Criss Cross Applesauce

When Camden went to his last doctor's appointment, she said that we could offer him cereal two times a day for a few weeks and then add in a fruit or vegetable. Well, apparently I am impatient and after less than a week of giving him cereal twice a day, we introduced applesauce! Well, after he gagged for the first few bites, he got it down pretty good and seemed to like it.

Notice that he even has food on his eyelashes!

Family

Today we went to Birmingham to visit some of Shane's family. His Aunt Shirley was visiting with her two daughters, Tamara and Miriam, as well as Tamara's two children, Kate and Matthew. So Camden got to meet more of his family today!

Matthew, Kasey, Camden and Kate

Miriam, Ronya, Tamara and Shane (cousins)

Pictures

Last Saturday we took Camden to the President's Mansion on campus where a friend of mine from work took some pictures of him. He fell asleep on the way there, so started out a little cranky, but after he woke up good, he didn't mind the picture taking at all.

Shane trying to cheer him up

Bless that little bald head

One of my favorites

So sweet

He was talking during this picture

Love this one too!

Fifth Percentile - Yet Again!!

Today Shane and I took Camden for his weight check, and to be honest I had felt like he was looking like he had put on some weight, so was eager to see how the numbers panned out. Well, he weighed 12 pounds 14 ounces and was 25 3/4" long. So he is up to the 50th percentile for height, but is still 5th percentile for weight. UGH!!! So she yet again is increasing his calories. Now, we are to mix his formula so that he gets 24 calories per ounce instead of the 22 calories per ounce we were doing. I asked her about his feeding regimen and she said that we can start feeding him cereal twice a day for a week or so and then add in Stage 1 fruits or vegetables, which ever we would like to try first. So I say, bring on the calories!! Right now he only eats about 6 to 6 1/2 ounces every four hours or sooner if he is hungry and she would like him to get closer to 30 ounces a day. We were feeding him every 3 hours, but he got to where he would not eat that soon and would play with the nipple or spit out the milk, so we lengthened the time. When we told Dr. McGiffert that, her first question was if he was still sleeping well at night. We told her we had no problems in that category, and were still very blessed that he sleeps anywhere between 11 and 12 hours a night. I think she was surprised!

Here are a few pictures of what Camden has been up to this week.

Playing with his toys

Watching baseball - which he has done LOTS of this week

Hanging out with me!

Father's Day 2010

As I have mentioned before, Camden and I are very lucky to have Shane in our lives. As I just typed that sentence, it dawned on me that Shane says there is no such thing as luck - it is all part of God's plan. So let me rephrase that first sentence and say that we are very blessed to have him in our lives! During pregnancy I saw a soft side of Shane that I liked and appreciated. But after Camden's birth, I saw a side of him that still leaves me in awe. Shane was and is a great father. He has helped me in ways that I never expected. When Camden was a newborn and was eating every 3 hours, Shane was so good to stay awake with Camden till one or two in the morning while I got a cat nap, even though he was to get up around 5:30 am to get ready to go do his student teaching. When he got home from school, he would entertain Camden while I did a few odds and ends around the house. After he finished his student teaching, Shane became a full time stay at home dad, and let me just say, he is an AWESOME one!! Camden has turned into a Daddy's boy. He absolutely LOVES Shane and they know each other inside and out. Shane has Camden trained and Camden has Shane trained - they are really amazing to watch. I know the experts say that children should not watch TV until they are two, but can I tell you, those two watching sports together is one of the cutest things. You would think that Camden knows exactly what is going on when he is watching baseball, soccer, basketball or tennis. Now he does get a little startled when Shane yells at the TV, but he is just in training for football season!! Shane's mom tells me that Shane started watching baseball on TV when he was 3 months old, so I have a feeling Camden is just following in his daddy's footsteps.

Sleeping like his daddy

Watching sports with his daddy

Something that amazes me is the way that Camden already does things that are just like Shane. For instance, when he falls asleep with his hands behind his head, or the certain way he does things with his feet and toes just like his daddy. He gives some of the same type of looks that Shane does, like looking out of the top of his eyes at you. I can only pray that he also ends up with some of the awesome qualities that Shane possesses.

And while I am talking about dad's, can I say that I have a great one myself. I always say that I am an engineer's daughter, and really, that sums up a lot. My dad has instilled some great qualities in me that I am very grateful for. I always viewed him as a bit on the stern side growing up, but now I find him very humorous and loving. I absolutely love the relationship that I have with my parents as I age. I can still look to my dad for advice and think of him as one of the smartest people I know. He is also a wonderful grandfather and I can not wait for us to move to Texas so that he and my mom can be a bigger part of our lives!

Sometimes you never understand why you have to go through certain things in life to get where you are, but I can assure you, I know exactly why God put me through some of the unpleasant things in my life. I can truly appreciate the great father that not only my dad is, but also the one Shane is.

Feet!!!

Last Friday Camden finally found his feet! I have been waiting for this for quiet sometime because I think it is just precious when infants start sucking their toes. Camden apparently is not flexible enough to get his feet to his mouth just yet, but he is almost there!

Notice how his toes are curled - just love that!

Candlelight Dinner

As I was driving home from work this evening, the skies were not pretty at all. Sure enough, after being home about 5 minutes, the bottom fell out. I was thankful for the rain, because God does a much better job of watering my grass than I do, but I am just not a fan of thunderstorms. Camden and I had plans to cook supper, but after being home 15 or 20 minutes the power went out, and stayed out for awhile. So to entertain him, I just sang to him. It was a bit "pitchy" but he didn't seem to mind. I decided we would forgo the cereal since we make a big enough mess in the light, much less in candlelight. But of course, he had to eat. So tonight, Camden and I had our first candlelight dinner!! I tried to get Shane to capture it on camera, but as you can tell, it looks like the lights are on. I can assure you they are not, and Camden didn't seem to mind at all.

Good News

If you recall from a few months ago, my neurologist wanted to do an MRI with contrast of my brain and spine whenever I quit breast feeding to make sure no lesions were found. Last Thursday I called his office to set that appointment up, which they scheduled for Friday. I must say I was shocked that I was at the Radiology Clinic for an hour and forty-five minutes, and most of that time was actually in the MRI tube! Anyway, today at work Dr. Hogan, my neurologist, called me personally to tell me that no lesions showed up on the scan, so no evidence of multiple sclerosis!! Thank the Lord!!!

I Think He Looks Better in Orange

My sister sent Camden this outfit before he was born and FINALLY he is able to wear it! I am certain that he will only wear it on the weekends, since Shane is the one to dress him during the week!! Personally, I think he looks good in burnt orange - better than say that crimson red color.

Hook Em' Horns

Things I Love

I thought I would take today to list some of the things that Camden does that I absolutely LOVE!

I LOVE when he:
- rubs the top of his head when he is tired
- lays in his bed in the morning just talking to himself
- plays games with his daddy


- smiles
- laughs
- flares his toes in different directions


- kicks and plays on his changing table
- grabs or touches my face when I am holding him like a baby
- holds my finger while he is falling asleep
- sits in his Bumbo and watches me cook


- gets excited about being put in his swaddle to go to bed
- gives me looks that make him absolutely irresistible

Softball

Shane has been playing on our church softball team for several months now, and when the games are early (at 6:15 pm vs. 7:15, 8:15 or 9:15 pm) Camden and I go and watch his daddy play ball. Tonight was their last night, so I took a few pictures to capture our last time at the softball fields in Tuscaloosa!

Shane playing short-stop

The fans - notice all the strollers on the front row!

Sarah and Noah Catherine - we are going to miss them sooooo much!!

Here, There, and Everywhere

After consulting the pediatrician, I decided we would try cereal today. It is not that we need it at night to help Camden sleep longer, since he already sleeps about 12 hours a night, but I was hoping that maybe it would help his caloric intake. So after his morning bottle, I sat him in his Boppy and gave it a whirl. It was very interesting and funny to see his reaction to this foreign substance. He gagged a few times at the beginning, which I can't blame him because the smell alone is not nice. We got cereal here, there and everywhere, but luckily since he has no hair, he was easy to clean up! All in all, I think he did pretty good for his first time.

We're going to do what???

Wide-eyed after his first bite

Apparently his mouth is not an easy target.

Camden thought it was funny to have cereal EVERYWHERE!

I think this look about says it all!

Pizza and Peanut M&Ms

As you well know, I have been dairy free since the beginning of March and egg free since the beginning of April. For the past few weeks I have been working to wean myself from breast feeding. I really had no actual stop date, but figured it would be sometime this weekend. Well, on the way home today, it just hit me that we were going to order a pepperoni pizza for supper! And, we did. It was so very nice to have cheese after three months without it and for dessert, was another one of my favorites, peanut M&Ms. This weekend I plan on partaking in a few of my other favorite things that I have been without - namely ICE CREAM!!! Let's hope that my stomach remembers all these wonderful things and does not get upset when I reintroduce them. Dairy, it is soooooo good to see you!!!

A Year Ago Today

A year ago today we found out that I was pregnant. I remember the wave of emotions that I felt on that day, but most of all I remember how excited I was that we were going to have a baby. We knew then that our lives would be changed forever, but honestly I do not think we realized just how amazing it would truly be. Today Camden is 17 weeks old and I love him more today than I did yesterday, or the day before. It amazes me how much love one person can have for another. I am so blessed to be his mother.

I think his bib says it all!