Where did April go?

Confession: I have not been keeping up with blogs in so long, I had to take a second to remember my password just to log in!

So sorry baby doll! We have had a crazy month, and I hope that you appreciate Mommy being there rather than just typing away all the time. Let's see what we need to recap:

Grammy bought herself a beautiful little house!

She was truly blessed to know the builder, who lived in the house for a year while he was building another one, and he gave her an incredible offer once he understood her situation. She was so blown away that she could afford to pay cash for the house. She keeps telling me that she really didn't think she would be able to get a house this nice, and I just keep telling her that she needs to dream a little bigger for herself!

She has officially moved in and is slowly accumulating more things. She has some great furniture, TVs (no cabinet to put them on...) and we got her one special touch as an early Mother's Day gift. I had a sign made for her with this scripture on it:

Let my soul be at rest again, for the Lord has been good to me. Psalm 116:7

We got to make a quick trip up to see the house and deliver her some furniture a few weeks ago, then we were back a few weeks later for Easter. We had a great visit with your great grandma Stella too!

You had such a great time seeing all the family and hunting eggs. Of course, Mommy forgot your Easter dress at home and we had to borrow one of Emerson's... And then you tripped over a garden hose while we were hunting 80,000 eggs (I come from a family of over-doers!) at my grandparent's house, leaving you with a huge scrape on your nose and lip. I think Aunt Rachael took some great pictures before the face-plant, so we need her to hook us up. I didn't take any after that!

Then the next weekend, your daddy left town to go play in the annual Bilbo golf tournament that his family does for charity every year. Apparently the weather was going completely crazy (unbelievable winds, then super hot, and freezing cold the next day) so they didn't have as much fun playing as they hoped. But any chance for Daddy to have a whole weekend to hang out with Chad is a good one in his book! A least we got to see Gigi and Grandpa the weekend before for her birthday. You even practiced your Aggie "Gig 'Em!"


Since us girls had to stay home, Grammy and Aunt Rachael came to visit us! I really needed their help since you accidentally sprained your ankle on Wednesday night at the playground. You somehow came down the slide at just the wrong angle and the toe of your shoe caught on the ground and twisted your ankle up and around. It was just stuck there while you were screaming for a few seconds and I felt horrible. We realized quickly that it was serious and you were refusing to walk on it.

At least you got to enjoy some pampering by Daddy in our big bed...

You spent Thursday morning with me at work (we squeezed in a quick check-up with your doctor) and fortunately Chad let you hang out with him that afternoon before they left town. Even he said that he figured you would walk on it once I wasn't around, but you were pretty consistent with telling us where it hurt and not putting any weight on it. Let me tell you, it is super fun to carry a 30 lb. girl back and forth to the bathroom every time she tells you she has to go!

Friday you toughed it out with me at office again in the morning until we could go get some xrays. I couldn't believe that I was going to spend an hour waiting with a two-year old, but I knew that if anything was wrong I would feel horrible later. I really wasn't surprised to hear that everything looked normal, but at least it eliminated the mommy guilt. :)

Fortunately, once Aunt Rachael and Grammy were here, you were much more interested in them. Emerson and Ryan were so much fun to have as company. Mom and Rachael and I did lots of shopping on Sunday and were so glad to get to spend time talking and catching up. It was such a huge help to have them here because I had my big auction for work on Saturday night and you had to spend most of the day home without me. (It went great by the way, raising $50,000!)

And all month long, you kept us laughing and thankful for you. Even when you cried the last 20 minutes of our drive home from Abilene and made Mommy cry too. (Poor Daddy, he was trying to hurry!) Especially when you got confused when a lady gushed over the "little girl with the orange hair" and you made sure she knew you had RED hair. Especially when you packed up half of pantry in reusable shopping bags and left them by the front door, since you were obviously headed somewhere important with hungry people. Even when you had to sleep in bed with Mommy so Emerson could have your bed and you ended up with your feet in my face. Sigh.

You have been having a rougher time at daycare lately, with your teachers graciously telling us that you have hit someone or have been super fussy lately. Sometimes I wonder if you play with the boys too much and have picked up their habits. Or if you don't like being in a class with so many kids instead of more personal attention. Mostly your teachers describe you as the mother hen that bosses everyone else around. Wonder where you get that from?

You are certainly independent - everything is "I do it by myself!" Putting your jammies on, brushing teeth, putting lids on your cup, flushing the toilet... So much excitement! I think we need to come up with some new challenges for you. You know all your letters and are constantly asking what letter certain words start with. Maybe some sight word flash cards? Hmmm, I will work on that.

Mommy

Strawberry Festival

This weekend we were so thankful that nobody had to work and we didn't have any chores to do, so we loaded up and went to the Poteet Strawberry Festival! We have always heard how fun it is but have never been, even though we have lived here for 7 years now. We decided to beat the heat and the crowds and got there just before lunch time. By the time we left, it was over 90 degrees, so I think we had the right idea. You zonked out on the way there, but it put you in a good mood when you woke up. Mommy was so excited that I had just bought you a new strawberry outfit with cute hair ribbons too!

Watch out girls, here's the real Strawberry Queen!

You were so excited to see the petting zoo first thing. They even had a wallaby and a baby llama. You were most excited about the baby goats and miniature pig. The cow and baby buffalo were pretty cool, but they were in a different section, so you could only pet them a little bit. You seem to be very gentle and tender with all the animals.

You were even tall enough to ride some of the carnival rides! We weren't sure if you were going to be 36" tall yet, but you must have been close enough. We got to enjoy the merry-go-round and one with little pods. You were all smiles and I am sure the breeze felt great!


We had such a fun day together and got lots of comments on our cute strawberry girl!


Hugs and Kisses from Mommy

Temperature!

I just had to write down this story before I forgot it....

The mornings are usually a tag team effort between Daddy and I to get all of us ready and out the door. Last week you were helping Daddy take your bags to the truck and get it warmed up. When you came back in the house, you said that it was cold outside. Daddy told you the truck said that the temperature was 48 degrees outside.

Your reply was, "It's not 48 degrees outside! That's ridicuwuss!" (Your new word is ridiculous...)

Daddy explained that it is colder outside than inside our house. Then you said something that really surprised me. I still can't get over how smart you were to make the connection.

You said, "No, it comes from my ear..." You pointed to your ear, where we use a thermometer to take your temperature! We laughed and explained how there are body temperatures and weather temperatures. Daddy even took you over to the thermostat and showed you the temperature inside the house.

Good thing Daddy teaches science! We are going to have lots of teachable moments with you!

Big Girl Bag

The upside to you using the potty now is that we don't have to lug around tons of diapers and wipes anymore. Now we usually leave the house with a backup outfit and maybe a cup. So your big backpack is overkill, I think.

I have been looking for a simple little tote bag that you can carry, and I found this cutie for only $10 on Etsy. Hope you love it!


You definitely seem like a grown-up girl that needs fashionable accessories. I just want to kiss those cheeks all the time!

Twenty-Eight and I'm Not Late!

Hello my sweet girl,
Another month is coming to a close. It has been an eye opening month for me, but I caught myself saying to a co-worker that now is the time of year that I feel as though I am coming alive again after a brief in comparison but still yucky winter. This is the time when I become so much more grateful to be outside with the sun on my face, to anticipate new life in the garden, and to savor these mild weather days when the rest of the country still has snow shovels handy.

This past week you embarked on such a big step - potty training! As much as we talked up our big plans for how it was supposed to happen, your wonderful teachers did all the work for us. After three days, you pretty much had it down. You had one accident this weekend with me, and I truly take the blame for it. We now have to be so much more aware of time passing and ask you to go potty. Not only had I ignored how much time had passed while we were at the big Home & Garden Show, but I took you over to see an enormous pool display with two shooting fountains. I think the sound was too much for you because we had to make a quick change in the bathroom. But you were so patient and grown up the entire weekend! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you.

You have said so many funny things to us this month. You gave me a lecture at the dinner table about staying in "my space" and out of yours. You call your daddy "Dude" when you want to get his attention sometimes. You tried your first big word in Spanish (orange/naranja) and it was hilarious. You taught me a new song last night at bedtime that your teachers sing to you at school, and I couldn't believe how well you remembered it.

You also read me the paraphrased version (but still pretty accurate) of two of your favorite books today. You still love to read "Corduroy's Surprise" because it has tiny flaps you lift up to see pictures to go along with the story. You love to play with your blocks and plastic necklaces and kitchen. The things you make most often lately are coffee and cake - my kind of hostess!

Daddy tells me that you often ask about Jesus because you see the enormous cross at a church along the highway on your way to school. You tell Daddy that you want to hold Jesus and you ask where he is. He explained that Jesus is in heaven, and tonight when you saw Papa in a picture, we got to explain that Papa is with Jesus in heaven too. I get excited when I think that you are starting to understand more things at church, and I know we want to start memorizing scripture together as a family. I was reminded at church on Sunday that the most important thing we can pray for you is not to be the best athlete or the valedictorian, but rather to pray that you come to know Jesus in your own way.

Well, as much as I love you, it is time for you to go to bed, crankypants! You had a long day...

Hugs and Kisses from Mama

Late Birthday Dinner with Cara

Cara has to share her birthday with Valentine's Day every year, so we had a late birthday dinner with the Gilbreaths tonight in Boerne. The girls were so excited to see each other! It was so fun to catch up!

You were so excited to see Ainslee!

Awww, best friends....

You and Ainslee had to prop up Hattie for a quick pic, but you mostly wanted to just pat her on the head or completely cover her up with kisses. This was the best we could do!

We were glad to wish Cara a belated birthday and hope this year is full of love and blessings for her!

Do Little Girls Say "Yah Mule?"

How's my best girl?
You had a very busy weekend! Each year, Daddy does an amazing job of cooking for a fundraising dinner around Valentine's Day. This year, we helped welcome over 40 people to support Evidence Ministries. They are a full-time ministry devoted to helping Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons understand true biblical Christianity, and often help them transition out of their faiths to a bible based church. Keith and Becky are very bold in their faith, and often endure lots of criticism and ugliness even though they themselves are very kindhearted and humble people. We were honored to be able to donate about $750 to them this past weekend. Your Grammy even came to do a ton of the cooking and was a humongous help. She left on Sunday afternoon exhausted and is looking forward to coming back when she can do more hanging out!

The timing actually worked out well since your Grandpa and Gigi were coming to San Antonio for the stock show again this year. Even though your uncles don't show pigs anymore, they love to help out their friends and family! You were very excited to go with Grandpa on Saturday afternoon to the stock show and see Brighlon's pig Andrew. I am sorry we don't have cute pictures of you like we did last year! Everyone said you were very well-behaved and had tons of fun. We were very thankful that we knew you were in good hands so we could spend the day cooking and getting ready for the dinner.

And then Sunday night, Uncle Jordan and Savtah came to stay with us. It feels like we get to see them on a regular basis, but it is mostly for doctor's visits for Jordan. I know they are starting to get worn out with the long drive so often, so maybe we need to do a better job of planning some fun things to do together so we can still enjoy it like a family trip. It still amazes me that your Uncle Jordan is growing into a (very tall with big feet) teenage boy, but that is still so sweet and gentle with you. Every time they head back home, you ask to see "Jornan" for at least a few days afterwards.

Since I am behind in your monthly posts, I want to play a little catchup! You are still doing great at "school." Your teachers say that you are getting better at interactive play with your friends and it only rarely dissolves into fights. You did have a bit of an incident in the last few weeks where you totally smacked another boy in your class for taking your toy. While we do want you to have courage to stand up for yourself (and you apparently really clocked the poor kid) we hope you will continue to have a sweet and gentle spirit. You bring home great pictures you have colored (you apparently press down really hard and make huge strokes with your crayons... a very determined artist!) and never cry or fuss when we drop you off. Most days, you don't even look back once you are in the room with your friends. I have to snatch you back for a hug and kiss!

You have fallen in love with Mommy and Daddy's big shower. You used to hate the feeling of water hitting you, but for some reason you think it is super fun all of a sudden. You look so funny standing there leaning into the water and laughing. You like to stomp your feet and splash, and you are never ready to get out. Personally, I would stick with the bathtub because you have toys in there, but every once in a while we let you use the big open shower. And yes, Mommy and Daddy usually end up soaked from trying to help you while still clothed.

I noticed the other day that we seem to have permanently retired your high chair. We ordered you a cool foamy booster seat so you can sit at the big table, but most of the time you like to sit on your knees at our little kitchen table. You are still a pretty messy eater because you like to pick things up instead of using utensils, but we are working on it. Nice manners is definitely one of Mommy's goals for you. I have laughed alot watching you eat pizza lately. You turn it sideways and eat off all the toppings (biting it like corn on the cob) and only occasionally eat the crust. You still stick with just milk, water, or juice to drink and were definitely not a fan of carbonated soda when I let you try some Sprite one weekend at a birthday party.

Your favorite toys of the moment are your building blocks set, Henry the rabbit, and Ruby the babydoll. You have seen bits and pieces of the movie Toy Story, which made me think about the day long from now when you will no longer be interested in these toys. I am glad you are still happy to have something soft to love on and carry around.

Funniest quote of late - While riding Daddy's back like a horse, you yelled out "Yah, mule!" He thought it was hysterical, and I lamented that your teachers at daycare must think we are total rednecks sometimes.

New favorite song - Grammy sings "How Many Kisses Have You Got, Little Cameron" to you and you love it. Now we have to sing it every night before bed along with Twinkle Twinkle and You Are My Sunshine. I'll take slobbery kisses for as long as I can get 'em.

And I just noticed this morning that some of your 24 month pants look ridiculously short on you. Apparently I need to start packing up clothes again! Makes sense because you somehow got to be 27 months old without me noticing....

Love you,
Mama

Cabin Fever sets in....

This is what happens when the highways in San Antonio freeze over. We spend the day at home in our jammies watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Cameron decides she needs to catch some air. If Bo's arms didn't get tired, she would do this 100 times in a row. She is a daredevil!

We Need Some Laughs

Okay, just to lighten the mood, here are some fun pictures and some of my new favorites of your phrases..

Check out your new kicks! You have awesome new tennis shoes. I have never bought anything by "Morgan & Milo" but they seem to be really good quality and so unique. I love that they have the velcro for you to do by yourself, but they are fashionable and fun. The black pair are a bit big, but they are Kenneth Cole Reaction and I love them! I think they are a perfect mix - fancy enough for dresses but still simple enough to wear with pants.

One of your best quotes of late was when we stayed at the hotel with Grammy in Abilene a few weekends ago. Our room was on the third floor, so we rode the elevator alot. Everytime, you would say that we needed to get in the "alligator."

Today, you told daddy, "it was a accident Daddy, don't you worry about me!" You are definitely still a Daddy's girl...


Somewhere, you learned to walk up and say "Hi guys!" to all your friends. You also like to tell us that your favorite thing to play with at school is "maggots." We really need to work on saying "magnets!"

Thanks for all the laughs, Cameron!

Goodbye 2010

Hi My Dolly,
Mommy has sure had a hard time getting in gear in 2011. I think ending the year with such a hard experience somehow left me stuck there. I was trying to explain it to your daddy the other day and all I could say was that I feel.... weird. It's like I have a million things I know I should be doing, things that would be good choices or healthy things to do, but I just feel apathetic. I have books I want to read, scriptures I want to memorize, projects to keep me busy, but instead I just want to be mopey. And unfortunately, it seems that one bad decision leads to another. When I haven't been exercising, I feel lazy and tend to eat more junk food. I procrastinate doing chores around the house and I watch crappy stuff on TV.

Why is it that I know what I want to spend my time on, but suddenly I look back and have wasted hours doing something totally different? (I can't even seem to focus and finish this post!)

I guess what I am trying to say is that one good decision tends to lead to another as well. But I think sometimes I need a little push to get started. My new elliptical got exiled to the garage so we could take it apart and make sure everything was OK on the inside, and now I just need to get motivated and bring it back inside. I need to start drinking more water and eating less candy, and it will probably make me feel better and more like exercising. I need to start taking my thoughts captive to Christ and focus on encouragement and truth.

So I thought I would properly say goodbye to 2010 and make the decision to move forward with positive intentions. To make each day less overwhelming, I want to wake up and be confident that I can accomplish all the tasks that I set out to do. To know that God has a purpose for me being where I am, and that through him I can do all things without feeling lost.

Here are the things I want to remember positively from 2010:

Best movie: Inception
Favorite song: The House that Built Me
Best album: Miranda Lambert's "Revolution"
Best book I read: The Help
Favorite family memory: Having everyone together for a family portrait in June
Cutest moment by Cameron: Learning to read along with her favorite books
Best trip: Vegas and the NFR!
Best change for Mommy: No more sitting in traffic!
Best change for Daddy: New job coaching football and teaching science.
Most amazing thing of the year: Watching you go from this....

to this!

This year you learned to talk, to run, to make jokes, to sing and dance, and how to have manners. You spent the entire year in daycare and did great with all the changes and new faces. You turned two, learned what a birthday is, and truly enjoyed Christmas. You have grown into a smart, outgoing and wonderful girl.

You are half (Daddy makes the other half) of every good and happy thing that I want to take with me from 2010. And you are the two things that I know I could never face 2011 without.