Progress Report

As it’s been a while since I’ve written, I decided to provide a detailed progress report for Camlin. Get comfortable: this is a long one. Hang in and you’ll be rewarded at the end with a couple of pics.

Educationally and developmentally, Camlin is progressing nicely. She can count to 15, knows her colors and basic shapes, can sing the ABC song, and recognizes 3 letters: C, M, and L. She is potty trained, speaks in complete sentences, eats with a fork, drinks from a regular cup, holds a pen/crayon correctly, colors somewhat within lines (although everything is usually blue), throws and kicks a ball, and can run, jump, and hop really well. She runs especially fast in crowded shopping malls.

Her favorite activity is to play Let’s Pretend. I think she likes this because she can be really bossy. Not surprisingly, she is always mommy or the teacher. Activities include playing in the pool on the hardwood floor, going to Chuck E Cheese in the living room, or putting us to bed in any designated area of the house. Yesterday while playing pretend Camlin said, "I'm mommy." Pause. "I have boobies now."

Camlin's Idiosyncrasies:
- She asks almost daily about her birthday! (I think it's about the cake.) Tonight I said, "I have a surprise for you in the morning," to which she exclaimed, "It's my happy birthday?"
- She likes to ‘shush’ us if we are talking while she is watching TV or reading a book.
- She obsesses over her hands and face being clean when eating. It's not unusual to go through at least 3 napkins per meal.
- She likes to take off her pants as soon as she gets home. (see below picture)
- When asked something to which she doesn’t know the answer, she responds, "I can’t know that."
- She still has her ‘go-go’ (pacifier), which she will sneak into a pocket or purse in an attempt to get it out of the house.
- She likes to walk around with her hands in her pockets or on her hips.
- She likes warm milk.
- She knows how to share when someone else has something she wants.
- She prefers her bangs in her face rather than held back with a clip.
- She is easily bribed with promises of cake or chocolate coins.

Recent Activities:
- We went to see Disney on Ice. Camlin’s favorite part was seeing Ariel. She now skates on the ice in her playroom, which translates to dancing on the rug.
- On Wednesdays, we take Camlin to Kangaroo Jacks after school so she can get some exercise while she goes crazy on the jumpy castles.
- Last week we celebrated Thanksgiving by relaxing and eating a huge dinner. Our friends, the Grimes', stopped by too so we could meet baby Miller and Camlin got to play with Colby. The highlight of the day was the semi-forced, but incredibly cute hug between Camlin and Colby!
- Yesterday while at the mall, we figured we’d stop and see Santa. Much to our surprise Camlin ran up to him, jumped on his lap and put her arms around him. They had a nice, intimate conversation while she fiddled with the buttons on his vest, and then he actually had to extract her other arm from around his neck so they could pose for the picture. Odd. Next year we’ll dress her in a nice outfit! (see below picture)
- Today we decorated our Christmas tree. Camlin was more interested in having a coffee party with the coffee ornaments I got from my old manager 2 years ago (last year she did the same thing).

And my final thought: At a recent parent/teacher conference, we learned that Camlin doesn’t listen (not a surprise; she gets that from her dad) and she is incredibly bossy (again, not a surprise; she gets that from her mom). We’re screwed.

Decorating the tree (without pants)


Sitting happily on Santa’s lap

Our Happy Halloween

For us, Halloween lasted a week. It started last Friday night with the Harvest Festival at Camlin's school. All the kids went back in the evening for games, crafts, and trick-or-treat. Camlin proudly (and cutely) wore her Ariel costume and announced to anyone who would listen, "I'm a mermaid."

Camlin's candy loot from the festival was gone by Monday morning, but we were still reading her Dora book, The Halloween Cat, every night before bed. On Thursday we made Halloween cookies, although I think Camlin was more interested in eating the cookie dough rather than waiting for the finished product.

The festivities culminated with a glorious night of trick-or-treat. Luckily, the weather was mild so Dave and Camlin visited the houses in our cul-de-sac and then she experienced the giving side of trick-or-treat by handing out candy to the kids who knocked on our door. I think she was more excited about giving the candy away - after each visitor she exclaimed, "I want more kids!" Hopefully the candy will last a little longer this time.

Message for Daddy

Here's a short video message for Daddy. Hopefully, it will brighten his day while he is on business in Phoenix this week!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Scary Pets

Dave and I decided that we should get a pet for Camlin; something small so she can learn about taking responsibility. We thought a guinea pig was a great idea: not too messy, pretty well contained, easy to feed, etc. So, on Saturday we drove to the pet store and Camlin picked out an adorable white, black, and tan female and she was giddy as she petted it's silky coat. But, when we attempted to pass it to her, she screamed so loud she scared us! This was quickly followed with, "I don't like guinea pigs".

Next, we looked at fish. Camlin was completely taken with the Disney Little Mermaid fish tank, but when we went to pick out a fish she was just a little too excited about hitting the tank to scare the fish. Another plan foiled. We left defeated.

Then just last night as we played in the yard after dinner, a neighbors (rather large) cat joined us. Camlin had so much fun playing with Mars. She was so cute and things were going so well. Maybe we should get her a kitten. Then disaster struck when Camlin went in for another stroke, covering Mars' head, and he bit her on the arm. We've officially given up.

All About Me

Well it's been a year since I finished the course work, but I finally picked up my degree from school. While I've been a graduate for sometime now, and even started on my MBA already, it didn't really feel official until I had my degree in hand!


A couple of weeks ago, my friend Christina lent me a book called Skinny Bitches. It's title is misleading however, as it's purpose is to convert meat eaters to vegans rather than to help people lose weight. Let me tell you, if you've ever needed a reason to stop eating meat, read this book. I am not ready to commit myself to a completely animal-product-free existence, but I have cut out most meat from my diet (much to Dave's chagrin). We'll see how long I can live without a nice bloody steak ...

Magic Crown

Camlin's favorite thing in the whole world right now is the Dora story Dora Saves the Magic Kingdom. She has the DVD, 2 copies of the book, and even the TV episode saved on the DVR. The book fair is at school this week and every day that she's walked past the display, she has stopped to hug the book.

While this may sound mildly obsessive to most, we have found ways to utilize this fixation for our own advantage.
1. Camlin decided half way through her hair cut that she didn't want to sit still anymore; the DVD was paused until her little bum was back in the seat.
2. There was a mess of toys in the playroom; we sang the 'clean up' song (from the story) until the room was clean.
3. Bedtime dawdling is a daily occurrence; the threat of no Mermaid story usually does the trick.

By far the cutest part though, is that Camlin has her own Magic Crown, which we decorated together. While it doesn't turn her into a mermaid like it does for Dora, it does bring a certain sparkle to her eyes that can make just about anyone smile.

Family Time

I'm a couple of weeks behind, but I wanted to post some additional pictures from our time we spent recently with Nanny and Auntie Shelley.

We started out with a shopping trip to Virginia Center mall. (There's nothing quite like eating Chick-fil-A on the floor of the mall.)


Camlin played in her paddling pool she got from Auntie Helen. Thanks Helen!


Auntie Shelley made the mistake of allowing Camlin access to her handbag!


Dave and I took advantage of our visitors and had a mini-vacation to Downtown Richmond! We ate at the Hard Shell, stayed at the DoubleTree, and enjoyed breakfast in bed the next morning (a luxury we'd long since forgotten about). Meanwhile, Camlin was entertained at home.


We finished out the visit with an afternoon at Chuck E Cheese.


It was wonderful having family visit and we were sad to see them leave. Now we are counting down to Christmas when Uncle Pete, Auntie Bridgett, Corey and Coral will be here!

Congratulations Dave!

Dave started out his thirties with a bang by getting promoted! After his success as a trainer (specializing this year in management training), Dave's efforts were rewarded with a promotion to Senior Training Manager. Beating out almost 100 candidates, Dave will now manage Data Trainers over a 5-state area! We are so proud!

The Big 3-0!

So Dave turned 30 this week! For the big day, we had Nanny and Shelley (my sister) visiting from England and we all went to the mountains. We stayed in a B&B, had a nice birthday dinner, and Dave and I went horseback riding. Unfortunately, Camlin got bitten by something and had an allergic reaction, so she missed out on the pool play during the afternoon, but had a good time nonetheless.

Camlin's favorite part had to be the birthday cake, for which she sang Happy Birthday perfectly, and repeatedly. (Check out the video below.) She was still singing it as she lay in bed that night.

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Below are some pictures from the trip.

Final Braves Game

For Labor Day this year, we attended the last ever Richmond Braves game. It was a sold-out game and despite not being baseball fans, it was a good time. Camlin especially liked strutting her sassy self around in her sunglasses, necklace, and bracelet while she carried her purse. Too cute!