Hair cut!

A hair cut that was long overdue... and I didn't even cry!

The 'before' hair

The wonderful stylist is Camille God Mother, Amy

Camille shows us the hair from the floor... yuck!
The final cut... Camille loves it! We think it's pretty cute too!

My old friend

Missing you today... and always...

Rockie

3/17/92 - 7/26/06
"...owning a dog always ended with this sadness because dogs just don't live as long as people do."

- John Grogan, Marley & Me

A Trip to the State Fair!

Despite the oppressively hot weather, we had an awsome time at the State Fair.

Camille was chosen to participate in a kids game show called "Yuck!" Her team won their challange!

Camille loved being on the stage and she did a terrific job!

There is nothing quite like green shave ice to cool you down on a hot day!

Vacation Bible School Wrap-up

Camille attended her very first week of Vacation Bible School. It was a great experience for her and she could not wait to return each night. At the end of the week, the VBS had a program for the parents.

2008 Pre-K/ Kindergarden Class

Camille shows off her project.
Camille with her best buddy from daycare, Hannah

This was the Pre K/Kindergarden presentation at the end of the week.

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY!

Today is the third anniversary of the BEST day of our lives...

Happy Gotcha Day, Camille! We love you to the moon... and back!

But who's counting?

MySpace Countdown Clocks

Mimi's sundresses

Three sundresses that Mimi made for Camille this year! No doubt we will get at least 2 summers out of them (especially the long green dress!) We love them all... thank you Mimi!

*Footnote: In the photo above, I captured Camille's halo... I always knew she was an angel!

Loving LBI

It's no secret, Camille loves the beach. It's all she's talked about all week! We're going to the shore the first week in August. Here's a drawing Camille did this week of "Mommy and Camille splashing in the big ocean."

It's a Girl!

My family is not very big, so a new baby is a welcomed event! My cousin David and his wife Desree delivered a baby girl at 6:30 this morning. Incidentally, today is also my father-in-law, Mort's, 87th birthday. Here are the details on the new arrival:

Kora Kate

8 lbs even

19 1/2 inches

Mom and baby are happy and healthy!

Congratulations to David and Desree and also to my Aunt Kristen and Uncle Rod who are first-time grandparents today!

Weekend on LBI

We spent an absolutely incredible weekend at Ted and Eve's house on LBI... Here are some photos from the weekend:

Camille enjoys lunch with Alexandra, George, Nico, Adrianna, Daniella, Kassiani and Michelle.

Camille plays in the sand with Kaylee and her brother Trevor.

Kassiani and Camille run from the waves!
Camille, Alexandra and Kassiani

Mike with Kassiani
The kids are ready to get the party started!

Camille "babysits" Johnny's daughter, Leena.
Baby Leena and Stamatis
Ted with his son Stamatis.
Nicole holding Will, Mike holding Leena and Johnny.

Fourth of July Bike Parade

The morning started out a bit rainy, so there were not as many bikes as we would have liked. The rain did not deter Camille, she was ready to go!

Our hard work paid off! Camille won FIRST place and $75 cash prize!

Getting ready for the Bike Parade!

This is Camille's first year participating in the local Fourth of July Bike Parade. Our town invites the children to participate in the Fourth of July parade by decorating their bikes. Here's Camille's entry (with a little help from Mom).

The Before shot:

Camille works on the bike:
And she works some more...
She chose to put bears in the basket.
The finished product!
We think it's pretty snazzy!

Mirror Writing

Camille is a "Mirror writer" . Mirror writing is formed by writing in the reverse direction than is natural for a given language such that the result is the mirror image of normal writing: it appears normal when it is reflected in a mirror. We discovered that Camille was a mirror writer when she started writing her name on her own. When she copies her name, either by tracing or looking at the letters, she writes it correctly. When she doesn't have the correct letters to look at, she writes her name in precise mirror image. Here's an example I found this morning on her chalkboard:
At first, we were very concerned. But after talking to a child development specialist, our minds have been put at ease. It turns out that about 1 in 6500 kids is a mirror writer. It is most common in left-handed children and Camille is left-handed. It is NOT considered an early sign of dyslexia or other learning disabilities and, in most cases, a child who mirror writes will self-correct with practice. Leonardo DiVinci was a mirror writer, so was Lewis Carroll (author of Alice in Wonderland).