First Beach Day of Summer

Our new friend, Megan Hebdon, who lives in our complex, invited us to go to the beach with her and some other sisters in our ward. We miraculously fit 3 car seats in the back of her truck! We went down to Zuma for a hot, fun, and fabulous day at the beach, the first one of the summer for us, and one of the few, I'm sure (it's just not super practical going to the beach with a little, still-nursing baby). We had fun! Brooke loved playing in the sand and with the other kids there. Camille wasn't quite sure about the sand at first. But after a little while, she was crawling and rolling around in it and really loving it. It was really fun for me, later, trying to get all that sand off of her. :) Brooke, Camille and I spent some time chasing waves together, giving my arms quite a workout. The water was freezing! But we had a lot of fun.

Petite Princess

Camille at 8 Months - 

Height -- 25 in.

Weight -- 13 lbs. 2 oz.

They didn't give me any percentages. So, I assume she isn't on the charts anymore. Last time we went in, she was in the 1st percentile. And she hasn't grown all that much in 2 months. She's too tiny for their newfangled charts! The doctor is only semi-concerned about it. "Well, she is growing," she said, "She's just not growing as fast as I would like." The way I see it, Camille comes from 2 fairly petite parents, and one of those parents comes from a long line of petites on both sides. So, she just got all of that petite. :)

And now, for some pictures:

 *Sometimes, what works best when I have to get something done downstairs is putting Camille in her highchair and giving her some cereal to work on, in this picture, Rice Krispies. This particular day, Brooke requested some Rice Krispies, too. So I put a pile on Camille's tray, she pulled up a chair, and together they ate Rice Krispies. And listened to the song, "Sisters, Sisters" over and over again. *

*Brooke built a robot. :)*

*My petite princess. She's not tall or big enough for her highchair. We had to safety pin the straps down, and she can hardly reach the food that's on her tray. I love it. *

 *My little sleeping beauty*

*The morning after laundry day, there was still a pile of rags on the couch needing to be folded and put away. While I was doing something in the kitchen, Brooke just sat down on the couch and started folding the rags. And she did a pretty fantastic job, too, for one so young and so untrained in such things! That girl is one special little being. And I was one proud and pleased mamma!*

*I am loving these little girl braids! A few weeks ago, I decided to try doing braids in Brooke's hair, and it pretty much worked. We now do braids a few times a week. I think she loves them as much as I do. She requested braids for her hair on Sunday.*

May Pictures

 *This is how I spend my time all day every day. I LOVE being a mom! And I SUPER LOVE my little girls! I think they are wonderful!*

 *Everyone's favorite picture of Camille. We 3 girls went on a little run in our new-used double jogger. We stopped at the park on the way home and I snapped this. She is the smiliest, happiest baby, and oh, so cute!*

 *My cute little girls, just hanging out after they woke up from naps.*

 *This girl loves to chew on and play with Brooke's beaded necklaces. And she was just looking too cute not to take a picture.*

*Brooke placed, oh, so carefully on Camille's head, a wipe.*

Random Pictures and Catching Up

*Camille is the best cuddle bug ever! I LOVE cuddle time with my baby! Lately we've taken to nursing in my bed when Brooke is napping, and more often than not, we fall asleep like that. It's just the best. *

* One day, I made up some bath paints for Brooke to play with in the tub. I found the idea on pinterest and really had to try it. It was not a disappointment! She played in the tub with those paints for an hour before I had to force her to clean up and get out. It was good fun! *

* Brooke really loves to get into Mamma's makeup. We have many pictures of her with makeup all over her face. It's funny, and really cute. *

* Somebody found her toes. And she loves to chew on them. *

* She has such huge beautiful eyes! *

* Happy St. Patrick's Day! I made some pretty festive, yet disgusting, green food: green, lucky charms pancakes (with the marshmallows in it); and then, a quesadilla with a green tortilla and green salsa; and for dinner, vegan sausage and potatoes dish. We did sidewalk chalk using green chalk, and went on a fun walk. *

* We've had really wonderful weather the last few months. These pictures were taken at the park. It's so great to be outside with the girls. They love it! And so do I! *

* Cuddle time with my wonderful little girls! My favorite time of the day! *

* ... more makeup ... *

* Date night! I took Daniel to an Indian restaurant and then to see "Cinderella" in the theaters. It was a really fun date, and a nice break for both of us from busy season. Daniel really loved the Indian food and I really loved the movie (I mean, I really liked the food, too, and Daniel enjoyed the movie). We don't have enough dates, I think. *

* 5 months old!?! Already??? *

Disneyland with the Family

 Daniel took me and the girls to Disneyland once, just us. And then we went to Disneyland one time more with Bekah and Chris and Gramma Holbrook when they came. We just went up for one of the days they were there. We had a grand old time with them! Especially Brooke. She LOVED playing with her cousins, and she and Brooklyn seemed to get on especially well. It was really fun to watch them and oh, so cute. It seemed really busy on the day we went with them; more so than the day we went by ourselves. But I'd checked the weather, and it was supposed to rain that day. I was hoping the rain would drive people out of the park. Well, it did rain. A lot, and hard. I was surprised. I was expecting a little sprinkling for maybe a short time. But no. We got really wet, and we were not fully prepared. But ... it did drive some of the crowd out of the park. And it was still a really fun day.

We went to Medford for a quick trip, and also for a job interview for Daniel. It was nice to visit with my family. And Daniel got the job. But we didn't take it.

*Our 6th anniversary happened while we were in Medford. We took advantage of some great, free babysitting to do a fun anniversary date. We drove out to Jacksonville for dinner at a fun Thai restaurant, which, of course, I loved, loved, loved! We walked around Jacksonville for a while after dinner, looking at all of the old buildings and stopping to read the plaques telling about the history of Jacksonville. And we topped it all off with a drive outside of town to a secluded spot for a little stargazing. It was the perfect evening!*