Week 12

Well, we had a big week 12 that took most of the Campbell pack to Knoxville while Dave was off to Michigan. Since he had a four day gathering of economic minds to attend, the rest of us decided to make the trek to KnoxVegas early in the week in anticipation of the wedding of my long-time high school friend Lesley.

Lily had a blast with Gran and Uncle Jonathan (apparently he speaks baby,
or at least Lily thinks so...) and the boys took advantage of Gran's big backyard.

I neglected to give the weigh in from last Friday. Lily was 13 lbs 1 oz then, so you can add a few more ozs onto that for her current weight and she has grown 3 inches!! (Notice our new measuring device and yes, she got into this position on her own) As much as I hate it, I'm living the 'They grow up so fast' cliche.


But at the same time she is more vocal and playful each day and her new thing is drooling! I would say she's teething, but that's not supposed to happen for at least another month! So this is the official warning, beware of anything that comes in proximity of that mouth because if she can catch it, it's got only one juicy destination.....



Here are some pics from Lesley's wedding. She looked beautiful and so happy! It was a perfect evening and all the festivities took place in the backyard of the happy couple's house. It's pretty cool when you can provide your own musical entertainment at your wedding. Congratulations Lez!

Two Month Shots?

More like too many shots! Yes, Lily had to go through her first round of well baby shots on Friday to celebrate her two month anniversary. And let me tell you, the celebration would have gone much better without the shots. However, we managed to have some fun in the Doctor's Office in between the ouchy stuff. Here is Lily hiding in her blanket. Though she was enjoying the game of hide and seek, you have to wonder if a little bit of her wished that the nurse with the needles would not see her.

She also did a little looking out of the window. Here, her Daddy was trying to get creative with his photography and captured her reflection in the window....seriously though, for coming from a spreadsheet kind of guy, its not a bad effort.

On a lighter note, that morning Lily had been doing a little snoozing in her crib when I came upon her to take the following picture. For all of you Grandparent types keeping score out there....yes, she rolled on to her side all by herself.

Week 11

For the Week 11 picture, we took a family field trip out to Milligan College to watch one of my students play in a tennis match. Unfortunately, we missed the match, but not the photo op. Lily got dressed up in her tennis outfit, and we took this picture of her on the hill beside Hyder House, overlooking Milligan's tennis courts. And yes, she is doing most of the standing here...just one hand was needed for a little extra balance.

Week 10

Lily continues to entertain us with her cooing, laughing, and constant bubble blowing. She's a total chunk and gets her official weigh in this Friday, so we'll keep you posted.

We kicked the weekend off by attending a 'black-tie optional' event honoring '40 under 40' up-and-comers in the burgeoning metropolis of the Tri-Cities. Though we were much more persuaded by the 'optional' than the 'black-tie', it was still nice to get dressed up in clothes that did not have spit up remnants on them and enjoy a night out.

With the weather starting to turn, we couldn't resist taking a stroll with the 'Pack' at the VA - here's the motley crew taking a quick breather, as you can see, some of us were behaving better than others.....

Catching Up

Well my boards are over (YEAH!) and Dave has been pulling MAJOR daddy duty lately (as is evidenced by previous posts) so a huge thank you to him, except for the whole 'Trekky' thing.......let's just say I'm going to put the squelch on that one pronto. Let there be no doubt, that though she's turning out to favor her daddy in looks, a lack in TV viewing taste will certainly not follow!
John and Erin were in town from NY two weekends ago. They are both doing great and it was wonderful getting to spend some time with them. I hope it's not too long before we see them again!

Also, there's very exciting news on the Campbell clan front. We will have a new member very soon! (No, I'm not already pregnant again) Chad proposed to Ashley while on vacation in the Outer Banks.....and of course she said Yes! We are all so proud of uncle Chipper for finding himself such a good match. Congratulations!! You can find out more (and pictures too) on his website, just click 'The Chip Dawg' under Links.

Last but certainly not least, there will also be a new addition to the Harkey side of the family, as Chris and Sonia are expecting again! I know the 'Beautification of New York City Commission' is pleased since they make such pretty babies, but I doubt they're as excited as the rest of the family. We look forward to meeting the new little tyke early next year!

Week 9 and more!!

We could not think of a more appropriate way to document Lily's ninth week, and also 2 month birthday, than to take the week 9 picture of her performing her favorite activity....standing! Of course, she is not quite capable of doing it on her own yet, however she does enjoy the opportunity to test out her legs. As a bonus for this week, because Lily and I are having fun with posting, here is the runner up for her Week 9 picture. This also offers a small glimpse into how many pictures are actually taken each week in order to get one that's "cute enough."

If you look carefully, you can see the Vulcan hand gesture to "live long and prosper," no doubt she will be a Trekky just like her father (though perhaps for her own sake, maybe we should hope that she takes more after her mother in that regard). Which leads us to the third and final picture for this post. Lily seems to have observed certain characteristics about her father....sitting around reading history books, watching Star Trek on TV, dancing jubuliantly when Reggie Wayne scored each of his touchdowns Thursday night (Reggie is the star receiver for the Invisible Hand fantasy football team). In the burgeoning mind of this young scientiest, Lily has come to the following hypothesis that she decided to put on one of her outfits (actually the gift from one of my good friends at the Bank)....

Like I said, here's hoping she takes after her mother!

Catching Flies

Well, with Emily studying so hard for her Boards on Monday, Lily and I have had the occasion to spend some extra time together this week. It would appear that we have worn each other out...in the extreme.

Week 8

Team Campbell

Watch out Williams' sisters, there's a new family in town. Thanks to our sponsors Adidas and Aunt Dena, we're the new threat on the tennis circuit.....or at least we will be in about 18 years, or so. Now, it's going to be hard to be a tennis star and a soccer legend at the same time, but that's where Gator "I'll retrieve any ball you throw or kick at me" Campbell will come in.

So for all the Harkey clan up in NY for the Open this weekend, tell them to enjoy it while they can 'cause the Campbell pack is comin'.

And P.S., we hope you have a great time!

Guard Dogs

One of our biggest concerns bringing Lily home was how our other two children would react to their new baby sister. While never really affecting Gator "Life is good" Campbell, Thatcher had to spend a week or so pouting before he realized that Lily wasn't so bad after all. As the weeks have passed, the only really lasting change for the boys has been a somewhat "hyper vigilance" on their part in regard to movement and noises outside the house (feel free to insert your own joke about how "hyper" they already were). But, as you can see in this picture, they are also quite fond of napping close by us when we have Lily. We're convinced that as she gets older, she'll have two friends that will look to take very good care of her....which likely includes plenty of licking!

Week 7

Today we took an adventure to Asheville to celebrate the coming of Anna and Sam's new bundle. We intended on taking our 'picture of the week' at casa de Harrelson, but when the time came, the star of the show was sound asleep. So, with a bit of a drive home, we thought the wiser and let sleeping babies lie.

I like the picture above because it shows how chubby Miss Lily's cheeks are getting! Personally I think she's turning into quite a chunk, but that just means more of her to kiss!

We had a great time at the baby shower, with all sorts of Anna and Sam's friends and family in attendance, some of which we haven't seen since their wedding. Baby Harrelson is due to arrive in just 6 short weeks. We can't wait!

Week 6

Week 6 brought with it a new induction into Milligan College, for Dave, a visit from Grandma Olmstead and more cooing, smiling, and cuteness from Miss Lily than we've ever seen, not to mention excellent head control for her age (which comes in very handy for her weekly photo shoots). She's becoming so playful and frequently laughs at what appear to be her own inside jokes, she may just have her father's sense of humor after all!