The Cox family wishes you a very Merry Christmas 2011

We have had a very merry Christmas, and our fun isn't over yet! Right before the Christmas parties and celebrations started, Mommy had to make a quick trip to Boston for work. Camille wanted Mommy to pack her too!

We had so much fun decorating this year. Our tree was gorgeous and has stayed so fresh throughout the entire month. Camille has loved looking at all the ornaments, but hasn't tried to take any of them off. Got lucky on that front!

 We had a wonderful Christmas Eve. We started the day with a yummy brunch with Mimi, John, and Aya and exchanged gifts. We loved this picture of Camille showing off her new NCSU pink jersey from Uncle John & Aunt Aya. She was so excited.

That evening, Camille got to debut her cute outfit from Clint & Meagan.

We went to church to celebrate Jesus and Camille got to participate in the service as an angel. She had a cute little halo and once she got up front at church, she was so well behaved and loved listening to the birth story!

We enjoyed a hibachi style dinner afterward with our neighbors, which might be a fun new tradition!

You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Camille.....

Camille had her 2nd annual Christmas Program at school yesterday. She was a reindeer. The entire school did so well given we are talking about a play with kids that are 4 years old and younger! Camille's class came out toward the end shaking their jingle bells while singing "Jinging Bells." Camille had been practicing all week and was doing so well, but the crowd got the best of the kids. They stopped singing and just stared back at all the people in the audience. Camille made it down to the stage great and then just stood there looking at the crowd. She didn't get upset, and even clapped her hands a few times, but mainly just was a reindeer in headlights :)

After the performance, a special visitor game to say hello. Now, while some of the kids got very excited to see Santa, Camille was just giving him the stare down. She didn't want to sit on his lap, but she was willing to talk to him from a distance. She told him she wanted baby dolls for Christmas. She also calls him Mr. Wuf (after the NCSU mascot). Similar colors and both in costume... so can't blame her.

Two Year Old Checkup

Camille had her two year old checkup yesterday. The doctor was very happy with everything. She didn't go through a big growth spurt like last time, but is still moving up on her growth curve... so that is all that matters. She weighed 25.5 lbs, which puts her in the 30th percentile.... And she is 33inches tall, which is in the 45th percentile. They don't measure her head anymore, but I'm sure that would be pushing 100%! Her development is right on track, actually above average in every category! The doctor was very impressed with Camille's communication skills above all else.... I made sure to let her know that Camille could also count to ten and recite her ABC's... though Camille didn't want to put on a show at the time.

Camille had to get two shots at this visit. Hep A and the flu vaccine... She is big enough now to get the shots in her arms... poor girl... one in each! She told the nurse that gave the shots to "Go away!" I felt bad that she hurt the nurses feelings, but I'm sure she is used to that reaction. The nurse gave Camille a pinwheel again after her shots, but Camille wasn't interested. She pointed to the door and kept telling the nurse, "out, go away"... I couldn't help but laugh. She looked at me and said "Millie home." No subtle hints there. She was fine once she got back to school b/c she got to show her bandaids to her friends. She pointed to them and said "ouch!"

No more shots until she goes to kindergarden!!! (well, aside from the annual flu shot)

Happy 2nd Birthday Camille!

Hard to believe our little girl is 2. Well, she does display her moments of terrible 2 symptoms, and her vocabulary is increasing by the day, and she is in a big girl bed.... so maybe it isn't so hard to believe.

Camille had her birthday party on Saturday. We did a farm/barnyard theme since she is very into animals these days. We had a lot of fun celebrating with our family & friends.

She had the cutest, most creative birthday cake I have ever seen. The famous Aunt Martha put her creativity to the test again.... I think she is ready for Cake Wars.

Camille managed to blow out the candles and devour her entire cupcake in a few bites.

Great fun was had by all and we can't wait to see what happens with Camille as we surpass two and head toward 3!

Celebrating Martha!

Aunt Martha turned the big 5-0 last week (though she still looks 40) and Joe had a big throw down to celebrate. We feasted on lots of pork and pumpkin stew and all the fixins'! It was delicious, but most importantly, we got to spend time some good quality family time together. (Camille did amazing for the 3hr drive down.) Camille loved Aunt M's "50" glasses, so she sported them while making her funny face. Aunt M let her take them home so she is still wearing in continued celebration :)

While this doesn't even begin to reflect half of our family (yes, we travel deep), here are those of us that hung around until Sunday.

And there always has to be some funny faces.... Camille tried her best to participate too! :)

Happy Halloween from our little lion!

Camille is going to be a lion for Halloween. We have already had two opportunities for her to wear her lion costume! Last week, she had a parade at school. Her teacher said that she got a lot of laughs and applause at her cuteness!

The little lion wasn't the only cute one in the parade. Here is a picture of all her little school buddies after their big debut!

After school last week, there was the annual fall festival where Camille & her best buddy Madelyn got to enjoy some early trick or treating and fun!

They had to fuel up before trunk or treat, so they enjoyed some hotdogs and french fries first.

After eating, they were ready to get some candy. It was trunk or treat, so lots of uniquely themed cars were awaiting the girls. Some had neat games to play before getting your candy. Others were a free for all. Camille loved running up and picking out her candy. She didn't want to say trick or treat, but she gladly said thank you!

The girls both seemed to go for the lollipops above all else.

They did make sure to take a break from the candy when they wanted to do some jumping! We could never get a picture of Camille when she wasn't falling :)

They even made sure to meet up with their buddy Corey aka Buzz Lightyear.

I think the girls are primed and ready for tonight!! Happy Halloween to everyone!

The Painting Duo

The Young Alumnae Board that I chair puts on an annual Pumpkin Painting event for all Meredith alum and their children. It was a huge success this year with over 40 kids in attendance! Connor came along with as my extra helper and boy was I glad to have her help. Not only did Camille LOVE painting with Connor, they both had a love for the color pink :) Here are some pictures of the painting duo.

And yes, the pumpkin is coated from top to bottom (even the stalk) in pink :)
After painting pumpkins, Connor helped Camille with some pumpkin arts & crafts and chalk drawing. What a wonderful Sunday afternoon!

NC State Fair 2011 (and 23 months)

So to celebrate Camille turning 23 months.... we used that as an excuse to head to the NC State Fair. It's a yearly tradition for Nick & I- well, the food part of it :) This year we met up with Britton, Beverly, & Madelyn for some extra fun. We started out with some Al's fries which Maddie is eating in the picture above while I was using Camille's fries to get her to smile for the camera!

Camille & Madelyn loved the animals. They both agreed that the cows were their favorite, but Camille did comment that overall the animal building was "yucky, stink."

After some roasted corn & tea, we headed to Kiddie Land for some rides. While the firetruck looked harmless, the girls didn't appreciate the downward movement for the first few minutes. Camille ended up enjoying it, while Maddie didn't know whether to cry or smile. Beverly & I were quite amused.

We then discovered our beloved ham biscuits and a great kid area for the girls full of many of their favorite characters.

Camille and Maddie then took a ride on a much calmer ride with their daddys.

We had a great time... ended up spending 4 hours there!! The girls didn't want to leave each other's company, but they were both exhausted enough to not put up a fight.