Vegas Baby!!!!

We stayed at the Luxor and had a great view of the pyramid from our room. Cameron went to sleep watching all the lights travel up and down the corners, that is when she went to sleep. There is so much to do in Vegas, it was hard to know what to do first.

Of course the buffets were at the top of the list. Cameron enjoyed eating at the buffets. Each of them had all of her favorites. Chicken, Turkey, veggies, french fries, and she even had some cheese cake.

Although Vegas is a desert, there are lots of animals to see. She went to the Mirage and met all the dolphins. She watched them swim under the water and then watched them jump out of the water from the surface.

She explored the Secret garden where she saw llamas, alpacas, tigers, and leopards. It was really really hot so she headed back to the hotel to rest.

Although the Luxor had great room service, it would have been a shame to stay in the room and rest. So Cameron and Mommy headed to the pool to get our rest in the sun. Of course we smothered ourselves with sunscreen and tried hard to stay in the shade.

After resting we headed to MGM to see the lion cubs and saw the Bodies Exhibit at the Tropicana. We did some shopping at the M&Ms store where we got some goodies for the teachers.

Of course we couldn't pass up and opportunity to stop at the Coke store. We bought lots of coke gear and enjoyed exploring all the cool gear. Cameron really liked the giant polar bear and stuffed animals (none of which compare to dino who she made daddy carry along to all of these sites).

We would not have been able to leave the Coke store without tasting the coke. Daddy tried hard to get the lady to sell him a MesoMix from Germany but she wouldn't. That was okay because tradition Coke is always a good choice. Cameron didn't get to have any Coke but she did get a Coke hat that matches the hat daddy got last time he came to Vegas.

Even though this was a vacation, Cameron needed a lot of rest when it was all over.

Traveling is easy!!!

First you make sure you have all the important stuff.

Then you find your gate.


Make sure you check that your belongings are the right size.

And use the overhead bins.


Get out your reading materials.


And enjoy the view.

Meet Dino (Stanley) the Dinosaur

Cameron has lots of toys. She loves the balls and the toys that make music. She likes puzzles and cars. She likes toys that she can put other toys in, or those that she can put on her head, like buckets.
And she can find things that aren't actually toys and have a really good time with them, like pots, pans, bowls, spoons, and even a strainer, especially ones that she can put on her head. But she hasn't really cared for stuffed animals. I mean there is Pooh bear and she will give him a hug sometimes but really she doesn't want to hang out with him.

Well at least that used to be true. While at the mall this weekend Cameron met a little grey dinosaur. She walked right up to the shelf and took him down and gave him a big hug. She then proceeded to walk around the store carrying the dinosaur with her. When we were ready to check out we told her to say goodbye and she gave him a hug and a kiss. Well since Cameron still kisses with her mouth open, we had to get the dinosaur...

Daddy named him Dino and Mommy named him Stanley. Cameron didn't care what we called him, she was so happy to have her dinosaur. She kept him with her the rest of the night and even read him a story (or at least looked at the pictures) before bedtime. We think she has a new best friend.

A vistor!!!

Cameron's cousin Ryan came to visit this week. She was instantly friends with him. Cameron liked to hang out with him and Daddy while they played on the Xbox. Cameron would play with her toys while they played with theirs.


There were also some visitors at school this week. All week the teachers sang songs and read books about farm animals. Then as a surprise they brought in some animals the kids could interact with.
There were miniture ducks. rabiits and chickens. There were potbelly pigs and pigmy goats. Cameron, as usual spent some time just watching what they were doing. She was fascinated at the holes the pigs would dig up and how the ducks would jump in to get the bugs that were uncovered. When she was ready she pet each of the animals. The pigs and goats were not very soft, but the bunnies were very very soft.

But even the animals cannot take Cameron away from the sand box for very long. She digs and pats the sand down. She fills buckets and if you flip it over she will immediately knock down the castle. Mommy and Daddy are constanly amazed there there is any sand left after Cameron empties her stash at home. She fills her shoes, pockets, and of course the diaper so we are constantly cleaning it up. The teachers report she is in the sandbox about 90% of the time she is outside. The only way to get her out is to tell her its time to go home.

Lucky Head

Cameron had a great week in her new class. She has gained a roar or growl sound. She makes this great "rrraaaaarrrhhhh" sound when she greets you and also when she throws the ball. Daddy thinks this is a sign that she might be a tennis player (wishful thinking???).

The older kids really love Cameron. For some reason they like to greet her by rubbing her head. At first she was taking it, but by the end of the week, she began to assert herself and push their hands away. I'm not quite sure why they were rubbing her head, but its always brought me luck so I guess they've figured that out.

The week ended really great. Today at school she said two new words. While Ms Farah was blowing bubbles, Cameron said "bubble" and began to try and catch them. Then while on the daily buggy ride they passed the house with a little dog in the window who greets them as they pass. As the teachers pointed at the dog, Cameron responded by saying "doggie." Oh my gosh, she is so grown up!!!

The Big Transition

Cameron is moving out of the infant room at school, and is transitioning into the Toddler 2 class with Ms Darcy, Ms Farah, Ms Nina, and Ms Beryll. She is very observant of how things are done in this class and have been hanging with the older girls who are showing her the ropes. The new class has lots of different rules which include having to wash your hands after playtime and throwing away the towel. Cameron has caught on very quickly.

The very best part of this new classroom is that they have a sandbox in their play yard. Cameron has been spending about 90% of her time in the sand box. Its been interesting for us discovering sand in the most unexpected of places. Its been a real challenge to make sure we get all the sand out of all the crevices each night.

Of course it wasn't all smooth, she did have some trouble with being overly tired before naptime and she only naps about a third of the other kids. Cameron did find some comfort with her old pal in the mirror. Transitions are always difficult, but we are sure Cameron will begin to love her new class.

Cameron hosts a painting party...

Cameron hosted a painting party with some of the kids from the neighborhood. We froze some paint ice cubes on sticks and Cameron showed all the kids how to push the paint cubes around on the paper to produce pretty pictures.

She shared her favorite techniques that included the important slide and lick. It was a pretty warm day so the ice paint was very tasty. All of the babies really enjoyed it and for many this was their first piece of art. All the mommy's were very excited.

After painting the kids enjoyed some lunch and continued to play. After the picnic on Friday where Cameron enjoyed the ball pit, we decided to get one for her at home. She really loves it and so did the neighborhood kids who came to her party. Its a lot of fun but requires a lot of chasing of the balls. We are trying to teach Cameron that chasing the balls is just as much fun and making them fly out in all directions.

Summers are for picnics

Today was the summer picnic at my work. Cameron got to skip out of school early and daddy left work too. Cameron got to enjoy hot dogs which she is a HUGE fan of. I believe that is partly due to the fact that I craved hot dogs during my whole pregnancy.

After lunch we took Cameron on the carousel which she was not very sure of, but eventually started to enjoy it. Obviously that was after it stopped and she wanted to go again...

We visited the face painting tent and Cameron and I got matching lady bugs painted on our hands. We also visited the story tent, puppet shows, baby obstacle course where Cameron discovered how much fun ball pits could be, and we all got crazy hats. Daddy's crazy hat was the best!

Summers are for playing

After school we've all been walking down the street to the park. Cameron meets lots of other kids and shares her ball with them. She runs around all the structures and loves to climb into the sand pits.
She has overcome the fear of the slide. She can climb the steps by herself and sits down to go down the slide. On this day she did it repeatedly and when she got to the bottom she would give the sign for "more." Several of the grandparents were impressed by her and laughed at how happy she was on the slide. "More, More, More."

In addition to the slide, she spent some time on the swing. The swing is especially fun when you duck down and she gets to fly over your head. This is sure to get lots of giggles going. She did a few loops around the park: slide, slide, slide, swing, swing, run, run, run, (repeat).

After all that fun, she waved good bye to everyone and insisted that she walk home by herself. She is extremely confident with her walking, and will walk home without asking to be picked up. That's good for mommy and daddy too, because bedtime comes really easy.

Summers are for swimming

So now that its finally warm enough to go to the pool we've spent a few days after working enjoying the water. Its been a few months since Cameron's swim class but she really surprised us with our confident she was in the water. She not over confident, meaning she won't go to the water without you, but she would kick, paddle and hold her breath when she went under.

People were very surprised to see a 1 year old who could swim as well as she can. She is learning to pull herself out of the pool but is still not strong enough to get out without some help. We couldn't get her to jump into the pool from a standing position, but when sitting on the side of the pool she would fall into your arms.

But I think her favorite part is strutting her stuff pool side. She looks pretty good in her bikini and she loves, loves, loves her pink shoes.

Independence Day

We sent mommy shopping for food and Daddy, PJ and I went to the park. I practiced walking through the grass and looking for interesting things. I watched the airplanes and saw a humming bird.

PJ ran around alot and then found a comfortable spot in the shade. It was pretty warm today for all of us. I crawled around and pretended I was PJ. I don't quite have a good growl, but I can definitely make the faces.

Daddy jumped into the trees in order to get some plums. All the plum trees are producing little plums and Daddy and PJ enjoy eating them all up. When we finished playing we walked back home where mom was waiting with our cookout. I love holidays when Mommy and Daddy are home.