tutu much fun!!!

Cami had a blast as she celebrated her 2nd birthday with her friends and family! Here are some pictures of the big day...

The BIG 0-2!!!

Two years ago today Neal and I became the proud parents of the sweetest, cutest, most precious baby girl! She has changed our life for the better and we thank our lucky stars each day for her! Happy Birthday, Cami! Mommy and Daddy love you very much!!!

Lions and Tigers and...

Elephants! Okay, I know that's not really how it goes but there weren't any bears at the zoo! So, Cami took her first trip to the zoo this past week. Although it was way too hot to be doing anything outside that didn't involve water we still enjoyed watching as she got excited at each animal. Before we even went to the zoo she was talking about seeing the tigers. Apparently that was THE animal to see! She did enjoy looking at the tiger and all of his massiveness, but I think she got more of a kick-out of seeing the penguins! Those little guys have always been a favorite of hers!

Please don't ask me why my child wears her sunglasses upside down. I don't know if it feels more comfortable to her to wear them this way or what. It doesn't matter how many times we put them on her the right way she will always flip them over upside down. Don't worry, I have plenty of pictures of her like this so one day when she is older she can look back and realize the embarrassment we had to go through!

This next picture cracks me up! Cami is pointing at me and saying "this way" because I was taking the picture the wrong way, according to her. You see the camera was vertical, not horizontal and I was apparently doing it all wrong.

The giraffes! You could get so close to them

that you could actually touch them! We had a great day at the zoo. But next time we will go in the spring!

Fireworks!

Our July 4th festivities were a lot of fun this year! We started the day off by making, what I have decided will be a tradition from now on, a flag cake. Cami loved helping mix the ingredients together and adding the strawberries and blueberries. We then headed over to Grammy and Papaw's house (minus Grammy because she was out of town) to enjoy some swimming and cooking out!

Later that night we went to see the fireworks show. Neal and I both were unsure of how Cami would do with staying up late-the fireworks didn't begin until 9:45 and Cami usually is in bed by 7:30 or 8:00! Cami is also scared of loud noises so we thought she might get pretty upset at the sound of all the fireworks. But, she did great!

Not one time did she cry or whine about being tired-she even stayed awake for the drive home! She did seem to be a little nervous and was quiet when the fireworks first started and held on tight to Neal and I, but she eventually got excited and would call out the colors of each firework. July 4th is one of mine and Neal's favorite holidays and I'm so excited to be able to carry on traditions like watching fireworks, BBQ's, and flag cakes with our very own family!

Updates and the Heat!

Cami has made several steps towards becoming a big girl! She now drinks out of a big girl cup, without a lid for spill protection! Sometimes she will pick up the cup and look at me with big eyes and say "slowly" because I told her to drink it slowly every time she picked up her cup for about the first month we were trying out this whole big girl cup thing!

And the biggest and hardest step towards big girl hood that Cami has gone through...the removal of the paci! She had given it up at school and only needed it to sleep with at home so I thought it would be a quick and fairly easy process. It was just like taking off a band-aid. She cried the first night (A LOT) and each night got better and better until a week later she didn't even ask for it. It was a little sad for me, though. As I threw away all the paci's I realized that my baby girl is growing up way too fast! Summertime is here! Well, technically the first day of Summer is not until June 21st, but if it's 100 degrees then I say it's Summer! Last Summer Cami loved the water and this year she is proving to love it just the same! Here she is making the face she makes when water splashes on her face...Cami has become quite fond of the accessories, and

sunglasses are usually a must before going outside :)

Swimming at Grammy and Papaw's house. Ridiculous as it may look, this swimsuit with a life vest built in is genius! She loves swimming and really has no fear of the water! We need to enroll her in swim lessons soon!!

Unfortunately, we only have a little wadding pool for Cami to play in at our house. But she doesn't seem to mind...she'll splash in anything!

Cami is such a happy little girl! She makes life so much fun!!!

Mother's Day

This year I had an amazing Mother's Day! Neal and Cami did such a good job! We spent Saturday morning at the Dallas Arboretum. It was a beautiful day with perfect weather to be outside! I could spend every weekend at the Arboretum and never get tired of it! The rest of the day was spent eating out and napping :) On Sunday I slept in and woke up to home-made breakfast in bed! Neal had taken Cami earlier in the week to a pottery place where she decorated a vase with her hand prints as a gift for me. It's priceless! We then spent the day at my parents celebrating and eating lots of food! It was perfect! Being a mother is such a hard, tiring, challenging job. It is non-stop without a brake and I am always questioning if I am doing it right. BUT, it is the most rewarding and precious job I will ever! I am truly thankful for my precious baby girl and am honored to be her mommy!

San Antonio

Neal and I went to San Antonio to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary in April. This was our first trip away from Cami so I was a little nervous that we (really just myself) would miss her too much to enjoy it. Well, I was wrong! Don't get me wrong, I missed her and thought about her the whole time, but I did not miss a thing about being responsible for another person! We slept late, stayed out late, and drank lots of margaritas! It was SO relaxing and fun! We plan to go to San Antonio and have more child-free weekends more often! The first day we went to Sea World! The Shamu show was awesome! You don't realize how huge a whale is until you see it up close. I got tears in my eyes, it was that incredible!

The seals were adorable. It's as if

he was smiling for the camera:)

Checking out the River Walk during the day...

This bridge is famous! It has something to do with Selina. We heard people talking about it, but I am not too familiar with Selina. Apparently, everyone else there is, though ;)

This is the River Walk in front of our hotel. They do over 100 weddings a year on that little island with the tree...so romantic!

It's hard to believe Neal and I have been married 5 years! We met almost 11 years ago when we were just kids. I was 19 and he was 21! We have done a lot of growing together, sharing the good times and the not-so-good times. I am so proud to be married to such a wonderful, caring, thoughtful, romantic, hard-working husband. Neal makes me the happiest woman alive!!

Easter