Highlights via iPhone photos :)

Here is a sampling from my iPhone Camera Roll 

(and a couple from Facebook to fill in the gaps).

Hopefully this will get you up to speed on what's been happening Jan-May...

Brace yo'selves.

January

Started out pretty slow, pretty typical.

Playdates.

Birthdays.

Fun and Games.

Til Camy got hurt....

Note to Camy: When you fight a sidewalk, the sidewalk will win.

Then my poor girl got RSV. Again. 

And spent several days like this 24/7:

Poor babe.

February

A Texas Blizzard, Y'all!

:)

We're such snow-newbies. 

Snoob's, if you will.

We thought her reaction was hysterical.

Pretend that's not me talking obnoxiously loud and annoying-like.

Once we were able to convince her that the snow was not "a mesh" that needed to be cleaned up, she LOVED it! I wish we had more video of her romping around in it, but we were having too much fun to mess with the camera. :)

During Cam's snowday nap, the hubby happened to notice that we had an extra spigot outside that we had never used (or known about), and whaddyaknow... it was frozen.

He high-tailed to the hardware store to get supplies for hacking it up and capping it off... 

And, whaddayaknow.... it burst. 

While he was gone.

And I was home alone.

Awesome, eh?

But all was well.. he made it home super-quick-like and got 'er under control. 

Phew.

Just a few short days post-snow, Cam-a-Lam was helping me cook dinner. 

Sometimes I let her stand on a chair at the counter and "help" but that day, I wish I had distracted her with something else. Because, just like you always hear, in a split-second where my head was turned, she reached for a spatula next to the hot stove, lost her balance, and fell forward onto the stove, catching her thumb on a hot frying pan.

Biggest Mommy Fail Ever!

My uber-tough babe though? She only cried for the 9.5 seconds it took me to rush her to the sink and stick her hand in the water. Then, not another tear was shed. No tears when the pediatrician inspected the (3rd degree!) burn. No tears when I had to change the bandage several times a day. No tears when the blister popped. No tears when her Mommy cried every time she tended to it and apologized profusely for being so dumb. She most definitely did NOT get her pain tolerance from her mama! Her mama = biggest wimp in the history of ever.

What the burn looked like at the dr's office the next day.

How we had to keep it bandaged.

What it looked like when the blister popped. 

:shudder:

Enjoying some "coffee milk" (read: just plain ol' milk) with bandage and side pony.

And snoozin. This photo actually has nothing to do with the burn. I just think its hilarious because we were reading books before nap that day, she was sitting up across from me and out of nowhere just laid down and fell asleep. No warning, just zonk out. Goober. I thought she was playing at first, but nope -- she napped. 

Toddler pigtails. 

Cutest ever?

I think so!

MARCH

This is where our lives changed. 

In a huge huge way.

March 1 = Camy's first day of preschool and my first day of work.

ZOMG.

The husband and I finally agreed that our crazy work schedules were not the best thing for our family. We needed more time together, we needed more time to be with our extended families, we needed new jobs. On a whim, I called my top pick preschool to see if they were hiring because I wanted Cam to enroll where ever I was working. They were. They interviewed me that afternoon, and offered me a job on the spot. We got Cam enrolled later that week, and I gave my notice to my nanny-family the following Monday. I did my training, enjoyed every moment with my nanny-girls over the next 2 weeks, cried like a baby as I drove away from their house for the last time as a their nanny.. then the very next day, Camy and I started our new adventure.

More on that later... 

But in keeping with our iPhone Photo recaps...

here is the next in line....

That is my poor, sweet girl asleep in the ER. 

Again.

The morning of what would have been her 3rd day of school, her body-jolting breathing woke me up at 430 am. I took one look at her and freaked.. her chest was sinking in (dramatically) with every breath, her neck was sucking in with every breath, and she was making horrible grunty-wheezy sounds. We rushed her off and I swear our entrance into the ER was like a scene out of a movie. As soon as the registrar got a look at Cam, she paged someone, and within seconds 2 nurses came running up the hall towards us, grabbed Camy from me and instructed me to follow them. They immediately got a breathing mask on her and administered some steroid treatment and Cam was so out of it she didn't even object. That one treatment did help, but not enough, so they quickly gave her an oral steroid then started another breathing treatment. This one actually pissed Camy off, which seemed like a good sign. Once her breathing was under control, they ran some tests, did her THIRD chest xray (before 2 years old, sheesh!) and concluded that she has asthma.

Just like we always feared, but prayed would not happen.

We were eventually sent home with an aresenal of meds and machines, we followed up with her pediatrician who echoed everything the ER doc told us, then we made appts with her allergist to get more specialized info and plans in place. Sigh. 

More on that later, too.

Moving right along...

Mid-March, my younger sister did an amazing thing and signed up to have her head shaved for a local St. Baldrick's Event. 

It was an incredibly emotional day, seeing all these cancer babies at the event, and made me so so thankful for my sweet sweet girl. 

I hugged her tight all day!

A couple weeks later we made a trip to Houston to visit my older sister and her family, 

where Camy learned to use a big-girl swing!

And tried to blow bubbles all by herself.

Back home that week, Camy came in (very brief) contact with one of our dogs,

which sadly showed us that she is more allergic to them than we thought.

:(

And then, THEN, 

one evening we stumbled upon this little dude in her playroom.

No, thank you!

End of March brought us warmer temps, 

which also brought us water fun!

Her daddy was teaching her how to spray Mommy with the hose!

She thought that was just HI-larious!

In April, my older sister also did something amazing -- 

She completed the MS150, cycling 150 miles from Houston to Austin!

What's even more amazing than finishing, is that she had only been cycling for 4 short months!

We spent the first part of our Easter weekend in Houston again, 

where the kiddos decorated eggs with stickers and crayons.

We weren't brave enough for dye with 2 kids under 2. 

Oy.

And on the way home from Houston, 

Camy read us a story.

Anyone care to translate?

We spent the rest of our Easter weekend bouncing around other family functions,

pulling in a total of 3 Easter Egg Hunts this year!
Cam made out like a bandit!

Look -- she still crosses her ankles when she sits! :)

April doesn't have many photos, 

but we did come away with this gem:

That would be Cam-A-Lam getting ready for school with Mommy,

complete with mascara. 

Near the end of April, 

one of my favorite bloggers - Matt Logelin -

was at our local bookstore for a reading/signing.

My coteacher helped me get out the door early that day, and I went straight from work.

Hearing him talk about his experiences was touching and at times gut-wrenching,

but mostly, he was just a super-friendly, really funny guy.

Even though I already knew the story and had already his book,

I still cried when he read a chapter.

After the reading and Q&A time, I got in line for a signing and a photo.

It was so great to meet him.

Ha.

Don't mind her... just watchin' a little Sunday morning television.

Ready for a flood?

Hinting that she wants to go swimming?

Making a fashion statement?

You be the judge.

:)

May brought us lots of time with our family, 

and during the most recent visit from sister Vicky & brood, 

I caught Cam and Coop saying "cheers" during lunch.

With their sippy cups. 

I love them.

Cam - just a-rockin'. 

With one rockin' hat!

Aaaaand, this past Monday--

Girl gettin' after some Mac&Cheese with broccoli.

 Awesome.