I was wondering why it was so quiet. 

First Haircut

 We hung onto those little luscious locks for as long as we could. However when our little man began to grow increasingly girly-looking, we knew the time had come.  

It was a precious moment. It started out mild, sucking on a lollipop and escalated to screaming and tears   with me pinning Josiah down as my friend and mom-hero lopped off the last unruly strands.

Honestly, I don't think it would have gone much better in one of those fancy kid-hair places, if that's what you're thinking (I know you are.).  

You'll never see this again, he's refusing the sucker. I tried to hand it back to him after the debacle. "No WAY!" he was thinking, " I don't want that darn sucker if it automatically comes with a haircut! Baby torture!!"

"I'm outta here, you terrible mommies!!"

Oh well, better luck next time. He looks sooo cute and little-boy now! Ill post a clearer face shot soon.

Country Time: Love-Hate Relationship

Twin fawns spotted from our dining room window. The deer are bold and active this time of year.

I love it when Josiah yells "A Deee!! A Deeee!!!" and when Kaila kicks and gurgles and focuses in on them, tracking their every move, fascinated. I love how connected to nature we are here.  I enjoy it when visitors oohh and awe over little deer families serenely cruising the quiet hillside behind our house. I loved the time I saw two ginormous (oh yes, I just used that word.  Just sound it out) 5-point bucks fighting outside our kitchen window. 

I hate it when those deer come down and munch the just-blooming buds off the flowers I have been tediously tending for months. I hate it when I have a beautiful landscape, with proper deer-protection methods in place, and they still manage to come in and shatter my dreams of having a Better Homes and Gardens front yard. I'll admit it.  I hate it so much I often daydream about having a some backyard Bambi for dinner. 

Don't go calling Fish and Game just yet, I'll hold off another year. I'm asking Santa for a deer fence for Christmas. That should be a win-win for us and the deer. If Santa gets stingy though, watch out. I just may call up the Freitas Family for some backup and tell you not to ask what kind of meat is in that hamburger we just BBQ'd up.



*Disclaimer: Yes I know it's illegal, I wouldn't' really do it. And no, I could never kill a fawn. I'm not that cold.

If I were a Millionaire...

If I won a (couple-a) million bucks, I think I would like a house with a view like this every night. I would like to be able to go surfing whenever I want, with Ryan and I would like to spend our days playing with my kiddos in nature. I would like our families close, loving on my kids and hanging out, having drinks with our toes in the sand...So until the day that I win the lottery or some unknown, secret benefactor decides to give us a generous gift (hint hint, any uber-wealthy readers out there..; ), I will take a week of beach camping as my present-day paradise. 

We had all of the above, and then some, as we spent 7 days camping at Carlsbad State Beach. Going to sleep to the sound of the waves (and, admittedly, to the sound of the cars on the road nearby), and waking up to the sound of my sister Andrea asking "Hey Camille, you want me to take Kaila so you can sleep in?"   Such sweet sounds to my ears. I felt truly rich in so many ways.

Definitely rich in love and hugs!

Our Campsite.... so many thanks to mom and dad for all your hard work bringing everything!

My mom, sisters and I painted our toes matching hot pink and yellow to celebrate.

I had to put this pic in, notice the little wave in the back. Ry and I surfed until exhaustion. All long boarding but oh, surfing without a wetsuit in warm water is so wonderful!

hi Jade! Fun times with our san diego cousins!

Awwww, sweet little family photo...with Josiah "fishing." Yep, that's about right. Ill leave it at that. 

Tri-Lingual

I don't like to brag, but lately I've realized that I'm tri-lingual.  It took me all growing up, college classes,  living abroad and a good chunk of my savings account to learn my second language, but my third came quite easily.  Actually, my 1 year old taught it to me. (See if you can read just the "Josiah" part and figure it out.)

Josiah -"Mommy? ...alky?"
Me- "Sure buddy! We can go on a walk."
Josiah- (points)..."icky...a-ocky?"    
Me- " You're right, a chicken! Would you like to hold that rock while you're sitting in your stroller" 
Josiah- "yup. Mommy? gucky bebe.....a-de!"
Me- "Yes, the baby is holding a duck...oh yea, look, a deer!"
Josiah- "Mommy? ottle uck...aaargh!!"
Me- "Oh, is your bottle stuck? Just pull harder buddy. You can get it out, don't yell."
Josiah - "a-yea...Mommy?...a-boobes?"
Me- "...yes, and the baby probably does want booby..."

Of course, like any astute student of linguistics, I can't claim to have the language mastered. Here is a sample conversation that I have yet to decipher.

Josiah- "A-mommy!? baba, daddy, mommy, ottle, baba....taaaaaataaaataaat....daddy?dada?daddy?mommy?mommy?mommy?....is is is... mommy, mommy, mommy, baba. Ma-b. Aaaaaahhhh. dat! dat! dat!"

Me- "Josiah, I can't understand you. What are you saying?"

Josiah- "a-i-dunno!"

I can only assume he is reflecting upon the state of the economic collapse in Europe and how our world economy will affect the upcoming elections. I've seen him listening to Ryan and I chat lately.




In case you're still a skeptic, here is proof of the linguistic variety this language employs. Below is a sample use of the homonym "caca." (Homonym= Words that sound the same OR are spelled the same, but have different meanings.) 

Josiah- "Mommy? caca!"  Translation: "I have caca in my diaper." (also the original meaning of the word)
Josiah- "Mommy! Bebe caca!" Translation: "The baby is eating something nasty off the carpet."
Josiah- "Mommy! Dis caca?"  Translation: " I found a used cigarette butt in the parking lot, amazing! Here, hold it for me or I'm going to taste it."

Josiah- "Mommy! yumyums caca!"  Translation: "Wow lucky day! I found a moldy, rotting piece of peach in the trash can and now I'm eating it! "



 I know what you're thinking. "It's a long-shot Camille. Maybe you're a little desperate to make yourself feel smart again." And to you I say, hey, here is the definition of "Language" according to my prestigious, infallible reference, Wikipedia:


 "Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication." 


I say it counts.

Signs of Life

Every once in a while, I look up from an ordinary task, to see an ordinary occurrence...that makes me laugh. They are little signs of the lives that buzz around our home. 

It's like looking at a gorgeous photo when something, normally insignificant, catches your eye. You look closer and see that you have captured a moment that does not repeat itself.

These are the little signs of life that mark the fleeting beauty of the season that we are in. They make me smile every time.

For the Fam.

A few pics of everyday life...for the fam. We are so blessed.

Lyndal's Graduation Weekend

Fourth of July

Beach Day in Cayucus with Jaime

We just love our babies and are having more and more fun with them every day!