Baby It's Cold Outside

It's FREEZING cold out lately and each time we go out of the house Cami gets all bundled up. Her latest fashion trend is her new hat. When I bought it I really didn't think she would keep it on for more than a minute but surprisingly she LOVES it. She even keeps it on at daycare for an hour or two while she plays and she cries when you try to take it off of her. She couldn't look more adorable in it and Mommy and Daddy sure are happy she doesn't mind being all bundled up in this cold weather. We hope everyone is staying warm!!

Santa Visit

Today Jon and I took Cami for her first ever picture with Santa. Cami showed courage, grace and MUCH interest in Santa. Although all of the workers were convinced that our picture would be a disaster due to her age being prime 'stranger fear' age, Cami proved everyone wrong. When we finally had to leave she reached for Santa and tried to hang tight to his beard so Mommy wouldn't take her away. She MUST know this big man will be bringing her presents in a few weeks.



All in all, it was a great little family Christmas outing. Not only did we get Cami's picture taken with Santa, but we also went out to lunch, did some Christmas shopping AND got our annual family Christmas ornament. Now all we need is Christmas Day to get here quickly!

Box Fun

Cami is definitely feeling better because lately meal times are some of her favorite times of the day. She is eating a ton (last night she ate half of my plate full of food) and she is thoroughly enjoying everything about time in her high chair - especially "THE BOX".

Cami has discovered that putting cereal boxes on your head makes for a hilarious looking hat. If she can get her hands on an empty cereal box her life is complete. She giggles, puts it on my head, puts it on her head, tries to dive into it, etc. I can't help but giggle and watch with complete adoration as she experiences some of life's simple pleasures. I need to take some life lessons from her. :-)

Curly Cami

As Cami's hair continues to grow we are noticing more and more little curls and waves in her hair. The latest is the intense curl behind her right ear that you can see above. I couldn't love it more and I wish she would keep it forever and ever, but only time will tell!

Mystery Solved!

So after a scary evening, the night of November 18th, Cami landed herself back in Fairfax Hospital. This time, she ended up being admitted and having to stay for three days.

Remember last post titled "A Long and Painful Week"? Well - it appears that when Cami spiked the mystery fever that was discussed in that post it was most likely due to an infection in her esophagus which wasn't found until almost 2 weeks later. Obviously the Doctors never suspected anything wrong with her esophagus simply due to the fever, so it was not detected at the time.

A week later though after severe drooling, followed by intense vomiting, followed by severe drooling, followed by intense vomiting (okay you get the point) and a frantic Mom who had to rush her baby to the ER, the ER Doctors decided they needed to do an X-Ray of her throat to make sure there wasn't something caught in it causing the drooling, vomiting and trouble breathing. The X-Ray showed a 'mass' in her throat which needed to further be investigated with a CT Scan. The CT Scan thankfully didn't show anything too serious, but it did show that she had a severe esophageal infection causing a lot of swelling in the soft tissue of her esophagus which was partially blocking her airways (hence the drooling, vomiting and difficulty breathing).

Cami was admitted to the hospital in order to get IV antibiotic treatments and after 3 LONG days in the hospital we got the green light to continue antibiotic treatments at home so that we could be discharged.

Indeed it was frightening, scary, exhausting and another challenge for our family to go through but thankfully it's done.

Here are a few photos of the little patient during her stay in the hospital. We had to get very creative to find ways to keep her occupied since we couldn't let her down on the floor at all to crawl around. Needless to say, if you have a toddler you know HOW difficult it is to contain them for 5 minutes, none the less 3 days!

(Lots of tickles and giggles!)

(Lots of reading)

(Lots of kissing her picture book of family)
(And once the antibiotics started to kick in she was finally able to get some rest)

We hope to stay far far away from that hospital for a very long time, however at the same time we are so thankful for that hospital and the excellent care they have given to our little Cambria during both of her stays there.

It's Been a Long and Painful Week

This week has not been one of the best, to say the least.

Monday afternoon Cami came down with a 102 fever and it all seemed to go downhill from there. Jon left Monday morning to go out of town for work, so I had to take Tuesday off of work to stay home with our sick girl. Cami woke up on Tuesday with a 102 fever still and we did a lot of lounging and laying around all day.

Then late Tuesday afternoon things took a turn for the worse. Cami's temperature started to steadily climb, despite giving her ibuprofen and tylenol. I spent all afternoon/evening trying every trick in the book to bring the fever down. The only thing she didn't mind me doing to her was putting the wet washcloth on her neck. Poor baby - she was SO out of it!

After trying it all and Cami's fever reaching close to 105 degrees despite my hard effort, I decided I had to take her to the Emergency Room. We were at the ER for about 2 hours and Cami was such a trooper. They gave her an additional dose of Tylenol, gave her a popsicle, tested her for a Urinary Tract Infection (which came back negative) and sent us on our way home once her fever came down to 102 again. Thankfully after some sleep Cami's fever came down on Wednesday and by Wednesday night was gone.

That isn't the end though. Wednesday night Cami was up most of the night crying in pain. After a long night of rocking and comforting we decided she needed to see the Doctor again. So - we took Cami to the Doctor this morning only to find out that she has a severe double ear infection. Poor girl! She has the antibiotics now and when she wakes up from her much needed nap she will start on them. Here's to hoping she is feeling better just in time for the weekend!!

Even with feeling so miserable though, she still tries her best to flash us a smile every now and then. She's been through so much in her life and yet she continues to face each challenge with a go getter attitude. What a gift from God she is!

Reflection

As I woke up this morning I realized that the holiday season has officially begun. All morning I found myself getting anxious any time I thought about Thanksgiving and Christmas coming up. At first I thought it was just the anxiety of the craziness that comes with holiday shopping but I quickly realized that wasn't it at all. The anxiety was arising from simply thinking about last holiday season. Let me explain...

Last October was one of the best months of my life - hence probably why I looked so forward to October this month and all it had to offer: the great memory of Cami's birth, Halloween, snuggling with fall scented candles lit, etc. Last November did not leave me with the same fuzzy feelings unfortunately and it all seemed to spiral downhill from there.

Last November, December, January and February were some of the toughest times in my entire life. November 15th my precious angel from above was admitted to Fairfax Hospital after a long day in the ER and an extremely nerve wrecking ambulance transport ride (almost a helicopter ride) only to find out that she had a heart condition (Supraventricular Tachycardia) - I felt like my whole world was falling apart. How could anything be wrong with this precious gift from god? Did I do something wrong to cause this? After what seemed like forever (5 days) she was finally released from the hospital but not without more SVT episodes at home. The next month of constantly checking her heart rate and constant fear that she would end up back in the hospital had us asking over and over again, "Why us?" This alone caused a lot of stress and tension for us during the holiday season, but that was not the end.

Early January my husband went in for a kidney biopsy only to find out a few weeks later that he has a rare form of kidney disease. Once again - my whole world seemed to be crashing down on me. I had to try so hard to take care of a baby with a heart condition AND a husband with kidney disease and yet hold myself together and stay strong for them both. Just thinking about all of the stress and worry that I dealt with back then makes me well up with tears right now as I type.

Early February I got a call from my Mom - who flew out to Rochester, NY suddenly when she got word that my grandmother was not doing well - to tell me that my grandma had passed away and that we had another angel in heaven to take care of our family. Not surprisingly this added to our stress even more but at the same time this is when things started to look up for our family.
I truly believe my grandmother got right to work when she got up to Heaven.

In late February Jon got an appointment with one of the best nephrologist's in the Northern Virginia area and since then he has gotten nothing but good news at his monthly appointments. His medications are decreasing and his kidney function remains stable (in fact it has actually improved a bit). He feels good and we are so relieved to know he is under the best care and doing so wonderfully. STRESS RELIEVED!

I am SOOOO proud to announce that Cami has not had any heart episodes since early December of 2009 (almost a year!) and just last month she came COMPLETELY off of all of her heart medications with NO problems! Her EKG's look great and show no signs of SVT! STRESS RELIEVED!!!

I guess when I actually think about last holiday season, although it gives me great anxiety due to to memories of all of the difficult times we dealt with, it should actually give me great happiness and anticipation for this holiday season and all that I have to be thankful for. I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years this year enjoying my family and without so many stressors and worries weighing on my back. Last year at this time was such a difficult time for us, but it just made our little three person family so much stronger!

We have come a long way in the past year and I can honestly say that I am now looking forward to a stress free holiday season and lots of love, snuggling, and just good quality fun family time!


P.S. - I think what Cami is saying in this picture is, "Bring on the food, fun and endless amounts of Christmas presents!!!"

1 Year Stats!

Cambria had her one year well visit at the Pediatrician yesterday and all went great. Our suspicions were confirmed: WE HAVE A PEANUT ON OUR HANDS!!

Weight: 19 pounds 10 ounces (25th percentile)
Length: 30 inches (75th percentile)

Although Cami's weight percentile has dropped a bit the Dr. said she wasn't concerned at all because of how active she is. After all, her daycare provider did say she's the most active baby she's ever met and she's been doing daycare for over 17 years. :-) The Dr. said she looked great and she loves how much personality she has - she can say that again!

Cami also got 4 shots. We decided to split them up and only give her some yesterday since she has to go back in a month for her second flu booster. She screamed bloody murder and was crying so hard she was forgetting to breathe, but as soon as I sat her up when they were finished as she had tears streaming down her face she looked right at the nurse, laughed and then proceeded to blow her a kiss. What a trooper! Knock on wood - these shots have been the easiest on her little body so far. She came right home from the Dr. and took a good nap, woke up happy and was happy and playing all night and then went to sleep fine last night and slept all night long. She's still sleeping as I type, so I am hoping she wakes up happy and fever free.

Yay for good Dr. appointments!!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween could not have been more fun this year! Cami was ALL about her giraffe costume and she was totally into all of the candy (okay...maybe not so much the candy, but she LOVED putting the pieces of candy in her pumpkin and taking them back out again). :-)

Here is GMA and Cami early in the afternoon when we did a dry run of her giraffe costume.
Not the best picture of me, but Cami sure does look stinkin' cute in that giraffe costume!

Here's the little giraffe exploring everything and anything and wanting so badly to walk!

What fun Halloween is - here she is discovering what it's all about...the CANDY! :-)

We hope everyone had as great a day as we did!!

A Girly Girl

Cami is definitely a girly girl - she LOVES to talk on her phone. She has figured out that when she plays with her toy phone that she is supposed to hold it up to her ear and talk into it. It's so adorable to watch her pick up her phone, shake it to hear it rattle once or twice and then immediately put it to her ear and gab into it.

I wonder who she's calling!?

Practice Makes Perfect

Practice makes perfect and Cami has sure been practicing her walking a lot lately. It doesn't surprise me that she isn't walking yet because she is so cautious every time she learns something new and she waits to really 'take off' with her new skills until she is confident she can do it independently and successfully. I am just waiting for the day (and I have a feeling it could be any day now) that she just lets go of her walker and takes off walking on her own. HOW EXCITING!!!

Halloween Preparations

This weekend we spent some good quality time preparing for Halloween.

First we picked out the perfect pumpkin and let Cami inspect and make sure it had her approval too. :-)
Next Daddy spent a lot of time carving out the perfect happy face on Cami's pumpkin.
After that we waited patiently for night time to do the ceremonial lighting on Mr. Jack-0-lantern. When it was time, Cami was very interested, intrigued and excited. She laughed, smiled and reached out to try and touch her happy little pumpkin all lit up.
Lastly we hung up our halloween lights. Cambria LOVED these and kept wanting to look at them and touch them. We kept having to remind her that these are 'pretty' and just to look at.
All in all, it was a PERFECT fall family day and we are now officially ready for Halloween next weekend!!

Hi!!!

Hello from Cami! This video is too stinkin' cute for me not to share. I love her little wave!!!

1 YEAR OLD!!!!

It's hard to believe, and time is FLYING by, but our precious Cambria turned 1 year old this past Friday. Although Mommy was very sad she could not stay home from work with her on Friday to celebrate, we made sure to get lots of celebrating in on her actual birthday and the following day when we had her big party.

Cami has grown and changed so much over the past year and in turn she has helped her Mommy and Daddy grow and change too. We have learned more in the past year about how important life, love and family really are and we owe it all to her. Every day with this little angel is a gift and we are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Happy Birthday Pumpkin Pie!!!!!

Toothless No More!

The day that we have been waiting for has finally arrived! At nine months, one week and 2 days old Cambria has FINALLY gotten her first tooth. She is no longer our toothless monster! It's her bottom front right tooth (left if you are looking in her mouth). Although she is a little bugger and refuses to open her mouth to let me get a good look at it, it's definitely in there - I have felt it and seen it (through much struggle)!

Let's hope that the presence of this little tooth will finally provide us all some relief from a fussy, no napping, poor sleeping at night baby. :-) Yayyy for teeth!

Feeling Buggy...

We apologize for not posting for a while, but things have been buggy around our house - literally.

It all started out with Cami getting the stomach flu. She began with the throwing up, dry heaving, etc. then switched to just diarrhea then two days later went back to the throwing up and now (fingers crossed) she appears to be on the mend. I pray that Cami continues to only get better. As you can see from the picture above, she was absolutely miserable and it's the worst feeling in the world to watch your baby suffer and look at you with these sad eyes as if to say, "Mom, make it better" when there's nothing I can do but hold and snuggle her.

Well....all of that cleaning up of throw up and diarrhea in combination with the holding and snuggling of my little girl landed me on the couch with the stomach flu as well. I can now say from experience that it was pretty much the most miserable thing I have encountered. Poor Jon too - the night that I came down with it was the same night Cami started throwing up again so both Mommy and Cami were throwing up and Daddy was trying very hard to take care of us both while staying sane. As of now Jon seems to have dodged it and I pray that he doesn't come down with it next.

The bright side - Cami and Mommy are on the mend and last night we both had a full nights sleep and woke up happy and feeling ALL better. Let's just hope it stays that way. No more stomach bugs for us, please!

9 Months!

Dear Cambria,

Wow - today you are 9 months old!! I still can not believe that you are getting so big and becoming so independent. You continue to light up our lives and make us giggle and smile at everything you do!

This month your biggest change has been the amount of independence you want. It is very rare that we can hold and snuggle with you anymore because you are constantly squirming and trying to get down to the floor so that you can stand, roll and explore everything!

That brings me to my next subject: your rolling! You are NOT crawling, although you are showing lots of interest and getting very frustrated that you can't quite figure it out. You instead roll EVERYWHERE. You are a master roller and everyone that sees you roll clear across the room in a matter of seconds cant believe how quickly, smoothly and effectively your technique is. Although I would love to see you crawl soon, the rolling is quite cute and you seem to enjoy it so I won't rush you!

Another thing you really love to do lately is stand. You get so much joy from standing and holding onto the furniture. You LOVE to stand at the coffee table in the living room and reach for things you shouldn't play with such as drink coasters, the TV remote control, etc. The cutest thing about your standing is when I leave you all by yourself standing and walk across the room and your eyes finally catch mine and you realize I am not behind you supporting you. It's almost like this moment of realization that comes across your face that you are standing totally independently and this huge smile comes across your face and you start banging on whatever you are holding on to.

Also this month you have really started taking off on eating table foods. You now eat little meals and it makes me so happy because I feel like I have a little girl and not a baby. Last night you ate half of a grilled cheese and some cut up strawberries for dinner. You do a little happy dance too in your highchair when you are eating something that you like. It's adorable! Although you are eating more and more table foods you still really enjoy your formula though. You still gobble down 4 bottles a day with 8-9 ounces in each bottle. What a little piggy you are!!

I am sure there are a ton more things that have happened this month that I should write about, but your independence was the biggest thing. Every day I become more and more proud to be your mother. I wake up in the mornings wondering what kind of new things you will do and there's truly no better feeling than the huge smile I am greeted with every morning when I get you from your crib. You continue to blossom into the most beautiful little girl I could ever imagine and Daddy and I couldn't be happier to be your parents.

We love you!!

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

P.S. - One thing I forgot to write about is your new trick of waving. You now LOVE to wave to people, especially when someone isn't giving you attention and you want some attention you just start waving. It's so cute and it definitely works to get you the attention you crave! Yesterday at your Cardiologist appointment you even greeted the Dr. as he entered the room with a huge smile and a big wave. His response was, "Well, I would venture to say this is one happy baby".

A Transition Period

Cami is currently going through a transition period - a transition to table foods! I will be honest, Cambria NEVER really took to baby food. There were a few weeks where I could get her to eat half of a jar in one sitting but I just have officially given up on that now. I have realized that Cami just wants to be a big girl, feed herself and eat big girl foods. Although I still worry that she's not eating enough in each sitting, she definitely enjoys table foods more than baby food and being fed with a spoon. She always seems interested when I give her a new table food to try and - GASP - she actually willingly OPENS her mouth for more!! Now if Mommy and Daddy could just get over their fear of her choking with each bite she takes we could all REALLY enjoy meal times!

Party Time!

We hope everyone is enjoying their long holiday weekend with lots of family time, laughs, and partying!




**I must admit that this video was from a few days ago. Unfortunately we are spending our holiday weekend trying to get the stomach flu out of our house. It appears that Daddy is on the mend now and we are hoping that Mommy and Cami don't catch it.**

Bittersweet

It's official, summer has begun. All of my teacher friends are rejoicing, and as much as I hate to be 'Debbie Downer', I am groaning and moaning. Why am I moaning and groaning you ask?

Here goes nothing...this is my twisted thought process.

Now that it's the official start of summer and the 2009-2010 school year has come to a close I am no longer on maternity leave. Yes, I understand that I still have July and August to be home with Cami (66 more days to be exact) but I am no longer on leave. I am now on the same schedule again as all of the other teachers in my county. I am now on summer break just like they are and come the end of August I will be back at work just like they are too.

I admit, every time I think about this I get a mix of emotions. I am a little bit excited to go back to work - especially since I am doing something new (I will be doing leveled literacy with struggling readers) and I'm only working part time - but at the same time I am DREADING it. I mean really, I have to leave Cami for hours each day to go help other children learn how to read?!? Can't someone pay me to stay home and teach my own child how to read (now that would be the life)? Anyways - there's no getting around it - I must go back to work. I will never regret our family decision for me to stay home the remainder of this school year to be with Cami and I will forever cherish the months and months (8 to be exact) of maternity leave that I was blessed to have with my first child. It's bittersweet to see this chapter in my life come to a close, but I keep telling myself where one door closes another opens.

Beach!

We were fortunate enough to be able to take Cambria to the beach for the first time and spend an entire week in a beachfront house in the Outer Banks. We had a FABULOUS time and we will always remember our first family vacation to the beach.

Here is how we spent much of our time at the beach....

Looking at the beautiful view off of the deck.

Sleeping in late and waking up to lots of snuggle time!
Continuing to snuggle while watching the beautiful sunset and sunrise from the deck.
Spending lots of time putting our toes in the sand and enjoying the beach.
And even spending some time relaxing in the pool (which Cami loved after warming up to it).

We can't wait to go back again next summer!

Catching Up

I obviously have A LOT of catching up to do on my blog. It has been almost 3 weeks since I've last posted and LOTS has happened!!

Cami was sick with one thing after another for an entire month and I am proud to announce that she is finally over everything and is back to her happy, healthy, growing self.

We went to the beach for an entire week to a gorgeous house right on the water and had a blast. It was so special to take Cami for the first time, put her toes in the sand and water and most importantly, RELAX and live the slow beach life.

Cami has somehow turned another month old now making her 8 months old! I still am amazed each time a new month birthday comes along because it just doesn't seem possible.

I know that was such a quick update, but I promise to post more in depth posts in regards to each of the things I mentioned above either today or tomorrow, so stay tuned!! Just wanted to let everyone know we're still alive, well and enjoying every day with our beautiful baby girl!

A Shopper in Training

Cami has officially been upgraded to 'big girl' status and she no longer stays in her infant carseat when we go grocery shopping. She is MUCH happier to sit in the front of the shopping cart and be able to look around at all of the action going on. She especially enjoys when people talk to her and she will kick her feet and get this little grin on her face as if she's thinking, "I'm know I'm cute and that's why people are talking to me". Mommy has also realized that riding in the shopping cart tires Cami out WAY more than her laying in her infant seat as we shop, so this benefits all parties involved.

All in all, Cami is a little shopper in training. She intently watches every item that Mommy picks up off of the shelves (and she would inspect every item too way more closely if I would hand them each to her). She is always (okay, ALMOST always) content and happy when we're in the grocery store.

My favorite part of grocery shopping with Cami though is her love for the receipt. I know it sounds silly, but if you know me, you know I am big into checking my receipts and making sure I got all of the deals I was supposed to (I blame this on working as a cashier in a grocery store for years in high school and college). I absolutely LOVE that after the cashier hands me the receipt my daughter immediately reaches for it and looks at it so intensely as though she too is helping Mommy to check to make sure we weren't overcharged. It's almost as though she knows that Mommy and Daddy must save EVERY penny possible to give her all of the things she wants/needs in life.

Way to go Cami - keep helping Mommy and Daddy save those pennies so you can go to college someday and not to have pay for ANY of it yourself!

First Visit to Virginia Tech!!!

This post is a few weeks late but I could not possibly let this go by without blogging about it. Two weeks ago little Cambria had her very first visit to Virginia Tech for her Aunt Brittany's graduation. Jon and I were THRILLED to have her down in the 'burg where we spent 4 years together having the time of our lives. We had a GREAT weekend and here are some pictures to show how busy Cami's weekend in Blacksburg really was!

The weekend started off with lunch out for sushi!

We played LOTS of dress up! (Cami is definitely her Aunt B's real life baby doll.)


The graduate and her goddaughter getting ready on graduation morning.

Cami a little unsure about the itchy grass outside of Burruss Hall on campus.

She did it!! Congratulations to Aunt B! A fun weekend was definitely had by all!!

Maybe in another 21 years we will be back in good ole' Blacksburg for Cambria's graduation?!?!

7 Months

Dear Cambria,

You are officially 7 months old now. Each month that you turn older Daddy and I are shocked that you are getting so big and changing so much. It seems that we just started getting used to telling people you were 6 months old and now we have to tell everyone you are 7 months old.

Although I know I say this EVERY month, you really have changed so much this past month. You have learned to sit all by yourself and you love being independent and sitting on the floor playing with your toys by yourself. It's so crazy - when I look at you sitting all by yourself I no longer see my little baby. I see this beautiful little girl that you are turning into.

You now are a rolling machine and it's getting impossible to change your diaper. As soon as we lay you down on your back you immediately try to roll over onto your tummy. You are fascinated with being on your tummy lately because you REALLY want to crawl. You push your arms up and pull up onto your knees but you don't quite have all of the coordination together yet to start moving. In the meantime, it's adorable to watch you discover new ways to reach where you want to go (ie. rolling, scooching, etc.). Although I can't wait for you to crawl, at the same time I want you to wait a few more weeks because you are so mischievous already that I know Daddy and I are going to be SO busy chasing you when you can really move and explore.

Another really great thing you've caught onto in the last month is your voice. Yes you have been into squeaking and squealing in the previous months, but this month you have figured out how to talk like a big girl. You will sit on the floor and say "babababa" and "dadadada" and you always look so proud of yourself. You say it so sweetly and with such confidence and we love hearing your sweet little girl voice. You also love to laugh lately, however it's no longer a baby laugh. You now have this hearty little girl laugh and we will do just about anything to hear you do it. Many times you do it just because you like to hear it yourself. You sure are quite the vocal girl.

As for eating, you still love your bottles and you're eating about 32-35 ounces of formula a day. We also very quickly figured out this past month that you HATE baby food and you only want real food. I tried one morning to give you little bits of a real banana and you gobbled it right up. The next day I gave you some more banana and again you loved it. We slowly have started introducing table foods (the pediatrician told us it's fine because you are so good at 'chewing') and you LOVE table food. Some of your favorites are banana, avacado, puffs, yogurt melts, and strawberries. I think baby food is a thing of the past for you and we are just going to have to feed you small pieces of real food. You love to feed yourself and we are thrilled that we figured out how much you love real food. It makes for a much easier Mommy, Daddy and Cami when it comes to feeding time. We love watching you shake your arms in excitement as we come close to your highchair with food.

So, as you can see you have been VERY busy in the past month. We love watching you grow and change and each month brings so many new experiences and adventures. I can't wait to see just how far you will have come in another month. Keep growing my little love muffin!!!

Love,
Mommy

Ouch!

If you look closely at the picture above you will see that Cami is ever so delicately holding her left ear. Poor girl. Within the past week and a half Cami has had not one, but 2 ear infections.

I took her to the Doctor last week before leaving for Tech for the weekend because she was pulling at her right ear. Sure enough, she had an infection so we got the antibiotics and were on our merry way (or so we thought). Two days later I noticed Cami pulling at her left ear. I kept telling myself it was probably teething and that there was no possible way she could have another ear infection, as she was still on the medication for the first ear infection.

After watching her become more and more miserable as the weekend went on I made the executive Mommy decision that it HAD to be another ear infection in her opposite ear and that she needed to go back to the Doctor. The Doctor confirmed my diagnosis - ANOTHER ear infection in less than a week. Obviously the first medication was not strong enough for our little Miss Cambria so they gave her a new antibiotic this time in hopes to clear up any and all ear infections that she may have currently or that are in the works and on their way.

I am happy to report that after 2 days of the new antibiotic Cami appears to be feeling better. She is eating well again and sleeping MUCH better too. We hope these ear infections are a thing of the past real soon, as it is NOT fun to watch my daughter feel miserable. Until she finishes this medication and we can be certain things are all cleared up Mommy will continue to take good care of Cami and give lots and lots of snuggles. Snuggles help everyone feel better!!!

First Mother's Day

Yesterday was my very first Mother's Day with our precious Cambria and it could not have been more perfect.

I started out the day by (insert loud GASP here) sleeping in! Jon got up with Cami, gave Cami her heart medicine and her morning bottle and didn't wake me at all. It was so wonderful to not have to jump right out of bed to the sound of a fussy baby and hit the ground running for the day. Although all of the early mornings and giving up sleeping in are SO worth it, it was SO nice to sleep in for a change on my special day.

Once I finally got up about 9 it was about time for Cami to take her morning nap so I snuck in about a million kisses in 10 minutes and then put her down for her nap. Jon and I got to spend some time together planning out the rest of our day and it was so nice to just relax for a bit together.

We decided to go to lunch and do some shopping for ME in the afternoon and that's exactly what we did. It was a gorgeous day to be out and about and Cami was an excellent and patient little shopper while Mommy tried on lots of clothes in an attempt to find a few things for the summer that she feels good about wearing (sigh....why can't I lose the last of this baby weight??). Shopping was a success and I found some cute things for summer and our beach trip next month.

We ended the day by heading over to my parents house as my sister cooked my Mom and I a VERY delicious shrimp pasta dinner. It was nice to be able to see my own Mother on Mothers Day and let her know how appreciated and loved she is.

I couldn't have asked for a better day! I sure do LOVE being a Mother!!!

P.S. - All day yesterday I wore this gorgeous new ring below. This is my first Mother's Day gift from Cami and Jon. What a gorgeous ring with Cami's birthstone. It will forever be special to me and I look forward to passing it onto her someday too.