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