whew!

I am finally getting a chance to blog after feverishly preparing for the holidays. I have baked, and baked, and baked, oh, and then I baked some more. My husband has eaten his weight in sugar cookies. I think he's had them for breakfast every day since Saturday! But we still seemed to have enough leftover to give to a few of our neighbors. But wow, is it a lot of work to spread Christmas cheer. Next year I may just drive down the street and throw those holiday M&Ms at people's doorsteps. OK, maybe not.



The other challenging holiday endeavor was getting a good picture of Campbell to give away as presents and one for our Christmas cards. The beauty of having a child is that you can get away with framed pictures of him to your grandparents and others who you've spent the last 10 years trying to figure out what to buy them. But catching a good picture of your 1 year old is like trying to catch lightning in a bottle. David called me one day in the middle of this adventure (yes, it took more than 1 day--3 to be exact!) and asked me what I was doing. I replied, "figuring out why photographers charge so much!" By the end Campbell and I were both crying--ok, just one of us was crying. I'll let you figure out which one. But I think we finally got one, so I will leave you with a few of the--shall we say, interesting pictures that were not chosen.



(don't know how to flip pictures--sorry!)

The Big One

Well, we did it--we had our first birthday and party. What a great weekend we had. Thursday night Campbell's cousin Russ and Aunt Jamie and Uncle Clark spent the night with us, so we had a birthday breakfast Friday morning of banana muffins. The birthday boy chowed down--he loves anything bread-like, so that's why I chose muffins. Then David's parents, MeMe and Pop came over for lunch and brought Campbell a very cool red wagon to ride in. He and Bogie hopped in there and went for a spin around the house, loving every minute of it. Then David's cousin Adam brought over a present from himself and David's grandmother, Gram. It was a 3 and a half foot tall horse! That's right, 39 inches of furry fun--with photo and sound sensors, that thing is crazy life-like and will freak you out at first. But Campbell loves his pony and hugs it and brushes it. Mommy, Daddy, and Campbell went to dinner, just the three of us, to celebrate after opening the Little People Garage and a new UK sweatshirt (you can guess which one Daddy bought!).

Then it was time for the party on Saturday morning. We had almost 30 people here eating chili and potato soup made by Campbell's grandmothers and of course, there was cake. Campbell was not scared to eat his whole piece of cake, and he really didn't make that big of a mess, although later my mom, GiGi, did find some cake in his ear! He got lots of great presents from his family and friends including lots of books, some blocks, a vacuum, a tractor, a push and ride-on toy, and lots more. He had a blast. It was so much fun to watch him. Somehow it seemed that he knew the day was for him. Then after the party he crashed and took a long nap. All in all, the birthday was a great time.

David and I just can't believe that our sweet little monkey doodle (that's what we call him--why, I don't know!) Friday afternoon we watched the video of December the 8th last year, and after being horrified at how absolutely huge I was, I kept tearing up and thinking what a wonderful year this has been. Sure there's been some hard times, lots of crying, loss of sleep, and even a night in the hospital, but David and I agree that it's been the greatest year of our lives because Campbell is the greatest part of our lives. He gives us continuous joy and laughter. We just didn't know how much we could love anyone until he came along. Even now I'm getting a little misty-eyed just thinking about it. So, Happy Birthday, sweet boy. We love you very much.

Here are some of my favorite pictures of the day.First Campbell and Bogie are riding in their new wagon. Second, Campbell is opening his presents from Mommy and Daddy. The third picture is Campbell riding his pony, and then there are some pictures from his party. I loved his cake--it was a work of art with a barn standing up on top of the cake with lots of animals all around it. Campbell loved his cake and his party, too!

let it snow!

Yay! It snowed this morning. I love love love snow! It didn't accumulate or anything, and it only lasted a little while, but it was so beautiful. I was trying to clean the bathrooms, but I kept getting distracted by the beautiful, wonderful snow. It definitely brought a little Christmas spirit to me--I wanted to blast the Christmas music, but Campbell was sleeping. I hope something brings you a little bit of Christmas today.

picture problems

anyone else having problems posting pictures? i've been trying all weekend, and i'm wondering if it's just me or what. please let me know.

Daddy's Little Helper

We bought new blinds for the whole house the other night, and David has been gradually putting them up the last few days. Well, yesterday morning he was putting up the ones in Campbell's room, and Campbell just had to be part of it. He stood right next to his daddy and watched his every move. It was so cute that I just had to take some pictures of it. I wish I'd gotten one of Campbell's face when David helped him push the button on the electric screwdriver. He was so excited! I love to watch them having fun, and I love that Campbell already wants to help his daddy.

We actually did a lot to the house this weekend. I had the lovely task of washing the baseboards--YUCK! And David painted them and the new french door we got a while back. We are just trying to get ready for the big birthday party this weekend. David said he was glad the party was coming up because it got us motivated to do some stuff around the house.

By the way, the no-bottle thing is going pretty well. The only rough times were in the mornings, but this morning was great, so I think we're pretty much over it now. I'm so proud of my little man. But he's still a little baby to me!