Camper

Gratitude Day Seven {FF Edition}

A few weeks ago, my cousin in New York, sent me an old family photo album. What a beautiful surprise! Many of our family photos were lost when my parents' home flooded just three weeks after we were married. A devastating loss. Bit by bit, other family members have been sending photos but this latest album was a real treasure trove. Here are just a few of the photos.

You can see my parents when they were young, behind those Foster Grants. You can see my cousin and me {we were inseparable} visiting Santa. There is a family get-together with a lot of people there. We used to have a lot of those gatherings until we began to scatter across the country and the world.

My grandfather immigrated from Italy at the beginning of the 20th century and you can see him on a return visit as well as some of my Italian forbears. And don't you just love the spiffy 40's wardrobe my aunt and uncle were wearing? I believe they were ready for a stroll down Fifth Avenue.

I have so much gratitude for family, far and near, but today, my gratitude is especially directed to my cousin, Eileen, who sent me this wonderful, priceless gift.

Oh, yes! I'm linking up with Friday Finds. Be sure to stop by!

With much love and gratitude,

Dear Cambpell: 72 Months

Tomorrow my baby turns 6! In honor of the end of her 5^th year and the beginning of number six, Mom asked me to write a year in review Random 5 Friday post.  It’s been a great year and Campbell has grown into a more amazing and fun child every day of this year.  It was hard to pick just five highlights.  But here are the five days I selected as the most notable from Campbell’s fifth year!

August 14: Campbell’s first day of Kindergarten

Campbell was beyond excited to start “big kid” all-day school!  And she looked both big and tiny as I walked her to her room on this first day!  So big as she practically ran to her room she was so excited, with her big girl backpack on.  And yet so little compared to the bigger kids – and also compared to her big girl backpack! 

We couldn’t have hoped for a better start to Campbell’s formal education!  Her teacher, Mrs. Everman, was truly the best we could have asked for! She and Campbell started bonding from day one and I think will truly miss each other next year. (This is where Adam would say that I will miss Mrs. Everman just as much and that is very true! Thanks to hours spent in her room gluing gingerbread houses and helping with parties, plus the added connection of having her daughter on my track team, Mrs. Everman and I bonded, too!)  At the end of the year for Teacher Appreciation week we sent in a tote full of classroom supplies and in the note I sent along with it, I told Mrs. Everman what I firmly believe to be true: When Campbell is my age and she is telling her little girl about when she was in school Mrs. Everman will stand out in her memory as one of her favorite and best teachers ever!

September 17: My first day at Centre College

While it may seem a little weird to pick my first day at a new job as a high point in my child’s year, it truly has changed our lives – most importantly Campbell’s – for the better. I said goodbye to the two hours a day I used to spend in the car commuting to work.  I am now there in the mornings to get her up and ready for school.  I was able to walk her in to school almost every day – a walk that changed from early on when she clung to my hand and hugged me goodbye to a walk where she led the way and dove into her room full of new friends with a quick glance and wave over her shoulder.

Changing jobs has allowed me to be a much more present Mother. It allowed me to go to school for parties and to help with those gingerbread houses and other projects – priceless experiences with Campbell that I would have missed at my old job.  Campbell literally jumped for joy when I changed jobs.  So, my new job deserves a spot on this list because it has profoundly impacted my child’s life and our relationship this year – and will continue to do so for years to come.

October 3: Campbell’s first turn reading the bedtime story

Campbell started bringing books home to read to us at night just a few weeks into school.  Early on they were typical “See Spot run” sort of books that are kind of hard to actually call a book.  But it took no time at all for Campbell to leave those early books behind for books with actual sentences on each page. On this night she read our bedtime story all by herself for the first time! I cried.  I had a little reader in my house now and it was exciting and bittersweet.  I kept thinking: “How on earth is my baby old enough to read?”

As proud as I was then, I had no idea how well she would be reading in just a few short months. This is where I have to brag that Campbell was reading level 15 books by the end of the year.  The kindergarten target is to be reading at level 4-5!  Campbell comes from a family of readers – on both sides.  Of all the things she could decide to do – outside of maybe deciding to hurdle down the road – loving to read is the hobby of choice that makes my heart sing most! Now she reads everything – signs, commercials, the mail – everything! She is currently plugging her way through one of the Fancy Nancy chapter books by herself!  It’s amazing and I can’t wait to share a long list of my favorite books with her very soon!

January 23: Inauguration

In January our little family took a trip to DC for Barack Obama’s Second Inaugural.  I decided four years ago when we went without baby Campbell that if he won a second term, I was taking her this time around. Last time we watched the swearing in from a TV and the parade from an office window. It was a cool experience but this time, thanks to an amazing friend of mine made during my last Toll Fellows Program before switching jobs (a big thank you to Florida state Sen. Alan Williams!), we got tickets to the Swearing-In Ceremony.  I hope that Campbell will remember the excitement we all had that morning as we sat in amazing seats just 400 yards or so away from the podium as a piece of history unfolded in front of us.  I think she will – the trip seems to have made a big impression on her and she is a huge Obama fan (it was one of her first words).

In fact, just a few weeks ago as we toured Boone Hall near Charleston, we were in the last of the slave cabins where the story of slavery and civil rights ends with the swearing in of the first black President, Campbell turned to me and said “It’s a great thing that we elected him with our history.”  A very poignant comment that is not at all out of the norm for Campbell as she is an old soul at times who sees things and feels things on a much higher level. But she followed that statement up by thanking me, again, for taking her to see his inauguration.  I think it is safe to say that this day and the rest of the DC trip will stand out in her memory – and definitely mine – as one of the coolest things we ever got to do together!

February 14: The Wedding of Q and U

I’m not sure where she gets it.  I was a tomboy.  I never really liked Barbies or other dolls.  I played in the creeks and went frog gigging as a kid.  I didn’t play princess or dress-up.  Campbell already has more colors of nail polish in her bathroom drawer than I think I’ve owned my whole life! So, while I’m not sure where my extremely girly-girl came from, it was no surprise when she came home from school and announced that being picked to be Q, the bride, in the wedding at school was “a dream come true!”

The wedding was a very cute to-do that fittingly happened on Valentine’s Day.  Campbell and I had a blast the days preceding the wedding making her veil and bouquet.  She was the picture of poise as she walked down the aisle to her groom.  She clearly took her role as the bride very seriously – though not seriously enough to stand any closer than three feet away from the groom!

May 29: Kayaking at Kiawah

I think this recent experience with Campbell is a fitting capstone to her fifth year as it truly illustrates how much she has grown in the last 12 months. She’s reading, she’s riding a bike, she’s making thought-provoking statements on slavery.  She’s a big girl now.  And that means our family can do more adventurous things together – like our first kayaking expedition. I could really mention this whole vacation as an example of this new stage of life with Campbell but I picked this event because I’ve been looking forward to this experience in particular since our last trip to Kiawah when Adam and I went kayaking just the two of us because she wasn’t big enough.  While we were out we had the amazing experience of seeing dolphins swimming within just a couple feet of our boat and I decided then that as soon as Campbell was old enough I wanted to go kayaking again with her so she could see dolphins.  It’s been two years since that last trip and she was big enough and she saw a family of dolphins and consistently says that kayaking trip was her favorite part of what I would argue is the best family vacation we’ve had thus far!

I can hardly wrap my head around the fact that the little bundle of joy we first welcomed into the world is already six! I swear I was just pregnant yesterday!  And while a part of me is sad to see her so big and misses the sweet little baby I could hold in one arm or the chubby, precocious toddler with the wild, curly hair that made us laugh all the time, its experiences like this kayaking trip that remind me that the best is yet to come.  I’ve been blessed with an amazingly smart, funny and kind little girl and as she grows I will be able to share more and more incredible adventures with her. 

This year has seen a lot of milestones pass and has been marked by dozens of memorable experiences – we’ve made memories I will cherish forever. But I can’t help sitting here on the eve of Campbell’s sixth birthday excited about what the future holds!  We are already planning our next and biggest adventure to-date – a trip to France and Italy next summer.  So, here’s to year #6 and all that it has in store!

 {If you pop over here you'll find Dotti's post linking up to Friday Finds.}

Holiday Blessings

There is something about the sight of white Christmas lights that has always filled my heart with warmth.  It's probably some psychologically embedded link to the times of being a little kid at Christmas when there was nothing that wasn't right with the world and you were snuggled in your jammers playing with new toys and eating yummy cookies.  Whatever the clinical explanation, to this day my favorite thing about the holidays is all the white lights. 

Literally the first thing I do every morning is turn on our tree. Adam is a weirdo and would probably sit in the house with the tree off all day if I weren't there!  I couldn never do that - to me there are few more depressing sights than an unlit Christmas tree!

This past Sunday Campbell decided her new favorite game is to turn off the lamp, cover up on the couch and pretend to sleep, then "wake-up" and run to the tree squeeling "Santa came!"  The irony in this is that, being my daughter, she is VERY slow to wake-up in the mornings so she has yet to have such an energetic initial reaction to Santa's visits thus far.  She generally walks out with her eyes half open, smiles, sits down and looks at Santa's gifts and "plays" with them in a zone for a few minutes until her sleepy brain wakes up enough for the connection to really click.  Then she tears through Christmas presents and stockings with the glee only a child can muster.

But watching her play-act Christmas morning under my tree filled to the brim with white lights left me reflecting on just how blessed I am. I'm sure we've all found ourselves pondering similar reflections since last Friday.  You needn't worry that this post will turn into a sobering reflection on the Sandy Hook tragedy because I can hardly stand to imagine being in those parents' shoes without being overcome by terror and sadness myself. There is no worse tragedy to experience - period.

Instead I wanted to add a post today as we enter our holiday breaks that reflects on a few of the things I am most thankful for this Christmas.

The first is hope.  I think I have always tended more toward the bright side - I'm more a "the glass is half full" kind of person. But that has only increased since having Campbell.  In part, there is no doubt, that is because Campbell is such a happy, happy kid.  I think it is also so much a part of watching her grow and learn and seeing all of her potential and promise start to shine through.  I can't help but be hopeful about what lies ahead for my amazing little girl.  I've always loved Christmas and Christmas decorations.  Mom has always collected Santas.  I went through a spell where I collected snowmen.  But since becoming a mother I have found myself drawn to nativities.  As I write this I think, perhaps, that is because the story is one of hope and promise - two emotions I've grown more aware of with Campbell in my life.

 The second blessing I'm thankful for is comfort. Since Campbell's very first Christmas we have worked to instill in her an awareness of how fortunate she is by involving her in Angel tree giving. The message must be hitting home - a few days ago she broke into tears because I had run out of cash to put in the Salvation Army kettle.  I never carry cash but always try to have some to put in that little red kettle this time of year - a practice learned from my mother, the child of Salvation Army officers.  Campbell was so distaught we turned around, bought goldfish we didn't need so that I could get cash back for her to put in the kettle.  Our tree is already brimming with presents and Santa hasn't even come!  We live in a nice house and can afford not only the necessities but most of the extras we want, too.  We live a very comfortable, blessed life.

I am also very thankful for my new job.  Centre College has always been a huge part of my life.  Mom started working there when I was only a few years older than Campbell.  My time here as a student were some of the best years of my life and I am blessed to have recieved an amazing education as well. Now, working at Centre, as I've mentioned in previous posts, I have come back home.  A couple of weeks ago I was able to spend my lunch hour every day going to Campbell's school to glue gingerbread houses.  Yesterday I was able to sneak out to go on her Monsters, Inc. fieldtrip. Working at Centre has allowed me the freedom to be a more involved mother and as I marvel at how fast Campbell grows that is a gift I wouldn't trade for anything!

Last, but certainly not least, I am so thankful for the amazing people in my life that I get to spend the holidays with this year.  I have been blessed with the most incredible people throughout my life and am so happy to know I will wake-up on Christmas morning snuggled in bed with Campbell and Adam - the two people I love most, and that my folks will show up bright and early to share in the day's festivities with us.  And, of course, as she is the recurring theme in all of these blessings I am most thankful to have my smart, beautiful, fun little girl.  Campbell is the best thing that has ever happened to me and this holiday season as I pray for those who have lost thier little ones, I am even more aware of how blessed I am to have Campbell than ever.

Merry Christmas to you all!

BTW - The pictures in this post are all iPhone pics, unedited and so I apologize that they do not meet the normal, amazing standards of Mom's photos!

Dear Campbell: 61 Months

I fear we have set a dangerous - albeit unintentional precedent this year.  As a matter of uncanny happenstance your birthday celebration stretched a full month! Starting with your actual birthday to the party a week later, to the Johnson family celebration in CO and finally ending last weekend with the birthday present-trip from Mommy and Daddy.  The way I see it there are two possible scenarios for next year:

1. You will simply refuse to turn six because becoming five was too amazing; or
2. You will reenact a scene from the Dursley household (don't forget to read in a British accent) - "One day! But last year, last year my birthday lasted a whole month!"

Whatever the consequences, we spent last weekend rounding out your birthday month with a trip to Indianapolis.  When trying to decide what to get you, Daddy and I favored a more experiential present knowing that you already had a stuffed animal collection roughly equal in population to the state of Montana, and that more stuffed animals, toys and stuff would be coming from everyone else.  After weighing several options we decided on Indy because it was close enough for a quick, weekend jaunt and because it's children's museum and zoo are both among the top rated nationally.

We were not disappointed!  Both the museum and the zoo were amazing!  The only slight disappointment to the weekend was the necessity of changing our plans and visiting the museum on Saturday and the zoo on Sunday.  The swap left us with less time to do the zoo on Sunday (it is open later than the museum so a Saturday visit would have allowed more time).  But, since Dotdot and I are already conspiring for a girls return trip to the zoo we can catch what we missed next time!

It just so happened that the day before we left you picked out the backpack you want for kindergarten.  Of course, it was your vessel of choice for the trip.  I am confounded by feeling like the backpack is too big for you and being amazed at how big you look carrying it!

 

As I mentioned our first stop was the Indianapolis Children's Museum.  The first exhibit we visited was the dinosaur one.  The dinosphere was amazing and the exhibit was full of hands on puzzles, bone excavating stations and other lessons.

 This water clock is in the museum lobby and constantly had a large crowd around it.  We were lucky enough to be there at 1:00 p.m. as the water drained from all of the bubbles after completing the 12 o'clock hour. 

Another cool feature of the lobby area was a four-story colorful blown glass feature.  The sculpture rested on a floor of colored glass pieces.  This shot was taken looking up through the floor from the basement level.

I think your favorite exhibit was Egypt.  The experience started with a flight on a simulator.  During the flight the stewardess shared some educational tidbits about Egypt.  As we landed the images out the window created the effect of flying in over the great pyramids and sphinx.  You and I got a good laugh out of the fact that your flying-averse father couldn't even ride in the fake plane!  The rest of the exhibit had sample markets and food stalls and street vendors and was all decorated to simulate an Egyptian street.

Daddy's favorite exhibit was the Lego room. It was truly amazing what they were able to build out of those tiny little blocks.  The luxury liner and space shuttle above are just two examples.  The exhibit also had a full-scale town, a Wild West railroad station and much more.

  The museum also boasts an indoor carousel.  You picked a giraffe to ride since that is your favorite zoo animal.  It was a surreal experience riding a full-size, beautiful, antique carousel indoors under a recreation starry night sky.

On our way out of the museum we took a quick (it was mega hot and steamy out) tour of the world's architectural wonders garden.

As a result of your Daddy's military brat upbringing and the time he spent in Germany, he is obsessed with trying out German restaurants wherever we go.  This weird little guy was carved into the mantle next to our table at the Rathskeller and looked over my shoulder the whole time I ate my spaetzle.

As we drove home from the restaurant I noticed a canal walk complete with paddleboats.  You enjoyed our paddleboat ride especially when we let you steer from your roost between our seats.  All I can say is it's a good thing there are still a minimum of 11 years between now and when you can operate a motor vehicle!

I cannot say enough about how wonderful the Indianapolis Zoo is!  Unlike so many other zoos it doesn't feel like one animal enclosure after another crammed into a parking lot.  The setting was the most natural of any I've encountered and yet they allowed you to get far closer to the animals than is usually the case.  The landscaping created beautiful, natural walls between each enclosure. It was fabulous!

The zoo has experienced a baby-boom of late.  The dolphin show was not going while we were there because both dolphins birthed calves just a week ago!  And the newest elephant was out on display for the first time while we were there.  The little two week old elephant calf pictured in the top two photos was absolutely adorable!  The other mother/baby duo pictured is last year's calf.

While we may have missed the dolphin show - something we will be sure to catch next time - the zoo offered a number of other fun shows.  Jump-The Amazing Dog Show was a real treat!

The highlight of the trip for you was being able to feed a giraffe.  Unfortunately, the giraffe grabbed your carrot stick so fast that I wasn't able to get an action shot.  But you giggled about how long and sticky it's tongue was the rest of the day!

Not only did the zoo have incredible animal exhibits, it also boasted three different ride options including a roller coaster!  Of course we did all three - train, carousel and roller coaster.  But not surprising at all given your need for speed the roller coaster was your favorite - you rode it five times, once for every year!

Apparently our trip was a success because you voluntarily put your DVD player aside to take a "power nap" on the way home.  This power nap lasted nearly two hours and you were still out cold in record time once you were tucked into bed at home that night!

It seems impossible to me that you are already five years old and headed to kindergarten in just three weeks. While it's hard not to look at you and feel a pang of loss for baby girl, I have to say, you are growing into a really fun and neat kid and I enjoy every experience - be it a family adventure weekend like this one - or a simple trip to the pool - with you!

Happy, happy birthday Baby!  All my love-

Dear Campbell: 5 Years Old

We certainly had a big weekend for your big birthday, sweet girl!  But what else is to be expected? Afterall, you are "one whole hand old" now!

Your actual birthday was on Friday and there was never any doubt that the number one plan was for Mommy to take a vacation day and spend your special day with you.  Hardly a night goes by that you don't ask me if I will be there in the morning and, it is a constant source of sorrow for me, that the answer is usually "No" since I have to get up early and leave early to beat the traffice on my way to work.   So being able to say "Yes" for yor birthday morning was always the plan.

The rest of the plan morphed as I worked on it.  Originally I had envisioned a lazy summer day with you at the pool but then your birthday ended up on the same week that your two bestest buddies, Ben and Lexi, were on vacation.  So, knowing interest in going to the pool falls off sharply when Mommy is your only playmate I started thinking of a Plan B.  It has been noted here before that you are an amazingly smart little cookie who shows an interest in history in general, and presidents in particular far beyond your years.  Your favorite historical figure is Abraham Lincoln. So Dotdot and I decided to take you to Abe Lincoln's birthplace and childhood home for a surprise birthday trip!

 You really enjoyed the cabin at Lincoln's childhood home site.  For our special trip you brought along your stuffed Abe Lincoln doll.  While Mommy's job requires way too much time away from you, I do get to meet some really amazing people each year and one of the amazing folks from last year's class knew you loved Lincoln (he, too has a small history buff at home) and sent the stuffed Abe to you as a get well gift after the Wal-Mart/shopping cart mishap of 2012.  So, of course, we had to document the day with a picture (or 2 or 3 or 4) of you and Abe in his childhood home!

The childhood home location also provided the opportunity to walk down to Knob Creek, the site of a supposed near drowning by a young Abe Lincoln.  You remembered the story from the Abe Lincoln book you inherited from your Mommy's childhood library (see  you come by your history-nerdiness honestly and it is nothing to be ashamed of!).  In a moment of hilarity that served to remind me that you are just five and still see things in such an innocent light (something that is sometimes hard to remember given your intelligence, unwieldy vocabulary and older-than-you-really-are personality) you asked me as we walked around the dry Knob Creek creekbed: "Where are the rocks they were jumping on?"  You see the story goes Abe and his friend were hopping across the creek rock to rock when he fell in.  But today the creek bed was nothing more than a million pebbles and small stones, nothing big enough to hop onto. So you were very concerned where those storied rocks were because why wouldn't they still be here 200 years later?

Outside of the cabin, I think your favorite stop on our Abe Lincoln tour was the museum and gift shop in Hodgenville.  Though you and Mommy agreed the fake Lincoln dummies in the museum were "creepy", you loved the gift shop.  I do not know where your shopping gene came from because it did not come from me! But you could have happily spent hours in that gift shop touching everything from the giant fake pennies to the assortment of novelty pencil sharpeners.  While there, you and Mommy took this silly photo:

 After driving the backroads of Central Kentucky to visit the notable Lincoln sites, we headed to a small Kentucky town with a yummy little cafe - The Whistle Stop Cafe for lunch.  Growing up The Whistle Stop was one of Mommy's favorite places to eat and just thinking of their hot brown and amazing pies makes my mouth water all these years later.  Unfortunately, there was a 90 minute wait thanks to a giant group of Corvette people so we ended up eating at a less than amazing truck stop diner.  But Dotdot and Mommy are already planning another girls adventure day to The Whistle Stop!

Once back in Danville we had just enough time before your birthday dinner to go get a manicure. You are my little girly-girl - a trait you apparently got from your Daddy because Mommy was a little tomboy! So we got our nails done - you opted for a chic, grown-up look with your first French manicure while you picked out a festive multi-colored glittery polish for my fingers.  We then dashed off to get your party supplies.  For the third year in a row you will be having a princess themed party and for the third year in a row you declared that next year you wanted a Tinker Bell party.  I'm going to go ahead and put my money on a 6th birthday extravaganza that once again includes Belle, Cinderella and Ariel.

The selection of your family birthday dinner location was a bit of a challenge this year.  The last three years you have quickly picked Panera.  Apparently now that you're older your tastes have matured, too.  Initially you selected a Japanese hibachi restuarant after we went there with friends a few months ago.  That then changed to a quirky new restaurant in Lexington called Shakespeare and Company.  Then that was soon discarded and you tried to select Cracker Barrel but I told you to pick somewhere special, somewhere we don't go all the time.  So you quickly said "McDonalds!" Okay, so those tastes haven't matured any at all! Finally you settled on The Melting Pot.  We opted for the two best courses - cheese and chocolate and had a wonderful evening.

The wacky birthday excitement continued the next day when you and Mommy went to the lake with Aunt Quinny and Uncle Jay.  It was your first trip to the lake and you made the most of it swimming and swimming and swimming and swimming! Despite a power nap on the boat ride back to the marina, you still conked out in the car on the way home, didn't so much as register the transfer to bed and then proceeded to sleep for nearly 13 hours!  The lake was a huge hit and you are already eagerly planning your next trip.

Speaking of trips . . . . While trying to decide what to get your for your birthday, Mommy and Daddy decided on an experiential gift as opposed to toys or clothes or other "things" knowing that those bases would be more than covered by family and friends.  So we are all headed to Indianapolis for a family fun weekend after our vacation in Colorado.  Indy boasts one of the nation's top 10 zoos as well as one of the best children's museums.  So more birthday fun is still in store!

It's hard to believe that all of this weekend's birthday fun didn't even include your party which is scheduled for next Saturday.  The delay in partying it up has you somewhat confused on when you are officially five.  I've tried to explain that the day of your birth is the big day.  But you insist that you aren't really five until you have your party!  So, during this week of limbo just know that I had an amazing quasi-birthday weekend with you! 

I think this denial of being "officially five" amuses me so much because you have been so looking forward to turning five and being big enough for kindergarten.  As hard as it is to believe that this sweet baby is already five, I am very excited about the year ahead and all the new things you will learn. Dotdot has started teaching you read but I know that by this time next year you will be reading for real.  I can already see how much you want to read and I am so excited to see you truly experience and discover the joy of books - something your Mommy, Daddy and Dotdot all cherish.

One of our favorite games right now is for me to say "I love you" to which you respond "I love you more" to which I then counter "That's not possible".  A variation of this game has you making up absurd numbers like "I love you 100 and 80 and 100 and 45 and 90 and 300 percent more" to which I just say "You got me I can't count that high".  In truth, there is no way to attach a number or amount to how much I love you. I loved you before I even met you five amazing years ago and even though it doesn't seem possible, that love only grows with each amazing day I have spent with you since the doctors pulled you, literally, kicking and screaming into this world.  I couldn't have wished for a more perfect child - an amusing, witty balance of spunk, smarts and beauty that take my breath away everytime I look at you.

Here's to many more birthday milestones spent together!

All my love-

Dear Campbell: 56 & 57 Months

I know I say this every time I write one of your "newsletters" and I'm sure the vast readership of this blog is so sick of hearing me say it but . . . . WOW! What a crazy couple of months! The last time I wrote to you we covered Christmas and the big reveal of the Disney trip.  On Christmas morning you were convinced the Disney trip would never actually get here but, kiddo, if the ensueing weeks didn't fly by for you they sure did for me!

Let's see, your Daddy got a new job, spent four weeks essentially working two jobs, you started staying with Dotdot and learning to read, Mommy started track season  . . . . It's been a crazy couple of months.  But not matter how crazy the highlight was without a doubt our trip to Disney!  You started packing several days in advance and when I started shaking you awake bright and early that Wednesday morning you popped right out of bed ready to run to Disney if that's what it took. 

The trip was a whirlwind of fun times and has left us with a dizzying array of memories and about 1,000 photos courtesy of Dotdot.  There is no good way to recount all of it so I will hit the highlights.  But if I were to say you had one slogan for the week, I would borrow the classic Top Gun line: "I have a need  -  a need for speed!"

You were just at the magic number of 44 inches with your tennis shoes on and thank goodness because you LOVED the roller coasters (and yes, the all caps and bold is totally  necessary to adequately express the thrill seeker you were).  We ended up riding Test Trak no less than ten times, Space Mountain at least a half dozen, Expedition Everest (or Mountain of Everest as you call it) four times . . . . it was a week of roller coaster fun!  Below is a picture of you that captures your excitment during our last trip around space.

While fast rides featured prominently in our schedule, ironically when asked about your favorite ride you always answer "Small World" and when asked about the best part you generally reply that seeing all the princesses in the castle ranked up there at the top.  Indeed, the whole trip wasn't about speed (though Dotdot may beg to differ here as our expert mastery of the FastPass system left her frazzled from zigzagging around the various parks), our first afternoon and evening were  wonderful and quintessentially Disney.  We rode the classics - Snow White, It's a Small World and the Haunted Mansion, ate spaghetti at Tony's and watched the magical fireworks show.  It was a great start to truly magical week.

A few of my favorite memories are:

Cinderella's Castle: Seeing you dressed up in  your dress too distracted by watching a castle tower full of princesses to eat was so much fun to me.  As a wee girl I remember being so disappointed because way, way back in the dark ages you couldn't go in the castle. After lunch we squeezed in one ride on Prince Charming's carousel, just you and Mommy and we giggled the whole way around!

O'hana: Kudos and mucho props to Charlie for recommending O'hana for dinner!  It was by far the best meal of the week.  The food was unbelievable (I'm getting hungry just thinking about it) and the during dinner fun of coconut races and hula lessons added great atmosphere.  Not to mention our super cool view of the castle across the lake. 

Lion King: What an amazing show! I had to practically drag you there because it wasn't a fast ride but after sitting there in awe the entire show you wanted to turn around and see it again!

Kilimanjaro Safari: I've always wanted to go to Africa on a real safari so this was a must for me - again I had to force you to leave "Mountain of Everest" behind but once you got there and saw how close the animals were you loved it.  The highlight was the giraffe (your favorite animal) that walked alongside our truck for several hundred yards and even stopped dead ahead of us blocking the road for a few minutes to make sure you got an extra good view!

"Reading Babies": On the last night we came back from the park to find your babies circled around the Pippy Longstocking book you bought yourself in Norway at Epcot.   This little surprise made all of us giggle (except Daddy who was somewhere in Port Orleans begging a bus driver to bring him to right stop after getting off at the French Quarter section instead of the Riverside section).

Campbellisms: Hardly any day goes by without at least one good Campbellism and the trip to Disney seemed to supply an atmosphere perfect for some great ones.  My favorite - which also captures your mood for the week: "We went so fast I thought my eyeballs would blow out of my head!"

Disney was a super fun vacation.  It's funny - I've never been one who thinks of Disney as a vacation spot of choice.  I was very excited about the trip and seeing you experience it but didn't anticipate a desire to return any time soon.  But, I have to admit everytime I see a Disney commercial I want to go back and ride roller coasters and do all of the stuff we missed this time. Life is so  hectic that it's rare to get a chunk of days to all spend together, especially days full of so much excitement and fun. I will cherish the memories from this week forever - hopefully you will, too!

All my love-
Mommy 

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