Happy 2nd Birthday, Cami!

August 2, 2009
My Dearest Cameron Juliet,
You woke up today a full-fledged two-year old. You are no longer my little baby, but now a beautiful, smart, strong-willed, funny, loving little girl. I cannot believe how much you have grown this year and all of the accomplishments you have achieved. You were a shining star at your birthday party last night. So gracious and loving. This time last year I did not think I could be any more proud of you. Yet, you continue to make my heart swell with love and pride for you.
There are so many things I adore about you—too many to even try to adequately write about, but here are just some:
I love how smart you are. You know all of your colors, and all of the Sesame Street characters’ names. You surprised me with being able to count to ten all on your own. Where did you learn that?
I love how you made up your own name for milk. You call it “nahgoo” and now we all do too!
I love how affectionate you are. You love to give hugs and kisses to all of your family. In fact your hug is the best around, and it is know as the “Cami hug”.
I love how brave you are. You made me so proud when you started “school” and learned to love it. You made so many little friends and adored your teacher. You were brave and that helped make Mommy’s difficult journey back to work a little easier. You were strong when your mommy was at her weakest. I cannot thank you enough for that. You are an independent little girl, and I love that about you.
I love how your hair gets longer every day, and although it is sometimes a battle, you still let me put in the pigtails that have come to be so unmistakably “Cami”.
I love your facial expressions (trust me, these will get you into trouble later in life) and how your face gets more beautiful every day.
I love your voice. It is the sweetest little girl voice I have ever heard. I love hearing you try new words and sentences—even when they are repeating naughty words mommy should not have slipped and said in front of you!!
I love how good you are. You sleep well every night and never give us a hard time when we put you to bed or down for a nap. I love when you let me “rocky” you, but I secretly think it’s cute when you want your daddy to do it sometimes too.
I love how much you still love your crib. Never have you tried to crawl out of it. If you wake before we do, you simply read a book or hang out. You are never anxious to get out of your bed (that sounds like Daddy!). You will stay in there for hours, and have, just playing with all of your stuffed animals—making them all sit up and watch as you read to them or sing.
I love when you “perform” your favorite songs like, “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”. I love when you take your bow.
I love how much your daddy loves you. I love when you two get to spend time together on the weekends, going to the golf store or watching “Barney” or “Princess”.
I love how you act out parts of your favorite movie, and I marvel at how you knew just by looking at the DVD box who the “bad guy” was. Where did you learn that, too?
Yes, my Baby Girl, you are nearly perfect in all ways except for your one vice. The Bink. I just don’t have the heart to take it away from you yet. It brings you so much joy, and I am not sure you could sleep without them--that’s right-- you need TWO in your crib with you!! So I think I’ll indulge you for one more year…
Cameron, you are quite simply my sunshine, my joy in life, my heart and my soul. As I often whisper in your ear, I could not possible love you any more than I already do. Happy 2nd birthday!
Love,
Mommy

OCNJ (Year # 2)

We took Cami to Ocean City, New Jersey again this year for one week with my parents. We all had a blast! We were blessed with beautiful weather each day! The house we stayed in this year was perfect too!

Cami enjoyed time with her Grandmommy and Poppi, ate lots of great food, went for bike rides on the boardwalk every morning with her mommy and daddy, played on the "big kids" side of the playground each day, dug huge holes in the sand, and celebrated her daddy's birthday. What Cami did NOT do this year was: go anywhere near the ocean or the rides.

The week went by too quickly, and so we can't wait for next year when maybe we'll stay for two weeks!

Aquarium Visit

On Father's Day Chris and I took Cami to the aquarium for her first visit. I didn't know if she would "get" it, but she loved every minute! She loved the "fishies" and stared incredulously at each tank. She also got to touch a star fish and play in a water fountain. It was a great day!

Family Portrait

For Father's Day I tried to get a "mulit-generational" picture of Cami, my mom and me to give to my dad as a present. Let's just say it did not go well. The lighting was perfect, Mom looked great, I cleaned myself up too, but alas, Cami did not find the whole idea acceptable. I settled for just a pic of me and Cami as a present to both Chris and my dad--Cami was much more accepting of this idea, as you can see.

Reason it't Great to be an (almost) 2-Year-Old Little GIrl

You get to wear shoes like these! Fully and unabashedly sequinced on every available section. Even better is when these shoes are hand-delivered, with love, from your Pop Pop!

Pee Pee on the Potty!

I am so excited (and not ashamed at all) to announce that our darling 22 month old daughter has successfully gone pee pee on the potty! It was a very exciting night here last night, and we are all so proud! I will spare you the photos and videos on this one!

"Everybody's Cookie!"

I think this video shows not only how brilliant my daughter is, but also how funny she is! What a sense of humor!

Speed Racer (Year Two)

Well things have changed a little since we took a similar picture of Daddy pushing her in this car when she was younger.

There are three things in this video that show my daughter's personality:
1. I love that she does actually wait until her Daddy tells her to go. (Angel)
2. I love how she pushes her body forward during the entire ride to make the car go faster .
(Daredevil)
3. I also like how she keeps looking at the neighbor during the whole ride to make sure she's
watching. (Show-off)

She's growing up too darn fast!

Daddy Does My Hair

You knew I wouldn't have allowed this...

And So It Begins...

Cami has a crush on a little heartbreaker in the neighborhood. His name is "Nicky" and everytime she sees him she says, "More Nicky!!". Great. The other day Nicky came over to play in her playhouse with her. You can tell from the pictures how cute this little boy is, and how Cami is uninterested in everything else when he is around. Great. I am sure they will date in the years to come, and if he breaks her heart, I will tear his cute little face off.