Camper

Dear Campbell: 53 Months

I am reminded daily that you are, indeed, my child (and your Daddy shakes his head daily at this fact as well).  Whether it is the manner in which you dismiss Daddy's foolish antics with a hand on your hip and face that says "really?" or your new found obsession with puzzles - not a day goes by that something doesn't happen to make a pretty good case for nature's role in who you are.  This week's first real taste of winter with it's chilly temperatures and cold rain that is forecast to turn to our first showers of snow have provided the latest dose of proof.  Yesterday, upon making a quick dash from the car to the house in the cold rain, you announced emphatically that you were "done with this silly winter business and ready for sunshine and a beach!"  That's my girl!

What you don't know yet is this winter has a pretty awesome surprise in store - a trip to Disney World!  As I get set to turn my calendar to December the anticipation of seeing your face on Christmas morning when  you figure out what's up and then knowing that come the first week in February we are all headed to what will hopefully be sunny Florida make the impending arrival of winter a little more bearable.

And for anyone silly enough to doubt that your level of excitement will be anything but earth shattering I simply say when asked the other day if you could go anywhere in the world where would it be you quickly, without hesitation answered "Disney World!"  When my answer to the same question was, instead, Italy you broke down in tears wondering why I didn't want to go to Disney World, too.  So I began explaining the concept of a bucket list to you and noted that going to Italy with your Dotdot has long been at the top of my list of life dreams.

You latched on to this idea of making a list of life dreams (hilarious in its own right since you have, hopefully, only just begun to live your life) and soon had a long list of things to put in your bucket. It goes without saying that #1 is going to Disney World now followed at #2 by going to Italy with Mommy and Dotdot.  Also on the list was backpacking through Europe, going to NYC, reading and watching all the Harry Potter books and movies, visiting Harry Potter World, being the smartest kid in your class like Hermione, riding a school bus to school, visiting the Van Trapp family house in Austria, and getting a French bulldog.  

Every now and then in the ensuing days you have said "ooooh, add that to my list!" when you've seen something  you want to do or heard of somewhere you want to see. I love the idea that you are already making a bucket list of your own. I know I have gladly scraped and scrounged to save the money so that we can help you cross of #1.  Once that's done I plan to set my sights on saving to make #2 a reality as well.  In truth, I hope that I can help you make all of your dreams come true (though I haven't figured out where I'm going to find that real life prince for you to marry).

But in the end I just like that you are dreaming and learning to work for those dreams.  After all, with no dreams to look forward to life looses a lot of the fun factor!  Dreams - whether big or small - are what make getting out of bed each day worthwhile.

So dream sweet girl!  And above all else - live knowing you are my wildest dream come true!

All my love-

Mommy

Dear Campbell: 51 & 52 Months

Technically it's not time for the 52 month letter until next Saturday but since the odds of me churning two of these out in 10 days is, well, about as good as the odds of me discovering a million dollars under the mattress when I make the bed tomorrow (or for that matter about as good as the odds of me actually making the bed tomorrow), I'll just go ahead and cover two months with one letter.

And speaking of time, I've been thinking a lot about time lately.  I know I've marveled here on numerous occasions about how fast you are growing up but this summer you have truly begun to blossom and grow at an alarming rate. For the most part, (though in order to finish this sentence I must block last Sunday evening's complete Tazmanian devil transformation out of my mind) you have left the world of toddler temper tantrums and hissy fits behind.  Instead you have welcomed the world of "deep conversations" and hours spent wondering how big you look and how old people must think you are. In short you have turned into an even greater joy to be around (not counting the glimpes we've begun seeing of what the 13 year-old Campbell will be like - she will be a world champion scowler).  It is this increased sense of joy and peace and fun being with your new, emerging big girl self brings that has left me pondering time.

 I sit here writing this letter wedged in between two of the three weeks I dread out of each year - the weeks when work takes me away from home for an extended period.  In mid-September I was away from you for five days while running the program I am responsible for and in just over a week I will depart for a meeting that will take me across the country for eight days. I hate these long, overnight trips away from you. I always have.  I miss tucking you in at night - a time I cherish because I am so rarely there to see you wake-up in the mornings. The very thought of my upcoming trip to Seattle makes my heart ache all the more now though because our nightly ritual has, over the last few months, grown to include pillow talk.

I know a huge motivation for your new desire to lay in bed and talk is the desire to push sleep off as long as possible. I know it's the latest stall tactic now that we've stopped coming in to look for missing stuffed animals or to bring you yet another drink of water or to explain why you cannot have a pet dolphin in the bathtub upstairs.  But this time you've stumbled onto a stall tactic to which I will give-in, every time - at least to some degree if for no other reason than I know now is when I instill in you the trust that you can come to me to talk about ANYTHING so that when you're 16, 17 or if you keep your promises 30 and you start dating and you have very serious big girl stuff to talk about you will ask me to come lay down with you and chat.

But I will also give in for selfish reasons that bring me back to my continous pondering of time. Like all working Moms (okay everyone in general but I don't really feel sorry for you people out there that have too many Tivo'd television shows to possibly get through in this lifetime) I find I just don't have enough hours in a day. And while I know I'm not unique in my plight, that doesn't make the two hours a day I lose with you while driving to and from work far away any easier to stomach.  Nor does it make it any easier to pack a bag to leave for a long trip away from you or to settle for kissing your sweet, sleeping forehead in the mornings instead of getting the chance to say "Good Morning."  I like my job or the time away from you would be unbearable. I am one of the lucky few who is able to see the good that comes from the hours spent behind a desk and I am thankful for that. 

All of this is just to say that I hope you will never look back on your childhood and feel like I chose work over you or that I wasn't there for you when you  needed me.  It is the fear of that perception in  you that haunts me while I listen to NPR on the way to and from work. In an ideal world I would have a job that was rewarding and also allowed me to be there when you wake-up as well as when you go to sleep and to help with the chauffering between schools and soccer games in between. God willing one day I'll find such a job.  Until then, I hope that you know how much I cherish every second I get to spend with you (and that your amazing father knows how grateful I am that he is willing to shoulder the burden of mornings spent forcing your feet into sneakers when you really want to wear light-up princess shoes).  You, my dear Campbell, are amazing and I will always chose you first and I am looking forward to a lifetime spent talking with you.

All my love -

Mommy

Dear Campbell: 49 & 50 Months

It's been an eventful summer and I could spend the next few paragraphs putting everyone to sleep with a play-by-play of our trips to NY and Paducah, your efforts at swimming and the other things that have happened but I will spare you and the other five people who read this blog such tedious details.  Instead, I'm going to turn the recollecting of this summer over to you!

First a brief photo essay of our doings.  These first few photos were taken during the car ride to New York to visit your Daddy's side of the family.  Unfortunately, once we arrived the fun and excitement of swimming with your cousins far outshadowed the concept of taking pictures.

I think what these pictures clearly illustrate is your deep desire to get the heck out of the car!  

You captured a similar series of photos en route to our friend Martha's wedding a couple of weeks ago.

Once again the event itself proved too entertaining for you to bother with pictures once the party was in full swing.  You can thank your father for passing down his great fear of missing something.  A few  years ago he just had to have an expensive camera for Christmas - it ended up being both of our Christmas presents - and after the initial excitement wore off he has since abandoned the camera in order to remain in the thick of all the excitement as well.  Destraction aside, your wedding photography debut did result in a pretty good picture of the lovely wedding cake.

Last week - as Dotdot already indicated - we took a trip out to Shaker Village.  You showed there that when you aren't destracted by pools and parties you can actually take a pretty mean picture - especially for a four-year old!

I marvel everyday at how quickly you are growing and learning.  These pictures, though not of you, illustrate your growth as well.  When we got your first camera and downloaded your first set of pictures it was nothing but the floor or unidentifyable blurs.  Now more often than not, you produce actual pictures.  Some of them remarkably good!

And yet, as telling as these photos are - I think the following installment of "Life According to Campbell" snippets from Mommy's and Daddy's Facebook pages indicates more than anything just how big you're getting.  You are so curious and smart and funny! 

    "Big bad boy is called alliteration."

    "Sometimes if you are too close to something - you can't see it."

    "It's KiaWAH - not KiaWUH!"

    "You rock a baby in a house. Not in a tree top.  Super unsafe!"

    "I'm sweating out my arm pits."

    "I stubborned my toe."

    "Oh man! We forgot to give my too small sneakers and boots to Karla when she went to Guacamala!"

    "He lives in Marion County? Do a lot of people get married there?"

    "Why do they call it a hurricane? Because they hurry a lot?"

    "You must be INSANE!" (to your Daddy)

    "I didn't know Presidents had wives."

This last quote came just the other day in response to the news that when Dotdot takes over your childcare in January that she is going to take you to the library every week and check out books on stuff to help you learn and read more outside of school.  The first lesson topic you decided on was presidents.  So when we got home that day I got out two of my books on the presidents and first ladies and you have been toting them around every since.    We've shared a few factoids about various presidents while helping you read the books.  Not sure what else has stuck but the fact that presidents are married apparently has.  I guess it's a start!

As always - you have my heart forever!
Mommy 

Dear Campbell: 4 Years

It seems utterly impossible that you are four years old!  On the one hand it seems like just yesterday that I brought my little bundle of joy home from the hospital.

On the other hand, we are seeing glimpses of the teenage hell that awaits us in a few years ("Just don't talk to me!", "I'm going in my room and never coming out again for the rest of my life!", "You're ruining my life!") and I have to remind myself you are only four and I probably shouldn't call you something that rhymes with "hitch".  

Seriously, (to use a pop culture phrase you have adopted as your own) I am amazed at how quickly you are growing up.  Everyone warns you when you have a baby and the sleepless nights seem like they will never end that your baby will be grown-up before you know it and as I look back on your fourth year I know such prophecies are true. 

The last few months it is like light bulb after light bulb keeps going off in that curly head of yours. Letters are  a piece of cake, coloring inside the lines not a problem.  To your Daddy's delight hopping on one foot and stepping into a throw are also part of your bag of tricks now, too.  You are a very inquisitive child and few things go by you unnoticed - that is unless it's Mommy or Daddy intentionally trying to get your attention and then you are remarkably oblivious.  Indeed there are times when a little less nosiness might have been preferred.  Like the other day when we were at Kroger and a rather large lady rode by us on a motorized cart and you blurted out "Mommy, why is that lady riding around Kroger? She should walk like the rest of us.  Walking is good for you!" Or the other day when we were outside and our rather odd neighbor did walk by and you blurted out (again in your not so quiet voice) "Why does our neighbor walk around town all the time? Doesn't she like her house?"

Our annual trek to Kiawah was full of entertaining questions like "Why is there sand on the beach?", "Why do mosquitoes bite?", "Who made the beach?", etc. The last question reminds me of one of your favorite Campbellisms right now - "all the way to God and back" is your substitution for anything that should have "very, very, very" in front of it.  "Mommy, I love you all the way to God and back."  "Daddy, I'm going to be good all the way to God and back."  "Dotdot I can jump all the way to God high."

While on vacation this year we took advantage of your curiosity to plan some fun activities.  We took several gator hunting bike rides and rode out to the nature preserve (where you tinkled in the great outdoors for the first time and thought it was hilarious),  and we did a treasure hunt in downtown Charleston where you led the way ("I am the leader! Everyone behind me! Daddy! You're not behind me!").

Just before leaving for Kiawah this year, Dotdot and Mommy started plotting for a little bit different family vacation next year - the pilgrimage no American family (especially with a little girl as princess-crazed as you are) can or should do without - Disney World here we come. I am very excited (though as of yet you don't know we are officially going - that will be this year's big Christmas surprise from Mommy and Daddy)! But, as we prepare to spend a small fortune on this trip - very likely at the cost of Kiawah and any other travel next year - I have embarked on the daunting task of teaching you not to throw fits. 

All in all you aren't too bad - especially when you get enough sleep.  But, having inherited your father's stubbornness and your mother's fiery temper you certainly can throw a fit - and once one starts you cling to your irrationality like a mule.  With nightmare images of you deciding to have such a fit in the middle of Cinderella's castle, and after multiple talks where as soon as the fit is over you, of your own accord, acknowledge you shouldn't have acted like that, I decided to try to help you identify your behavior while we are in the dangerous whiny stage and before we reach toddler Chernobyl.  

So, about two months ago we instituted the "Mickey policy" whereby at bedtime every night you are awarded a Mickey or an X.  You have to string together seven or more Mickey's to be allowed to talk about what you want to do if we go to Disney.  If you get an X you have to start all over.  At first the system worked like a charm.  You even made it the entire month of May without a single X.  The last couple of weeks, however, we've hit a snag and the month of June is riddled with X's.  I knew I was reveling in my superior Momminess too soon! Now I am back to questioning if I was cut out for this.  Not that I have a choice or would trade having you for anything in the world.  But on days when you are cranky and end up with an X it tries every ounce of patience I have and leaves me questioning what in the world I'm doing and praying with every fiber of my being that I won't screw you up.  

I see so much potential in you - you are wicked smart, ridiculously funny and absolutely breathtakingly beautiful - and I don't say those things just because I'm your Mommy.  Strangers stop me on the street and affirm these truths all the time.  So, by the time you are reading these old, sappy posts of mine, I hope that you look back on the February of your fifth year and the trip we made to Disney with fond memories of princesses and fun rides and are warmed by memories of love and happiness.  I also hope that your calendar at your house is covered in Mickey's and there aren't any X's insight because I know that this is but a small test on my parenting adventure so if I can't even teach you not to pitch a fit then I probably need to apologize to you for all the ways I failed you!  But, since you are a naturally happy person and since we are coming up on the magic seventh Mickey mark again . . . I'm cautiously optimistic that I can at least instill this lesson successfully!

Now, as I realize that this post has gotten all together too long, I will close with a few fun pics from your fourth birthday party.  We had a kids obstacle course (slip-n-slide, sprinkler, zip line, etc.) and a Rapunzel cake.  From all accounts it was a huge success since all the kids (and possibly a few adults) ended up soaking wet. Your amazing grandparents hosted the party this year after hosting last year's nearly landed me an extended stay in a padded room.  (So, after you look at the pics, my dear sweet daughter, pick up the phone and call Dotdot and Peepaw and tell them you love them and thank you for the best fourth birthday party ever.  It will make their day!)

Happy Birthday, Campbell!  You are the hardest thing in my life.  Raising you scares the hell out of me and leaves me feeling like I don't have a clue on a daily basis.  But, having you was the best the thing that ever happened to me.  I love you more than words can ever express - you are the light of my life, my everything!

All of my love - 
Mommy 

Dear Campbell: 46 Months

In keeping with the theme of Dotdot's last post, I am going to do this month's letter through your eyes. The pictures for this post are ones you took with my Iphone with a few stories from the last few weeks sprinkled in.

The biggest news around our house over the last week or so has been the addition - whether permanent or temporary still under consideration - of a second Boston terrier.  Omar - as you and Adam have christened him - is a very sweet boy, I'm just not sure the craziness that is our life needs the addition of a second dog. I mean, do we really need to enter the "just plain insane" category? Omar apparently could sense that I was not fully on board as he spent all day yesterday snuggled next to me while I worked from home, the perfect little buddy.  

A quick note on the name - Omar.  Your Daddy is obsessed with the show "The Wire" and when we got Marlo I had you all set to call her Lily after Harry Potter's mother (also a name I loved for you but that Adam vetoed).  Then all of a sudden Adam has  you talked into Marlo after somebody on his darn television show.  Enter Omar - Adam called to say he was bringing the dog home for a trial run.  He was turned in without tags so nobody knows what name his original owner assigned. Adam suggested Omar via text on his way home.  When I told you Omar you said "Yucky! That's a horrible name!" and I was pumped because I knew Omar was another name from "The Wire".  I suggested Max from Where the Wild Things Are and you liked that.  Then Daddy gets home and within minutes you are both calling the dadblamed dog Omar!  I gave you life, dear child, is a little loyalty too much to ask for?!

 

It has been a particularly crazy week around The Smurf, what with the "visiting" dog and the fact that your Dear Ol' Dad brought Omar home and then promptly left town for the week. It was one of those weeks that illustrated exactly how completely, utterly and hopelessly screwed your parents would be if we didn't live in the same zip code as your grandparents.  Dotdot and Peepaw shared shuttling duties helping me get you to school and home each day.  These tasks would be difficult factoring in just my hour commute - when you add on the fact that Mommy has idiotically agreed to run the Derby half-marathon at the end of the month and therefore has to run everyday like its her religion, single parenting for me would be enough to make me want to scream without Dotdot and Peepaw.  But we made it through the week and Daddy returned home yesterday.  When Dotdot asked you if Daddy was coming home yesterday afternoon you answered "Nope, he has to go to the candy store."  Where do you come up with these things?

 

This picture was take a few months ago at Melton's Deli - your favorite place to eat lunch. As Peepaw learned yesterday when he took you there - you can mow through one of their giant fruit bowls in record time!  On this particular occason we were eating with Mommy's friend, Jacky, and clearly, at the time of this picture Mommy did not understand what creative direction you were taking.  I have a feeling that is an expression you see fairly often. It's funny because in some ways, the more verbal and inquisitive you get, the harder it is for us to communicate.  

Case in point - yesterday morning.  We were fixing your hair for school and I asked you how you wanted to do it and you proceeded to tell me you saw somebody with their hair "like this" at which point you did an odd twisty motion at the back of your head. Five minutes later and several declarations from you that I "just don't understand annnyyyyyythiiiiiiiiiiiing!" we determined that you wanted just the sides pulled back to make "a triangle-thingy" in the back of your head.  I asked you if a girl at school wore her hair like this and you said "No. I saw some lady on the street like this."  Okay.  It all worked out this time but just be forewarned if you ever see a lady on the street wearing fishnet stockings, a leather mini and way too much make-up don't expect me to be as willing to let you replicate her style.

 

These two pics were taken at The Bluegrass Pizza Pub - one of your other favorite places to eat. And yes, we eat out way too much - something that will have to change now that we are planning our trip to Disney World (aka the place where the Mouse takes all of your money).  While they may not be using the breadsticks picture in their next promotional piece, I kind of like the up close and personal approach you took.  It feels like I'm a breadstick when I look at this picture.  As for the other one, again a super up-close shot - this time taken from the Hipstamatic camera - somehow it has the feel of what an Edward Hopper still life might have looked like . . . .

 

All in all, I think for a three year old your photos are pretty good.  This final one is, therefore, fitting as it is of Mommy and Daddy giving you two thumbs up as we headed up the road to Chicago for Uncle Taylor's wedding.  We started using the thumbs up as a way to get you to pose/smile for pictures and it is now a classic family gesture.  I think the thumbs up drive your Dotdot a litte crazy but then there are other, less desireable hand gestures that you could have picked up somewhere . . .

 

And so I will sign-off on this edition of Dear Campbell with two of my favorite Iphone shots of you. The first one is with Hipstamatic and isn't a super great shot but there is something about the morning light bouncing off the wood floor that makes it a fun pic.  Not to mention it is proof that every once in a blue moon you and Marlo are still - AT THE SAME TIME!  The second pic is from the previously mentioned trip to Chicago.  I like the reflection of the carousel horses in the mirror behind  you.  I wish I had been able to time it to get you reflected in there - that would have been a truly great shot.  But my favorite part of this picture is the look of sheer joy and love of life that is on your face.  That is how I feel when I think of and look at you, sweet girl!

All my love-
Mommy 

Dear Campbell: 45 Months

It seems I start every month's letter commenting on how much has happened and/or how much you have changed.  But such comments seem especially appropriate this time around! You have grown by leaps and bounds lately and it has left me in awe of how quickly time flies by.  Literally speaking we discovered the other day that you have shot up 6 inches since your birthday - 3 inches since January.  The new pants that were perfect when you got them for Christmas are now capris.  

Figuratively - or rather intellectually - you have also grown as the letters and numbers you've been learning at school have all clicked into place seemingly overnight.  You run around reading letters and numbers off to us and desperately want to learn to read for real.  One of your favorite make-believe activities these days is to pretend we are at school and it's storytime. You will grab a selection of books and "read" them to us, making up stories to go with the pictures, incorporating fragments of the actual stories as you go.  I have to admit, your stories are usually pretty good! Who knows, maybe we have the next JK Rowling on our hands!

In addition to the monumental growth and maturation changes, the last few weeks have been packed with fun activities - the two most notable being, not surprisingly, devoted to princesses. For Christmas I got you and Daddy tickets to "Her Knight" a great fundraiser conducted by a local church.  It's essentially a princess ball for little girls and their daddies.  You were so excited for the event.  I took of work early to pick you up and get you home and changed into your princess dress.  Adam broke out the tux and even bought you a corsage.  The night was a huge success!

A couple of weeks ago, Dotdot and Mommy took you to see Princesses on Ice.  We went last year and when I saw the advertisement for it this year I sent it to Dotdot and she got tickets.  Originally she and Peepaw were giong to take you because we thought Mommy would be stuck in Connecticut for a meeting.  But as luck would have it, the meeting was cancelled and I was able to go.  I am so glad I did make it because it was such a fun girl's day out! You were on your best behavior and we had such a wonderful time.  

As you grow up so quickly in front of my eyes I find myself enjoying the little moments like catching a smile on your face when you don't think we're looking or snuggling you while you watch Princesses on Ice more and more.  I made a promise to myself when you were born to try to take stock of how lucky I was and to enjoy every moment with you.  For the most part I think I've done a pretty good job because I have a mental store of some of the richest, most amazing memories from just holding your newborn self on my lap and watching you make what is now "the Campbell face" to images of you playing with Peepaw in the yard.

And I'm glad that I have made such an effort to enjoy all the little moments because it is all going by so quickly.  You are almost four - which is impossible to believe!  And you are a very smart and independent four which makes you seem all the more grown-up. A case in point, I was stunned to see just yesterday that all of a sudden you have mastered swinging like a big kid!  I was equally amazed to learn this weekend that you can spell your name now - despite the fact that Mommy and Daddy were bordering on child abuse when we decided on such a long name for you.

But then, I don't know why these things amaze me after nearly four years - afterall, you amaze me daily, sweet girl.  And it is your ability to continually amaze me that makes you such a blessing!

All my love-
Mommy 

Dear Campbell: 44 Months

Here we are - February - the middle of what has been a terribly long, cold and all too snowy winter in the Bluegrass and you, Mommy and Dotdot are all suffering from a case of the winter blahs.  In an attempt to cure these blahs, Mommy and Dotdot decided to surprise you with a bedroom make-over for Valentine's Day.  

The highlight of the room is a portrait of DollyCocoViolet that we ordered from Jennifer Maher at customtoyportrait.com.  The 8x10 acrylic painting is adorable and you were so excited about it! Hardly a day has passed since we surprised you that you haven't gone in your room with me and gushed about having a painting of your babies to keep forever and "show to my little girl" one day.

In order to redo the room on a budget, we kept the same red/green color scheme by getting an adorable Holly Hobby quilt with both colors featured in it.  

You have been dying for a mirror in your room for ages now as, like all little girls, you love to play and twirl in front of a mirror. So, much to your Daddy's dismay we replaced the not-so-little-girlish Keeneland print on your wall with a full-length mirror that we then trimmed with a string of delicately, hand-crafted butterflies.  These butterflies are probably my second favorite part of the room.  Dotdot found them on Etsy when we were trying to think of a way to liven up the white sheer curtains.  When the garland came in it was immediately obvious that it was too small for draping on your tall windows but also way to precious not to be used somehow.  I really like the effect we ended up with as the mirror reflects the butterflies and makes it seem like there are even more of them.

 Dotdot stumbled upon the solution for our curtain adornment when in Pier 1 looking for props for an online photo class.  These funky red and pink hearts fit with the color scheme and whimsical feel of the room and, I think, turned out great!

Last Saturday morning we got Daddy to take you out of the house on an adventure while we redecorated and then surprised you when you got home.  The new digs are a big hit as you have doubled the amount of time you want to spend back there!  All day Sunday you played in there including a lengthy stint of playing sick so that you could lay under your new quilt. 

I'm not usually one for paying much attention to Valentine's Day but this year's little surprise for you certainly made it a special one and achieved the goal of brightening our winter up a bit! This week it's pushing 70 degrees outside so maybe we even got luck and ushered in spring!

All my love -
Mommy 

 

Dear Campbell: 43 Months

As I sit down to write this we are in the middle of day number 1,442,587 of cold and snow - at least that's what it feels like. This has been the snowiest, iciest, coldest winter we've had in Kentucky in years!  Usually Kentucky winters consist of a snow system, a few cold days then a warm snap, then another snow system . . . . Not so much this year.  Which means your poor mother's seasonal affective disorder is in high gear.  And I think you may have inherited a touch of this tendency as you have asked about going to the beach and declared you're sick of the cold almost as many times as I have.

So, to mark this stretch of winter blahs I'm going to use this month's letter to chronicle a couple of the funnier Campbell stories to help brighten these dreary winter days.

A couple of months ago I reported that you started ballet.  That turned out to be a bit of a fizzle and flop.  Your ballet teacher is a big old hot mess, the class starts at 4:00 which makes it damn near impossible for any working parent to get to and you have already marked being a ballerina off your bucket list.

Me: "So, what do you want to be when you're all grown up?"

Campbell: "An astronaut still."

Me: "Still going to space, coooooool. Are you still going to be a doctor and a ballerina, too? That's what you said last time."

Campbell: "Mommy, I'm already a ballerina." 
 

Since ballerina has been marked off the "to-do" list you are now very excited about turning four and starting to play soccer.  Tonight you will start a little kids soccer camp of sorts and are very excited. This weekend, in preparation for the beginning of your official athletic career, Daddy decided to start teaching you the basics of all sports - beginning, of course, with football. (Yes, in reality this was his way to trick you into letting him watch the NFL playoffs.)

Daddy: "What do you do when there's a fumble?"

Campbell: "Tackle it!"

Daddy: "What's it called when you score?"

Campbell: "Touchdown!"

Daddy: "What's it called when you kick for three points?"

Campbell: "A spare!"

 

Over the last couple of weeks you have finally started to open up a little bit more about what happens at school and Sunday school.  You were very excited about the fire drill you had the other day at preschool.  And this Sunday the story of the Good Samaritan apparently struck a chord.  Here is how you retold the story over dinner at PeePaw and Dotdot's.

Me: "What did you learn at Sunday school?"

Campbell: "We learned about a guy named Rob."

Peepaw: "Rob? Who's Rob?"

Campbell: "Well, there was this guy on the road and a good guy helped him."

Daddy: "Are you talking about the Good Samaritan?"

Campbell: "Yes.  There were Robs in there but the good guy helped the guy on the road."
 

As always, life with you is amusing. I hope this is the beginning of a new chapter of story-telling with you!

All my love-
Mommy 

Dear Campbell: 43 Months

Thanks to a little fortuitously-timed snow, some extra days taken off to visit the in-laws and the second year in a row of the office being shut down between Christmas and New Year, I had a nearly three-week break!  Looking back it sounds like such a long-time and yet, it flew by!  And so I find myself back at work struggling to make it through the first full work week I've had in ages and you find yourself back at the sitter and school - also a struggle in readjustment - and life goes on. 

The holidays were a great time - you got everything you wanted from Santa (and more!). Here you are a happy little Camper on Christmas morning.

There was only one disappointment of the holiday season - Daddy and I missed taking you to see Santa. We both ended up with a 24-hour stomach bug that thankfully you did not get and which did not last long enough to derail the trip to visit Daddy's side of the family.  Once again I found myself very thankful that my parents live so close by as they were able to take you to see Santa.  Were that not the case I shudder to think how I would have felt standing in line for eons trying not to puke while waiting for you to tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas! As always Dotdot came through with photo documentation of the event!

We started the holidays off with a quick trip to North Carolina for one last visit with the Fosters before they move to Colorado.  It was a good visit that included a final trip to our favorite German restaurant, lunch with Jackson at his "big boy school" and the creation of your first gingerbread house.  You were also introduced to the wonder of Star Wars as you and Jackson battled with light sabers all around the house.  You were Princess Leia, of course, and Jackson and Daddy were "Luke Sidewalker" and "Dark Vader".

You helping Aunt Kristin, Jack and Cade make a gingerbread house.  I think you did more eating than decorating!

Happy after another great meal at the Waldhorn.

After a great visit with your cousins, we returned home for a wonderful Christmas. As always we went to Christmas Eve service and then to tea at Dotdot's house.  Before tea this year Dotdot got out her camera to capture some family shots. 

This is my favorite one of the three of us.

And a great one of you with Dotdot and Peepaw.

The real fun started when Dotdot got out the remote and you discovered the joy of pushing the button!  We must have done a half dozen of these and yet somehow this is the best we ended up with!

And my favorite picture of the night.  Rest assured, my darling daughter, you are the only person in the world that could get your Dotdot and Peepaw to take a picture like this! I will treasure it forever!

 As I already mentioned, Christmas itself was a smashing success.  Here is Daddy inspecting the Hermione wand I got you during my trip to Harry Potter world.  You have been asking for "a real wand like Hermione's" for months and I was thrilled to see how excited you were to open it!

You were also very excited to get Hungry, Hungry Hippos.  A game which is destined to be a Christmas classic for our family!

The final highlight of the Christmas break was a trip to your first real UK basketball game! You had a blast - though you were maybe a little too excited about the cheerleaders. Cheerleading is very dangerous, you see, so Daddy and I aren't thrilled by the idea of you deciding to take up that hobby.  But you haven't yet expressed an interest in actually cheering so we may be safe.  It is, after all, hard not to be impressed by the UK cheerleaders.  There is a reason they win the national championship every year! Anyway, the picture below isn't the best quality because it's from my phone but it still captures this historic moment!

And so we marked the passing of your three and half year "birthday" . . . It was a wonderful break.  Here's hoping that you and I will not struggle too much longer with getting back into the routine of things.  

All my love-

Mommy

 

Dear Campbell: 37, 38, 39, 40, 41 & 42 Months

Holy cow it has been a crazy few months! Tolls was early this year because of the World Equestrian Games, you have started school, we've had a number of festivals which means busyness since your Daddy is in tourism and then Marlo ate a ton of string . . . .Oh and I went to Harry Potter world in there, too. It has also been a fun few months!

You ended up in the red room - just like you wanted.  I guess I should say you "landed" in the red room since that's how you explain it. But since there is too much to cover by narrative alone I'm going to take this catch-up opportunity to unveil a first look at what will be a slightly revamped (as yet not totally redefined) "Camper" blog.  From here on out in an attempt to avoid the massive Mommy guilt that the title of this blog so unceremoniously drops on my shoulders every time I read it . . . I will start doing your monthly newsletters as more of a photographic essay.  So here goes - the last six months of your life in pictures (and brief captions).

 This fall - around about the time school started - you and Daddy had your first camping adventure in the backyard.  You were very excited!  It took longer to set the tent up than it did for you two to return to the comfort of our house!  Apparently the crickets were too loud.  I still have decided who's excuse that was - yours or Daddy's!

You were more than ready to start school!  You practically ran to your room.  Mommy and Daddy had to beg you to let us take pictures of you before we left and once inside the room - you no longer had any need for us.  And so passed another milestone - like a blur with all the rest . . . . It was wonderful to see you embrace this new chapter with such fervor and I honestly hope you will continue to love school even half this much for years to come.  But I have to admit - I cried, pretty hard, on the way home without you.  Thank goodness I have another 15 years to prepare myself for dropping you off at college!

In September you ran your second annual Kids Dash with the Constitution Square Festival. You were flanked by your buddies - Ben and Lexi.  The three of you make an adorable and very loud and very giggly threesome!

In October the equestrian world came to Lexington and we took you to the World Equestrian Games (aka the Olympics of the horse world).  Your favorite part was seeing all the differently decorated horse statues that were all over the Horse Park. This one was our favorite because we love the book Where the Wild Things Are.

 
This Halloween your costume selection was drastically different from last year - we went from "A Happy Witch" to Batgirl!  Once again you and your sidekicks Lexi (aka Snow White) and Ben (aka anonymous race car driver) went Trick-or-Treating downtown.  It was a fun night filled with candy, ghost stories and several of Aunt Debbie's yummy chocolate dipped pretzel sticks!

 

Thanksgiving was a joyously quiet affair - just you, Mommy, Daddy and DotDot and PeePaw.  It was a most welcome long weekend of family time and good food and no chaos before I set off to a week in Providence for our annual meeting.  Daddy's turkey was one of his best efforts but his mashed potatoes were a little subpar - I am looking forward to his attempt at redemption come Christmas.

This fall you have started taking ballet.  Last winter you enjoyed gymnastics but decided to try your hand - or foot - at dancing.  It has been an interesting experience thus far. Your teacher is a bit scattered. So after the first class I was a little unsure and then the second week I noticed that she  had decorated the studio stairwell with large, Demi Moore-esque nude photos of herself when she was pregnant. More than a little disconcerting especially when, on the way back out after practice you pointed and yelled "Look!  She's naked!" Unfortunately, I had already paid the rather large, non-refundable deposit so you will finish ballet because of that and because I don't want to raise you to be a quiter. We shall see how the experience plays out over the next few months but one thing is undeniable - you are the sweetest thing in tights and a leotard!

This past weekend you were in your first Christmas pageant.  Last year you stood out in the church aisle and tried to sing and dance along with the kids up front and you told me then you wanted to do that this year.  You didn't forget that pledge and when time for the pageant rolled around you wanted to take part.  You were the youngest kid by 2-3 years and you did an amazing job! You knew 3/4 of the songs and motions and were absolutely adorable in your angel outfit.  You had your very own fan club in attendance as well - in addition to the regulars - Aunt Debbie and Corky, Uncle Brent and Heather, and Aunt Quinny and Uncle Jay came to see you!  After church you were lavished with praise from half the congregation and a star was born!

To my sweet star - Happy last six months of "birthdays"!

All my love -

Mommy