Pumpkins!

It's Fall and I love it! The weather is getting cooler and pumpkins and scarecrows are all around. This is my favorite season. Nini came in town for the weekend and we went to the Dallas Arboretum for some fun fall activities. Cami LOVED it. There were thousands of pumpkins all over the place and she couldn't get enough of them. She had to touch each "bubba" as she called them. I don't think I have ever seen her more excited over anything before. It was really cute :) Even though I promised Neal I wouldn't go crazy over the pictures, I was a little bit of a picture Nazi. I couldn't help it and so I have added lots of pictures to this post because I simply couldn't just pick a few. The pumpkin house. It was amazing

how many pumpkins they had! Cami has been trained to back up to things so we can get her picture :)

BIG pumpkins!

Nini!!!

This view was awesome. The path was lined

with pumpkins and Crete Mertiles.

Cami's laughing :)

We had so much fun and have decided it

will be our family tradition to go every year.

Kisses!

Such a sweet picture that I had to share...

Updates!

It's been quite a while since I last posted and a lot has happened since then. Our lives have gotten very busy and hectic recently. First off, I went back to work and Cami started school for the first time. I am fortunate enough to be able to work at the same school I did before I had Cami and she goes with me to work each day to the toddler class. The first day was very rough on both of us.

The school is very new and enrollment is low. Therefor we had all the children in the same class on the first day, so I was Cami's teacher on her first day of school. This did not go well. She didn't understand why I wasn't holding/playing/giving her all the attention. She cried all day long because of it! The next day we split the kids up and she was with her own teacher. She did better but still cried a lot for a couple more weeks. She has now been at school for 1.5 months and is well adjusted. She doesn't cry at drop-off and is very happy to be at school. As you can see by the pictures, she is very busy and seems to love school.

In the picture below, Cami is pulling the sticky-tac (used to fasten posters to the walls) OFF the wall. I'm sure her teachers love her :)

Another big change for our family is Neal's new job. He has changed courses and is now at a 36 hole course in Carrollton. This course is beautiful and very big! The change has been an adjustment, but overall a very good change for him! We are so happy for him and his promotion!!!

Okay, on to Cami and what she is up to these days. She is officially walking! She started about two weeks after her first birthday and hasn't looked back. Luckily she's getting better at keeping her balance and the falls are becoming fewer and fewer. She loves to walk by herself and refuses to hold any one's hand-that's for sissy's! Cami is talking up a storm now and loves to repeat what we say to her. She is also learning more baby signs and can communicate that way as well. She recently learned the sign for help (both hands patting the tummy/chest) and requests help from us quite often-it's very cute!! Cami just learned this trick of bending over and looking through her legs at you. She is so talented :)

Cami will finally let us put sunglasses on her and KEEP THEM ON! Yay!

Her first boo-boo. She was a little unsure of the band-aid but loved to say "boo-boo" as she pointed to her knee.

She is trying to feed herself with a spoon. This is extremely messy and I have to remind myself over and over that it is okay, we can clean it up. Learning is a messy process!

Cami could play outside in her sandbox all day if we let her. Cami is such an amazing little girl. We love watching her grow and learn each day. Her little personality is adorable. She is so funny and happy-always putting a smile on our face. She is very interested in how things work and loves to learn new things and words. She is very independent and knows what she wants. We are so happy to have this little girl in our life-the world is a much better place with Cami in it!!

Chuck E Cheese!!!

We celebrated Cami's cousin, Troy's 3rd birthday at Chuck E Cheese last weekend. Although Cami was a little fussy from being sleep deprived she really enjoyed her first trip to the fine establishment. Chuck E Cheese has changed a lot since I was last there, some 25 years ago. First, there was no ball pit-that was one of the best parts and most memorable, other than Chuck E himself. I have fond memories of jumping into the balls to get to the fun twisty-twirly slides. Second, it is a dirty place. I don't remember seeing so many crumbs on the floor when I was there last. Could it be that I was just a kid and couldn't care less about germs and dirt but have since grown into a major germ freak?!? Whatever the case, I used half a bottle of hand sanitizer on Cami's hands in the 1.5 hours that we were there. Third, Chuck E Cheese has a salad bar! As a kid you went to Chuck E Cheese because you wanted to play and eat pizza, I never remember a salad bar or any other food for that matter being offered there. It was very interesting to me to go back to a place that I haven't been to in so long and see it in a different light. I guess this is just the beginning of seeing things differently -as a parent.

1st Birthday Party

Cami had her very first birthday party this weekend! We had family and friends over to our house for a small celebration. Unfortunately "small celebration" does not mean less work! Cami was such a little party girl-she played and entertained until the last guest left, all with a huge smile on her face.

Cami received a lot of wonderful gifts at her party. She enjoyed helping me open each gift and checked each one out as it came out of the wrapping paper/gift bag. She has tried them all out over the course of the weekend and seems excited about all of them. The bubble machine was also a huge hit. All the babies played until their heads were wet with bubble solution:)

Neal and his mom made these adorable ladybug cupcakes. The cupcakes were fantastic, but we learned our lesson. Next time SIMPLE design!

Cami was so happy and loved every minute of her party.

The birthday girl in her new chair.

With her presents.

As we sung the birthday song Cami was shy and put her head on her shoulder, although I think she secretly liked all the attention! Once she was given the green light to go ahead and dig in she was unsure abut what to do...

She figured it out quickly, though! YUMMY!

Afterwards we had to hose her down in the bath. It was a good thing we took her dress off, she had chocolate everywhere!

BALLOONS!

Crazy balloon hair!

Overall, we had a wonderful time and want to say thank to everyone for your love and support over Cameron's first year. It has been amazing watching Cameron grow and change right before our eyes. We love the little lady that she is turning out to be.

Family Vacation

We took our very first family vacation this past week. Neal, Cameron, and I all loaded up in the car and drove 8.5 hours down to South Padre Island. We met Neal's family there and had a mini family reunion. Cami had her first experience with sand, the ocean, and boats. For the most part she loved it all. It was great for the whole family to get away and we loved watching Cami learn and experience new things and environments. We took a lot of pictures but here are some of the best ones...

Checking out the boats from the deck behind the house we stayed at. First steps on the beach.

I was showing her sea shells. She LOVED all the birds on the beach. She pointed at each one!

So unhappy.

This was the first day on the beach. She got upset when the waves came

up and hit her in the tummy.This is one of those pic's we can't wait

to show her when she is older.

The next day at the beach was better.

Daddy and Cami playing in the sand...

where it is safe.

Cami's first boat ride.

The family on the boat.

Nini and Cami enjoying the ride.

Nini and Pepe walking on the beach with Cami.

This is my favorite picture!

Her favorite thing to do, play with

plastic spoons in the sand.

So happy in the dry and safe sand.

Grabbing a starfish at the touch tank

at the Port Isabel aquarium.

She had no idea that thing was alive!

I hadn't held a starfish before.

It was neat!

Checking out the huge lobster.

Bubbles!

Cami is talking more and more and we absolutely love it. So far she can say "ma ma", "da da", "ball", "no" (this one gets used a lot) and "dog". Tonight at bath time she said "bubble" for the first time. It is so cute to hear her talking...we find her very entertaining. I hope this video brings a smile to your face as it did ours!

Busy Girl

This Summer has been a busy one so far! I have not had much time to myself, therefore blogging gets put at the bottom of the list. Cameron is working on transitioning to one nap a day which is good and bad. Good because she takes one long stretch of nap in the afternoon and I can plan our days only around one nap instead of two. Bad because I only have one time a day to get everything done....cleaning, dishes, laundry, picking up dog and baby toys, cooking-ok not really cooking. Our little girl is growing and changing so quick I can barely keep up. She seems so old and grown up, no longer like a baby. She is into absolutely everything. I have said this before but I didn't know what "into everything" meant until now! I have included a picture of her tearing through the Tupperware cabinet (the only one she is allowed to get into.) Just reaching in and grabbing things was not enough, she had to actually crawl in the cabinet, all by herself, to reach the most important pieces in the very back!

The Other Dube Family Visit

Neal's brother, Travis, and his wife, Michelle, along with their two kids, Lindsay and Cooper came in town to hang out for the weekend. We all had so much fun just hanging out around the house and chillaxin'! With both family's very busy schedules it is hard to find the time to get together but when we do we always have a blast and wish we wouldn't let so much time go between the visits. Here are some pics from the weekend...

Lindsay and Cami playing through the door.

Cooper pushing Cami around downtown McKinney.

Yeah, we did get out of the house a little-

it wasn't all chillaxin'.

Cooper has Cami's bow in his mouth. Apparently, it

was a fun game for Cami to take it out of his mouth.

Playing in the wagon they got her for Christmas.

The cousins!

It was so neat to watch the cousins play. Lindsay and Coooper are 5 and 7 years older than Cami, but we have high hopes of them being close despite their age difference!