4:04 PM Posted In , , 3 Comments »
I apologize for my SERIOUS lack in blogging activity. We've been insanely busy and at the end of the day, I want nothing more than to shower and and go to bed. Hopefully I can get back on the bandwagon soon!

Many things have been going on. The most exciting news I have to report is that the crab feed and silent auction to help bring home sweet Sofia raised $19,889.19 !!! Can you believe it? It was such a fun and amazing night. Check out details and photos from the night over at Lisa's blog here! Sofia will be home VERY soon. I cannot wait to get my hands on her...she is already so loved. Our little Ds family here in Sacramento is unbelievable you guys. AMAZING!

The crab feed was last Friday night and my good friend Chrystal was staying with me (lucky for me!) and got to help me the next morning with preparing for Cameron's fifth birthday party. As always, I was a total anxious mess trying to get everything ready but I had plenty of help from Nguyen, Chrystal, my aunts, and my mom. I hope you're not too scarred, C! :)

The weather was perfect. We had a bounce house, crafts, a pinata, lots and lots of food, and FUN! It was another successful event!


Glue, sparkly/shiny things, markers, and feathers to stick on stuff. They loved it!


The bounce house was by far the biggest hit of the party. It arrived at our house at 9am and they didn't come to take it down until after 8pm so we (the adults) had plenty of time to bounce and be total and complete goofballs.






Meet "Swimmy" or if you ask Cameron, "Schwimmy." Our neighbor/friends brought this for Cameron and he was thrilled! It was hard to peel him away from the fish so that he could continue to entertain and play with his guests, but eventually I was successful and he returned to chat with Swimmy after everyone left.

My aunt was trying to get a picture with both Cameron and his new friend so she told him "stand closer to Swimmy...I want to get your face next to him in the picture."
You get what you ask for with this guy...



So the first three days with Swimmy were really exciting. By day four, Cameron seemed to have lost interest in his new friend which I am actually thankful for because...Swimmy died. I have no idea why. I have been taking EXCELLENT care of him but I guess it was just his time. I have been meaning to head over to the pet store in search of a Swimmy look-a-like but have been procrastinating and since Cameron hasn't even mentioned him in five days, I thought I was safe.

Unfortunately, I attempted to flush Swimmy by pouring the water into the toilet bowl. I thought I could be successful in dumping the fish and water without dumping all of the rocks as well but I proved myself wrong. All of the rocks started to fall out and I had no net to retrieve the dead fish so I stopped my plan all together. Later that day, Cameron was quick to notice Swimmy's bowl had a very small amount of water and that Swimmy seemed to be dead laying down on the rocks. Panic started to rise and Nguyen was quick to inform Cam that Swimmy was "just chillin" and the color returned to Cameron's face. I really need to get over to the pet store. Swimmy is still chillin.

What else...

We finally booked our Disney vacation and Nguyen and I are SO excited. I am 100% sure that we enjoy Disneyland more than the kids! We're going in May and my mom is coming with us this trip. I know it's going to be a blast and I can't wait!

Before our trip I have to finish up my Community First Aid and CPR course I started last week. I have been wanting to get CPR certified for FOREVER and I am finally doing it. Yesterday we got to practice on the dummies and it was pretty exciting. It feels like a huge weight off my shoulders to finally know that I can do something if, God forbid, anything every happened with Gabby or anyone else, for that matter! As many of you know, my main concern with her is choking (since she thinks chewing is a waste of time) and next week we will be addressing that exact issue. Hopefully I can stop calling 911 and feel more prepared if/when she ever decides to scare me again.

I think that's all for now. Gabby has her annual Audiology appointment tomorrow and then her IFSP on monday so hopefully I'll have some GOOD news to report!

Party time!

7:01 AM Posted In , 6 Comments »
Just a few pics from our small celebration on Cameron's birthday. Next month he is actually going to have a party with friends from school. We opted to push the party to March because he really wants a bounce house. Sometimes having a birthday in winter sucks.
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Cameron made his wish for all to hear:
"I wish for all of the kids at school to play with me."

:(
Presents!
A new "snakey" from G-ma!

A G.I. Joe!

Papa sent a super cool Lightening McQueen sleeping bag and flashlight for the birthday boy
but guess who loves it most?





I'd say Cameron was a happy boy and his birthday was an absolute success!

More of the birthday boy!

9:36 PM Posted In , 4 Comments »
Yeah yeah yeah...so I was supposed to upload these on his actual birthday but we were having way too much fun that day and then my camera battery died so I just now got around to it-oops!
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Cameron had school on his actual birthday so we showed up armed with goodies- "Vanilla cupcakes with m&m's on top," as requested by Cameron. Later that day, Gabby and I went to pick up our big five year old and found him captivated by "Pinkalicious" at story time.
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Once we got in the car I told him we had a surprise...we were going to pick up daddy for lunch at Cheesecake Factory! He thought that was pretty exciting but what he didn't know was that after lunch, we were taking him to Build-a-Bear.
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sidenote: Cameron loves any and all stuffed animals and carrys them around the house and anywhere we go, constantly. I knew he would love build-a-bear...and he did!
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He picked a bunny.
Looks like the big bad five year old is getting too cool for pics with mom and dad!
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Just stuffed!

Giving the bunny his first bath!

Cameron picked out a karate outfit so he could have a "kung-fu bunny!"

He then chose to name his kung-fu friend "Ty Ty."

Voila!

He loves his bunny with every bone in his body and wherever Cameron is,
Ty Ty is surely close by.
:)

A look back...

12:00 AM Posted In , 10 Comments »
on the sweetest little dude to ever come into my life:




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Back then, we referred to him as "Chubba Face."
While his cheeks are still a bit "chubba"-like, looking back at these pictures
makes me realize how fast time really does fly.
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My little man is five years old today.
Happy birthday, Cam Man! I love you more than you can ever know!
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Stay tuned for more posts dedicated to my sweet boy...
Afterall, you'll want to see what a big bad five year old looks like!

08/31/09

3:43 PM Posted In , , , , 6 Comments »
(the following was an attempt of a cute brother/sister kissy picture)
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Just some updates from the Phamily...
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The hubs said goodbye to his twenties and HELLO to his thirties on Friday. I kept giving him a hard time but he remained optimistic throughout the day. He did, however, keep reminding me that I only have a little over three years until I myself become a real grown-up. I don't even want to think about any of that!
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The kids are doing fantastic. Cameron has officially started his last year of preschool and is so proud to finally be in the "big kid" class. I thought he might have a hard time at first, adjusting to new teachers and a bigger class, but it hasn't phased him in the least.
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Last Wednesday we went in to get those pesky cavities filled. To say I was dreading this appointment would be an understatement. We attempted this a few weeks back and it was a miserable mess of a day. Cameron's crying was enough to scare the technicians into having us reschedule for an earlier appointment. I wasn't convinced that would change his attitude about things, but alas, they know what they're doing over there at the pediatric dental office and my boy was nothing but calm, cool, and collected in the waiting room.
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He got one of the three cavities filled but the dentist was so impressed with Cam's good behavior that he said we'd be able to finish up those last two fillings in one visit. So next week we'll go back and say goodbye to the last of those nasty sugar bugs!
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Gabby is doing amazing. She is crawling EVERYWHERE.
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That whole "losing milestones" business was just not true for her. She is excelling in everything and I cannot wait to see what she does when she is fully healed and we can begin working with her more on standing/walking. She is so eager.
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Her bandages fell off sometime last week and her scar looks wonderful. She does have a bulge in her chest now where the breast bone was broken (there is a fancy term for this...forgive me for not remembering what that term is.) Her doctor says this "bump" is completely normal and in a couple of years we can "discuss" options for plastic surgery. Eh...I'm thinking not. I could care less about a little bumpity bump.
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We have started back up with physical therapy even though we can't do certain things with Gab's that we were previously able to do (like picking her up under her arms) but we'll be able to start doing all of that again in just a couple of weeks. She is *thisclose* to being able to pull up to a stand all on her own so that's what we're working on. That and cruising along the couch and table. She loves it and I am sure this will be something she will master quite quickly.
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The sleeping issues have pretty much resolved, thank goodness! She now wakes up about once per night and it's usually before I am in dreamland so it's not so bad. She's easy to get back down, so I'm not complaining. Just two weeks ago I didn't think I would ever get my good sleeper back. I'm so glad that wasn't the case.
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I think that's about all of the updates I have for now. I think we'll be receiving that very special T21 Traveling Afghan tomorrow so be on the lookout for a post about that in the very near future!

Gabby's First Birthday Party!

8:56 PM Posted In , 9 Comments »
This past weekend we celebrated Miss Gabby's first birthday with friends and family and we had a BLAST! It was insanely hot so everyone was either in the pool or in the house taking full advantage of the air conditioning.


I think I have decided I am just no good at hosting big parties...I forgot to put out all of the condiments for the hot dogs and hamburgers (why didn't anyone say anything!?) But all in all, it was great and I am pretty sure everyone had a good time.

I know this little lady did.

I rented a bounce house because I was worried about keeping all of the kids entertained. I am glad I did...it served its purpose.

Most of the mommies and the babies stayed inside and chatted. Gabby had all of her favorite guys there to share her special day with her.

Sheridan was as cute as can be and loved Gabby's new mailbox. If he has a birthday bash, we know what to get him ;)

Joaquin and John Michael were also there. We attempted several group shots but they weren't in the mood for a photo shoot so this is as good as it gets...and I'd say it's pretty good!

Joaquin was being his usual self and stealing hearts left and right...Gabby's included.


What a little love.
Jennifer has already proposed a wedding in 2028. I approve...I am thinking a beach wedding would be nice.


Time for presents!

Gabby got a lot of REALLY cute stuff. I am so excited about all of it!
(more about a particular present from Monica and John Michael of Monkey Musings tomorrow)


She's one of those that actually reads the cards ;)
Okay guys...so check out the cake daddy-o picked out for the Princess:
I know. (shaking head)
And believe it or not, this was a downgrade from the one he wanted to get.
And then came Gabby's first taste of anything with real texture cake.

She really had no idea what to do with it and ended up tasting very little of it. But it felt cool in her hands apparently.

Nguyen just walked by and asked me why it looks like there were five people at the party...eek! I guess I was feeling pretty comfortable with my camera in the cool house. But I promise there were lots of people taking full advantage of the pool, I just neglected to take pictures of them ;)

All in all it was a fun day and we are so happy we got to celebrate Gabby's first year with friends and family.

Look for a post sometime tomorrow about a very special gift from a fellow blogger. It's a gift that will be cherished by Gabby for many, many years, I am sure. ;)
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