Happy Birthday, Bebe!

So, the big day. The big 0-1. Little girl isn't quite so little anymore and in celebration of her growth, a party was thrown! Tasty food (mm, jambalaya) was provided by Nana and Aunt Kitty, great guests attended (thanks everyone for coming out!) and a good time was had. Between all of the guests and the pets, it was quite busy over at our humble little home.




Cameron was quite the trooper, too. She hadn't been feeling well since the day before, but still patiently watched as we "helped" her open presents and even seemed pretty interested in what she received; though I think Kailie was much more excited about the gifts than the birthday girl was.








Now that all of the guests have left and it's quiet again, she's really getting interested in her new stuffs. She'll go from toy to toy and will even push Alan and me away from her little keyboard dealie. Lately she hasn't even asked (demanded) us to help her walk around the house -- new toys must be calling to her pretty loudly.






Thanks to everyone that came for the event, especially you out of state folks! It made her birthday very memorable for us and we appreciate it every much. Lots 'o heart to you all! =)


More pictures of the festivities can be found here.

Exclamation Points, Ahoy!

So it is now September, and I'm more than a little bit behind on updates (many apologies). Things have been pretty good here; Cameron is growing quickly and keeping me busy. She demonstrated to Alan and me the other day that she can, in fact, stand on her own and clap while doing so! Claping! While standing! Also included in all of this growing she's been working on are four teeth. Two on top, two on bottom and she's very talented at using them... on us or otherwise.

Like a true Cajun, Cameron is very food oriented. She loves most types and will sometimes eat until she makes herself sick. This also means though, that with her new teeth, she's taken to feeding herself quite often. It's a messy job, but she doesn't seem to mind-- especially when it means that bath time comes soon after.

Now, on to the photos! Some action shots, some messy shots and two dog shots (because I can). Hope everyone enjoys! Also: Thank you again, Aunt Jan, for the tutu! We love it!

I see it! It's coming!

Watch out, everyone -- the little girl is getting chompers! That's right, almost nine months old and she's getting her first tooth. Fingers everywhere be warned!

June has been a pretty good month for us so far. Cameron is really crawling and getting around now, her tooth has finally made its appearance, and the weather is perfect for a baby-sized swimming pool. The tooth breaking out has drawbacks though... she's pretty grumpy some days. We all take it in stride though, and there's nothing that a game of "toss the baby" can't cure (above our heads of course, not to each other. Sheesh, what were you thinking? ;)).

Tonight we're going to watch the bats from the bridge and then head downtown to the shops. All the girls going were encouraged to wear something silly - a hat of some sort, feather boa, fairy wand, etc. I'm pretty sure some great pictures will come of this outing, since Cameron will be wearing faerie wings. Aunt Kitty really will be "Aunt Kitty" with her kitty ears, tail and collar. I'm pretty excited about it and I think we'll have a fantastic time.

To wrap up this post I'm adding a slide show of Cameron's first pool day in the front yard. Enjoy and happy Summer Solstice everyone!

Jumping!

She's actually a little bit sedate in this video >_>



Thought everyone might enjoy seeing the girl having a good time. =)

Food, her other, other love.

I know it's been a while since I've posted, many apologies! Cameron is cute as a bug, she's getting big very quickly. She sits up by herself now and is *almost* crawling in the traditional sense. She does belly crawl very well though and can chase her mama down with the best of them. She's also starting to make new sounds like, "Muh muh muh muh muh" and "Mmmmm," as if she's found her lower lip or something. She loves to laugh and is really enjoying her new found freedom of movement (the dogs are starting to grow wary of her though). And eating... boy is that girl into filling her tummy. Even if she's already full, she wants whatever her parents are eating. Anyway, here's some pictures. Hope everyone enjoys!

Texas Native, Louisiana Roots

So I know I haven't posted in a while, my apologies for that; lately I've been more than a little scatter-brained and distracted. Meanwhile, I don't have all that much to report that's new and exciting. Cameron is as cute as ever, her hair is growing back so it's pretty fuzzy and usually sticking up all over the place. Hard to tell what color it's going to decide to be. Sometimes it looks very blonde, sometimes it's still a little bit reddish. The tooth that I thought for sure was going to sprout still hasn't shown itself, though she's starting to drool a bit more again. She's not crawling yet either, but can roll to where she wants to go most of the time. And get stuck because she doesn't know how to go in reverse yet, hehe. She absolutely loves her "big girl" food and eating from a spoon. Her highchair too, that's a favorite place to hang out now. Not that I can blame her, it is pretty neat with all of its contraptions and music going on. On to the photos!


I'll try to be more consistent with the updates, though that might prove to be pretty trying. Taking pictures isn't the hard part, organizing my thoughts though... therein lies the challenge.

As the Drool Monster Sleeps...

I know it's been a while since I've posted (an entire month, whoa!) but I do have several pictures to share! January wasn't a very busy month, I don't remember much of what happened. A lot of nothing I believe. February though, that's a different story.

The day before Valentine's, Cam and I met up with Aunt Jan for lunch. Little Cameroni was presented with the lavender sweater knit by Aunt Jan (it's very lovely, the color is perfect for her) and the three of us hung out and had a nice time. The next day was lunch with Dad! Cameron of course had to charm everyone at the restaurant. That night, Alan picked up Rock Band for us to play with. I've come to these conclusions: it's a very fun game, but the drums are HARD to play. I keep telling Cameron that she's going to do vocals for us since her lungs are in the best shape for it. The following weekend she and I drove to my parents' house in Louisiana for two weeks. The weather here isn't the best; nice and warm during the day, cold at night. It's really messing with every one's sinuses, Natalie's poor babies can't seem to beat their runny noses. We're having a good time though. Chad came by and brought his Rock Band guitar to play bass with Mia and I. Our band, Snuggle Tuesday, has a jet and everything now! We're kind of stalled though until one of us gets better at the drums.

Yesterday, Nana and Papa J came for a visit. They really enjoyed seeing how big Cameron has gotten. She reaches for everything now (especially if it's something I'm holding) and is on the verge of cutting a tooth. She's taking well to all of the different people holding her and really only fusses when she's tired or hungry. Her cousins have seemed to take to her as well. Christopher wants to hold and hug her often and we saw Noah giving her kisses. The kisses were followed by him bonking her on the head a few times, but that's babies for ya, hehe. Kailie has even helped me change her diaper and give her a bath. Later this week, Omi and Opa are going to be in Baton Rouge so we're going to make a trek down there before heading home.

All in all, this has been a fantastic trip. Being able to see my family and friends again is wonderful. I am ready to be home though, there's not much quite like it.



P.S. More pictures to come when I get home and can upload them from my phone.

One Diaper, Twice the Work

So much time has passed so quickly for us. Cameron is almost 4 months old now; rolling over, babbling, making demands -- all the things babies her age do. Trying to change the diaper of a little girl that has learned she can roll over at will now is pretty challenging stuff I might add! I spoke to my sisters yesterday, too. Natalie says that her youngest, Noah, now crawls after her around her apartment crying. Ah, the joys I get to look forward to, hehe. I don't think I'll mind so much, as long as I get atleast a few hours' worth of sleep (unlike last night, little pill).

I know I haven't posted any pictures in a while, so here's a few taken just last night. Alan was trying to get her to smile for the camera, so we got these three expressions out of the effort. She's such a cutie, hehe. Makes it all the more easy to not be upset when she does stuff like... want to have a conversation from 1 am to 3 am. Oye, so tired!

Up Close and... Wow! That hair!

I was feeling a bit camera happy yesterday. Or was it the day before? I really don't remember, time is flying now. Speaking of flying time, Cameron is growing very quickly! She has become quite the chatter box, one of her favorite pastimes is talking to the baby that looks back at her from a mirror. She's starting to work on her laugh too, and greatly prefers sitting upright or standing as opposed to being cradled.

Christmas was wonderful this year, we were able to see everyone before the holiday and then spent the actual day at home. It's great to see everybody, but it's also nice to be able to have some time to ourselves as well. Alan cooked on Christmas day, too. He's really getting the hang of it I think. My mom got him a waffle iron for Christmas, so we'll most likely be trying out one of the recipes that came with it this weekend.

Up close and personal so that we can demonstrate her hair as it usually is in the mornings. A liiiittttle bit spikey there (she gets it from her dad).

Alan actually letting me take a picture of him. This is currently the only way to get Cameron to sleep during the day. Even then, it's 50/50 that she'll stay that way after you put her in bed. Yeah, that's Jax in the lower right corner waiting expectantly for me to toss the toy he threw at my feet.

Me and the baby. I think we were distracted by something on TV. Not the best quality picture either, sorry about that!

And lastly, the blur we fondly refer to as Jax. The toy that he's after actually is in that picture, too.

Dirty Hippie Hats

Andrea, Cameron and I went to the Armadillo Bazaar two days ago to check out the crafts and get some gift ideas. Wow was that a neat place! We saw little kinetic sculptures that had all sorts of amazing moving parts, beautiful (and sometimes pricey) handmade jewelry, different types of leather works and much, much more. This Bazaar is an annual event that's held from the beginning of December until Christmas Eve. I have a feeling that these artisans have gained another two and a half people that will come visit and proclaim, "oooh!" and, "aaaah!" for the years to come!

Oh, and we picked up a hat for Cameron. I'll confess, it did seem a bit unattractive when it was laying down with the others (Andrea even called it a dirty hippie hat), but then we put it on an already cute baby and became true believers in hats made from recycled sweaters.

Yep, pretty cute alright. All in all it was a great outing, all of the crafts at the bazaar were wonderful and made me wish I had a larger amount to spend on the shinies that I saw.

Phone Books and Secret Santas

Being that this is Cameron's first Christmas she has a few Secret Santas. Aunt Kitty got her this really great mobile jumper (a Rainforest Jumperoo to be precise) and gifted it to Cameron early. We figured that maximum usage is the best! ...which is why there's a phone book under it as well, haha. Little girl is, in fact, still just a tad small for it. Doesn't stop her from being interested though, and working on that hand-eye coordination.

Updates!

A few people have been asking for new pictures of the little girl, so I guess I'll oblige them ;). These are all taken within the last few days, the ones of her in her hat are from today's outing.

Counting those fingers. Now if only she could figure out how to make them do what she wants.

Flashing me a smile as I bundled her up. She's always so happy when she just wakes up from a nap!

I love it when she smiles at me, hehe.

Extra Pics from Turkey Day

Just adding a few photos that Papa J took while he was visiting us!

Papa J and Little Cameron

Nana and Cameron

From left to right, Cameron being held by Dad, Mom and Aunt Mia

Little girl enjoying her papasan chair. Yeah, a baby in the baby seat, who'dathunkit?

Aunt Jan with Cameron

Great pictures that I had to share. =)

Turkey, Pie and Cowboy Boots

These last few days have been super busy. My family drove with me from Lake Charles to Austin on Saturday, Thanksgiving on Thursday and lots of other activities in between. Mom, Dad, Mia, Aunt Jan, Cameron and I went to Wimberly, TX, to visit the used cowboy boot store. Within that store one can find cowboy boots from styles with the most garish combination of colors to elegant boots that were custom made 30 years ago but are still in excellent shape. All of us purchased a pair (except Mia, she wouldn't even try them on) and had a great time of it. Even Cameron was showing her Texas blood when we got back to Aunt Jan's later.

(We probably could have gotten her all the way in the boot if it weren't for that diaper)

I love this picture. It was taken at Bull Creek Park on the 21st. She's such a pretty baby! That's Papa J in the background taking pictures of the dogs in case anyone was wondering ;)

Ma-maw Dee holding the babe. That girl loves it when she's being snuggled.

And... this is Ilsa having discovered the baby chair. She barely fit, but hey, it was round and comfy and her bed was in the wrong spot. We're all pretty amazed that she fit, but she didn't seem to mind the snugness of it, haha. Goofy animals. I know I have a picture of the Stash kitty in that same chair hanging around somewhere.

Early Turkey Day!

This past week (from Wednesday to Saturday) I went with my Aunt Jan to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to visit my Grandmother and cousin Ginger. We had a good time, Cameron did wonderfully on the 6ish hour drive, and I got some neat pictures. On Saturday, my parents, sisters and niece and nephews drove down to meet us and have an early Thanksgiving lunch. The food and company were great and those homemade pies that I helped Aunt Jan with were to die for! Ahhh, I can almost taste that lemon meringue again already. Glad we're making another for Thursday. =P

Cameron is a bit fussy after all of the excitement, but who can blame her? For such a little thing she was a trooper. On to the photos!

This is her saying, "Hold me or I'll cry! I mean it! I'll cry!" though not nearly as intimidating as the baby from Spirited Away.

She's pretty cute in her puppy hat and gloves and little striped hoodie. This is after a walk outside when it was a chilly 50 degrees at Gramma's house.

My nephew Noah! A mere 5 months older and 10 pounds heavier than Cameron and what a sweetie he is. I love having a picture of Natalie's youngest boy, but it's a shame Mia didn't snap a few of Kailie and Christopher while she was at it.

Pawpaw Errol and the baby girl bonding. Aww, sweet isn't it? =p She took a nice nap with him too. I can hear Alan calling her a traitor already, haha.

From left to right, my mom (Ma-maw) holding Noah, Mia and Gramma Goldie. They were in the middle of conversation and ignoring me, hence the complete oblivion to me and my actions.

Jolly Jill

Leg Warmers are back in style! Pirate style. Arrr, matey.

Shiny New Toy

I just recently got a new toy, an iPhone, so I've been having a lot of fun with the camera. And the web browser. And the iPod. Ah heck, I've been having a lot of fun with the whole thing. Alan says it's my "BFF" and should get grafted to me and Don and Chad both call me a nerd (I still say it takes one to know one!).

I *think* she was eyeing a dog.

Yep, that's what she was doing alright.

Who can blame her though, I mean, really?

The time, it flies

Little Cameron is 6 weeks old today. She's smiling, working on her laugh and hand-eye coordination, holds her head up with only a little wobble -- she's growing, and quickly! Already she's over 10 pounds (can really tell when she falls asleep and becomes dead weight in your arms). And look at this, her first real nap in her crib; asleep there for over half an hour and counting! She does like her crib, too, which is nice. I can lay her down there while she's awake and she'll occupy herself by looking at the colors on the bumper. The only drawback is that the Stash kitty thinks that it's his bed so I have to shoo him away (more like, pick him up and toss him out of the bed) every time I walk into Cam's room. Ah well =)

Aieee!

As my friend Chad said, "She's being eaten by a dog!"

Oh, the insanity!

Two posts in one day! I just felt the need to share Cameron's new furniture (2 of 3 pieces) and a shot of the big girl herself sleeping in her new bed. Yeah, couldn't help myself.


Soooo the picture of the baby in her new bed isn't so flattering. Don't mind the big vacuum in the hallway in the first picture either, can thank the dogs for that actually. Crazy beasts and their acorn fetishes.