Their First Date

Last night our church hosted a Father/Daughter Dance. Russ and Campbell had their first official date. I photographed the dance, so I was lucky enough to spy on my favorite couple!

Some pictures of the sweet couple getting ready for their night out.

At the dance. They didn't actually dance much, as Campbell was more interested in climbing on and off chairs and eating cookies.

And she's done. This girl turns into a pumpkin at 7:00 pm.

Gorgeous

I figured I haven't done a good job updating on CRK's current development/extreme cuteness. I like doing it, if for no reason other than me to look back on.

Campbell at 21 months:

*Talking more and more everyday. About a month ago she had a language explosion. Prior to 20 months she said quite a few words, however a lot of the time she would just say the first half of the word ("ri" for rice, "che" for cheese) . All of the sudden it was as if something clicked and her language increased about 300%. She says the full word for everything now, is putting together short sentences ("dada car out"), and learns new words and phrases at an unbelievable rate. Literally last week she said her full name for the first time ("Cam-uell"). This week she mastered saying it correctly AND yesterday I asked her what her name is and she said "Campbell Rose King". Brilliant.

*She looks so much like her daddy that sometimes it is startling to me. Something about that mouth closed over those big teeth, she makes the exact same facial expression as him when she is looking serious.

*She has a lot of hair for a one year old. She frequently looks like a mop-top.

*She has recovered weight-wise and has become a really good eater. Since she was released from the hospital, she has gained almost 7 pounds. I was looking back at pictures from when we at TCH and the difference is amazing. Praise God for such a healthy girl!

*As sweet as ever. She loves to be cuddled, loves to sit in my lap in the rocking chair and read books, gives TONS of hugs and kisses, and often tells me "Mama, hold you, carry you". When she was a baby I was so sad she wouldn't always be as cuddly as a newborn. God definitely heard my prayers and gave me a little girl who loves to hug and cuddle a thousand times a day.

*Loves her babies (Jo and Steph Reagan) and carries them around a lot. Lately she has been putting her little purse on her shoulder and pushing her baby around in the stroller a lot.

*Campbell's first words (after "hi!") were the names of people she loves. Mama, Da-da, Mimi, Da, Yamy, Drew, La-La, Greg, Grandma, Paw-paw, Gigi, and Bob-bob are her favorite things to talk about. She also loves her friends, Miss-miss, Spencer, Ellison, Shan, Dude, Drew, Kate, Nik, J, Elle, Ry-Ry, and Jenny. She requests to pray for someone different every night (although many times it is Uncle Drew and someone else). We also sing a version of "Wheels on the Bus" that is personalized with people she loves (the Mimi on the bus says "I made some rice" and the Yamy on the bus says "take my picture"). It's by far her favorite song and she is constantly adding people.

Obviously I could talk about her all day, because she does so many things that are precious, that make us laugh, and that make her so uniquely her. We love her.

This and That

Some current happenings, in the form of a list...

1. This weekend my good friend/next-door neighbor, Missy, hosted a Valentine's Baking Day. Since they moved in (two years ago next month! How faithful was God in delivering such a precious friend to me!), Missy has kept us well-feed, challenged my cooking abilities, and introduced us to a world of new recipes. Saturday she had some girls over for baking time. In true Missy-fashion, it was very organized and very cute (that about sums her up to me :). The end result was a TON of sweets and getting to know some new girls. Thanks Miss!


2. We had a great time watching the Superbowl with friends. Thank you to the Bortkas for hosting us again this year. I use the word "watching" very loosely, as the girls sat in another room and talked, which I would gladly choose any day over watching football!

3. Speaking of the Bortka's, I did a session with them on Saturday morning. Erin bought Adam a session for as Christmas, as they haven't had any pictures made together since they got married. It was not only so fun, but I'm pretty sure this might be one of the best sessions I've ever shot. It's easy when your subjects are so willing and attractive!

4. We went to a 100th day party with Russell's staff from school on Friday night (apparently I'm not going in chronological order here). Most of the staff knew Russ to be pretty reserved, which is the norm, since he takes a couple of years to warm up to people (love you baby!). If you've ever seen Russ dance, you know that there is nothing reserved about his dancing. He is crazy. And hilarious. And awesome. By the time we left the party, the staff as a whole was in shock. I can't imagine the reaction he has gotten at school the past few days.

5. We had a follow-up at Texas Children's today with CRK's renal doctor. Her blood pressures have been a bit high. Not alarmingly high, but trending on the very high side of what is acceptable. Dr. Kale is going to raise the dosage of her medication a little and see if that decreases the pressures. She said we may need to order an ultrasound to look at her artieries, particularly the spot that was previously opened up in surgery. She mentioned that they may need to go back in surgically to re-balloon the spot or others. We are praying that God would decrease her blood pressures and she would respond to the increase in medication.

6. My heart has been heavy for the Marsh family and sweet Layla Grace. According to Shanna's twitter, they spoke with the doctor today about hospice options. Please pray for this family as they prepare to say goodbye to their daughter.

7. It is certainly a lot easier to blog when you don't include pictures!