Happy Friday!

Cambria hopes everyone's weekend is filled with LOTS of smiles!

Girls and Dolls

It appears that Cambria might be like her Mommy when she was little - obsessed with dolls! Lately Cami smiles, squeals and chats away to her favorite dolly. It's the most adorable thing I have ever seen and it makes me smile to think that she might love playing with dolls as much as I did when I was little. Every little girl has to have a good doll to love, right?

Mind of Her Own!

Obviously little Miss Cambria has a mind of her own. This is how I found her when I went in to get her from her afternoon nap yesterday. I guess she has decided she doesn't like to sleep with her feet covered up anymore. Now if only I could figure out how she got her feet free - it's KILLING me not knowing how she managed to make this happen! One thing's for sure, she's a smart cookie and she always has a way to make sure to get exactly what she wants, even if that means her feet free from her sleeper!

A Weekend Away

This past weekend Jon and I went to Blacksburg to enjoy one more weekend of college town fun with Brittany before she graduates in a few weeks. While we were away Cami stayed with her Grammie and Grampie.

She enjoyed LOTS of playtime...

she attended a birthday party...

and she even got to go to church.

Thanks again to Grammie and Grampie for a fun filled weekend while Mommy and Daddy went away to have some baby free fun!!

Poor Baby!

The above picture is what we awoke to at about 2:30 AM last night. Cami woke up and clearly didn't feel well. She was whining and crying and was burning up. After trying to console for her about 30 minutes I finally took her temperature and found out she had a temperature of about 101 degrees. STUPID SHOTS!!! I gave her some tylenol and after a while longer of whining and pouting I decided to make her a bottle and see if that would calm her down. She downed her bottle and while I went to make her more she fell fast asleep with Daddy at last (see below).

Needless to say, Mommy, Daddy and Cami are all exhausted from our sleepless night last night. Cami has been sleeping for most of the day and only waking up to eat. I am hoping all of this sleep is helping her to fight off the fever and the 'ouchies' that she is dealing with.

Get better little Cambria - we want our happy, smiley, squealing baby back REAL soon!

6 Month Stats!

At Cami's 6 month appointment today we not only got shots, but we also got all of Cami's 6 month stats. She is officially the most perfect non-proportionate baby.

To start things off, she is 27 inches long - that is the 90th percentile. 90th?!? Whose child is this? Jon nor I are exceptionally tall but apparently Cami is well on her way to being tall. At her 4 month appointment she was in the 80th percentile for her height and now she is in the 90th percentile. Wow - Mommy and Daddy's lean machine!!

Next is her weight. She weighed in at 16 pounds even, which is in the 50th percentile for her age. She was also in the 50th percentile at her 4 month appointment so all is staying the same in this category. Jon and I are really happy with this since she was so sick for at least a good 2-3 weeks after her 4 month appointment and at one point when she was refusing to eat we had her weighed (she was almost 5 months old) and she had lost weight - she was only 13 lbs 13 oz. That means Cami gained over 2 pounds in about a months time. Way to go girl! We knew you'd catch back up after getting over that nasty sickness!!

Lastly is her head circumference. Her head measured in at 41 centimeters which puts her in the 25th percentile. Her head has been tracking on the 25th percentile curve since she was born, so all stays the same in this category too. We talked to the Dr. about her head being flat in the back and she told us that it's nothing to be concerned about. She said it will even out as she gets to be more mobile and that even if it stays a little flat in the back, it's simply cosmetic and her hair will grow long and pretty to cover it. Jon and I were relieved to hear this because Cami has been through SO much in her short 6 months on this earth and the last thing we need is for her to have to have to wear a hard plastic helmet to round out her head.

So - there you have it. We have a tall, average weight baby with a slightly smaller than average head. We couldn't be happier. She is perfect in EVERY way!

6 Month SHOTS

This afternoon Cami had her 6 month well visit appointment. As you can see from the photo above, it included 3 shots in her legs (2 in the left leg and one in the right leg) and an oral vaccine as well. Cami did NOT like the shots, although I've never met a baby that did enjoy them. She screamed bloody murder for about 15 minutes and then immediately passed out once we got her in the car. We came home and she took some Tylenol and seemed to be back to her old self.

It wasn't until it was time for bed that the Tylenol stopped working and Cami seemed in pain again. She was doing this pathetic cry/whine. It really wasn't a cry. It was definitely more of a whine, but it was a really pathetic whine with a curved in lip as if to say, "Mom, my legs hurt". Don't worry - it was nothing a little snuggling couldn't take care of. After a bottle and lots of snuggling she fell FAST asleep. We are hoping tomorrow she will be back to her normal self and these shots will be behind us...at least until we have to go back in another month for her second round of 6 month shots since there were too many to do at once. YIKES!!!

**Hey - let's look on the bright side though. At least we now know that Cami isn't allergic to eggs. She received the first dose of the H1N1 shot today and they made us stay at the Pediatrician for 15 minutes after the shot to observe Cami since the shot has eggs in it (preservatives I think??) and obviously we have never given Cami eggs. She passed with FLYING colors and that's one less food allergy we have to worry about!**

Beyond Happy!

Cami is quite the happy baby lately. One of the things that I really love that she does quite frequently is she gets beyond happy and instead of giggling she squeals. It's really cute because it's almost as if she 'saves' the squeal to let us know when she does do it that she REALLY loves something.

One of Daddy's favorite times of the day is at night, before putting Cami to bed, when he does everything in his power to tickle Cami and not only get a giggle, but the infamous squeal too. I have to admit, Daddy is WAY better at getting the squeals out of Cami than I am. I guess that must mean Cami thinks Daddy is more fun than Mommy. Surprisingly I am not jealous or envious of him being able to make her squeal so often. There's just something SO wonderful about watching my husband and his daughter bond and share such special moments together. I am pretty sure we have a Daddy's girl on our hands!

6 Month Letter

Dear Cambria,

Today you are 6 months old. It is hard to believe that you are now officially closer to being 1 year old than you are to the day you were born. You grow so much and change so much each day that I try to do nothing but soak you in so that I will always remember what you looked like at all of the difference stages of your infancy.

This past month has been a busy one for you. As always, you've reached some new milestones and we've been on lots of adventures. You are beginning to sit up all by yourself, although you still need Mommy and Daddy right there to support you in case you fall. You roll over now from your back to your belly and you're quite proud of it. You still LOVE standing and you have such STRONG little legs. You have many tickle spots: under your arms, your back, in the folds of your neck, your thighs, your belly. We LOVE tickling you and hearing your laughs and squeals of excitement.

As always you and me (Mommy) keep busy every day. We run errands, visit with friends, go to play group, go to Doctor's appointments, etc. This past month you had a few very important adventures too. The first was that you had your very first Easter. Along with celebrating your first Easter you took your first trip into DC to attend Easter Church at the Basilica of the National Shrine followed by brunch in Old Town Alexandria. You were an angel the entire time and you slept ALL through church. We couldn't have ordered better behavior had we tried. Your other very big adventure was your baptism. You finally became a baptized Christian child of God and you were baptized by Father Peter, who also married Mommy and Daddy. It was a VERY special day with lots of friends and family there to witness your big moment. You were so well behaved for that as well. You enjoyed having the warm water poured over your head. I think it reminded you of bath time and we all know how you LOVE bath time!!

I still can't believe that 6 months has gone by so quickly. I always get all teary eyed writing you these letters partly because of all of the great memories I have from the past month with you and partly because it makes me a little sad that they are just that, memories, and I will never be able to rewind and relive all of these wonderful moments with you again. You are growing so quickly into such a beautiful, loving and joyous little girl. You are the light of my life and the sparkle in my eye.

Thank you, Cambria, for teaching me so much about unconditional love and the special bond between a Mommy and her daughter. I can't wait for all of the fun memories that the next month has in store for us. Always know how much Daddy and I love you and how proud we are of you every single day. Keep growing my big girl, keep growing!! Happy 6 month birthday!

Love,
Mommy

Yum Yum Mum Mum

Yes, it's true. Cami had her very first Mum Mum (it's a rice cracker thing that she gnaws on and it kinda dissolves in her mouth). Cami got Mum Mum's in her Easter basket from GMa and GPa and I have been hesitant to let her have one for fear of her choking. Well, yesterday we took the plunge and let her go at it. Okay, to be honest, I did NOT take the plunge and let her have one. My Mom was here visiting and while I was upstairs in the shower GMa decided to give her a Mum Mum while I wasn't around to worry about her choking.

The first try with the Mum Mum was a success all around. Mommy didn't worry about Cami choking since she didn't even know she was eating it, Cami LOVED the Mum Mum and ate the entire thing and there was no choking involved. I think this is what Cami is thinking about the whole Mum Mum experience, "Thank you GMa for giving me that Mum Mum while Mommy was away so that I could enjoy it and prove to my Mommy that I'm ready to eat them EVERY DAY!"

Monkey Business

Cambria has turned into our little monkey. Every time we go to change her, tickle her or do ANYTHING with her when she's laying on the floor she swiftly wraps her legs tightly around your arm as if to say, "I've got you now!"

This picture really doesn't really do her monkey business justice. Underneath her little socks her toes are tightly curled up around my arm. She is SOO strong and has quite the grip!

Bottom line: We are so proud of our little monkey and all of the monkey business she has been getting into lately!

Look at her go!

I LOVE this video.

I love it partly because Cami has accomplished another 'first' - sitting all by herself. I love it because of the insanely adorable little look of determination on her face as she sits independently. I love it because she looks like a little weeble-wooble. I love it, and hate it for this reason at the same time, because my little girl is growing up so quickly right before my eyes.

Where does the time go???