Happy Birthday Riley!

Today is Riley's First Birthday! Happy Birthday to our lovable pooch!

Christmas in Disney!

Boy did we have fun!!!

Gingerbread House

Camille spent last weekend with Mimi. Together they made this gingerbread house. Camille was soooo proud of it. She also wanted to eat it. She bugged me enough that I broke off a corner of the roof for her. Judging by the reaction of Camille's first bite, I think the house looks a lot better than it tastes!

We are off to Disney tomorrow. I am taking cameras and video cameras (especially for dining with the princesses!) but we are not taking a computer, so you'll have to wait until after Christmas to enjoy the photos from the trip. Merry Christmas everyone! We're outta here!

A star is born?

My first ever job was one I did when I was nine. I walked dogs in my neighborhood; 25 cents per dog. We didn't have a dog and I loved them. Owners who bought a walk for their dog really got their money's worth.

Camille is 3 years old and has received her first paycheck. How? Recently she went to a casting call for a Goddard School TV commercial. It was a no-brainer for the casting director and Camille easily landed the part. The commerical shoot earned her the very first paycheck. And, she had a great time doing the commercial shoot. She wasn't at all intimidated by the lights, cameras and people all around and she had a terrific time playing with other kids who were at the shoot too!

LRF Christmas Party

Each year the Little Rock Foundation hosts a holiday party for visually impaired children and their families. This year's party was one of the best ever! Thank you Tina and Rocco for extending the invitation to our family. We had a great time! Here's just a tiny portion of the day.

Camille LOVES makeup...

So face-painting was a big hit!

Daddy tried on some crazy glasses!
Our friend BettyAnn watched Camille at the duckpond...
Then she helped Camille play the maze game!
BettyAnn and Karly with Camille.

Next Camille decorated her own snowflake. She also did spin art and watched a magic show!

Then Camille got to visit the Jolly man himself!

Friday Family FotoFun Challange - All Dolled Up

Modeling this year's Christmas dress...





For more FFFFC participants, Click HERE.

Colors of the Season

Ah, the colors of the Christmas Season... traditionally red and green; at our house, mostly red.


Unfortunately, Camille suffers from chronic, frequent nosebleeds. It's a fact of life for us... the first was one that I most unpleasantly encountered happened when Camille was 13 months old. I went into her room one morning to find her covered in blood from head to toe, the crib looked like someone had slaughtered the fattened calf in it. In the last 2 1/2 years, nosebleeds have caused us to leave early and occasionally take trips to the ER. We battle the nosebleeds a couple times a week throughout the year, but winter, with dry weather and viruses, causes daily battles. Yesterday was a record breaker with a total of 4 significant nosebleeds in just one day. The nosebleeds are often spontaneous, occurring for no reason at all. Sometimes they occur after sneezing and other times a small bump can start one.



The American Academy of Pediatrics has great information on nosebleeds in kids. Our journey has lead us to seek care from specialists including an ENT and hematologist. Camille has been recommended for a minor surgical procedure to cauterize her nose. Because this procedure requires general anesthesia and a trip to the operating room, we are trying other options right now.

Camille has bad cold today. We will likely keep her home from school for a couple of days. We'll see how she does and if we can keep the nosebleeds under control for now.

Pottery Painting

Camille and her best friend Hannah went to a place to paint pottery. The girls had a great time painting (glazing) ceramic ornaments to give as gifts for Christmas this year.

Friday Family FotoFun Challange - Hair

Finally! A FFFFC I can get behind! I too am a lover of little girl hairstyles, bows, etc. In her referral photo, Camille was the baby with the LONGEST hair! I brought hair stuff with me to China (silly me!) Here's a very narrow example of Camille's hair through the ages!

Gotcha Hair

Wet Hair
First Ponies (5 months after Gotcha Day!)
A favorite pony shot of mine.
Chinese New Year Hair
Wavy Hair
Wedding Hair

Braids

Beautiful BROWN hair from the back!

Has your bath water ever been this dirty?

But seriously... Camille got a new tub toy. Crayola Jungle Explorer bath fun complete with "mud soap". It looked like mud, felt like mud and turned the water a muddy color, but it smelled wonderful and was lots of fun! Leave it to Crayola to invent such a fun toy.

What a difference...

... a couple of years can make! Here is our sweet Camille with Bop (her grandfather) on Thanksgiving day 2005

And here she is with Mimi and Bop yesterday, just 2 years later... my has she grown!

Friday Family FotoFun Challange - Thankful

Lissa asked: "What are you most thankful for?" I could use the standard answer that I think ALL of us are thankful for, good health, our families, our home, etc. But this year, I have something a little different in mind... it has to do with our new (as of February) dog, Riley. While she is very cute and mostly sweet, we've had a lot of behavioral issues with her that we have not been able to crack. At my wits end, Mike called the veterinarian to see what could be done. The vet recommended Bark Busters, so we called them and a local trainer agreed to come to our house on Wednesday. The trainer was fabulous. She spent 3 1/2 hours at our home and it's like we have a completely new dog! Seriously... 180 degree change in behaviour. We are so happy with the results and they offer a lifetime gaurantee. So this year, I am thankful for Bark Busters!

Brown

My friend Deb bought a peacoat and matching hat from ebay for her daughter. It's Gymboree and is sized 4 Years. It must run small because Deb was disappointed that it didn't fit her daughter, Hannah, but she decided to give the coat to Camille. The coat is beautiful; jet black. You can really see how brown Camille's hair is...

One of our Chinese friends told me that little Asian girls with brown hair are like little Caucasian girls with blond hair. Interesting...

First time on the high-speed line!

Camille has been asking for weeks and weeks to go on the "choo-choo train"... our local comuter train know locally as the high-speed line. We had a free Saturday morning (rare these days) so we took her. Boy was she thrilled!

Camille & Daddy purchase tickets.

Then we headed through the turnstile.
We waited on the platform for the train. It was chilly!
Camille sits in her very own seat for her first ride.
She was sure to warn us not to stand on the "lellow part" of the platform!

We really had a fun morning; first time on the train!

Help! We need your vote!

By commenting on this blog, please help us choose this year's Christmas card photo from the 3 choices below:

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