Whew! And, check mark!

I did it. Not sure why I did it... but I did!

The Rock-n-Roll Marathon & Half Marathon in San Antonio was Sunday. I ran the Half Marathon with roughly 29,000 of my closest friends. What an experience!

13.1 miles.
2 hours 33 minutes 21 seconds

It was so moving to see all the families and friends out in the chilly elements supporting thier own. A couple of times, I was moved to tears. Around mile 7 a guy surprised his sweety with a home-grown tshirt that said, Run Honey Run! She was so excited to see him that she ran onto the sidewalk and lept into his arms... Later I heard her say, "I didn't even think he knew I was running today!"

My beautiful, wonderful family and dear friends came out and braved the frigid air to cheer me on, too. I cannot truly put into words how much the clapping and waving and encouraging cheers meant to me at mile 8! And even more so at mile 13!! Just seeing thier smiling faces gave me an extra jolt of energy! Boy did I need it for that last .1, too!

Whew!
Thanks for all the support and love!
Rock On!

Mom, I got this!

Campbell started at her new school on Monday. I was totally stressed out over it... to the point that I even considered taking a week of half days at work just to ease her into it.
Until compared to her cousin Opal, Campbell is a pretty great kid! Okay even when compared to Opal she is great. Opal's easy going nature makes Miss Independence seem uncooperative at times. Oh yeah- she is very uncooperative at times.

Monday morning I thought I was going to throw up I was so nervous. I dressed her cute, but not super cute because I didn't want the other kids to be intimidated by her extreme cuteness. =) Of course, I am kidding... a little. Okay, not so much.

Anyway, with a major pink bow prominently placed on her precious head we made our way to Primrose School. I was pleased that she was not the first to arrive (that always intensifies my guilt). I introduced her to her new classmates: Sofia, Reagan (girl), Chen Chen (boy), Parker (boy), Thaylon (boy), CJ (boy), and Ainsley- with an "s" and not to be confused with Opal. Campbell took some time to take everyone in and then looked up at me like, "Mom, I've got this." So, I bent down, we kissed (complete with an audible smack from her), and she waved goodbye.

What???? No drama??? No screaming, "Mommy don't leave me!"?

What a big girl! I am so glad it going so well and so bummed that she is growing up so fast. I guess it was bound to happen!

Woooo hoooo!

Campbell Solana has agreed to teetee in the potty!!! Wooo hooo!

I decided to offer Big Girl panties to Her Majesty yesterday morning. She has refused them on many occasions... yesterday, however, she decided that she and Mr Moreno (her bear) would both be wearing a pair. Sometimes Mr Moreno wears a hat, sometimes a tshirt, sometimes one sock (never two). He normally is only allowed to wear the chosen item for a couple of minutes. Yesterday, they both put on their Big Girl panties like it was an every day affair.

I set the timer on the microwave for one hour.

When the timer sounded we headed to the bathroom- big fight. No teetee.

I set the time for another hour.

When the timer sounded we headed back to the bathroom. No fight this time, but also no teetee.

Lunch.

Third try: A few minutes on the potty. Up she comes. No teetee. She heads for the door, pauses, and.... yep. Teetees on the floor. I scoop her up and put her on the potty, but of course, she is all done.

Diaper. Nap. Diaper change into panties. Now we take Mr Moreno into the bathroom and sit him on the potty. He wouldn't teetee, either.

We went on about decorating the house for Halloween. About an hour later she darts off down the hall into her room and comes back dragging Mr Moreno saying, "TTTTTTT!"

Ok, we take Mr Moreno and put him on the potty.

And then, lo and behold she wants to sit on the potty herself. She sits- nothing. Up she comes. Then back down..... TEE TEE in the potty!!!!

The royal throne played a royal tune and I almost shed a royal tear. Alan even happened to be peaking around the corner to witness the royal event. What proud parents!

What a great way to start the week! Hope your week is full of fun surprises, too!

Peace out from Cedar Park!

Love, Campbell's Mom

Sticks and Stones

Let me start by saying that it was raining in Austin, Texas this morning. While that doesn't mean much more than water falling from the sky to the rest of the human race, in Austin it ALWAYS equals a MAJOR traffic catastrophe. And not because of accidents... nope. Perhaps it is the tree-huggers in on-going awe of the phenom or maybe it is too many nervous nellies out on the streets. Whatever the case may be, any amount of precipitation grinds traffic to nearly a halt every time. So, a typical 30 minute commute to the pediatrician's office took a grueling 105 minutes today. You can imagine the attitude I was getting from the backseat...

We finally arrived along with all the other tardy mothers. As soon as I got settled into my seat in the "Well Children's area" of the waiting room I noticed that her Highness was in distress. That is to say, working on a "project." That is just great. Just then, they call our name.
Decision time: Head for the lobby restroom and let another family in front of us while I change a diaper? Not today. I opted for acting oblivious to the stench permeating from the precious little girl perched upon my hip.

As soon as we enter the exam room the nurse catches a whiff and says, "I'll give you girls some privacy." I chuckle. Campbell concentrates on the task at hand...

Finally Dr. Dan joins us. He goes through his battery of questions and he finishes up with:

Dr Dan: How many words does she say?
Me: Umm, quite a few.
Dr Dan: 10?
Me: Oh yes.
Dr Dan: 15-20?
Me: Yeah, (it is Texas, you can answer with yeah) Probably somewhere in that range.
Dr Dan: Silence (he writes something in her chart)

~Then his office manager appears and says he has an urgent phone call. He excuses himself while I sit and ponder how many words she really does say. 20 was a total guess. I decide to quiz her and count.~

Mommy, Daddy, PaPa, Grita, Dio, Nana, Deedee, Haylie, Beck, grass, water, trees, birds, more, milk, bear, cookie, Elvis, Miko, cat, lion, bear, NeeNee, elbow, knee, head, toes, diaper, her friends' names at school (Brooke, Kendal, Zachary, Reece, Morgan, Victoria, Miss Irene), books, car, trucks, bath, duck, quack...

~Dr Dan returns~

Me: I was counting, and I think she knows well over 40 words
Dr Dan: Ok
Me: Do you need to write that down?
Dr Dan: (Smiling and shaking his head) On average and for her age she should be saying 5-10 words. So, she is well above average.
Me: (Silence- smiling)
Dr Dan: Do you want me to write that down?
Me: (Laughing) I think it is note worthy, don't you?

He is a really neat doctor. We are so glad we found him!

PS- We both cried during and after her shots. And, I think she has just about perfected her dirty look, too. Just ask Nurse Kim...

Bzzzz and Baaaah

I love Halloween! I always have. I was lucky enough to marry a man who isn't afraid to dress up for Halloween. More importantly, he is willing to go for the big laugh. Oh how I hope Campbell loves Halloween like I do.
Last year, for her first embarrassing costume, she was an adorable zebra. Complete with a giant bow- just to be sure everyone knew she was a SHE zebra. This year, her highness, refuses to wear any sort of head gear. Headband? No. Hat? Absolutely not. What is a Halloween-Loving-Mother to do? Well, I'll tell you. When she is accustomed to wearing bows everyday, you disassemble the headband and glue antennas to clippies. Whah la.


Heather and I took them to Picture People this weekend for a little "prima" picture. Easier said than done. I was sweating like a pig after about 5 minutes of chasing, begging, pleading, and threatening Campbell to stand or sit close to Ainzely. Whew. Somehow we go a couple of cute pics. Needless to say, I had a margarita at lunch. A well deserved margarita, I might add. Opal (Ainzley) makes the cutest goat I have ever seen. She was a much better sport about wearing the hot felt costume and beard than my little bumble bee was about wearing the itchy dress.

In the spirit of things I thought I'd also give you a taste of Hallweens past... this year's costume is still under wraps, of course. Check out some of our best work.

Trolls on top of pencils & a Mummy, of course

Oompa Loompas

Willy Wonka (Old School Gene Wilder Style... don't you just love the curls?)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (with Flat Stanley)

Pink Panther and InspectHer Clouseau

Until next time,
Bzzzz and Bahhhh from Cedar Park!
Love,
Campbell's Mom

Campbell's House proper

Like most pregnant women, I tortured my husband with my obsession over the perfect name for our baby. In addition to torturing him with the constant bombardment of "What do you think about this name?" game, I also tortured the rest of my family by keeping all the contenders a secret.

So a few months after she was born we were down in Pleasanton and my dad says, "You know, if you take this precious baby girl and Heather's dog and put them together you get a great, big, black, kick ass football player!.... Did y'all plan that?"

Ever heard of Earl Campbell??

Did I mention that Heather's weinie dog is named Earlene? Oh yes, a la Earl Campbell and his famouse sausage! She even wears a sparkly UT collar- too cute!

THIS

Plus THIS
EQUALS THIS??

So we took Grita to Campbell's House (proper) this weekend. She had never been to a UT football game. We had a great time! A big Shout Out and Thank You to Mr. Faulkner for his continued generosity for game day tickets, too!

Campbell did not join us, neither did Earlene. However we did stop by Earl's statue... maybe some day soon will take the two namesakes down to the stadium for a photo op.

Hook 'Em Horns!

34 is starting off great

What a lovely day and week it has been. Happy Birthday, indeed!

I couldn't be more thankful for all the wonderful people in my life. I had scores of birthday wishes from friends and family. Beautiful flowers, yummy cake, lunches filled with laughter and friends, very thoughtful gifts from Campbell & Alan, and a weekend of fun to look forward to with my peeps.

Thanks for the love and for being part of my crazy, silly, wonderful life!