Birthday Party Weekend

So the birthday party weekend is over and things are starting to go back to "normal". Grandma Lori, Grandpa Frank and Uncle Jay came in from my side of the family as well as Grandma Jennine and cousins Callighan and Tristian from Bert's side. We all had a great time, mostly just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. The party went very well, and it looked like everyone had a nice time. We rented out the clubhouse to have more space and I'm so glad we did or it would have been really packed in our house. I kept the decorations pretty minimal with some balloons and a banner that I made with all of Camryn's monthly photos, showing her grow from months one through eleven. I also had a playroom with some of Camryn's toys and a poster that Nicole designed for me that "Camryn's World" instead of "Elmo's World" which came out awesome! Camryn had a good time playing with her friends and she looked so cute in her special birthday tutu. We had pizza for lunch and cupcakes for dessert. We sang Happy Birthday and gave Camryn her smash cake, but she just poked at it and licked the icing off her finger. I wasn't disappointed because we didn't have the luxury of throwing her into a bathtub. I'm convinced the girl doesn't like cake, that was the fourth time I offered her some, I know this because we've been to three other birthday parties recently, and she has turned down the cake each time. Crazy!

Tomorrow is Friday and our plan is to have no plans and relax. Saturday I'm going on a girl's night out with Heather and a bunch of other girls. It's been a while and long overdue.

In new Camryn news she is now walking nearly 100% of the time. She will still crawl if she really needs to get to something in a hurry, but she likes walking back and forth and bringing me things from her kitchen. She is very smart. When I tell her "I love you" she starts blowing me kisses, she brushes her hair and her teeth and wipes down her own highchair tray. I'm one very proud mom of a one year old girl!

**Almost forgot to mention, we took Camryn for her 12 month dr appt, she is doing great! 20lbs 10oz (37%) and 30 1/4" tall (79%). She is also on whole milk and totally off bottles! What a big girl!

Bert and Camryn with the Boys.

Playing with Tristian.

These were so delicious.

The birthday girl with her friends.

Lalalala Camryn's World!

Hanging out with Uncle Jay - who spoils her rotten!

Weekend Trip to the Lowcountry

We are back from our incredible family trip to Charleston/Isle of Palms and are already planning when we can either go back for another visit or stay there forever! We stayed on Isle of Palms which is this ritzy beach community in a resort called Wild Dunes. It had everything ranging from condos up to multi million dollar mansions. They had tons of pools, tennis, golf, restaurants, a spa, bike rentals, a pavilion with live music, a private beach, you name it! I honestly didn't even care about going into Charleston once I got into the resort. The first day we got in and got groceries and got settled into our condo. We went out to dinner to a restaurant called The Boathouse and had lots of yummy seafood and Camryn got lots of attention in her (well actually Emersen's) #1 onesie, and they brought her out a nice bowl of whipped cream for her birthday, since it's her favorite! Then we went back to the condo and put the birthday girl to bed and listened to some music over some cocktails on the patio.

On Saturday we got up and went to the beach! Camryn liked the sand and the ocean. She sat on the edge of the blanket and scooped the sand into her pail. We also went for a walk along the water and got a few seashells. After a while we decided to go to the pool and relax there. Then Camryn took a long nap and Bert watched football while I stayed at the pool! When she woke up we drove into Charleston, went to the straw market, walked around some other shops and went to dinner at a restaurant called Hyman's per Calvin's recommendation. We went early but by the time we left there was a line down the block! Very yummy and Camryn flirted with the manager and got a free scoop of ice cream!

Sunday we went back into Charleston and went to all of the historic sites. Next time I'd like to do this on a carriage ride so someone could tell us more about the history of the area, but we got to see a battle site and some beautiful homes. After that we got in some more pool time and went to Morgan Creek Grill for dinner. This was my favorite restaurant, they had live music and really good food.

Monday we decided to get up and hit the road. Unfortunately we hit really bad traffic and Camryn was really whiny in the car for some reason. She just couldn't get settled down. I felt bad for her and also bad for us! We survived the ride, and all in all had a really great trip. Now it's time for family to come into town to celebrate Camryn's birthday this weekend. Should be a really fun time!

Birthday Girl!

Playing in the sand.

Smiling after a great seafood dinner!

Beautiful view of the marina from the condo.