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Winter/Water Wonderland

We went to the Bavarian Inn in Frankenmuth with friends this weekend and experienced a winter/water wonderland. We drove in to town following a fresh white snow and enjoyed the beautiful Holiday decorations along with a terrific water park. All of that was made even better because we got to go and enjoy it with our friends. Here are a few photo's of all the fun we had this weekend.




Splashing around in the water.




The kids enjoyed some chicken tenders in bed.


The decorations were terrific and the tree in the main lobby was huge as you can see.

Guess Who is in Town?

Guess who we saw today?

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If you guessed Santa then you are correct. Campbell went and sat on Santa's lap for the very first time. She actually liked him and she even honked his nose a few times. She has been walking around today yelling ho ho ho and giggling. Here are a few photo's from our first meeting with Santa.

Happy Thanksgiving

We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving and had lots to eat. We spent this week with friends and family and are very thankful for all of you!

18 Months

Campbell is 18 months old today. We went to the doctor and are happy to report she is a happy healthy toddler that is growing like a weed. Campbell weighs in at 22 pounds 6 ounces which is just about the 25% mark and measures out at 33 inch which puts her just at the 90% mark. So she continues to be our long and lean little bean. Each day she surprises us with new words and is really starting to try and repeat what we say, which can be pretty funny at times. She loves to play chef in her kitchen and still enjoys reading. Here is a picture of her holding her new book and sticker she got today at the doctors office.

Play Date

We had some very special people over today for a play date and boy did we have a good time. It's not often that we get to have all of our close friends over at the same time so today was lots of fun. I actually got them all to sit still for a picture which never happens. From left to right there is Wiley, Campbell, Sydney, Elisabeth and Allison. Thanks Lynn and Nora for coming to visit with the kids.

Catalogs

Well we have officially been put on every Christmas catalog list there is. I guess when you have a toddler at home the toy companies become your best friend. Each day I get the mail and each day we get a new toy catalog. Campbell has been enjoying them immensely. After we get the mail she confiscates the catalogs and runs over to the couch to thumb through them. She gets a big smile on her face as she points out the horses and doggies and cats and of course barbie. She is quiet as a mouse for about 30 minutes as she pours over each page and each toy. I'm pretty sure she thinks the mail lady is Santa Claus. Here are the last few days worth of catalog time.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. We hope everyone had a great Halloween and all our little ghost and goblin friends got lots of loot. Campbell decided to be a lion this year. She has the ROAR down perfect, but the trick or treat part we need to work on, right now it comes out as tic teat. We went to a few houses but her favorite part was putting the candy in the kids bags when they came to the house. Here are a few pics of our little Lion.

I was also able to catch her filling up her pumpkin with the candy we had for the kids. Please note she only takes the Kit Kat bars. Click the play button to see the video.

Haircut

We finally got Campbell her first haircut this weekend or should I say, I finally convinced Steve Campbell needed a haircut. Between the food in her hair from having it in her face to the on going war I had with her over keeping the clips in her hair so she could see, it was overdue. So Grandpa, Steve and I took her to the fun kids place at the mall thinking she would love it. We got there and Campbell sat in the shiny red fire engine and thought it was pretty great........until.........................




the nice lady at the store came at her with the scissors and comb. The picture below tells the whole story.


She wanted nothing to do with the cartoons they had on, the cheerios, or the toys she got to sit on. Good thing there were not that many hairs to cut and the whole thing was over in just a few quick minutes.

As soon as she was done Grandpa picked her off of my lap (she had to sit there so that we could hold her hands down) and she got a balloon and some very cool sun glasses and it was like nothing ever happened. The end result was worth it though.

This weekend we also went to the MSU football game, we stopped talking about the actual game for fear Steve might have a stroke. We did have a wonderful time as always tailgating with our friends. Here is a picture of us before we went into the game. I am still waiting for us to be selected at Meijer's tailgate of the game.....I think we should win. See you guys in a few weeks so we can do it all again!

Fabulous in Fur

Aunt Nora and Wiley came over today for a play date, as always we had a great time and can't wait to do it again soon. They brought with them some very special things for Campbell, one of the items they brought is a set of pink sparkly furry Barbie slippers. Campbell loves them and will not take them off, she took her nap in them today and would have worn them in the bathtub if I didn't stop her. She cries when one falls off and now has added Barbie to her vocabulary. Also in the picture below is a shiny new pink purse they gave her, she is ALL GIRL! Thank you so much Aunt Nora and Wiley for a wonderful day and for all the special gifts.

Hey Good Lookin Watcha Got Cookin

This weekend we setup Campbell's kitchen set and she has been cooking ever since. She loves it and plays with it for hours on end. I was lucky enough to get her to stop playing for a minute and smile for the camera.

She does her best cooking in the microwave........do they really learn from example?

She also likes to taste test everything she makes and each time says UMMMMMMM! As if to say I found my calling this is delicious. Daddy put in his request for cookies but is still waiting.

Every good chef needs an assistant which is why her favorite monkey Curious George always goes grocery shopping with her.

So if your in the neighborhood stop on over for dinner, Campbell is doing the cooking!

Pumpkin Patch

This week we went to the Pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. We had a great time there, they had a petting farm, a terrific playground, and of course a ton of pumpkins.

There were soooo many pumpkins to pick from it was hard to choose just one.

We ran through the pumpkin patch until we finally found the perfect pumpkin.

Then we loaded up our wagon until we could hardly pull it.

After all that playing and running through the pumpkin patch there's nothing better then some cider and donuts. Campbell even shared her donut with Grandpa.

Puppets

Campbell has recently started to enjoy puppets. She puts them on her hands and runs around laughing and making funny sounds. Here are a few little photos of her enjoying her puppet friends.

Happy Birthday Wiley

Today is our friend Wiley's Birthday!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY WILEY!!

Animal Sounds

Those of you who have been around Campbell the last few months know that she loves to make animal sounds. Well, every time I would try and tape her she would clam up or just start laughing and say cheese. I finally got her on camera doing some of them a few weeks ago so here it is. Please excuse the peas we were in the middle of our favorite snack when I was able to get it on film.....yes peas really are her favorite snack. We will work on talking with our mouth full later.

Go State

We had our first Spartan home football game this weekend and boy did we have fun (It helps when they win).  We had lots of our friends join us tailgating.   We ate and laughed while the kids ran around the entire time...... which is why Campbell passed out in my arms at the game and slept through the first half.  Here are some photos of MSU's cutest cheerleaders Allison, Elisabeth and Campbell.  Check out the Flea Bites link to the right for more great pics of the girls.

On Sunday I ran a 5K race for the zoo.  Even though it rained my 2 fans, Steve and Campbell, came out to cheer me on.  Here is a photo of us waiting for the race to begin listening to some tunes.  Thanks guys for cheering good old Mom on!

Holiday Weekend Fun For Everyone

We spent this holiday weekend enjoying the beautiful weather before the leaves start to fall and the winter coats come out of the closet. We did a little bit of every one's favorite things. Steve enjoyed the first weekend of college football (regardless of the score at the end of the game). He was more then happy to see his little girl in her Spartan jersey cheering on the green and white.

Campbell enjoyed swimming and even decided to start jumping in on her own. Here is a quick clip of what Campbell did Sunday afternoon, Auntie Ann's arms are probably a little tired after all that jumping. Our little fish will be sad to see the summer end and the pool close for the year.

We hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

15 Months

We went for our 15 month check up today and are happy to report back we are growing big and strong. Campbell weighs in at 20 pounds 14 ounces which is just below the 20% mark and measures out at 31 1/2 inch which puts her just above the 80% mark. So she is still long and lean at this point even though she is eating us out of house and home. She was not a fan of the doctor and would not calm down until she got her Dora sticker that she is holding in the photo below. Campbell loves music and to play with her beach ball in the backyard, she loves the pool, books, and to eat my cherry tomatoes off the vines. She is chatting up a storm but we are still only able to make out a few word, up and bye Daddy being her favorite. The last 15 months have been full of changes and it just keeps getting better.

Beer, Food, and Good Friends

My girlfriends and I try to get together a few times a year to catch up. I look forward to these get togethers because it always means a ton of laughs and great memories. This last weekend was one of our meeting and we had so much fun catching up, laughing, eating, and watching the kids play. We started off by going to Bells beer garden. The kids got to run around and the adults got to enjoy a few cold ones.



We then headed to Lynn's house for some famous Pokey Stix and more fun. Fred turned on the sprinklers and the kids were ready to go. Here is Elisabeth showing Campbell the best way to run through the water.

Wiley loved the slide.

They all loved the water balloons.
Here is a snap shot of everyone that could make it this weekend and our terrific kids.


(Nora, Wiley, Lynn, Allison, Elisabeth and Sydney)



Thanks for having us all over Lynn and Fred, we had a great time as always and can't wait to see you all again soon.