4 days and counting...

4 days until Christmas break and I can't wait. It was a rough Monday at school. Don't want to go into it but glad it is over. After school, I went to my department chairs holiday party at her house for a little bit. It was fun. We did a gift exchange and I ended up with a snow globe that the girls LOVE. Richard watched them for me so that I could go and it was nice to spend time with my coworkers on a personal away from school setting.

Today was day 1 of "Operation Cold Turkey." It was the day we decided that Camille would get no more bottles. She did great at daycare and at home. The only rough time was before bed when she usually gets a bottle she was a little more fussy when I offered the sippy and not the bottle. She even went into the kitchen and pointed at the counter where the bottles usually are. Smarty! Hopefully tonight she will sleep well even though she did not drink as much fluid as usual. I am hoping she will increase her solids intake.

Evelyn is doing good. Her new favorite thing to do is my hair. She takes it out the ponytail and plays with it. If I put it back up in a ponytail she takes it right back out to play with again. It is really cute. She is singing at daycare of Friday night at their festival. She will be singing "Jingle Bells.'' We will try to get video and post it for everyone to see. She has been practicing since last week. She walks around the house singing it. It is really cute.

Not much else happening around here. Waiting for break and working hard. Here are a couple of pictures.


Too cute for words!


Giving hugs!


Camille giving Evelyn a hug!

Camille has started giving hugs and making the kissing (Muah) sound. It is adorable!

Happenings....

Camille had her one year well baby check up and is doing great. She weighs 25lbs 4oz and is 29.75 inches tall. She is in the 95% for height, weight and head circumference. The doctor checked her milestones and she is passing with flying colors. He told us what to expect her to do by 15 months and she can do some of those things already, it is amazing to watch her process and follow directions. Her birthday was great and it was so nice seeing family and friends. I am glad we were able to get together to celebrate such a special occasion.

This has been an interesting week for work. School was canceled because of snow, I never thought that would happen in Sacramento (Well really El Dorado Hills). It was nice having a couple of extra days off after the busy birthday weekend. I had the girls go to daycare so I could stuff around the house done. I felt a little guilty but their routine stayed the same, I got stuff done and I will have a little over 2 weeks off with them soon.

We are preparing for more birthday parties and Christmas all within the next couple of weeks. It is a busy time of year but I love this time of year. We are looking forward to spending Christmas with my family in So. Cal. Hopefully the drive with the girls won't be too bad. They are usually ok travelers so here's hoping.

Camille can say "dog, dog" "dada" "mama" "tickle tickle" and "Bubbles." Obviously they aren't said perfectly but she is consistent when she says them and points to what it is she is talking about. I love that little girl. She is sleeping great now and goes down without a bottle. When she is tired you lay her in bed and she is out. It is great. We are working on weaning her off the bottle and formula. She is almost done with the formula, we are just trying to use the last of it. She did great transitioning from formula to milk. I am hoping the same goes for the sippy cup. I am not sure about that one though, she sure LOVES her bottle.

Not much else is happening. I applied for my Level II Credential program and the Master's at the same time. I was a little late on the application so we will see if I can get in. I am hoping I can. Please pray that I do. I decided to go for the Master's as I will probably not want to go back to school again so now is my time, plus tuition is just going up. It will be hard but we can do it.

Richard is working hard as usual but will have some time off at Christmas, which will be nice. He has been great with the girls and helping with them in the evenings when everything hits at once. It is nice to have someone that helps and supports you. When I am not feeling good, he picks up my slack. I glad to have married such a wonderful man.

Well, that's all for now. This weekend is no plans for Saturday and a birthday party an hour away on Sunday. Have a great rest of the week and an even better weekend.

Decoring for Christmas

Here are some pictures of us decorating the tree and playing around tonight. Enjoy!

Decorating for Christmas

Camille's Birthday Party

This weekend we had Camille's Birthday party. It was a great time. She drove into her cake a little but did not eat much. She did however like the m&ms. It was great to see family and friends. Camille enjoyed opening presents and then playing with them. Thank you to those that came and to those that couldn't hopefully we can see you soon. Enjoy the pictures!

Camille's 1st Birthday

Happy Birthday Camille!

On December 3rd, 2008 at 7:33 am Camille Karen was born. She weighed in at 9lbs 3oz and 20 inches. My how much a year changes in a year. From sleepless night to sleeping through the night. From crying to giggles, from rolling to crawling to walking. Where did my baby go? She is an amazing little girl with the most focus of any baby I know. I love her belly laughs and that she cuddles all the time. I look forward to what the next year brings and her talking to us more. I love you sweet Camille.

Enjoy a couple of pictures:


Camille's First Day of Life!


6 months old and crawling!


This morning with mommy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday was Thanksgiving and we had a wonderful day. We were in Sacramento this year and celebrated with Richard's family. We had a great time. Evelyn loved playing with her cousins and half the time she was off playing by herself with her cousin. It is nice that she is at the point we don't have to worry about what she is doing every minute. Camille did ok although she didn't make it easy to eat dinner. Thanks Richard for taking her so I could eat.

There are so many things to be thankful for this year. I am thankful so my and my family's health. I am thankful for Camille and the joy she has brought into our lives. I am also thankful for my job and that it has allowed so many other opportunities for our family because I have gone back to work. There are a million other things to be thankful for but don't need to state.

To my friends and family; I love you and care for you very much. I wish you happiness all year long. Thank you for who you are and all that you do.

Happenings...

Things have been busy around here lately. We spent Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday in Tahoe with the girls and had a wonderful time. Evelyn loves going to Tahoe and when you ask her where she wants to go she says, "Tahoe." We didn't do much while we were there except spend time with the girls. We took some walks, went in the pool and took naps. It was great to get away for a few days.

Evelyn now knows how to say her first and last name together and it is so stinking cute! She is doing great and talking in complete sentences more and more and is still polite as can be. She shares with Camille and even asks for 2 of anything so that Camille can have one. It is really sweet that she cares so much about her sister that she thinks of her that way. She knows Camille's birthday is coming up so she is singing Happy Birthday to her and says that she is going to be 1. How can she get any cuter?

Camille is great and is sleeping so much better. She is sleeping from about 7:30 until 5:30-6 which is awesome and I feel like a new person. She is babbling more and knows how to say mama, dada and dogdog. She points at things she wants or will bring them to you if she can get to them. She also loves her sister and wants to be around her all the time. She tries to wake Evelyn up in the morning by pounding on the door to her room. Her personality is shining through more and more each day. She is a VERY focused and determined girl. When she wants something she will do anything to try and get it. She is a powerhouse of strength and loves to walk around and explore. Her 1st birthday is less than 2 weeks away and I ponder how that happened so fast. My baby is walking, talking and turning 1. It is truly amazing the transformation that happens within a year and we look forward to the years to come.

Richard and I are doing great. We were able to get out of the house a couple of weeks ago while Lavon watched the girls so that was great. It is hard having time for ourselves when we have 2 kids always clinging to us and wanting our attention. We do pretty good even though we don't have much alone time. I am hoping that now that Camille is older we will be able to leave them more often with other people and Richard and I can get away alone. It is nice to be able just to hold hands.

I think that is most of what is happening around here. We are gearing up for Thanksgiving and the holidays fast approaching us. Looking forward to seeing family for Thanksgiving, Camille's Birthday and Christmas.

By request some pics.

Apple Hill 11/14/09

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Halloween

We went to Grass Valley in the morning to visit with some old friends and see their son. After lunch we drove home and the girls slept. Then we went to a Harvest Festival at Lavon's Church. Evelyn had a blast in the bounce houses. She went down this massive slide and loved it. She kept going back. After that I took Camille home and Richard and Evelyn went to Mark and Cheryl's for dinner and trick or treating. They had fun.

Today has been a little rough. I think they are both overtired from all the festivities yesterday and to throw the time change on top of it just makes it FANTASTIC!

Here are some pictures:

Happy Halloween!

Camille walking video...

Enjoy!

New Photo Album...

Here are some new pictures of the girls. Hope they bring a smile to your face. We love you dad/Papa and hope you feel better soon. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

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Camille is walking...

need I say more? She is taking about 4-8 steps at a time now and is very excited about it.

Enjoy!

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Bishop, CA

Things have been busy around here lately. Last weekend we went to Bishop to see my family and camp. We had a blast. Richard and Evelyn stayed in a tent, while Camille and I stayed in the RV with my parents. The weather was perfect and the girls had a great time seeing everyone. Evelyn stayed dry all weekend, even on our long drive to and from. We are very proud of her. Camille did great even though we think he ears were bothering her.

Of course, no trip to Bishop is complete with going to Schatt's. It was so yummy, as always. We bought some bread and gingerbread cookies and have been eating them during the week. It was like it extended our vacation a little bit. If you have never been, you need to go, NOW!

The guys got in some fishing and they all caught one, which helps with the egos. The girls hung out at camp, had ice cream, went to the playground. One day we went to Mammoth which was gorgeous. We had such a nice time hanging out by the fire telling stories and catching up. I can't wait to do it again.

Enjoy the pictures.

Catching Up!

It has been way too long since I last posted and a lot has happened. Camille is standing by herself for longer and longer periods of time and has even taken a few steps in recent weeks. It is so cute! I can't wait for her to be walking. She is sleeping better, although some nights are still better than others. She now has one more tooth in, it is on the top left and she is working on the top right as well. She is amazing and still so stinking cute. Last night we were playing in Evelyn's room with a microphone and a ball and Camille was laughing HYSTERICALLY for about 1o minutes. She would laugh so hard that she would fall over. It was a great way to end a great weekend.

Evelyn is doing great also. She is potty trained and has few accidents. Many nights she stays dry all night which is great for being so young and new to this process. Daycare is even thinking about moving her to the "Preschool" class since she is doing so well with potty-training. I am not sure how I feel about this. I am sooooo proud of her for doing so good at it and be able to go on but at the same time I don't want to push her into something she is not ready for. Her teacher seems to think she will be able to participate with the other preschoolers and do fine but she will be the youngest one by at least 6 months. What to do?

Evelyn's new phrase is "maybe soon." Richard loves it and calls her our little optimist. It is really cute to hear her say it when she can't have something she wants right now. Her absolute favorite thing to do right now is color. She doesn't even play with other toys she just colors. We figure she will either be an artist or an engineer. She loves looking at things and trying to figure them out. My guess is she will be an architect because it is a little of each.

We had a family reunion of couple of weeks ago with Richards side of the family. It was nice to see everyone and the girls did great. The day we bought Richard a new Toyota Tacoma, which is the truck he has wanted for a really long time. I am glad that we were able to get it for him. He truly deserves it for all the hard work he has done for his family.

This past weekend we went to Tahoe for a night and enjoyed spending some time with the just the four of us. The girls were great and slept good which was nice. We didn't do much which was really nice. We did go swimming and had dinner in the restaurant downstairs. The girls were so good and eat everything on their plate. Saturday night it snowed and left our Yukon covered in about 3 inches of snow. It was beautiful but cold. We were not prepared for that.

This next weekend we are going camping with my family. We haven't seen them since Evelyn's birthday in August so we are really excited. Boy will they be surprised to see how much the girls have changed. That's all for now. Sorry it got so long. Enjoy the pictures.

Camille's 9 Month Appt.

Camille had her 9 month appointment today. She is doing great! She weighs in at 23 lbs, which is still in the 95% but she has leveled off a bit. She is 28.5 inches long and in the 87% for height. She is a tall girl. The doctor said she is doing great and meeting ALL her milestones and then some. We are happy to hear this of course. She is sleeping better and getting cuter everyday.

Here are a couple of pictures:


Cooking up a "Mille"


The exploration begins...


Do you think she is happy?

Evelyn and Camille

We are doing great. Potty training is in full swing and Evelyn has not had a diaper on for over a week now and she even stayed all night last night. She is doing great with it all. She is so cute when she has to go and knows exactly what she has to do. Yesterday we watched the Capital Air Show from a park near our house and took Evelyn's potty since we knew the lines would be bad and she wouldn't be able to wait. We set up a little tent and put the potty inside and she did great and didn't have an accident while we were there even though she was distracted and playing with her cousins.

Camille is doing well and sleeping better. She still wakes up 2 times a night but it isn't too bad. I know some day she will sleep all night long and I will miss the waking in the middle of the night for feedings (ok maybe I won't). She is doing better everyday at daycare and they even call her "mushy mushy" since she is so squishy and loves to cuddle. She is so stinking cute and into EVERYTHING. She is pushing the push toy my parents got Evelyn for her birthday last year around and keeping up pretty good. I wonder how long until she is walking. She stands by herself and can push herself up to a stand almost all the way. She is really cute when she stands on her own. I am thinking she will be walking by 11 months. We shall see.

Here are a couple of cute pictures:


Camille happily eating a cracker.


Evelyn's "cheese" face.

Potty Training

We are on day 3 of potty training and it is going pretty well. Evelyn decided on Sunday that she DID NOT want a diaper on any more. She hasn't had too many accidents and even stayed dry during her naps this weekend. Daycare is following through with what we are doing at home which is nice. Here's hoping to a soon to be potty trained Evelyn.


The girls enjoying a bubble bath.


Evelyn LOVED the bubbles and even let us put some in her hair.

Evelyn

Things have been hard for Evelyn lately with me going back to work and her starting daycare and not being able to see Camille during the day and this we believe it the source of her tantrums she has been having. They are a nightly/morning occurrence and last for a good 30 minutes sometimes with NOTHING that will help. It is so hard and frustrating for all those involved because we don't know how to help her. They will hopefully be getting better since she likes daycare now.

Speaking of daycare, she loves going and even has her favorite teacher that she says she misses on our drive home each afternoon. It is really endearing and I am glad she has bonded with someone. She is eating more and sleeping well while she is there. She doesn't even cry much in the mornings anymore. It is so nice not to have to leave her when she is screaming "mommy." At daycare she is in a music class and enjoys it a lot and even brings home a CD each week so we play that with her and dance after dinner. It is fun to see her so happy and recognize something she did that day at school.

She is doing great otherwise. Growing tall and being cute. We have been bad about taking pictures but I did take some last night so I will post one. We need to start taking pictures. She is growing too fast. Actually she is 25 months old today. Man, time flies.


Her in her pajamas. She INSISTS on wearing the frog shirt for bed even though it is not pajamas.

Camille...

Where to start... I guess I will start with Camille being sick. She got a bad cold this past weekend and on Saturday night had a really hard time breathing. We called our doctor at 4am (poor dr.) and he had us give her a breathing treatment. It helped but she was still not great in the morning so we took her to the urgent care and they sent us to the ER, only because they didn't take babies that young. They looked her over and gave her a steroid and another breathing treatment and sent us on our way. She stayed home from daycare yesterday and luckily Cheryl was able to watch her for us so we didn't have to miss work. She is doing better but still has a cough. Hopefully she will be better soon.

Other Camille news:

* She now says "dada." This made Richard's day yesterday morning. It is really cute
* She can stand without holding onto anything for a few seconds at a time. She really wants to walk but hasn't figured it out yet, but I am sure she will soon.
* She had decided that she doesn't want to nurse and just wants the bottle. This is great because that means anyone can watch her easily. Anyone want to volunteer?? Richard and I need a night out. :-0
* She is getting cuter and cuter everyday. We love her more than anything.

Where has the time gone....

Time is flying by at a records pace and I feel like I cannot possibly keep up with it. Work is so busy and crazy that I feel like I am already a school year's worth of work behind. I know that I will catch up and it is the beginning of school so I am trying to remember that. School is GREAT! I love my school and the teachers I work with. They like me too. One even told the principal "Thank you" for Amanda. That makes me feel good.

I have lots of meetings after school and more work that I know what to do with but I guess that is good. I have to do BTSA for the next 2 years so I have that about once a week for 1 1/2 hours. I have to do all kinds of work for it which should be interesting. I am also going to go back to school in the Spring to clear my Special Ed. credential so that will be good.

The girls are doing better with daycare and Evelyn even says she misses one of her teachers when we drive home at night. This is a welcome change. Drop offs are still hard but getting better. This morning was rough as she DID NOT want to wear a diaper, so she went in underwear. She made it all the way to school but didn't last there for long. She went through 2 changes of clothes before putting on a diaper. At least she is starting not to like the diaper. Baby steps. Evelyn has been having tantrums and OMG they are NOT fun. She is unconsolable and I don't know how to help it. It is sad. Welcome to the two's.

Camille is good but teething again we think. She is growing like a weed and getting cuter everyday. She doesn't like to be dropped off in the morning and cries as soon as she sees me when I pick her up. It is sweet to know that she loves me so much. She does good there and is drinking her bottles but will not eat solids for them. I am ok with that since she does at home now.

What else can I catch you up on??? I get my first paycheck next week! Whooohooo!!

I think that is about all for now. Since I am not home, I haven't been taking as many pictures but will try to soon.

Love you all!