Happy Birthday, Camille!

Its's hard to believe, but my baby Camille is 15 years old! Camille's toddler and preschool years involved a LOT of medical issues, hospital stays, long-lasting illnesses, and doctor visits which I won't detail here. The rest of the time we enjoyed her happy and cheerful spirit. At least I tried to. Honestly, I spent too much time worrying about her delays and medical problems. She really was pretty happy most of the time.

Here are some pictures:

She learned how to talk long before she started walking. She started talking a few months before she was 2 and walking a few months after she was 2. By the time she walked she was saying over 200 words. Talking was definitely her strength although she was soft-spoken thanks to her poor lungs. She qualified for special ed preschool due to her fine motor and gross motor delays. She really enjoyed riding the bus there with her friends. Miss Kim was a very good teacher and Camille was a big fan. It was hard for her to graduate from preschool and leave Miss Kim.

The felt costumes year

She loved to play pretend games and dress-ups. She was also aware of social relationships at a young age. She amazed me by realizing that her grandparents were my parents. I would say, "We're going to Grandma's house now." She would say, "You mean, your mom's house?" Another time, my parents were leaving and she said, "Bye, Paula's Mom and Dad!" She would also greet a few adults she knew by name.

With a therapy dog, shortly after her kidney transplant.

Camille absolutely loved watching movies and she spent many hours when she was sick and/or in the hospital watching them. 101 Dalmatians was a favorite during the kidney transplant. Megamind was popular during the (horrible) recovery from her tonsillectomy followed by bad RSV. Toy Story, Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh, and Cinderella were other favorites.

She loved it when people played with her and she was definitely the easiest to love. When Stephanie joined our family, Camille loved it when Stephanie would play with her. Once they played "owls" and Camille was in heaven. Everett spent a lot of time playing with her along with other siblings, especially Mindy. Camille said lots of funny things but unfortunately I didn't write them down.

Camping at Yellowstone, that time when she stole the last of the chocolate for the s'mores with the evidence on her chin. She was sad when her brothers teased her about it.

At David and Stephanie's wedding:

Camille was (and is) very sensitive to sentimental music. As a small baby, she would start crying during church if someone played or sang "I Am a Child of God." During David and Stephanie's reception, they played the song, "Lucky I'm in Love with my Best Friend," whereupon Camille started bawling and we had to take her out to the parking lot where she threw up.