Welcome to the Family, Cassandra!

12:37pm

 A GIRL!!!  A big surprise.  We were all expecting a boy!

 Benjamin knew all along that the baby would have lots of hair - just like he did.

 First weighing.

 She's not so sure how she feels about being in the big, cold, BRIGHT room...

 All wrapped up and returned to mommy.  That's better.

 Her very first visitor.  Big brother, Noah.  "Can I call her 'Sandra'?" he asked.

 Big brother Benjamin.  He likes to call her "Commanda".

 Big sister, Abby.  "Awww.  She's so cute!"

 Probably the best shot of the FOUR that we will ever get.

 Family of SIX.  Whoa.

 Grandma Bonnie

 Grandma Page

 Grandpa Bud

 Lots of kisses

 He's been asking for this for months!  We were happy to oblige.

 Grandpa Doug

 First hair washing.  (Luckily big sister wasn't around to warn her about the brushing that was sure to come afterwards.)  Turns out she liked the combing just fine.  Let's hope that stays!

 She LOVED warming up under the heat lamp after her bath.

 Benj using the stethoscope to listen to the TV speaker on mom's remote.

 Cassandra Kirk Campbell

What a beautiful addition to the family!

20 Weeks

Today was a very big day.  We have reached the halfway point!  We had an ultrasound this afternoon and we decided it would be fun to take Noah with us as we knew he could not comprehend what exactly was happening in my tummy.  He did not disappoint.  The second the doctor put the wand on my stomach and the image came on the TV screen, Noah let out a loud, "Whoooaaa!"  Even the doctor thought that was pretty funny.  He giggled through the exam pointing out the different body parts that he could see.  (He is really pretty good at picking out the different parts.)  They saved the heart for last and when daddy pointed it out and how you could see it pumping, Noah got really quiet and then started whispering to his dad.  Later Christopher told me that Noah got concerned that the baby is naked in there - cause he could see right in to the heart.  So now he is concerned that it is going to be born naked.  I do think he enjoyed the visit, though.  At dinner that night, he told Benjamin and Abby that he had been to see the baby.  Benjamin then got very concerned and looked all around at us.  Finally he said, "Well, what did you do with it?  Just leave it at the hospital?"  He felt a little better when we explained that it was still in my tummy but we had just seen pictures.
And the best news is, everything looked great.  The perinatologist said she didn't need to see us again.  That is just what we were hoping to hear.  Now we just sit back and wait.  20. More. Weeks....  Come on, Halloween!

School's Out!

Field days have been had. Certificates have been earned. Teachers have been hugged. Last lunches have been sent off to school. Celebration ice cream has been shared at McDonald's with our school buddies. And, last but not least, summer haircuts have been received. Bring on the summer fun!!!

He's 7

That dreaded day came again. March 10. We tried to avoid it but it just showed up. And now, our Noah is 7.

He lucked out having a Spring Break birthday because he believes we took this trip just to celebrate his birthday. And he really doesn't care how many times we try to explain it.

He's had a busy day! We took in a Braves v. Yankees spring training game. We sat right next to the Yankee bullpen and he even got a ball. In the evening, Uncle Scott treated all of us to dinner at T-Rex. It's been pretty fun.

He is not happy that he isn't getting his presents until the end of the day. However, I am certain that he would have paid us no attention today had we let him open them first thing. Just a hunch....

I guess if we have to celebrate the day, this is a pretty good place to do it. Happy birthday, big kid! We love you!

Day Seven

Up and at them early this morning as we head home after lunch. Benjamin jumped out of bed this morning and exclaimed, "Hooray! Today's the day we get to go home!" And he has been high energy all day because of it. We had breakfast in our room before we left. Mickey waffles - yum. He wanted to go back to the Magic Kingdom to ride the PeopleMover again. Unfortunately, it wasn't working at first. We did a lot of other things while we waited. Including getting to see Alice, white rabbit, AND Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum all together! We flew rockets and raced cars. The park was very empty today which made it pretty fun. We had hot dogs for lunch then finally made it to the PeopleMover. Our last hurrah. We went back to the hotel to collect our bags and cash in our remaining snacks. Benjamin could not wait to get on the bus so he could - you guessed it - color. We got to our gate and the first thing he did? Color. He is also making a list of all the rides he went on.

Day Six

Back to the Magic Kingdom. We made it just in time to watch the street party parade. Again. One of us just cannot get enough of that show. We seconded some more of Benjamin's favorites: Splash Mountain, the teacups, and Buzz Lightyear. Benjamin beat both of us this time around. Daddy and Benjamin spent some time exploring Tom Sawyer's island. Then Benjamin had had enough. He asked to go back to our room. We talked about going swimming but somebody fell asleep on the bus on the way back to the hotel. We couldn't wake him. Not even running in to his Sunday school teachers on the stairs. We let him sleep a while then woke him to go have dinner. He was not happy about this. We made it in time for the movie - Bedknobs and Broomsticks. He tried to watch it but it was kind of chilly and he really just wanted to get back to the room to color. We were all in bed by 9:15.

Day Five

Benjamin decided on Hollywood Studios for today. We got here bright and early to get him signed up for the Jedi training show. He and daddy hustled over to sign up and Benjamin told the guy he didn't want to do it. He said we could watch the show and see if he changed his mind. He did not. Turns out ALL he wants to do today is sit and color. We chose to not ask his opinion anymore and just do things and bring him along for the ride - where he can color in his stroller. We did the movie ride and met the last of the characters he was missing for his book. We went to the stunt car show and he LOVED that. It was the only thing he asked to do again. Unfortunately, they didn't do it again. We did Star Wars a couple of times. The ride changes every time. Daddy was even the rebel spy one time. We ended the evening with the Beauty and the Beast show which was very fancy. He thought it was funny when I told him the boys in the show were doing ballet. We made it back to the hotel for dinner and the movie. Benj had the best seat in the house - the giant 0.