Could they BE any cuter?

So, today I picked 3 new pictures to blah, blah about for awhile. The first one is of Camdyn after she got her face painted at Chick-a-lay (Chick-fil-A) last Tuesday evening. She loved her "mermaid face" so much that she slept with the paint on and wore it the next day to school. Unfortunately, after having the paint on her skin for so long, her forehead is now green, even though the paint was removed with soap and water. She's still cute, even with a green forehead! As you probably already know, this child is a riot. Her favorite phrases right now are, "Mama, you are crazy...you are so crazy" and "What's your problem?" She also calls Chloe, Chloe Pablo. When I ask her why she'll say, "Well, we can call her Chloe Pablo or Chloe Belle...you pick, mama." I try and explain to her that neither name is actually Chloe's middle name, but it doesn't really matter....she's Miss Belle, or Chloe Pablo now!

The 2nd picture I took of a poster that Camdyn's teacher, Miss Vanessa, made and hung outside of the classroom. Camdyn had Miss Vanessa as a teacher last year, and fortunately, has her again this year. She adores her as you can clearly see by her response to the question. Other children focus on the toys and the objects in the classroom, but my kiddo accounts Miss Vanessa as her favorite thing. As rough, rowdie, and challenging as she can be, she sure is sweet. Talk about making your heart melt!

The 3rd picture Camdyn insisted that I take last night. She suddenly loves to hold baby Chloe on her lap. She'll wrap her little arms around her and hug her tight and give her kisses on the back of her head. She told me last night that she wouldn't kiss Chloe on the mouth because she doesn't want her "sloppy, wet, germs to get in my mouth." CUTE! Anyway, it looks like Chloe really likes it. I can already tell that Chloe is going to adore her older sister. She watches her every move and even when she is fussy and cranky, she will calm down when big sissy is in her view. She quiets just enough so she can focus on what Camdyn is up to.

Life is so full of blessings and I have two little miracles to remind me of that daily!

Hi-dee Ho to Baltimore We Go

Last Wednesday we packed up the family and headed to Baltimore to visit Auntie Liz and Uncle JJ. The idea of a trip with two tots had me a bit freaked out. I mean, all that stuff we had to lug there, and Chloe being a somewhat temperamental baby, and Camdyn doesn't usually have her listening ears on...I was NERVOUS. It turns out that once we got all of the STUFF through security, the kiddos traveled quite well by plane. Camdyn watched movies the entire flight and Chloe entertained herself and then fell asleep in daddy's arms. Whew!

Once we arrived in Baltimore we were greeted by the Johnson's at the airport and Camdyn was so excited to see Uncle JJ. She even chose to ride home in his truck instead of with mommy and Liz! We spent the next four days with them in their downtown apartment and enjoyed the city life. We walked to restaurants and the aquarium. There was so much to see! We bought jewlery from a street vendor and watched a street performer ride a unicycle and juggle. Camdyn got to see the huge ships in the harbor and of course, we took in an Orioles game too!

I'm really glad that we made the trip there. It was so great that JJ got to finally meet Chloe, and that I got to see Liz as pregnant as she would ever be. Baby Abigail was born just two short days after we got home.

All in all, it was a great experience for Camdyn and wonderful for us to figure out that we can manage travel as a family of four!

Camdyn and Uncle JJ the first night we arrived in Baltimore. She couldn't get enough of him!

When Camdyn woke up the first morning she looked out the window and said, "Look, Mama! A City - A big City with Towers!" I guess we don't really see the city much in our sleepy little beach town. Out of their 4th story window you can see a traffic circle below with a monument in the middle. There was a Starbucks and a Haggen Dazs just outside the front door of the building....that was definitely convenient!

Camdyn and Auntie Liz walking to the aquarium. She is wearing an elephant outfit that Uncle JJ bought for her and of course...she is carrying "Khan Kuay" her stuffed elephant.

Camdyn gives kisses to Baby Abigail outside of the Aquarium. JJ also bought some Dip N Dots ice cream and got her good and sugared up before we went inside. He said he was going to give her a sugar rush and then she would crash out when we got home. "You're welcome," he said.

Camdyn saw a big daddy puffer fish at the aquarium and this is her impression!

Camdyn smiling outside of the aquarium on our final full day in Baltimore

Baby Chloe at her first Orioles game on Friday night. Every time the crowd would cheer she would cry...well, until she got used to it. She was a trouper and made it through until the end of the game. She fell asleep in 2 seconds once we boarded the golf cart to be driven to the car. She slept all the way home! (Liz - thanks for the Orioles shirts, the girls will get a lot of use out of them)

Baby Chloe getting her first swim (almost - she didn't have her suit on) in the pool on the 8th floor. It looks like she likes it! The views from the Roof Top Terrace were amazing!

I was able to meet up with Lacey and have lunch on Saturday afternoon. This was also a highlight from the trip. Thanks for driving in Lacey - It was so great to see you!

Who knew that Abby would make her debut two days after this picture was taken. Thanks, Liz for hosting us! We can't wait for you to come home in October. Chloe wants to meet her new best friend!

A Bow in the Bowl

I promise I will post photos and info about our fabulous trip to Baltimore soon. I just couldn't wait to share this somewhat hilarious story from our trip.

So, there we are, all four of us waiting at BWI airport for our return trip home. Camdyn is playing with her elephants, Chloe is batting at toys hanging from her bucket and I just started to indulge in an ice cold coca-cola. Suddenly, I realized that Camdyn was no longer sporting the cute, bright pink hair bow that had adorned her pony tail. I said, to Chris, "What happened to her bow, did she lose it?" I immediately took a sip of my soda. His response, "It fell in the toilet, but I saved it before she peed on it." I laughed so hard I choked on my soda and had tears welling in my eyes. It took me nearly 3 minutes to compose myself, all the while Camdyn was asking, "Momma are you okay, is the soda in your pipes?"

Tell me, Christopher, what exactly was that moment like? How long did you ponder the thought, do I reach into this airport toilet bowl and save the pretty bow, or do I flush it? He must have made a split second decision to save the bow and boldly dipped his un-rubber gloved paw into the bowl to fish it out...and before she peed on it!

He then cleaned it with soap and wrapped it in napkins and stuck it in his back pocket. Crisis adverted? No, not quite. So, we get home and unpack and the following night I ask him for the toilet bow. He says, "Uh, I think I threw it out..." So, this leads to a little garbage digging, because the man did not stick his hand in an airport toilet for nothing!

The sad end to this story is that we never did find the bow. But we have this funny story to share and Chris can revel in the fact that he is an amazing daddy. He would go to any length for his little girls! Love you, babe!

Camdyn and Her Elephants

I don't know when it exactly happened, but somewhere around 15 -18 months, Camdyn fell desperately in love with elephants. We took her to Busch Gardens around this time, and it may have been viewing the elephants in all their size and splendor that did it, or the purchase of Dumbo (the movie) that peaked Camdyn's interest. Regardless, Camdyn has been talking, playing, and thinking about elephants non stop for, well, about 2 years.

The Easter Bunny gave Camdyn an almost life-like stuffed Elephant from FAO Schwartz. It has wire legs that are bendable and stands like a real elephant. It's rather cute and is her favorite toy (for now). When we went to Orlando in June, we forgot to pack a movie for our DVD player and ended up buying Camdyn a Japanese produced animated movie titled "The Blue Elephant" at the local Wal-Mart. Martin Short is the voice of the main character, and it is an alright movie, except it has an elephant fight scene in it which I could do without. However, it has a ton of brightly colored and interesting elephants, so Cam loves it. Anyway, the main character (the blue elephant) is called Khan-Kuay in the movie. So, naturally, Camdyn now refers to her stuffed elephant as Khan-Kuay.

Fast forward a few weeks and we are at Whole Foods and as we are buying our groceries the clerk says to Camdyn, "I like your elephant, does he have a name?" Camdyn in her 3 1/2 year old, squeaky, not quite clear voice replies, "Khan-Kuay." Naturally, the clerk says, "What was that, sweetie?" Camdyn repeats herself and the woman looks at me for interpretation. I said, "The elephant's name is Khan-Kuay. He's an Asian Elephant and has an Asian name." The clerk looked at Camdyn like she just might be the smartest and most inept child she's ever seen. I think she expected his name to be "George" or "Sarah." Yeah, that's right, she's a smart one!

I blog to remember these moments....

(the pic above is of the girls in their matching elephant t-shirts from Auntie Liz. You can't really see the elephant, just part of the trunk. I have a feeling that the whole elephant phenomenon is going to be thrust upon poor Chloe)

**Note to follow: Camdyn is about to receive another giant life-like stuffed elephant from Papa Bob. She just needs to earn one more sticker for going to bed on time and she'll get the toy. I'm sure pics and maybe video of that hallmark moment will follow - the elephant is BIG! I wonder what she'll name it....

Three and Cavity FREE!

Today, Camdyn had her very 1st Dental Appointment with Dr. Ronk, a Pediatric Dentist in town. We prepared for the visit by reading "The Tooth Book" by Dr. Seus, actually it might be penned by Theo LeSieg (either way, it's Dr. Seuss). We talked about how the lady would brush her teeth for her and how the boy Dr. would look at her teeth with a mirror and would wiggle them with a funny stick. We didn't overly focus on the visit because I didn't want there to be too much apprehension.

We arrived on time at 8:30 and Cam bolted for all the toys in the waiting room. They quickly called us back and we got down to business. First, the lady (hygenist) showed Camdyn all of her instruments and let her feel them, they talked about how the soft brush made a cool noise, how water squirted out of the stick, and how the suction thing gave her fish kisses. Cam didn't have any problem laying down for the cleaning. The lady put purple stuff on her teeth and showed her that the areas that turned pink had plaque. Then, they brushed it all away. Camdyn did wonderfully, until I stood up to snap a picture (shown above). Then, she got teary eyed and wanted to sit up. She cried some faker tears and before she knew it, it was all over. We started to read a book and then the boy doctor (the dentist) walked in and Camdyn couldn't get on the table fast enough! She fully cooperated as he looked at her teeth with the mirror and wiggled them with the metal stick. She really liked the boy doctor!

Turns out that Camdyn has no cavities and they'll see her again in 6 months. She got 3 stickers and to pick out a prize and then I let her play in the waiting room for a few minutes so she would be excited to come back. It was a quick and painless visit and went a lot smoother than I expected. The doctor was a nice man, although on the old side (his hands were shakey - If I were to guess....70???), so as long as Camdyn never needs a cavity filled or heaven forbid a root canal, I'm sure she'll like it there just fine!

When we got in the car Camdyn told me that she cried because she didn't like the purple stuff..."it was dirty mommy and I don't like dirty teeth." She also said she liked the boy doctor a lot better than the girl doctor! So, after much praise, and a stop at starbucks for chocolate milk, I dropped her off at school where she joined her friends on the playground and gave me nose kisses through the chainlink fence.

I'm so happy that I can check that off the to-do list with a smile on my face!

Snip Snip and Sandy Feet

This weekend was filled with a few firsts for the Piersoll girls. On Saturday morning, Camdyn went with me and Gramma to Spa Hollywood for her first professional haircut. I'd taken it upon myself to trim Camdyn's hair myself several times. The child is a chronic hair twirler and she twists her extremely fine hair until it breaks off or winds up in knots. Because of this, I've had to trim the back of her hair up to avoid the mullet affect. So, we arrive at the Spa and it's a pretty lively and swanky place. They were doing FREE haircuts for children under 12, so thankfully, there were quite a few children around. This made the process so much easier. I was fearful that Camdyn would refuse to sit in the chair, but much to my chagrin, Camdyn cooperated - FULLY. She had her hair wet down in the shampoo bowl, then proceeded to the stylist's chair, where she willingly donned the black cape, and stared at her knees while the stylist snipped away at the fine ends of her hair. Gramma and I couldn't wipe the grins off of our faces as we snapped a few photos of this hallmark moment. Camdyn doesn't have much hair to begin with, but now she has side-swoopy bangs and some layers in the back. She was promptly rewarded with a giant cookie from the cookie tray and then we went on our merry way. She was so proud of her first haircut!

Later that evening, we met the Brester's for pizza at Demetrios and then headed to the beach for sunset. This was Miss Chloe Belle's first trip to the Beach! I stood her in the sand and she actually smiled when her little baby toes hit the beach. This was quite a shock to me, as this child doesn't deal well with the unexpected. She also didn't mind the ocean water on her toes, and why would she, it's about 88 degrees. She screamed and hollered when I attempted to stick her in the pool a few weeks back, but the gulf water suited her just fine. So, Camdyn played with Jadyn and eventually Chloe resolved to sleeping in my arms. The view was serene and the evening peaceful until Camdyn dropped a bucket of wet sand on her toes. Stop for a second and think about the last time you dropped something heavy on your foot, or stubbed your toe...oh the pain! Now, pretend that you are 3 and dropped something heavy on your foot. OUCH! For a second I thought maybe she needed stitches. The skin was flapping back & forth and it looked pretty deep. Of course, all this is complicated by the grit & grime of the beach sand. She cried, but only for about 5 min. Aunt Jamie sprinkled some water on it and made it feel much better. Luckily, she's a pretty tough kid. She never said another word about it hurting. Whew.

Every weekend is a fantastic weekend, but this one was sprinkled with a few firsts, a relaxing lunch and shopping just me and my mom, and some pretty good laughs. I'm already looking forward to next weekend!

Camdyn sitting in the stylist's chair. She kept saying to her, "I really like your pretty watch. I like your pretty earrings." The stylist thought Camdyn was very complimentary.



Gramma and Chloe at the beach

Camdyn running Baywatch style...she's only missing the red suit

- Watch out Pam Anderson!

Camdyn & Jadyn playing at the Beach

Camdyn's busted toes - Dang, Heavy Bucket Filled with Sand


Chloe looking cute for Church

Camdyn and Chloe Singing and doing the motions to

"Skinny-ma-Rink-a-dink-a-dink"

Perfectly Average

Today, Chloe had her 4 month well visit with Dr. Meyer. We determined that Miss Belle (as we affectionately call her, and I have no idea why) is squarely in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. She's weighing in at 12.2 lbs and measures 24 1/4 inches. Although she is perfectly average in both regards she still seems like quite a peanut to me. Following after her BIG sister, who never saw a percentile beneath 90, she still seems so tiny and petite. Just as there are no two pregnancies alike, there are also no two children alike.

The nurse commented that Chloe looks just like her big sister, and although they are mirror images of each other, the similarities stop there. Chloe is much more tempermental than Camdyn was. She'll cry if she's hot or cold, or if she doesn't like the feel of the blanket that I've thrown over her lap. She's also a better sleeper than Camdyn ever was as an infant, and she doesn't eat around the clock like Camdyn did. Any breastfeeding mom out there can attest to what a saving grace that is! I can't help to wonder how these differences will transfer into her personality down the road.

Chloe also got another round of shots in preparation for "school" which she will start in August. She was a trooper, she screamed silently for a moment but calmed as soon as I held her. It was a cake walk compared to the 20 min heel stick she endured a few months back and a few blood draws that resulted in not being able to find the vein. Regardless, I'm glad that is behind us.

So, Miss Belle will spend the rest of the day napping and finding comfort in Gramma's arms and I will continue to smile at my pefectly average and beautiful baby girl.