33 Weeks Along

Here I - or my belly is - am 33 weeks and 3 days along. I am excited to think that I have around 4 weeks and 4 days to go! I don't think there is anything I would like more right now that to not be pregnant. While with my pregnancy with Camia I was a basketcase the first 4 or 6 weeks, this time around I have been holding it together. Except this past Wednesday. I was a basketcase. I had reached the point where I had had enough and was ready to march into something and demand a C-section. Or something to make me go into labour. I have been fighting a cold for around 6 weeks now, with it starting in my chest and moving to my head and then turning into a nasty sinus infection, and then retreating back into a head cold. I am excited to meet this little person, and am counting the days - around 33 - until I get to meet him/her. The thing I pray for the most these days in pateince. And energy. And comfort, because there is nothing comfortable about being 8 months pregnant! :)

 

VBS

This year again I registered Camia for VBS. Again I was a kitchen helper, which I enjoyed a lot. It was quite busy, with having to prepare around 160 snacks for the kids this year every day, but being busy was great, since when I am busy, the time goes faster, and right now time flying is a good thing.  Camia really enjoyed herself too, but by Friday, I could tell she had had enough. As had I. Even though being a kitchen helper is fun and exciting, being on my feet all week took it's toll on me. Often I was exhausted by noontime, and so we spent most of the afternoons at the beach, since it was hot that whole week.

The preschool group, singing a song for the parents and grandparents at closing assembly.

 Waiting oh so patiently for her snack

Lake Front Property

As it often does, my parents back/side yard flooded this year with seepage from the river. The water got to almost 4 feet deep, and for the first time since they moved there almost 20 years ago, it went over the road. I remember swimming in this water when I was growing up, and if it wasn't so infested with mosquitos this year, I would have taken Camia there to have a go at it too.

Before the mosquitos got bad, my Mom took her in about a week after the water first started coming up. It was kind of crazy that in less than 7 days, the water had risen around 3 feet.

A few weeks ago, Ryan and I took a weekend for ourselves and Camia had a sleepover at my parents. While I had separation anxiety, Camia had a blast with my parents. We took an inflatable boat to my parents that weekend so they could go boating together. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of it to share.

Beach Days

With it being so warm, and with me having no energy to do anything productive, we have been spending a fair amount of time at the beach, both with friends and with just my mom. A perfect place for a hot day!

Camia loves tp pick up the rocks and toss them in the water

She also loves to play in the sand with her little friends.

Mothers Day

This year for Mother's Day, Camia made a craft for me in Story Hour. It was rather cute, she made the craft on Wednesday and could not wait until Sunday to give it to me. I made her wait, though, and the very first thing she did was give it to me. It was a box covered in tissue paper with 4 chocolate kisses in it. We shared, Camia had two, and Ryan and I each had 1.

 

 Mother and daughter, Mothers Day 2012. Love this girl to bits.

Fishing

Camia had been wanting so badly to go fishing, since sometime when it was still too cold to even bother. My dad promised her that after her birthday he would take her fishing, and by then it should be warm enough. Well, it was still stinking freezing outside. In the middle of June. Quite a few people refer to June as June-uary, since it was January-like temperatures. I was very appreciative of the cold weather, since when it is warm here, it makes my life that much more difficult, being 8 months pregnant an all. I do make an honest effort to not complain since I know it could be worse, I am handling it better than some other pregnant mamma's I know, and most of all, becuase when people complain about the weather, it annoys me to no end since there is nothing anyone can do about it anyways. Why complain about something that you can't change or that you have no control over? I actually read in a book recently - Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges (great book, by the way, highly recommend it) - that complaining is just as much of a sin as stealing or lying or even murder. Complaining against anything is complaining against God, which makes it a sin.

Anyways. Fishing :)

Camia was more interested in the ducks, which we fed even though we aren't supposed to. There were some baby ducks that were simply adorable too.

 Even though Camia handles worms with no issues, she refused to try worm her hook. (I don't really blame her... :) )

 She did hold her rod for a short while...

 The ducks were brave

And Camia caught a fish! We let it go since it was so small.

Camia and her fish (sorry you have to crane your neck, I couldn't rotate the photo, and I don't know why.)

After fishing we went to my parents for a fire and stuck Camia in a tree to get some photo's.

My dad installed a tire swing for Camia, and she had fun on it for a little while.

Friends

A Quip From A Little Mouth

'Daddy! Come check this out!'
(not looking at what she was trying to show) 'Very cool, sweetie!'
'It's not cool! It's an owie!'

I guess she's catching on to when we are distracted and can't look that very second... :)

Swimming Lessons

This year we decided to put Camia in swimming lessons for a couple of reasons. One thing was that it was something to do. I am learning that Camia is the kind of child who needs stimulation and things to do. She needs constant interaction and loves being around other children. Another thing was that we were going through a bit of a rebellious stage and her listening skills were deteriorating. We thought that it would help if she were exposed to listening to someone else other than her parents. She is the kind of child who dances everywhere she goes, who sings constantly and just has a hard time not moving. She is a happy creature, but sometimes hard to keep entertained. I have to admit, I was a little concerned at first because of some things people were saying to me about her. 'What a firecracker you've got there!' 'She won't stop talking!' "I can see why you look so tired all the time!' 'She likes to do her own thing, that is for sure' 'Sometimes she would rather do her own thing than listen to instruction.' I was feeling a little deflated for a while, since although I am sure none of it was meant to be destructive, it was one thing after another for a while and me, being me, began to be discouraged and worried that Camia would not be liked, always excluded and teased, much like my own elementary years were. I think the hardest thing for me as a Christian is to not worry so much and trust more...

After watching her in swim lessons, I feel better. She did so well, and her teacher complimented her a couple times on her good listening ears and her willingness to please. She passed with flying colours, and swimming lessons were the highlight of her week for 4 weeks. I have to say, I am going to miss it as well. I quite enjoyed taking her and felt so proud while watching her - whenever I actually watched her :). I became friends with one of the other moms of a boy in her class. We chatted the first lesson, and every one thereafter. She missed 2 classes and it was rather lonely without her :). I found out that she attended Langley Christian, which means she bused with Credo Christian. I found out that her dad attended John Calvin, and wonder if it's the same school I attended. She also has a story that I found inspiring. She had cancer when she was 16, and through her lifestlye and attitude, was a part in bringing someone to Christ. It came up that my sister went to be with Jesus 9 years ago and after sharing our stories we decided to have playdates after swim lessons were over.

Camia has so much more confidence now, and I am amazed at the difference from last year to this year. Last year she would have none of getting all the way wet in the water while we were at the beach until the last 10 minutes before we went home. She refused to run through a sprinkler, even if I went with her. This year she is up to her shoulders in the lake almost right away and runs through the sprinkler with no issues. She is proud of herself, and loves to show that she knows how to get her head wet and blow bubbles while she is in the bath tub.

  

She Turned 4

My baby turned 4 a month ago. A month ago. 4. She's 4. Crazy how fast it goes. This year Camia asked for cupcakes with pink icing. I decided to spice it up a tiny bit and continued with my theme birthday. I added white polka dots to the pink icing and decided that we were having a polka dot birthday. I didn't realize how hard it is to find things that are pink with white polka dots. Even expensive things are hard to find. After scouring dollar stores, I went online to see if I could find anything. I was looking for plates, napkins and cups. The only thing I found online was going to cost me around $60. Sorry, honey, I love you bunches, but spending that much on things that will end up in the garbage just was not going to happen. So I called all the party stores located here in the valley. Not one single party store had one single pink plate with white polka dots. They all the other colours. Just no pink. So, I went back to looking at dollarstores. Finally I found some. I guess maybe with summer coming, they got new stock. So, for $8, I got plates, cups and napkins for 25 people. And then went ahead with the rest and made cupcakes (totally recommend little cupcakes for little people...so much less waste)

and cake pops

and truffles

and balloons.

Then we invited people, first family and then friends. We had her blow candles

of course pose

and open some gifts.

From my family she got the roundhouse for her Thomas stuff, something she had been asking for for

a few months prior to her birthday.

She was beside herself with excitement when she opened it.

Ryan and I gave her Edward to add to her collection. Her face tells how she felt about that gift (totally makes gift giving the best:)):

From my brother, on top of the playmobil, she also got some girl lego to add to her little lego collection.

 When I was growing up, birthdays were always a big deal in my family, much bigger than Christmas. Whosever birthday it was got to pick dinner on their birthday. I think it might be a tradition that will carry on in our family too. Camia picked spaghetti for dinner. I should have done her hair, it seems.

 She's been loving books on cd lately and Amelia Bedelia, so Ryan and I got her Amelia Bedelia and Frog and Toad on CD.

 We also got her Rhenieas, an engine for her Thomas. A few days later she felt that he should not be without his friends, so she bought Skarloey, Rhenias's best friend, with her very own money. She found out that when you buy something with money, it's gone, and you just can't go to the bank to get more.

After dinner, Ryan helped her build a track so she could play with her new toys.