A Birthday Wish

Today is Nanny's birthday! Happy Birthday Nanny - we wish you lots of love on your birthday and we can't wait to see you in 10 days!

Playing Catch-Up

So a few weeks have passed without a word. This is partly due to our busy schedule as well as the fact that my employer has now blocked this site from our Internet!

Nothing too exciting has happened recently. The weeks have flown by with too much work to do, a trip to West Virginia, and lunch time swimming lessons with Camlin. Our weekends have been spent at the pool and preparing for our upcoming visitors.

Camlin has filled these hours as a typical two-year old: a perfect angel one minute; a little devil the next. Below I've posted some of the more angelic moments.

Here she is feeding Dora a bottle.


Here she is 'working' on her Blackberry.


And here she is singing and dancing!

"I'm a Big Girl Now"

In an effort to support Camlin's plight to wear only big girl underwear (at which she is doing incredibly well), we have encouraged her by telling her that she is a big girl now. Unfortunately, she is smart enough to realize that being a big girl can transcend into other areas of her life. This has included swimming on her own in the pool, walking down stairs without holding hands, fastening her car seat straps unassisted. Actually, any instance where she doesn't want help, "[she's] a big girl now"! I assume this won't be the first time a parenting skill will backfire.

Potty Update

The question we are asking ourselves today is: Could Camlin really have potty trained in one day?

Camlin went all day yesterday without an accident. I put a pull up on her for nap time but she woke up dry and immediately went and peed on the potty. At one point we were outside while Dave was grilling dinner and she sneaked inside by herself. I went looking for her and found her sitting on the potty clapping, "I pee peed on the potty, yay!"

So, off she went to school today in her big girl, Dora underwear, and two extra outfits packed in her backpack. My fingers will be crossed all day ...

Hooray!

Camlin used the potty today! Finally, after months of prompting to sit on the potty, wear big girl underpants, and several attempts, pee finally ended up in the bowl!

Until today, Camlin would walk around for hours in regular underwear but then insist on putting on a diaper before she had to pee. We also spent a lot of time sitting in the bathroom, waiting.

I'm not sure what was different today. Maybe it was the new Dora underwear I gave her this morning or maybe she is just now ready. Either way, it was cause for a big celebration. I was thrilled to be able to present her with the gift bag from which to choose a prize. (I had been gathering little presents for a while in hopes this day would come soon.) And Dave immediately began talking about what we could do with the extra money we'd have from no longer purchasing diapers.

I'm not throwing out the nappy coupons just yet though; however, today we will revel in the fact that our baby girl is starting to grow up. We're so proud!


Camlin saying 'Hooray! (Notice the Sesame Street ponytail holders in her hair and on her wrist - that was the prize she chose.)

Matching Game

If you have (or have had) a toddler, you will appreciate this. Camlin has always been a good eater, but there are days when she is just too busy to eat. So, Dave created a game that guarantees an empty plate: The Matching Game!

This is how it works: Daddy picks something off his plate to eat, like a piece of broccoli, and then Camlin has to match it. Then it's Camlin's turn. Camlin picks something off her plate to eat, and then Daddy has to match it. Occasionally, Mommy is invited to play. And so the game continues until bellies are full.

This started out as a sneaky way to get Camlin to eat, but now it is a regular dinnertime activity. It's not unusual to sit down at the table and hear Camlin say, 'Matching Game, Cami's turn!' She is also getting creative by putting different things on her fork at the same time to see if Daddy can match the combinations! The good news is that she doesn't seem to care much if the match isn't exact. Definitely a win-win situation.

Todder Fashion

Camlin is at that age where you have to pick your battles when it comes to outfits and accoutrements. This weekend, I lost one battle and compromised on another. Saturday we went shopping while Camlin wore swimming goggles - this wasn't even worth arguing over. Sunday we went shopping while Camlin carried around her Dora nightgown - the alternative was her wearing it. I will never look at how other kids are dressed and judge their parents!

New White Dress

This weekend, Camlin got to model her new white dress (courtesy of Auntie Bridgett) at her friend Nathan's first birthday party. She looked, and acted, like a complete angel. (Hmm ... I wonder if it was the dress.) Attached is a short video I took right before we left.

Make Up Artist

For weeks now, Camlin has been playing with my hair products and make up, so I finally decided to give her some old stuff in her own box. She loves turning her head upside down to spray water or scrunch in some gel, and this weekend she had her first encounter with lipstick.

Independence Day

Despite the comments I get ("today is the day we celebrate breaking away from 'your people'"), I still enjoy Independence Day. So this year, we traveled down to Williamsburg for a festival and fireworks.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so after a rainy walk through Colonial Williamsburg, we spent the rest of the day in the hotel pool and watched the fireworks from our hotel window. Camlin was upset that she didn't get a pony ride, but she loved jumping in puddles and playing in the pool. I think her favorite part was playing with the microwave in the hotel suite. She didn't quite understand that it wasn't a toy (like the one in her playroom at home), so we had a few close calls at burning down the place when she tried to microwave teddy bears, juice pouches, and blankets!