She woke up on her actual birthday to a breakfast treat of waffles and bananas…much better than her normal cereal.  I think she even got to skip her vitamin that day.

The next day Eric took off work to spend the day as a family.  We went to the Discovery Green Park downtown where Campbell had a whole lawn to practice her new walking skills.  She also enjoyed the fountain!  We officially have us a toddling little girl!

Happy Birthday to my favorite aunt!  I love you!

I’ve been thinking a lot about painting the house…trim, doors, molding, and even the living room/kitchen area for the third time since we’ve moved in almost 5 years ago.  Most say there is nothing wrong with the way it is now, and I’m sure it’s fine…BUT I really want to paint!  I’m hesitant though because I have to do the whole process of calling around and deciding whom to use, etc…I hate calling people like this…I hated calling in pizza orders when I was a tween/teen!  Well if I want the house painted bad enough, something will get me to do it.

Had a good week of tutoring…had a new student that was struggling and his mom let me know that he made a 87 on his test!  Tutoring is just a brief time that I’m reminded I truly enjoyed being a teacher; however, as I now hear my little one babbling as I type after waking up from her nap, this is exactly the right time to be at home!

We’re going to give this blog thing another shot and hopefully be more regular with our postings.  Campbell is 9.5 months old and just a wonderful little girl.  She claps, waves hi and bye-bye, and now gives “high fives”.  She is eating anything we give her!  Tonight she had two (small) bowls of spaghetti.  Some with a spoon and some with large handfuls of whatever made it to her mouth.  She has loved bananas, mac-n-cheese, green beans, and waffles.  She also enjoys the traditional Gerber puffs and Cheerios and the sweetness of Cool Whip, Oreo cream, banana pudding, and ice cream sandwiches!  At her 9 month checkup she weighed in at 18 pounds-3 ounces, and was 28 inches long.  She got her toe pricked and one shot in her thigh and didn’t cry at all…big girl!  She is crawling everywhere and pulling up on her knees.  She loves all her family members and little kids of all ages!  So far it looks like we may have a social butterfly.

Like I said, I’m going to try to be a little more accurate in keeping up…she’s too cute not to share!

We spent Thanksgiving in Sealy with Eric’s dad and wife and her family. It was a nice time and Campbell enjoyed all the attention. She also liked their dog Puddin’. Eric was able to help his dad with some chores around the house and ranch which he is always glad to do.

Since Thanksgiving, Campbell has turned 6 months old. She weighs in at 16 pounds and 5 ounces and 26.5 inches long. This is 50th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. She is in the 80th percentile for head circumference…guess this means she’ll have an extra large brain

While getting ready for Christmas, Campbell had her first visit with Santa and pulled on his beard. She loved all the other kids waiting in line and would laugh out of the blue at the sight of them. I think she is going to like other children and be a good friend. We actually had snow at our house last week, but Campbell was fast asleep. A little sad that photo opportunity didn’t happen. Campbell also went to her first Lamar basketball game this past weekend. My parents have had season tickets as long as I can remember and are big fans. So Poppa is starting Campbell out young and was excited to have her at the game. She loved the excitement and even yelled when the crowd cheered. She even did her hands up when the “wave” went by.

Eric continues to have lots of work to do and his India followup trip has since been postponed with the recent happenings. His dad had knee replacement surgery so he is helping out with that as well. I continue to tutor and get ready for the holidays while enjoying little events with family and friends. I’m thinking about taking a photography class so we’ll see what transpires with that.

The past week and a half Campbell has been practicing falling asleep in her bed for naps and I believe we’ve gotten it down. She goes to sleep without much fussing and has been staying asleep for longer lengths. I’m proud of both of us for getting this process down with little sadness and stress.

I’m truly enjoying staying home and valuing the time I have with her. I’m lucky to have lots of friends that are available during the day as well to make plans with and talk to. It’s nice to be able to focus on my time at home without all the extra stressors that come with an outside job and responsibilities. My tutor “business” is just enough to let me work with teenagers and have a little out from my new normal routine. So far, so good…she’s so special…Eric and I are both so blessed!

We were both very happy to pick Eric up at the airport and Campbell gave him a big smile when she saw him. He was able to stay home with us the next two days to adjust being back in the states and she studied him hard every time he was around. Once he started giving her baths again and singing “Splish Splash I Was Taking A Bath”, she knew just who was back…daddy! He then had to turn around and take a quick trip to El Paso for one night, but hopefully he is here to stay for a while…unless they want to send him to San Diego again…I think we might go with him on that one!

This past weekend we spent at Eric’s dad’s house in Sealy. His dad and wife hadn’t seen Campbell in a while and man they thought she was big! We enjoyed spending the weekend there and Eric was able to help his dad with some repairs and jobs around the house and at the ranch. Campbell got some time in with the tractor as well. She immediately reached for the wheel like she was driving. Grandpa turned the tractor on and it didn’t scare her in the least…we weren’t ready to take a spin…yet.

Hopefully we’ll now get back into a groove of being all together again. We missed him a lot!

Luckily the weekend that the temperature started to increase we had a family wedding to go to in Bryan. My cousin Ryan Ewing married Megan Davis so we already had a hotel room reserved and a treat it was. We enjoyed the rehearsal dinner, ladies lunch, and wedding all with my dad’s family. Campbell was a trooper during all events and adjusted to her later bedtime. Everyone thought she was cute of course!

In the meantime, Campbell turned 3 months old. When the weather changed the first week after the hurricane, she got allergies like everyone else. However, there is no treatment for anyone under 6 months old except some “Little Noses” saline drops that seemed to help. She ended getting her weight checked and came out 13 pounds and one ounce!