Did I Forget to Mention.......

We are a walking machine....or should I say a running woman?!?!? It started with standing on our own right before our first birthday. Next, mom impatiently waited about a month for the first "real" steps, and finally, about two weeks ago ever thing seemed to suddenly clicked and there was no stopping her! Our outdoor girl is still struggling a bit on the lawn and driveway......that rough terrain is a bit much to navigate in soft-soled Robeez, but for a beginner, we thing she is cruising along quite well....

The Tale of Two Pacifiers

For years Jeff and I have been enjoying the antics of giving Barley two tennis balls to play with........even more humerous when Camdyn found a hidden Paci in my desk drawer. Mom was just upset I missed the first minute or so trying to get the camera and start shooting........

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

We are so happy that the love for yard work appears to be hereditary! Despite being chilly, the sunny weekend equaled LOTS of time getting ready to remodel the yard...not too mention a few wheelbarrow rides across the lawn. Camdyn grabbed her mini shovel and loved every minute of helping mom mix the soil, fill the pot and plant the first flowers of the year! Although everything takes about 10 times longer with little hands, I am loving the "helping" stage and watching her little mind put this world together......

Old McCamdyn had a Farm

Although our obsession with all things farm animal has been briefly mentioned in previous blogs, one cannot truly understand how deep such fascinations lie until spending a little time with Ms. Camdyn. From a barnyard play set, to numerous farm related books, to her scholastic video of a petting zoo....any item resembling a cow, chicken, sheep, horse, dog or pig is sure to be greeted with waves, smiles and screams of joy!
Since all this farm business is a major part of Mom's daily life you can only imagine how excited I was when asked to chaperon a field trip to a local farm. That's right, last Friday Camdyn and I headed out to a real-live farm full of every animal imaginable...including 11 new puppies and Camdyn's favorite, over 220 roosters and chickens! She even got to wear a real farm girls hat!!!
The only downfall of the trip were the limited number of pictures I was able to take...seems like every time I put someone down she was trying to crawl into the pig pen to pet the "oinks," and for some reason this mom still hasn't mastered the art of holding a fidgeting toddler and snapping great photos!

Everyone is Famous in a Small Town

Perhaps there is nothing trickier than keeping a low profile in a small town. In a county where cows outnumber people approximately 18 to 1, it isn't hard to feel like a celebrity when you are recognized by nearly everyone that you pass on the street!

It also doesn't take too much to make the local media....even as a toddler. With her incredible egg hunting skills, Camdyn appears to have leaped into star status at an early age with her debut in last week's Wallowa County Chieftain. Although she seems unaware of her star status, Mom and Dad are definitely walking the streets of Enterprise with their heads held high......click on the picture for a closer look!

The Show Must Go On!!!!

Shortly after her first birthday, Camdyn started attending "school" three mornings per week.....while this was a hard transition for both mother and daughter, we have begun to make our peace with our new situation.
Mom is excited because class is located in the same building as her work, the teacher is very into encouraging creativity through natural toys and child-centered exploration and Camdyn is getting to socialize with three other children her own age. Not to mention, the few hours alone each week has been a pivotal factor in actually accomplishing work! 8)
While mom's motives for loving "school" are quite different than Camdyn's, our little monkey has definitely found a reason of her own to get ready each morning......the beautiful, handmade Puppet Stage!
According to Camdyn's teacher, she spends the whole of each day (minus snack time of course), standing behind the puppet stage putting on "shows" for all the children. Usually consisting of banging a puppet against the deck of the stage and screaming or "singing," today's show involved a great deal of plastic utensils that she had found in a closet. As you can tell from the smile on her face, the theme of the performance doesn't seem to matter, someone is just happy to take center stage!

An Artist is Born

Like most toddlers, Camdyn easily becomes OBSESSED with certain items, people, or the mastering of a particular skill. We are currently in the middle of three such afflictions and can't seem to get enough of farm animals, rocks (stay tuned for a stone-themed blog) and trying to color. Well, perhaps trying to color is a bit ambitious. Although we do love to create lines and dots on nearly any surface (as seen in our masterpiece below), our biggest passion seems to be attempting to fit all 12 crayons into our tiny hand at the same time. Nearly 1-2 hours each day at mom's work is spent trying to wrap our minuscule hand around each of the crayons, without one falling from our sweaty little grasp. When one jumps ship, we make a frustrated scream, take a deep breath and start right back at it.... Since fist to crayon ratio is obviously not even, I fear this feat is virtually impossible...however, Camdyn never seems to quit trying...and although it may seem cruel, it is keeping us occupied, so mom is not going to say a thing.