It's Got To Be A Conspiracy

I think they're trying to give us a slow, painful death. That's really the only explanation I can come up with. Campbell has been up at 1AM every night for a week, and it takes 1.5 - 2 hours to get her back to sleep. To add to the fun, Cassidy got up at 4AM last night asking me to put her blankets back on her. Campbell was awake and ready to play at 6AM.

Do the math - we got more rest when Campbell was a newborn. Thank goodness for caffeine!!

Campbell is Crawling!

She's going places now... our lives will never be the same!

A Great Day With 2 Scuffed-Up Princesses

We had so much fun today!!! We went to church with Mama and Papa this morning, and then enjoyed breakfast together afterward.

The weather was unexpectedly gorgeous - the rain cleared out early and left us with a beautiful day. We spent some time at the neighborhood park and met some new friends. On the way back home, Cassidy fell off her tricycle and got scuffed up. There were "red boogies and boogie water coming out of her nose" (translation: a bloody nose), she scraped up her hands, and got a nice case of road rash on her forehead. Luckily, she had her helmet on, so the head wound was limited to a scrape... no goose egg this time.

After we got Cassidy cleaned up, we went to Mary Grace's house to play for a little while.

Overall, it was a great day. It's just too bad our princesses both look like trauma patients!

Breakfast with Mama and Papa

Princesses at the park

Recovering from the tricycle accident

Playing in the sandbox with Mary Grace... she has PURPLE sand in her sandbox!

Mama and the scuffed-up princesses

Early Bird Baby

Campbell was wide awake and ready to go at 6AM this morning. That's about an hour earlier than usual, so I was STRUGGLING to get moving.

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When Cassidy and I left the house for dance, this is what Campbell was doing... sitting in her highchair, happily eating a mum-mum.

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About 20 minutes after we left, this is what Campbell was doing... snoozing in her highchair!

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No, she didn't spend her whole nap in her highchair. Matt was able to get her out of the chair without waking her, and she ended up napping for about 1.5 hours. That's a REALLY good nap for Little C!!

She's looking better every day, so my inner paparazzi is back at work!

Tons of Fun with Mary Grace!

The rain held off long enough for us to spend some time with Mary Grace this afternoon. I've mentioned Mary Grace a few times before - she's Cassidy's favorite friend in our neighborhood.

Cassidy LOVES playing with Mary Grace, and it's no wonder. Mary Grace is a cool kid with cool toys!!

Playing basketball

Riding the scooter

Riding the 4-wheeler

Cruising the 'hood in the mustang

Retro Princess

Cassidy dressed herself this morning and looked so 70's with her socks pulled up, I just had to take a picture!!

Tonight, she decided she wanted to wear my glasses. I let her try them on, and she thought it was the silliest thing ever... so I took a picture. I then had Matt take one of me with my head tilted just like hers. She thought that was even sillier!

In other news, Little C's face is clearing up rather nicely but she's still not camera-ready. Hopefully it will only be a few more days.

Please Excuse My Brief Hiatus

While I was away last weekend, Little C got into a fight and messed up her face. She got a black eye (swollen shut) and a big cut on her cheek. If you think that sounds bad, you should see the other guy!

In all seriousness, she fell and did mess up her face as described above - but she's fine. Matt took her to the ER and they checked her over. The swelling is gone, but I'm waiting for the brusing to go away before I post any pictures of her. It should only be a few more days. In the meantime, here's some injury-free cuteness for you to enjoy...

ADPi Reunion!

I went to my sorority's chapter reunion this weekend, and all I can say is WOW. It's so cool to see that my friends haven't aged a minute, even though it's been about 10 years since I've seen some of them. The campus looks fantastic, and ADPi's favorite Campus Police Officer is still there... he even gave a small group of us a private after-hours tour of some of the new/remodeled buildings!

I know we must have looked like old Moms to the students, but I just don't feel like an old Mom. How can I be an old Mom if I don't feel like an old Mom?!?

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Me and Lee Ann in the college daze

Please Vote!

We turned the family room into a portrait studio tonight trying to get a picture of Cassidy for the dance recital program. We did too good of a job, because now we can't decide which picture to use. What do you think? Picture A or Picture B?

Please vote (look to the right of the screen) and let us know which picture you think is better for the dance recital program!

Picture A

Picture B

Wrong Way

Campbell is crawling! There's just one tiny problem... she doesn't crawl forward, she crawls backward. She enjoys exploring, but she doesn't have much patience when she's stuck. She gets stuck alot and it just sets her off.

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Wanna make her even madder? Take a picture of Her Royal Crabbiness while she's stuck, kind of like this...
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A Note From The Teacher

Cassidy's daily sheet came home from school today with a special note on it from Ms. Cherry. I was so proud, I took a picture of the note and emailed it to Cassidy's Sunday School teacher.

Here it is...These are the very best teacher notes to get. She's turning into such a smart and kind-hearted little girl!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day was never a big deal in our house growing up. We wore green on the big day, but that was about as exciting as it got.

Some of my Mommy friends came up with some cool ideas to make St. Patrick's Day a little more fun, and I thought we'd try it out this year. I started small to test the water (literally), and colored the toilet water green. When I told Cassidy a Leprechaun must have peed in our potty last night, she was confused - she thought the water looked blue. But once it sunk in, she thought it was HILARIOUS and ran around the house checking every potty.

The girls went to school wearing the obligatory green shirt, and Cassidy said "Happy Patter-ick's Day" to everyone she saw. I wonder if we just stumbled across a new family tradition?

I Missed The Obvious

I guess the sleep-deprived haze has finally cut off the oxygen to my brain. I completely missed the obvious sentiment for Cassidy's dance program - GOOD LUCK.

How I missed that, I'll never know. I'll chalk it up to this weekend's rain-fest and Little C's tooth-induced crabbiness.

I could have kissed their teachers this morning!

Fangs and Other Stuff

I finally got a clear picture of the fangs! Fang Baby did NOT appreciate the constant tugging on her lips and blinding camera flashes, so I know she's glad I finally got a picture I was happy with.

Fang Baby is so close to crawling she can taste it. She's even trying to pull up on the furniture! When she stands at my chair, she can hang out for quite a while. Here's a picture of Fang Baby standing at my chair with Daddy behind her. Daddy was supposed to be making sure she didn't get hurt, but he decided it would be funny to pat Fang Baby down while he had her in the right position.

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I'm so glad he thinks things like that are funny.

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In other news, Matt and I are trying to decide what to write in the dance program for Cassidy. Her dance recital program book will have a spot for personalized ads for dancers.

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"Congratulations on your first recital" seems too bland. Plus, it just seems kind of silly to congratulate Cassidy on her first recital when we don't even know for sure that she's going to stay on stage for the dance.

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We were thinking of congratulating her for something more meaningful... something catchy, snazzy. How about "Congratulations! You pooped in the potty!"? Or maybe "Congratulations on learning to buckle yourself into your carseat!"? Or how about "Congratulations! You haven't driven your teachers insane yet!".

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Decisions, decisions....

Let's Go To The Mall!

Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky gave Cassidy a Target giftcard for her birthday. She's really starting to understand the concept of money - earn, save, spend, give - so we thought it would be good for her to choose her gift and pay on her own.

The weather is crummy here today, so we headed to the mall after dance class. We looked around the store, and she finally chose to spend her money on an Ariel purse that she's had her eye on for a few weeks. We walked around the mall for a while, she rode one of the rides, and we had lunch at the Food Court.

It was a great afternoon, considering the weather!

Cheater Girl

Cassidy has gotten back on another cheerleading kick. Every night after school she HAS to wear her "Cheater Girl" outfit. She loves for Daddy to run in the kitchen-entry way-living room-family room circle, like a track. When he passes by, she waves her poms and yells "Go Daddy!!".

At first, I thought she was saying she wanted to be a Cheetah Girl. I looked at Disney's website and those girls don't look much like cheerleaders to me. I asked her to speak slowly for me tonight, and realized she was saying she wants to be a "Cheater Girl". I think she's really trying to say "Cheer Girl".

I've done some searching and found a reasonably-priced Pop Warner program in the area that takes children as young as five. Who wants to bet the princess is going to be a Pop Warner Cheater Girl next spring?

Our precious Cheater Girlz

Go Daddy, Go!!

A Whole Different Ballgame

We attended an Open House at our school of choice tonight and registered Cassidy for K4 before we left. Lucky for us, a few of Cassidy's dance friends go to our school of choice and we were able to get the inside scoop on the teachers.

We requested to have Cassidy placed in the same class as her friends. While we were there, we got to meet Cassidy's future teacher, Mrs. M. It wasn't until we were standing in the classroom talking to Mrs. M that it hit me... this is a whole different ballgame. Until now, we've had warm and familiar teachers named Ms. First Name. When Cassidy starts K4, she'll ride the bus and be taught by people named Mrs./Mr. Last Name.

I wish I could look into a crystal ball and see what will happen on the first day of school. I'd love to know if she's going to get on the bus and ride away without melting down... the suspense is killing me!!

Cassidy's new classroom!

Thanks, Papa!

Papa bought Cassidy 2 new dresses during their special Mama-Papa-Cassidy shopping spree and sleepover the other weekend. She wore one of them to school today and told EVERYONE that Papa bought her outfit.

Papa has good taste!!! Thanks, Papa!

Fang Baby Growth Stats

We discovered yesterday afternoon that our baby has fangs. FANGS! Her top front teeth are coming in, but haven't poked through. However, the teeth on either side of the front ones HAVE come through... giving our precious angel a crazy baby-vampire look. Ugh.
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We tried to get a picture of the fangs, but you can't really see them. We'll keep trying!!

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So anyway, Fang Baby had her 9 month check-up at Dr. Pediatrician's office today. She weighs 19 pounds and 1 ounce (47th percentile), is 27 inches tall (23rd percentile), and her head is 18.25 inches around (95th percentile).
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The best news of all? No shots! There's a nationwide shortage of the Hepatitis B shot right now, and our doctor's office doesn't have any - hooray!! Fang Baby actually clapped when Dr. Pediatrician broke the good news. She kept clapping when Dr. Pediatrician said she'll get the shot in June at her 1 year appointment, but I think she was just being polite.
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After Dr. Pediatrician was done with us, we went to Sam's Club to get some formula. Fang Baby sat in a shopping cart for the first time!! I think she looks much more mature in the shopping cart, don't you?
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A Gorgeous Day... Finally!

We've been anxiously awaiting spring weather after the non-stop rain last weekend, the snow earlier this week, and the bitterly cold temperatures the last few weeks. We got some spring it today, and it was worth the wait!!!

After dance class, we headed to Home Depot for the Kids Workshop. This month's project was a NASCAR-themed race track that even came equipped with 2 tiny wooden race cars! Daddy was VERY happy to be building a cool race track... I think it just might have been cool enough to make up for the silly fire truck he had to build a few months back.

While we were there, we ran into Alyssa and her family from Gymboree! We haven't seen them for a while, and it was great to catch up. We sure do miss our Gymboree friends.

We spent the entire afternoon enjoying the weather in the backyard. We even cleaned out the sand and water table, and filled it up for the season. It was a great day!!

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Campbell wasn't a big fan of the pounding-hammer noise, so we strolled around the store while Cassidy and Daddy did their thing.

Cassidy and Alyssa

Cassidy Bonked Her Face

I got a call from the school this afternoon. Cassidy fell and scraped up her face, and has red scratches on her nose and right cheek. Apparently, she was running on the playground and found a hole nobody was aware of. She fell into the hole and went head-first into the mulch.

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My poor little princess has a bonked face. Luckily, we don't get our picture taken for the church directory for another two weeks!!

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I Love Your Attire

Ms. Courtney (Cassidy's teacher) told me a funny Cassidy story when I dropped the girls off at school this morning. Cassidy wore a new purple dress to school earlier this week. When Ms. Cherry (Cassidy's other teacher) saw her beautiful dress, she said "Cassidy! I love your attire!".

Cassidy looked down at her clothing and said "Ms. Cherry! You're silly!!! I'm not wearing a tire!!"

My Baby Can Talk!

We've been teaching Campbell some basic sign language. We did the same with Cassidy, and teaching her to commuinicate her needs through sign language helped us avoid quite a bit of confusion. While it's nice to know what they're thinking, I really just love having the opportunity to communicate with my children long before they can speak coherently!

Cassidy's first sign was "milk" and I thought I was going to faint the first time she signed it. Knowing something should work in theory, and then seeing it in action are two totally different things!

Campbell's first sign is "more" and it's the coolest thing to see. I think it's AMAZING that this infant is able to tell us what she wants. And she can't even crawl!

Watch this!!

* Reminder: Turn off the music before starting the video *

Mystery Solved!

We now know what happened to June (Cassidy's favorite Little Einstein) last summer. For a reminder of the June drama, click here.

I cleaned out my car yesterday afternoon and found June underneath the seat. I assumed it was the replacement June, and put it in the cupholder of Cassidy's car seat. I forgot about it until this morning, when Cassidy noticed it as we were loading up the car.

She asked me how June got from her playroom to my car. I thought that was odd, but figured maybe she'd forgotten bringing June into the car. When I got home, I went straight upstairs and found Rocket. Sure enough, June was securely fastened inside.

I went through that car with a fine-tooth comb and couldn't find June anywhere that fateful day last August. I'm happy to report June hasn't taken up residence at the Home Depot, after all.

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Mystery solved!

It's An Emergency!

The snow is melting and the girls are back in school. Whew! I fiercely love them both, but it's very difficult for me to be Mommy while also being Head Nerd In Charge Of Very Important Things. I'm just not talented enough to do both at the same time. Maybe I'll get better as they get older.

Luckily, it was a light meeting day for me... participate in 2, facilitate 1. The Nerdery has Nerds strategically placed all over the planet, so we meet via conference call. You can participate in a conference call from anywhere, thanks to the advent of the mute button. However, you must have a quiet environment in order to run an effective conference call. Unfortunately, we do not have a quiet environment when the girls are home.
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The Big Nerd Meeting started at 3PM, and I prepped early. Campbell went down for a nap at 2:30PM. I pulled Cassidy's table down the hall and sat it right outside the office door. I rounded up plenty of paint, art canvas, construction paper, stickers, scissors, coloring books, and crayons. I briefed Cassidy on conference call etiquette and told her not to come into the office or try to get my attention unless it was an emergency.

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She was ready. I was ready.

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The Nerds and I were busy compiling information for a very important Nerd Document when I heard a little voice behind me whispering "Mommy? Mommy?"

"Is there an emergency?" I whispered back, knowing full well the house was not on fire. "I need glue" she replied.

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I couldn't be mad at her. In a 4-year old's mind, needing glue for your special art project really is an emergency!

Snow Day!

It finally snowed here... a good one, too! The girl's school is closed today, so we're camped out for the day. I took them outside for a few minutes this morning... but the wind is still blowing too hard for Campbell, so we couldn't really play.

Today should be interesting. Working from home is a double-edged sword... it's so convenient to have a flexible workplace, but sick days and snow days no longer exist. I love the convenience of remote access to The Nerdery when I have doctor's appointments or need to run out for a few minutes. But that same convenience and flexibility is preventing me from kicking back and really enjoying this snow day!!