Splish Splash

Today we went to join our good friends, Brennan and Lindsay, for some delicious Memorial Day food and much needed hang out time.  It should be noted that the last time we got to hang out just the four of us (not counting the kids) was the week before Cami was born.  So I was pretty excited to pack up for the day (or to move in?) all of Cami's "needed" things and head to Kingwood.  

The day could not have gone better (well, Cami did cry almost the whole way there, but we'll forget that part)....all FOUR children were down for naps at the same time.  Fifteen minutes after we arrived, Cami went down in her pack n play, in a new place, wide awake.....and fell asleep without a sound.  I have to brag on her just a bit, because, other than the week we brought her home, she's only slept in the pack n play once, and I rocked her all the way to sleep for that one.  She even woke up, rolled around, and went back to sleep....again without a PEEP.  And, when I went and got her, she had sat up all on her own!!!!  Craziness!  But, anyway, I digress.  All four children were asleep and we had a full hour of adult hangout time.  Amazing.  I also have to brag on my friend Lindsay (because I think she deserves it, even though when she reads this she'll probably say "no, I don't"), because she has three girls, one of whom is three months old (and all are adorable and sweet).  Her house is tidy and she had a delicious homemade meal AND dessert ready for us when we arrived.  I have one child and my house is a wreck and we eat Stoffer's most of the time.  She is an amazing mom.  

After all the kids woke up, we fed the babies and put on swimsuits and hopped in the pool.  I was excited to get Cami in because this was her first time in a real pool.  She loves her blow up baby pool, but I didn't know how she would handle being completely in the water.  She LOVED it.  She smiled as I pulled her around the pool and laughed as I threw her in the air and let her splash down in the water.  She put her legs out behind her and kicked like she knew what she was doing.  She grinned when she splashed water in her face and kept leaning down to investigate by dipping her chin in.  She watched the big girls intently like she would be able to do what they were doing just from seeing it done.  It was so fun to see Cami enjoy something I enjoy so much. 

All in all, it was a fabulous day and I think I know what Cami and I might be up to this summer......

Ohhhhh, is someone taking pictures of me?  Well, then, let me show my cuteness, because you know I look adorable in this suit/hat combo, right?  Did you know my cheek double as floatation devices?

All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth

....well, bottom front.  Yes, last weekend Cami's first tooth decided to make it's appearance after almost three months of teething.  It was followed quickly by the second tooth, which is on it's way up as well (slightly crooked from the first, but we'll ignore that for the time being...).  I have immediately put my own finger on "emergency only" teething status as I discovered yesterday that this new little tooth is SHARP and I almost jumped out of my chair when Cami went from chewing on my hand in a gummy location to stabbing me with her brand new tooth.  

Last weekend was a big weekend for Cami; she had some very special visitors.  James surprised me with my amazing friend Becky, and her daughter Zellee (three weeks older than Cami, future BFF), waiting for me at home when I got home from work.  It was an AMAZING weekend in which we dragged our poor, exhausted girls all over The Woodlands from one fun activity to the next (we did give them one day where we just stayed home).  They swam together, got professional pics taken together, fought over toys like sisters, and stared at each other in that adorable "what is going on here?" baby way.  And somehow, the whole weekend went pretty smoothly (well, except for that whole trying to get to the mall during the Ironman fiasco...can't win them all...).  The girls were nice enough to nap and eat at similar times so Becky and I could hang out (make funny videos?) while they slept.  AND, we got a Mommy night to go to the movies sans babies and act like the nineteen year olds we still like to pretend we are from time to time.

Since that weekend, Cami seems to have been inspired.  She literally has done something new EVERY day.  She has gone from slightly lifting her hips up off the ground with one leg to balancing precariously with her hips up and sideways.  She's constantly pulling her knee up like she's thinking about crawling, and one day decided she was tired of leaning back and just kicking her feet in the bathtub, she sat up and splashed her arms (soaked me) throughout the entire bath.  She also has learned the phrase "turn the page" and turns her stories in the right direction.  I kind of think she knows "roll over" too.  During Becky's visit, we noticed that Cami calmed down when we sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star so I've been pulling that out every know and then and it seems to be her new favorite song.  She looks at me with absolute delight when I start singing it (which is saying something because I'm a horrible singer) and nuzzles in like there isn't anything better.  

Even though Cami's had her moments every now and then with the teething and making her wishes known (primarily the one where she wants to veto naptime) where I feel like I'm fighting a losing battle (that's a bit dramatic, I'm just sensitive to her fussing because she really doesn't fuss that much), the minute she puts her hand on my face, looks me in the eye, and smiles, it's like everything is perfect.  This little girl really is a gift from God.

Mother's Day

Even though this is technically my 2nd mother's day, it's my first where I actually have some responsibility of taking care of a little one.  And, as I was driving to the grocery store (because even though it's Mother's Day, Cami still needs food for the week....and so do we...), I reflected a little bit on what I've learned as a mother in the past five and a half months.  First of all, Cami does not do what the book says.  I don't know how many times I called James or my mom the first couple months during maternity leave with something to the effect of "but the book SAYS _______...".  Yes, it's important to know what the heck is going on with a baby, but Cami is most definitely her own little individual self, and I think she rather likes to keep us on our toes from time to time.  Secondly, I had no idea what I was getting in to.  Literally.  When my nieces were babies I saw each of them two or three times during their first year.  When they cried or pooped I handed them back to my sister in law.  And I don't think I ever gave either of them a bottle.  I never babysat and I'm the youngest.  I never even had a dog; I had a cat, and my mom took care of him.  So, I discovered that it really IS true when people tell you you don't have a lot of time to read or watch movies or things of that nature (although we're quite lucky that Cami thrives off of her bedtime around 6:30 or 7:00....clockwork).  There was a steep learning curve in Cami's first couple weeks (that was well-documented), but I think I came through it nicely, despite the fact that I'm a perfectionist, which is something you MUST let go of as a mom.  Thirdly, I had no idea what I was getting in to.  Cami's smile is amazing, and her laugh that she seems to still be working on is one of the best things I've ever heard.  Her ability to work at something and work at something and keep working at it....only to finally give up and faceplant into whatever surface she's on, is hilarious and very much like me.  The way her face lights up sometimes when she hears music and the way she's turning into a snuggler and hugs me around my neck, squeezes my arm when she's uncertain, and reaches to put her hand on my face is fabulous.  I had no idea what I was getting into, but it's an amazing deep end to jump in to.  

By the way, if you havent' seen that Johnson's baby commercial from the POV of the baby; it turns me into a puddle.  

Happy Mother's Day!

On the Move

Since I posted about a million pictures to Facebook over the weekend and am in danger of having people think I'm obsessed with Instagram (I am), I won't post any new pictures on the blog this week.  I took about a million pictures over the weekend because Cami has become SUPER animated over the last week.  She just turned 5 months old and is now rolling around and thinking it's the best thing ever.  We've had to relocate from the living room to the upstairs bonus room so that we don't have to worry about her running into the coffee table, and she thinks it's amazing.  She rolls across the floor and stops at each progress step to look back and smile like "Can you even believe what I'm doing????".  It's hilarious.  One of the funniest pictures I took over the weekend was one in which Cami rolled over to the wall and began examining, quite studiously, the electric outlet.  It was like she knew she couldn't lift her hand to reach it and stick it in, but for future reference, she wanted to know how to get into trouble.  She is loving examining EVERYTHING she comes remotely close to, especially our faces.  Especially when Cami is tired, or if I'm laying on the floor next to her playing, she loves reaching out her hand and putting it on my face and then looking it over.  It's so, so sweet (unless the hand happens to have just come from her mouth and is covered in drool, then it's only slightly less sweet because her hand usually slips and slides down to my chin effectively covering an entire half of my face in drool).  The other night before bed she was sitting on my lap and had one hand on my face when James came over and sat down next to me.  She looked at me, and smiled like "Did you see Daddy is here??  Exciting!" and then looked at James and put her other hand on his face.  Then smiled at him.  It just melted my heart, and she seemed like she was just making sure the entire family was linked together.  I may have the sweetest baby in the world.

I Hate Fruit

Cami began her foray into the world of baby food about a month ago.  She has since had peas, green beans, squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes.  She was pretty enthusiastic about everything except the squash, which she still ate, but seemed to only tolerate.  And the girl loves her peas.  So much so, I have to moderate her intake or we might find ourselves in a sticky situation the next day (pun completely intended).  This past week we decided to try fruit.  I began with peaches because I didn't want to start with apples or bananas and make her gassy, or start with pears and make her explode. :)  She obediently opened her mouth for the spoon (perhaps expecting some yummy carrots?)...... and then immediately started crying as she registered the new flavor.  I thought perhaps this was due to her having a little fussy day with her teeth.  So I tried again a few days later.  Immediate crying again.  Peaches, apparently, are foul.  Yesterday I decided to go with bananas.  Everyone loves bananas, right?  Nope.  Cami got down about five or six bites with a face of absolute disgust each time I put the spoon in her mouth.  She didn't start whining like with the peaches, but it was definitely not an enjoyable experience.  Who would have thought that MY child would have a distaste for sweets??  She only had about 8,000 Oreos during my pregnancy.  Maybe that's what she wants......



Addendum:  I wrote this post a few days ago.  Cami seems to be liking fruit a little more.  Still not as much as green beans and peas, though...