The "First Times" Continue Into February

I should have saved my last post..... as we have more and more new "firsts" to add to the list.

Last week was not only hectic, but fun filled as well. Nick had just gotten home Monday morning from skiing out west in Park City, UT.... I turned around and left for Charlotte that next day for work. Given our busy schedules, we decided it was a week to pack in the fun and togetherness once we were both back home and settled. Don't get me wrong, I love always having something to do, but at some point exhaustion takes over!

Well, the night I got back from Charlotte, we took Camille to the circus. It was opening night and Camille's buddy, Mary, had invited us to join her. We had so much fun at the circus last year, so we knew Camille would be even more excited to go this year. Well, I neglected to notice the time. The show didn't start until 7pm, on a Wednesday! Now, I enjoy the feeling of getting my money's worth..... but after over 2 hours, I was ready for the show to end! We didn't get home that night until close to 10pm! We never seem to stress about staying on a routine or schedule too much, its certainly nice to have such a flexible child, but 10 was pushing it for all of us! Here are some pictures from the "Dragons" circus performance. We did get to attend the pre-show, where they allow you to go down to the floor and interact with the performers. Megan & I were hoping Camille & Mary would try on some clown costumes, but instead Megan & I got suckered into it! Camille said that her favorite part was the elephants again this year, but in my opinion, she seemed most into the clowns. I think Nick & I were most impressed by the horses and their riders- very intense tricks going on! I will have to say, they also had some dogs & cats in the show this year that proved to be quite hilarious!

After a long night at the circus... Camille & I had to be at her first dentist appointment early the next morning.  We were both dragging. I requested that I had my appointment first so that Camille could observe everything that was done, in hopes of her being more comfortable when it was her turn. Our hygienist, Claudia, is fabulous! She talked Camille through everything she was doing to Mommy's teeth and answered all of Camille's questions. Camille was very quiet for the first half of my appointment, but then she warmed up and was talking our ears off! She even created a song about how she loved the dentist and it wasn't even her turn yet! Ha! When it was her turn, Claudia let Camille touch any and all of the "tools" that she was going to use to examine and clean Camille's teeth. Camille also got to wear a pair of sunglasses to protect her eyes, which she though was super cool. Camille also was thrilled when Claudia let her pick out which flavor toothpaste she wanted.... of course she chose bubblegum! Camille was almost too relaxed in the chair! She had her ankles crossed, then had her knees up..... in between cleaning, she would even lay sideways and tell me she wanted to nap in the chair! The dentist came in and had Camille help him count her teeth. She will now proudly tell you "ten on the top and ten on the bottom!" He said that Camille's teeth were as good as they could get at age 3 :) He showed Camille how to floss, which luckily she was very impressed with, but bad for me, she now wants her teeth flossed at every brushing...... Here are some pictures of Camille's first trip to the dentist:

As if this wasn't enough in a 24 hour period, Camille had her first ballet class Thursday night. We had been on a wait list for dance, as Camille wasn't old enough to start in the fall. We were both so happy that she got into the spring semester ballet class. The class is a 45 minute session for 3 & 4 yr olds. Camille LOVED it! She was very quiet at first and didn't want to volunteer for anything, but once she was more comfortable, she was bouncing all around the room. All those little girls looked so precious dancing and their teacher, Mrs. Christy, was so great with them. She really helped teach them some basics, while incorporating games, to keep them having fun. Camille seemed very impressed with herself after the first class and loved coming home to tell Daddy all about it. She seemed disappointed that it would be another week in between classes. Here is a picture of our little ballerina.

The chaos continued into the weekend.... I had been needing to get Camille's haircut for some time, but hadn't found the right time or the courage to take her. She has had several haircuts up until now, but all of those have been trims, no more than half an inch or so.... and then I've done by own touch-ups to her hair at home. Well given that her hair has been growing so fast and that the daily tangle spray treatment and shampoo with conditioner wasn't helping much, I decided it was time to do her first "major" cut. We took her to a kid place, Snip-Its, that she has been a few other times. I let them cut off 2.5 inches, but got a little panicked thinking of more coming off. I was very happy with the result..... the shorter cut was still long enough to braid and put up, but short enough so were wouldn't be getting it caught in her carseat buckle, hang in her food, etc.... :) It's the little things...... Here is a before and after......

While we are on the topic of firsts.... I'm so excited that my brother John and sister in law Andrea are expecting their first child. They had a reveal party this weekend, so Camille got to debut her haircut at the gender reveal. She & I both sported our pink in hopes of a girl :) We were right!! John & Andrea are having a little girl this summer!! We are very excited and Camille is already calling her "sister." How cute is that?!
Here is a pic from the party.... While Nick did show up in blue, I think he was on the girl bandwagon too, but in his defense, he doesn't own any pink :)