I bought dry roasted macadamia nuts. The jar says the ingredients are macadamia nuts and salt.
Yet the label says my jar may also contain peanuts, cashews, almonds, filberts (what the heck is a filbert?), pecans, brazil nuts, walnuts, pistachios and sunflower seeds. Apparently I should’ve just opted for the cheaper jar of mixed nuts.
My big girl had her 2-year checkup today, and it went very well. The doctor had lots of great things to say about her health and development, which is always reassuring. Camille is 34 inches tall, which I was curious to find out because some people say you can double their height at age 2 to get an idea of their adult height. If true, she’ll be 5’8”, a full 4” taller than mama!
Here’s baby girl watching Elmo once we got back home, with a bandaid on her finger and a sticker on her shirt:
She loves bandaids. She had to have her finger pricked, which she fussed less about than having her measurements taken!
Funny thing is, that isn’t even the finger that got pricked. She moved the bandaid around from finger to finger all afternoon, always carefully holding up whichever finger currently held the bandage. Silly girl!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY sweet Camibear! We had so much fun today celebrating your birthday. With all the the presents, the balloons, the cake and food, the friends and the water games, I think you really enjoyed yourself. And I thoroughly enjoyed watching you!
Your party was an animal theme, and I wanted to make your cake again this year. Your Daddy and I decorated it together – it was a simple idea and not quite ace-of-cakes, but you loved it.
I couldn’t help but think about your party last year, and how you dug into your cake with your hands and weren’t quite sure what to do with it all. But this year, you knew exactly what to do with cake!
After eating and opening gifts, we took the party into the backyard where you got to play with your new “animal splashers,” and they were a hit!
It’s an elephant, alligator and giraffe that spray water in various ways, and all your baby friends seemed to have a very good time. It was impossible to get a picture of all of them at once – here you are with Elsie and Hart, and Faith and Baby Thomas were playing too.
The only thing you didn’t like about your animal splashers was the occasional spray-in-the-face!
But a quick toweling-off fixed the problem, and you played so hard all afternoon. I think you’ll sleep well tonight!
Speaking of sleeping well… I’ve been afraid to address your recent change in sleep patterns for fear of jinxing things… but this month you’ve begun sleeping in! Until now, you’ve always been an early bird. For a long time, you got up between 5 and 5:30, and that was pretty rough on Mama and Daddy, who aren’t early birds. Then gradually you shifted to a 6 a.m. wake-up time and stayed that way for months. Six is much better than 5, but still a little early. What really made me wish you’d sleep in was that you often woke up grumpy. You’d turn into my happy, sweet girl soon enough, but it took you a little while to wipe the cobwebs away and I thought you’d feel better with more sleep. But you were not interested in going back to bed.
Then we went to Colorado, with a 2-hour time difference, and at first we really had to work to convince you not to get up at 4 a.m. After all, that was 6 a.m. Georgia time, and your little internal clock was pretty strong. But toward the end of your trip, you made the adjustment. Now I wonder if we scrambled your internal clock enough to allow you to reset a bit once we returned. The first few days after we got home you still woke up at 6, but then suddenly one morning you slept until 7:30. And since then, you’ve been sleeping until 7 or later just about every morning. This morning you didn’t get up until 8! And on top of that, you’re stretching your former 2-hour nap into 3-4 hours!
It’s funny – in your one-year-old letter, I talked about the new leap you’d made in sleeping, which was that you would go to sleep without a fuss. And you still go to sleep like a dream, and we’re very grateful! And who knows – with this new change, you may be going through a growth spurt or something that requires extra sleep, so if this is temporary that’s ok. But it sure has been nice, because you wake up so much happier, and Mama and Daddy wake up more rested too!
This month you got to see your first movie at a theater – what a big girl thing to do! A local theater is offering a few free kid movies this month, so I thought that’d be an easy way to test the theater waters. My suspicion was that you would be interested, but only for a little while.
You sat in my lap at first while we were waiting for the movie to start. Then you wanted to sit in the seat by yourself, and you were hilarious. The seat kept folding up on you, and you kept making it open and close. I snapped this pic with my phone camera.
There was a pre-movie cartoon with an unfortunately-named main character. It was called Cami Island, and it was about an island ruled by a big monster named Cami Monster. I couldn’t believe it – that was not the big-screen introduction I’d hoped for, but you didn’t seem to mind. Then the main movie, Wallace and Gromit, came on. As I predicted, you liked the movie but wanted to walk around, so we didn’t stay long. But it was a fun experiment, and I look forward to taking you to movies when you’re older and can really enjoy them.
We’ve done a tiny bit of potty training in this last month. We’re not pushing the issue, but a few times, the potty-training stars have aligned and you’ve actually used your potty appropriately. When you do, we heap tons of praise on you. And now you return the favor! Whenever I go potty, you encourage me with a very upbeat, “Good girl, mommy!” Oh how you make me laugh!
We’ve been working on sharing and taking turns this month too, and I’m so proud of how well you’re learning this tough toddler skill! I realized you’d finally grasped the concept when I saw you projecting it on your own toys. You were playing with your toy farm animals the other day, and you had the goat eating hay. Then you said, “Sheep’s turn!” and removed the goat and let the sheep eat hay. Later, you were having a tea party on your new table, and the panda bear was in the other chair. You said, “Ok, doggie’s turn!” And off the panda bear went to make room for the doggie. It may seem like a simple thing, but I was very excited to watch you practicing what we’d been teaching you, and without any prompting from us.
Oh sweet Camille, while watching you play today, there were so many times I thought, “I can’t believe how big she is!” You are playing and running and talking so much – and I’m so glad one of your favorite things to say is still “Hi Mommy!” This year, you seem so much more like a little girl, and less and less like a baby. I think you know this too, because whenever I scoop you up in my arms and hold you like a baby, you say, “Mille baby!” and you laugh like it’s a funny joke. I feel very mixed about that, because I still love holding you like a baby and cuddling you close. But at the same time, I’m so excited to watch you grow and to experience your childhood with you. You are an amazing girl, and everything your Daddy and I could have wanted, and we will cherish each phase of our lives with you. Thank your for blessing my life so much. Sleep well, little two-year-old … my big girl who will always be my baby.
Miss Camille got to be the birthday princess at baby school today when we had a little classroom birthday party. Last year we brought cupcakes and I thought about doing that again, but her hands-down-favorite treat right now is a popsicle. I felt a little badly for a millisecond that I wasn’t baking her party treat myself, but I got over it pretty quickly because it’s her party and it’s what she’d prefer anyway.
So this afternoon we had a popsicle party! All the kids were so cute seated at their tables, waiting for their popsicles. Some waited quietly and patiently, while others kept shouting “popsicle!” at me us as we distributed the goodies – but I thought they were a pretty well-behaved group for a bunch of toddlers!
I like this picture, because the birthday princess is happily eating her popsicle while the others are waiting. As it should be.
The party went well enough until it came to a crashing halt. Literally. Camille finished her popsicle, got up from the table and started running around the room, laughing. She’d run from one end to the other while everyone watched, and if I had to guess I’d say she was showing off a little, because it was her party after all. But then she got going a little too fast and ran smack into a wall (the popsicles were sugar-free, I swear!).
I couldn’t tell at first if she’d really hurt herself or just her feelings, but she was bawling pretty good. Then we saw the blood. Poor thing cut her tongue, and her top lip was swelling.
So there were plenty of tears, but her teacher got her some ice chips and that seemed to calm her down. Poor little kiddo! I felt so badly for her. Here’s hoping her party here on Saturday is all popsicle and no tears!
I’ve learned a lot about health insurance over the last several months. The basic take-home message: our private health insurance options suck. Period.
When I left my government job to join Lee at Heideldesign, I also left our government benefits behind. I haven’t regretted the decision to leave once, but finding adequate private health insurance was tougher than I expected.
I did a lot of research online, talked with friends, and even asked a couple of doctors for recommendations. I was surprised by how difficult it was to find an insurance plan with maternity benefits. We wanted to keep our options open in case we wanted to have another child at some point, but many plans simply didn’t offer maternity coverage. The ones that did seemed outrageous. One company had decent family plans, but maternity coverage alone would cost an extra $160 per month, and the MAX it would pay out in maternity benefits was $4,000. I know with Camille, my OB/GYN bill alone was $6,000, and that didn’t include the hospital stay and associated surgical charges. Four grand is a drop in the bucket.
We finally applied with Assurant Health Care, and while the coverage wasn’t as good as my state benefits plan, we felt we could live with it. The application process was long and painful, but finally – my last day at work in my old job – we got a call from Assurant. Basically, they said congrats, you’re covered! Except…
No coverage for Lee’s allergies or any related sinus trouble. No coverage for anything having to do with Camille’s ears (there is a good chance she could have to have her tubes replaced at some point and that would be a hefty bill to pay out-of-pocket). And no coverage for a c-section.
Well that’s crap, because my doc has already told me I have no option but a c-section if we have another baby. I asked them, “So you’re basically telling me your maternity coverage is worthless to me?” “Yeah. Sorry.”
I was so mad. They had, in essence, denied us. I mean, what good was their so-called coverage if it wouldn’t actually cover the things we’d be most likely to need? Here I was, willing to pay steep prices for private health insurance, and getting such a crappy deal. And I was terrified the next company would give us the same answer.
Finally, we were accepted by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ga, with coverage for Camille’s ears and maternity benefits that don’t exclude c-section (still no help with Lee’s allergies). Our health insurance bill is considerably higher than my car payment, and even so, we’ll still each have to spend a couple thousand dollars in a year before we get a penny in assistance for anything other than checkups. But if something major happens, I feel much better to know we’re covered. And I was pleased to find out that all our regular physicals and checkups are covered, so at least they’re encouraging preventive care.
I don’t know the answer to all our healthcare problems, but it’s much easier for me to understand now why so many people are uninsured. It’s tough to get accepted, and tough to pay the premiums. Our country ought to be able to do better.
I love grass. In fact, I think I’m addicted. It makes me feel relaxed and peaceful. And Camille seems to really like it too.
You know. Grass. Sod. A nice green lawn in the backyard.
When Lee and I bought this house almost three years ago, we knew the backyard needed some work. But we had bigger fish to fry (the kitchen overhaul), and then our lives got really busy (had a baby) and not much happened to the backyard.
At one time, it was probably a really nice backyard. The info sheet that came with the house when we bought it listed dozens of exotic plants, etc., but the house hadn’t been lived in for a bit and the backyard resembled a jungle more than a garden. Then it became the dog’s yard, and the little bit of grass that existed between the vines and bushes got trampled.
Then we had Camille. Then she got older and learned to walk. Then she decided being outside was AWESOME! And then we really wanted a kid-friendly backyard.
I would never let her in our old backyard. I’m pretty sure the weeds choked out any of the exotic plants that were once there, and some poison ivy may have grown in as well. There were mysterious mounds of earth that I feared the previous owners used to hide the bodies. There were lots of mosquitoes, and probably snakes, spiders, and even a sasquatch. And dog poo.
We have several great parks in walking distance of our house, but I got tired of packing a diaper bag just to go outside. I really wanted to be able to go outside with Camille in my jammies with a cup of coffee. And as much as Camille loves water, I wanted to be able to turn on the sprinkler and just let her run. I didn’t just want that, I felt like I NEEDED that.
So thanks to Uncle Sam’s economic stimulus check, we decided to re-do the backyard. We didn’t particularly want to spend all the money it would cost to have something really nicely landscaped, with flowers and water features, etc. And frankly, I didn’t want a bunch of fancy stuff that I’d have to tell Camille not to touch. We had 2 basic requests – get rid of the jungle. Have a kid-friendly backyard with a lot of grass.
I’m kicking myself for not taking any “before” pictures, because it really was a mess back there and these photos do not begin to do it justice. Lee snagged these as the work got started and the bulldozer was brought in to help remove several large trees and the sasquatch.
Note Millie’s little “fence within a fence” configuration at the bottom of the photo. That’s another long story for another post. But at least it’s keeping her from destroying our new grass.
Another “in progress” photo.
Lee and I also wanted a small patio, and decided to save a few bucks and do it ourselves. Not sure that was a good idea. We stayed up many a late night laying those stones – each one weighed 21 pounds and leveling them was a total pain. But at least we have a place for our table and chairs now!
I love sod – an instant backyard! Here are a couple of “after” photos.
We didn’t put sod under the holly tree because it provides such wonderful shade that the grass wouldn’t likely grow. So we’re going to fill it in with pine straw and eventually let that be a kid play area with a kid-sized table and chairs, etc. And maybe the straw will help cushion the falls of any kids who try to climb the holly tree in the future.
Best of all, Camille loves her new backyard. We let her look out the window while the workers were laying the sod, and she exclaimed, “Grass! More grass!”
And this is the “after” picture that I love best – our girl enjoying her very own backyard:
We did have a minor setback yesterday when she was running around barefoot in the grass and apparently stepped on a bee. But we all survived, and this weekend we plan to enjoy even more time in our grassy backyard haven.
I couldn’t write about this trip without dedicating a whole section to the hike Lee, Dad and I took one day. It’s a hike my family did when I was 11, and I remembered it as gorgeous, but a bit tough, with fairly steep sections and at an altitude where snow fields can often be seen near the path.
The park rangers warned us that the trail was more challenging this year because there was more snow pack than usual, but that only enticed me further since I’m from the snow-deprived south and love the white stuff. So we took off, all feeling quite ambitious about our adventure.
The trip up the mountain was exhilarating. The scenery was amazing and worth every upward step, and I was happy to see snow fields along the edge of our path.
Yeah, my pants legs are rolled up in that picture like a big dork, but that’s because as we got closer to the top of the trail, the snow got deeper and deeper and crept over into the path. I was trying to keep my pants dry. Try being the operative word, and I did not succeed. Soon we were trudging through the snow in our jeans and soaked tennis shoes, often taking sinking steps that found us in thigh-high drifts. We lost the trail a few times because of the snow, but thankfully Dad had done the hike in recent years and knew which direction to follow.
We finally reached the summit after considerably more time than we expected, but the views were a great reward.
We sat on a rocky overlook, hanging on to our hats and bags as the wind whipped down from Notchtop Mountain. We could see lakes and other mountains below, and felt nearly even with the clouds.
As much as we enjoyed our hike up, we didn’t relish the idea of battling the snowfields again. We ran into some cross-country skiers who told us if we followed the trail down the other side of the mountain instead of retracing our steps, we’d probably encounter less snow pack. It was a longer trek, but we figured we’d make better time anyway without the snow.
And the skiers were right – to a point. Eventually there was less snow on the other trail, but the first part of that downward trail was really tricky. The path gripped the side of the mountain with a steep drop to one side. To make matters worse, the little bit of snow pack we had to traverse crossed this part of the path. That meant we had to find our way across the narrow, snow-covered trail, hoping the few footprints in front of us were on track. The path cut across some steep spots where, if you slipped, you’d likely roll like a snowball until you were stopped abruptly by the rocks below. This picture does not do it justice.
After several tense crossings, the snow began to disappear, but we weren’t out of the woods yet (pun intended). The trail was considerably longer than we expected (7.5 miles), and what we thought initially would be a 4-5 hour trip took almost 8. Toward the end, I was sure my shoes were made of lead and that my legs would surely fall off. We didn’t bring nearly enough water, and I was so thirsty by the end of the hike that it was hard to speak. I’d never been so happy to see a shuttle bus as when one pulled alongside the road to take us to our car (and our extra bottles of water).
But despite the rough ending, it really was a thrilling hike up the mountain. And I won’t soon forget how it felt to sit on that rocky overlook at the top and feel like I’d conquered the world with my two favorite men by my side.
Our Colorado adventure was a great trip, and since Camille is too young to remember any of it, we’ll just have to do it again someday because these are some sweet memories.
I loved having a full week to spend with my parents, and I know Camille did too. Nana and Granddaddy properly spoiled us, and Dad and I took a nice hike up the cabin’s mountain road where we enjoyed fantastic sunset views of the surrounding peaks and valley.
I also loved spending so much time with Lee and Camille. Lee and I even snuck away to the Estes Park Brewery to have a drink and celebrate our 7th wedding anniversary. I sat in the booth across from my sweet husband, thinking how pleased I would have been seven years ago to know we’d be spending our anniversary still very much in love, and on a fun vacation with our daughter, family and friends.
Jeff, Michelle and Stella joined us for the second half of the vacation. Camille really liked Baby Stella, who has the habit of flashing the most adorable smile when she’s happy, which is almost all the time.
I enjoyed spending more time with her, and while Camille napped one afternoon and Stella’s parents took a hike (literally), we snuck outside and played on the swing. And later, when Camille woke up, the two girls continued the tea party tradition, played with the toy zoo set, or chatted on the phone.
One morning, Lee, Jeff, Michelle and I took a horseback ride up a winding mountain trail, and it was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It had been so long since I’d been on a horse, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed it.
This was Lee’s first horseback ride, and I was very glad he was willing to give it a try – and he did great. We saw lots of pretty scenery and some baby elk and their mamas. And I took in deep breaths of leather and horse hair – a combination I find intoxicating, strange though it may sound. It felt very good to be in the saddle again.
The only thing better than the beautiful scenery of Colorado’s mountains was the company of people I love and dearly miss. My parents rented a cabin in Estes Park and invited us to come along for a week. The house was tucked into the woods off a gravel mountainside road where the cool breezes were a wonderful respite from Savannah’s heat. You could hear the wind building before it came blowing through the windows. From those same windows we could see snow-capped peaks and the occasional deer and coyote, and lots of hummingbirds. Camille particularly liked all the little rocks on the gravel driveway, meticulously picking out a stone for each of us. “Mommy rock,” she would say as she placed it in my hand.
Instead of writing about the trip in one post, I’m going to break it into 3: The Friends, The Family, and The Hike.
The Friends
Anna, Jason and Elliot joined us for the first half of the trip. My heart was racing as we walked through the airport, I was so excited to see them and finally meet Elliot. She was even cuter than in all the pictures (as if that were possible – her pics are so cute!), and Camille seemed a bit starstruck. After all, she watches online videos of Elliot all the time, so to her, that’s one famous baby!
The girls hit it off, although Camille is very much in a “mine” phase and wasn’t always sure about sharing her toys. Elliot gave her an awesome tea set for her birthday, and Camille LOVED it! She even slept with a plate. And thankfully, there were enough plates and saucers that she was happy to share with her friend, and the two had many a tea party.
Unfortunately for Anna and Elliot, they had to spend part of their vacation dealing with a stomach flu. But we still managed to take the girls for a couple of “hikes” around lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park. “Hikes” is in quotes because they were really more like strolls – no steep inclines or anything. But lots of nice views and plenty of baby ducks, so we were all happy.
Camille was a champ in her backpack, and wore her hat to protect her face from sunburn – most of the time.
Elliot enjoyed watching Camille run around – we called it Cami TV. And Camille enjoyed hamming it up, and would often dance while Elliot laughed at her. And these were no little giggles, they were full-on belly laughs. Lee captured this video, and I think it’s priceless.
Laughing Little Girls from Ginger on Vimeo.
I didn’t get the stomach flu, thankfully, but I felt like throwing up when they drove away from the cabin to catch their flight back home. I hate that we live so far away from each other, but at the same time I’m grateful we can still stay in touch. I envision many more tea parties in the future for Camille and Elliot.
Lee and I have talked about potty training. We bought a little potty a couple of months ago and put it in our bathroom. And that’s about as far as our potty training has gone. Camille thought the potty was pretty cool when we first got it, and she’d often ask to sit on it, but it seemed like more of a throne than a potty with a purpose.
So tonight, when Mommy had to go tinkle (TMI – I know) Camille came along and asked to sit on her potty. I didn’t think much of it, but sat her up there and handed her a few books. And then suddenly – THERE WAS POO POO IN HER POTTY! I was excited and also a little freaked out because it was so unexpected. It’s not like we’ve been really talking to her about it or pushing the issue AT ALL. We just haven’t been in a big hurry. We don’t even have pull-ups or training pants. Do we need to buy flushable wipes? I feel clueless. I haven’t even bought a potty training book! How am I supposed to master a particular parenting skill without a proper manual?
I called for Lee so he could witness the momentous occasion and also supply some additional praise and congratulations to the big girl. She really didn’t act like it was a big deal, and it may have been a matter of good timing on our part and not necessarily a signal that she’s ready to be done with diapers. But I think it does mean some pull-up diapers are on my next shopping list, and I’ll have to dedicate at least a little time tonight to seeing what my good friend google has to say on the issue of potty-training.
I called my mom after the blessed event to tell her the good news. She got on the phone with Camille and asked her if she went poo poo in the potty. And Camille – who usually clams up on the phone – must’ve been feeling at least a little proud because she answered with a big, “Yes!”
