Camilla is just too cute these days. We found out that she loves oranges when we went to Cracker Barrel a few Saturdays ago. I thought this was too cute and could not pass up the "Kodak Moment."

Well Camilla has officially had her first sickness. Last Sunday, she started with a low grade fever and it escalated to 104 on Monday night. It was so scary. She was very lethargic and non-responsive. We were able to get her fever back down by giving her a dose of Motrin, turning down the air and taking off her shirt. It came down to around 102 within 30 mins and she rested well the rest of the night. We went to the doctor on Tuesday morning and of course she was not running any fever at the time. The doctor said that it was just a fever virus and that it should pass in a few days. It did and she was feeling much better by Thursday. Now she has a cough and a little runny nose. She was so pitiful and whinny. You could tell she did not feel good.


I really feel for all the moms out there that have babies that are sick "all the time." I did not understand how demanding and exhausting it really was to have a sick child until this past week.

Can you believe it?? Our baby is ONE! I can hardly believe we are already celebrating Camilla's 1st Birthday! It has been an awesome year! I would say the best of our lives! Everything is so new and exciting when you see it through a child's eyes. From the sleepless nights to trying food for the first time, her first words, first teeth, crawling and walking, it has been a wonderful journey. We have been so blessed! Camilla officially made it through her first year of life with no fever, ear infection, or major sickness (if you don't count her first few days when she was being treated for high bilirubin.)

We celebrated at our house with family and friends on Saturday, July 11th. Camilla was so excited. She knew something different was going on before the first guest arrived. She would walk around clapping for herself and squealing at the top of her lungs. We had a ball pit and inflatable jumping gym in the backyard for the kids to play in while the adults sat in the shade! Camilla had a great time with her friends and would run from one activity to the other. She is fearless....she would get in and jump with the bigger kids and slide head first down the slides. She obviously thinks she is as big as they are. Her cousins Kendal, Kate and Lauren were there as well as her friends Ellen, Callie, Olive, and Brodie!

After playing for a while, it was time for the cake. I made her a smash cake in the shape of a number 1. I knew she would not disappoint us but she really destroyed the cake! I was just glad she did not rub her hands in her hair! It was so cute!

Once she was cleaned up, we opened presents. I think she will be disappointed this Christmas because she got so many presents for her birthday that Santa just can't compete! She was getting a little tired by this point of the party so she had some help from cousins Kendal and Lauren at opening her gifts.

Thanks to everyone who helped make Camilla's first Birthday so special.

On Sunday, her actual birthday, Marty and I took her to the neighborhood pool. She loves the pool so we thought that would be something fun to do since the party was the day before. Then we played around the house with her new toys!

Happy Birthday Camilla....Mommy and Daddy love you!

We had a great July 4th. It was Camilla's first...I guess this was her last "first holiday"! A few days before the 4th she went to a carnival with Nana and Papa at their church. Uncle Sam was even there! I don't think Camilla was to fond of him. She also got to play with her friend Easton Miller.

On the actual 4th of July, we started off the morning at Ellen's 2nd Birthday Party. This was Camilla's first friend birthday party and she had so much fun. She always has fun with her friends Ellen, Callie and Alli!

That evening we went to a pool party at Rodney and Carrie's new house. It was a lot fun and everyone had fun in the pool. Rodney also smoked some awesome finger lickin' chickens! After dinner, we headed outside to watch the fireworks show at Wynlakes. We were a nice distance away so it was not as loud. The kids enjoyed it.

Needless to say, we were exhausted by the end of the day!

On most Saturdays, we have a pancake tradition so we thought it was time for Camilla to take part. Marty and I like ours with chocolate chips but Camilla's were just plain. I thought they looked cute and she seemed to like them!

Last weekend (Saturday - Tuesday) my mom, sister, Camilla and I went to Orange Beach for a girls weekend. We had a really good time but Camilla is definitely not ready for the beach. She was down by the water all of 20 minutes the entire time. She had sand from head to toe and was rubbing it all in her eyes. I was so scared that she was going to scratch her eyes. She is just a little young to understand. We even took her baby pool down to the beach hoping she would just splash around in it while we sat in our chairs but she would have none of that. She would try to walk in the sand and would constantly fall down because she could not keep her balance on the uneven sand. She was too cute. Needless to say, Camilla and I spent most of our time at the pool...which she loved! There was a 1 ft. baby pool and we would put her in her float and she would walk all around it! The float kind of acted like a "water walker." She was able to move around freely but if she stumbled or fell the float would catch her. The older kids at the pool loved pushing her around too! She liked jumping off the side of the big pool too. We would count 1-2-3 and she would jump...then she would point back to the side like "let's do that again!"

She was into everything in the condo (of course it was not baby proof) so there was not a moment of rest until Camilla was asleep at night. One of us was always getting her out of the kitchen or away from the TV and DVD player, etc. She is very curious! I think this beach trip is when I really realized how much my life has changed since having Camilla. There was no relaxing by the beach or pool or having a quite seafood dinner. She constantly needs attention. It is different but so much fun! My mom did watch Camilla on Monday morning for me and Kelly to hang out on the beach! Thanks Mom!

On Monday afternoon, we headed to the outlet malls in Foley and right when we got there a huge thunderstorm started. It was a mess! It eventually stopped for a little while but we were soaked! That night Camilla was ill from being in the car and stroller most of the afternoon so we decided to pick up a Mega Veggie pizza from Mellow Mushroom and eat back at the condo! It was delicious....you should try it next time you are there!

On Tuesday morning, we went out to the beach at 7:30 to take some pictures of us and Camilla before we headed home. I think we got some really cute ones! We took some in her birthday outfit since she will turn one next Sunday. My mom made the pillowcase dresses she has on...they look great!

All in all, it was a great trip. It was awesome to get to spend time with my mom and sister. Camilla just loves being with them.

Enjoy the pictures...there are 50 of them!!!! One more thing...as you will see, Camilla has a new hairdo. She will not keep a bow in her hair and it just hangs right in her face so the palm tree look belongs to Camilla for now!