Flight to Hawaii? Piece of cake!

Well, we made it to Hawaii in one piece and I have to admit that it was easier than both Sara and I anticipated. We did have a minor setback when we got to the airport and checked our luggage. It turns out that Hawaiian airlines won't allow you to check your 3-wheeled stroller at the gate...you have to do it at the main counter. They claimed that the 3-wheeled kind are bigger than the usual strollers (they are - that's why we brought that one!) and that it's too tough for the luggage guys to carry them up the ramp to the jetway. Apparently it's only the Hawaiian Airlines guys that are wusses because we saw plenty of other people pushing their very similar strollers through the airport. Slightly annoying, but we remembered that we were going to paradise so it was easy to forgive and forget.

The plane ride itself went really well. As we boarded the plane, I quickly spotted quite a few babies on the plane so I instantly felt better knowing the odds of Cameron being the most annoying one had just dropped significantly. Plus, she's really not annoying any other time, so why would she be now? We got really lucky in that there was an empty seat next to us so we were able to lay Cameron down to catch some zzzzzz's. In the end, it was a VERY long and exciting day for her (and Mom and Dad) but we all made it through no worse for the wear.

top pics: Granny entertaining Cameron...or is it the other way around?, catching some shut eye, and playing with Uncle Mark. bottom pics: enjoying the view from our room, and munching on the pineapple from Daddy's Mai Tai.

Christmas toys

As you can imagine, Cameron got plenty of good stuff for Christmas, but one of her favorites is a little car/walk-behind. She's too small to push her self with her feet and although she can stand up and hang on to the handle, she hasn't quite figured out that she can push it around too. That pretty much means that she needs one of us to give her rides. Here's a cute video of Sara doing just that, and after watching her wear herself out after the tenth lap, I've decided that this should just be a Mommy and Cameron game. (sound effects provided by Mommy)

raise your hand if you're spoiled!

Sorry that I haven't posted in a few weeks.  Things have been pretty busy with Christmas and Birthdays (mine) lately and of course, the snow has put the brakes on a lot of things, but it's all been good.  My Dad called a few days back and asked if we had taken Cameron out to play in the snow.  Sara and I had a good chuckle considering that with her current motor skills, playing in the snow would pretty much consists of just sitting there getting wet.  Not very fun.  We did take her out a few times though to let the snow fall on her head and she actually seemed pretty interested.  She kept trying to brush it off her face, but didn't really have much success.

In case you didn't realize, Cameron is the first Grandchild on both sides so that means that she's also the first niece to both of our sisters.  That all but guarantees that she'll be the most spoiled baby this side of the Cascades.  We still have to do Christmas with Sara's Mom, but so far, it's holding true to form.  Here's a few pictures of Cameron in her Christmas outfit that Great-Grandma Bert (Sara's Grandma) sent her.  She also got to help open the box and that was the most fun of all.

  

What's old is new

I think my Mom kept all of my old toys around just for this very reason. We were down in Longview last weekend and Granny pulled out "Trigger", an old toy horse that I used to ride around on. It was a little dirty and grimy, but nothing that a wet rag and a little Grand-motherly love couldn't take care of.

As you can see from the pictures, Cameron loved it and now it will always be waiting for her at Granny and Poppy's house. Here's a fun game....which picture do you think was taken after she fell off?

Santa!

Sara and I were really debating on whether or not we wanted to take Cameron to get her picture taken with Santa; it's always a hassle, they're crazy expensive, and we really didn't know how she would react. In other words, we were just doing a pretty good job of justifying it to ourselves.

The trouble is that we went to the mall for other reasons a few days back and when we saw Santa sitting there, all those other thoughts went out the window and we knew we had to get it done. So yesterday morning I got Cameron into her new Christmas dress (thanks Auntie Kristen)and headed off to the mall.

Cameron did really well and gave us (me and the photographer) a good 3-4 minutes of acting like goofballs trying to get her to smile before she started crying. As you can see below, we got a few good ones! Although you can't see her face, I think I like the one where she's looking at Santa the best. She's so curious and inquisitive right now that I think that really shows her personality. Plus, I'm sure she had her little brow furrowed and the wheels were turning and I think that's when she's at her cutest.

Playdates

We a playdate last weekend - for both Cameron and Mommy and Daddy!

Back in our PC (pre-Cameron) days, we met a pair of fellow evil-doers named Tony and Brittany at our childbirth and labor class. I think it was the second of five classes when we ended up sitting next to them and our bond was quickly formed as we poked fun at a kid who felt the need to relate all of our teacher's lessons to his own medical experiences. As if getting his tonsils taken out is akin to an emergency c-section! We ended up sitting with them for the rest of the classes and got the I'm-going-to-seperate-you look on more than one occasion from the teacher.

In any case, we've stayed in touch as our babies are growing and we've even found the time to meet up a few times. It turns out that the mall shooting capital of the world - or at least Washington - is halfway between us so it makes for a great place to meet and get a bite to eat. Plus, we're all pretty hardcore so the gunplay doesn't really bother us. Cameron and Savannah seem to enjoy it and it's not bad for the grown-ups either!

A few pics from the evening: (L to R) Savannah and Cameron playing on the table, Hey - whose binky is that?, Brittany and Savannah, Tony picked up Cameron's toy off the floor - this happened 72 more times, Mommy and Cameron!

Let's go to the beach!

Cameron took her first trip to the coast a few weekends back when we met up with Granny and Poppy (Jesse's Parents) and Aunt Katie and Uncle Mark to go clam digging!

It was a 9:00 pm low tide so we got Cameron all bundled up and tucked into her jogging stroller and off to the beach we went. You'd really think it was cute to see her that way, and you're right, but we we're smart enough to take any pictures of her! Just picture the younger brother from A Christmas Story when he was going to school and you'll have it about right.

In any case, she did great even though it was well past her bedtime and she even managed to catch a few zzzzz's while Sara was pushing her around being our clam spotter. They're not quite as fun, but here's some pictures that we took the next morning as we walked along the beach.