One Step, Two Step, Three Step, Kerplunk!

Camia has officially started to make attempts to maneuver around other than her speedy gonzalas crawling method. On Sunday she took her first official three steps! Never mind the fact that she was falling while doing it, she still did it! We were visiting with Ryan's family for lunch on Sunday and she walked from me to her Uncle Don. I am excited to think what excitement and exercise and adventure this will bring when we go camping in a few weeks. Today again, we were visiting with my friend and she walked one step from the coffee table to the couch. I have seen her balance without holding onto anything for the past week or so, but not really take any progressive steps. While at one point in her life she refused to even take one step if she was not holding onto two of your fingers, she now will walk confidently while holding onto one finger. She walk ever so confidently behind her walking toy, I am just waiting for her to forget she has it and walk without holding onto it.

My bean is growing up!

She has become more affectionate in the last month or so as well, she just wants to sit, cuddle and read a book. She brings me books to read and tries ever so hard to pull herself in my lap. She also loves sharing a snack and has added a few words other than 'oooo' and 'all gone' to her vocabulary. She now says (although not very audible at times) 'Thank you' and 'uh oh' (not always at the applicable times, but she still knows how to say it.) It did not take long to get her to say thank you and uh oh, and even though we work on 'mommy' every day, she still stares at my lips as if in a trance with her lips in a slight o shape without trying to form the word herself. She also has learned what a doggy says: "what does a doggy say, Camia?" "oof oof". I know this to be a distinct formation of words because if I ask her any time, she always says 'oof oof. :).

Pucker up!

Camia for the first time responded to me when I say 'give mommy a kiss'. She puckers up and moves in ever so slowly, but she gives her mommy a kiss with her mouth closed and no slobber on her lips.

A Walk At Mill Lake

Today was yet another nice day and I headed out to Abbotsford to walk around Mill Lake with my friends Jennifer and Melissa and their gorgeous babes. After walking around twice, we headed to the park where we frolicked and chilled. Since there were only 2 baby swings, and one was being used, we decided to put Camia and Sidney in the same swing. It all worked well, the girls didn't seem to mind too much.

A picture I love of my babe and I:

This That and A Visit To The Doctor

Thursday was not a fun day for Camia and I. Things were not going as smoothly as one would hope or would like.

It all started with Camia's routinely visit to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon for those shots we all should have had when we were that young. The visit went well. She surprised the doctor by sitting completely still on the weigh scale (I'm surprised she sat still for that long) and weighed in at a healthy 21 lbs. Her length was measured, and calculated to 70-something centimetres. The doctor was very happy with where she is at. He was super quick with all 4 shots, he was done withing 5 seconds, I am sure. Camia cried like there was no tomorrow, but I was not too concerned becuase she did this on her previous appointments too. She layed super still (which, again, is uncharacteristic of her). She was a happy babe before we left the doctors office.

Tuesday night I got asked as a last minute thing to help my mom at her work to go up somewhere inbetween Harrison and Aggasiz to hang hanging baskets and fix irrigation lines for a company that builds showhomes to sell property. Apparently they have these lots for sale that will have a magnificant view of the 'Mighty Fraser River'. This involved our day starting at 5 to get Ryan out the door so he could be at work by 6:15 in Cloverdale so I could be at work at 6:45 in Abbotsford. My mom and her boss insisted that I take my bambino with me, so she joined in on the fun at about 5:30 in the morning. After a day in the hot sun hoisting 14, 16, 18, and 24 inch baskets onto lamp posts using a crude man made pully system, and with a nice breeze to cool us off ( I didn't even feel hot as I burned my skin under the rays), we headed back to the greenhouse where my mom works and stripped Camia down to let her frolic in the puddles. After I watered everything in the greenhouse, I took the hose and hosed Camia down, to which she responded with her infectious giggle and big blue-eyed smile. Life was good. Thursday morning started out pleasant as well. Camia and I got some play time in, and things went rather smoothly. I enjoyed some cold water with my mother in law in the afternoon as well as some conversation, and as soon as she left is when the party began. Camia woke up just as she stepped out the door, and things went so progressively downhill that by the time Ryan got home at after 6, I think I may have been sobbing harder than my baby.

The previous entry is Thursday night. It got to a point where I panicked because after dinner I picked Camia up out of her highchair to bring her to the bath Ryan had prepared, and she would not bend her right leg. I tried to bend it for her but it would not bend. After not much trying, Ryan was bending her leg for her and I called Joy, my sister in law who has all the answers when I am in tears or need advice for feeding a sick babe. (psst!! She knows everything!!! Almost.) She convinced me that I did the right thing in getting Camia her shots and that she was choosing to not bend her leg because it hurt, not because she couldn't. By the end of our conversation I felt better. She also told me that with all of her girls, she would have rough days on day 2 and day 10 after the shots. I have passed day 2. Day 10 is 5 days away. Joy told me to come visit her on friday, an invitaion I readily accepted. She told me to be prepared for a rough night with Camia.

Friday dawned into yet another gorgeous day, and I realized that I had not gotten up once to tend to Camia. Thats not to say that she did not sleep through the night. She didn't. But when she was awake, she did not cry. She played in her bed. Ryan and I left her to play, shut the moniter off and went back to sleep. Camia slept until 10:00. Since I did not have a car that day, I packed Camia in her stroller and headed out to Joy's house.

It took me a grand total of approximately 30 minutes to walk, with stop times needed to decipher a trail map that Joy had drawn for me several months ago and to feed Camia cookies to keep her happy. After a good visit with Joy and her 2 girls and Lindas 2 kids, Joy drove me home, and life went on in the household of the Sikma's. Life, once again, is good. (and I still love my baby :D )

Pasta: A favourite past time

Camia loves pasta for dinner. Actually, I can't name one thing that she would not want for dinner. Its a fabulous thing, to have a child who will eat anything we put in front of her. Some tell me that this will last until she is 2. Then she will not want to eat any veggies and will be very fussy. I hope that this does not prove to be true when it comes to the end of the 358 days that are left in her second year of life. Somehow, she manages to get pasta everywhere, and we muse while watching her eat. It is a known fact that if we have a pasta night, we also have a bath night.

She giggled so much during dinner:

And then heard a bird:

She's gotten into pointing at things she likes (like dogs (and now birds)) or wants:

I love her blue blue eyes:

My happy baby who loves pasta:

An Evening Swim

A warm Thursday afternoon turned into a warm Thursday night and the house was not yet at the point of cooling down, so Camia got to experience her first 'evening swim' at around 8:00 in the backyard pool. 

Spoiled Little Girl

For her birthday, Camia was spoiled when it came to gifts she received from friends and family.

A dress and matching sweater from my grandparents on my mothers side.

Her gifts from her parents...she has not yet gotten into dolls, so the cabbage patch doll is kind of pushed to the side. It sits on her display shelf in her bedroom.

Her gifts from my friends. She loves this book. its called "That's Not My Princess" from Usborne Books.

She got this toy from my parents since the life jacket they had originally bought her did not fit properly. It was returned, and this was given in its place. There are 3 balls that go in the pelicans mouth which are scattered around the house.

And these are the toys from Ryan's side of the family. She has fun playing with these as well, especially the camera from Auntie Joy.

3rd birthday party

Today we headed to the lake to have a birthday party with a few close friends for Camia. Even though it was not sunny, Camia and I went swimming anyways. I found it quite re-freshing and, although she did not complain, Camia did for the most part as well. For this birthday I made an inch worm for Camia, following a 'tutorial' I watched on You-tube and using a bunt pan that I picked up at Value Village for $1. 

 

2nd Birthday Party

On Thursday we had Ryan's family over for a little birthday party and I used left over cake pieces to re-construct the caterpillar cake. It was beautiful weather so all the kids sat outside to eat cake, thus eliminating a huge mess to clean up.

And, after looking at a friends blog, decided to try collaging my photos instead of uploading 6 or 7 photos to my blog, thus allowing me for more photos as blogger only allows so many pictures per post. I am able to do this by downloading and installing Picassa 3 onto my pc. If you click on the picture, it will open in a new window so you can see a bigger image of it. Hopefully it works and is not too blurry.

Mommy, Read Me A Story!

Yesterday I had to smile as Camia had decided it was story time for the first time in her short little precious life. I was otherwise occupied when she found the books that we read almost every night or at some point in the day and brought them to me and tried to pull herself up on my lap. (She's been trying do pull herself up on things quite a bit lately) While I read, she points to the pictures and exclaims, as she usually does to everything, 'oo! ooo! oo!' What does a doggy day, Camia? 'ooo ooo oo!" What does a horsy say? 'ooo ooo oo!" Where's Daddy? 'ooo ooo oo ooo!' I think its time to introduce a new word into her vocabulary. We're currently working on 'thank you' since she's got 'all gone' pretty much down pat. We tried mommy and daddy, but she has not quiet developed a sound other than 'ooo ooo ooo' for those words either. When asked to say thank you, she does make a sound that has 2 syllables and doesnt sounds like the usual oo oo. Well, its ok. She is only one, after all!

Summer Fun

Wednesday was so warm that I decided it was time to pull out the swimming pool that I had purchased on special after summer last year from London Drugs, thinking that I would give it a day or two to warm up so Camia could go swimming. 

I have been trying to organise a beach day and head out to Aldergrove Lake, but it seemed that things just came up, thus preventing us from enjoying this luxury so early in the summer. So, the pool will have to suffice until this beach day happens. Its a good thing summer has only just begun! 

Yesterday after I was finished doing the majority of my house-cleaning duties, I decided to pull out the old swim suit and lounge in the pool while Camia napped. I did, honestly, set up the pool intending it for Camia's pleasure. And then I thought, why should it go unused while she naps? I was going to read my new issue of Canadian Living, but as I was lying there, I just had the sudden impulse to just lay and relax in the sun and do nothing. I layed there for 45 minutes before I went inside to get Camia from her nap. What glorious summer fun! :) 

Straight away from picking Camia up from her nap, I put a swimmer on, her little bathing suit and we sat in the pool for another hour or so where she frolicked and had so much fun. She crawled around the pool at the edges and flopped around on her tummy, splashing water in her face and loving every minute of it. As part of her goody bag from her little friends birthday party on Monday, she got a watering can and had fun with it by putting water in it and then shaking it all about. I would fill it, and pour it back in the pool, and she would put her little face under the shower and drink it as it fell.

I can sense that this summer is going to be full of fun and adventure as my baby develops into a toddler and becomes more interactive and more explorative! (here's to hoping!!:) )

A New Discovery: Watermelon

Camia likes watermelon. But only if its the kind she can chew off the rind herself, if its available. Yesterday we went to a park in Chilliwack for Beth's first birthday party, and Beths mom provided some sweet, yummy watermelon...probably the best I've tasted all year. Camia loved it too!

One down, 2 to go!

This week seems to be the week of parties for little people. Camia turns 1 on Friday and one of her little friends turned 1 yesterday. Yesterday we went to a park in Chilliwack to celebrate Beth's birthday, and Sunday we had a Post-side of the family birthday party for Camia, including all 4 of her great-grandparents. For her first of three parties, I made her a caterpillar cake. It was so hot at my parents house while I was decorating the cake that the icing started to melt, and thus the goopy looking face. I tried to clean it up, but wasnt all that successful. 

She loved it when she was sang to.

Camia was given a beautiful knitted dress and matching sweater from her great-grandmother on my mothers side, hopefully it will fit her this winter. 

She was also given a life jacket, which will be helpful when we go camping this summer that she was not so excited about.

And, of course, she loved her cake!