the botbyl girls: Cambelle is 2 years old!

On Friday, Cambelle turned two years old. How the days have flown by! The day she was born is still very vivid in my mind. ----

Monday, June 19th, was a typical day for me. Woke up at 5:15am, hit snooze a couple of times; something Jeff does that rubbed off on me, and about 5:29am, peeled myself away from the bed and got myself ready. It was the second to last day of school and like any day, I was psyched to see the kids, but also to start the summer. While on my way to work, I was thinking about how much time I'll have between June 20th (last day of school) and July 14th, (Cambelle's due date). I was looking forward to organizing all of the baby clothes, washing them, cleaning the house, all the stuff you do before you bring home a baby. Monday was nothing out of the ordinary. Teaching autistic kids, everything has to be the same, even though school will be done in less then 24 hrs.

Around my 32 week of pregnancy my blood pressure never seemed right. I can't remember the exact numbers, but it was always high. That's when I started seeing my doctor once a week and having weekly stressed test. I really enjoyed the tests. It was an hour of sitting and doing nothing and feeling/seeing Cambelle move. She was not a mover. I think I went to the ER 10 times just to make sure she was OK. I can't say she doesn't move that way now!!!!

At my checkup, my BP was 170/90, high enough for the doctor to send me right over to the hospital to be induced. You can guess my reaction - totally not ready, in denial, even making my next weeks appointment.

(I'll shorten the story now). They didn't induce me till the following morning. Tuesday, June 20th 2006. At 6am, they induced me and during the entire day, I was out of it... loopy, and highly medicated. I was suffering from a severe case of preeclampsia. I was on magnesium and many meds. I never felt my contractions enough to push, but after 40 minutes of pushing. Cambelle Bates Botbyl was born at 8:25PM - 5.2 lbs. She was 3 1/2 weeks early. She had no problems after birth and was a healthy baby girl. I ended up being in the delivery room 2 extra days due to the fact my bp was not going down. I was still on magnesium and many other medication, but soon enough, I was fine and able to go home.

I can't even describe the joy Cambelle brings to our lives. She is spunky, full of energy, outgoing, personable, lovable, smart, colorful and she's my little girl. She loves the world around her, wants to know what everything is. Once you tell her something, it sticks and loves to be taught new things.... She's an amazing gift from God and He could not have given Jeff and I a better little girl. He made her perfect, and that's what she is to us! Perfect!

**Onto our day**

Since it was Cambelle's day. I guess I kinda let her do anything she wanted. She loves these new margarita cups we have that we keep in the lower shelf on the island. She took them out while I was doing laundry and helped herself to playing with the water.

Then, we went to Toys R Us and she was allowed to pick out anything she wanted (within reason). She wanted a doll house and a pink bubble lawnmower. After Toys R Us we went to the mall for lunch and Chick-fil-A. She was happy to sit in a big girl chair, because I usually strap her in her stroller so she'll finish her lunch. But once she was done she got down to play with the kids (picture 2).

Once our bellies were full, we took Cambelle and Chloe to Build A Bear. I "helped" her pick out a nice fluffy doggy. Which now keeps Mr. Bear company in her bed. Cambelle was afraid of Mr. Doggy getting stuffed! (My camera ran out of battery so I had to resort to the IPhone, sorry the pictures are blurry).

She cried for a bit, but once she saw that Mr. Doggie was A-Ok, then she felt a lot better!

And, we can't forget about Miss Chloe! We couldn't leave her out of the festivities. Since, I had Jeff at the mall, which is rare, I wanted to get her ears pierced. She was happy with the alcohol swabs but after that she cried! I had to hold her down, which reminds all of us of shots! But, after a couple of minutes, she was fine! Cambelle cried for Chloe and knew exactly why we were there! She kept saying, "Chloe ear, Chloe ear." Cambelle enjoyed Chloe's lollipop that she got in her "how-to-keep-your-ears-clean-bag!" A job well done by all!

Phew! A birthday wouldn't be a birthday, around here, without a birthday dinner. We went to the Pop Shop, one of our favorite restaurants. Loud enough to drown out Cambelle's screams and Chloe's cries.