question

Today my question is this, "How much should I be working with Campbell?" And by this I mean should we be working on different skills and words and things all day long? I tend to kind of let him play, hence the photos, and he seems to learn things on his own, gradually, with a little help from me. I just want him to be a kid and have fun. I have this crazy picture in my mind of this terrible movie Parenthood with Steve Martin. Anybody seen it? Well, his sister and her husband are obsessed with working with their daughter, and she turns out so weird. Now, I know that is far off, but I just wondered what other people think about this. I don't mean to imply that Campbell is behind on anything, or ahead for that matter. He walks and talks and is very independent. Anyway, now I seem to be rambling, so I'll stop now and see what your opinions are.

Yay for Sunshine!

We have had so much fun this week enjoying the sunshine. We started on Wednesday when Jamie and Russ came over before playgroup. We took the boys outside to play, but we quickly realized that the one tractor we had was not enough. Then we remembered the play set my parents had given Campbell for Christmas. The box said 20 minute assembly so we thought, why not.
Well, whomever measured that 20 minute thing was obviously not watching 2 toddlers run around the yard at the time. We worked for about 30 minutes with plenty of interruptions, one in particular that was very...interesting. My son likes to put things in his mouth, mostly because he knows I don't want him to. I had been pulling rocks out of his mouth for a while, but this time I looked at him and thought, what is that? Well, it was dog poop. Yes, friends, that's right. My son put a piece of dog poop in his mouth. Of course he quickly spit it out and I wiped his mouth out. Yikes, how nasty is that?!? Anyway, we got back to the playset, but we ended up having to put the boys down for a nap before it was finished. But let me just say that we did a FINE job of putting that thing together! Who says women aren't handy? Not me and my sister, that's for sure.

And so the playset was not christened until yesterday when our friends Sara and Taylor came over. And don't worry, Campbell did not eat anything else nasty and I brushed his teeth really well that night! Here are some fun pictures of our play time yesterday. Feel free to admire mine and Jamie's craftsmanship. Hope you got out to enjoy the sunshine, too.

too big?

As you know, my son is almost 15 months old, and I find myself faced with a problem. It's nothing major. It's to do with his clothes. You see, there are some moms who dress their babies like babies for a long time, and there are some who dress them like big kids fairly early. Thus far in Campbell's life, I'd say that I tended more toward the babyish clothes with the occasional really cute big kid outfit. For example, the picture above is what he wore yesterday. Clearly a big boy outfit. Let's face it, he looks like a teenager.
And so now that he is getting older and becoming a toddler, I'm faced with the question of which way to lean . For one thing, he is so tall that one-piece outfits only fit him for a short time making them not quite worth the money. But on the other hand, I'm not ready to dress him in big boy clothes just yet. Church time is especially challenging because it seems there is no in-between. It's either little baby knee socks and jumpers or big boy kakhi pants and sweaters. Where are the compromise clothes? I don't think that girls have this big of a problem because I think there are more in-between things for them--actually, let's face it, there are just more girls' clothes in general.

And so, I guess my question to you all is, which way do you lean? If you don't have kids, what is your opinion on the baby vs. little kid clothes issue. I'm very curious to see the answers. Thanks for the help.

Happy Valentines Day

Here is a picture of one of my special Valentines today. He's wearing his favorite shirt in honor of the day. We wish you all a very happy Valentines Day. But we also want to send special get well wishes to some of our family and friends who are sick today. MeMe Sciortino is sick at home, Great Grandmother Earps is in the hospital with another infection, our friend Taylor is sick at home, and MeMow Campbell is still in the nursing home. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all and we hope you get well very soon.

Hug someone you love today. Happy Valentines Day!!

No more party in the back

Well, we did it. We cut the mullet. My poor little boy was being called a girl so often that we knew it was time to get his first haircut. I mean he had a serious mullet. I tried to get some good mullet shots, but this was the best I could do.

And so, off to Lewisburg we went. We had quite an entourage with my mom, my sister, and my nephew in tow. And Campbell was an absolute doll. He just sat in the chair and read a book. It was Mommy who was acting like a baby. I didn't cry, but I sure wanted to. After it was over, I looked at the hair that had been cut, and I promise some of it was almost 2 inches long! And so, my little baby looks like a little boy. I'm used to it now, but I definitely wanted to cry for a day or so. Here are some more pictures from the big day.

Sorry about this last picture. It's the best after picture I we could get. Lately, the boy does not sit still. No wonder I'm so tired all the time.

better late than never

I know I'm a few weeks behind on this, and I've proved Jillina wrong, sorry. But I had fun reading it on other people's blog, so here goes:

1. What time did you get up this morning? Campbell woke up bright and early at 6:30 this morning!
2. Diamonds or pearls? diamonds
3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Rocky Balboa--surprisingly funny
4. What is your favorite TV show(s)? Gilmore Girls, anything on the Food Network, The Aprentice
What did you have for breakfast? snacks at Bible study
6. What is your middle name? Anne
7. What is your favorite food? anything chocolate, especially the chocolate crinkle cookies at the puffy muffin
8. What foods do you dislike? I'm actually having trouble thinking of something. I won't eat veal, but that's because of how they treat the calves.
9. What is your favorite potato chip flavor? cheddar and sour cream Yum!
10. What is your favorite CD at the moment? James Taylor, as usual
11. What type of car do you drive? Harvey the CRV (yes, I like the name my vehicels!
12. What characteristics do you despise? insensitivity
13. Favorite item of clothing? the Eddie Bauer sweat suit my mom got me for Christmas
14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation where would you go? Switzerland
15. Favorite brand of clothing? Eddie Bauer or Old Navy
16. Where would you like to retire? the beach or the mountains
17. Favorite time of the day? first thing in the morning because Campbell will actually cuddle with me and watch TV for a few minutes.
18. Where were you born? born in Nashville, but raised in Lewisburg, TN
19. Favorite color? Blue 20.
Favorite sport to watch? none
.21. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? no idea
22. Who do you expect to send it back first? no idea
. What fabric detergent do you use? Costco brand free
Coke or Pepsi? Neither I'm a Dr. Pepper girl
25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? morning
26. What is your shoe size? 8
27. Do you have any pets? yes, Bogie
29. When is your birthday? January 28
**********FAVORITES****************
>30. Shampoo? Pantene
31. Summer or winter? Winter
32. Favorite Advertisement? Geiko commercials, I love that little guy!
>33. Wearing? Jeans and a tshirt
34.Eating? chocolate gooey butter cookies
35. Drinking? water
36. Thinking about? wow, campbell has been asleep for more than 2 hours!
37. Listening to: Food Network in the background
38. Book - The Testament, John Grisham
39. Cried: yesterday watching father of the bride
.42. Drove a car: this morning
42. How many hours sleep? about 8
**********DO YOU BELIEVE IN****************
>43. Yourself? Yes
44. Your friends? yes
45.Santa Claus? yes for for Campbwll
46. Destiny/Fate? No
47. Ghosts? No, demons yes
**********FRIENDS AND LIFE**********
>48. Who have you known the longest of your friends? Tiffany Andrews Pollidor
49. Who do you go to for advice? David, my sister Jamie, my friend Sara
50. When do you cry the most? movies
51. Do you want your friends to do this and send it back to you? sure!

SNOW DAY!!!!!

Yay! Yay! Yay! It snowed last night. I didn't believe David this morning when he told me, but it IS true! David played hooky from work this morning, so we got out and played for a little while. Campbell wasn't thrilled about the snow, but he loved watching the big kids (including his Daddy!) have a snowball fight. Disclaimer--this is the first picture of the haircut, but please remember that I had done NOTHING short of rolling out of bed this morning, so be kind.