Strike a Pose.......

As with many little girls, dressing up is one of our FAVORITE activities. From mom, to dad, to Barley.......we love everyone to get involved in the action! However, unlike a large number of female tots, we are not donning tutus and high heels.....at the Weer house Carharts, Super Camdyn Capes (thanks Auntie Sara) and, of course, sunglasses set the foundation for our outfits of choice!

On the Twelve Days of Christmas Santa Brought to Me..........

Forced to lay extremely low and local due to the impending delivery of Weer Baby #2, the family had an incredibly relaxing and low-key Christmas morning! Although we have yet to finish celebrating, Miss Camdyn has already received more than any one child could ever need.....thankfully, not a single toy requiring a battery or unending hours of assembly was found beneath our tree...increasing the holiday pleasure for all!

Our top 5 favorite finds........

5. Several new puzzles
4. An old-fashioned top
3. Our first set of real Legos
2. The crazy pushable biking man from Auntie Jill

and our most beloved gift of all?!?!?!

1. The sample-sized box of Apple Jacks from Gamma!

Camdyn On Ice.......

Move over Disney....Camdini on ice has arrived! We gathered a couple of friends and headed to the community rink in order to test the ice-skaing skills of our little princess! Although we couldn't find skates quite small enough, we put our snow boots and bike helmet to the test.
While I can't say she didn't have a blast, she definitely wasn't quite old enough to understand exactly what was happening....and refused to relax her little legs so that Mom and Dad could drag her around. Thank goodness a more prepared parent had brought a sled, allowing her to spend the rest of the morning being pulled around in comfort and style!

"Ights Peez"

While still clutching her stuffed animals and wiping crusties from her sleepy eyes, "ights peez" are the first words out of Camdyn's little mouth each morning as we make the trek from her bedroom to the living room.

Apparently inheriting her mom's love for all things Christmas, Camdyn is fascinated by the tree in her house....not to mention rearranging the boxes under said tree no fewer than 10 times per day. The latest addition to the obsession is standing in front of the tree holding different stuffed animals or toys, putting on the biggest fake smile and shouting "cheese," just hoping Mom or Dad will take another picture to document the season. We figured it was about time we found some family top pose with her!

The Littlest Eskimos..........

As the big chill seems to be sweeping across the country, I can't help but think we are getting the brunt of the extreme weather. While the extreme cold has prevented a build-up of snow, we are working on day 7 without seeing a temperature higher than 8 degrees...and I have learned that the Subaru's thermometer really can plummet into the negative digits!

However, not even the frigid cold can keep the Weer family down. Donned in Snowsuits and stocking hats, last Saturday marked our first trip to the annual Enterprise Christmas parade....and what kind of a parade experience would it be without our best buddy Jonah?!?!?! Despite the cold, the kids were total troopers loving the lights, the free candy, and just about everything but the encounter with Santa Claus!

Where's Camdyn?!?!?

From piles of laundry, to stacks of stuffed animals, from a very early age Camdyn has shown a love for "hiding" among miscellaneous household objects. As we work on cleaning up our own toys, that passion has only heightened! Hence, one of our favorite past times of late is pretending to "clean-up Camdyn" as we get ready to pick-up one activity and transition to the next. This usually involves her covered with a pile of blocks, attempting to crawl into her own dirty clothes basket, or hiding inside of her book shelf among her books. Today, it happened to be nestling herself amidst a large plastic tote of puppets............she even insisted I attempt to put the lid on to create the ultimate "clean-up Camdyn" adventure!

Move Over Punky Brewster

Fearing tutus or princess outfits, I have long dreaded the day Camdyn begins picking out her own clothes. However, it looks as if my fear of all things ultra-feminine can be put to rest........we have a perfect little Punky Brewster on our hands! This is how we strolled into Sunday School last week.....good thing God doesn't just love little girls in frilly dresses!

Hello Holidays....Bye-Bye Mullet

Knowing that family visits, Christmas card photos and the capturing of holiday memories were rapidly approaching, Mom and Dad were left with no choice.....the mullet had to go. Camdyn's hair challenges had reached all new lengths and short of daily pig tails, there was no way to disguise the ever growing discrepency between the short hairs in the front, and the massive rat tails in the back. While mom has felt more than comfortable tackling a little trim now and then, she knew it was time to call in the experts.

We wish we could report an immediate love for all things beauty shop, however, 1 troll doll, 1 pacifier and 16 M&M's later, I am happy to report that we have officially had our first hair cut! Final result, 1/2 inch removed from the front and sides, and 4 inches removed from the back........RIP baby mullet...RIP.

Brrrrrrr........................

This week we were hit with our second snow storm of the season, and thankfully, the cold, white stuff seems to be growing on Camdyn. Equipped with her new pink snow boots and a super runny nose, we bundled up and headed out for a quick family sled ride, and then with a little help from Mommy (and lots of distractions from Barley and Daddy), went on to build our first snow man! He may have been a bit on the tiny side, but that just made him the perfect little match for our Camdini!

Pweese........

So we couldn't quite say "Trick or Treat," but we caught on quite quickly that holding out our pumpkin and saying "pweese" worked just as well when one is ringing doorbells asking for candy. Even though she struggled to keep up, our little starfish had a wonderful evening with two of her bestest friends as they showed her the "ropes" of Halloween!

The only downfall......Mom's disfunctional camera! Hopefully, thanks to mom's that actually had they photo act together, I will be posting more pictures of my favorite little sea creature soon!

Pumpkin Patch....I Mean, Parking Lot.....

You would think since we moved WAY out into the Country, we would be able to find a decent place to pick out a pumpkin. However, this past weekend it became apparent that Portland definitely has a leg up on Enterprise in the Pumpkin market. Camdyn and her cousins headed 75 miles out of town Sunday to scour a 10x10 foot parking lot for pumpkins.....a scene we easily could have recreated on the sidewalk outside of the Safeway 1/2 a mile away.

However, thanks to the hay maze and apparently amazingly tasty popcorn balls, the afternoon was not a complete wash....and as Aunt Heidi said, the kids didn't even know the difference!

Getting Ready to Hibernate

Although we absolutely love where we have decided to live and raise Camdyn, there are a few downsides....Winter perhaps being the most obvious. While most of my friends in other places are just starting to pack up their summer clothes, we have long since hauled out the scarves and mittens and are dealing with our second bought of snow, with nightly temperatures hovering around 15 degrees. However, all this cold weather does have it's advantages....especially if you are Jeff and Camdyn and love the idea of heading up to the mountains to spend a day or two chopping down wood to keep the winter fires burning!

As many of my good friends know, during my days as a single woman, I had often talked about finding a man who "wears Carharts and chops wood." Well, as luck would have it, I not only have a husband that fits the bill, but a daughter following in her Daddy's footsteps!

Someone is Talking Up a Storm!

Our little lady has been chatting up a storm and if you know Mom and Dad, you understand she comes by her talkative nature quite honestly! Hard to get all of this talking on tape, but we cooperated pretty well while in the car the other day...

These Boots Were Made for Walking!

In previous postings, I have alluded to Camdyn's love of the clothing-free lifestyle. Unfortunately, she has now mastered the art of removing a large majority of her clothing, leaving mom to plead with her 20 month old to at least stroll the hallways with a diaper clad bottom.
However, Miss Camdyn does not seem to despise all clothing items. Strangely enough, she has inherited quite the shoe obsession from her father....and, like Daddy, boots appear to be the footwear of choice. Several months ago, father and daughter arrived home from a yard sale with a pair of flashy red cowgirl boots! While we have patiently waited for the size fives to fit our never-growing little body, we have carried them through the house, put them on stuffed animals and pulled them around in the back of our trike.
Last night, as our little nudist was terrorizing the house in our diaper, we decided to see if the glass slippers finally fit........with some fairly cute photo results!

When You're the Best of Friends.............

For quite some time I have been attempting to capture the perfect Camdyn and Barley moment for Dad's upcoming birthday...unfortunately, my subjects are less than willing.....perhaps trying to get toddler, dog and scenic background in one perfect frame is asking a bit too much.
Since I know I have been struggling to blog lately, I thought I would share just a few of the out-takes....I promise to post the perfect portrait as soon as it has been captured.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love...........

Food, drool, snot.....yet still I find her near perfection!

I Love Fall?!?!?!?!?!

Pumpkins and cornstalks, leaves changing colors, cool crisp nights......4 inches of snow?!?!?!? What is supposed to be my favorite season of the year, is apparently short-lived in Wallowa County. From 85 degrees on Monday, to 24 degrees and snow on Saturday, winter came with a fury this past weekend.

Although both Camdyn and I have been assured this cold snap is rare even for here, neither of us were too excited about the early presence of white! Camdyn repeatedly screamed "off, no, off" as the snow fell on her slide and coated all of her outdoor toys. She then proceeded to simply stand on the patio and stare into the back yard scowling at the snow......unless she warms up to the white stuff, Mom and Dad fear it is going to be one long winter!

Where Have We Been Hiding?!?!?!?

The Weer family would like to apologize for the extreme lack of blogging during the final weeks of September. While Dad has been busy hiding out all over the Pacific Northwest fighting fires, and mom has smothered by teaching, running the household and pregnancy, our little Princess has been doing the most hiding of all!
At nearly 19 months, she has apparently mastered the game of Hide-and-go-Seek and has been driving her Momma crazy disappearing into the most random of places! Thus far, we have been fortunate and our escapades have not taken us anywhere too dangerous.......mostly inside cabinets, laundry baskets, closets, and of course our play kitchen stove! However, for Mom's sanity and Camdyn's safety, please keep your fingers crossed that our Houdini antics don't go much farther!

Good to the Last Drop

With temperatures already dipping below freezing at night, the Weer family is well aware that the LONG, cold Wallowa County winter is merely weeks away. Summer has definitely been our saving grace in terms of battling temper tantrums and toddler boredom, leaving both Mom and Dad more than a bit fearful of the upcoming cabin fever......however, we are squeezing every last drop of sunshine out of September and have been spoiled by another week of above average temperatures. From swimming in the lake with Dad and Barley, to watching the annual Mule Days parade (yes, those are insanely large Oxen nearly hitting our mailbox) we are definitely making the most of our limited time!

18 Month Snap Shot

The other night, Jeff and I were fondly discussing ways we used to spend our time during the "Life before Camdyn" era of our relationship. While it is fun to reminise about more carefree days, we both agree that we can't imagine life without our little monkey.....much less believe, she has already been around for an entire year and a half! Here is a little insight into our the life and times of our growing girl.

At 18 months Miss Camdyn is.........

*Weighing in at 19 pounds, 1 ounce landing her a good 1/2 inch off the bottom of the growth chart. However, rather than being told she was skinny, she was described as extremely "muscular" by her doctor.....not a surprise considering her freakish strength.

*Still holding a bit above average at in height at 31.5 inches. No clue where these genes are coming from!

*A lover of dogs, monkeys, trucks, sand boxes, climbing, cookies, frozen blue berries, balls, her swimsuit, saying "uh-oh," her friend Jonah and big cousin Ashley, anything she can bounce on, Curious George, Mom's ever growing belly and her blue wagon.

*Not so fond of wearing clothes, giving up her pacifier, listening to mom and dad, being told "no," and having to wait for anything.

*Able to climb up, in and out of just about everything, open all drawers, cabinets and containers, go down big slides all by herself sitting up, laying down and unfortunately face first, name 10 body parts and is starting to understand when things are funny, silly or sad.

*Building her vocabulary by the day. Today's word obsessions included no, ball, eyes and as always, uh-oh.

**Continues to be the joy of her mom and dad's life!!!!

Who's That Kid with the Oreo Cookie!?!?!?

The other night we decided to break mommy's strict sweet rules and put that old jingle to the test! Camdyn was a true pro and immediately pulled her Oreo apart, licked out all the icing, let out a resounding "mmmmmmmmmm" and promptly disposed of the actual cookie! She loved our little taste test, not to mention the bonding with her daddy!