Chi-Town

Our baby is a world traveler. In his 12 weeks of life, he's already been to two of the largest cities in the country!

Last week, my parents, Cam and I ventured out to Illinois to visit my 93 Year Old Grandmother, Aunt, Uncle and cousins {and "Aunt" Karoline!}. It had been years since I went out there, so I wanted to take Camden out to meet his Great Grandmother. Ok, ok... and I wanted to see my cousins too. I'm so thankful that my parents were with me {Bobby was traveling on business, so we hit the road too!}. I was happy to have some help toting all of his baby gear throughout the airport! We did well, and Camden slept the whole flight with hardly any fussing.

I kick myself because I realized that I hardly took any pictures of my cousins. I wanted to badly just to chat with them since it had been so long that I must have just forgotten! It's a shame though, because they all now have the most adorable children! An excuse for us to go back soon, yes?!

Anyway, it was great to see everyone, especially my Grandmother. We celebrated my Mom's birthday and my Dad's retirement {45 years at the same company - go Dad!}. I talked baseball with my Uncle Joe every night, went for a walk with my mom, visited Wrigley Field, had dinner with my best friend, and went to Starbucks every day. It was fabulous. There are Starbucks' everywhere there! Most importantly, my cousin, who is stationed in Afghanistan with the Air Force, and I set up a Skype call with my Grandmother. It had been years since I've seen her, and I know it was a while since my Grandmother saw her as well. We are all so proud of you, Abigail!

Here are just a few pics from our trip...

Camden LOVED MomMom! Every time she would talk to him, he would give her a HUGE smile! It was so cute!

My Aunt Jane was such a great hostess!

Camden and Grandpa

My awesome cousin (in the baseball hat) and his adorable family!

My mom will stop in her tracks when she see's this picture. She had no idea I knew so much about baseball when my Uncle Joe and I were talking! She normally wouldn't be caught dead around professional sports, but she did it for Camden ;)

Mama and Camden in front of Wrigley Field

We are not Cubs fans, but Daddy requested a picture of his son in front of one of the most famous stadiums. This is for you, Daddy.

Baby loved Aunt Jane!

12 Weeks

It kills me. Every wedding I've shot since Camden was born, I cry at one - and only one - part: the Mother-Son dance. Why? Because that's going to be me in 25 years. {Yikes. I'll be 50 years old by then.} He's going to meet some fabulous girl, and leave his Mama. I don't know what's worse: the fact that he's going to leave. his. Mama. I repeat...LEAVE his MAMA!? Or the fact that he's going to love another woman more than me one day.

All of a sudden, 25 years doesn't seem like a lot of time.

Cuddling. Yes, more cuddling. We will cuddle every day until that day. Although I have a feeling that when he turns 13 that will be kinda weird, and he won't want to cuddle with his Mama anymore. Oh, that will be a sad day too.

So, I adore this little boy. Have I told you that?? I must confess that I was quite nervous to have a boy. After all, I grew up with mostly girls and we all idolized our only brother. All I knew was American Girl dolls, Barbies, and dress-ups. I will admit that I am still a little nervous for him to get older. Will I be able to keep up with him? What happens if he brings home a box full of nasty frogs or wants me to go camping with him? My poor son has been in Nordstrom, Marshalls and Target more than any little baby, I'm sure. I guess that's why God planned it for babies to have Mama's and Daddy's. Daddy's are tough and can handle a box full of frogs and outdoor camping trips. Mama's are gentle and give lots of hugs, kisses and cookies.

At least that's what Camden's Mama and Daddy are. His Mama's especially about the cookie part :)

Camden is 12 weeks old now. Just shy of 3 months. This boy is growing daily. It's unreal. Here's what this boy has been up to this week:

- Hating tummy-time less and less. He can be on his stomach for more than a minute without screaming his fuzzy, little head off.

- He can pretty much hold his head up by himself completely.

- He outgrew his bassinet last week. He's too tall. He got that way in just a week.

- He's been sleeping like a champ in his crib overnight - averaging about 5-6 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night.

- His feet are almost hanging off his infant car seat...which is supposed to last him a year. I have yet to get a picture of it, but it's ridiculous. SO tall!

- He has decided he doesn't like daytime naps. I think it's the 45-minute Intruder as discussed in BabyWise. He has only been napping for 45 minutes...every 2 hours. We're working on the napping situation.

- Breastfeeding is going SO much better this week. Not much fussing and eating for longer periods of time. I love that time we have together. It's so peaceful now.

- His hair is growing much longer on top of his head! When he was born, he hardly had anything on top, but now it's filling in. I love how fuzzy it is.

- LOVES when Daddy reads to him. We've been working our way though his Children's bible. I think he likes to hear all the funny names in the Old Testament.

It's been a busy week, to say the least. I cannot believe how fast he's picking up on things! Anyway, here are some pictures from this week. Enjoy our little Peanut!

This kid has so many faces. He's so animated!

Of course, when I try to get a picture of his new milestone, he doesn't do it for the camera. He sticks his tongue out all the time, but never will do it for the camera! He's sort of doing it...

Ugh. This kills me. His little face is just so squishy and precious, no??

Now that Baby has found his hands, he never wants his pipe anymore. This is the face I get when trying to put it in his mouth.

Fuzzy head.

Check out his little bum! This is his summer outfit - naked baby and a colorful diaper. Love.

Why does he always hold his feet up?! I don't know. You can really see his little mowhawk here :)

11 Weeks + A Little Tongue

No, I'm not talking about a wet kiss... my sweet baby has discovered his tongue! It is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. Last night, as we were leaving my parents house (Cam and I went to Chicago over the weekend with my parents) to go home, he stuck his tongue out at me. After a squeal of joy and encouragement from me, he kept doing it. This morning, that's about all he's been doing. I may or may not be sticking my tongue out at him too....

Our baby is 11 weeks this week (yesterday - I'm a day late since we were traveling). He is really growing and his feet almost hang off of his car seat! He is going to be tall for sure. I weighed him this morning and he weighed 13 pounds and 4 ounces. Growing fast! Not much more to report this week other than the new-found tongue :)

Enjoy!

Usually sticking out his tongue then involves a bunch of really big smiles...especially if his Mama sticks her tongue out too :)

10 Weeks + Daddy Time

My, my... our sweet boy is growing! Cam turned 2 months old last Saturday and had his 2 month check up late last week. I seriously cannot believe it's been 2 months already. The doctor had good things to report, and despite my worries about breastfeeding, Camden is putting on weight just fine and I have no reason to worry (I was worried that he wasn't getting enough when nursing, so I bought a scale, blah, blah, blah... turned out to be unnecessary, but at least I have the peace of mind). Here are his stats:

Height: 25.5 inches tall - 97th percentile!!! We definitely have a short stop on our hands!

Weight: 12 pounds, 13 ounces

He received a few vaccines this time and took them like a champ. Later that day was a little rough though... I think Camden was just mad that he got boring, old band-aids instead of fun, cartoon ones.

...And to update you on a few things happening for us:

- Yes, we are still doing cloth diapering and LOVING IT. Seriously. It's hardly any extra work, we haven't had a single blow-out or leak, and Camden's bum is the cutest thing on the block! For anyone staying at home and trying to save some money, I highly recommend it. HERE is the resource where I bought our cloth diapers.

- Yes, I am still breastfeeding. It was a little rough in the beginning and we still have our good and bad days, but the good days are starting to outweigh the bad. Not so much bad, just...challenging. I love that time with Camden and I feel so empowered that my body is made to nourish this little babe. I will admit, that breastfeeding is the hardest part about having/taking care of a baby.

- Camden is sleeping pretty well at night... We just started "cluster feeding" around 3 or 4pm - bedtime, then a "dreamfeed" right before I go to bed (usually around 11pm). He's been waking up around 4am, but usually falls back asleep until his "official" wake time - around 6am. We're playing around with what times we do things in order to get him to stay asleep until at least 6am. BUT, I'm not complaining. He's only 10 weeks and sleeping for 5-6 straight hours at night. I'll take it!

- Baby Cam takes Chicago this weekend!!! We are going to visit the Wise side of my family - lots of cousins who I haven't seen in years (plus all of their adorable children), my lovely grandmother, and my best friend from high school - Aunt Karoline! This will be our first time attempting a trip on a plane with Camden. Bobby can't come along, but thankfully I'll be traveling with my parents and they will be able to help! This makes big city #2 that Camden has visited so far. I just applied for his passport today so that we can make the trip to New Zealand for Christmas!

That's all for now... here are a few pictures from the week. Camden has started to grab hold of things. It's so much fun since now we can start using all of those fabulous toys! He also loves reading with Daddy in the evenings. Such a fun time and I'm so thankful to be able to document this all on "film."

Have a great week everyone!

Babe loves his hands! He could stay in his crib for hours just sucking on his hands if I'd let him!

Doesn't quite fit in his mouth, but it's easy to grab.

Ah, my heart melts.

Playing with Daddy.

Frustration.

Que: SQUEAL!

Oh, my boys. How I love them.

Love. My baby is so serious.

Dudes in Diapers

These two are up to no good already ;)

Check out pictures of Baby Jack over HERE on my photography blog!

9 Weeks!

Oh Baby, how fast you are growing. It seems like every day you are doing something new!

This week, you've discovered your hands! ...At least you've discovered that you like them better than your pacifier! I came in to check on you during one of your naps and you had an entire fist in your mouth. It was amazing that you could actually breathe!

This week was also your first big holiday - 4th of July! We saw lots of people this weekend and they all loved holding you. You met Tita Donna for the first time (your great-grandmother), and you also got to actually meet your new cousin Jack! Remember all those prayers we prayed asking God to heal Baby Jack's heart? Well, God answered them and Jack was able to come home just a few days before we got to see him! And last of all, you got to meet your Aunt Karoline who came all the way from Chicago (she's not really your Aunt, but that's what you're going to call her!)!

You know what else happened this week? Mama and Daddy celebrated FOUR years of being married! All three of us took a nice, long walk on Solomon's Island by the water. You were asleep, but it was still just perfect for all of us to be together. I love our sweet little family of three :)

These past two months have been so much fun getting to know you and seeing you grow every single day. I'm so thankful that I don't miss anything, and that you and I get to spend all of this time together. I will remember these moments forever.

Happy 4th of July!

Wishing you all the patriotism and pride you can handle on this 4th of July weekend! Please remember our men and women abroad who are fighting to protect the very freedom under which we live. We cannot thank you enough for your bravery and sacrifice.

Our little guy wants to wish all of you a very Happy 4th of July!