Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from our family to yours.

Take Luck,

LP

First Snow

I've learned to not get too excited when the weatherman/weatherwoman predicts snow for the PNW.  For the past few days, they've been calling for a winter storm, so as usual - my heart starts beating a little faster and I hope and pray that it actually happens.

We don't get a lot of winter storms or snow around here, so when we do, people freak.  I'm not even kidding.  They literally will pull their cars over to the side of the road at the first sight of accumulation.

Anyway, the weatherman/weatherwoman didn't disappoint and we woke up to snow yesterday morning.  It was my regular day off (and not to mention the start of 17 days of uninterrupted quality time with Hammy!), so I was able to introduce Cam to his first snow.

He was less than impressed and couldn't put his arms down in his giant snowsuit.

Some day, he'll appreciate the white stuff and when that time comes, I can see it being quite the fight to get him inside.  Unless he's bribed with hot cocoa and marshmallows.  

Until then, I'll force him outside and capture his "excitement" on camera.

Get used to it, kid.

Take Luck,

LP

Camden's First Birthday Party

We celebrated Cam's first birthday with a family party on Sunday.

I had initially wanted to throw an elaborate, themed party, but then I came to my senses and said, "to hell with that."  Of course, it's not stupid to have a big, themed, birthday party.  But knowing myself, and especially with his birthday being around the holidays, I knew I didn't need to be putting any "unnecessary extras" on the 'ol plate.

My goal was to be quick and efficient, because really, who wants to be at a one-year old's birthday party?

Decorations were limited, but food and enjoyment were not (or at least I hope not!).

We got right down to business opening gifts.  Camden was completely not interested in this little ritual, so lucky for him, his cousins Kennedy and Riley were HAPPY to step up and help out.

After gifts, it was time for cake.  My mom made him a cupcake for his "smash cake" and I ordered a big sheet cake from Costco. (Side note: totally unplanned but both his shirt and cake have a dinosaur on it... So in your face, Pinterest.)

Camden is a really messy eater, so I thought he would just LOVE getting messy with his little personal cupcake.

Wrong.  See the cake evolution for yourself.

This frosting-enduced-trauma required some mama-snuggles, and an out-of-the-spotlight-cake-tasting.

Mmmmm.  Sugar.  Maybe this isn't so bad, after all?

He didn't eat much of his special treat, but he ate enough to get a little messy.

It then became painfully obvious that he was DONE being the center of attention and ready for his afternoon nap.  Funny, because he fought the nap like it was his J-O-B, only slept for 40 minutes, demanded to be retrieved from his crib even though he was CLEARLY not ready to be awake, and overall gave us a SUPER fun evening.

Happy first birthday party, Hammy Boy!

Take Luck,

LP

Camden - 12 Months

Hammy, Hammy, Hammy.

My baby boy is officially a big baby boy today.  No fun 1-year stats to share, but if you check back on Monday (because, what better things would you have to do?) you can see how much he is not climbing the growth percentile chart.  Funny, because he's trying to climb everything else.

Update:

Height: 28 inches (6th percentile)
Weight: 19 lbs 8 ounces (8th percentile)
Head Circumference: 18 inches (32nd percentile)

His eleventh month of life was full of change and growth.

This boy is a pro walker.  He only crawls now if he's fallen over and is desperately trying to get away from the stomping-tickle-monster-mama.  I swear, the sound of his bare feet slapping against the hardwood floor is just about the sweetest thing I've ever heard.  He is still quite small, and it's really precious to see his little body toddling around the house. I'm waiting for him to just take off running any minute.

He loves (repeat, loves) books and puzzles.  He sits there for several minutes at a time and flips the pages and turns the puzzle pieces over and over and over.  Such a curious boy, he is.

Our ENT consult ended with a recommendation for ear tubes, and he had those put in at the end of November.  Other than being really pissed off after initially coming out of anesthesia, he did great and we've seen major improvements in his sleep and speech since the procedure.

Speaking of sleep, I can happily report that when my alarm clock wakes me up in the morning now, I don't immediately panic that he's stopped breathing and no longer alive, thus explaining why he didn't wake me up.  For a while, I was waking up in this panicked state, making it quite obvious that I wasn't used to getting a full, uninterrupted night's sleep.

And speaking of speech, I'm guessing that he wasn't hearing super clearly, because since his ear tube procedure, he's had sort of a speech explosion.  As much as speech can explode for an 11 month old, anyway.  He proudly says mom/mama, dog (gog), and book (ook).  We're still pushing dad/dada, but he's not biting too hard on that one.

Within the last few days, another bottom tooth has poked through, and another (on the other side) is close behind.  (Seriously, the excitement never ends around here, people!)  It had been so long since his last tooth eruption that I was beginning to worry that he was going to go to Kindergarten with only six teeth!

Apparently, this child is just a bit slow on the food-uptake because we're slowly (but surely) mastering baby finger foods.  Cam loves bananas (will literally rip a banana from my hands), pears, peaches, carrots, green beans, yogurt, cheese, and noodles.    

These past 12 months have been the happiest, and the hardest of my life.   have been dreading this day for a long, long time.  It's such a bittersweet feeling.  I have a very happy, and overall very healthy baby boy, and I'm so happy because he truly is the most amazing gift, the coolest little boy, and I get to be his mama.  But I'm so sad because he's got about 1% baby left in him, and time is just tick-tocking away.  C'est la vie.

Camden James. When seeing those two pink lines, I could have never imagined that you were what I was waiting for.  You are the greatest gift I've ever been given.  Better than I ever dreamed or hoped you would be. You made me a mama.  I didn't know what the hell I was doing when I first became your mama, but you just hung in there like a champ and were along for the crazy ride.  You truly light up my world with your smile, your laugh, your snuggles, and your little personality.  Everywhere we go, people are drawn to you and your smile, and I hope that's a quality that stays with you forever. I am so lucky, and so proud to be your mama.  You've made me a better person. I love you to the moon and the stars. You are my little love. 

Take Luck,

LP

10 on 10: December 2013

10 on 10: 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!

[1] Oh, Christmas tree,  A beautiful sight this early morning.

[2] 5:30 am Focus T25.  (Exercising is more fun when done in front of a Christmas tree.)

[3] Mom and baby pattern explosion.

[4] Coffee, coffee, coffee.

[5] Stalking my phone at lunch time for updates from daycare.

[6] Coffe, coffee, coffee wasn't enough, apparently.

[7] Freeze walk. Contemplating life.  Do selfies of legs count as selfies?

[8] It's not everyday you see your initials spray painted on the ground, ya know.

[9] Baby boy loves books.  Especially his Cardinal ABC book.

[10] Showing off the Christmas rings he "made" at daycare.

Take Luck,

LP

Cam Meets Santa

Yep, we're still alive.  I've just been in quite the blogging funky funk lately.

Moving on.

Several weeks ago, after Camden managed to get a hefty scratch on his cheek in the morning and gash his eye on a coffee table in the afternoon, we made the trek to see Santa Claus.

Last year, at the tender age of 4 days old, I made Ryan and my in-laws go with me/us to meet Santa.  I knew it was going to be a giant waste of money ($19.99 to be exact), but knowing that it was Cam's first Christmas was reason enough for me to start the tradition of photos on the big guy's lap.  I think that my constantly changing hormonal state was reason enough for Ryan and my in-laws to not question my motives.

Obviously, Camden was overjoyed.  He slept through the entire visit.

This year, after the aforementioned face scratching and eye gashing, we popped out to the mall on an early Monday evening.  (Note to self: always, always, always go see Santa early in the season and early on a Monday evening.)

No line, quality warm-up time with a wonderful Santa which included all three Peters on Santa's lap, and then this little gem.

Immediately after the photographer elf snapped this, Camden looked at Santa, looked at me, looked back at Santa, and then the lip stuck out and all horror broke out on my little love's face.  I hoped she got a shot of him crying (is that bad?), but she didn't.  Too bad, because I totally would have bought it for a keepsake.

Oh, traditions!

Take Luck,

LP

A Day Date

Ry and I had a day date this week.

An unplanned and unconventional day date.  Filled with glamour and romance.

It all started on Monday afternoon when we both started feeling crummy, and was solidified on Monday night when we had matching garbage bag-lined garbage cans on both sides of our bed.

Mmhmmm.

Somehow, we survived the night and when Camden woke up in the morning, I found myself having to change him on the ground.  That boy thought it was a real hoot that I was trying to change him with my eyes closed and was repeatedly putting my head on the floor to rest. 

Poor boy. He was so happy to see me and I wasn't exaaaactly reciprocating his elation. 

My mom came to the rescue and took Cam for the day.  Thank God, because seriously, there was no way in the hiz-ell that Ryan or I were capable of caring for our crazy-mobile baby boy.

So, our day date was full of a non-snuggly-party-on-the-couch, Ryan complaining it was too cold, me complaining it was too hot, sipping lots of Gatorade and Sprite, Dr. Oz, and very little actual talking to each other.

I told you - full of glamour and romance, people.

I decided it wasn't necessary to document our lovely day together.  Instead, I'll share a picture of who you really want to see - and this pretty much sums up anyway.

Take Luck,

LP

The Weekend of Epic Proportions

Have you ever had a trip or adventure planned that you built up in your mind to be totally amazing, only to have it fall short?

Yeah, this past weekend in St. Louis was the exact opposite.  It was the weekend of epic proportions.  I almost feel that I need to go all Harry Potter on you and break this recap into two parts.  But, I won't do that.  I don't have time for two parts!

Ever since we booked our tickets to St. Louis for my college roommate, Becky's wedding, I've been talking (mostly with Tiff) about how amazing the weekend would be.  Our class was super close all through our four years at SIU, and it hadn't been since Krystal's wedding in 2008 that we were ALL together.  And since then, three of us have had babies.  Seeing my best gal pals and introducing future Salukis?!  How could it not be a reunion for the history books?

I was very nervous about flying with Camden by myself, but my little love crushed my (low, very low) expectations.  I should've known he would be a little traveling champ.

My sister-in-law, Cara, was kind enough to let us crash at their house, yet again.  Seriously, you should be jealous that she's my sister-in-law and not yours.  She. Is. The. Best. Ever.  Did I mention that she invited my best friend and her little family to stay with her as well and that it was practically a giant slumber party?! Yep.  And she also bought matching jammers for Liam, Camden, and Huck.  Seriously, this woman is a saint.

Since we were only in St. Louis for 48 hours, Ryan elected not to join.  And I didn't blame him.  Luckily, my little love stepped up and was my fashionable date to the wedding.

 

(And that bow tie?  There are no words.)

After the ceremony, it was picture time.  The babies were not going to be attending the reception, so we had to document this future-Saluki-reunion while we could.

Between naps and before the reception, we put Camden and Huck in the cutest little matching outfits that my mom bought - sweatsuits that had Levi's overalls printed on them.  So adorable.  But not as adorable as the little baby hand holding that was going on during our little photo shoot.

My sister-in-law and mother-in-law were amazing enough to watch Camden and Huck while we went back to the reception.  Cara kept us updated with texts and pictures, that I know both Tiff and I really appreciated.  We knew they were in excellent care, but it was still comforting to know that they weren't melting down or setting the house on fire during their "boy's night out."

The wedding was so beautiful.  Becky is one of the most creative people I know - and you could tell she put so much thought and effort into the details.  She was a beautiful and glowing bride, and I know that she and her new hubby are going to be very happy together.

We ate, we danced and we sang, but we mostly just sat at our table and caught up with one another.

I can't really put into words what these girls mean to me.  We practically lived and breathed together for four years, and it truly felt like we picked up where we left off in 2008.  Our head coach couldn't make it to the wedding, so we made sure we sent her a picture of what she was missing out on.

I can't be certain, but I bet she was really bummed.

At times I thought I must've been out of my frigging mind to travel with Camden, by myself, all that way, for a 48 hour trip.  But the fact that he had the opportunity to spend time with his grandparents and great-grandparents, his aunts and uncles, his cousin, his "aunties," and his future best buddies, makes me feel sort of frigging genius.

I will remember this trip always.

(To see non-iPhone pictures and to hear more about our trip, check out Tiffanie's blog.  You won't be sorry.)

Take Luck,

LP

10 on 10: November 2013

10 on 10: 10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!

(We were traveling home from St. Louis yesterday. Better late than never!)

[1] Early morning tummy tickles with future best buddy, Huck.

 

 [2] Playing choo-choo' s with my favorite 2-year old boy.

 [3] Drooling over these waffles.

[4] Coffee (and a James spoon) are necessary when your child wakes up at 4:30.

[5] Tupperware and a spatula?  Cheap entertainment.

[6] Chasing my favorite 2-year old.

[7] Catching Cam getting love from his Auntie and Grandma.  Heart melting.

[8] Face-to-face with Lola.

[9] Quality couch and snuggle-time with Grandma.

[10] Bye bye, Columbia.  We'll be back for Christmas!

Take Luck,

LP