He's on the move!!!!

HE WALKED!!! HE WALKED!!!! OK, more of like a stumble... but still, on November 14th, 2010, Cameron took his very first steps. Brian and I both got to witness the event, and like any proud parents would do, we whipped out the video camera... and he gave us a repeat performance for it! What an exciting moment! He was one week and one day shy of his 10 month birthday :) We are so indescribably proud of him!!!! Earlier that day, we bought a 12' baby gate for our fireplace. I think we may have jinxed ourselves :)

Cam had his very first halloween! On Friday, 10/29 he was in his daycare's parade where he made a mighty adorable dragon! I had so much fun parading him around the Measured Progress parking lot, as all kinds of parents, teachers, and coworkers lined up to cheer all the adorable kids on. Later that day, I took him "trick or treating" at work. Jess, Abby, Cam and I went through all four floors (including the haunted House. Ooooooohh....) and Cam (eh hem, mom and dad) got lots of candy! His very 1st piece ever received was a twizzler, which he proudly held most of the time, and I did finally let him gnaw on it. On Halloween day, we noticed Cam's top teeth finally popped through! Three whole months after his bottom! A real life jack-o-lantern!!! He looks so adorable with his four 'lil toofies. The teeth grinding?!??! Yah, not so cute. Like nails on a chalkboard, but worse!

October 20th, Brian and I celebrated our 3rd Wedding Anniversary. My mom watched Cam while Bri and I stayed at a B&B up in Vermont. We had such a wonderful time! It is soooo gorgeous up there, the weather was great and everything was so peaceful and serene. We went to all the "touristy" places like Vermont Teddy Bear Factory (where we got Cam a 1st bday bear), Lake Champlagne Chocolates (probably my favorite of all of them), Ben & Jerrys (where we paid respect to our long-lost flavors such as Coffee Coffee Buzz Buzz Buzz), and the COOLEST cider mill where we had ridiculously delicious cider and watched it being pressed. Our B&B was rustic, homey, and wonderful... and our anniversary dinner was divine. We ate at "Whip" in Stowe. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! The first restaurant we tried to go (Michaels on the Hill, of which we heard wonderful reviews) was a big, fat fail. Incredibly expensive with maybe only 5 entrees on the menu, none of which looked appealing to either one of us at all. We hung our heads in shame and embarassment as we walked out the door. BUT, it was worth it, as the place we ended up was freakin fantastic and we're looking forward to going again! On our way home from dinner, we drove over smuggler's notch and directly into a blizzard!! That was lots of fun - 3rd anniversary in a row we've had snow!

On October 23rd, I filmed my friend/coworker Jess' wedding in Nashua while Brian and Cam hung out at the hotel (which she generously booked and paid for us!) I've since purchased editing software, and have been creating her video. I am SO proud of how it's turning out, and I can't wait until she sees it! I just know her and her *husband* are going to love it :) It was such a beautiful wedding, and she sure made a STUNNING bride! The next day, while we were in her area, Beth (http://www.bmpphotography.com/) took our family's pictures. I am so thrilled with how they came out, dispite having yucky, rainy weather. She's SO very talented!

It has been a busy, beautiful, wonderful fall... Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK, and then comes Christmas, and then comes Cameron's 1st birthday. It saddens me to think he will no longer be a baby in just a couple very short months! But for now, i'm going to enjoy his perfect, precious, adorable almost-10-month self and soak it all in. :) The holidays are going to be WONDERFUL!!!

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Ahhhh, fall. It's a season any true New Englander can appreciate. The cool, crisp air, soft snuggly sweaters and blankets, fairs and festivals, the smells, the flavors, and of course the COLORS! The trees are really starting to pop, and it's the perfect time of year to go for a long drive.

We did just that yesterday - Our 7th annual trip to the Fryeburg fair. It was so much fun to bring Cameron along. He wasn't quite sure what to think about it - I thought for sure he would have been all smiles with the colors, people, animals, etc but "subdued" is a fitting word for how he reacted most of the day. (OK, and he had a small meltdown on the carousel, and also later on when he was overdue for his nap, but thankfully that wasn't anything that couldn't be fixed in the mothers lounge!) Brian and I sure enjoyed the always-fabulous food and people watching, and it was such a nice surprise running into Steph, Andrew and the girls! Overall it was a great day, and it was very cool having our GPS give us "shortcuts" through dirt roads to avoid the hour+ wait in traffic on the way home :)

Saturday my mom and I took Cam to the Apple Harvest Day in Dover. What a WONDERFUL day that was! He was just all smiles the entire time, and adored being on mommy's shoulders! He especially enjoyed listening to the music of the street performers, and was just so gosh darned cute a random stranger wanted to take his picture :)

I posted in my last blog about how Cam's been sick. From age 6-8 months it was one thing after another. Soon after I posted that, he was diagnosed with pneumonia. All the phlegm he had from catching constant colds finally settled in his chest. He was put on Zythromicin and a nebulizer treatment, and that cleared him up in about 10 days. He's been cold/phlem/cough free for a few weeks now. It's GREAT! He's not sleeping as well as he did before he started getting sick, but I'm hoping his 3 am wake time will pass with a bit of sleep training.

That little boy never ceases to amaze me. He's getting really good at standing. He's always doing it with one hand, and has even tried it a few times with NO hands for a few seconds. (Of course he holds on again the second mommy tries to get a picture!)

His verbal skills are improving, too. He now knows I'm "mama" and Brian is "Dada". If i'm home alone with him, and he wants me, he calls out "mamamama". Bri came home the other night, and as soon as Cam saw him he said "Dadadadada!" So cute. He sees Gracie and tries to say "Doggy" but it comes out as "Duh Ga! Duh Ga!"

He's also getting to be a pro at feeding himself. We've moved onto bits of chicken, egg yolks, and mixed vegetables. He also fed himself a meatball I made him - ground turkey, whole grain brown rice, oatmeal, and egg yolk. He LOVED it! His appetite is huge - hard to keep up with him sometimes. BUT, i'm proud to say that i've been exclusively nursing for over 8 months now. I originally thought I was going to need to supplement, but I just increased my pumping (and am hoarding my freezer stash) and so far, so good! I think we JUST might make it to a year which was my goal! Hooray! It's definitely not easy at times, but for us it's definitely been worth the effort.

Brian and I's 3rd Anniversary is in a couple weeks and we each took the entire week off. Our first vacation in a year. We just plan to do a few day trips here and there, an overnight trip to Burlington VT, and another overnight trip to Nashua so that I can film my friend's wedding there. We're both in MUCH need for some time off together, it's been far too long and it's much overdue. Here's hoping the weather cooperates! I am very thankful to learn that I'm getting an unexpected 4% bonus this year, which will be paid right around vacation time - Thank GOODNESS! It couldn't have come at a better time :)

He's on the move!

I cannot even BELIEVE all the changes with our 'lil man since our last update. Here are some of the highlights - all of the following achieved in the span of just over a month!

1. Cameron started his new daycare on August 2nd. I absolutely LOVE it there, and so does he! All the kids are under 16 months, so all the toys are age appropriate and it is COMPLETELY baby proof, immaculately clean, and the building is very secure. He loves following around all the "big kids" and it's so adorable watching him interact with babies his own age. He's really learning from all of them! I nurse him just before they open in their sleep room, go over on my lunch to nurse him, and again as soon as I pick him up. Therefore, I don't have to pump ONCE and I get to see him so much more than I could before. What a great decision it was to move him there! And a HUGE thank you to my wonderful husband, for sacrificing so much to make my life easier. I know the extra $40 a week is really tough for him but it helps me out beyond measure.


2. Very soon after his 6 month birthday, he popped TWO toofies (on the bottom, they're so stinkin cute)


3. We had our very 1st trip to the ER. Cam's temperature was 103.4, he was lethargic and having troubles breathing so we rushed him in. Although his lungs were clear and ears were fine, they put him on antibiotics just to be safe. A few weeks later he was still showing signs of infection, so we brought him to the docs. He was diagnosed with an ear AND sinus infection! Poor kid! So he got more antibiotics. Three weeks later (now), he's still got a cough and runny nose but no temp. We're bringing him in tomorrow for a re-check to be safe. He's pretty much had signs of SOMETHING for the past month, so let's just hope it's either due to teething, or a cold that just won't go away due to the new daycare. (Gotta love those 'lil germ factories!) I'm hoping it's not allergies or yet another infection!


4. Cameron not only started crawling, but has MASTERED it! He does the army crawl... tries to lift his belly off the floor, but gives up after one or two scoots. I think he's got the mentality of "if it 'aint broke, don't fix it" because he can get around REAL fast! He's always getting into something he's not supposed to. Let the babyproofing begin!


5. He also stands unassisted! He'll crawl up to the couch, stand right up, and scoot all around it! I think he'll be walking by 10 months, maybe sooner at this rate.


6. He now waves bye bye! He's only done it twice, but both times was for his Meme and Papa! Daddy and I are trying to teach him "touch down!" in honor of Football Season!


7. He's also started eating "grown up" food. Mac 'n cheese (not the powdered yucky stuff, but the organic kind from Panera), a mashed banana, and he's fed himself string cheese, a piece of cooked apple, and lots of different crackers. He does GREAT! He loves sitting at the table, and eating with us. Oh, and he's also mastered the sippy cup!


8. He's learned to play catch and absolutely loves it. We'll roll his big red ball, he'll catch it every time, and roll it back to us.

It's so neat to watch him learn new things. I love how he figures out how each of his toys work. He loves anything that's plastic and makes noise.

We're halfway there!

Six months ago today, I gave birth. A half year has passed already, which is just unreal to me. As Cliche as it sounds, time really does fly. Wow.

Cameron has changed so much over the past six months. A couple weeks ago he started sitting up unsupported, and just recently he's become a real pro at it! He's SO close to crawling... put him down on his belly, and he can make it clear across the room in a minute or two. He rolls and creeps to get where he needs/wants to go. A determined little boy he is! He's SO happy and easy going, and a very active and busy baby! He has a terrible attention span - pretty sure he gets that from his mama. A few weeks ago he was sitting on my lap at the lake, and when I was looking in the other direction, he reached clear across my lap, took my beer bottle out of the cup holder, put it right up to his lips and tried to drink it! Little stinker!!! Thankfully it was empty :)

Cam *LOVES* toys that bang and make noise - his favorite lately is a "cell phone" I picked up at a yard sale for 50 cents :) That keeps him entertained for long car trips. (or until he drops it, which is fairly frequently!) He also adores this crinkly, colorful fabric and plastic book a coworker gave to us. His other favorite toy is a half-empty water bottle. I wish I could get away with these inexpensive toys until he's 18. Haha!

We've been having a beautiful summer and have tried to do something different each weekend. Back in May, we celebrated my twin nephews' birthdays by going Roller skating. Cam loved watching everyone skating around him - he even did the Hokey Pokey with his Uncle Eric!

In June, Brian and I took him to the Pier at Old Orchard Beach - it was so cute watching him stare at the Seagulls. When one would fly by, he'd whip his head around to follow it through the sky. We of course took our 7th annual photo booth shot at the arcade, and it was incredible to have him in it with us this year :)


On the fourth of July, my mom, Cam and I went on a boatride and he really loved it! He and my mom sat at the back of the party boat and I got a couple great shots of the two of them. He looked so adorable in his life vest :)

Just last weekend, my friend Nichole and her son Mason joined us at York Beach. It was Cam's first time "swimming" in the ocean. As freezing cold as the water was, he didn't seem phased by it in the least! He was kicking his feet and splashing around. He ended the day with a good nap in his pack 'n play on the beach. I was very jealous! An incredibly exhausting but very fun day :) The next day, Brian and I took him to the Yarmouth Clam Festival. He did so well all day - sat in his "big boy" stroller, didn't fuss once! After the Clam Festival we took him to LL Bean where he got to go into the fish tank bubble - where he had an "under-water" view of the aquarium. OMG, he was squeeling with delight. A trip to the New England Aquarium is in our near future for sure! Although having a baby makes everything a bit more time consuming and a lot more work, it also makes everything we do SO much more fun.

Brian's parents finally got to meet their grandson last month (yay!) and in a couple weeks, so will Brian's sister and her family! And we'll finally get to meet THEIR latest addition, Henry (who was born last AUGUST! How sad is that?) We're gonna have a big family gathering on August 8th, where we'll also meet Brian's new twin cousins. We went from NO babies in the family, to FOUR of them in one year! Crazy! It stinks having Bri's parents and sister live so far away, but it sure makes for a nice summer when they're finally around.

I'm very proud of myself - Even with working 30 hours a week and commuting 2 hours a day, I have still been exclusively breast feeding. Cameron hasn't seen one drop of formula. It has been an immense amount of work, but SOOO worth it! I hope to keep this up until his 1st birthday. Recently he's been eating a lot more solids (With the doctor's encouragement and approval, he eats cereal and/or fruits & veggies 3x a day now) so that takes a lot of the pressure off of me. I only have to pump two bottles a day now, instead of three, which makes a HUUUGE difference! Also, effective the 1st week of August, we are switching Cameron's daycare. He'll now be going to my work's daycare. I am SO excited about this - he'll be just two streets away, and I can play with and feed him on my lunch break. I'm not so excited about the $40/wk price increase, but the extra time with him every single day is invaluable.


I certainly have my low times (my house is always a mess, I don't like my job, I'm feeling very unmotivated to do anything outside of caring for Cameron, such as lawn work and organizing my closets) but looking at what an amazing husband, son, family, life I have... makes all those little things seem awfully minut. I'm so very blessed, and when I start to feel down about something in my life, I'm going to reflect on the memories in the making and give myself a reality check. LIFE IS GOOD!

Happy Birthday, dad!

Three whole months have passed. We went to my parents' house to celebrate my dad's 58th birthday (yikes, when did he get so old?) and my mom weighed Cam. he's been feeling rather hefty lately. I was flabbergasted when the scale read 14 lbs, 7 oz!!! He has gained more than 7 lbs in 3 months, and has nearly doubled his birth weight - something most infants don't do 'till 6 months!! If you do the math, he's gained 1.25 oz a day. At this rate, he'll be 36 lbs on his 1st birthday!!! However, he's not a fatty like his mama. He's very VERY long and lean (dispite the big number on the scale). Even some of his size 3-6 month clothes are gettin kinda short on him - he's sportin the belly shirts! Richard Simmons, look out!

He has been SUCH a joy lately. He very rarely cries or fusses, and is generally so content and happy. He's been much better at grabbing and holding his toys, and even snuggling with his frog lovie. He gave us his very first giggle last week *melt* and just today, was loving daddy's belly raspberries for the 1st time! He's also really starting to recognize me and show it - smiles when I enter a room, and follows me around with his eyes.

Last week we visited his great grandma Bittner. Ohmagosh did she love the visit. We all did! She loves him SO very much. She even got to feed him for the first time. The joy on her face the entire time we were there was priceless.

Two nights ago we transitioned him to his room. We started off putting the bassinet in the crib, and that went pretty well. (He did wake up in the middle of the night once, but overall not bad!) This Saturday, we're going to take the bassinet out of the crib, and hope he sleeps well in "open waters". He naps terribly in his crib, let's hope sleeping for the night will go better than daytime sleep! I gotta admit, I HATE him sleeping in his nursery. I find such comfort with him right next to me. Even though he's just around the corner, it's like he's a world away. I know it's for the best, but if I had my way his crib would be in OUR room. (Or, our bed would be in the nursery. LOL)

So. I survived going back to work. The first week (especially the first day) was really tough... often I would think about him, or look at his picture, and tear up. (I bawled my eyes out the 1st time I dropped him off and also on my way to work that day) But each day gets better (even though I still have my weak moments. Mondays are the worst.) Cameron seems pretty happy at daycare, and all the kids get excited when they see him come in. He definitely gets the stimulation and socialization I couldn't provide for him. I know this is for the best, although I still desperately wish I could be home with him. It kills me that I miss out on 40 hours of his life every single week. Time seems to be flying faster now that I'm back to work, and I think it's because I'm missing out on so much time with him. Breaks my heart, but I know it's necessary and for the best.

I never knew my heart was capable of so much love.

Another month has passed...

As cliche as it may sound, time really does fly. I swear Cameron was born yesterday, but when I look at the calendar it was actually 10 weeks ago. Wow. He's growing up so fast... When we brought him home from the hospital, he was wearing all size newborn. Now, his 0-3 are getting kinda snug and the 3-6 are fitting him FAR too well. *sigh* Where did my itty bitty 7 lb, 5 oz baby go??? He's now 12 lbs, 11 oz (75th percentile) and a LOOOONG 24.5 inches (97th percentile). My Long and lean boy - he certainly didn't get that from me!!!

As sad as I am that he's no longer a newborn, I'm also thrilled he's out of the newborn stage! He's sleeping MUCH better all around - longer stretches at night, and more frequent (and longer) naps during the day! Things are just falling into place, and we're getting into more of a sleep/eat/play routine. He's MUCH happier (as is mommmy and daddy!) and more content overall. He's SUCH a happy baby, and learning new things every day. Just yesterday he started grabbing for his toys, and even holding onto one of them for quite some time. Seeing him grow and thrive is the most rewarding thing i've ever experienced.

I go back to work next week (insert sob here) and I had realized it'd been more than 2 months and we still hadn't left Cam with anyone! So this past Sunday, we left him with my folks while we went to a party and out for dinner. I only had one (small) breakdown, and everyone managed to have a great day! Bri and I enjoyed our freedom (while I enjoyed an alcoholic beverage or two!) and my parents really enjoyed Cam! And of course, he wasn't phased in the least - behaved really well for his Meme and Papa. We definitely need to make that a habit!

Sometimes I cry (like right now) when I think about how much I love this little man. He's just so precious, I want to hold and stare at him all the time. As Aerosmith says "I don't want to miss a thing." Monday will be one of the hardest days of my life... leaving him with someone i've met only two brief times. I'll need a big box of Kleenex right alongside his picture when I move back into the office that day. Just 3 short days away. *insert another sob here*

A month later...

I can't believe our son is a month old. This has been the hardest, busiest, craziest, most rewarding, amazing, fulfilling month of our lives. What a whirlwind it's been.

Like our lives, he's changed SO much. He's gained over THREE POUNDS since leaving the hospital (weighs in at a whopping 10 lbs, 1 oz). He gave us our first REAL smile on February 15th, and does so every single day now. It's the most beautiful site in the world. Cameron is SO alert, and is starting to recognize Bri and I's faces and voices - turns his head to us when one of us talks :) He loves staring at lights - bright things fascinate him! He's also starting to "Coo" and he's discovered his fists, which he loves trying to cram into his mouth.

He's also a pretty good sleeper! He goes down between 9-10, wakes around 1:00ish (Bri takes that feeding, giving me a good stretch of sleep!), then wakes again around 4:00, and sleeps 'till around 7. Unfortunately, he will NOT sleep on his back so we need to go the belly sleeping route. This is not recommended due to an increased risk of SIDS, so we recently purchased a movement detector to give us a bit more peace of mind. He also relies on white noise to be put (and stay) asleep, but I think this 'lil noise machine helps Bri and I sleep too :)

In other happy, wonderful news - Bri and I bought a car! Our Ford had 135k miles on it, and seeing as I'll be going back to work and bringing Cam with me almost every day (and I work about 35 miles away), we needed something much safer, more reliable, and easier to get his carseat in and out of. We found an AMAZING deal on an even more amazing SUV - an '06 Subaru Tribeca Limited. It is SO pretty and fancy shmancy -has all kinds of bells and whistles I'm still trying to learn how to use! All wheel drive, leather, power everything, moonroof, heated seats, heated wiper blades and mirrors, dual temperature control, 6 CD changer, and all sorts of other gizmos I don't really need and probably won't use (but is nice to have!) Best part, we don't break our backs putting his heavy carseat in! Plenty of room for the Goo, too! We just LOVE it...