuff for her instead of Travis, but she is making progress and we'll accept her baby steps for now. We hadn't been to our church in almost a month due to her cold, her birthday party weekend, and traveling for the holidays. I was very nervous to drop her off because I thought I'd have to peel myself away from a kicking and screaming baby. Something I would NOT excel at!! But she did just great. We got her one of those little snack traps that she can carry around her cheerios in. She thinks she's hit the jackpot with it, and apparently it kept her quite entertained this morning while I was in church! Thank heaven for snack traps! :)

Well, it's now 2010. 2010 - wow!! Travis and I rung in the New Year quietly at home and watched the Tech bowl game. Truthfully, I watched the first 3 quarters and then watched the backs of my eyelids. New Year's Eve just isn't what it used to be! haha But you know what? In all honesty, what could be better than having a nice relaxing evening at home with my family? We visited with some friends earlier in the evening, watched a little football, lit a fire, changed into comfy clothes, and chilled while our little angel slept her way soundly into the new year up in her bed. It was perfect. 2009 was a phenomenal year at our house. We got to watch our baby grow into a little person who is babbling, walking, and exploring the world before her. 2010 is sure to be another great year and I'm looking forward to just living one day at a time and soaking up all this year has to offer us. Happy New Year!

This Hokie cheerleading outfit was a Christmas gift from her Hokie grandparents.

The best cheerleaders stick out their tongues for pictures, right? And yes, those are legwarmers...omg.

Baby Velcro

2009-12-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

Baby Velcro is the term I'm using to describe a baby who has been literally stuck to me for the past week. I didn't coin this phrase, I found it while doing google searches on things like "what to do when your one year old child will not let go of you...ever." Campbell is typically such an easy-going, rarely fussy, not clingy, goes to anyone, plays well kinda baby. This week - someone must have swapped her out when we weren't looking, because we have had the complete opposite! I seriously considered calling Jo Jo from Super Nanny for an emergency visit.

First, before I go on a rampage about my needy child, I should say that despite the Baby Velcro issue, we had a wonderful Christmas in Virginia with my family. We went up on Christmas Eve and arrived around lunchtime, and returned Sunday afternoon. My parents were understanding of her attachment issues and still managed to have lots of cuddles and good quality time. They spoiled all of us with gifts, food, food and more food, help with Campbell, and just great company. We really enjoyed our time with them, and feel pretty bad that Lexi decided to play tug of war with their carpet. :( Lexi won. :( I'm already anticipating Christmases in years to come when Campbell really understands what is going on. It was still fun even though she was more interested in a noodle from the pool this summer than she was any of her gifts!! Celebrating the holidays through the eyes of a child is something pretty special. My Mom and I took Campbell to the Christmas Eve service at church. It was a family service, so it wasn't too inappropriate each time she made noise. Thank goodness for a bag of Cheerios which we rationed out that got us through the service. Each time the congregation clapped, there was a 10-second delay, and then Campbell would clap. Adorable!!

The baby velcro issue started before we left town. As I had mentioned, Campbell had a terrible cold which is luckily almost gone. On Monday morning, which was the 21st, I woke up sick. Like throwing up all day. NOT fun with a baby that wouldn't leave my side. She was not letting Travis near her, which didn't help me at all, and I'm sure really hurt his feelings! Thankfully I got over my stomach bug, and got well enough for us to take her to the doctor. She was barely eating and was so lethargic and cranky. That's when we found out Campbell had her first ear infection! No wonder! On top of cutting all four molars and another tooth closer to the front, poor baby had hurting ears and a terrible headcold. Thank goodness for antibiotics which seem to be doing the trick.

I felt like a koala bear or a mama kangaroo this week. I love my daughter to pieces, I really do. But a little space would have been nice every now and then! I really feel for parents with clingy babies, and I pray that this was just a little phase that stemmed from being sick. I am so glad she seems to be feeling better. Once we got back home last night, she was playing with her toys, walking around independently, and even spending some time with Travis. She was completely boycotting him this week, so we are totally relieved that she is returning to her status of Daddy's Little Girl! Hallelujah!!!!!! We are also happy to announce that Campbell has a REAL first word! She's been saying Da-Da for months. She definitely knows that Travis is Da-Da and calls him that sometimes, but she also uses Da-Da for many other things. Same with Ba-Ba (which is what we call her bottles) and Ma-Ma. But while in Virginia, it is evident that Campbell says Ka-Ka. Cracker! If you give her a cracker, she holds it up and says Ka-Ka over and over. It is SO cute! She has a word that she can use in the right context - walking and talking! Oh my!!

Campbell is loaded up with more new clothes, toys and books from Christmas. We are home safe and sound and we are all slowly but surely getting over our colds. We tried to remember what Christmas is really about and be thankful for the other really important December birthday. Do you think Baby Jesus was ever Baby Velcro to Mary? I doubt it...

Very few pictures were taken this Christmas as my hands were usually occupied holding my little 25-pound bundle of joy. It would've been nice to get some of Campbell with her grandparents, great Grandma, aunts, uncles and cousins...but she was pretty much just with me! Oh well, next year!! But here are a few from Christmas morning, and one showing her sitting in her big girl chair, attempting t0 drink big girl soymilk from a big girl sippy cup!

Sick of Being One

2009-12-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

Campbell turned one just over a week ago, and unfortunately, she's been sick ever since! Other than when she was really sick at birth...Campbell really wasn't sick in the first year. Once or twice we thought she had a cold coming on, but it never amounted to anything. I think we can officially chalk this up as her first cold. Yippee!

Her nose is running like a faucet. It's pretty nasty because she tries to rub her nose and ends up smearing it across her face, in her hair, etc. I know, TMI. The runny nose causes her to cough. And then on two occasions, the cough has made her throw up! :( Not spit up, throw up, like an adult. And lucky us, Travis and I have each gotten the opportunity to get thrown up on this past week. This is what parenting is all about, right!?! All jokes aside, we feel so bad for her. She has been really cranky which is so out of character for our happy little girl. She's clingy, fussy, and the weirdest symptom of all...has lost her appetite! You KNOW I've never said that before. Yesterday we were actually pretty worried because she barely ate or drank all day. Thankfully she's eating more today, but still probably only about a third of her normal appetite.

Oh, and the best part? Now I have caught the cold! It was only a matter of time. My shirt is often what she chooses to wipe her nose on. Gross, I know, I'm sorry. I think she must have heard the pediatrician tell me that most allergies are inherited from the mother, and this is her way of paying me back. :) We have spent the majority of this past week cooped up in the house trying unsuccessfully to get her well, so I also have a nasty case of cabin fever. The good news is that Travis is officially on Christmas vacation and not going back to work until 2010. So we'll have some family time and I'll have some daytime help. Yay!!

Onto to happier things...yesterday we battled the winter weather and headed to Marion to celebrate Christmas early. Travis' brother Bryan was in from Texas for a short visit, so the 15" of snow on the ground in Marion couldn't keep us away. We only had about an inch here, but it was mixed with ice and sleet. We had a great day hanging out with all 5 of the Justice nieces and nephew, both of Travis' brothers and their wives, his parents and his Nanny. We had a yummy turkey dinner and then got to watch the kids tear into all their presents. Campbell was sort of cranky since she's feeling bad, but she still managed to hang with the big kids. Now we will just get well and head to Virginia on Christmas Eve to celebrate Christmas again...Reid-style! I'm very sorry to report that I didn't take a single picture yesterday. My excuse is that I was tending to a sick baby most of the day and didn't have a free hand to take pictures. Still, shame on me!

Earlier this week, I got caught up in all of Campbell's allergies and forgot to share her one year stats. Our girl is still almost off the charts!
Weight: 24.15 lbs - 95th percentile
Height: 31 inches - 95th percentile
Head: Forgot the exact measurement, but it was also 95th percentile

And lastly, while I'm jumping subjects...I need to give three birthday shout-outs. First, Saturday was my Grandma's birthday. She turned...well, she'll plead the fifth. Saturday was also my niece, Peyton's, birthday and she turned 6. And today is my niece, Taylor's, birthday and she turned 3. Happy birthday everybody!

The Results Are In...

2009-12-15T15:02:00.000-08:00

...and the Justices are kinda bummed!

Campbell's pediatrician ordered bloodwork on Friday after she broke out in hives from her celebratory birthday pancake and Egg Beaters. The poor thing had like maybe 2 bites of each, and her face was one big hive! I was able to sit down with her pediatrician today and discuss the results of the allergy screen. It showed that Campbell is allergic to milk, eggs, peanuts, cats and dogs.

WHAT?!?!?!? OK, so this isn't a total surprise. In some ways, I'm relieved that they finally confirmed her dairy allergy. She's been breaking out every time she eats dairy, and I was so frustrated when the allergist said she was not allergic to milk. Um, OK, then what do you call it when the child's face gets red and bumpy each time she eats dairy, a coincidence? Please excuse my cynical attitude, I was just very annoyed. So with today's results, in a way, I feel validated. It's like a doctor was finally able to say, yeah, you were right, your kid has allergies. But I'm of course pretty bummed that poor Campbell is going to have to live with a tricky diet. And as her mom, it makes me nervous. All her allergies were at the lower end of the spectrum (with the exception of dogs, apparently she's really allergic to dogs - WHAT?!?!?!?). But they are still prescribing an Epipen. Unfortunately with food allergies, you never really know if exposure could cause a more severe reaction than what you're used to.

Let's chat about peanuts for a moment. I eat peanut butter like my life is dependent on it. I eat it out of the jar...on a spoon...daily. I live for peanut butter. It's amazing to me that I ate it while I was nursing her and she had no issues. It's also amazing to me that I eat it in close proximity to her all the time and she hasn't exhibited any allergic symptoms. I guess that's good news, hopefully she doesn't have the kind of allergy that is dangerous if she's simply near a peanut. But I feel like I'm going to have to take it pretty seriously. When her friends are eating peanut butter, she's going to have to keep her distance. And there will have to be a lot of handwashing!

Now let's chat about the animals. The doctor started his discussion with something along the lines of "because she seems to tolerate the pet dander now, there's no need to discuss getting rid of them yet." Again...WHAT?!?!?!?! I'm going to pretend like that conversation never happened and just be extra diligent about vacuuming. Maybe three times a week? Fun times. Her doctor is so nice and very compassionate, so he didn't mean that in a harsh way. I guess his job is to protect the child so it's easy for him to mention "getting rid" of the animals. Campbell and Lexi are pals. Campbell loves to do face plants on the dog bed. OK, maybe I need to regulate that activity. But we have never noticed a problem related to anything but food. Maybe an itchy eye here or there, but thankfully she seems to tolerate that allergy well. Let's pray this continues! Lexi and Harley are members of this family, something I feel very strongly about. Of course I feel strongly about my baby girl's health too, but I think it's something we can all live with.

Shew! So now that I went off about the animals to make myself feel better, let's chat about this milk and egg thing. Take a look at anything you eat. Anything. Chances are, it's got either milk or egg in it. For instance, the whole wheat bread Campbell often eats has milk in it. And she is fine! He said we can continue feeding her foods like that, which may contain small amounts of milk or milk protein but that she has eaten without issue. But we won't be introducing any new dairy foods, and she certainly won't be having any egg foods. Unfortunately for her, looks like she may have to endure another vegan cake for her second birthday!! :( Gross!

There is hope that this isn't a lifelong thing. Many children outgrow allergies within a few years. In the meantime, we'll just have to be vigilant, plan her meals in advance when eating on the go, and get creative with our menus at home. She'll be the kid that packs, not buys. At the end of the day, I'll just try to be thankful that we caught her allergies before they posed a significant risk to her. And also thankful that they don't appear to be severe based on today's results. And I'll have to remind myself of these things each time I am mumbling about making a dairy-free, egg-free meal! Hey, she'll be a healthy kid if she lives on fruits and veggies!

First Birthday Bash

2009-12-14T07:27:00.001-08:00

On Saturday we threw a birthday bash at the house for Campbell's first birthday. What a perfect day it was! We are so thankful for all the people that love Campbell and came to hang out on Saturday. Many drove several hours to be here! It was a blast!!!! Campbell had so much fun - everywhere she turned, she had little friends, family, and big friends to play with! She did great when it was cake time. She didn't mind the singing and all eyes on her. She dug into her hot pink vegan cake a little hesitantly. She wasn't too thrilled about getting her fingers dirty, and wasn't too thrilled about the taste of her vegan cake either. (I can't really blame her, I tasted it). We gave her a fork and she was happier when she was eating in a more civilized manner (even though she is FAR from mastering the fork!!). She eventually managed to get hot pink cake smeared all over her face and body, like every new one year old should do. A quick bath, and she returned to the party! She was exhausted Saturday night and it has taken her a day or so to get back to normal after all that partying. Our friends and family were so generous, and Campbell is having so much fun with her new toys, books, adorable outfits, and her very own chair. So I am...you can't imagine how relieved I am to have some new titles to read, and new toys to pass our time. I feel like a kid at Christmas with all this new birthday loot! ;) A special thanks to Holly for being in charge of my camera and catching all these great first birthday party memories on film while I was wrapped up in the party. Travis and I were so happy with how Campbell's birthday party turned out, and someday we'll show her these pictures to remind her just how much fun she had too!

Enjoy these pictures of the big celebration! (Birthday tutu is courtesy of Aunt Jen - precious!!)

ONE YEAR OLD!!

2009-12-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that this day is finally here. Campbell's first birthday! It's hard for me to put into one post what this past year has meant. Let's start with what has surprised me. Campbell - not a surprise. We got a lot of funny looks when we told people we were expecting because the baby was coming so soon after the wedding! But Campbell was not a surprise - she was a very well-planned, welcome blessing. However, her arrival was a bit of a surprise. My blood pressure shot up three weeks before my due date, so Campbell came early. Travis' big thing with a January 1st due date was that he wanted the tax deduction. We got it! Also a surprise was how sick poor little Campbell was at birth...that we'd leave the hospital without her...and spend the first 12 days of her life going back and forth to the hospital...praying and waiting to bring our miracle home. Another obvious surprise - the red hair and blue eyes. The blue eyes were less of a surprise since Travis (and every other Justice!) has them. But if you'd told me I'd have a redhead with blue eyes, I'd have told you that you were crazy! I adore her fair skin, bright blue eyes, and light red hair, as well as that red head temper that is slowly surfacing... She is such a pretty baby, and I'm not biased at all!! Another surprise was how easy it has been to put her first. I would've described myself as pretty selfish before having the baby. But having a child just kind of wipes that away, and it's been easier than I thought it would be to make sacrifices for her. She's just so worth it, I just love my new life as her mommy. We were surprised yet again when Campbell was only ten months old and started walking!! Her doctor had even told us to not be disappointed if she was a little late just because she's so big. She showed him! Campbell is walking really well these days. Sometimes I'd even call it a slow (and sloppy) jog!

Those are all the surprises I can think of. On to a quick list of what she's been up to lately. She talks quite a bit. The problem is we don't always understand her language. We used to hear a constant ba-ba-ba-ba, but now her vocabulary has expanded to include quite a bit of da-da-da-da (you can imagine who loves that), a few ga-ga's, ka-ka, and a ma-ma on rare occasions (I'll take what I can get). In the past week, she's started trying to eat her oatmeal and applesauce with a spoon. It's a messy endeavor but she is so proud of herself when she gets it to her mouth successfully. That crazy red hair has a few curls in it and it is getting longer by the day. We rarely get an "oh, HE's so cute" anymore, for which I'm very grateful. She loves being around other children at church, at playgroups, with her cousins, and with our friends' kids. Her one true love is books. She has become quite the bookworm! Most of her playtime is spent carrying books from her playroom to the living room. We read the same four or five books over and over and over again. She used to cry, I mean really cry, each time we got to the last page. Now she understands when we tell her to go to the playroom and get another book, which is nice, and keeps the tears at bay. She is really starting to understand us - she will stick out her tongue on command (thanks to the frog in one of her favorite books), she gives us hugs and high fives (sort of).

I could go on for hours about all the cool tricks Campbell has figured out in this past year. But really, the most special thing about Campbell is the sheer joy she's brought to our lives in the past year. Our hearts are full and our days are happier because of her. We hear the pitter patter of her little feet stomping around and the sweet sound of her little giggle. I swear if we could bottle up her smile we could achieve world peace. Campbell, your Daddy and I love you so much and we are so proud of all you have become in this first year. You have such a sweet spirit! We look forward to each new day, week, month, and year we get to spend with you. Dream big, little girl! We know there is a lot waiting for you in this big world and we are just so thankful we get to help you chase your dreams.

Happy First Birthday, Campbell! Here is a stroll down memory lane, from the first picture ever taken of Campbell and through the first year.

This morning when Campbell woke up, we went in to get her singing Happy Birthday, with the video camera rolling. She looked at us like we were a little crazy. Then we brought her downstairs to see her new farm. She seems to love it!! Travis took today off to celebrate and get the house ready for the big party tomorrow. We decided to take Campbell to IHop for a special breakfast treat - her first pancake! We know pancakes have dairy in them, but the doctor said it's ok to give her dairy even though she generally has a mild reaction to dairy. We also ordered her scrambled egg substitutes. The pancakes would also have egg in them, something she has never eaten before because babies can't have eggs until they are one. Sure enough, about 5 bites into her breakfast, she broke out in mild hives, which is normal for us. We switched the eggs and pancake out for a banana. Things were sort of OK, but by the time we got home, it was not the reaction we were used to. It got SO much worse than the picture above. Terrible, red hives on her face, a very uncharacteristically lethargic baby, and then it spread to her eyes. Red bumps all around her eyes, cheeks, forehead, and she was really itchy. So we did what every parent longs to do on their child's first birthday - race them to the doctor's office! She is fine, sleeping like a rock now after being pumped full of Benadryl. The bad news is they wanted to draw blood, so we had to put her through that on her birthday. The good news is that for the first time, they found one of her tiny veins! When we go back on Tuesday for her one-year check-up, hopefully they'll have the results of the full allergy screen, and some answers!!! A few months ago, the allergist only did bloodwork for a dairy allergy. With a full vial of blood, they should be able to run a full screen and hopefully tell us what's going on. Poor thing, who wants to be stuck on their birthday?!??! She was very brave and patient, and I'm sure when she wakes up, will forget about the drama and enjoy her new farm. My next task is to find a recipe for an egg-free cake before tomorrow!!!!

Happy Birthday, sweet red-faced girl! ;)

Things I Never Wanted to Learn About Diapers

2009-12-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

I've never wanted to be that mom whose conversations were reduced to discussions about dirty diapers. Sure, I'll mention a diaper here or there, but there's a lot more interesting things about parenting than changing diapers. Well, I have to break my own rule and take a moment to vent. At night, Campbell wears these special overnight diapers that are $30 a case. $30!! So in my mind, these things should be like Fort Knox, right? The past two mornings, Campbell has woken up in a sea of gel-like crystals. What in the world, you might be saying? Most people don't know that diapers are actually filled with these tiny gel balls that are what makes them super absorbent. I unfortunately know this because I've had the pleasure of vacuuming them off the floor, emptying them out of the crib, washing the crib sheets, and bathing my child first thing in the morning to get them off of her body!

What the heck? For $30 a case, I expected to live in ignorance and never have to understand how a diaper works, or rather DOESN'T work! I think the solution might be to buy a larger diaper even though she's still on the low end of the weight range. We'll see how that goes...

I have much more important things to think about than diapers though. Campbell turns one on Friday! This day last year, I was at home on modified bedrest after having been in the hospital the night before for high blood pressure. The bedrest didn't change anything, and so I was admitted to the hospital on the 10th, and Campbell was born on the 11th! I'm definitely strolling down memory lane this week and reflecting often on what I was experiencing this time last year. Anticipation, fear, excitement...and being uncomfortable and REALLY large!! ;) Preparations are in full gear for this weekend's big birthday bash on Saturday. SO EXCITED to celebrate the fantastic year we've had with our little monkey.

These pictures were taken one week before Campbell was born. WOW.

"Campbell, Meet Santa..."

2009-12-06T04:39:00.000-08:00

Campbell's reply, "Um...no thanks. Maybe next year."

Travis' company put on another really great event yesterday for the families, Milk and Cookies with Santa. I was so grateful for this event. Now we can avoid the crowds (and germs!) with Santa at the mall. We dressed up Campbell in her new holiday gear, courtesy of GrandDeb, and headed downtown. Campbell was absolutely giddy! She couldn't contain herself! I don't know if it was being around other children, the room to walk/run/crash, or just the holiday excitement...but she was crazy and oh so happy! She was grabbing onto every adults' legs there, walking from person to person, just working the crowd! The shyness seems to be fading...and fast! ;) She was especially interested in ripping the decorations off of the coat drive box, checking out the older kids' snacks, and carrying around an Elmo paper cup she got.

All was going great until...

She saw him.

She maintained a safe distance and thought maybe she could escape unnoticed, but then he spoke to her. Oh no, no she was really in for it! We put her on Santa's lap and got the exact reaction we expected.

Somebody get me outta here! This big guy in the red suit is VERY scary!!

She faked a quick smile, tried to squirm her way down, and safely escaped Santa's grip. :)

After the traumatic introduction, we went to a conference room where they had crafts set up. Travis made Campbell a Christmas door hanger for her room. Note the picture of my handsome Martha Stewart below. Then we went back to see Santa and tried to squeeze in a family picture thinking if she was sitting with me instead of Santa, it would work.

Nope.

Santa read Twas the Night Before Christmas to the kiddos and Campbell sat still for a few minutes. Then she decided to go on snack patrol and try to snag cookies and pretzels from unsuspecting big kids who were actually still listening to Santa.

After Santa was done, we took Campbell down to Founder's Hall to see the Singing Bears. So cute - these big bears sing Christmas carols and play orchestra music every hour on the hour. Once again, crazy baby! She was ALL OVER the place...walking up to everyone, just begging for attention! In no time, she has transformed from a baby who is walking...to a toddler we can hardly keep up with. Seriously! She's a fast little sucker!!

We had a great day. Campbell was EXHAUSTED which worked well for us. We took the baby monitor and went next door to our neighbors' holiday party after she went to bed. Lucky for us, the houses in our neighborhood are REALLY close together so the monitor worked. She was completely zonked out and didn't make a peep while we enjoyed some good party food and catching up with a couple of neighbors.

One final picture to demonstrate this crazy hair, I hope you can see it. This is before I fixed it for Santa pictures. Travis was appalled when I licked my hand and rubbed her hair down. I kind of was too - OMG...do mom's really do that??? I just did, so I guess so! Seriously, this red hair is growing in every which direction these days. It's hilarious, and has a mind of its own. I think she needs some "product."

So Much to be Thankful For

2009-11-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be thankful for this year. For wonderful family. For friends who are "family" to us. For a very happy marriage and a beautiful daughter. For all of our needs being not only met, but exceeded. For our health. And for happiness, happiness, happiness!

This year we celebrated Thanksgiving at one of my favorite places on the planet - our house! We hosted Thanksgiving for the Justice side of the family. Lucky for me, Alex brought the turkey so I wasn't responsible for cooking the bird. Shew! I've done it before, but no one had to twist my arm to give up that task. I made several sides, and Travis' Mom and Nanny made a couple sides and dessert. We had a great Thanksgiving feast, but more importantly had a full day to hang out as a family. Campbell had a great time trying to keep up with her older cousins. I did miss my family in Virginia - there's just something about actually being with everyone you are thankful for that makes the day the most meaningful. But obviously we can't all be together all the time. So I settled for a few phone calls, and we ate off of my great grandmother's china and silver, which was a gift to me from my Grandma. So that helped bring a little piece of my side of the family to the Thanksgiving table.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it's time to gear up for the big birthday party and for Christmas! Very exciting times ahead. On Black Friday we did a little birthday shopping for Campbell (it's so great, she can come with us and has no idea what we're doing - ha!). This weekend we got out the Christmas decorations and I'm starting to get in the spirit. Once I finish trimming the tree, and get a little Christmas music going, I'll be ready for St. Nick!!

Big news this morning - Campbell graduated out of the baby room at church! As of this morning, Campbell is officially a toddler!!! We took her to the toddler's and 2's nursery and dropped her off. In the baby room, we usually went in, sat down, got her interested in a toy, and snuck out. The toddler room is a whole different ball game. They keep a gate up to cut down on the flight risk, so we just had to hand Campbell over the gate to a stranger, in a new classroom. Needless to say, she wasn't too happy. Travis and I stood in the hall and watched from the window and soon enough, she was fine. They have those tables with the little seats down in the table. They sat her in the table next to another little girl, gave her a big pile of Cheerios and her sippy cup, and she was on top of the world! Travis and I had "a moment" as we watched our little baby in the big girl room, acting like a big girl. We had a hard time going to big people church. I think he and I both would've been content to stand in the hallway and check on her all morning. Nervous parents! But we peeled ourselves away, and were happy to get the report that Campbell did absolutely great in there and seemed to have a lot of fun. When we picked her up, she and another little girl were playing a gentle game of tug of war over a book. I'm so grateful for the social interaction she gets at church. Wow - a toddler!!! Isn't that crazy??????

I was too wrapped up in the cooking and entertaining on Thanksgiving to take any pictures...but here are two that ended up on my camera!

Campbell enjoying lunch before her First Thanksgiving

Emerson and Peyton loving on Campbell

Friends in the Making

2009-11-23T08:17:00.001-08:00

Our Sunday will go down in history as the most productive Sunday ever! We hung pictures, steam-cleaned our carpets, installed baby gates on the stairs, ran errands, and more. I feel so good knocking all of those things off our list (ok, let's be real, it was MY list, not OUR list. But I do appreciate Travis' participation).

Harley and Lexi aren't too thrilled about the baby gates on the stairs. Lexi is scared of them and cries when they are shut. Harley just sees them as one more annoyance, but luckily she is flexible enough to scoot under them. I'm so glad - I hated to think my poor kitty would have to hurdle the gates while on the stairs!! After all, she's almost 9 years old!!

Speaking of Harley, I realized the other day we didn't have a single picture of Campbell and Harles together. Probably because, like the baby gates, Campbell is just another annoyance to Harley. Cats aren't too big on change, and these two are far from best friends. I'd say Harley likes Campbell more than she likes Lexi, but that isn't saying much. Ha! Really, until a month or so ago, Campbell paid no attention to Harley. Harles is too fast and just made herself scarce. But now that Campbell is mobile, they've had a few meetings (aka run-ins). They're not friends yet, but Campbell is very curious and very determined. She's pet Harley once or twice. It's difficult to try to explain to an 11-month old why she cannot corner Harley in her little kitty tent and try to reach in and pet her. How can I nicely tell her that if she does that, she'll probably lose an arm? Harles does have a sweet side (Travis will tell you I'm lying, but she does), and I'm sure after we get past a few inevitable scratches, they'll be buddies.

I managed to finally capture these two sisters together on film (before the baby gates went up).

Going...

Gone! Harley ran safely to the landing, probably plotting her attack on the baby...

A Good Day "at the Office"

2009-11-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

Some days are better than others. That's just a fact. With all the traveling Travis has had to do, and the strenuous work schedule he's had to keep lately, I'll admit I've had some tough days. The days are just longer when my relief pitcher isn't around. BUT...today wasn't one of those days! Campbell and I just had a good day. Nothing too extraordinary, it just goes down in the books as a good day. We started out with brunch at Oasis since it was our last meeting of the semester. I'm honestly sad that we won't meet again until January, I really looked forward to my Thursday morning Bible study. (Never thought I'd say that! Wow, how lucky I am to have stumbled upon something that makes me so happy.) Brunch was delicious and Campbell enjoyed what was probably her last day in the baby room of the nursery. Now that she's walking, she'll graduate to the toddler room. OMG! She played hard at home this afternoon, took a pretty good nap which is such a rarity, and I even caught a few zzz's. After naptime, we went to the outlet mall to find a cute birthday outfit for Campbell since it's quickly approaching. And after shopping, she and I had a girls night out at Moe's. She and I ate together and had a ball. She was just delightful, smiling, laughing, clapping for herself, enjoying the people-watching and the change of scenery. We skipped bathtime just because I felt lazy, and she went to sleep in an instant. I love days like today. I'm reminded how much I just love being Campbell's Mommy. I always love it - but days like today, it doesn't feel like work at all.

Tonight my sister called with some great news - Taylor pee pee'd in the potty! Taylor actually told me herself. This has been a long battle, and just when my sister and brother-in-law were going to give up for a few weeks and try again later...she says, "Mommy, my body is telling me!!" hahaha I'm so proud of her. Today is her mommy and daddy's fifth anniversary. What a nice present - pee pee in the potty!!! They planned as a family to sit down and watch their wedding video. They watched it once and Taylor enjoyed it. But what she REALLY enjoyed was my wedding video. She has watched it three times this evening, and it is not a short video! For one...she's in the wedding and loves seeing herself as a baby. Taylor was dressed in her princess dress while watching our video. Jen said when Travis and I had our first dance, she would stand and "princess dance" with us. Apparently when she saw me in my wedding dress for the first time, she gasped and said, "Oh look how beautiful Aunt Sara is in her princess dress!" Another great quote is when she told Jennifer that "Uncle T is a prince, I think so." But the best quote of all came at dinnertime. The three of them sat down to eat, and remember, it's their anniversary. (sidenote - they are having a "real" date night this weekend to celebrate without Taylor) At our wedding, Jennifer was escorted by Travis' brother, Alex. So at the dinner table, Taylor tells Leif, "Hey Daddy, at Aunt Sara's wedding, Mommy married Uncle T's brother!" HAHAHA How hilarious is that? I got the biggest kick out of her commentary of my wedding. What a sweetheart, and such a big girl now that she used the potty! Way to go, Taylor!!! We're proud of you.

Now I need to focus on the Panthers game which is on TV. I need to look for Travis on the sidelines and try to focus on the game since I'm trying to become a better fan... (Travis thinks that's the funniest goal I've ever set for myself).

Catching Up

2009-11-15T16:43:00.000-08:00

Travis is finally home after being gone for TWELVE long days. He was actually home last weekend, but Campbell and I were in Virginia. He was torn up about being away from his girls, and we were equally distraught to go almost two weeks without Daddy. The reunion between Campbell and her daddy was priceless. I'd give anything to have that moment on video - she went NUTS! She was so excited, screaming, kicking...and then once in his arms she was hugging him, looking at his face, hugging him some more. And wouldn't even come back to me! I had to practically push her out of the way to get myself a quick hug from Travis! ;) She and I are both so glad he's home again.

While Travis was out of town, I tried to take a lot of pictures of Campbell so I could send them to him. I also caught some cute moments from our time in Virginia and from a quick day trip to Marion yesterday. So below, I will catch up on the pictures from the past two weeks that I've been wanting to post. Just had a hard time finding time to do it when I was running this ship on my own.

Passing the time at the playground while Daddy was gone

Looking out the window for Daddy

Notice my little pianist is on her tippy toes. So cute!

Taking a bath with Cousin Taylor in Virginia

Running around Taylor's room almost naked

Jennifer's Baby Sprinkle (I regret that the only cute belly pictures I got of my sister were on her camera and not mine. Take it from me, she is a very cute pregnant lady!! Too bad that gift bag is blocking your view of my nephew!)

Teaching Campbell about the Hokie Bird at my parents' house...it's never too young to start.

Visiting Great Grandma Betty

Finally...back in Huntersville!

Hanging out with Cousin Brittan and Gangy in Marion on Saturday

Cousins Braxton and Brittan are in town visiting from West Virginia, so it was worth the drive even for only a few hours to hang out.

Making Paw Paw Butch smile while he recovers from knee replacement surgery (youch!!). Get better soon, Paw Paw.

Now we're all caught up on pictures. Shew! Time to go plan a first birthday party...it's coming in just a few weeks!

11-11-11

2009-11-11T16:34:00.000-08:00

Today, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, Campbell turned eleven months old! We really should head to Vegas...is there such thing as triple eleven's? I'd say it'd have to be lucky!!

One month away from being one year old. WOW. Campbell has been walking for almost a month now. She is improving everyday. As long as there's something to pull up on, she is off! With this walking comes a lot of crashing - sometimes her feet move faster than she's ready for. The steps have gotten to be too many to count. She can ease back down to a seated position, and can come pretty close to squatting down to pick up a toy. It's amazing to me that our tiny baby girl is walking through the house!

That red hair is coming in fast and going in every which direction. And as if the red hair wasn't a big enough surprise, God thought he'd really keep us on our toes by giving her some curls! That's right...curls!!!! You'll be able to see it in the pictures - she has a huge curl over one of her ears, and the back of her hair has some little curls too. I had some baby curls when I was little, so I guess that's where she gets it? Red curls...I love it!!

Campbell is into all the cabinets now. I introduced her to the tupperware cabinet, and she took it upon herself to check out the rest of the cabinets. She laughs a huge belly laugh which will force a smile on anyone within hearing distance. She claps her hands every chance she gets, and knows whens it's appropriate to clap. Sometimes she claps for herself if she walks a long distance on her own, or she claps when her favorite baby TV shows come on. Campbell has a big smile and an even bigger personality. She LOVES books - but cries EVERY SINGLE TIME you get to the last page. So reading is not really a relaxing activity for us. We keep trying to explain to her that sometimes good things come to an end, but we can read the book again later. So far, she doesn't get it. She is so sweet and has really wowed us this past month with all that she's learned. We love you, baby girl!! We couldn't be more proud of who you have become in the last eleven months.

Too grown up to sit and pose for a picture any more. She stood up in the chair on her own!

And decided she was going to walk off the chair...Mommy had to put down the camera for a minute.

A hat? In November? It was a very cold, rainy day here, and I couldn't resist this little matching sweater and hat set. Campbell had other plans though.

Mommy won...for about 5 seconds.

Photo shoot is over, and now it's playtime!

Sunny with a 100% Chance of a Sprinkle

2009-11-09T17:22:00.000-08:00

Campbell and I are finally back in Huntersville after being road warriors this weekend. We left on Thursday and drove to Roanoke, spent the night with my parents. Left Friday afternoon with my Mom on board and headed to Northern Virginia to my sister's house. Spent the weekend there to celebrate my sister and my nephew-to-be!! Yesterday we drove back to Roanoke where Campbell and I spent the night with my parents. And then today, after having lunch with my Grandma, Campbell and I drove BACK to Huntersville. PHEW! That's four road trips - each about 3-4 hours. Let me tell you, I am all drived out!! But was it worth it? Oh my gosh, a million times, YES!!!

This weekend I got to see my beautiful sister and her belly. She says it's huge - it's definitely not huge. She is just perfectly pregnant and carrying that baby like a true Reid girl. We don't mess around! ;) My nephew is due on Valentine's Day (or Balentine's Day, as Taylor says it), which happens to be my sister's birthday! He'll likely arrive before being struck by Cupid's arrow as her doctor has plans to induce a little early. I am just so excited to have a nephew, and to add another precious baby to the family. Children are the absolute greatest blessing in the world. The joy that has come over our family since Taylor and Campbell have joined us is just indescribable. I love my niece Taylor so much and I am just jumping with excitement to meet her little brother.

My sister's friends threw her a baby sprinkle yesterday - like a baby shower, but supposedly less elaborate since it's baby #2. No one followed directions because Jennifer was definitely showered with gifts. It was really fun and I wouldn't have missed it for the world!

My parents had a blast with Campbell. GrandDeb, aka Grandma Normie, rode with Campbell in the backseat for two of our four roadtrips. She kept Campbell entertained and happy which took away all the stress for me. Last night in Roanoke, Campbell put on quite a show for GrandDaddy and GrandDeb, which was great medicine for poor GrandDaddy who is fighting a terrible cough. She was straight up WILD. It was hilarious and she was acting like a crazy baby. We just sat back and enjoyed the show and laughed at my little performer. She is walking all over the place, stumbling like a drunk person. And last night, she decided to pick up the pace and try to skip/jog which was disastrous! Didn't bother her at all, she was crashing time and time again, laughing and giggling her little head off, and taking off again. It was so funny to watch!

Taylor and Campbell are the best of buds. These cousins were inseparable this weekend. Taylor will turn three about a week after Campbell turns one. Taylor wants to help me do everything, and wants to be next to Baby Campbell at all times. They took the inaugural ride in Jen's new double jogging stroller which was super cute. They were holding hands!!!!!! I melted. They took a bath together, complete with a bathtime tea party. Campbell had a bewildered look on her face during many of these activities, but Taylor didn't skip a beat and was sweet and gentle with Campbell. I will attempt to make a literary reference, but please don't make fun of me if it's wrong. Was it "Of Mice and Men" when the guy named Lenny loved the bunny so much, that he pet it too hard and killed it? We kept joking that Taylor was like Lenny and Campbell was the poor bunny being smothered by affection. But everyone survived and those two little girls are adorable to watch. I must say I was quite proud of Campbell. On more than one occasion, Taylor took a toy away from her and Campbell went after her. I'm talking, WWE-style. Like pulled her down from behind, went for the hair, it was a cat fight! I don't think Taylor stood a chance! (It doesn't hurt that Campbell weighs almost as much as Taylor despite the two year age gap - ha!) Us grown ups cracked up, and then of course intervened and made peace and talked about sharing. My girl can hold her own!! I'm glad to see she's going to be a little scrappy. That means she'll be assertive and stand up for herself. I like that!

The only bummer of the whole weekend was that my sweet husband wasn't there. Because Travis was working out of town last week, and because we were staying for a long weekend, he couldn't come with us. We had to leave town Thursday and he didn't return until Friday! :( We missed him so much it hurt! I don't know how couples manage when one parent travels a lot. It stinks, and I feel like Campbell is changing so fast right now, I just want him standing next to me at all times so we can watch her grow up before our very eyes! I'm being a bit of a drama queen, but in a nutshell, Campbell and I missed her Daddy very, very much.

I did take some pictures here and there this weekend but after all that driving, there isn't even a chance that I'll find the camera and download pictures tonight. If there are good ones, I'll post them later this week when I've crawled out from under the suitcases and recovered from all our travels. Right now...I'm headed to the couch to chase down a DVR'ed episode of Top Chef with a nice glass of pinot grigio. Wearing a big, fat smile on my face as I think about the great weekend we had with my family.

Trick or Treat

2009-11-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

I'm a few days late with details from Campbell's first Halloween! It was pretty uneventful but very fun. We of course dressed her up in the lovebug suit. I don't really know what Halloween protocol is for the little ones. It was still light out, yet I saw a few tiny trick-or-treaters down the street. Some of our neighbors already had their porch lights on, others didn't. So we went in and out of the house several times, each time ending with me saying, "nah, not yet, no one's out yet, let's wait a few more minutes." I just wanted it to be perfect! Meanwhile, Campbell was probably roasting in the all-fleece lovebug suit! :) Once we decided to make it a go, it was great. We just took her to a handful of neighbors' houses. She just had a blank stare on her face, kind of indifferent about the whole thing which is fine. After all, it is sort of a whacky holiday and was probably a little overwhelming. It started to rain on us, and Travis and I each had gotten a Payday candybar, so we called it a night! Back home, we parked her Exersaucer thing in the foyer and let her see a few rounds of trick-or-treaters at our house. I really liked one witch who was about seven years old. I opened the door, she saw Campbell and said, "Aw, I like your kid." Um, thanks! Haha, too cute. I love the pictures I captured from her first Halloween. Hope you enjoy them too! And I hope we find another excuse to wear that lovebug costume before she outgrows it, it is just way too adorable!

FINALLY outside after several false alarms.

Mommy loves this lovebug!

Daddy takes me next door to trick-or-treat. Check out their decorations! If you think this is good, you should see the place at Christmas!!

Ding dong, trick or treat!!!!!

HAPPY FIRST HALLOWEEN, CAMPBELL! You made a perfect lovebug.

Butterfly Kisses

2009-10-29T16:43:00.000-07:00

Travis' office does the coolest thing - they have a Halloween party for the kiddos! The kids dress up in costume and parade through the office, they give out candy and snacks, they were painting faces and doing stick-on tattoos, it was very cute. So below you will read Campbell's account of our day and her first Halloween party at Daddy's office. The title is inspired by a super sweet country song about the relationship between a daddy and his little girl which seemed quite fitting for these pictures of my two faves. And also has a little to do with her costume... Enjoy this preview to Halloween 2009 as told by Campbell!!

Today started with my sassy Halloween outfit from my Gangy - I felt so grown up! Spent the morning at church and played hard.

After a good nap, Mommy and I headed down to where all those tall buildings are. We waited in this fancy lobby and Mommy put this funny suit on me! I didn't mind at all...

Until she put the hood up! Who cares about antennae, this feels weird, and everyone is staring and pointing at me!

DADDY! What are you doing here?? (Notice I'm clapping, I just love this guy, even when he makes me wear antennae).

We went upstairs to Dad's office. There were LOTS of people so I pulled the shy act for a few minutes. This is actually my signature pose.

But after a few minutes, with Daddy's encouragement, I was happy again and ready to show off my cool costume.

Some lady called me a Love Bug. Aaaah, now THAT would explain all the hearts all over my wings. I kept telling Mom this was a weird-looking butterfly but she didn't listen.

SHEW! It was 75 degrees today in Charlotte. I shed the costume and took a break to check out the floor of Daddy's office. I wanted to hop in the trash can but of course...they stopped me.

So this is where Daddy sits when he's at work missing me.

Mommy is always mumbling about Daddy needing to manage his calendar better. So I decided to organize a few things for him...

As soon as I get these faxed over to a client, I gotta hop on a quick conference call and then...

FIVE O'CLOCK! We're outta here, people. Thanks to PricewaterhouseCoopers for hosting such a cool Halloween party today. I'm sure I'll enjoy it even more next year when they might actually let me eat a piece of candy!!!!

The Tupperware Cabinet, Such a Cliche

2009-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

I feel like all parents say how their babies just love to play with the tupperware. Yeah, yeah, what a cliche. Or climb in the dishwasher. Again, another cliche. That's like when I walk Lexi and she pees on the fire hydrant. I'm like, can't you come up with something more original than that?? But back to Campbell, I realized my baby wasn't yet into tupperware or dishwashers! Probably because I've been too nervous to let her play in the non-carpeted areas of the house!! Well...she's mobile. Yesterday I counted 25 consecutive steps, and today...32 steps. On her own. She's definitely mobile! Wobbly....but mobile. She's 10 1/2 months old. It's time to explore, Campbell! So I led her into the kitchen, and watched her face light up as I opened the magical doors to...the tupperware cabinet!!!

And then, I attempted to empty the dishwasher while she played, knowing she'd probably be curious and come check it out. The issue is that Campbell didn't decide to climb in the dishwasher or go for the silverware like most kids might. Oh no, my baby IS original! She decided to gnaw on the door. That's right, she leaned all the way over, and started biting the door. The first picture is pre-bite. The second is post-bite. No more eating the dishwasher, Campbell. (If you had any doubt at all that Campbell's hair is red, check out the second picture).

So maybe we're not ready for the dishwasher yet. But I think the tupperware cabinet is going to add hours of fun in our near future. And who cares if all the other kids are doing it too! There's a reason why they do...because it's fun and a lot cheaper than running to Target for a new toy that lights and blinks and sings annoying songs!

And speaking of being original, who says girls don't love power tools? Campbell is at Hunter's house, showing him she knows how to operate the Cookie Monster drill press and the Elmo circular saw. These two are so cute together!!

After a long day of playing with power tools and tupperware, Campbell enjoys her formula from her sippy cup, one of her latest tricks!

Playdates Galore!

2009-10-25T15:07:00.000-07:00

This past week, Travis was working in New York. We dropped him off at the airport Sunday night (sniff sniff) and didn't get to pick him back up until Friday night! My hat goes off to all the single parents out there. My job as a mommy is so much harder when I don't have a daddy here with me. It's just the little things, like tackling bathtime with the two of us, keeping her occupied while I straighten up or make a meal. On top of missing Travis as my helper, I missed him as my companion! He could've caught a ride home from the airport with a co-worker on Friday night, but Campbell and I couldn't stand one more minute without him. So we put on our pj's and went down there Friday night to welcome him with open arms! I think it just about killed him to be away from his little angel all week. He typically doesn't travel much at all, but unfortunately will have to go out of town a few times this fall. We'll survive, but we sure did miss you, Daddy!

I pretty much set up an obstacle course in the living room this week. Drug all the toys in there from the playroom, strategically placed the baby gates, moved the ottomans, and set up a place where she could safely play. This allowed me a little more freedom to do stuff in the kitchen and still be able to see her. Oh...and she may have been allowed to watch a little more TV than usual. Above, one of her favorite shows, The Notekins!

The days of sitting down and playing with a toy are long gone. She's on the move! She walks from toy to toy, from the couch to me, she balances for long periods of time, and is up to about 7 or 8 steps on her own. It won't be long before she's running through this house!

Because we were on our own, Campbell and I made sure we had plans everyday last week. On Monday we had to run into my office and run a work-related errand. From that point on, it was Playdates Galore!!

On Tuesday, my friend Mary and her 5-week old daughter, Helen, came over to "play." OK, so Helen doesn't really play yet. But Campbell sure does! Mary and I talked and ate and watched sweet Helen nap and "be cute", and Campbell worked on her walking skills. Later in the day we took a long walk around the 'hood because the weather was bordering on perfect. Shame on me, I didn't take a single picture. Now Mary's blog and my blog have no fun pictures to share from our playdate.

On Wednesday, Travis' mom and Nanny came down for the day. They arrived around lunchtime and then stayed through the afternoon. Gangy had recently had some quality time with Campbell on our trip to the wedding. But Nanny rarely gets to see Campbell in her own element. She was SO excited to see Campbell playing with her toys, taking all sorts of steps as she stumbles all over the room, and babbling up a storm. Campbell and I really enjoyed family time. Gangy was amazed to see how well Campbell is walking when she wasn't able to do that just a couple of weekends ago. Once again, shame on me, I didn't take a single picture.

Thursday rolled around and Campbell and I headed to Oasis in the morning. By afternoon, it was another picture perfect fall day here in sunny Carolina. We headed down the street to Thirsty Thursday with the neighborhood kiddos and moms. This was a huge turning point for Campbell - this is the first playdate where Campbell was actually in on the action. She played! She really, really played! I was in heaven. I was squealing and laughing the whole time, so excited to see my baby girl hanging with the big kids. She's the baby of the group in the neighborhood, and all the older kids loved seeing the "baby" play with them. For the first time, I got to sit with the moms and chat, rather than be seated on the ground with Campbell trying to entertain her. She was playing with her friends, and I was absolutely delighted! Campbell had a ball...you should've seen her face. She thought she was hot stuff playing with the big kids. Once again, I didn't take a single picture. But...my friend Meg came to the rescue with these cute pictures. Thirsty Thursdays rock!

So Ryan, come here often?

Totally in on the action

Brendan, my man...how has your week been? I haven't seen you around the neighborhood lately! We should get together...

OK, sorry for the cheesy captions. Quite the opposite, Campbell is actually proving to be quite shy! Not really with other kids, but with adults. It is adorable. Whenever anyone speaks to her or looks at her in public, it's like her ear is glued to her shoulder. She tilts her head and tries to look away...and always gets a big "awwwww" from whoever is speaking to her. I don't want to encourage shyness, but it's oh-so-cute and I think harmless at this point in the game. I guess that's just one more way Campbell is like her Daddy. We all know that doesn't come from me!

Friday was a blah day - I wasn't feeling good at all and we had to cancel a playdate with Hunter and his mom, Dana. We are hoping to reschedule for this week before Hunter becomes a big brother!! Once I was feeling a little better that afternoon, Campbell and I ran out and got her some new walking shoes! I'm so used to just letting her hang out in a pair of socks or barefoot. But as it gets colder outside, and as she is perfecting her walking skills, she needs a good pair of kicks. I took her to some fancy schmancy baby boutique and got her the "it" shoes for new walkers. She is doing really well in them so far! Friday night Daddy came home and the Justice family was thrilled to be together again. :)

Unfortunately the Panthers had a home game this weekend so Travis had to work Saturday afternoon and again all day today. (It is also unfortunate that the Panthers played an absolutely embarrassing game today. Ouch.) When Travis left for the stadium Saturday afternoon, Campbell and I went to her friend Julianna's first birthday party. Below are a few pictures from Campbell's first party as well a couple of Campbell dressed up for church this morning. Please note the funky tights...love it!

Giving Julianna a pat on the back for being one year old

Playing with a pink hippo she picked out from the pinata

Campbell is in bed early tonight after a long and fun week of playing hard. I'm off to pour a hot cup of hazelnut decaf, make a small bowl of light cookies and cream ice cream, and cuddle up with my book and wait for Travis to come home!

Hold On For One More Day

2009-10-18T17:18:00.000-07:00

I was a blogging fool last week. And in all my blogging, I never got around to telling the stories from our weekend in Wallace, North Carolina! So here goes...

Shannon and Scott got married last weekend in Wallace, which is a teeny tiny town about 40 miles outside of Wilmington. Just in case you are unfamiliar with NC geography...that's East. And I'm not joking about teeny tiny. We really didn't see much other than the gorgeous golf course community where the wedding was held, but cell phones didn't even work here. It was SMALL! :) Shannon is a sorority sister of mine from college. We have remained close despite living in different cities, and I was one of TEN bridesmaids! I'm telling you, this girl has so many friends it's ridiculous!

In order to make the weekend work, we invited Travis' parents to join us. They graciously accompanied us to Wallace. Which means they first drove from Marion to Charlotte on Thursday night and spent the night with us. Then, they went with us to Wallace, leaving at 6 a.m. on Friday morning so I could be there in time for a luncheon. Travis had to be back Sunday morning for a Panthers game...so they got up and left with us at 5 a.m. on Sunday morning. And Butch drove so we could sleep!!! And then they unpacked the car for me...and even offered to watch Campbell while I took a nap! I'm getting off track. But I just wanted to set the scene and show how much traveling they did for us, and what a tremendous blessing it was to have them come along. Campbell was thrilled to get so much quality time with her grandparents, too!

We took Campbell to the rehearsal dinner on Friday night. On the way to the dinner, Travis said that she said "Daddy" in the car multiple times, and said it TO him, as opposed to the da da da da babbling she's been doing for a while now. I wasn't there to witness it, but our friend Bill was present and swears it happened. So that made Travis' night! (I've since heard her do it. And as a sidenote, she's definitely called me "Mama" too in the last week. So exciting!) After the rehearsal dinner we put her to bed in our hotel room, Travis' parents sat with her while she slept, and we went next door to the karaoke bar where all my friends were. Shannon and Scott make a great couple. One reason is because they are both CRAZY! Case in point, they sang karaoke Hold On by Wilson Phillips together. Not too crazy right? Well...Scott was singing lead...in a perfect falcetto voice, and Shannon sang back-up. It was absolutely hilarious. And just thinking about that night puts that great song back in my head, hence the title. Thanks, Scott!

The wedding was beautiful. I won't go on and on about details other than to say that Shannon definitely looked like a princess. She put a lot of thought and love into the gifts she got all of us bridesmaids and we were all really touched. The morning of the wedding, I drew the short straw and was assigned the 8 a.m. hair appointment. I was not thrilled about having my hair done that early before a 5 p.m. wedding. Nor was I crazy about getting up and showering at 6:30 a.m. and leaving Campbell and Travis for the entire day! But I did...only to find out that the hair stylist overslept and was running THREE hours late! She started my hair, the first appointment, at about 10:30. Needless to say, that was pretty stressful for all ten of us bridesmaids and of course the bride! But she did a great job, even though she was late. It's not often that I like my "wedding hairstyles", and I did, so I forgave her. :) I had a blast with my girlfriends and Travis and I enjoyed a night out without the baby. (Can I still call her a baby, please?? She's just getting so big and grown up...but she's still my baby).

Here are a few pictures from the wedding! And by the way, every time I step outside in this unseasonably cold October weather, I think of Shannon and Scott laying poolside in Antigua right now and I get terribly jealous... Congratulations, my friends! We are really happy for them, and kind of sad that all my friends are married now. What excuse are we all going to have to get together next year??

Pig Pickin' Rehearsal Dinner...it was SO HOT outside that night!

Mr. and Mrs. May!!!

Mr. and Mrs. Justice!!!

My girls Michele and Gina

One Small Step for Campbell...

2009-10-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

...one giant leap for mankind!!

Yesterday, October 13, 2009, Campbell took her first steps!

On October 3, Campbell took one step. Travis and I both witnessed it. She let go of the furniture she was holding onto, balanced, and stepped forward with one foot. Then she fell, so we didn't count that. To "walk", we think it has to at least be one foot after the other. Since then, she has done one step one numerous occasions.

Yesterday, she and I were playing in the playroom. She took THREE steps to me! I screamed and cheered and kissed and hugged and giggled. She was SO proud of herself. I wanted to make sure it wasn't a fluke, so I had her doing it over and over again.

Campbell is not "walking." But she is certainly taking steps. She can balance well enough to stand on her own and clap. She got behind her little push toy yesterday and was walking all over the room behind it. She couldn't do that, like...days ago! I'm telling you, she is growing up SO FAST!!!!! I've now got the video camera glued to my hand trying to capture it on film. I got a short video on my phone that shows one step and a clap. The problem is that she sees the camera and doesn't want to perform, she wants to eat the camera. :)

If there is something you want to happen, but you don't think it will, just let me know and I'll blog about it. Then it will happen! First I said that she'd never crawl. In days, she was crawling. Then in my 10 month post I said that she was far from walking, even though she'd taken one step. Later that day - she takes several steps, again and again. So apparently my blog has secret powers to make the unexpected happen!! We are super excited that she is getting more mobile. Campbell, you are simply amazing!

Ten Months Old!!!

2009-10-13T07:32:00.000-07:00

Campbell couldn't even face the camera. Mommy, we need to tell the truth! We are taking these pictures a day late, on the 12th!

I'm actually 10 months old...and 1 day!!

Yeah!!!! Much better. Now we can celebrate.

I will definitely clap for double digits!

Where has time gone? We're only two months away from the big one year celebration!!!!! Campbell is changing at the speed of light. She babbles constantly now. Mostly ba-ba-ba-ba, but now we're getting a lot of da-da-da-da's, and they are sometimes directed at Travis. He loves it! She can also say daddy, sometimes for Travis, and sometimes just to hear herself talk. (She IS like me!!!) I'm still working on Mommy.

She is crawling EVERYWHERE. We bought a little baby fence this month to keep her in one spot while I cook dinner, answer the phone, or even just go to the bathroom! I'm telling you, this little monkey takes off and there's no stopping her. We spend a ton of time in the playroom and Campbell loves her toys, especially anything she can bang together. I bought her a little drum set before our trip this weekend (I know her grandparents appreciated that - ha!). She pulls up on EVERYTHING and cruises. She is getting really strong at walking while holding onto the furniture, the wall, her toys, our hands...just about anything she can use. Campbell also lets go and is able to stand on her own for quite a long time. She is perfecting going from standing to sitting without just crashing to the floor. Slowly but surely she's learning how to ease herself down. On a few occasions, she's been standing and taken one unassisted step. We think it may take some time before she's able to follow with a second step...but then again, we also thought she'd never crawl! With this new independence comes bruises, bruises, bruises! Poor thing falls down all the time. I struggle with this because I can't stand to let her fall. But I know she has to learn how to pull up and walk, and in doing that, is bound to bonk her head more than a time or two. Luckily, so far all the falls have been minor and a good kiss from Mom or Dad makes it all better.

Campbell definitely understands things we tell her now. She knows what is coming when we say it's time to change your diaper, take a bath, take a nap, get some good foodies, Daddy's home, etc. It's truly amazing to watch her learn and soak up the world. This past weekend while we were out of town for the wedding, her Gangy taught her how to clap! I've been working on this for WEEKS to no avail. I leave her alone with her grandparents for a day, and next thing I know, she's clapping!! It's adorable and the past few days have been filled with clapping and giggling.

As usual, Campbell is eating like a champ. She's getting much better at a sippy cup now that we've switched to a straw cup. Her little fingers are very nimble and she feeds herself pretty easily now. Next step - to master the spoon...but I think that will be quite a while from now. She's wearing all 18 month clothing and getting taller and taller. She's still got a nice bit of extra padding, but is definitely starting to thin out now that she's mobile.

This past month Campbell really tested us when it came to sleeping. She went from sleeping 11-12 hours at night, uninterrupted...to keeping us up all night. I caved under the pressure at first and spent a good week or two in her room most of the night, rocking her, rubbing her back, etc. With Travis' encouragement, we toughed it out a night or two and let her cry it out. It worked!! She's sleeping again and doing well. If she wakes up, we check on her, lay her back down and leave...and she puts herself back to sleep. Sweet!! She also goes down for her naps now while she's still awake, as opposed to me rocking her to sleep. Much better. I was afraid we were starting some VERY bad habits, so I am proud of Travis and I for taking charge and getting nighttime and naptime back in check!

Shew! A lot has gone on this month! Every day with Campbell is so special and so precious. Happy ten months, Campbell!

31 Flavors, Where Should We Start??

2009-10-12T06:23:00.000-07:00

Campbell and I need to make a trip to Baskin Robbins and work our way through all 31 flavors because...apparently she is not allergic to dairy!! HALLELUJAH! Thursday afternoon, we got the call from the allergist that her allergy tests for dairy, peaches and wheat were all negative! (We suspected dairy and peach, and wanted to test for wheat because of a few whacky incidents). Woohoo!!! We took her to the allergist on Tuesday of last week and were totally relieved when the doctor said he could perform a very accurate test by pricking her finger rather than doing the scratch test on her back. I was so excited at the news of her results, and then totally baffled and a little frustrated. The call from the nurse went something like this:

Nurse: I'm calling with the results for Campbell Justice's allergy testing. Are you his mother?
Me: Her. Her mother. Yes, I am.
Nurse: OK. His results are as follows. He is not allergic to dairy, peach, or wheat.
Me: That's wonderful news!
Nurse: Please avoid giving any foods that make him splotchy on his face, and if you find specific foods create a reaction, come back in six months for more testing.
Me: OK. We have not given HER dairy for four months because it made HER splotchy. I assume now that you're telling me SHE is not allergic to dairy, we can reintroduce it into HER diet in small amounts and see how SHE does?
Nurse: I wouldn't. I'd just avoid it.
Me: OK, but if she's not allergic to it, why should she not have dairy in her diet?

We went back and forth for a few minutes, with the nurse continually repeating her script, not answering my questions, and not making any sense. Sidenote - would you name a boy Campbell?? Anyway...I got frustrated and said thank you for your time and goodbye, and I've left a message for the doctor this morning. I look at it like this - I was allergic to cats, I got Harley, had a couple of sneezy weeks...and now I'm not allergic to cats anymore! Campbell obviously has some sort of sensitivity to dairy. It was very obvious before that the splotches and rash came immediately after dairy exposure. We are not crazy, and our doctors agreed that something was going on. However, if an allergist can now tell me from bloodwork she has no allergy so I don't have to worry about a little rash, my instinct would be to slowly introduce her to dairy. If the rash is not an indication of any serious reaction to come, I don't see why we'd continue to avoid dairy! Come on, Campbell, let's go get a waffle cone!!!!!

OK...maybe not a waffle cone just yet. But I sure would love to give her a bite of cheese or yogurt. Meal planning over the past few months has been a little challenging to avoid dairy! Thank goodness my girl loves her veggies! I look forward to speaking to a different nurse today, or maybe even the doctor, and getting a more clear response on our plan of action.

Travis and I, while a little confused, are totally relieved. It's still strange that she has no allergy when we know she's had reactions. But hopefully the mild reactions she's had will continue to be manageable and even go away! And when her first birthday rolls around in TWO SHORT MONTHS, I won't have to make a vegan cake for her!!!!!

Speaking of her upcoming birthday...Campbell turned ten months old yesterday!!!! We were in Wallace, North Carolina this weekend for Shannon and Scott's wedding. We left at 5 a.m. yesterday to drive home so Travis could get back in time to work at the Panthers game. Talk about exhausted!! Needless to say, Mommy didn't have the energy to stage a photo shoot yesterday after all that traveling, partying, and bridesmaid duties over the weekend! Nor do I have a clue which suitcase contains the camera. Today I will send out a search party for the camera and get some great pictures of this little munchkin who is growing and changing like crazy!! And either later today or later this week, I'll share stories and pictures from my dear friend Shannon's wedding!

Off to make grilled cheese sandwiches with a side of yogurt followed by an ice cream sundae for Campbell. Or........probably just wait by the phone to hear back from the allergist. :)

Goats and Llamas and Chickens...Oh My!

2009-10-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, Campbell and I went on an adventure to an animal farm about 45 minutes outside of town. This farm sits on 40 acres and has a ton of animals to look at and feed (if you're brave enough!). My friend organized this outing for a few of us and our kids, so we met early Friday morning and drove up there together.

I realized on this trip that I am truly a city girl. Don't get me wrong, I love doing activities with Campbell that are a little different. It was a gorgeous drive through the country on a nice fall morning. But I am just not too keen on the fresh smell of cow manure in the morning, all the flies, and the dirty animals! I knew I'd sound like a total snob when I typed that out, and I see that I do. But really, it's the truth! I bought two bags of feed, thinking I'd be brave enough to feed the animals. Ha! I didn't have it in me to fill my hand with feed and let the animals eat out of my hand. I know, total wimp. So instead, my strategy was to launch big handfuls of feed into the pins and let the animals run and get it. Hey, it worked for me. :) And I blame my fear on Travis. He told me that there was a little girl in the news who lost a finger to a zebra at a petting zoo, and I've been freaked out ever since!

Campbell was somewhat indifferent about the whole experience. Obviously she's too young to really understand where we were. I pushed her in the stroller and put her right up next to the fence. She gave me a few strange looks, probably realizing that we weren't in the suburbs anymore. I got her out of the stroller for a photo op and also to let her look around. One thing she does love is fresh air! She loves to feel a breeze in her face, it always makes her giggle. I love that about her! I really enjoyed seeing the giraffes and some of the big buffalo-type animals. (I really need to work on my animal identification skills. At one point, I told my friend I thought I saw the elk. Yeah...it was a reindeer. hahaha Apparently elk are a LOT bigger than reindeer. City girl...)

There was a very disappointing aspect to the day. While we all enjoyed seeing the goats, buffalo-thingys, horses, and cows...we were pretty upset to see the environment in which some of the other animals were kept. There were monkeys in tiny, chain-link cages without any room to swing or play. There was a dingo in a cinderblock cage with a cement floor all by himself. There was a baboon who was obviously insane from running circles in his tiny cage. And lastly, a terribly skinny dog all alone who was in desperate need of attention, room to run, and a good meal. We were pretty upset and some of my friends even reported the farm to the proper authorities that day.

In spite of some of the unfortunate conditions, Campbell and I still managed to have a good morning. Will we go back? Probably not. But I'm glad us city girls made an effort to hang out on the farm.

Goats...

And llamas...

And chickens...Oh My!

Campbell is guarding the bag of feed with her foot, since she knows her Mommy is too big of a wuss to feed it to the animals.

This is a reindeer, not an elk, just FYI. :)

Switching gears...

Saturday morning, the Justice family got up at the crack of dawn and headed to Uptown for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure to benefit breast cancer research. This cause is very close to our hearts as Travis' grandmother, Nanny, is a breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed several years ago, underwent extensive chemotherapy, and is doing fantastic and living life to its fullest! We also walked in honor of my friend, Emily, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in August. Emily is my age and has two little girls. Thank goodness she was extremely vigilant since her mother is a breast cancer survivor. They found hers very early and her prognosis seems to be good. She's got a long, hard road ahead of her though, and it really hit close to home to have a friend my age diagnosed with this terrible disease. Travis and I both spent most of the morning getting choked up, just overwhelmed at the 15,000 people there to walk in support of this cause...seeing all the survivors in pink t-shirts...thinking about Nanny...thinking about Emily...it was a special morning and we felt great about it. What didn't feel so great was my legs the next day - for some reason we ran half of the 5K! I had no idea I could do that!! I am just now getting back my ability to walk, but I felt great about running and feel pretty motivated to try it out again sometime very soon. Travis and I also agreed that it's very important to continue to take Campbell to things like that. We want her to grow up knowing the importance of community, and reaching out to help people that you don't even know. What a positive message to send to her! I was too short to see the mass of people when we started the race. As we came down a hill, Travis had me turn around and see the people behind us - wow! And there were just as many ahead of us...it was pretty awesome.

Here are some pictures from our morning at the walk.

Just before the start of the Race for the Cure

Campbell had a sign on her stroller that said she was racing in celebration of her Nanny.

All of those little dots in the background are people...15,000 of them...racing for the cure!

Lastly, I want to share a story about a little girl that had a profound impact on me Saturday morning. As we were heading back to the car, a family stopped us and asked how old our little girl was. They commented on how adorable she was (which we of course appreciated). We then asked about their baby girl who was six months old. She was tiny! We're used to Campbell dwarfing other kids because she's so big. But then one of the family members explained that Baby Nicole was a preemie and only 4 pounds 6 ounces at birth. Wow, we told them how great she looked now. After a little chit chat, they told us that Nicole lost her mommy to breast cancer. It was then that I noticed they were all wearing pictures of Nicole's mommy who had recently passed away. Then we understood why Nicole was a preemie, her mommy was too sick. I felt like I'd had the wind knocked out of me. I stumbled through a few polite things, barely able to speak I was so stunned and heartbroken. As soon as we walked away, the tears came. Talk about hitting close to home. To see a baby girl without a mother really and truly broke my heart. Everyone deserves to grow up with a mommy. And so Baby Nicole, that's why we walked that morning. For your mommy, and all the other moms, nannies, sisters, aunts, friends... I really feel like I'll never forget that little girl and her sweet family!

Girls Only Roadtrip

2009-09-29T16:23:00.000-07:00

Campbell and I survived our first 'girls only' roadtrip! She did really well in the car. No one else was surprised by this. For some reason I was. I was convicned that she'd be crying the whole way. Not sure why, she's typically such a good baby, but I just thought for sure that would come to an end when I was on my own. To my delight, I was wrong!! On the way there, she slept for 2/3 of the drive and sat quietly for the last hour. On the way back home, she slept the entire way! I was very thankful for uneventful roadtrips.

We had a great time in Virginia. Friday night we went to dinner at my parents' club so they could parade around the baby. :) Campbell was a trooper, stayed up late, and was still charming to all of their friends. Granddaddy was especially excited to show off her Virginia Tech shoes. Saturday morning we went tailgating with Grandma Betty. OK, not really tailgating. But seriously, how cute is this? Grandma just moved into a new apartment at a retirement community. (I guess that's what you call it?) They were having a tailgate party - yummy finger foods, decorated with a ton of Tech, UVA and Tennessee gear, and they even served beer! Grandma's new place is REALLY nice and I was so happy to spend some time with her. I approve of the new pad! Grandma proudly introduced Campbell and I to everyone. My mom and dad were there too, so between us girls, we had four generations which was pretty special (picture to follow!) After tailgating, we hung out for a while, then headed back to my parents' house to settle in for the Tech/Miami game. Go Hokies! What a great win on a nasty, rainy day.

Also on Saturday, Campbell must have come down with a little virus or something. I won't go into details and embarrass her...let's just say I had to run to CVS twice during the Tech game to buy Pedialyte and more diapers. Does that tell you enough? :( It has been awful, part of the reason I've been late posting about my weekend. Poor Campbell has had this tummy bug since Saturday!! It's now TUESDAY! That's a lot of really dirty diapers, people. She seems to be on the mend today...finally...but has also gotten pretty cranky and fussy. I don't know if her tummy hurts, or if she's just taking advantage of the extra attention. We were just about to get the hang of letting her cry it out when she woke up in the middle of the night - and then this virus happened. One night we found a not-so-pleasant surprise in the crib...so we have not been letting her cry it out for the last few nights. Therefore, Campbell is loving the cuddle time in the middle of the night - and Travis and I are very sleepy! We are very anxious to get her back on track, feeling well, and of course reminding her that we sleep until 7:30 in the morning. :)

On another note...yesterday we got to see some our family pictures on the blog of our photographer. OH...MY...GOD. Best. Pictures. Ever. I don't have the cd of pictures yet, so I can't post them here today. But I will say that those pictures absolutely made my week. They totally exceeded my expectations and I know we are going to cherish them forever. This is such a fun time in our lives and it's so cool to see it captured in amazing pictures. Aaaaahhh, I'm smiling just thinking about these pictures. I will post here as soon as I get them!!

There is a random tidbit I want to share. A cute new habit that I've noticed around here. Campbell used to beam ear to ear when Travis walked in from work. She still does. But now, while grinning, she stops whatever she's doing and crawls over to him and reaches up. I love to watch this scenario go down. I have to wait in line to get my hello hug and kiss now - but it's worth it to watch my little girl in her daddy's arms.

And lastly, Travis had an awesome weekend at a cabin in South Carolina with his best guy friends. They did manly stuff like fish, go target shooting, and play poker. He really enjoyed his time and Lexi enjoyed crashing the boys weekend and running around in the wilderness. Of course I have no pictures to share from his weekend since I had the camera...and because I'm not sure if guys really do the whole "picture thing"...so please enjoy a couple from my girls weekend in Roanoke!

Dinner at the club, sitting up at the fancy table like a big girl

"Tailgating" at Grandma Betty's new place

Four Generations!! I love this picture!!!!

Checking out Grandma Betty's new place. It looks good to me!

Brown Bear with my GrandDeb - it doesn't get much better than this! Mom brought my special baby fence from home for me to play in. Keeps me from bonking my head on sharp tables and helps me resist pulling Norman's ears and tail. ;)

I have my OWN keyboard at GrandDeb and Granddaddy's house. I can type e-mails...or just sit on it.

Thirsty Thursday

2009-09-24T11:25:00.000-07:00

It's been a hectic week to say the least. Nothing out of the ordinary going on in our world, just a lot of "stuff." Campbell and I spent Monday with her cousin Miller and his mommy. They live in South Carolina - yes, we cross borders for playdates. haha OK, I'm being a little dramatic, it's like a 40-minute drive that was well worth it. Miller has a TON of toys...even after loaning us all of his "baby" toys. Campbell and I both had fun.

After Oasis at church this morning, Campbell and I have been getting ready to host Thirsty Thursday this afternoon. It's a playgroup for the kiddos in the neighborhood. The name comes from the adult beverages usually served to the moms. Yes, we are responsible parents and no one is boozing it up while watching their kids. But it is really fun and quite nice to share ONE glass of wine with my friends while the kids play at the end of the week. I'm excited to host it today, although quite disappointed in my produce. I was making this awesome dip about twenty minutes ago. I waited until the last minute on purpose so the avocado wouldn't turn brown. I cut the thing open, and it was bad. Really bad. Not salvageable. And of course, this is discovered when my normally-non-napping child goes down for a great nap, and company is coming over in an hour. Oh well, now I know to always buy two avocados! We'll be having avocado-less dip today. Maybe the wine will make up for it... Lexi is at doggie daycare for the afternoon so it will be a lot easier on me to keep things in order around here with all the toddlers running around.

The best part of the week was Tuesday morning. We had family pictures right after sunrise on the first day of fall with the most talented photographer on the planet. Seriously, y'all, this girl is GOOD. I will tell more about her and about our session when we get all the pictures back and of course share them here. But she did post this one picture on her blog as a teaser of what's to come, and said some really sweet things about how cute Campbell is. I couldn't agree more, Sharon!

Tomorrow Campbell and I are headed to Virginia to see my family. Travis can't go this weekend, and it will be the longest trip I've ever taken with Campbell solo. I'm going to carefully time the drive around naptime and hope for the best!! I can't wait for my family to see how much my little girl has grown up since the beach trip!!!!!!

My Two Buddies

2009-09-18T07:15:00.000-07:00

The tall, handsome one in the suit cracks me up, makes me feel so loved, supports me, comforts me, makes me have fun, calms me when I'm getting all high strung, shows me everyday what a wonderful Dad/husband/friend he is, and he makes me smile...over and over again, all day long. And did I mention handsome?? He's pretty easy on the eyes as well.

The cute, little redhead also cracks me up, makes me feel so loved, makes me have fun, lets me be a kid again, reminds me to count my blessings, fills me with pride, has helped me become a better person and take a closer look at myself, wow's me with her personality, her growth and her tiny spirit, and she makes me smile...over and over again, all day long. And did I mention cute?? She's pretty easy on the eyes as well.

Those are my two buddies. And they fill my life with joy, over and over again, all day long.

Campbell has slept through the night without any problem for three nights in a row. I'm not bragging. Simply stating a fact. I refuse to comment further for fear of jinxing it. As for the bloodwork earlier this week, it was a failure. The process was much less traumatic, but the end result was the same. Her veins were too small and they couldn't find one after sticking her in both arms! So next step...off to see an allergist in the near future. Until then, we're all smiles around here.

The Score is Tied

2009-09-15T17:41:00.001-07:00

Campbell - 1. Travis and Sara - 1.

This is the score as of last night. Tonight, Travis and I are going to make every effort to put us up a point. What is the game? Trying to make Campbell go a whole night without waking up to be rocked back to sleep by Mommy and Daddy.

I have bragged and bragged over the past few months about what an amazing sleeper we have. Oh, my sweet baby sleeps for 12 hours straight without a peep. Oh, my little angel is such a good sleeper, we are so lucky. Well...she is sweet, she is an angel, and we are very lucky. But good sleeper...no longer!!! My bragging has totally backfired! When am I going to learn to keep my mouth shut when the going is good???

I have mentioned before how her new ability to stand up was interfering with her sleep (and ours). It has snowballed and we are now in the middle of a nighttime battle with Campbell. She wakes up, as we all do during the night. But most of us roll over, adjust the covers, and go back to sleep. Not our precious Campbell! These days, she sits ups, maybe even stands up. Then she's awake and wants to be held. Let me correct that. Then she's awake and demands to be held.

I know you shouldn't rock a baby in the middle of the night because they get used to it. But we have been doing that when she wakes up because it's easier on us. We bought an amazing rocker for her room that is so comfy cozy (mistake #1). We should have put a hard, old rocking chair in there so we wouldn't be tempted to cuddle. When she cries, we have two options: (1) sit in the cozy rocker and rock her to sleep, probably drifting to sleep ourselves in the process, or (2) listen to her wail on the monitor. She doesn't cry herself to sleep, either. That's what the books say to do. We've tried that. We'll check on her, let her know we are there, make sure she's safe, and then leave her to "cry it out." She cries alright, but there's no "crying it out." The crying escalates to a deafening level and instead of tiring her out, it gets her more wound up. So we are forced to lie awake in bed and listen. Selfishly, we'd rather just hold her, soothe her quicker, and go back to bed. Well, that plan has afforded us a little more sleep but Campbell has caught on. It's become a nightly routine now for her to wake up a couple of times and cry until she's rocked back to sleep. We've decided to nip this in the bud before this middle of the night rocking routine gets worse than it already is!

Last night, Campbell won the first time she woke up. I started rocking her at 1:45 a.m. I woke up a little disoriented at 3:15, still in the chair in her room. I was able to gently lay her down and escape back to the comfort of my own bed. Just an hour and a half later, she woke up again. This time, we were on a mission to NOT get her out of the crib. She cried and fussed and screamed and wailed and whimpered for 45 minutes. Most of that time, I stood over her crib and rubbed her back. (Travis came to help, but it really is a one-person job. I sent him back to bed since he has to be coherent during the day at work). When she'd sit up, I'd lay her back down which REALLY aggravated her. I had to be touching her, and she had to be able to see me. There was no sneaking out. Eventually, she fell asleep sitting up against my arm, with me leaning all the way over the crib. Remember, the mattress is in the lowest position. And remember, I'm only 5'2". This is NOT an easy position to hold, especially not at 5 o'clock in the morning. But I proudly walked out of her room (OK, limped out, due to my sore back) at 5:30 a.m. with her sleeping peacefully, scoring one point for Team Mommy and Daddy. Then she slept until almost 7:45 which was nice, considering what we'd been through during the night.

Tonight will be a new challenge I'm sure. It's so hard to see her cry knowing that all she wants is to cuddle with us. Our pediatrician and our parents have assured us this is a normal stage of development. She is getting older and as she wakes up, she's crying for us to come rescue her. As opposed to a newborn who just cries because, well, that's what babies do. On top of that, we know she's teething, and we know she likes to try out her new trick of standing up. But we know it's best for her to learn to sleep by herself, unassisted. Wish us luck as we go to battle tonight! I'm feeling confident right now that we can try to keep her in the crib again tonight. But ask me again at 3 a.m. when the alternative is sleeping in that cozy chair with her...

9 Months Old!!!

2009-09-12T08:49:00.000-07:00

Campbell was 9 months old yesterday!!!

I got the pictures taken on time, but didn't get a chance to write this post yesterday. It was a busy day! We started out with her 9 month doctor's appointment. There we got the same news as usual - that she is perfect!! Well, duh, we already knew that. Apparently all this standing up is helping her figure because she is holding steady at 22 pounds. This is only the 89th percentile! Notice I said ONLY the 89th. I guess that's kind of funny. We are used to being over 95! However, Campbell is over the 98th percentile in height! She is a whopping 30 inches tall. Wow! She sure didn't get that from the Reid side of the family. Red hair, tall...whose baby is this, anyway?? Travis has an uncle with red hair that is 6'6" tall, so I guess she's a Justice baby through and through! She got a vaccination which was the start of her demise. Then we had to take our pitiful, freshly-vaccinated baby to the lab for bloodwork. Yes, bloodwork on a 9 month old. :( We are ready to get some answers about Campbell's food allergies, so they are going to do bloodwork for an allergy screen. I waited in the lobby for twenty minutes while poor Travis and a nurse held Campbell down. I could hear her screaming the entire time. After all that trauma, they weren't able to find a vein. So guess what? Campbell and I have to go back Monday morning and try again...without Travis. I'm not going to lie, I cried on the way home. I knew it didn't hurt her, I just hated that she was so scared and I'm totally dreading going back. We need answers about these allergies so we can keep her safe, so I'll get through it! While I heard her screaming, I had flashbacks of when she was in the hospital as a newborn and her IV got stuck in her leg. YOUCH! So anyway, that made me sad. But we're all fine now. :)

Then yesterday afternoon my sweet husband took Campbell and sent me to the spa for a manicure, pedicure and haircut. It was fabulous. I really do hate that word, but it seems to be the only one that is adequate for my afternoon of pampering.

So...there are my excuses for the late post. On to more important things. I stand corrected...

CAMPBELL IS CRAWLING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I know you may be laughing now. In my last post, I went on and on about how convinced I was that she'd never crawl. Ha! So much for a mother's intuition! On Thursday morning, she and I were sitting in her playroom, and she just crawled past me to get a toy. As you can imagine, I flipped out. Did that really just happen? So I grabbed the same toy and moved it to the other side of the room, and off she went! Once she repeated this about 7 or 8 times, I realized it wasn't a fluke, she was truly crawling! I got out the video camera and held back a few tears as I watched my baby girl growing up right before my eyes! Life is going to change big time around here now that she's mobile! We've got to babyproof this house...fast. And she's showing quite an interest in our big screen TV and all the electronics in the entertainment center. Great... We are so proud of her and I'm so glad I was wrong. I love the fact that she can move to get her toys and explore the world without my assistance. Sure, it'll be a lot more work for us, but it's going to be really fun too.

That's obviously the biggest news from this month. She also pulls up to standing on EVERYTHING now. She then lets go with both hands and balances for 10 or 15 seconds before falling on her behind. She eats all big girl food - no baby food at all anymore! She will not be winning any awards for being a good napper. And lately, she won't be winning any awards for being a good sleeper at night either. But she's getting two more teeth right now, numbers 7 and 8, which might have something to do with that. We're dealing with a little bit of mommy-attachment sometimes at bedtime but hopefully that's just a short phase. She laughs outloud when her favorite baby shows come on TV. In fact, she is trying to watch TV around me in a lot of her 9 month pictures below. You'll be able to tell when I'm standing in her way. Her personality has really blossomed this month and she is one funny baby!

We love her as high as the sky and as deep as the ocean. Nine months...wow. Enjoy!!

"Normal"

2009-09-08T07:50:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to say things are returning to normal at our house. Or maybe I should say "normal." I'm not sure there is such a thing as normal without quotation marks when you have an almost 9 month old!

The crib is now in the low-rider position, as I like to call it. The bumpers have been added to the crib. We took them out when she was a wee little tike because they posed a suffocation hazard. But with all her standing and rolling and climbing, we decided the risk of her bonking her head is much greater now! It also keeps her from launching her paci's out into the floor too. :)

We've have a few good nights in a row where Campbell has slept through the entire night. Naptimes are still very rocky - standing up usually proves to be more exciting than napping, but we're working on it. She can now pull up to standing on a lot of her toys, on the couch, on the laundry basket, and on us! Once up, she's getting brave and letting go with both hands and amazingly enough, is able to balance while standing for several seconds! You can totally see it in her eyes - she is loving her new independence and can't wait to take off walking. Notice I said walking, not crawling. I'm convinced this child will never crawl. She could do it if she wanted. She's halfway done it once or twice. She just has no interest. Once on all fours, she wants to do nothing other than push herself up to sitting, and find something to pull up on. I did some reading about milestones, and most things said they will crawl first for a month or so and then try to pull to standing. I think Campbell has just bipassed the crawling completely. Not my preference...I thought crawling would be cool, less dangerous than toddling around, and a quick fix for her frustrations of sitting still. But...I guess I don't get to make all the rules, so we'll just see what mode of transportation Campbell chooses! She is somewhat mobile by sitting up, spinning around, and pushing off in another direction. She basically spins into a sitting position over and over again until she reaches her destination. It's actually quite cute to watch.

Now a totally random picture that has absolutely nothing to do with this topic. This is Campbell demonstrating the dangers of texting and driving.

Taking a Stand

2009-09-03T05:03:00.000-07:00

Campbell can now pull herself to standing! Great right? Well...sort of. Of course we are proud of her, but every new milestone also brings new challenges. The issue with her latest trick is her insistence on doing it ALL the time. And that includes the middle of the night. And the early hours of the night. And into the morning. Last night, Campbell took a stand all night long! Every forty-five minutes to an hour, she'd roll over in her crib, sit up, and then stand up...and cry. And because we haven't moved the crib down to the lowest setting yet, we can't let her stay in there alone for safety reasons, so we go pull her out and try to coax her back to sleep safely on her back. She thinks...hmmmmm...I stand up, I cry, they come cuddle with me in the rocker. Sweet! She is a smart little cookie, trust me. This little girl knows how to work the system! So last night was a long night. We'll be able to take the crib apart and move it down this weekend. Once we move do that, she can stand and play as she pleases...and hopefully she'll do so quietly so the rest of us can catch up on some sleep!!!

What could be more fun than this?

I know...

Almost there...

Made it!!!

Campbell, it's a good thing you are so sweet and you do melt the hearts of your Daddy and I...because we are VERY tired today!!!!!! :)

A Week in the Life

2009-08-31T13:01:00.000-07:00

I have a bunch of recent pictures which paint a good picture of a typical week at the Justice household. Here is the story of what we do, told by Campbell herself!

Everyday starts with Mommy obsessing over what I should wear. It always involves a hairbow, and sometimes other accessories like these shiny yellow sandals.

Mommy just told me where we are headed - neighborhood playgroup!!! We usually find people to play with. I think it's more for Mommy to chat with her friends and get out of the house...but I love watching the big kids run around. On other days, I get all dressed up and Mommy sets up a photo shoot. I LOVE having my picture taken and I like to "work the camera." It's a good thing, because Mommy always has that thing in her hand!

I was pretty curious about the grass and even got a little dirt under my fingernails to Mommy's dismay. :) Don't let the yellow hairbow fool you, I'm not THAT girly!

I work on my crawling for a while. I get in this position but it gets pretty boring pretty fast.

So then I do a little yoga, downward dog style. Then I just lean to the side and sit up! It's so fun now that I can go from laying down to sitting up all by myself. Somehow, I even manage to move across a room doing this. It's not crawling, but it works for me!

I hang with Lexi. She likes my hairbow too.

I smile and laugh a LOT. I'm pretty happy most of the time.

I'll read a book or two...I especially like this one with the flaps for me to tug on.

I climb up Mommy's legs and pull myself to standing!!!

Saturday mornings we have Swim School. Daddy got to come this past weekend and watch me splash. Some of the other parents said I was the star of the class!

Here I'm kicking with a little help from my teacher. Kicking is hard and not that fun. But notice my arm is still splashing - I never stop, not once, in the whole thirty minutes!! My teacher lets me demonstrate all the new skills for the other babies since I'm so happy in the water. Last week I even laid on my back with my ears in the water. She said that was advanced!!

It's officially football season now. So while Daddy goes to the stadium to work, Mommy dresses me up in my cheerleading uniform.

Go Panthers! I missed the game because it came on after my bedtime, but Daddy said I didn't miss much. :(

Now that I can sit up, I like to boycott naptime by sitting up in my bed.

Look at that mischievous look in my eye. Now THIS is fun...I call the shots about when I want to nap! hehehehe Mommy and Daddy are still trying to figure out what to do about this predicament!

Early Birds

2009-08-24T17:13:00.000-07:00

Busy weekend at our house! The alarm went off before 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. Travis got up to get prepared for his fifth and final triathlon of this season. I got up soon after because I couldn't sleep - I guess it was nerves and excitement for him. Campbell and I didn't get to go this time. We signed her up for swim school at the aquatic center and Saturday morning was the first day. Travis insisted we go and that he would be fine crossing the finish line without his cheering section. I wasn't crazy about him competing alone...or about me going to swim school alone...but both turned out just fine!

Travis did great as always. I think this was his fastest time of all five he's done this summer. All he can talk about is how he wants to work on his running before next year, so I guess this year was just the beginning!?! I admire his discipline and motivation. He is swimming in all of his clothes because he's lost so much weight! The sport becomes expensive when you have to buy all the training gear...and then a new wardrobe! ;) I'm so proud of him.

I'm also so proud of Campbell. Travis and I will both be at swim school this coming Saturday so we can get some good pictures. Let me tell you - this baby is a trip! She was the star of the class! The youngest swimmer, by far. But also the most animated! The other kids ranged from probably about 13 months to 2 1/2 years old. We all got in the water with our babies, and that's when Campbell's splashing began. And it never stopped. She was so excited and having such a blast splashing with all her might, both arms waving around, smiling, soaking her face and anyone within a ten foot radius! It really is a sight to see the littlest baby in the class going wild like that. The instructor asked if she could use Campbell to demonstrate. Of course Campbell obliged, and then became the example for every new skill. The entire class was laughing at my girl's genuine giddiness. She was so stinking cute! We sang songs, splashed, kicked, splashed, held onto kickboards, and splashed some more! I was so impressed at Campbell's willingness to grab onto the kickboard and get lower in the water. I'm excited for the weeks to come and cannot WAIT for Travis to see her in action.

Sunday morning...5:30 a.m. ...the alarm went off again. I don't know why we punish ourselves... We headed back to the triathlon to just watch the second day of competition for fun. We had a friend participating in her first triathlon and ran into another friend doing his first as well! It was really neat to see them accomplish such a huge physical (and mental!) feat. Later that day, we walked down to the neighborhood park and introduced Campbell to the swing. Big shocker here - she loved it!! She giggled the whole time. We'll be frequenting the playground from here on out.

We had to get up early AGAIN today for a doctor's appointment on the other side of town. Not that we usually sleep in, but it's been rough getting out the door so much earlier than usual. I'm ready to slide back into our normal morning routine! Here are a few pictures from our weekend fun! Getting ready for Swim School

Holy Water and Lake Water

2009-08-20T11:01:00.000-07:00

Two Saturdays ago, we went to Greensboro for the baptism of Evan Westall. Evan is the newest addition to the family for our friends, Bob and Melissa. Bob is one of Travis' best friends from college. It's hard to believe that their firstborn, Peyton, has grown into an adorable 17-month old and is a BIG SISTER! We went to meet Evan soon after he was born and of course in that short time, he's already grown and changed so much! Melissa is a fabulous hostess and as always, had a gigantic spread of food for all of us to enjoy. We also got to spend time with Rodney and his daughter Hannah who just blew me away this visit with how much she's grown up. She looks more like a pretty 'tween than a little girl these days! She's super sweet and such a little lady. Rodney is the very proud godfather to little Evan. So proud in fact, that I caught some grief from him for my delay in this post. So, my apologies to the new godfather. :) We really loved spending the day with good friends and celebrating such a special time with the Westalls (and Rodney). :) :) :)

The Holy Water

Godparents Rodney and Jill on the left, Melissa, Evan and Bob on the right!
Rodney (aka The Godfather) with Campbell

On to the lake water...

This morning I needed a change of pace, so I took Campbell back to my new favorite spot, Jetton Park.

Forbes Magazine just rated Huntersville, NC as the number two place in the country to move to!!!! OK Forbes, I disagree. Check out these pictures, and tell me how we didn't get number one??? This park is about 7 minutes from our house. I feel like it's bragging to show this - I mean, how lucky are we to live this close to the lake? But don't get too jealous, it's not like we have a boat or anything cool like that. :) I got a great workout - was able to walk about 3 miles on the shaded trails with lots of hills. Then we stopped at the "beach" and hung out. There was a fantastic breeze coming off the water and Campbell snoozed in her stroller for a bit.

Then I put her on a towel to play and she was giddy. I think she thought we were back in the Outer Banks! Not quite, but it was a really fun morning and a great change of scenery for us. I was quite happy that she didn't feel the need to go off the towel and get all sandy - that's my girl, I don't like to get dirty either! I'm really pleased with how our photo shoot turned out as well. A lot of these pictures are similar, but I couldn't pick so I just posted them all. Enjoy!

Favorite. Picture. Ever.

Our morning ended with drinks on the beach. :)

That Was Then

2009-08-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

When I see Campbell now at eight months old in all her smiley, chunkiness...it's sometimes easy to forget her rocky start to this world. As you may recall if you were around in December, we discovered shortly after Campbell's birth that she had a Group B Strep infection. Our baby girl was sick. Very sick. This infection, if not caught early and treated, is often fatal in babies. By the grace of God, the infection was caught very early, had not crept into her spinal column, and responded well to the antibiotic treatment she was given. After a grueling twelve days in the hospital, they handed us our perfectly healthy baby girl and sent us home to start our new lives together.

Not everyone is so lucky and I was reminded of this over the weekend. After our stay in the NICU, Travis and I agreed that if we ever picked a cause to give money to, we'd love to give to the Levine Children's Hospital where Campbell stayed. But at this point in our lives, there isn't an abundant supply of extra cash to make huge donations to the hospital. We do have something to give though - and that is our time. That is why I was so looking forward to attending an informational meeting to volunteer on a family council at the hospital.

Children were welcome to attend the Saturday morning meeting, so Campbell and I went while Travis did a long morning workout. For an hour and a half, we sat around a table in a conference room at the hospital in awe of the stories we heard, the struggles, the small and large victories. Each parent there has either had or currently has a child in the hospital. Their stories were very moving. Campbell was very sick, I cannot make light of that. But her sickness was so minor compared to the stories I heard. Some families will be going through heart surgeries for years to come, chemotherapy, genetic disorders, and even coping with the loss of a child. The stories were heartbreaking.

But there was another aspect of this meeting that was far from heartbreaking. It was heartwarming. These parents who have been through so much, and many who continue the fight for their childrens' health, somehow find the time to volunteer. They just want to find a way to make it a little easier for the next parent who has to go through it. I was so touched by this. I was also very comforted when one of the parents said that it doesn't matter how sick your child is. There's no comparison game. If your child is sick, your child is sick. It doesn't matter that someone else's child is sicker. Your primary concern and worry is your own child's recovery. That is very true. The fact that other babies were more sick than my own didn't diminish the fear I felt one bit. This point was made by a mom whose daughter has been in and out of the hospital for her entire life. It amazed me that she could understand my fear and sadness after all she had been through.

For months after Campbell was born, I had a hard time looking at the pictures of her when she was first born because it made me so sad to see her hooked up to all the wires. Let's be honest, it still makes me sad. The pictures bring back the emotions that I felt when we learned that she was not well and wouldn't be coming home with us. I remember so well how I felt like I'd been kicked in the chest when the nurse practitioner told us she had the infection and they'd be doing the spinal tap in a few hours. When I see the pictures from that night, it takes me back and I have to remind myself that things turned out OK - something I didn't know would happen that night. For the longest time, I couldn't watch A Baby Story on TLC, which was one of my favorite shows, because it made me sad to see all the normal births and healthy babies. I guess I was mourning the fact that we didn't have that picture perfect hospital stay and trip home together. But as she grows older and the months pass, it's become a little easier for me to accept. We got the best gift ever - which was a CURABLE infection and an absolutely precious baby. I have to look at those first pictures and think, 'that was then, this is now'. I need to cherish the memories of her first few days, even if it wasn't what I had imagined. I need to be thankful each and everyday for her health and for our health, something I know I take for granted all too often.

I'm not sure if I'll get the opportunity to serve on this committee at the hospital or not. There is a selection process involved and they are looking for parents with a wide range of experiences in the children's hospital to share. I hope there is a spot for me to try and help someone that may end up in a situation like ours. But if not, I hope I'll find some other way to give back. After all, they took care of my baby and no matter how hard I try, I will never be able to say thank you enough for that.

You all know what Campbell looks like now. So below I'll share a few pictures from the beginning. You've come a long way, baby!!

That Was Then

The first time I held her in the NICU. I have never been more scared in my life. First Night in the Hospital

One by one the tubes came off.She was eventually well enough to get a much-needed bath...And finally some clothes!

It's hard to believe that this was how it all started. But it's our story, and we are thankful for the "Then" and the "Now."

Eight Months Old!!

2009-08-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, how the time has flown. EIGHT MONTHS?!?!?!??! Everyday Campbell is less baby and more little girl. It's exciting and sad at the same time to see her grow up. Seriously, how does it go so fast?? She is really getting geared up to crawl. She can scoot a little bit if she gets really frustrated, and is learning to balance up on all fours. She will sit up and lean forward until she falls into a crawling position, and then her belly hits the floor. But it won't be long until she's able to lean over and take off! She's weighing in at 21 lbs 11 oz these days!! In case that means nothing to you, let me put it like this. She is 8 months old, and the clothes I'm buying her are size 18 months! :) Needless to say, she's growing like crazy and is not only big, but also tall! Her hair is coming in more each day as well. It's definitely still got a red tint to it, especially in the sunlight. The tooth count is up to six, although the last two of those six are taking their sweet time to come in. And I think they may be the reason she's become very restless and fussy in her sleep at night. We hope this is short-lived!! Campbell recognizes Travis and I both from across a room. When he comes home from work at night, you can just see her focus on his face and then start smiling and waving her arms with excitement. It's adorable to watch! Similarly, she made my day at the church nursery on Sunday when I snuck up on her in the Exersaucer. When she saw me, she broke into the biggest grin possible with a little squeal...and so did I. She still seems to have a lot of Travis' personality traits. She's calm and cool and really easy going. Campbell continues to be a baby who just goes with the flow and is content as long as she's fed! There is another side to Campbell which I'm starting to see which definitely has my influence. The girl loves attention! I'll watch her if we're out in public. If no one is looking at her or talking to her, she will turn on the charm, make eye contact with people, flash them smiles and giggles, and just show off - just to get attention! That's my girl!!!! She is just the sweetest little thing and reminds us on a daily basis how blessed we are to have such a wonderful baby in our lives! Happy Eight Months, Campbell!

This month I even taped the sign to the chair, but it didn't stand a chance...

And now a few from dinner last night so you can see how Campbell eats like a big girl now! On the menu - turkey, avocado and steamed carrots! Must-get-food-in......mouth! Shew, this eating business is hard work!

Big Girl Food

2009-08-10T06:28:00.000-07:00

Since we got back from the beach, I have drastically changed Campbell's menu! I had just had it with the baby food. You've heard me vent before about all the spit up. It has always been bad - but it was being taken to new levels of bad now that she was eating things like "turkey, rice and barley" or "chicken with mixed vegetables." Gross! These meals were bright orange, smelled like dog food, and would reappear for HOURS after she ate them. Campbell's pediatrician has been encouraging us to try finger foods since she was six months old. We'd experimented with a green bean here or there, but hadn't really given it a go. Well, it's go time! This past week, Campbell has probably only had one or two jars of baby food, and that was only because we were on the go. She has been eating all sorts of new big girl foods, has not had any allergy issues, no choking, and is very happy! AND she is not hardly spitting up at all! I think she does a better job digesting the food she has to "chew". She has three teeth all the way in on the bottom, and three up top that have broken through her gums and are growing in as we speak. But she does a great job of mashing the food with her gums! Campbell now eats fresh avocado, steamed carrots, steamed zucchini, turkey, white toast, pasta, brown rice, big girl applesauce, and lots of bananas! I am really enjoying giving her fresh food - I feel good about it, and it's obviously sitting well with her since she's spitting up so much less! She was frustrated at first because all of those foods are slick and mushy and it's hard for her to get a hold of them with her little fingers. But now that she's getting better, she really enjoys it. It is a MESSY process (especially the avocado - we both look like the Hulk when she's done eating) but well worth the extra trouble. Lexi has gotten to try all of these foods as well because Campbell likes to toss her a few bites. :) But it's really fun and I'm enjoying making her "real" meals!!

Last week my new mommy friends in the neighborhood introduced Campbell and I to our new favorite walking spot! Jetton Park is just minutes from our house and is on the lake. The trails are paved and all completely shaded. They are hilly, so it's a great workout for me. And after we walked our babies for a while, we went down to the beach area at the lake and had a picnic lunch in the shade with the kids! Then the older ones played in the sand and waded in the lake. I intend to take full advantage of this park before winter rolls around! I can't believe I hadn't found it before!

Lastly, Travis and I are a bit tired these days. We assume it's just those top teeth coming in, but Campbell has been quite restless the past few nights. She'll cry in her sleep, and I mean really cry, pretty much every hour throughout the night. It's not just fussing - it's a loud enough cry that we feel like we need to go check on her to see that she's not stuck in the crib or something. Usually her eyes are closed and she's just tossing and turning and crying really hard. We feel so bad for her because obviously something is making her uncomfortable. We hope this doesn't last long - we are tired!!! We forgot what it was like to be up all night!!!!!!

My Summer Vacation

2009-08-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

Things I Loved About My Summer Vacation in the Outer Banks

by Sara Justice

The excitement of the trip that we planned months ago with my parents and my sister's family.

Going to the Outer Banks for the first time, I love new vacation spots!

Duck, NC - such a FUN little area. One day we took Campbell and Taylor to the playground there and to walk out these tremendously long decks over the sound. (The playground didn't last long because Taylor's "legs didn't work" she said, but we had fun anyway).

The beach house. It was big enough to hold us all very comfortably and well-furnished. We were skeptical of a pet friendly beach house we found online, but it turned out great!

Taking Lexi on vacation. She was an angel!

The story from the last day when Lexi ate my Mom's turkey sandwich on the deck, walked inside, and ate my Dad's hot dog off the kitchen counter! HA! She deserved a big lunch after being soooo good all week.

Hanging out with my family for a full week. Priceless.

Twelve adult hands. Everything is easier when there are more babysitters around!

The Hangover. And going to the movies in general! Travis and I hadn't done that since Campbell was born, so it was great to get out and see a hilarious movie with my husband!

"Baby Campbell is a really nice girl." Taylor must have told me this a thousand times and I thought it was adorable each time she said it.

Learning firsthand where the phrase "terrible two's" came from. There's nothing terrible about my niece, don't take that the wrong way. I love her to pieces and was glad to finally witness one of these silly tantrums I've been hearing about for months. As Jen and Leif like to put it, she is really embracing this whole two year old thing. :)

GrandDeb and a rocking chair. My mom had a gift for rocking my baby to sleep on the porch at the beach house, which was much appreciated!

Having a pool in the backyard.

Having a hot tub on the deck.

Drinking champagne before noon and not feeling guilty about it.

Taking our precious daughter to the beach for the first time!

Walking on the beach with my husband. Sounds cheesy, but it really is one of my favorite things to do.

Campbell's ability to hold her own bottle is now mastered (if she's in the mood)!

Winning at the family Scattergories tournament. Making fun of my mom's whacky answers and teasing my dad when he left answers blank.

Learning how to play Texas Hold 'Em. I know you will find this shocking, but I do NOT have a good pokerface.

Matching outfits for Campbell and her cousin, Taylor. Courtesy of GrandDeb and GrandDad.

Campbell making CRAZY progress in the crawling arena. She went from being nowhere close to being very close in one week! We had no exersaucers or chairs or anything, so she spent most of her time sitting on the floor. I think that's why she figured out so many new tricks in a week! She can now lean from a sitting position over to her hands and knees, and scoots around a little bit. She's almost mobile!! (this picture was actually taken when we got home)

Matching pajamas. By total coincidence, Taylor and Campbell had on the same pj's the first night. Too cute!

Seafood.

Drumroll...watching my sister's belly grow. Not because she ate too much seafood. Because Baby H2 will be joining us around Valentine's Day of 2010! Campbell is very excited to have a new cousin on the way. I can't wait to be an aunt again!

Things I Was Disappointed In:

The water temperature of the ocean. It was absolutely freezing! Hardly anyone was in the water. It was ridiculously cold - no frolicking in the subzero waves for me! :(

The spider incident. On our last day, I was in the pool and felt something on my forehead. I thought I shewed away a bug, until a minute later when my mom saw a gigantic spider on my head. HUGE, people, this spider was BIG, ask anyone who was there. When she flicked it off my head, it had babies. Like hundreds of them. So then I was covered in tiny spiders. Yeah, freaked out. In fact, I still feel like they are crawling all over me. :(

The long drive to get there and back.

Stupid rules that dogs aren't allowed on the beach between Memorial Day and Labor Day. I was so excited to walk Lexi in the surf and we never got too. Oh well...

My picture taking. I don't have any pictures of Travis and I together with Campbell. None of the whole family. None of my mom for some reason. And not nearly enough down at the beach because I forgot my camera one day!

The fact that vacation has to end.

The Dog Ate My Blog

2009-08-02T15:22:00.001-07:00

I feel like I need a good excuse for why I haven't been posting for close to two weeks. Should I blame it on Lexi?

Nah, it's not her fault. We were on vacation!!!!!!!!!

I can't even begin to express how much I've missed writing on the blog! This is the longest I've gone in a WHILE! Not that I have a whole long list of readers who were dying for an update on our extraordinary-to-me-but-ordinary-to-everyone-else lives...but still! This blog is my therapist, so when I don't write, I don't express myself. Shew, you can only IMAGINE how much I have to say after all this time! The week before vacation, I was swamped with work (yes, I do actually have real estate business that keeps me extremely busy from time to time) and buried in laundry to get ready for our trip. So there's my excuse. And I'm sorry for anyone who has missed my ramblings. Ok, that's probably only my Mom...

Last night at 8:00 p.m., the taillights of our loaded-up the Yukon, complete with the extra cargo carrier on top, lit up Spindrift Trail as we said goodbye to our week's vacation in the Outer Banks. We arrived in the Outer Banks of North Carolina last Sunday and left last night at Campbell's bedtime. Our exit plan was flawless! Campbell was asleep before we hit the end of Spindrift Trail, she even skipped her bedtime bottle! With a big dinner followed by a bath in lavender-scented baby wash, dressed in her elephant pj's, she snuggled into her carseat and slept the ENTIRE six and a half hour drive! Wow - what a perfect little angel! Next to her, Lexi curled up in her doggie seatbelt and rode home in peace as well. Travis was a rockstar driver and drove the entire way home. I was in the backseat to watch the girls, but since they slept, I chugged a Yoohoo and passed out myself.

Hopefully tomorrow I will post all the details of our trip with my family. I just wanted to explain my absence! :) I felt really funny about advertising the fact that I would be out of town online. But then again, I made a comment about it on Facebook. For some reason I wasn't scared to let all 200+ of my random friends and acquaintances know I was out of town, but felt it "wasn't safe" to say it on here. Ha! A little backwards, I know. :) While I don't have as many pictures as I'd like, I do have some sweet pictures to share from our week in the Outer Banks that I'm excited to upload.

Before our long drive East, Travis competed in his fourth triathlon of the season. Campbell and I were there to watch his spectacular performance. He keeps getting better and better and we are both really proud of his accomplishments. After the race, we packed up the car and headed to Raleigh where we spent the night. Not only was it the halfway point, it was also the location of my dear friend Shannon's bridal shower and bachelorette party! Unfortunately I had to miss all the festivities, but I did manage to stop by her house and surprise the you-know-what out of her! I rang her doorbell with Campbell in my arms. I could hear her as she looked out the peephole - no way, no way, no way, what are they doing here? We had a tearful hello and it was really fun to shock her like that since she thought I was at the beach already. My best girlfriends got to meet my baby girl which was very important to me. I was very sad to only be able to stay for about 30 minutes. I had thought I could manage a few hours, but I really hadn't considered how difficult it was going to be to stay in a hotel room with a baby and a dog. We basically had to unload the entire car for a one-night stay. Then...once the baby was asleep, if Travis was alone he couldn't take Lexi outside, he couldn't go get dinner, he really couldn't do anything. We realized it was very hard to manage this trip with two parents, and nearly impossible to do alone! So...instead of partying with my girls like I'd planned, I just popped in and said hello and then went back to the hotel and crashed. After all, we'd gotten up at 4:30 that morning for the triathlon! It worked out just fine and it was nice to break up the long drive to the Outer Banks.

So that is my "quick" explanation of my absence. I'm glad to be back and hope no one was too upset by my lack of posting. ;) Look forward to a marathon post in the days to come with beach pictures and lots of details of our vacation!!

Chance of Showers

2009-07-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

Travis and I have the bathtime routine down to a science. After we eat dinner and get the kitchen mostly cleaned up, we head upstairs with Campbell. We each have our own tasks - divide and conquer! He takes her clothes off, gets rid of the diaper, cleans up whatever may need cleaning up. Meanwhile, I go take off my jewelry, grab a clean washcloth and towel, set up the pillows we kneel on by the tub, and run the bath. By the time I do all my little jobs, Travis and Campbell are coming around the corner. This is one of my favorite sights. She is completely naked and very smiley and giggly because she knows she's headed for the bathtub. They usually stop at the bathroom mirror and "look at the baby!"

It's a very cute routine, but also a very dangerous one. Once that diaper comes off, there's always a chance of showers! Tonight, Travis got her undressed and I was in my closet taking my rings off. I hear him calling me...SARA...I need you...NOW. I go in there and find Campbell laying on her changing table in the buff and kind of wet all over. Travis is standing there with a completely wet t-shirt and a trail running down his shorts and to the floor. HA! We knew one of these days she'd feel the urge to go en route to the bathtub, and tonight it finally happened! I laughed so hard I almost peed on myself! I high-fived Campbell and kept her occupied while Daddy went to put on some dry clothes. It was pretty funny!

Lefty the Four-Toothed Giant

2009-07-16T17:30:00.000-07:00

I guess this title needs a little explaining. As I mentioned the other day, my best friend Kim just had a baby. Last Friday, we went to meet Baby Carson at the hospital. Then yesterday, we went to pay him a quick visit at his house. Carson was not a little baby - he was 8 lbs, 7 oz at birth!! But let me tell you, when I saw him...he looked TINY! And so in turn, Campbell looked GIANT!! Carson is absolutely adorable and healthy and seems to be enjoying his first week in the outside world. Kim and I have done everything together since we were three years old. So it is especially special (can you say that, especially special?) to share motherhood with her. I know our families are going to have a ton of fun together in the years to come. And I hope Carson grows fast - because Campbell looks like a teenager next to him!!!! I got to hold him in the hospital and it was honestly shocking to me how tiny he felt in my arms. Campbell was even smaller at birth, but my perspective has changed so much now that I'm used to a seven month old baby. And a big one, at that! I loved snuggling the little guy. When we left the hospital, Travis said...uh oh, I saw it in your eyes when you were holding him........ :) But for now, I'm very happy with my little giant.

The lefty part is something I just discovered the other day. We have been giving Campbell some puffs to try her luck at finger foods. At first, she didn't get the concept at all of picking the food up off of her highchair tray. Then I started moving her hand for her and trying to coach her on how to pick them up. Without thinking, I just grabbed her right arm. She was far from happy with me. She wasn't making much progress, got increasingly frustrated with me and refused to do it on her own. When I finally gave up, she reached up on her tray with her left hand, picked up a puff, and successfully got it to her mouth! Then she repeated this numerous times. Over a span of a few days, she has only reached for food with her left hand. We've got a long way to go on this self-feeding business. It takes a lot of coordination to pick up a tiny morsel of food and know the exact right instant to release it into your mouth! But she has grasped the concept now and just needs to perfect her technique...left-handed!!! Lexi is learning that under the highchair is a good place to hang out. I don't know if all this means that Campbell will definitely be left-handed, but I wouldn't be surprised. Her Daddy is a lefty too!

Finally, the four-toothed part is pretty self-explanatory. I mentioned that I saw a third one pop in. Well later that day, I saw something glistening on the bottom row. Sure enough, it was another new tooth! So now she has four and fifth one about to come in. Once she masters puffs, I'm thinking she'll be ready to tear into some corn on the cob! She has been a true champ when it comes to teething. We had no idea these new teeth were coming in until we saw them!

Since Lefty the Four-Toothed Giant sounds like the bad guy in a fairy tale...here are a few pictures of Campbell so you can see that she's really not scary at all! In fact, she's pretty cute if I do say so myself!

She can't do this on her own yet. But I often prop her up there and sit behind her so she's totally supporting herself by leaning on her toy. She LOVES standing up.

There goes that left hand again! ;) Happy girl playing with all her toys.

We are loving the new playroom!!

Memory Lane

2009-07-14T09:16:00.000-07:00

I'm into reminiscing a lot lately...so here is another stroll down memory lane.

Five years ago today, it was a typical Wednesday. Like today, a BEAUTIFUL summer day that had me wanting out of my cubicle...bad. Once I got home from work to my uptown apartment, I was antsy and looking for an excuse to get out of the house. My roommate called - did I want to join them for a happy hour about 15 minutes away? Nope - I didn't want to drive anywhere! That was the beauty of living in uptown, I could walk anywhere I wanted to go! It didn't take much to convince her to come home and we'd go out for a drink in uptown. She brought with her one of her male coworkers. In a short time, I managed to round up a few other girls. We went to Cedar Street Tavern in the bottom of my building. It was 5 girls and the one guy. Apparently he stepped out and called his roommate. "Dude, I'm at a bar and there are five girls here. I'm the only guy. Don't tell anyone, just come." The roommate wasn't too interested...he was already settled on the couch watching Dazed and Confused and not too keen on driving into uptown for a drink. He finally gave in and after a few minutes he walked into Cedar Street Tavern to join us.

In case you haven't figured it out yet, the roommate was Travis. He walked in and my jaw dropped - WHO is that???? Needless to say, I liked what I saw! One of my girlfriends knew him and I'll never forget the introduction that preceded Travis. "That's Travis. He's divorced." I thought (and I think I even said it outloud) - sweet, so you're saying there's a chance! So, wearing his scarlet letter "D", Travis came and sat down at our table. If you know me, you know I am far from shy. And if you know Travis, you know that he's not one to talk much when you first meet him. So, I talked to him for HOURS. I cornered him in a booth and told him my life story. The more we talked (ok, the more I talked and he listened), I really felt like we were clicking and I just really enjoyed hanging out with him. The night continued, other guys came, and then finally all the guys left except for Travis. He stayed with a group of about 6 girls and went to a second bar for more drinks. The night ended with him walking us all back to our apartment complex. I boldly asked him to call me and gave him my number. He obviously did!! And here we are, five years later, living happily ever after.

Thanks for humoring me and letting me relive my fairy tale today!

Seven Months Old!!

2009-07-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

Campbell was 7 months old yesterday!!! Campbell has grown SO much this past month. One of the most noticeable differences is her hair. It is coming in like crazy! We've still got a long way to go before her first ponytail...but we are on our way! She is talking up a storm, obviously taking after her mother. She loves the "ba" sound and is getting pretty good at sticking out her tongue and making a funny (and very wet) "th" sound. We carry on long conversations somedays, ba ba ba ba th th th th ba ba ba ba. We have yet to get a "da-da" out of her on command, but Travis is working especially hard on that sound. I noticed another huge development today, but I am pretty certain it was here yesterday too on her 7 month birthday. She has another tooth! One has just broken the surface up top and the one next door is about to pop through as well. I can't believe our little girl just got her third tooth! She sits independently really well these days. Occasionally she does a face plant but for the most part is really good at balancing. She cannot pull herself up to a standing position on her own, but once we help her up, she does a great job of standing and leaning against a toy or simply holding our hands. We are starting to wonder if she will just skip crawling all together and just take off walking! She is rolling over with a little more ease and definitely starting to push herself up better when laying on her tummy. One of the most fun developments is that Campbell is laughing much more frequently now. Her little personality is totally coming out and our house is often filled with baby giggles - ahhhh, one of the sweetest sounds in the whole world! She loves peekabo and loves bouncing around on our laps. Those two are a sure fire way to get a good laugh out of her. In the bathtub, she plays with (aka eats) toys now. Campbell has grown up so fast. Seven months! She's not a little baby anymore!!

I've got so much more to say. My best friend Kim finally had a healthy and adorable baby boy named Carson Andrew! We have rearranged furniture, switched some rooms around and redecorated quite a bit this weekend. I had a blast hanging out with some new girlfriends in the neighborhood last night. We've had a full weekend!! But I'll save all those details for another post later this week and end with some really fun pictures from Campbell's 7 month photo shoot. The photo shoot was pretty eventul yesterday. I got her all dressed up in a white dress with a white hairbow of course. I removed the bib at the very last second and put her in her chair with her special bear. As I stepped back, before I could snap the first picture, her lunch reappeared and the pretty, little white dress was now covered in sweet potatoes. Gross! I took some pictures anyway but then we did a wardrobe change to get some clean pictures!! Enjoy!!

We went through two signs this time!

Someone wants to help Mommy with the camera...

Finally, the shot I've been waiting for!

Look at all that HAIR!!! It's still what I'd call strawberry blonde but we are thinking it may darken up. But I don't know...her eyebrows are awful red! Couldn't you just eat her up????????????

Tie Her Hair Up in Ribbons and Bows

2009-07-07T14:06:00.000-07:00

I have been waiting for this day for a LONG time. I can't say I've really been waiting for it since the day I found out I was having a girl. I didn't really think this far ahead. But I can say I've been waiting for this day ever since the first time someone stopped me in public and said, "well isn't he a cutie?!!?". No more! Today, I have put an end to all the mistaken gender comments Campbell gets when we are out and about. No more, "hey little fella"s, no more "hi buddy"s, no more "look at him smiling"s. My little girl has had a very important first today - her first hairbow!!!!! I could not be more thrilled. I have this hairbow carefully balanced on the few long hairs Campbell has on top of her sweet little head. It's obviously comfortable because she's had it on for hours now and has no idea it's up there. I have a pack of multicolored bows, but I thought it was only fitting for her first one to be pink, the girliest color of all. So pink hairbow it is!!!

God Bless America

2009-07-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

This is probably going to be a long one with a LOT of pictures, so get comfortable... :)

Happy Fourth of July! We had a GREAT day. We were invited out on the lake with our friends Lee and Dana. Their son, Hunter, is probably Campbell's BFF. They play together a lot - Hunter will turn one in a few weeks. Travis and I were so happy to finally be on the water again! We live literally minutes from the lake, and haven't been out on it in years!! What a waste! Today we actually went out on Mountain Island Lake which is also just down the road. It's way less crowded than Lake Norman. Dana and Lee took us out to a sandbar where a bunch of boats had dropped anchor. It was perfect - when you stepped off the boat it was only two or three feet deep. Now, I'm not one to stand on lake bottoms, I usually get grossed out. But this was sand, not mud, so I didn't mind. We got Campbell a life jacket yesterday and the trial run went horribly. We tried it on her and she screamed the same way she screams when she gets shots at the doctor's office. Fear and panic. I think it just scared her because it's tight and right up around her face. But today we eased her into it and she did so well! The lake water was surprisingly cold and yet she played and splashed and smiled. She took a short nap on the boat and enjoyed watching the water behind the boat when we were moving. What better way to spend the Fourth of July than out on the lake on a BEAUTIFUL day with friends?? It was perfect. We came home and grilled out burgers and corn, just put the baby to bed, and plan to watch the fireworks on TV unless we fall asleep first. Next year, we will for SURE be taking Campbell to see fireworks in person, but we decided that was a bit too much this year. As Travis would say, she was "wore the slap out" after the lake and quite cranky, so we made the right decision. She went to bed a half hour early, there is no way she would've made it up two hours late!I love the lake!!!
A serious pose for my first boat outing.

This is my friend, Hunter. This is his boat.
Here Hunter, let me get that hat off for you. Really, it's no problem.
I'm not exactly thrilled about my new life jacket, but at least it's pink, so I'll tolerate it.
Mommy and I are laughing at Daddy while we play in the lake.
Freezing! WAY colder than my bath, but also WAY bigger. This could be fun...

Feeling the wind in my face for the first time.
Heading home, I'm one tired baby!

Switching gears...yesterday about halfway through the day, I realized something. Yesterday was the two-year anniversary of our engagement! My, my, my, we have accomplished a lot in two years! Bought a house together, got married, I switched careers, and of course...had a baby! We had lunch at a restaurant on the lake yesterday and had fried pickles as our appetizer. It wasn't until a few hours later that we realized it was the 'proposal anniversary', and oddly enough on that night, we had eaten fried pickles together a few hours before Travis popped the question! If you haven't had fried pickles dipped in ranch before, you are missing out on one of the finer things in life. It's not everyday we get to eat them, so it was kind of cool that we had them yesterday. Then we did something we NEVER do which is wait to eat dinner until after Campbell goes to bed. It was a gorgeous evening, low humidity with a nice breeze. So we grilled out and ate out on our back porch with the monitor nearby. We sat outside for a while and had a drink and just talked, which is exactly what we were doing two years earlier. We were at the old house, but were seated on our patio having a glass of wine together when Travis got down on one knee. What a sweet memory and what a great night we had reminiscing about it.

I have some pictures I need to catch up on, so enjoy a few shots from the last week or so. We are also extremely happy to report that we have not had a single allergy incident since last Sunday. Hallelujah!!!

Happiest Baby on the Block

This is Lexi. I feel the need to pet her (aka grab her fur) all the time now. Thank goodness Lexi understands and is gentle with me!
Pretty Girl
Somebody take the keys, seriously, I've had way too much soy milk...
It's so hard to get this child to smile on camera...HA! Playing with Lexi last Sunday morning in my pj's before I broke out in hives and ended up at urgent care. :(
Our little lovebug
Lexi loves it when I pet her. Now if I could just get my hands on that cat...

I just want to end by saying that you can obviously see from our pictures that we are a very happy little family. We have a great life and it's not everyday we take time to think about how

AWESOME it is to live in a country where we have the freedom to live this wonderful life. So today, I'll be sure to give thanks for this country and all the people who fought/are fighting for us to enjoy this freedom!

Banana Crisis

2009-06-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

My sister told me that lately my niece has been repeating things she hears on the TV and radio. Sometimes she gets it right, sometimes she doesn't. They were watching the news while eating dinner the other night and they referred to the financial crisis. Taylor tells my sister, "Hey Mommy, there is a banana crisis." HAHAHA I laughed so hard at this story.

Travis and I went shopping at South Park Mall this weekend and I'd like to say...banana crisis? What banana crisis? We were among the suckers lined up at the Apple store to get the new 3G iPhone. I don't even know what 3G means! I just know that if Apple comes out with something new that people are waiting in line for, my husband wants to be in that line. :) His new phone is pretty cool, I will admit that. The store was PACKED. The whole mall was actually. I certainly didn't see a "banana crisis" at South Park! We had a great day shopping. I ended up with a new bathing suit too which is a HUGE accomplishment for a new mommy.

We've had our own banana crisis this weekend, literally. We have been trying to unravel the mystery of some potential food allergies in Campbell for a couple of weeks now. We thought we had narrowed it down to milk protein...until this morning. We fed her banana peach oatmeal. She had this yesterday morning with no issues. This morning we let her play for a while after breakfast. Then we took her upstairs to change her and at that time noticed the hives that were popping up all over her body. In the past, her reactions had been limited to a splotchy rash on her face and neck, and a few hives on her back on only one occasion. Today she had bright red spots popping up all over. It was pretty alarming and we didn't want to let it get out of control so we took her to the urgent care. There was a waiting room full of people, but you when walk in with a six and a half month old and say she's having an allergic reaction, you get to skip the line! In fact, you don't even have to sign in! We were pretty nervous but remained calm because Campbell was being her normal, smiley self and obviously wasn't uncomfortable or having any trouble breathing. They whisked us back and checked her oxygen levels, her heart rate, her temperature, her breathing, etc. She showed no signs of distress at all and lucky for us, the only reaction was on her skin. We walked away with a prescription for a steroid, the correct Benadryl dosage for a 20-pound baby, instructions to call her pediatrician this week and look into allergy testing, and little comfort. We are still pretty worried about her. The label of her banana peach oatmeal has nothing in it but bananas, peaches and oatmeal. So the milk protein theory kinda went out the door! :( Whatever food or foods she is allergic to, we just want to identify so we can eliminate them from her diet and move on. If it's not a food allergy, we need to know that too so we can get to the root of these hives! I'm just pretty nervous because I know allergies that aren't serious can quickly take a turn for the worst. I'm sure she'll be fine, but I'll feel a lot better when we get some answers. Banana crisis!!!!

Other than that, we've had a fantastic weekend. We had a great time shopping, had a yummy and fun dinner with Drew and Holly, went to the pool, hosted an open house at one of my listings, and even got new glasses for the first time in nine years! Might not sound too exciting to most, but it was a good weekend for our little family.

Splish Splash

2009-06-23T17:08:00.000-07:00

No matter what stresses the day may bring, all of Campbell's cares are washed away in the bathtub. She can be tired, hungry, or just plain irritable, but you put her in the bathtub and she is instantly smiley and relaxed. Here are some LONG overdue pictures of our little fish enjoying her bath. She's finally big enough to sit up in the deep end by herself and play with her toys. She is having so much fun, and we are having an absolute blast watching her splash around!

Dad's Day

2009-06-22T17:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Father's Day - and I was honoring two very special men in my life. I'm of course referring to my Dad and to Travis. I have so many happy memories from my own childhood with my Dad. One of my favorite memories is how I made my Dad "be funny" when he came to tuck me in at night. I insisted that he come upstairs doing something funny - maybe skipping down the hall, singing a funny song, dancing around like a monkey. I imagine it got pretty tiring to come up with a new comedy routine every night, especially with a child like me who had probably been fighting bedtime for a good thirty minutes leading up to that point. But he did, and I can still picture him hopping down the hall. Thanks for laughing me to bed, Dad. :) And for all the other wonderful memories we've made and all those to come in the years ahead.

These days, I get the pleasure of seeing Travis start these same types of traditions with Campbell. He definitely knows how to "be funny" and manages to get big grins and giggles out of his little girl. My favorite thing is when I am not in the room with them, but I can hear him on the monitor singing to her. Campbell loves her Daddy so much and someday she will reminisce about her happy childhood with her father too.

Yesterday we went to Alex's house for a Father's Day cookout. This year we were in Roanoke for Mother's Day and with Travis' family for Father's Day. Campbell had fun with her cousins and loved seeing her Nanny again. At one point, her Paw-Paw Butch was holding her. Gangy (Travis' mom) walked over and was going to pick her up. Campbell reached up for her! That was a first, and I'm sure it made Gangy's day!

We had a little more drama at the end of last week. We ended up back at the doctor on Friday. Campbell's skin would be completely clear - and the second we'd give her a bottle of formula, she'd break out in a rash again around her mouth. The whole allergy thing scared me, so we went and saw another doctor to get a second opinion. He agreed that it did not look like the virus she was diagnosed with last week. And also agreed that it was way too big of a coincidence for her to only break out when drinking formula. The doctor hesitated to call it an allergy since it didn't seem to do anything but cause a red face. We did notice some hives on her back, so we've decided not to push it and switched to a soy-based formula. She has been doing so well on this new formula and hasn't broken out since. Also, she is spitting up about 100 times less on the soy-based formula, so that is a nice change. Think of the money we'll save on stain remover! haha I hate to think she might have some food allergies. But this reaction is very mild and the doctor is convinced it is not dangerous at this point. We'll just avoid milk-based formula for now and hope she outgrows this mild sensitivity. I had a little bit of guilt since the formula is a new thing for us. She was just fine when I was feeding her! But she's doing well now and I'm enjoying the freedom and convenience associated with a bottlefed baby!

I've got some Father's Day pictures to share below. The first is from Father's Day 2005! I just love this picture - we took my Dad to the shooting range as a family for his Father's Day celebration. I think Dad loved going shooting with all his girls, and we all love this "Robert's Angels" picture. I know this picture is old, but it's just too good not to share. Love you, Dad!!!!

Here are a few pictures of my baby and my baby's daddy from this weekend. :) I believe that there are few things on this Earth sweeter than a dad and his little girl. Happy First Father's Day, Travis! You are an amazing Dad and we both love you very, very much.

Paw-Paw Butch and his youngest granddaughter on Father's Day

Vacation (ha!?!) Bible School

2009-06-18T14:58:00.000-07:00

This week I have been helping out at my church's Vacation Bible School. I have been leading a crew of eleven kids, which are rising kindergartners and rising second graders. That means they range in age from four to seven. It has been fun, challenging, exhausting, inspiring, exhausting, interesting, exhausting, and well...exhausting! :) Campbell has been in the church nursery each day from 8:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. That is a big deal for both Campbell and I. That's a long time for her to be in someone else's care when she's so used to me!

The biggest challenge for me at Bible School with my crew of kids was logistics. Our church is pretty big and has a very young congregation. They had to close registration for VBS when they had 500 kids - there was even a waiting list. WOW! I think it's so terrific that there are so many kids involved at our church. But at the same time, the sheer number of kids is what made my job so difficult this week. Logistically, it is TOUGH to move eleven kids of that age through the church from one activity to the next. They get distracted so easily in a crowd and I felt like I needed a leash! Well...my prayers were answered and yesterday I got a rope. Ha! Not to tie the kids up with either. They each hang onto the rope and it makes it a lot easier to move from one station to the next. I cracked up on the first day. I was pretty frazzled and stressed out trying to figure out how to keep my kids in line, and a little nervous about leaving Campbell. Then, I walk down the hallway and look up. Stretched across the ceiling is a huge fishinhg net filled with rubber snakes. MORE SNAKES! hahaha The theme for VBS is all about the swamp, so it's just part of the decor. The church is adorable (minus the snakes) with crocodiles, swamp plants, bait shops, etc. all over the place.

I want to share a few sweet things that happened this week. Yesterday they made a bracelet in Crawfish Crafts and we were told to tie the bracelet onto the kids' wrists, and while we did so, to say a prayer for them. My kids are so young that I think they often miss the point and are solely concerned with things like "can we take this home today" or "I'm thirsty". But I was wrong. One sweet little boy told me he was finished with his bracelet and asked me to tie it on him. Then he said, "Can you say a prayer for me?" How sweet was that? He hadn't missed it at all, and I found it very endearing that he asked me to pray for him. I gladly did. One of the other activities was to make an alligator paper clip and then you could write a message to someone who needs encouragement and put it in your clip. One of my older little girls who is able to write wrote, "Dear Sara, you are so cool. I love you" and clipped it on my bag. Those two things made it well worth my stress and exhaustion all week.

Today, VBS ended with drama. The nursery workers came to get me about 30 minutes early because Campbell had a rash on her face. I left my crew of kids with my assistant and found Campbell in the lobby with the camp nurse. She was smiling and laughing, but looked like Will Smith in Hitch when he ate the shrimp. OK, not that bad, she wasn't swollen. But the rash was pretty alarming. I raced her to the pediatrician's office in a panic. Because we thought it was an allergic reaction, they asked me questions on the phone like, is she breathing ok, how quickly can you be here? When I told her I was closer to the hospital and asked if I should go to the ER, she put me on hold to find out. That scared me. Bad. And Campbell was snoozing in her carseat while I drove, so of course I'm wondering if she's napping or passed out. Turns out it's not allergies which is a blessing. They said it's Fifth's Disease which is a very common childhood virus. The rash comes at the very end and so luckily the virus has almost run its course. She probably had a fever earlier this week that we never detected, which may explain some restless nights and a little uncharacteristic fussiness. Travis raced home from work when I called him en route to the pediatrician's office. I'm so thankful to have such a supportive husband. He didn't tell me to call him when I found out what was wrong...he said he'd meet me at the doctor's office. We actually took her back a second time this afternoon because the rash got ten times worse while she had her afternoon bottle. A bottle with formula is new of as last week, so I feared that she was allergic to her new formula since this morning's rash also came right after her bottle. But the nurse practitioner assured us that she wasn't displaying any symptoms of an allergic reaction so I'll have to trust her medical knowledge and quit second-guessing her (and googling it!). Campbell is somewhat high on Benadryl now to help with the redness. I think we've calmed down and everybody is going to be OK. Travis is going to stay home with her tomorrow so I can go finish my fun and exhausting week of VBS with my sweet kids. I look forward to a quiet week at home next week with my baby! I think I need a vacation after Vacation Bible School!!!

Tri Daddy

2009-06-15T12:17:00.001-07:00

This Saturday, Travis competed in his third sprint triathlon of this year. Finally, this one was in town so Campbell and I got to go cheer him on. This was the same triathlon he did last year without training for it. He beat his time from last year by NINETEEN MINUTES! That is outstanding! He has been working so hard and Campbell and I are really proud of him. You'll see the sign she made him in the pictures below. I never really thought about us being such a spectacle, I just thought it'd be neat to make Travis a sign. Oh my gosh, what a spectacle we were!!! There aren't all that many kids there, and then to have a baby in a big stroller with an even bigger sign and a picture...we definitely stood out! But I think Travis thought it was sweet and I'm glad we made sure to recognize him (aka embarass him) at Campbell's first triathlon. :)

Travis' swim was his best event - I swear he must have gills or fins somewhere. He also did very well on the bike and the run. I find the whole thing pretty amazing. Even though we had to get Campbell up at 5 a.m. to get there in time, it was well worth it. She did great on a little less sleep and handled the change in schedule really well. It was really nice to be there at the finish line for a sweaty kiss and to congratulate him. Travis has two more triathlons this summer...he is seriously crazy!! Enjoy the pictures below from Saturday's race. Go Daddy!!

Campbell and Daddy right before the start of the race

Travis is in there, up at the front of course, swimming 750 meters in the lake

Out of the water!

Then off to bike 17 miles...

And finally, run a 5K. WOW!

All the excitement wore Campbell out!

A quick nap during Daddy's bikeride. She wanted to save up all her energy for the finish line.

Daddy comes around the corner for the final stretch...almost to the finish line!

Daddy's little girl is waiting for him at the finish line...doesn't this picture make you smile?

Justice, Party of Three

Six Months Old

2009-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

What can you do in six months time? Let's see. You can...train for a triathlon. Finish a semester of college. Read a book (or two...or six). Have 2/3 of a pregnancy. Plan a wedding. House-break a dog. Grow out a bad haircut. Get a really, really good tan. Learn how to play an instrument (not well, but you could get a good start). Redecorate a house. Save up a lot of money. Spend a lot of money. Take up a new hobby. Go on a diet and lose a lot of weight. Travel extensively. Whiten your teeth.

Or...you could fall head over heels, madly in love, with a 28 inch tall, 19.5 pound angel. A little girl with strawberry blond hair and bright blue eyes. With a two-tooth grin that makes me want to jump out of bed every morning just so I can see her. With chubby thighs and roly poly arms that I just can't squeeze enough. With sweaty little feet and ten tiny little perfect toes. With the most pure and genuine laugh you've ever heard. In six months time, we have experienced more than I ever imagined was possible. We have had the extreme pleasure of loving and nurturing our little baby girl and helped her grow into the sweet, smiley, cuddly six month old baby that she is today. I know I always call her an angel, and I mean it. This baby fell right down to us from heaven, there's no other explanation!! She is just the light of our lives and as I sit here and reflect on how wonderful she is and how fast the past six months have flown by, I have happy tears running down my face. I am a living cliche - I cannot get over how fast the time has gone and how much she has grown and changed. I won't even bother with a list of her "tricks" because there are so many and everyday she seems to learn something new. I just want to take this opportunity to say how much we adore Campbell and how thankful we are for the joy she brings to our lives. What a wonderful half-year it's been! We look forward to all that's in store for us as she continues to grow into an amazing little girl.

She got a great report at the pediatrican's office this morning and is in the 95th percentile for both height and weight.

I'm so pleased with how her pictures turned out. You'll get to see just how active she is and how well she has just learned to sit up. I just saw a picture the other day where my friend's little boy ate the sign in his monthly picture. I guess that's what all the kids are doing these days. hahaha I didn't stage any of her actions - she went after the sign and after the teddy bear entirely on her own. I was cracking up behind the camera! Happy Half-Birthday, Campbell! We love you so much!

And now a few from earlier this week...

Scroll Down...

2009-06-09T14:15:00.000-07:00

I just posted pictures and stories from the weekend. Somehow, after the gliche I had Sunday night, some of it was saved. So anyway, you need to scroll down to see it. Scroll down past the kitty prozac, and you'll see my post about the weekend in Virginia! Technology...

A Kitty Prozac Kinda Day

2009-06-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's been one of those days. It all started on our drive home from Virginia yesterday. I decided the perfect end to a perfect weekend would be Dairy Queen's new Brownie Batter Blizzard. It was SO GOOD...but it didn't agree with me. I had a terrible stomach ache for several hours. When I felt better, I wrote on the blog and uploaded tons of pictures from the incredible weekend we had at Holly and Drew's wedding. Then...the website locked up and I lost it all. Thirty minutes worth of typing and storytelling...gone. So I promise to post pictures and details of our weekend this week, I was just too mad to do it last night. And once you read below, you'll see I'm in no mood to try again now.

Today was supposed to be relaxing after all that travel. Nope! Harley has been peeing in places other than her litterbox, which is of course unacceptable and very upsetting to Travis and I. Today I could tell something was wrong so I called the vet and made a 3:45 appointment. Then my eye, which had been bothering me all weekend, seemed to get worse. It was burning and watering like crazy, so I made an eye doctor appointment at 1:15.

Before the appointments rolled around, it was kind of chaotic around here. Campbell bonked her head on the little Fisher Price aquarium on her crib. While I was comforting her, she spit up green beans ALL OVER me. Not just a little either. Like, so much I had to take of my shirt and soak it in the sink. (Where later on today, Harley decided that would be a good place to pee. UGH!)

I called the pediatrician about something going on with Campbell. She's fine, just a minor, personal problem. Just one more ailment we have to fix today...and the nurse recommended we try to let her have some time without a diaper on to air out. Um, what??? As if we don't have enough pee around here already! I just started laughing at this point.

Off to the eye appointment. The eye doctor was about as friendly and personable as a rock. He then tells me it's allergies. I'm very relieved - a few years ago I had a really serious eye infection that was very scary. But still, allergies? In one eye? I asked if that was weird, to only have it in only one eye. His response? "Yes." Ummmm, OK. Whatever, he gave me some drops and told me to keep out my contacts for a few days. Great, now I'm sporting my 8-year old glasses that have doggie teeth marks on the lens from Lexi's early days.

I somehow then managed to get Harley into the vet in her crate while pushing the stroller. Of course that was after I picked Harley up to put her in the crate and got a huge gash on the palm of my hand from her claws. Harley went absolultely nuts when they took her back. It almost brought me to tears hearing her back there yelping and hissing. They were simply trimming her nails and trying to examine her! They did trim her nails which obviously needed it, so that is a positive thing. We now have steroid pills to give her...and the kicker...kitty prozac! Just in case she is stressed out and her problems are behavioral, we got something to give her to relax her a bit. I'm thinking of popping one myself here in a minute... ;)

It's been one of those days, but it's 5pm and hopefully it'll be bedtime before I know it. Then I can go to sleep, wake up tomorrow, and start over on the right foot I hope!

Club Rockwood - Where Mommies and Daddies Dance All Night Long

2009-06-07T17:13:00.000-07:00

Now that my Monday of all Monday's is officially over, I am ready to try again and share my stories from the absolutely wonderful weekend we had in Virginia! We left on Friday to go to Virginia for Drew and Holly's wedding. Drew and Holly are very close friends of ours and we have been anticipating this wedding for a long time! Also we were going to have an important first - our first overnight trip without Campbell! The wedding was in Dublin, which is just an hour South of my parents. Campbell would stay with us on Friday night and then on Saturday she'd stay with my parents.

On Friday, Campbell and I took an afternoon trip to Roanoke to pass the time while Travis and the other groomsmen played golf. I took her by my mom's office so she could show her off. Back in Dublin, Campbell got dressed up and ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. At no surprise to us, she was a perfect angel! She stayed up an hour and a half past her bedtime without fussing at all. She slept perfectly in her pack and play, even with people playing guitars on the porch right outside our room until the wee hours of the morning! She did really well and was a big hit. Everyone commented on our smiley little girl. The funniest part of the night was when Drew was introducing the wedding party. He says all sorts of sweet things about Travis, mentions Campbell and I (we wave), and then he says he had the honor of being in our wedding a few months ago. hahahaha A few months ago? Yeah, like 15 months! And I'm standing there holding our six month old baby. It was hysterical.

Saturday, I took her to Roanoke in the morning while Travis had more groomsmen activities going on. We went by my dad's office. Unfortunately, he had to work this past weekend. Campbell showed him exactly what she thought about working on Saturdays...she spit up all over the floor of his office...twice! It was nasty, but kind of funny too. Then we stopped by Great Grandma Betty's place just in time to pop in on Grandma's bridge game. Grandma's friends loved Campbell. Campbell loved Grandma's power chair! Thank goodness Grandma turned it off, because Campbell could not keep her little hands off the controller! She's not even six months old, and already trying to drive!

Late Saturday afternoon, I had leave her. I will admit I thought about being sad for just a few minutes when I drove off. I knew she was in good hands and would have fun being spoiled by her grandparents. But it was just weird to be without her! I kept looking in the rearview mirror and then remembering, oh yeah, she's not back there! But once I accepted it, I embraced it. I cranked up the radio like I haven't done in six months and sang my heart out to all sorts of good country songs on the way back to Dublin. Once back in Dublin, I showered and got ready for the wedding without having a bouncey-seat audience. The wedding was fabulous (more details about that to come) and the reception was a blast. Without any responsibility, Travis and I were able to let loose more than usual and just enjoy each other. No, we weren't swinging from the chandeliers or anything, but we had a few drinks and tore up the dance floor like old times. It was so fun and while we did miss Campbell and call to check on her every few hours, we really enjoyed our night out without her. My mom sent me a picture on my phone of Campbell sleeping soundly and so then we were really at ease. Campbell was very entertaining for her grandparents. She was sweet and easy going and had so much fun playing with a balloon. Who knew? Guess I need to go get some balloons - they're a lot cheaper than toys! I used to stay at my Grandma's house just about every Saturday night. I got to stay up late and watch Dallas and eat Neopolitan ice cream to my heart's content. I haven't heard Campbell humming the Dallas theme song yet...but I'm sure she has her own version of fun things to get away with at the grandparents' house.

Now...the wedding. All brides are pretty. But Holly...she was a Wow. She really was, not that I was surprised, I knew she would be. Drew looked really nice too...(just in case you're reading, Drew). :) The wedding ceremony was beautiful. It took place outside of the historic bed and breakfast where we stayed. The picture below is from the rehearsal. They were married by our friend and old neighbor, Andy, who also performed our wedding! He opened the ceremony by talking about what an honor it is to marry friends, how he had the same honor about 15 months ago, and actually met Holly and Drew at our rehearsal dinner! I was so touched to hear mention of my own wedding that I of course burst into happy tears. They had acoustic guitars playing the music, and a cow moo'ed really loud in the middle of the ceremony. It was just awesome! Travis looked terribly handsome in his pink tie - he was the best looking groomsman I've ever laid eyes on! (See below, I'm sure you'll agree). We are so happy for our friends and just loved sharing the weekend with them. Holly did the coolest thing - she had a bucket of flip flops at the reception in all sizes with a sign that said "Dancin' Shoes." You could ditch your high heels for a pair of flops - of course I did so without anyone having to twist my arm! And dancin' shoes they were! The dj was great - I kept calling it Club Rockwood.

The weekend was a success and tons of fun. Back to reality...Harley is on day one of her Prozac regimen, my eye is just fine and Campbell is doing well also. I just knew Tuesday would be a LOT better.