A night in San Francisco to watch American Idiot Musical.

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Already so soon another year has passed and our sweet baby girl is now a big three year old! At her three year check up she weighed in at 29 lb 8 oz. and is 3' 1" tall. She got her blood pressure taken for the first time, which is right within normal range. She was very animated with her doctor this visit. He asked her several questions about what she could do now that she was three. One particularly memorable question was, "Do you know what a circle is?" Camille responded, "YES!" "What does it look like?" He asked. "Well, it doesn't have any corners!" She told him. "You're right! Can you tell me a shape that DOES have corners?" He questioned further. "A hexagon!" She said emphatically. I think we were all surprised and impressed with that answer! She doesn't miss a beat! Along with knowing all her shapes, she can hop, balance briefly on one foot, wash and dry her hands, pick out her own clothes and get dressed, jump, skip, whistle, "sign" her name, copy a line and a circle. She knows all her letters and is distinguishing sounds, she reads her own name along with several other family names, counts to 50, and has mastered 1-to-1 correspondence. These days we hear a lot of, "I do it!" and "I'm NOT a baby!" Camille is independent, caring, helpful, happy, and every bit a social butterfly. She loves playing outside in the dirt - uh- garden, visiting the zoo, going on trips, playing with her dollies, riding her bike, learning new things, having play dates, exploring, and visiting the library. Early this summer she became a full-fledged swimmer! She can now jump off the diving board and swim to the opposite side of the pool entirely on her own! The first time she did this was shortly after the Olympics began. She apparently paid such close attention to the Olympics that she climbed out of the pool and kissed the ground after swimming that great length! Such special precious moments each day that we continue to treasure with our sweet Camille Scarlett.

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For her birthday Camille thought it would be fun to take her cousins to the water spouts at a local park. She and Reid squealed with delight as they ran through the water spouts! A fun way to celebrate her special day!

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Curious George - ✓
Curious Camille - ✓
Chocolate Covered Pretzel Sticks - ✓
Fruit Skewers - ✓
Hot Dogs, Buns, Barbecue, Drinks - ✓
Popcorn Machine - ✓
Cotton Candy Machine - ✓
Snow Cone Machine - ✓
Soft Serve Ice Cream Machine - ✓
Happy Birthday Banner - ✓
Lots of Camille Photos - ✓
Huge Lollipops - ✓
Banana Candy - ✓
Curious George Colored Everything - ✓
New Bike - ✓
Friends and Family to help celebrate - ✓

It was a fun-filled day by the pool and we can't believe our sweet baby girl is THREE!

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This year we celebrated at Gary and Janet's with Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie. It was a perfect day full of yummy food and lots of swimming!

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She was a very special lady and we miss her immensely.

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A few photos from a fun Father's Day with Tara's dad, the first in many years! After a delicious breakfast of biscuits and gravy we headed out in Dad's '67 GTO to the car show and then a joy ride! Pretty fun!

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On June 15 another sweet baby was born into the family, just in time for Father's Day! Tara's brother, Kurt, and his wife, Trish, welcomed their new baby girl, Ellewyn Delcia. We were thrilled that she was born before we had to head back home and felt very lucky to be able to drive over and meet her when she was just one day old. We are looking forward to seeing them all again in September!

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From Orlando we flew to Quincy to visit Tara's family for a very special event. As many of you know, Tara's mom was diagnosed with Stage 2c Ovarian Cancer in January of this year. On June 12, Diane had her final chemo treatment and has since been declared cancer free! To celebrate family and friends gathered together to participate in the local Relay for Life event. It was a special evening for all those who were able to attend. We certainly have a lot to celebrate! The following Sabbath we had a small dinner celebration at Gary and Diane's home again with family and friends. It's always such a blessing to be able to spend time with family.

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Another work trip for Christian, another fun adventure for Tara and Camille! Christian was able to take off several days before his show started in order to have a bit of vacation with his girls. Some of the highlights were: Camille learning to swim to the side of the pool, our trip to SeaWorld amidst a downpour, and Camille being the "Honorary Duck Master" at the Peabody Hotel.

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A special treat for us to be able to spend the day with Tara's brother, Chad, and his daughter, Keira. We travelled up the coast a bit to the beach town of Carpinteria and spent hours playing in the sand and chasing the waves. The girls' giggling was infectious and we all had a wonderful time together!

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Camille has a new little cousin! Cole Christian Anderson was born on May 15 and we were thrilled to get to meet him! He's a little sweetie and Camille completely adores him!

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Christian was called away for work and Camille and Tara were happy to join him in Palm Desert. Cousins Andy, Danielle, and Austin joined us over the weekend for a fun filled day by the pool. Camille and Tara spent lots of time soaking up the sunshine all the while thinking of Christian hard at work.

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Christian and Camille planned a wonderful birthday and Mother's Day celebration for Tara! After a delicious birthday dinner we all headed up to Yosemite! We had the best time camping in the housekeeping units, going for bike rides (great story!), hiking, splashing in the water, spying deer and other animals, roasting marshmallows, meeting new friends, and so much more. It was a wonderful time and we're looking forward to another trip to Yosemite, hopefully soon!

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Camille and Tara were able to fly back to IL to celebrate Diane's birthday and spend more time with family. Camille was not feeling well from the moment they got off the plane and ended up being diagnosed with bronchitis. It was a tough week for her, but she made it through! She had lots of quality time with Nana and Grandpapa which she loved!

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Cousin Brandon and Auntie Abby happened to be visiting over Easter. Camille was thrilled to have Brandon around to hunt for eggs and got such a kick out of Brandon and Daddy racing to see who could be first in the freezing cold pool!

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A few fun photos of Camille

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Although our mini vacation didn't begin very well, we made up for it! Camille was not feeling very well when we first arrived but the hot desert air and sunshine did wonders! We spent each day at the pool with the exception of our adventure to the Phoenix Zoo. Phoenix was beautiful! What a fun trip!

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Some photos from a fun afternoon at our local zoo.

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Little did we know that when we saw Tara's mom just over a week prior we would be seeing her again in the hospital. Diane went into Urgent Care on Thursday, January 19 with complaints of abdominal pain. She was admitted into Blessing Hospital that afternoon and transferred to Barnes Jewish in St. Louis on Friday. By Tuesday she was in surgery with the diagnosis of Ovarian Cancer. Tara was able to be with her when she came out of surgery, Christian and Camille joined a few days later. Not an ideal circumstance but so blessed to be able to be there and to have such amazing, supportive friends who provided a place to stay. Camille was such a trooper as she and Tara made their daily trek to and from the hospital each day. We were thankful we didn't have to leave before mom was home. Now begins the healing...

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Our beautiful girl is two and a half! It is just so hard to believe, we keep repeating it over and over to ourselves but it just seems impossible that time has passed so quickly! She is full of curiosity and relates well to Curious George, her constant pal. At 2 1/2 she recognizes all her letters and is beginning to recognize many of their corresponding sounds. She can count to 20 and from 10 to 0. She is also recognizing many words such as her name, mommy, daddy, and several others. She is hopping with both feet, jumping off steps and rocks, climbing everything in sight, building towers, and telling stories. Camille is Mommy's big helper and often cleans, dusts and puts away laundry. Her favorite daily activities are reading, preschool, park time, "the jumpy place," library, gardening at home, Micke Grove, and playing with the neighbor kids who she refers to as her "big sissy and brothers." She is still just as snuggly as ever and we treasure story time, nap time, and our evening snuggles. She is the light of our lives and just keeps getting brighter!

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Tara jumped at the opportunity to accompany Christian to Auburn Hills, MI. While Christian worked at his company headquarters, Tara and Camille reunited with Tara's Aunt Penni. What a treat to be able to introduce Camille to her great Aunt, Uncle, cousin, and great Grandma! (She has now met all six of her living great grandparents!) We were also able to sneak in a weekend visit to Berrien Springs to visit more of Tara's family there including her parents and brother who were able to drive over for the weekend. Camille is such a lucky girl to be a part of such a wonderful family!

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Continuing with the holiday celebrations we were thrilled to host Tara's cousin, Tamee and her husband, Jason for a couple days. During their stay we were able to aquaint them with some of the local haunts and had the privilege of a mini family reunion with their mutual Aunt Shirley, Ted, and cousins Brad and Jennifer! Always fun to see family!

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To ring in the New Year we drove down to So. Cal to celebrate with Kirk and Lindsey and Andy and Danielle. On our way we stopped to visit Christian's Grandma Gail, Uncle Mike, and Aunt Susie. It was a whirlwind weekend but we had a fabulous time, as always. What fun to watch the three cousins play together and to toast to a new year!

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We were so lucky to be able to host an early Christmas with Christian's family at our home this year. What a treat to have everyone together to celebrate! We even had a visit from Santa, which Camille absolutely loved! We had a quiet family celebration on Christmas morning and later joined Janet, Gary, Mike and Susie. The day after Christmas we drove to Sonora to visit Uncle Danny, Aunt Diane, Erik, Julie, and Heather. Treasured memories.

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Always thankful to be able to travel to see Tara's family in IL. This year it was Christmas at Thanksgiving and we even snuck in a birthday celebration for Tara's brother, Bret. We crammed in lots of fun activities including a Thanksgiving feast, Christmas Eve dinner, and Christmas Day along with jumping in the leaf piles and feeding Grandpapa's chickens. We had a wonderful, memorable time.

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We were so excited to have the opportunity to go to a 49er game while we were in San Francisco for the weekend. It was a gorgeous day in the city! Fun to see everyone in costume for Halloween, although Camille was not at all excited about the man dressed as a gorilla. It was the perfect day and ended with a win!

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Home from our Hawaiian vacation we decided to take a quick trip to the pumpkin patch!

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After finishing one of the biggest and most difficult shows of the year we all, Christian especially, were ready for a quiet family vacation. How lucky and blessed we were to get to spend 12 days in sunny Maui on the shores of Ka'anapali! It was the best, most relaxing time. We swam, ran, snorkeled, and Christian was able to go on two dives. We celebrated Christian's birthday with a delicious dinner at Duke's. The weather was perfect every day which made it extremely difficult to leave! We stayed at the Westin Ocean Villas and spent every day at one or more of the four pools. Camille became a little fish and was so adventurous she began swimming under water! We also got to see a hula dancing show at Whaler's Village! Truly a memorable vacation.

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So much happens in the span of a month which makes it increasingly difficult to remember it all! The weather continues to be beautiful so we've spent a lot of time outdoors. This month we were once again in San Francisco, this time for Oracle OpenWorld. We also took a family trip to Maui! We got our first rain of the season and headed outside to splash in puddles and listen to the raindrops on the umbrella. Camille has been singing so much more lately, which is music to our ears. Our favorite songs are those she makes up while she's talking to us. She loves playing with her dolls and toys but her favorite activity is reading. She loves a good snuggle while reading and we're happy to oblige. This month Tara began "preschool" with Camille. Camille is so excited she wakes up each morning asking, "Is it preschool today? Are you my teacher, mommy?" It is exciting to watch her learn and grow and how lucky we are to be a part of it every day!

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Another big show for Christian, another opportunity to play in the city for Tara and Camille! This time Camille had an idea! We were given a book called Good Night San Francisco by a friend of Tara's and we have read it to Camille more times than we can count. Before we left she asked if we could see everything that was in the book and of course we told her we would attempt to. Camille and Tara spent the week visiting as many places from the book as possible and made quite a dent! They were also able to spend time with new friends which made it all the more fun! Every night we read the book and talked about what we had seen and what more to see. We didn't quite make it to everything, but in time we're sure to! Christian worked tirelessly all week long and was happy for it to come to an end and join us on an excursion to the Palace of the Legion of Honor to see The Thinker. We were also lucky enough to see the Blue Angels practice for the Fleet Week Air Show. In the middle of the week we were saddened by the news of the death of Steve Jobs. He has been a hero and an inspiration to us, especially Christian, for many years. It was somber at the entrance of the SF Apple Store with so many people writing messages and posting them on the glass walls. "Three apples have changed the world. One seduced Eve, the second awakened Newton, the third one was in the hands of Steve Jobs."

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Another month full of fun activities! Camille has enjoyed spending every day all day outside. She has a pool and water table to splash around in and takes full advantage of both. This month we added a sandbox which she just loves! We've taken numerous trips to the park, in fact we go at least once a day. Often times we are joined by several other neighbor kids which makes it that much more enjoyable! We've also gone to our local zoo which is just the perfect size for toddlers. Camille is as curious as ever and continues to explore her world with enthusiasm. It has been such a fun summer!

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Christian was called onsite for one of the biggest shows of the year, Dreamforce. Camille and Tara joined him for the majority of the time which was both exciting and exhausting! While Christian was setting up networks and accommodating the 45,000 registered attendees, Tara and Camille were able to spend time visiting friends and sightseeing. Camille's favorite by far was our excursion to the Golden Gate Bridge. She pointed it out in every photo and drawing and was thrilled to be able to walk across it. We were joined by Grami at the end of the week who babysat while Christian and Tara enjoyed a night out and also enabled Tara to sub for a day. Several of Christian's cousins joined us on Friday night for a dinner at the Rainforest Cafe and we got to meet the newest member of the family! It was great fun, but we are all very happy to be home again!

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On our way back home from Southern California we took a detour to Sonora to spend a few nights at Uncle Danny and Aunt Diane's. It was a wonderful opportunity for Camille to meet Aunt Diane and cousin Heather and spend more time with Uncle Danny and cousins Erik and Julie. We all had the best time swimming, exploring, and playing with the five playful pups running around. It was over too quickly but we're hoping to do it again very soon!

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Once again we were reminded how quickly time passes as we drove to Southern California to celebrate our darling nephew's first birthday. This was Camille's first roadtrip post-potty training and she did amazingly well! We are so proud of her! She was delighted (as were we) to be spending the weekend with Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, and "Baby Reido!" Lindsey did a fantastic job with Reid's turtle-themed party. Reid was running around, giggling and smiling, but paused long enough to check out his turtle cake! We're pretty sure the biggest hit (for both Reid and Camille) was his new ball pit! What a sweet little bundle of joy he is.

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After spending the summer watching boats go by and hopping in and out of the boat in the garage, we finally pulled it out of the garage and headed out to the Delta. Camille was thrilled to finally be able to take a ride in a real boat! Initially she was nervous but she soon was squealing with joy and enjoying the ride, even driving!

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She is getting big so fast and constantly on the move but she slowed down and humored us long enough to get a few snapshots to mark this big milestone. Her smile is infectious!

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A perfect day to celebrate our sweet girl turning two! We began with a song and birthday pancake, continued on at Sabbath School where she got to blow out two candles while her friends sang, then on to Grami's house for a fun birthday party with family and lots of friends. The theme this year was "Ladybugs" and our little lady enjoyed every minute! What a treat to have so many people join us to celebrate! She's still not too excited about cake ("Mommy, that's yucky!") but presents were really fun to open, especially with an audience! It was a wonderful day and we feel so blessed to be surrounded by friends and family (near and far!) who love Camille and enjoy watching her grow.

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It's official, we have a two year old. The best little two year old we could have ever asked for! Yes, her favorite word might be "No!" but we know this too shall pass. She is as curious as they come, always asking, "What's that?" and "Why?" and "Can Mille try it?" Our girl just wants to have fun! Playing chase, hide-and-seek, and any other game that gets you running or crawling or jumping out with a "BOO!" will send her into fits of giggles. She loves kicking, batting, and throwing balls. She loves playing with and caring for her baby dolls. She also loves pulling and pushing anything she can get to pull or push! Besides the obvious birthday excitement, another highlight this month was that she is now potty trained! We are so proud of her and feel very lucky that it happened so quickly and easily. Another exciting adventure was taking Camille to her very first movie! We took her to the local theater to see "Winnie the Pooh." It was so cute to see all the kids snuggling with Pooh, Eeyore, Piglet, and/or Tigger. Camille took the Pooh! There were a few scary moments for her, but overall she seemed to like it. We still can't believe that we blinked and now she's two...each moment is truly precious.

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A fun and sun filled weekend! Cousin Brandon visited from Washington and was able to spend a couple nights at our house. Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie drove up to celebrate. We spent lots of time in the pool, ate delicious meals, had a visit from Uncle Chad, Auntie Kelly, and cousin Keira, and got to watch the fireworks just down the street from our house!

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Just one month away from turning two, this month has been full of excitement! Camille thoroughly enjoyed having Papa Roly stay with us while looking for a more permanent place nearby. It also made it very convenient to celebrate Father's Day! We also were excited to host Christian's cousin, Andy, and his family for two nights. Camille adores her little cousin Austin! We took numerous trips to the park each week, often times accompanied by friends. One day we were at the park with two of Tara's friends and TEN kiddos! Library day continued to be a favorite part of each week as well. We have been lucky to be able to spend time at Grami's pool. Camille loves the water and is becoming more and more of a swimmer. She jumps off the diving board, holds her breath, kicks, and splashes. She is a typical toddler with boundless energy but also enjoys lots of snuggle time with a good book. We've enjoyed numerous picnics on her patio picnic table and spend hours outside playing in her kitchen, water table, and wading pool. She laughs easily, smiles often, and we love her unconditionally.

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While we were in Southern California we attended cousin Derek's Dental School Graduation. We were happy to be able to be a part of such a milestone and get to see more family in the process!

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For Kirk's 30th birthday we drove to Southern California to spend a week at Lake Arrowhead. It couldn't have been a more perfect, relaxing week. First, we made a stop in Camarillo to spend some time with Grandma Gail. Once we arrived at Lake Arrowhead we got to spend a little bit of time with Andy, Danielle, and Austin! Such a treat! We had the best time hiking, touring on the Arrowhead Queen, eating delicious food, feeding the ducks, and just relaxing!

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There will never be enough words to express the feelings we have whenever we think of our sweet girl. She is just amazing. She continues to be incredibly social and talkative to everyone she meets. This month she figured out how to climb in and out of her crib on her own (only during play time!!). She is running, jumping, hopping and climbing. She can almost count to 20 and recites her ABC's like a pro. She spells her own name, knows her colors, and recognizes over half of her letters. She is still signing and curious to learn more signs. She loves reading her books and often can be found sitting in her room with a book retelling a story to her baby doll or stuffed animals. We wish it were possible to record every minute!! What a joy she is to our lives.

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It's always a treat when we get to see Christian's cousin, Andy, ski. We headed over to Sugar Barge for this particular race and got to see Andy, Danielle and Austin, Glen and Terri, along with Uncle Gary and Aunt Bonnie. It was a cold day but we had a really fun time watching the race and getting to take a ride in the boat afterward!

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This year Tara's birthday fell on Mother's Day so we went to one of our favorite spots...Capitola. On our way we stopped in Woodside for the May Day celebrations and to give Tara the opportunity to see many previous students, families, and co-workers. It was a beautiful weekend in Capitola. We stayed at a new hotel and will definitely stay there again! Camille thoroughly enjoyed running along the beach, searching for shells, and playing in the sand. A perfect way to celebrate!

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Playing on the playground, going to the library, making new friends, "driving" the car, visits from family, visits to family, climbing, running, kicking, chasing bubbles, strolling, signing, singing, talking, cooking, cleaning, bathing, swimming, flying, giggling, questioning, eating, counting, picking flowers, hugging and kissing are all a few of Camille's favorite things at 21 months!

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A special treat for Tara was to be with her family over Easter weekend. We flew to Chicago and drove to Berrien to spend a long weekend with Tara's grandparents, parents, brother, aunt, uncle, and cousins. It was a fun weekend for all of us spending time with family, meeting up with friends, and watching Camille hunt for Easter eggs with 10 second cousins!

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Having not seen Papa Roly since January, we were happy he was able to come up for a visit. Camille was elated to have him here and we're sure the feeling was quite mutual. We're hoping we'll get to see more of him now that we're closer!

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We were so excited to have Auntie Lindsey and Baby Reid come visit us for a long weekend. Tara and Lindsey were finally able to paint Camille's room and it turned out even better than the first time! It's absolutely perfect! Camille was so happy to have her "friends" back on the walls that she threw her arms around them. Cousin Brandon was also here and we thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her.

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Fresh from our trip to the Midwest, Camille turned 20 months old. We can't say enough how much joy she brings to our lives on a daily basis. This month was another busy one for us as we worked to settle in to our new home. Camille has had a tough time with the adjustment, but overall has been amazing! She is incredibly energetic and loves running around our front yard. She especially loves when the neighbor kids are out and make their way over to play. For the most part the weather has been nice and we've been able to take several trips to the nearby park. She was so happy to find the play structure has stairs and has now master walking up and down the stairs as well as climbing the ladder. To our delight she sings so much more these days. Often we will hear her singing "Jesus Loves Me" or "ABCs" and most recently she has started singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and "Mary Had a Little Lamb." She can sing most all of the "ABCs" and "Ring Around the Rosies." She also loves babies! At the wedding she was completely captivated by Tara's cousins little boy, Ethan. She just sat and stared at him, kissed him, and held him for the longest time. Now that we're home she still talks all about "Baby Ethan." She also cut another tooth while we were in St. Louis (it always seems to happen when we're traveling!!) which brings her tooth count to 12 and counting. She's still working on four more. We are so happy that she continues to have an amazing appetite with some of her favorite foods being mangos, broccoli, asparagus, grapes, and corn chowder! She is certainly trying to assert her independence with us these days by telling us what she wants to wear, which book to read, how she wants her milk (hot or cold), and which shoes to put on. As always, we are blessed beyond words.

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The event we've all been looking forward to finally arrived! Tara's big brother, Kurt, tied the knot in St. Louis to Trish Mitchell. We flew back a few days early so that Christian could participate in the bachelor party with the boys and Tara was able to spend time catching up with her good friend, Kori, while Camille played with her BFF (Kori's daughter, Riley). The weekend flew by, but it was perfect in every way! Friday was rehearsal and a Red Carpet rehearsal dinner with everyone dressed to the nines. It was so fun seeing family and friends and watching Camille reunite with her big cousin, Keira. Saturday was a full day with hair appointments, make-up, a photo shoot that took us around St. Louis, and then the Big Event. Tara was a bridesmaid and Camille a flower girl along with Keira. Tara's brothers, Bret and Chad, were groomsmen and her dad, Gary, officiated. It was a beautiful ceremony. The bride was breathtaking and the groom...speechless. The reception was quite a party with a delectible dinner to start, then dancing until the midnight hour. We, of course, had to laugh when all the other kiddos were sound asleep on their parents laps and Camille was still dancing the night away. The life of the party! Congratulations to Kurt and Trish. We love you so much and wish you a lifetime of wedded bliss!

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A month passes by so quickly, it's sometimes tricky keeping up with our energetic sweetheart! This past month has been a whirlwind to say the least. At the beginning of the month we went on Camille's first road trip as we drove from OR to visit Grami and Garball in Northern Ca. Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, and baby Reid met us there for a wonderful SuperBowl weekend together. Camille adores "Baby Reido" although I think he is still getting used to the idea of his older cousin. As soon as we got back from our visit we immediately dove into boxes...packing them that is. Camille was very intrigued and quite unsettled as she watched us taking everything from around the house and packing them. What first started out as a game didn't seem much fun to her as it continued. We had immeasureable help from friends and family in packing up our home. On the 18th of the month we made our bittersweet move from OR to Northern Ca. where we now have a new home. Camille has been quite a trooper through it all. It is taking some time for her to get used to the idea that this is now "home" for her. I think when we talk about "Camille's house" she still imagines our old place. She misses the animals painted on the wall and continuously asks for Mommy to paint them. She talks about the library and "Teacher Jaime" whom she adored. She even mentions walking to the mall so that she can get a balloon. There have been a few tough days and nights, but slowly she is starting to settle in. We have a new library and a new teacher there with LOTS of kids. She loves the nearby park and has already made several new friends. She is very excited to see more of Grami and Garball. She loves the neighborhood kids and all the dogs! Unpacking is also a slow process, but we've been able to get mostly done. We have new appliances and soon our shutters will be in! Auntie Lindsey and Reid will be visiting soon to help paint the animals in Camille's room. It's beginning to feel more like home...

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Almost exactly 2.5 years after packing up and heading to the great Northwest, we packed up and headed back to sunny Northern California. We are so blessed to have an amazing family and wonderful friends who volunteered their time to help pack, clean, load, and entertain. We are so grateful! Our move was going well until we realized we were running out of room in the truck. We had NO idea that we would fill up the largest truck we could rent! Unfortunately, we had to say good-bye to some things but fortunately they all found good homes. The day of our move we were up early, loaded, and ready to go. Funny thing...the truck was dead. After a call to the company and breakfast compiments of Starbucks and Whole Foods, we finally set out on our way just two hours later than planned. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Christian was a marathon driver, driving the truck the entire distance. Tara was able to trade driving with Janet who had flown up to help. The scenary was breathtaking...it's days like that that make us think we could actually live in OR indefinitely. But here we are, back in CA making our new house into home sweet home.

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What more can we say? We've got the sweetest little Valentine one could ever ask for!

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We loaded Camille up early in the morning and headed south to Grami's eagerly anticipating a fun-filled SuperBowl weekend with Grami, Garball, Kirk, Lindsey and Baby Reid. Camille was such a trooper the entire trip. She sang, talked, slept (a little), watched the scenary, and only got really antsy about the last 45 minutes of our trip. She LOVED our pitstop at McDonald's playland. We'll keep that in mind for future trips for sure!

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One and a half. For some reason it seems so much older than saying 18 months, so we're going to keep counting by months for now. There is really nothing we enjoy more than watching Camille hopping and bouncing around the house. After being away for 25 days, she was bounding around the house so happy to be home in her own bed and playing with her own toys. Her vocabulary has completely exploded and we long ago lost count of how many words she knows but just this month she started calling herself by her own name, our sweet "Mille." She has two new molars which brings her tooth count to 11 with several more on the way. One of her newest accomplishments is the ability to walk up 3-4 stairs on two feet rather than crawling. Lately we have been finding her in the "Downward Dog" position and giggling with delight.  She is adept at using a fork but is still mastering the spoon. Play time is always so much fun, especially with lots of new and wonderful toys to play with after the holidays. She adores her babies and gently rocks them, kisses them, tucks them in the swing or chair and covers them with a blanket. One of our favorite new developments is that she now sings along with us and says the prayer before dinner; there is no sweeter sound. We are continuously blessed.

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After a few too many rainy days at home we decided it was time to get out! We're sure glad we did because we had a blast at the Children's Museum! We joined our friend, Adrienne, and her two kids and spent the morning playing. Camille loved the pint-sized shopping carts at the pint-sized grocery store.  Brushing the giant teeth of the crocodile was pretty fun and the water room was also a hit with lots to do!  Hopefully we'll have the opportunity to go back again soon!

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On New Years day we headed to Loma Linda, our last stop before heading home. We spent the weekend enjoying time with Papa Roly, Daniel, Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, and Baby Reid. Christian flew home early Monday morning, but Tara and Camille stayed on five more days. During their visit they spend lots of time with Papa Roly and Daniel, visited Auntie Lindsey and Baby Reid, took several trips to the playground, had lunch with Auntie Pam, and a dinner with cousins Erik and Julie. It was a fun-filled week for them both but after 25 days away, they were very eager and happy to back home once again!

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Our next holiday stop was Camarillo to celebrate with Christian's side of the family. Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie hosted us along with Grami and Garball at their home. Grandma Gail and cousins Allie and Keira joined us as well. While they were there we created a candy plastered gingerbread house, had a top model fashion show, and went on a bug hunt around the neighborhood. Camille loved being around the big girls and followed them everywhere. Cousins Zac and Bonnie and Grandma Gail joined us for a delicious fondue dinner. A great way to ring in the New Year!

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Camille continues to amaze us every single day.  At 17 months she is talking up a storm. She is continuously asking us, "What's that?" or "Who's that?" and so far she remembers every word she hears. We truly understand what it's like to have a parrot in the house. Monkey see, monkey do is her favorite game as she imitates everything we do whether it be wiping down counters, putting dishes away, or typing on the keyboard at the computer. She continues to be intrigued by everything in her world. She likes to study bugs crawling, watch birds and airplanes flying, and listen to dogs barking. We have continued taking her to Toddler Time at the library and she enjoys having interaction with all the kiddos that attend. She runs, climbs and slides and is now working on mastering the art of jumping. She continues to be our social butterfly and our daily dose of sunshine.

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The very next day we had a yummy dinner celebration for Jessica at Tara's parents. We think she enjoyed the Special K but the chocolate cake for dessert was pretty amazing, too!

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For the first time in a long time we were able to celebrate with Tara's brother, Kurt, on his birthday. Camille did very well on the three hour drive (her longest!) and we all enjoyed the afternoon together with a delicious meal prepared by our new SIL, Trish.

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What a fun *almost* TWO weeks Tara and Camille had while visiting Tara's parents. Tara's mom, Diane, had unfortunately lost her voice and was unable to work which meant she got to be home! Camille spent every day waiting for Grandpapa to get home so that she could go outside to feed the ducks and chickens and watch the dogs run around the yard. Christian arrived on the 23rd and it snowed on Christmas Eve which made our Christmas Day just perfect. Grandpa Russell (Gary's dad) and Granny Ann joined us along with Kurt and Trish and Bret and Jessica making it a very merry and memorable Christmas!

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At the beginning of their 25 day trek and on their way to visit Nana and Grandpapa Russell, Tara and Camille stopped at the home of Tom and Kori Cook. It has become a little bit of a tradition for them! Camille and Riley had a lovely time getting reacquainted and they got along very well. Tara always enjoys her time with Kori and this time was no different. We're looking forward to seeing them again in March!

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We celebrated our home Christmas quite early this year as Tara and Camille left early to spend some extra time with her parents. It was fun to have Auntie Andrea visiting us and join in our festivities! Camille LOVED all the Christmas lights and decorations this year.  She was constantly pointing them out and talking about them.  It was fun to watch her look at the tree and shake the presents while yelling, "PRESENTS!!" or "LIGHTS!!" or "SANTA!!" She certainly was far more aware this year! She was very excited to finally be able to tear open the presents on "Christmas Morning" and although she was very appreciative of each one, we think her new tutu took the prize!

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The day after Thanksgiving Papa Roly and Daniel arrived! We were so excited to see them and have another Thanksgiving celebration. Although it rained most every day they were here we were able to go see the Zoo Lights one evening when the rain let up. As always, the time passed far too quickly!

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We had a lovely Thanksgiving Day at Abby and Brandon's house. Abby cooked up quite a meal and, lucky for us, there were lots of leftovers to bring home. Camille thoroughly enjoyed tagging along after the big kids and they were very sweet to her allowing her to join in and play. We are truly thankful for our wonderful family and many blessings.

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These months pass by so quickly.  Our sweet girl is a full blown toddler!  She is funny, curious, social,  adventurous, and more and more independent every day.  She is all smiles from the moment she wakes up in the morning until she falls asleep at night.  We delight in hearing her sweet voice all day long practicing all the words she knows and putting them together into two and three word sentences.  Some of our favorites are, "I love you!", "Hold me", "Open it, please," and "Night, night."  She has (at last count) 67 words in her vocabulary and adds more to it every day.  She has begun spending more time with her dolls which is so cute to watch.  She loves books and is always asking for us to read one to her.  We don't mind the extra snuggle time at all!  We could go on and on about how amazing she is, because she is! 

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Christian found a great deal on plane tickets and surprised Tara and Camille with a trip to Maui.  It was a perfect, sun-filled vacation!  Camille loved the sand, the sun, and the pool (NOT the ocean).  We spent every day at the beach or pool soaking up as much vitamin D as possible!  The macadamia nut pancakes with coconut syrup did not disappoint and neither did the fresh fruit platters with so many exotic fruits.  We were treated to TWO complimentary upgrades which meant First Class to and from Maui.  What a treat!  Camille did really well on our overnight flight back, she slept all the way from Maui to San Francisco.  It was tough leaving the 85° temp and coming home to a 48° house!  As always, we left already planning our next trip.

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What a treat to have Tara's co-worker and our good friend, Tracy, come to visit!  It was a quick trip but we packed in as much as we could with walks to the mall, cooking/baking, a night out at the movies, and an afternoon in downtown.  Camille was enchanted with her from the beginning and was excited to get up every morning knowing that Tracy was in the next room.  Tracy taught her a new favorite trick which she has been doing ever since..."Woo, woo!" 

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There is no slowing down...time or Camille!  We've had lots of visitors this month, play dates with Annie and Cooper, more swim lessons, and Camille's first coast-to-coast flight!  A 6th tooth appeared this month and two more are just about to cut through.  She has a vocabulary of 45 words now and does so well communicating with us using words and signs!  She is showing more of her silly side and finds herself quite hilarious most of the time!  Her new favorite joke is to say "Night, night" and lay down while snoring and pretending to sleep.  She is tall enough to reach up and pull things off the counter tops and just today showed us she can reach the door handle and has learned how to open the door to the garage.  We love that she is showing more affection to us with lots of hugs, kisses, leg squeezes, and "I YOU!" (I love you!)  She melts our hearts, over and over!

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Another work trip for Christian, another adventure for Tara and Camille.  We celebrated Christian's birthday by touring Boston on the Duck Tour and ended it with dinner at Cheers.  Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie (who just happened to be there at the same time!!) joined us as well.  The following day we explored the Freedom Trail on a self-led tour.  The rest of the week was quite a history lesson for Camille and Tara with trips to Salem and Concord but mostly spending time exploring Boston.  It was a wonderful trip and Camille was such a trooper!  She is quite the little traveler, but after ten days she was very happy to be home again!

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It's that time of year!  This was the first trip to the pumpkin patch for both Camille and Reid.  Camille had fun running around all the different sized pumpkins.  She soon found one that was just her size.  We took her through the hay maze and down the giant slide but she refused the pony ride!  Reid slept through the entire adventure, and couldn't have been any cuter!

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Camille is a big cousin!  Baby Reid Oliver Anderson joined the family on August 18 and we have been so eager to meet and hold him!  We finally got our chance!!  Camille loves "Baby Weed" so much and was completely enamored with him from the very beginning.  He is as precious as can be and we just couldn't get enough of him!  Camille was thrilled to have Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Kirky here too and relished their attention.  Reid was introduced to many new sights and sounds  as we took him around to some of Camille's favorite places; the park, the mall, swimming lessons, Book Babies at the library, and the pumpking patch.  They make quite a pair and we are so excited to watch them grow together and become the best of friends!

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Football season is in full swing!  Camille is a quick learner when it comes to cheering for our team and walks around saying "Go Niners!"  On this particular football Sunday we spent half-time in the garden where Camille loves to pick tomatoes and eat them like apples!

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Just after returning from San Francisco we were visited by Grami and Garball.  We took walks, went to the park and the mall, and were finally able to take Grami to the Rose Garden.  As always, the time passed far too quickly and we're really looking forward to the next visit!

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Christian had to be in San Francisco for work and Camille and Tara were happy to accompany him!  We stayed the week at the Palace Hotel with a few days spent visiting Grami and Garball.  Tara was happy to see friends and spend time at Woodside visiting previous co-workers, families, and students. 

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Another month has flown by!  Camille is more talkative than ever with 25 words and seven animal sounds along with numerous signs and learning more every day.  She had her first big boo-boo and trip to urgent care this month when she scrapped the roof of her mouth with a stick.  There was blood and tears, but within a few minutes she was happy as could be (although mom and dad were still pretty frazzled!).  Her newest accomplishment is walking backward and then smirking because she is so impressed at her new skill.  She began a new session of swimming lessons and is getting more and more daring in the water.  She is taking mostly one nap a day, although there are still many days when she will take two.  She has had a few night of waking from bad dreams/toothaches, but overall is still sleeping well at night.  We spent a wonderful week in San Francisco toward the end of the month and while we were there Camille cut her 5th tooth!  We just can't say enough how blessed we are to have such a beautiful, healthy, happy baby girl.

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It's been a busy month with lots of birthday celebrations and family visits.  Camille is walking around like she's been doing it her whole life and she loves it!  Not only is she walking, she's talking up a storm.  She is very sociable and loves to talk to mom and or anyone else who is around.  She also continues signing and using her words and has added "help" to her list.  We've been enjoying and taking advantage of the beautiful sunny days and hoping they'll last for a while longer.  Camille loves to be outside exploring.  She crinkles leaves, collects sticks and rocks, and smells the roses.  It's been fun to have our garden in bloom and take her out to pick fresh blueberries, strawberries, green beans, and snap peas.  It's amazing what she can gnaw down with just four teeth, although we can tell there are more on the way!  The toddler phase is so much fun, we are continuously amazed and entertained!

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Just a few photos from our afternoon at the park.  It was the first time we'd been there since Camille started walking and she was so excited to be walking around with all the other kids.

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What a treat to have so many family members at Camille's first birthday celebration, including ALL of her grandparents!  Cousins Rick and Lisa were so generous to host the party at their home in Huntington Beach, and it was the perfect setting.  After a dip in the pool and a bite to eat Camille was ready to dive into her cake (prepared especially for her by Nana and Uncle Chad).  This time it went EVERY WHERE!  It's hard to tell if more went in her mouth or on her body!  It was a perfect celebration for our little angel! 

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Tara's parents had planned to spend a week in So. Cal. with her brother so we made plans to be there as well.  We thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to see lots of family and to celebrate Camille's first birthday with all of her grandparents present.  It was a whirlwind week full of lots of activity and travel and we enjoyed every minute.  Thursday was spent at Descanso Gardens near where Tara's brother lives.  Camille was so happy to see her big cousin, Uncle, Grandpa, and Nana.  Friday was spent at Papa Roly's house and the girls got to go swimming!  Saturday was also at Papa Roly's and Camille finally got to see Uncle Kirky!  Sunday was the big birthday party in Huntington Beach.  Monday was a quiet day at Papa Roly's and then dinner with Grandpa and Nana to celebrate their 40th Wedding Anniversary.  Tuesday was photo shoot day with the cousins and grandparents.  Wednesday was a trip to the L.A. Science Museum, a sad good-bye to Nana and Grandpa, and then on to Camarillo to visit Aunt Susie, Uncle Mike, Great-Grandma Gail, and Grami.  Thursday we headed back to Papa Roly's for a few hours and then boarded our plane to go home.  Lots of fun memories packed into one short week!

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Our 7th anniversary was on August 3rd.  What a more perfect way to celebrate seven years of wedded bliss than as a family.  Our day began with Camille's One Year Check-up.  She was weighed, measured, poked and prodded, and after it was all said and done the doctor informed us that she was "PERFECT!" which, of course, we already knew!  Christian had to work so Camille and Tara dropped him off and spent the day together at home.  At the end of Christian's work day we headed to the original Old Spaghetti Factory which is right on the river.  It was a perfect evening and we had a beautiful view from our table.  Dinner was delicious and afterward we enjoyed a leisure stroll.  It was a happy anniversary indeed!

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And just like that, she's ONE!  We can hardly believe how quickly this year has passed.  You can imagine how many times we have played the day of her birth over and over in our minds and the tears we've shed (of happiness and sadness) because she is growing so fast.  Her celebration was small (the big one will be in August in Southern California) with Mommy, Daddy, Grami, and Tara's friend, Jayme.  However, thanks to the use of two laptops, we also had Grandpa, Nana, Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, Uncle Chad, and cousin Keira too!  We had a delicious dinner and then out came the cake.  She was quite unsure of how to react with the cake.  She mostly just looked at it and then at us.  She eventually patted it a little but still wasn't too sure even when Christian gave her a lick of frosting.  She was far more interested in the balloons and presents!  She is thoroughly enjoying all of her new toys and clothes but we are fairly certain her favorites are her new chair and activity cube.  What a wonderful, memorable year this has been and we are anticipating the next to be the same!  Happy birthday, sweetheart!

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On the morning of her first birthday we decided to have an informal photo shoot of Camille.  We have posted photos taken all month which you can find below, but these are her "One Year Old Photos." 

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It isn't too often we have someone around to take photos of all THREE of us.  Luckily, Grami loves taking photos and was happy to oblige.

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She is growing way too fast, but what a joy she is.  Camille weighs 19 lbs. 10 oz and is 30 inches tall.  She now has four teeth which we get to see a lot of because she is such a smiley girl!  She is babbling more and more every day and it's fun to hear the "words" she uses for different things.  Along with "Mama," "Dada," "up," "hi," and "pop" she now says "ba" for ball, "boo" for balloon, "dow" for down, and "poo" for pool.  She knows eleven signs now and is so happy to be able to communicate many of her wants to us.  It's fun to see her put them together such as "More milk please."  She also points at everything and then looks to us to show her the sign for it.  It is a learning experience for all of us!  Camille LOVES the water and enjoys splashing around in her kiddie pool as well as in the hot tub.  She started Waterbabies swimming lessons and did very well for her first time.  She and Christian have been practicing her kicking and scooping all week!  She has great balance and continues to stand up for various lengths of time.  Just this week she took her first steps!  So far the most she has taken at once is three.  We wouldn't really call it walking yet, but she is definitely "stepping" and is excited to think she can get around on twos rather than fours!  She is an expert climber and loves climbing on anything and everything.  Luckily we live near several parks with climbing equipment so she has plenty of practice.  She has been able to climb up the stairs for several months now, but she has now become a pro at climbing down the stairs.  Camille continues to be a social butterfly and enjoys having visitors or being in a place with lots of little ones running around.  Never before has a year passed by so quickly and what a year it's been!  Our lives have never been fuller.  What a blessing it is to have our beautiful, sweet Camille.

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To celebrate Camille's first birthday, Tara and Grami took Camille to the zoo.  It was Camille's first time and she absolutely loved it!  It was a beautiful morning to visit the lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes and other wonderful animals.  Next time, we're determined to take Christian. We're sorry he missed out!

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Wednesday night Christian's mom arrived.  Camille didn't get to see her until Thursday morning and she was very excited when she saw her Grami walk into her room!  We had a wonderful time out in the yard, trips to the mall, a trip to the zoo, Camille's  first birthday celebration and first swim lesson.  We're so happy she was able to be here with us and we're excited to see her again in August.

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Last week we hosted our long-time friend, Stacy.  She is a 4th grade teacher in Taiwan and is back in the states for vacation.  We feel so honored that she spent part of her vacation with us.  We had a nice, relaxing time together enjoying the sunshine and warm weather.  Camille loved Stacy from the beginning and the two of them were inseparable!  We're hoping for another visit very soon!

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The weather has warmed up and we are enjoying every minute!  Camille loves to be outside playing in the pool.  In fact, she loves it so much she says "pool" and points at the door to go outside! 

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What a treat for us to host the McNamara family for a night!  Tara and Stacey worked together at Woodside and we all were excited for their visit.  We enjoyed the evening together with a walk to the park and dinner on the deck.  The following morning was a bustle with three little ones crawling up and down the stairs filling the house with giggles.  Camille loved having "little people" around and took the opportunity to show us what a big girl she is....she crawled DOWN the stairs for the very first time!  What fun!

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With the sun out and the weather warming up we thought it would be fun to get a kiddie pool for Camille to play in.  She loves splashing around in the bath tub and hot tub, now she has a pool of her own that is just her size!  She absolutely loved it!  We're hoping the sun sticks around so we have lots of opportunities to use it!

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Tara's good friend, Andrea, came to spend a long weekend with us.  She brought sunshine and warm weather with her which enabled us to be outside a lot!  We enjoyed an outing to the park, the mall, and plenty of time at home in the yard and hot tub.  Camille adored her and was all smiles whenever she was around. 

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Now is when we wish time would just slow down.  Camille is growing so fast and it makes her Mommy teary-eyed to think that next month she will already be ONE!  What a joy she is!  This month has brought new accomplishments and challenges.  She is now completely done eating purees.  Just after she turned ten months she decided that she wanted the food that Mommy and Daddy were eating, so now that is what she eats and she is quite content.  She's a pretty good eater and tries most everything we give her.  The day after we got back from our trip to CA she began using a fork.  We are continuing to stab her food, but she loves to feed herself with the fork!  She has also found that dropping the fork and other objects makes a loud sound that she rather enjoys.  She likes the Drop and Pick Up game.  When an object is dropped she looks at us and says, "Uh, uh, uh!" as she waits for us to pick it up.  Signing is progressing as well.  She signs "all done" for everything now!  We are working on "more", "eat", and "please."  We are also hearing her make more sounds closer to words.  We have been able to decipher "Dada", "Mama", "up", "pop", "bye-bye", and "hi."  We keep thinking any day she will be up walking.  She has been practicing standing unassisted for various lengths of time.  She surprises herself when she realizes she is up on two feet!  It's adorable to watch her.  By this point she has also become quite the climber.  She climbs all over the couch, all over Daddy, up her high chair, up the oven, up her crib, up the stairs...she climbs anything and everything she can.  She continues to be very sociable and loves attention given to her (who doesn't?!).  Sabbath school, the grocery store, the coffee shop, and the post office are all highlights for her especially when there are other babies around.  She loves "chatting" with other babies and kids we pass along our way.  Today at the post office she played Peek-a-Boo with a little boy standing in front of us.  He hid behind his dad and popped out and she giggled with delight.  She continues to amaze us every minute of every day.  We have never known such love!

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It was a cold, rainy day outside but we had plenty of sunshine on the inside as we celebrated Christian's first Father's Day.  He took Camille to get donuts for breakfast and the rest of the day was spent snuggled inside together.  Camille and Tara had worked in secret and were excited to give him his Father's Day gifts; a book all about daddy hugs and a photo of his beautiful angel girl.

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We decided to take a quick, spur of the moment trip to Southern California as not to miss out on celebrating with Lindsey at her baby shower.  We are so glad we were able to be there to see Lindsey's adorable baby belly.  The weekend also happened to be graduation weekend at Loma Linda Academy so we stopped by the grad party for cousin Carley and were able to visit with lots more family.  It was a whirlwind, but we thoroughly enjoyed our visit!  Now we're home and wishing for sunshine and warmer weather.

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Saturday afternoon our family joined us on a walk up to Benny's Mountain for Camille's dedication.  We had asked Tara's dad to dedicate her and couldn't have thought of a more special place than on The Farm.  It was beautiful and memorable in every way.

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The day we have been looking forward to for over a year finally arrived!  On Camille's ten month birthday we boarded a plane and headed to Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula for a week long vacation with Tara's family.  The trip was uneventful with a layover in Chicago and then a quick flight to Hancock airport.  We spent the first night at Grandpa and Grandma Rendel's house where Tara spent every summer growing up.  Monday we were greeted by the rest of the family; Tara's parents, brother Kurt and his fiance Trish, brother Bret and his girlfriend Jessica.  That evening we had a hot dog roast by the crick then headed to our rented house near Baraga.  Tuesday we spent at the house and exploring the area, Wednesday we took a trip up to Copper Harbor, Thursday we spent around the house, and Friday we spent back at The Farm and nearby McLain State Park.  Saturday we spent at The Farm enjoying the beautiful weather and celebrating Camille's dedication on Benny's Mountain.  What a memorable day to be surrounded by our family and have Tara's dad dedicate Camille in such a special place.  Sunday came far too quickly and it was time for us to say good-bye.  We had the most wonderful time and are looking forward to the next time we can all be together.

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Time continuously passes far too quickly!  It seems like just yesterday we were writing about her turning nine months.  Camille is showing us more and more of her personality each day.  She lets us know when she wants something by grunting and holding her arms straight out or up.  She also tells us when she doesn't appreciate something!  She is constantly babbling and making new sounds.  We love the looks we get when she figures out a new sound to make, she is so proud of herself.  She is getting around the house very well on her own and follows mommy and daddy wherever we go.  No walking yet, but she has been toying with the idea on a daily basis.  She kneels and tries to lift herself up but hasn't quite gotten it yet.  Her second tooth appeared the morning of May 16 which has made her grin even more adorable!  She has now decided that she would much rather eat the food off our plates rather than the purees mommy has been making so she is eating less and less purees and more and more "grown-up" food.  She has enjoyed pasta, veggie links, grillers, chopped fruit and veggies, and many other delights.  We find it incredibly fun and often amusing to introduce her to the culinary world.  She continues to be fascinated by everything we do and watches intently to see how things work.  Each day continues to be a blessing with our growing girl.  Enjoy the photos!  We have also posted more videos.

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We enjoyed a wonderful opportunity to celebrate neice/cousin Brandon's 11th birthday at the Old Spaghetti Factory.

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A special day with the most beautiful girl.  How lucky and blessed we are to have our darling daughter. 

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It was a beautiful, sunny day here and we couldn't have been happier!  Tara's one request was to stay out of the kitchen for the weekend and Christian and Roland were happy to oblige.  We spent the day enjoying the sunshine.  It was perfect!

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Camille hadn't seen her Papa Roly for five months, so as you can imagine, we were all looking forward to his visit.  While he was here we celebrated Cinco de Mayo, Tara's birthday, and Mother's Day.  We had several days of beautiful weather and took advantage!  We took many walks to the park, played outside, went to the mall, visited the Rhododendron Garden, and spent lots of time at home just relaxing and enjoying the company.  Camille enjoyed every minute with her Papa.  She crawled, climbed, clapped, and cuddled.  We hope we won't have to wait too long before the next visit.

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She's been out as long as long as she was in!  Life continues to be in the fast lane.  If she could run she would, but instead she crawls REALLY fast!  She is cruising around the furniture and can stand on her own without holding on to anything for about two seconds.  She has become quite the climber.  Just today she climbed up the side of her crib and knocked down a picture frame.  Time to lower the mattress again!  She is quite adept with the finger foods we have given her so far which include Cheerios, Kix, bananas, avacado, pasta and cheese.  This month has been incredibly exciting for our little social butterfly.  We had a play date with Annalise and her mommy, Heidi (a classmate of ours).  Andy and Danielle came for a weekend visit.  Our trip to California brought many known and new faces and she greeted each one with a big, gummy smile.  No teeth yet!  We don't want to hear how quickly time passes.  We are feeling it and we wish it would just slow down.  Every moment is precious.

UPDATE:  April 24- We spoke too soon!  When we woke up this morning we found that Camille has cut her first tooth!!

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The three of us flew to Sacramento to spend some time with Grami and Gar-ball.  We had a lovely weekend with the two of them and Kirk and Lindsey, who drove up from So. Cal.  Camille could not have been more excited about all the attention.  She was in the midst of constant activity and didn't miss a beat.  She could hardly contain her excitement with the dog.  She chased him everywhere and giggled with delight when he licked her.  Camille and Tara were able to stay for a week and enjoyed their extra time despite the rain and cold weather.  One of the highlights was a short rode trip to Woodside to visit Tara's friends, co-workers, and many of her previous kindergartners.  Time flies when you're having fun and before we knew it, we found ourselves back home looking forward to our next big trip!

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Camille wasn't quite sure what to do with the plastic eggs we placed around the living room.  We're sure in the years to come she will grow to be more interested but as for today, she found one she liked and stuck with it.  Our baby girl knows what she likes!  Happy Easter!

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We were so excited to have Christian's cousin and his wife come up for a long weekend.  We were hoping for better weather, but no such luck!  We made the best of it, however, and thoroughly enjoyed our time together.  Friday evening, admist a hail storm, we headed to the original Old Spaghetti Factory which sits right along the river.  It was a beautiful setting and we were very glad the power came back on so that we could enjoy a delicious dinner.  Camille adored them both.  She smiled and giggled at them and looked for them intently whenever they left the room.  The morning after they left she stared at the door as if waiting for them to burst in!  Our time passed far too quickly, come back again soon!

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It was wonderful to have Grami come visit us for a week.  Camille wasn't too sure about Grami at first, but soon warmed up to her.  Every morning Camille greeted Grami with the biggest smiles!  Grami took the best care of Camille spending time with her during playtime, putting her down at nap time, feeding her at meal time and getting her ready for bed at night.  Friday night we were joined by our niece, Brandon.  It was such a treat to take Grami and Brandon to Sabbath School with our traditional donut shop stop on our way.  Sunday came too soon and we had to say "good-bye" to both Grami and Brandon but we're looking forward to another visit soon!

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Another month has passed and it has been a big one!  Camille learned to crawl the first week of March and her world has completely changed.  Along with crawling she has learned to stand up in her crib, pull herself into a standing position using various pieces of furniture (her favorite is the ottoman), and climb the stairs.  She has been babbling more and more.  We think she has the sweetest voice and love to hear her"da-da-das" and "ba-ba-bas."  She continues to eat anything and everything that we put in front of her.  She tried beets for the first time and ate a whole jar full!  Teething biscuits are her new thing.  She loves gnawing on them and creating a gooey mess in the process.  Speaking of teething, she is right in the middle of it!  We are sure we will see it pop through any day now.  Camille continues to teach us new things every day and we can't think of anything more fulfilling than to have the opportunity of looking at the world through the eyes of our darling baby girl.

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A few photos from Camille's visit to Sabbath School.  She looked adorable in the outfit from Nana and thoroughly enjoyed all the attention!

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 We flew down to Loma Linda for a long weekend with Kirk and Lindsey.  It was a beautiful weekend in sunny Southern California and we took advantage by spending lots of time outside.  We were literally shaken by four pretty significant earthquakes in one day which left us feeling quite nervous but we were happy to be there to celebrate Lindsey's birthday and spend some quality time together.  Camille did great on the plane rides there and back.  She was very excited to spend time with Puka and adored her Uncle and Auntie. 

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Camille is growing so fast!  She is now 15 lbs. 10 oz. and is 27 inches long!  She is sitting up all by herself and has gotten back into a sitting position twice after rolling over onto her belly.  She is putting everything into her mouth these days; fingers, toys, towels, hair, EVERYTHING!  She is able to reach for things and transfer from one hand to the other.  Her babbles continue to amuse and we can tell she loves "talking" to us.  We have yet to hear a distinguishable "Mama" or "Dada" but we are waiting!  We have begun teaching her sign language and she is now able to recognize "eat", "milk", "mama", "dada", and "bath".  We continue working on "all done" and "more".  Solids are going well, she has liked most everything we have introduced to her.  She wasn't too sure about avacados and broccoli, but loves mangos, bananas, edamame, applesauce and everything else!  When she sees mommy getting her food ready she races over in her walker and squeals with delight!  On these rainy, wintry days she continues to be just the sunshine we need.

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Today was a gorgeous, sunny day and we decided to take full advantage!  The sun was shining into Camille's bedroom casting the most beautiful light making it perfect for photos.   Camille was more than happy to oblige me with her antics and giggled the entire time.  After we finished we headed straight outside to the park to soak up more sun.  We love to be outside whenever we have the opportunity!

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Camille's new high chair arrived just in time for Valentine's Day thanks to Grami Jami!  She had her Valentine breakfast sitting in her new chair and we think she likes it.  The three of us spent the day at home together.  She is the perfect Valentine!

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Today was SuperBowl Sunday and we celebrated in a big way!  We wore our 49er pride in hopes for next year as we cheered on the Saints and the Colts.  We would not have been disappointed either way, but we were happy to see the Saints win! 

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Camille had her six month check up today.  After looking her over, watching her roll over and grab a tongue depressor, and listening to her heart the doctor told us she is "Perfect!"  Of course, we knew that already but it was fun to hear it from a professional! :)  She weighed in at 14 lbs. 13 oz. (just over double her birth weight!) and is 26.5 inches long.  Camille started solid foods this week!  She is already a pro at eating and loves sweet potatoes and bananas!   Now if only Mommy and Daddy could just get the food in her mouth rather than all over her face.  We don't have a high chair yet, so it's a little tricky!  Camille also wore her first pair of shoes yesterday!  She doesn't care to wear them too long but loves how it helps her move her walker so much better. 

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Camille turned six months old today!  We can't believe our baby girl is already half way to being a year old!  Time is flying by so quickly.  She is growing and changing on a daily basis and it is all we can do to keep up.  She has now outgrown the wrap we'd been using for naps and nighttime and we find her in all kinds of precarious positions in her crib as she rolls and scoots around.  She has found her thumb and uses it at times to put herself to sleep.  She continues to be vocal, really loving the sound of her own voice.  She is eager to crawl and pulls her legs underneath her in effort to do so, but Mommy and Daddy are happy to have her wait to reach that developmental stage!  She slept through the night without interruption for two straight weeks this month.  We're hoping to get more of that!  She loves her new walker and scoots around the kitchen floor and squeals with delight when she is in it.  We continue to feel so incredibly blessed by our beautiful daughter!

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To celebrate Camille's six month birthday she got two special new toys.  The first one is a walker!  She got to test drive it while we were visiting Kori and Riley and she absolutely loved it!  When we got home from IL there was one waiting for her and she couldn't have been more excited!  She squealed with delight at the sight of it.  The other special toy isn't really a toy at all but a Klean Kanteen just like Mommy's.  She loves holding and drinking from Mommy's and now she has one of her very own.

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Christian had to leave early to go back to work but Camille and Tara stayed a few days longer.  We drove to the airport to drop Christian off which gave Tara the opportunity to spend the afternoon and night with her good friend, Kori, and her family.  Kori's daughter is three weeks older than Camille.  The girls seemed to enjoy seeing each other and got along very well.  We left wishing we lived closer to each other and excited for our next visit! 

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The three of us were very excited to take another trip to visit Tara's family.  On our way there our flight from Denver to St. Louis was canceled due to weather.  It was quite an adventure for us to spend a night in a near-by hotel with nothing but the clothes we were wearing.  Thankfully the hotel had a pack-n-play for Camille and tooth brushes and tooth paste for the two of us!  We were on our way early the next morning and happy when we finally arrived at our final destination.  While we were there Uncle Bret and Grandpa got to show off Camille at their respective jobs and Nana got to feed Camille with a spoon!  On the trip back Camille and Tara flew from Quincy to St. Louis in a small nine seater Cessna Prop plane.  They both quite enjoyed the adventure and were happy to make it safely to St. Louis.

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New Years Day brings another celebration for the Anderson family because it happens to be Auntie Carol's birthday!  This year was a big one for her- 75!  We were so glad to be able to be there to celebrate with her and the rest of the family as we all gathered together in Huntington Beach.  Having lots of family around means lots of arms eagerly waiting to be wrapped around Camille.  She was such a trooper as she moved around the room being smothered with hugs and love.  As we all know, Auntie Carol is the true belle of any ball but Camille came in at a close second!

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We ended our Christmas celebration spree on Saturday in Camarillo at Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie's.  Camille was very excited to see and spend time with more of her family.  Our celebration included 3G (Great Grandma Gail), Grami Jami, Grandpa Gar-ball, Uncle Kirky, Auntie Lindsey, Uncle Mike, Aunt Susie, Derek, and Allie.  During our time together we enjoyed playing numerous rounds of Mexican Train, eating delicious food, going on walks, and just relaxing.  It was great fun, but we're sure Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie were happy to have their house back when we all finally left! :)

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Christmas day found us in Huntington Beach with Papa Roly and Daniel.  We arrived the Tuesday before and enjoyed relaxing and soaking up as much sun as possible.  On Christmas Eve day we were joined by Tara's 3 1/2 year old niece.  Keira is a wonderful big cousin and loves "Baby Mille."  Tara's brother and sister-in-law, Chad and Kelly, along with Auntie Carol joined us for Christmas Eve dinner.  Christian's brother and sister-in-law, Kirk and Lindsey, joined us on Christmas day.  Camille thoroughly enjoyed all the attention from uncles and aunties and thought that tearing paper was too much fun!  It was truly a very, merry Christmas!

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At five months Camille is doing so many new things!  She has new sounds for being excited, tired, impatient and a high-pitched one that she makes whenever she chooses.  She has found her toes and enjoys sticking them in her mouth when getting dressed or a diaper change.  She is rolling over like a pro these days and has just started tucking her knees under her belly in effort to crawl.  She continues to love bathtime and is super excited about her bath time toys and new tub.  We adore her and are enjoying every moment and new phase of her life!

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We were all healthy and excited for our trip to Quincy to celebrate Christmas with Tara's family.  The trip was long but Camille did incredibly well considering.  We arrived in St. Louis on Friday evening and were greeted by our friend, Kori.  We spent the night at Kori and Tom's house and were happy to finally be able to meet little Riley.  Camille and Riley were hilarious upon being introduced, we wished we would have video taped it!  Mid-morning on Saturday we were picked up by family friends, Reggie and Amparo.  We finallly arrived at Nana and Grandpa's house on Saturday afternoon and while we were there we got to enjoy time with Grandpa, Nana, Uncle Kurt, Uncle Bret and Jessica.  Although our time was short, it was wonderful!  Camille thoroughly enjoyed all the attention, especially the evening sing-a-longs with Grandpa and Nana!  We celebrated Christmas on Sunday morning and Santa was generous to all of us, especially Camille who recieved her first doll, a talking puppy, new bath time toys, three beautiful new outfits and much more!  How blessed we are to have such a loving family.

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The day Papa Roly had to leave we got new visitors- Grami Jami and Auntie Pam!  Although the weather cooled off significantly, they brought sunshine!  We had a wonderful time relaxing at home, walking around the mall and to nearby parks, and even enjoying our first date post baby while they babysat! 

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Thanksgiving Day was spent with Roland and Daniel who drove up on Monday to be with us.  It was a dreary day outside, but there was a warm and sunny atmosphere inside as we all worked together in the kitchen to prepare our feast.  Camille was as darling as ever and just adored being with her Papa Roly and Daniel.  We have always had so much to be thankful for, and this year is no exception.  I think we all agreed that top on our list was a smiling little 12 lb. bundle of joy.

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Today is Camille's four month birthday!  Unfortunately, she had to visit the doctor today and get her next round of shots, never fun!  She took it like a champ, though!  We were all impressed, doctor included.  She weighs 12 lbs. 4 oz. and is 24 3/4 in. long.  The doctor told us that she is perfect (which, of course, we already knew) and is growing and meeting her milestones right on schedule.  She is a bubble-blowing, high-pitched squealing, giggling, razzing, scooting, smiling little angel!

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This week has been a tough week for both Mommy and Camille.  Mommy got sick on Tuesday and by Wednesday Camille had the same bug.  She had a fever of 103.7 at one point and was very mellow and moaning a lot.  Thursday she visited the Doctor who told us to change our travel plans as we were supposed to fly to see Tara's parents and brothers over the weekend.  We are now planning our trip for December and hoping our baby girl gets better soon.  She is still coughing and raspy, but slowly getting back to her old self.

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Sundays are football days around this house.  You can never train a child too early to vote for the right team, so Camille sits next to us in her 49er cheer outfit and cheers right along with us.  This past Sunday was a particularly exciting game, you can see she really enjoyed it!

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We had company again for Halloween this year.  One of Christian's high school classmates and her husband joined us for the evening.  They are due with a baby girl on February 1st.  We enjoyed some soup together, handed out candy to all the kids that came to our door, and took a walk around the neighborhood.  Camille had missed a nap earlier in the day and, unfortunately, didn't enjoy the walk very much and was put to bed shortly after we got back.  A big thanks to Auntie Susie and Papa Roly for the Halloween clothes!

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Just a few photos from this past week.  She's growing so fast and now fits into an outfit her Nana got her when she was just one week old!  Thanks, Nana!  Last week Grami Jami sent her a hat to keep her ears warm so of course we had to try it out!  It was VERY cold outside (45 degrees) so it was good timing.  She wasn't quite sure what she thought of it.  She kept trying to get it off, but when it wouldn't she finally gave in and enjoyed our walk.  Thanks for the hat, Grami!

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Every day is a new day!  Camille is smiling, gurgling, blowing bubbles, sucking on her fingers, rolling over, babbling, and sleeping longer at night!  She weighs 10 lbs. 7 oz. and is 24 inches long.  She loves to sing along with mommy and daddy and has made a new friend who she sees every time she looks in the mirror.  What a joy she is!

• Photos- Updated with NEW photos 10/24
  

This weekend Camille got to meet Uncle Kurt and his girlfriend, Trish.  It was worth the wait, she adored Uncle Kurt!  Although here only a short period of time, we hope he left filled with smiles and love from his newest niece.  See you in November!

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The day after Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie left we had more company at our house, Grami and Grandpa Gar-ball who stopped in on their way to the San Juan Islands in Washington.  It was so fun to have them visit for a few days.  We got to go shopping one day and bought Camille some new outfits since she is fast outgrowing all her newborn clothes!  She's actually starting to fit into 0-3.  We hope you'll visit again soon!

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This week is another busy one at our house and we couldn't be more excited!  It started on Sunday with the arrival of Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie.  They flew up and traveled around the Portland area before coming here.  We took a walk to the mall, watched some good football games, visited the Rose Garden and Japanese Tea Garden, and thoroughly enjoyed each others company.  Thanks for coming to see us!  Come again soon!

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Camille is such a happy baby and makes our hearts happy every day!  This week she spoiled us with one night of 6 1/2 hours of sleep!  We know it's possible, now if only it could be more consistent!

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Time passes by so quickly.  Camille is two months old!  She has reached 10 lbs. and is looking and feeling more like an infant than a newborn.  She smiles and coos so much, which we just adore!  She loves practicing standing, her legs are so strong and she holds her head up very well.  She also loves being sung to and will laugh and coo along with whomever is singing.  We hope you'll be able to view the movies, they are priceless!  She brings such joy to our lives every day.  We are so blessed! 

• Photos- Updated with NEW photos 9/23
  

We were so excited to be invited to go to the 49er game on Sunday with Dean and Candy Hadley.  Being that it was Camille's first, it was extra special.  Grami Jami gave her the most darling 49er cheerleader outfit, which she wore proudly.  She was too cute and she did great!  It was a hot, hot day in San Francisco but she tolerated it just fine.  She spent most of her time in the portable bassinet we carried with us.  It was perfect for shading her from the sun and allowing her to take a nap.  We had a great time and left feeling elated that the 49ers beat the Seahawks!

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Thursday we left Capitola and headed to Grami Jami's house in Galt.  On our way we had a quick stop in Woodside and Camille got to meet many of mommy's co-workers and students.  Camille was quite a trooper for all the riding in the car, she did great!  Being at Grami and Grandpa Gar-ball's house was so much fun.  Mommy and Camille decided to stay an extra week, which was very hard on Daddy, but he flew back on Friday and joined us for the weekend.  Camille enjoyed spending the week swinging, jogging (in the jogging stroller), playing in the grass, swimming in the pool and spending time with Grami and Grandpa.  On Sunday we got to join Grami, Grandpa and the Hadley's for Camille's very first football game- San Fransisco 49ers v. Seattle Seahawks.  It was an exciting game and even more so because the 49ers won!!

• Photos- Updated with NEW photos 9/23
  

Monday morning we continued our journey north to Capitola.  Camille did outstanding with the road trip.  We had a wonderful room at the Venetian hotel, right on the beach.  We spent our time relaxing, enjoying the sunshine, walking around the quaint little town and eating delicious food.  Wednesday night we celebrated Papa Roly's 60th birthday with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Shadowbrook.  The time passed far too quickly, but we had a memorable trip and are all thankful for the time together.

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After Papa Roly's party we packed up and headed north to Camarillo to spend the night with Uncle Mike and Aunt Susie.  We were so happy to have the opportunity to introduce them, along with Grandma Gail, to Camille.  Cousins Zac, Bonnie and Derek were also there as well as Derek's daughter, Allie, who seemed quite smitten with Camille.  What fun to get to meet more of her family!

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Camille had her first plane ride from Portland to Long Beach.  She did very well the whole trip!  Mommy nursed her during take off and she slept the rest of the trip.  Papa Roly was so excited for us to be be there.  He greeted us at the airport and took us to his house.  We had a wonderful time there.  Saturday night Camille met her Holevas cousins and on Sunday she met many more of the Anderson relatives at Papa Roly's 60th birthday celebration.  She stole the show and loved every minute of it!

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We thought we'd share some videos we've taken this past week along with a couple new photos.  Camille continues to grow every single day.  She smiles at us so much and we love it!  She also has been having longer "wake" periods (although you wouldn't know it from the photos!).  She got weighed on Monday and at that time weighed 8 lbs 11 oz. and is 22 inches long!  We're excited for Camille to take her first plane ride on Saturday.  We're heading down to Huntington Beach to celebrate Papa Roly's 60th birthday!  Be sure to check back for more photos!  Also, we added more photos from when Tara's brothers visited that you won't want to miss!

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Alot has happened these past five weeks!  Camille has met most all her immediate family and those she hasn't she will get to meet soon!  She is a ray of sunshine in our lives and we just can't get enough!  She is holding her head up on her own, cooing, smiling, and practicing her scooting during "tummy time!"  She loves to be held, rocked, and sung to.  We hope you enjoy the photos, it was too hard to choose just a few!  A big "Thank You!" to Nana Russell and Great Auntie Susie for the adorable outfits used in our photo shoots.

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We've had such a wonderful time this past week!  Uncle Bret and Jessica arrived on Tuesday and had a few days with Camille all to themselves.  Uncle Chad and cousin Keira arrived Friday evening which has made for a very fun full house!  During their visit Camille has kept up her rigorous schedule of eating, looking around, then sleeping.  Keira seems to be quite smitten with her new little cousin and loves to hold her while sitting on the couch.  We're excited for Auntie Kelly to join us on Saturday and have the opportunity to finally meet Camille.

• Photos- Updated with NEW photos 9/2
  

We can't believe our baby girl is already a month old!  She is such a joy to us and we're so happy to be able to share her with you.  She is changing every day and we are enjoying every moment.

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Camille thoroughly enjoyed having Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Kirky here with us.  We had a wonderful time together with trips to the mall, the park for a barbeque, and the coast!  Camille was happy to give them both lots of opportunities to practice changing diapers while they were here.  We couldn't believe it was the first time for both of them but they are pros now!

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A big day today with a visit from Uncle Kirky and Auntie Lindsey.  We are so excited for them to be here and Camille has enjoyed the day snuggled up getting to know them.

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Mommy and Daddy can't believe how fast time is passing already.  Camille is two weeks old and to celebrate, she had her two week check-up!  The Dr. said for her to keep gaining weight, so Mommy and Camille are doing what we can to make that happen! She continues to eat every 2.5-3 hours day and night. She loves to look around while awake and of course, we just can't take our eyes off of her. She makes the most adorable little sounds we've ever heard. All we want to do is hold her every second.

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Camille has been so lucky to be able to meet her all Grandparents. Grami Jami visited for just a few short days and then Grandpa and Nana Russell arrived. Shortly after their arrival we picked up Papa Roly. What a wonderful time and special memories to have them all here to meet our sweet Camille.

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We went to the doctor today for Camille's first check up.  She is gaining weight and heart and lungs are healthy.  I think the doctor said she is "perfect" which we already knew, of course! It continues to be very hot but Camille seems to really like that! She is eating well, pooping well, and appears to be very observent and curious about her new world. She's PERFECT!

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It has been so hot this week! One day it got to 110 degrees!! We've been camping out downstairs on the couch and sweet little Camille has been sleeping on the circle couch. The nights have been very short, waking every 2-3 hours!! Mommy is very tired, but so overwhelmed with love that she hardly notices. We've taken her on two excursions, one to Starbucks and the other to Costco. She did great! What an angel she is.

• Photos - Updated July 30, 2009
  

After spending 2.5 days in the hospital we were given the go-ahead to take our darling girl home. She wore the same dress that Tara wore home from the hospital when she was born. How special it was to introduce her to her new home. It was one of the hottest days of the year which made us laugh and tease that she probably felt like she was still in the womb! Grami Jami arrived just in time to be there to take her home and was able to take some wonderful "coming home" photos for us.

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Our baby girl has arrived!! We can't even begin to describe how overwhelmed we are with love for this precious little baby. After a 6 hour labor and 30 minute delivery Camille Scarlett Anderson was born July 23, 2009 at 10:49am weighing 7lbs 5oz and is 20.5 inches in length.  She is absolutely beautiful. She is healthy, we all are happy and so excited to begin this new chapter in our lives.

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