Cassidy's Spring School Pictures

Cassidy's school had their spring pictures taken the week before we went on vacation. We received them today, and they're awesome. I can't believe how our tiny little preemie has grown into a beautiful little girl so fast - she's completely lost the baby look!

>

Here are her Spring 2008 school pictures...

We're back from vacation!

We're back from our annual beach vacation! Every year, we spend a week in Cape Hatteras and LOVE every second of it. This year was no exception, and there was a bonus - some friends joined us for the first few days!! I don't think Cassidy remembered being at the house in prior years, so I'm hoping we made some memories this year that will stick.

We hit all of our favorite places - the Mad Mad Hatteras, Try My Nuts, Nino's, Dirty Dick's Crabhouse, Studio 12, The Froggy Dog... it was a GREAT week!! We had planned to take Cassidy to the NC Aquarium on Friday to participate in a children's program. We did end up going to the Aquarium, but we missed the program. When Cassidy woke up Friday morning, she called out to me "Mommy... this one eye... it don't go up". As I rounded the corner into her room, I was shocked to see Cassidy's left eye swollen completely shut. I started freaking out a little bit, and called her doctor who said she was probably bitten and suggested a dose of Motrin and an ice pack. The eye slowly got better and was finally back to normal yesterday. It was the strangest thing - we never could find a bite mark and there was no bruising. The whole week I was sure it would be ME that would have the medical issue, and it turned out to be her!

Overall, the week was fantastic... but it sure is nice to be back home!! Here are some pictures...

>

Cassidy's "all-weather" outfit ->Dinner with our friends at Dirty Dick's Crabhouse ->
A family picture at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse ->
Painting pottery at Studio 12 ->
Going for a bike ride! ->
Daddy and Cassidy at the Hatteras Village Shoppes ->
The house got in Mommy's way and scuffed up the Jeep ->

Seriously, what engineering genius came up with THIS driveway design?!? ->
Cassidy's face first thing Friday morning ->

Aunt Poopy is now Mrs. Aunt Poopy!

Cassidy's Aunt Poopy got married yerterday!! Cassidy spent the day with Nana and Poppie Bill so Mommy could do the Bridesmaid thing, while Daddy enjoyed the festivities.

Cassidy attended the rehearsal on Friday night, and that went well. We got a rough start - we'd just gotten there, and she'd taken about 5 steps away from the car when she planted her face into the sidewalk. She ended up with a HUGE goose egg on her forehead and 2 scraped-up knees. The swelling has since gone down, but the abrasion on her forehead is still there. She was a trooper, and cried for a minute but quickly got over it and helped Mommy practice walking up the aisle and standing quietly.

Anyway, back to Aunt Poopy's wedding... it was a great day and she was a beautiful bride. I made it through the entire day without having the baby, which seemed to be a concern for quite a few people. I knew it would be fine - there was no way I was going to miss one the biggest days of Poopy's life!!

Cassidy's bonked noggin ->

Aunt Poopy and Mommy ->

Mommy and Daddy enjoying the festivities ->

Aunt Poopy and Sir Poops-A-Lot sharing the wedding cake ->

Fun at Springfest and Cassidy's New Pool

Today was our church's Springfest, so we stopped by after Gymboree to check out the fun. Cassidy got her face painted, and enjoyed looking at all the treasures for sale. We bought her a Veggie Tales wall hanging and a little vanity. She also had to make the mandatory pit stop at the church's playground, and I got a really cool picture of Daddy pushing Cassidy on the swing. While we were there, we had lunch and enjoyed some of Grandpa Alec's legendary pound cake... we even brought some home - yum!!!

After we left the church, we decided it would be a good idea to take Cassidy to Wal-mart to buy her some make-up to put in her vanity. We also bought a small inflatable pool for the back deck and set it up when we got home. Overall, it was a great day!

Daddy and Cassidy (she INSISTED on wearing black socks with her black Doc Marten's this morning!) ->
Carrying the vanity to the car ->

Miss Judy painting Cassidy's face ->

I love this one... it's the first time I've taken a picture of Cassidy and wished her face hadn't been painted that day! The dark mark by her mouth was once a beautiful ladybug, the green and purple marks were flowers. ->

We also cleaned and refilled the sand and water table today ->
Cassidy enjoying her new pool ->

Another Mommy and Cassidy Day

It's time for teacher training at Cassidy's school again, so I took the day off for another Mommy and Cassidy Day! We started the day at Kangaroo Jac's, and Cassidy was the only child in the facility for almost an hour - we had the place to ourselves!! One of Jac's Crew gave her a pink balloon, which totally made her day. Another family eventually showed up, and Cassidy enjoyed climbing and sliding with new friends.

>

After we left, we stopped by Babies 'R Us to grab a few supplies for Baby Campbell, and then went to "Bear's House" for a late lunch. Bear's House is known as Chuck E. Cheese in some circles, but not at our house. Cassidy thinks Chuck E. Cheese is a bear, and we haven't broken the ugly truth to her yet. We'll let someone else break the news that her beloved Bear is really a rodent.

Cassidy and I had a great day! Here are some pictures...

>

A sketch of Mommy and Cassidy ->

Cassidy playing the popcorn game ->

Cassidy enjoying her lunch ->

Cassidy and Bear ->

We Survived the Tornado

Many people have called and emailed asking if we were effected by the tornado that ripped through here Monday. Luckily, we were out of the line of fire - we are fine. We have noticed some debris in the yard - mostly tree debris and insulation. We were blessed that our home and all of the homes in our immediate area were untouched. However, there are places right up the road that were a total loss.

I had heard that there was going to be bad weather Monday afternoon, and decided to leave work at 3:45PM to be sure Matt and I both didn't get stuck in downtown Norfolk (the school charges a FORTUNE when you're late!). Regardless of my good intentions, I ended up driving right through the outskirts of it on my way home from work. I was thoroughly confused as to why there were leaves, limbs, shingles, and insulation flying through the air when it wasn't all that windy... and that's when it occured to me that coming home may have been a big mistake. Sure enough, as I pulled into the neighborhood my manager called. I had told her I was planning to finish the day from home in anticipation of the weather, and her mother called her with news of the tornado. She was frantic knowing I was driving right into it. That's when I started to worry about Cassidy.

Thankfully, it ended up passing right over or around Cassidy's school. Cassidy and all her friends were fine, and we only have God to thank for that one. The quick-thinking teachers at her school had taken all of the children to the conference room in the center of the school, and turned on a movie while the tornado passed over. I'm so glad I didn't realize she was in so much danger until it was over!

I had a doctor's appointment at the hospital yesterday, and it's a very sad sight. Trees are snapped in half just like toothpicks, and you can clearly see the path the tornado took as it came through. It's truly amazing that there were no serious injuries or deaths because of this storm. God is good!

Cassidy's First Pony Ride!

Last Saturday after Gymboree, we took Cassidy strawberry picking! She barely remembered going last year, but still seems to still have a preference for the "baby" strawberries (read: green and not yet ripe). Regardless, we all had a great time and I think she'll been more likely to remember her adventures in the strawberry field next year. We forgot the camera, so we don't have any pictures from the strawberry picking.

After we finished there, we noticed that the Lutheran church was having their Springfest - complete with inflatables and pony rides. Of course, we HAD to stop!! Luckily, the church was taking pictures of the pony rides so we were able to get one of Cassidy on the pony, along with the carney that was leading her. She wasn't scared at all, and actually enjoyed herself. That's alot more than I can say for my first ride on a horse!