New Zealand: Part 5

Part way through our trip out to Kiwi Land, we took an overnight stay up to Taupo (see Part 4) and drove a bit further to Rotorua. It was an impromptu overnight stay, which was rather interesting since none of us packed for it and all we had were bathing suits and the clothes we had worn the day before. It was a good thing we went to the hot springs, because they were probably the only thing smelling worse than we were (hot springs smelled like sulphur)! Just kidding - we all took showers, but our clothes were dirty from the day before! Oh well.

This part of the trip was really cool because it was the part of New Zealand that wasn't something we could have seen on the East Coast of the states where we live. This part of NZ has lots of geothermal activity, so as we were driving, we'd see steam coming out random places in the mountains! It was so strange, and rather eery.

Our first stop was a Maori (native New Zealand tribe/people) village located right on top of a big pocket of hot springs and steam. This community actually thrived on the use of these hot springs, cooking their food in wells built over steam pockets, using the hot water for their homes, etc. It was pretty fascinating...but you have to wonder how they live in an area that smells so bad!!

Our second stop before coming home was the Waiotapu Hot Springs. This was a big tourist attraction, based on the number of people there, but it was not hard to see why. This place was so other-worldly, it was amazing. I've never seen anything like it before! It was hard to capture it in pictures, but hopefully I get the point across. We had a good time hiking around here and seeing the different pools. All of the pools were roped off because they are all above boiling temperature. The largest of the pools, called the champagne pool, was most impressive. One of the coolest things we saw in New Zealand, I think.

The edge of the champagne pool.

Why they call it the "Champagne Pool." The whole thing has tiny bubbles from boiling.

This was the most colorful of the pools... it was called the "Devil's Bath." Creepy.

40 Weeks Old!

Camden turned 40 weeks old this past Tuesday! He hit his 9 month milestone the Friday before. The little boy is growing still, and it's almost like we can't keep up with him!

Here are his 9 month stats from the doctor:

Weight: 17 pounds, 11 oz. (10th percentile - doc wasn't concerned since he's still breastfeeding regularly and so active)

Length: 30 inches (98th percentile!)

Developmentally, he's doing a ton, and learning more every day.

- He's walking alone with his walker toys

- He crawls unassisted (but supervised, don't worry!) up the stairs

- He's nailed down the "pincher" reflex and can pick up Cheerios with his thumb and forefinger

- He's trying to communicate things like "All Done" or "Thank you" or "Please" via sign language (he's only done "All Done" from what we can tell)

- He mimics me and Bobby if we cough, laugh or make certain animal noises (most notably, Kitty meows)

He's FINALLY sleeping through the night again! I did the "cry it out" method 2 nights in a row and he put himself back to sleep those nights. The third night last week, he slept from 8:00pm - 6:00am! I think the thing that helped most was going from 3 naps a day down to 2. We have also dropped his "dream feed" right before I go to bed. Can I get an AMEN?! Sleep is GOOD!

Valentine's Day is right around the corner and he doesn't go back to the doctor until he's ONE YEAR OLD! I can't believe it. Is it normal to cry!? I've already started planning his birthday party.... baseball, anyone?!

Here's one from Tuesday... that red lipstick got ALL over Henry, Camden's favorite stuffed monkey. I use Henry as laughing material. It gets him every time! And a few more pictures from the week!

Buds.

Gotta love the self-timer.

We had a play date with Cameron (also nicknamed Cam!) the other day. They enjoyed stealing each others toys, drooling, chasing the cat, touching each others heads, pulling each others ears, and crawling over each other. Good times had by all! You can see they are sharing the rice shaker here.

You'd think he was on the side of Mt. Everest the way he's inching along the wall and gripping the vent!

Sorry for the quality on these next few...taken with my iPhone.

My Mom dancing/singing with Camden. He was completely mesmerized!

Captain Cheerio

Camden's bathroom got painted this week! This is just a little preview.

Trouble.

Rare moments when Camden falls asleep on my chest, but I cherish them. He won't do to much longer, I fear.

Yup. Sleeps like his Daddy.

39 Weeks

My poor baby is a little sick this week... a little runny nose and a dry cough make for an unhappy baby. Tonight, I let him take an extra long bath to help open his nose up a bit. He was able to nurse tonight {finally} without sounding like a tractor trailer!

Camden turned 39 weeks old yesterday! I can hardly believe it. He will be NINE MONTHS OLD on Friday. How did that happen?! Time really does fly. So, to celebrate this monthly milestone, I gave him some Cheerios for the first time with his dinner (acorn squash and spinach) and he. couldn't. get. enough. I've never seen Cam communicate more with his eyes than he did tonight when he wanted more! His eyes got really big, his arms started flailing and he acted like I've never fed him ever before. I also FINALLY got him to use a sippy cup. After trying several different kinds, I finally tried one with a one-way straw and he knew just what to do! He was able to grab the cup and drink it himself even... he doesn't even hold his bottles by himself.

Anyway, more mobility this week - the kid is going places with his little "Alligator Cart" (just a little push toy that has alligators on it that move when he walks). He'll walk across the room, plowing over his other toys, and look up at me with a huge grin! Sometimes he'll stop to dance if there's music on.

For those of you curious about his nighttime sleep: {He's still not sleeping all the way through the night since we returned home from New Zealand. I feed him at 10:00pm, then he'll wake up at 1:00am, then again at 4:00am. I don't feed him then, but have been picking him up, rocking him for a minute, then putting him back down. I was beginning to think he was getting dependent on it, so last night we just cried it out. I let him cry at 1:00am, and he fell back asleep by himself at 1:25am. He woke up again at 4:00am, I fed him and we both went right back to sleep until 7am. I'm hoping tonight (since he can actually breathe a little better) he'll put himself back to sleep. We'll see how it goes!}

So, here's our little boy, and a few other pictures from the week!

Cam in Black and White

Just spent the morning photographing my baby. He's moving everywhere, you know, so it's hard to catch him in one place! I've been experimenting with different Black and White treatments in post-processing to see what I like the best: sharp and contrast-y or soft and chocolate-y. I've also been experimenting with different camera settings to get a different result: crisp and sharp or blurry and dreamy. What kind of Black and White do you like the best?

I have to admit that this one is my favorite. It's a little bit dreamy and blurred, but he's in his own little world, so it kind of suits him. This also has some chocolate-y undertones rather than the stark black and white.

This one is crisp (instead of blurred like the one above), and also has the chocolate undertones.

Crisp and contrast-y Black and White.

I love his little smile! You can see some of his teeth here :)

Crisp and Chocolate-y.

Light and dreamy.

Goof-ball.

Mr. Whiny Pants with a mohawk. His hair is growing so much on top!