9 months!

Cameron is nine months old today and we just got back from the doctor a few hours ago. Everything is looking great. She's still pretty small relative to other girls her age, but she's been pretty consistent and the Doctor seems to think that she's getting set for a big growth spurt....we'll see.

She's on track as far as all of her motor skills and the new things that she's starting to do. In fact, when we were in Hawaii, Sara went to get her up from her nap and found her sitting up. It's the first time that she's been able to go from lying down to sitting on her own - at least as far as we know - and as you can see from the pictures, she was pretty proud of herself.

To hat or not to hat?

One of the (many) things that we learned on our vacation with an 8 month old was that our particular 8 month old doesn't really like to wear hats. She would put up with it for a while at the pool, but it wouldn't take long for her to remember her utter distaste for all things headwear related and try her best to get it off. That was fine with us, but she quickly learned that taking her hat off meant that it was time to get sunscreen on...which she hated even worse. Here's a few pics of her in her hat and some where we had a little too much fun with sunscreen in her hair. She wasn't amused.

First trip to the pool

We took Cameron down for her first dip in the pool and after a brief moment of trepidation, she realized that she loved it!

It was actually pretty cute; Sara held her as she walked into the pool and her little fists started quivering and her bottom lip curled out, but as soon as she saw everyone else in the pool, it suddenly became fun. She started splashing and kicking and having a great time.

We found a little floating ring that she can sit in so that the water comes about up to her armpits and she really liked that. It really did look fun...I wished that they had one in my size!

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?