Snail mail and such

I am one of those people. I still love to get the mail and not just for the Us Weekly, either. Yes, our mail box is generally littered with bills and credit card solicitations. And, here in Austin the Sunday newspaper ads and fliers aren't actually IN the Sunday newspaper... Oh, no... they come in the mail on Wednesday (it is Austin, what do you expect?). But aside from all the junk mail, every now and then you will find a gem: a wedding invitation, a birthday card, a reminder from you dentist, a thank you note. But, every once in a blue moon the crowned jewel arrives: correspondence without cause. Isn't it just the best?

Well, since we've added the pink cast to our lives the amount of good mail has at least doubled. Grita and Hooterbox have been keeping the mail carriers quite busy! Our MailLady is surely wondering who or what a "Hooterbox" and a "Grita" are exactly and what precisely is so urgent that they continue to Priority Ship... If she only knew the treasures inside are just tiny reminders of the love of a grandmother and an auntie that can barely stand to be away from a precious little girl.New Haircut

Special Delivery

Campbell is really getting the hang of opening envelopes and even better at parcels. She still destroys the envelope and sometimes tries to eat the card... but I figure, if it is addressed to her what can I do? It is her mail.

Pink Cast Update:
We are closing in on the end of week #2 of 4. It is getting a little grungy but looks pretty good considering.
I've managed to keep all the Sharpies at bay but it is doubtful that we will make it through the weekend without a couple of autographs.
Bath time has turned into a full blown battle every night. Thank goodness for Target bags and red wine.


Much love,
Campbell's Mom

Big D

Alan's 20 year high school reunion loured us to Dallas last weekend. It was also Campbell's first trip to Big D for some one-on-one with the grandparents- Codina style. She is not the greatest car traveler (neither is her mother)... but once we arrived she was all smiles. I think she just about has Dio wrapped completely around her little finger!

Daddy O or "Dio" for short & Nana C

S.W.A.K. for my Grita

Let's see... we made it one year, two months, and five days without a noteworthy injury.

Unfortunately, it looks like Campbell inherited Alan's weak bones. She did not exactly "stick the landing" while dismounting from a bed this weekend (whose owner will remain nameless). It didn't seem to be more than a sore booty at the time- but when she still wasn't trying to walk this morning we knew something was up. I guess if you are a spazz God gives you strong bones. Maybe she is going to take after Alan in the coordination department after all.

Turns out she has a buckle fracture on her right tibia. Turns out I am going to be drinking a lot for the next four weeks.

You can already imagine the laundry list of things to obsess over that are racing through my mind.
1. How will I bathe her?
1a. Though my family loves to remind me that I did not bathe her for the first three weeks of her life, times have changed... and have you seen her coif of hair? Two days without a bath and she will look like a grease monkey!
2. How will I know when she puts something down it? Because you know she will...
3. How will I keep her cool while letting her enjoy the outdoor things she loves to do?
3a. See #1.
4. How and when will I stop crying about this?
5. How will she learn to walk dragging this cast around?
5a. See #4.
You're getting the general idea...

In the end, it will be fine, I know... in fact she seems fine right now. But the darn thing hasn't started to annoy her just yet. All in good time I am afraid.

Anyway, she is awesome and will figure out a way to work this into her highly fashionable lifestyle, I am sure. And yes, of course, it is pink.

Love to all... especially Grita!
Campbell's Mom

A kiss for my Grita

Dis?

Me and Beasley

Maybe upside down works better

Peas in a pod

I sometimes joke that strangers probably wonder if I am Campbell's nanny. But, there is no mistaking who her daddy is! They really are two peas in a pod!

I remember the first time that I heard Campbell really laugh. It was the cutest giggle I have ever heard... all because her daddy was stealing kisses from her tickle spots. I always knew he would be a good Dad, but this good??? Come on.

Happy Father's Day, Pie. We love you

Bite Me

Today was Campbell's first official swimming lesson. I had intended that to be the topic today. But as they say, "the best laid plans..."

Since babies do not come with instruction manuals, I firmly believe that they should at least come with a warning label:

Warning! I may be cute but I am going to embarrass you half to death with a huge fit at some point.

Picture this: Precious pink bikini, hair pulled up in a precious little pig tail with the obligatory precious pink bow, and a precious little toddler toddling around the waiting area at swim school. How precious, right?

One minute she was the model child then I swear her head spun a full 360 degrees on her neck and she turned into some devil child that I have never seen before.

Full blown screaming, no scratch that, screeching fit! Her legs apparently stopped working so she was on all fours with her head on the germ-free floor of the lobby. Which, by the way, was full of approximately 400 other mothers and their perfectly behaved angelic children. Ok, maybe not 400- it was more like 5 or 6. But seriously, they were all glaring at us. At some point, I peeled her off of the floor and tried to muffle the screaming by putting her head into my shoulder. Bad, bad, bad idea! I can't be sure whether it was intentional or not, but I can be sure that it hurt like all get out! Yep, she bit me. Not a full blown chomp but she got a good mouthful, anyway. My, oh my, how I wanted to retaliate in some fashion. But with a lobby full of annoyed other mothers watching my novice mothering skills I opted for: angry eyes and a serious scolding. Both of which, she could usually give a shit about, but today it injured her deeply. Thus we began round #2 of the squalling. Oh, but round two required more theatrics. She decided that the over exaggerated back-arching, mixed in with pushing her body as far away from me as possible, and alternately reaching for random off limits objects made a nice repertoire...


I have turned into that clueless looking mother with the squalling-ass kid... ugh.
Good ol' karma. It'll bite you in the booty every now and then.

Oh well- next week is Alan's turn at the pool.

Time to go shower off all the chlorine and pool pee.

xo,
Campbell's Mom

PS- Ask Haylie, it's all true.

Virtual Refrigerator

Have I mentioned that Campbell has good genes? (In the fall she had really cute jeans, too.) She comes from creative people...

To name a few:
Her Grita is crafty. So are her Grand Sandy and her Aunty H.
Her Hooterbox is artsy (a bona fide art teacher).
Her Dee Dee is fartsy- that is to say, tootsy. She is a trombone-ista in the High School marching band.

Ladies and Gents, she might not be able to walk, and she might not be able to talk. But, the girl can do some art! We may have a little Picasso on our hands! Thanks to Ms. Irene for incorporating art into the every day lives of toddlers!

My refrigerator rocks! In case yours doesn't here is a little sampling of Campbell's recent work.

xoxo,
Campbell's Mom

"Butterfly blot" 5-27-08


"Kind of Blue" 5-2-08


"Purple in the Spring" 4-29-08


Untitled 5-22-08

I'm with the band.

We've known that Campbell is a music lover for quite some time, now. I am not sure if it is because we went to listen lots of live music while I was pregnant or if she was just blessed with the gift of groove. Either way, she has definite opinions about what music she likes. For instance, if Alan puts on Depeche Mode or The Cure her little head starts to bob. She really is partial to anything with a distinct bass line. So, if any hip hop is within ear shot she can be spotted doing her bobbing "thang." Every now and then a Top 40 country crossover song will peak her interest- but definitely not any old school country- I guess Merl and Hank be damned.

I told you that to tell you this. We went to a graduation party on Friday night. The graduate is also a music lover so her grandmother had a local singer-song writer-guitarist named Billy Harvey, performing as the entertainment. We thought he was fantastic- Alan and I, that is. Campbell thought he was there especially for her personal enjoyment. She thought he and his music were the bomb. Seriously, she was humming and dancing (knees bending intermittently with the occasional head bob for flare) the entire first set (which, ps, was two hours past her normal bedtime). If there had been a stage, my daughter would have been trying to get on it or behind it to get closer to Billy. This cannot be a good sign...

He performed "When You Grow Up" for Lauren, the graduate, on Friday night. The whole place was howling! You will be, too. Great song. Check it out!

Peace out from Cedar Park-
Campbell's Mom