Wonderful Moment

Last night while rocking Camden to sleep I read this book to him:

All of Baby, Nose to Toes

The book is lovely, simple and has a nice flowing sound when you read it aloud.  Camden was quiet and I thought, falling asleep.

I got to the part of the book that talks about Baby's legs.  The line was, "Baby's got legs, kick in the pants legs."

When Camden heard this line he burst out laughing and kept laughing and laughing.  It was contagious and I started laughing too.   

It was such a special moment.  Sitting together at the end of the day and laughing over something silly.  

I think I was more surprised that he was listening so closely and understood what the line meant.  He is all about bums and hitting Daddy in the pants these days. 

My wonderful boy....I love being his Mum-Mum!

Meeting friends

On Saturday we drove to Wilmot Park in Fredericton, NB to meet some very special people.  Carla and I have become good friends thanks to a group of women on the internet who all have had babies in April 2011.  

It was such a pleasure to finally meet another Mom from our group.  I just wish one day ALL of us could meet in person.  C'mon lottery!

The park was lovely and we could not have asked for a better day as the weather was perfect.   Our summer has been nothing but rain for weeks and weeks, but Mother Nature smiled on us on Saturday.

In the beginning the kids were all over the place but eventually we made it to the splash pool (which was awesome!) and they all waded in and splashed around.

After lunch we tried to get the kids to pose for pictures.  If taking a photo of one toddler wasn't hard enough, try three!  This is the best shot I got, then each one looked away or walked away...lol

Evan has a great smile in this one!

It didn't get any better when the Mom's got involved.  Sigh.

Carla, it was wonderful to meet you, Carl, Alexa and Evan.  Can't wait until you vacation in NB again!

Remember....

Just some random things I want to write down so I won't forget them....

Camden running up to Ron in the backyard and yelling out "My hero" before giving him a big hug!

Looking through the bits and bobs in Ron's tool box, asking me what everything was, then saying, "That's right", before moving on to the next item.

When I get home from work and Cam is sitting in his chair for supper, he grabs my arm and lays his cheek on it.  I love this and never want to forget.

He put his rubber boots on the other day all by himself, looked so proud.

Our first water gun fight - he chased me but didn't squirt me until I stopped moving.  Guess he is not a multi-tasker yet.

Cam makes me lay on the floor and close my eyes.  Then he sneaks up on me so sloooowly and ever so quietly climbs onto my belly and tickles me until I "wake up".  A new and fun game for both of us.

Snuggles before bed while reading stories, his head beneath my chin, his hair tickling my face, his after bath smell....wonderful.

"Carry me, Mum-Mum"

Ouch!

On Sunday Camden was sitting in my lap and wanted to get down to grab a toy.  He took one step, tripped on the carpet under the chair and fell onto the railing we have around the TV.

I grabbed him and yelled for Ron who came flying down the stairs, either from my yell or Camden's screaming.  He grabbed Cam and was able to calm him down.

We sat him in his highchair and gave him a lollipop and he was as happy as could be.  That is when we noticed all the blood...

Ron was able to trim the hair from around the cut and clean the wound.  Camden hit the railing really hard as the wood broke and there was a splinter in his head.  It didn't seem deep enough to warrent stitches and the bleeding stopped fairly quickly.

We bandaged him up, gave him some pain reliver and he was just fine.  It will take me a few days to get over it though.

Here is the dowel that broke when he fell.  I think he hit that corner too.

 In order to get these pictures I had to give him a popsicle

(homemade, strawberries and milk...mmmm)

The voice of wisdom (aka, My Mum) tells me this is the first of many bumps, bruises and cuts for Camden while he grows from a little boy into a big boy.  Thanks Mum for helping me feel less guilty.

Words

We have had a word explosion in the last few weeks.  Camden is saying more and more and using words in the correct context as well.

The last few days we have heard, Yes, Help, More, Snow, Mayonnaise,  and No!

These are on top of the words he already uses on a daily basis.  Words like hands, soap, Mommy, Daddy, Duncan, wash, paste, banana.  The list goes on.

When you say, "Knock knock, who's there"? Camden says, "Mary".  This comes from one of his favourite books.  The first time he said Mary, I nearly fell down laughing.

Here is a video I took on Monday night.  Camden asked us to hang "light" and Ron hooked them up over the chairs.  We heard lots of Ohh's and Amazing :)

We are really, really enjoying this rapid development but I am finding it hard to keep up and remember what is happening.  It is all moving so quickly.  Slow down Cam....just a little please!

      

Kids are so literal

I often think that because Camden cannot talk to me, he doesn't understand what I am saying.  Two recent incidents have proven me very wrong.  

We were taking pictures in the backyard and Camden kept looking at the tree, with his back to me.  I asked him to turn around so I could take his picture and he proceeded to turn in circles.

I snapped some pictures of this:

Last night while we were practicing to say "Trick or Treat" for Halloween I thought I would teach him the little Trick or Treat song.  I got as far as "Trick or treat, smell my feet".... when he hopped down off the chair, leaned over and sniffed my feet!

He definately understands what I am saying and takes it very literally.  So funny!

Happy Half Birthday - 1 1/2

Happy Half Birthday to you,
Happy Half Birthday to you,
Happy Half Birthday dear Camden,
Happy Half Birthday to you!

Camden is one and a half years old today!  I cannot believe how much we all have grown the past 18 months.  Ron and I as parents and Cam as a toddler.

Camden, right now you are doing the following:

• You can say Duncan, but it comes out in two words - Dunnn-Can
• You now have 12 teeth, all four on top, all four on bottom, and four molars
• You try to put your socks and shoes on by yourself
• You can say, Bad Cat, Bad Dog, Bad Bug
• The phase of biting, hitting and throwing toys has begun
• Daddy says "Sweet" and you say "Dude"
• You like to clap your hands and stomp your feet when Mum-Mum sings to you
• Still not sleeping through the night, but you are going in longer stretches and sometimes can put yourself back to sleep when you wake up
• We are still nursing and you ask for milky as soon as I come home from work
• Sometimes you like to colour in your book and not eat your crayons, mostly you want to eat your crayons
• You lead us around by holding onto our finger
• You got your first library card and signed out three books
• You splash in mud puddles now
• When the stool is out you like to climb up and down, up and down
• You are playing hide and seek with Mum-Mum now.  You hide by standing somewhere and staying very still.  Against the wall of behind the chair
• You say "Uh-Oh" and "Up" all the time.

16 Months

Camden, you are 16 months old now and here are some things we want to remember about this time in your life.

• You are 25 pounds and tall enough to reach things on the counter
• You have 8 teeth and three more on the way
• You can walk backwards
• You say "buck-buck" when you want to visit Rambo, the chicken who lives down the road from us
• You say "all done" when you are tired of doing something or had enough to eat
• You have learned some sign language and know Daddy, Mommy, Milk, Drink, Ball, Sleepy, Cereal
• You still love Duncan the best and give him hugs and kisses
• You wave "bye bye" when you turn the corner to go into the kitchen, every single time you leave the room
• You hate to have your diaper changed and we have to distract you with a new toy or sing a song
• You are still not sleeping through the night, but Mommy loves you anyway. 
• The laundry basket is your personal race car
• You do everything that Daddy does, you are his shadow
• You put your arms through your shirt and are starting to put your feet through your pant legs
• You give kisses to everyone and everything, even cookies
• You love bellybuttons, ours and your own
• You cry when I come home from work, and then cry some more if I don't carry you around for a while
• Bike rides with Daddy are fun and you look awesome in your helmut

Happy 16 Months little man!

My first year as a Mom

I have wanted to reflect on my first year of Motherhood and have tried to write this post several times.  I would like to share some good memories and some things I would just like to forget, but I have had difficulty getting the words out.

In the early days, I was filled with so much self doubt.  Having this little person beside me, absorbing everything he saw, scared me to death.   I want Camden to have a good childhood, to be a happy and loving child, to learn and experience life.  I didn’t (and don’t) want to mess that up for him.

After a year, I am happy to report I have mellowed a bit.  I am using my gut instinct more and have stopped reading the books.  I have learned I will make mistakes (bumping his head into the door frame) and will sometimes be a second too late getting to him (eating cat vomit), but I love him. 

I love him very much and I will always do my absolute best for him.

That will have to be enough, for him and for me.  No more beating myself up.  I am not super woman; I cannot do it all alone.  I rely on Ron, my Mum and my friends for solace on the bad days, for laughter over the silly things and for guidance when I need it. 

Camden was meant for me and I am so proud to be his Mum-Mum.  Thank you baby boy for the most wonderful year of my life. 

Some memories (good and bad):

 - Camden’s ruffled bed-head when he wakes from a nap

- Changing him on the bed the first time, a river of poo, mess everywhere, calling for back-up, learning to give him 10 more minutes to finish.

- Holding him in my arms as the exact time of his birth approached and quietly singing Happy Birthday to him as he fell asleep.

- Milky breath and all those milk drunk faces he made

- Cam falling off the bed the first…and second times (bad Mommy)

- His soft hair tickling my nose when I give him kisses

- The wonderful moment shared with my Mum the day Camden came home from the hospital.  Hugging and crying, Camden passes a huge amount of gas and totally ruins the moment.

- After weeks of trying to get him to smile, finally figuring out that blowing on his belly did the trick

- Watching Ron and Camden play together and witnessing the love.  Amazing! 

- Hearing Mum-Mum for the first time and knowing it meant me

- Tiny fingers holding my hand, tiny arms going around my neck, sloppy kisses gracing my cheek and toasty warm snuggles in the wee hours of the morning.



Happy 1st Birthday Camden

Happy Birthday to our little man!  This has been the most incredible year for us and we wanted to look back and remember all the changes.

Our first family picture

Camden was born on April 4, 2011 at 2:40 pm

One month old

Two months old

Three months old

Four months old

Five months old

Six months old

Seven months old

Eight months old

Nine months old

Ten months old

Eleven months old

One!!

10 months already....

Camden is 10 months old already, where has the time gone?  There are a few things we want to jot down here so they won't be forgotten.

Camden, right now you are doing the following:

• When we say YAY, you clap your hands.
• When we say TOOT TOOT, you touch Mommy's nose with your finger.
• When we say HONK HONK, you touch Daddy's nose with your finger. 
• When you see Duncan you say "DA" and reach out to pet him.
  
• When you see Niblet and Froot Loop you say "BA" while they run away from you.
• When we say AWWWWW, you lay your head down on the ladybug pillow or Ms. Kitty.
• You have started throwing things on the floor when you sit in your high chair.
• You are shuffling along the furniture trying so hard to walk.
• You blow raspberries on my arm to make sure I am awake in the morning. 

We love you little man!  Happy 10 month birthday!