Campbell looked so cute in her striped pants the other day that I felt a photo shoot was necessary. We started indoors, then headed outside.
I laid her on her belly in the grass, then realized this was the first time she had felt grass. Her emotions ranged from being puzzled to interested to completely annoyed.
So she's not ready for grass yet.
Is at Campbell's bedtime.
I sit in the chair in her room and feed her before she goes to bed. Russ sits on the floor and talks to me while she eats. She is swaddled up and normally starts to drift off when she's done eating. When she's done, he picks her up off my lap and pauses to let me kiss her sweet cheeks. As he walks over to the crib with her, he kisses her and looks at her. Sometimes he stops before he puts her down to whisper to her. He lays her down and smooths her fuzzy hair and kisses her again.
I know many people think their husband is the best father in the world. I know many great fathers myself. There is something, however, about the messiness of marriage that for me has highlighted what a wonderful father Russ is to Campbell. In the four and a half years we have been married, I have come to know his every weakness, his every fault. We have battled through issues too numerous to count and often relied on God alone to make it through this crazy business we call marriage. And despite the fact it has not always been an easy road for us, he has exceeded every expectation I ever had for what kind of father he would be.
So every night, regardless of what that day has held, I watch him put her into bed and think to myself what a lucky little girl to have him for a daddy. I know she will never remember these moments, but I forever will.
I'm not one to get very anxious about the weather. As Ike approached, I was most excited about us both having work canceled on Friday, but not so worried about getting batteries, water, etc. By Friday mid-morning, my Dad had informed me that we probably needed to make some preparations. At that point, I started to feel pretty anxious about Campbell (would she be okay during the storm, would she get too hot with no power after, etc). We spent Friday making a trip to Randall's, securing our patio furniture, and hanging out with family and neighbors. We moved Campbell into her pack-n-play in our room for the night, and she slept through the entire hurricane. I alternated between sleeping and being up and Russ (the man of the house) stayed up basically the whole time.
Our house fared well. Part of our fence is leaning, but other than that we have no damage. As of today (Tuesday), we still don't have power. Praise the Lord my parents got power back on Saturday afternoon, so we have temporarily moved over here.
I am so thankful that we had no major house issues, that we have a place to stay with power, and most of all, that it was not at all traumatic for Campbell. She has spent the past four days being totally oblivious, which is exactly how it should be.
Last weekend we went to the beach for our annual trip with my parents, my sister and brother-in-law, and cousins Lauren and Gregory. This was Campbell's first trip to the ocean...and does it ever take a lot of sunscreen to keep that little white head protected!
All packed up and ready to go!
Getting sunscreened up by Yamy.
MiMi and Lauren
Geda and the beach bum
Amy preparing to slice a deadly onion.
First (and only) feel of the ocean.
Worn out from the weekend!
Our good friends, Chris, Cassidy, and Caeleigh Rogers, came to visit this weekend. Rogers (Chris) was Russ's best man and they have been close friends of ours since about the time we started dating. Caeleigh was born in January and this was our first time to meet her. What a doll! We had a great time of hanging out and catching up.
6 month-old Caeleigh was VERY interested in getting her hands on Campbell.
I snapped a few pictures of Caeleigh for her mommy and daddy.
