Блог обо всем и ни о чем…

Dear Cameron,

Today you are one year old. Exactly 365 days ago your daddy and I were thrilled to meet you. And in those past twelve months you have grown and learned and filled our hearts more than we ever thought possible. Read the rest of this entry »

As you may have noticed I’ve been a bit remiss in posting lately. That’s because of the craziness of my work schedule and visits from family. Read the rest of this entry »

The weather has been beautiful this weekend so we took advantage of it with a trip to the park. Cameron loved it as you can see below.

We had a wonderful weekend aside from me catching whatever felled Cameron last week. Aches, the sniffles and a slight soar throat are not a good accompaniment to a beautiful Spring weekend. Cameron decided to nap really, really well so I got to nap in the afternoons while DH toiled away doing yard clean up and a myriad of other tasks.

Cameron discovers the Tupperware cabinet. Mommy and Daddy discover that Cameron now screeches if she doesn’t get her way. We quickly learned when we packed up the cabinet and tried to make Cameron move on to other games. Epic fail.

One of the tasks this weekend was to get rid of these ants that have invaded our pantry. They have come and gone for the last year and we’ve tried spraying and ant traps with little success. DH picked up some liquid bait that attracted the ants like, well, like ants to food. After a day of them congregating in our pantry they disappeared. Upon inspection DH decided to caulk every interior edge of the pantry to eliminate future migrations. Smart man!

Cameron dries off after a swim lesson. She is up to 4 seconds under the water!
Cameron plays before we head into swim lessons.

Yes, Mimi…I’m looking at you! I have been somewhat remiss in posting photos regularly so here are some to get your day started.

Post-bath it’s easy to see the curls and the massive amount of hair that Cameron has.

Mimi, now I get it! You always told me to get my hair off my face. And as you can see, Cameron looks much better with her hair corralled.
Because she is too cute.

Daycare put Cameron’s hair up in a ponytail. As you can see, it left quite an impression. Also impressive? Those blueberry eyes!

Dear Cameron,

Your Daddy and I can’t believe how awesome you are. This month has been a big turning point for you and you’ve handled it with grace and pizazz…keep that in mind when you enter the dreaded puberty years!

In your tenth month you moved from the Infant room to the Waddler room in school. And you have had a ball. It has also forced Mommy and Daddy to finally tackle baby proofing the house. Now you can pull yourself into a sitting position. And onto your knees. And finally up to your feet. You like to hold on to the furniture rather than Mommy or Daddy to walk around the room.

Your vocabulary has expanded although it is much more your listening vocabulary than your talking one. Although I distinctly heard a «Daddy!» while you were looking at him out the window. Lucky guy.

On the not so plus side you have also taken into ignoring us. True, the word «no» is becoming one of the more frequently used ones but so is «love». So I think it balances out. The head shake is back stronger than ever, particularly as it relates to food. You seem to have this aversion to eating for Mommy and Daddy but gobble everything up in school. I would be less insulted if you didn’t consistently refuse pasta. Pasta! It’s the lynch pin of the dining world so you will learn to love it.

Now that you have made great strides in mobility you would prefer to ignore your dozens of toys in favor of snatching at anything that is not yours. Sigh. I have a feeling that phase is going to last a very long time. You still screech with delight as you commando crawl across the floor. But now you also reward yourself with a scream when you have successfully pulled yourself up. All by yourself.

It has been just over two weeks since Cameron was moved out of the little infant room into the Waddler room. I love that name because it is so apt. Ironic that pregnant women waddle too, isn’t it? The plan is for Cameron to stay there until sometime after she hits the two mark. So I had better really like the teachers and the curriculum.

And guess what? I do! I know, I will pause here where you all gasp in shock that I am comfortable and happy with our daycare situation.

I really like the main teacher, Miss Melba. She is extremely engaged with the kids and always on the floor playing or singing to them. There is also a more defined curriculum than the eating, sleeping and pooping that we experienced in the Infant room. They teach them how to eat on their own, sitting in little chairs at a long table with their own bowls and plates and utensils. How freaking cute is that? Cameron is in the high chair but she’ll be down there as soon as she starts walking. So basically any day.

Another adorable thing they have the the waddlers do is wash their hands after having their diapers changed. I actually got to witness this and I almost cried it was so cute. Miss Melba flipped Cameron over to her belly and had her move up to the attached sink. A dab of soap, splashes of water and a quick dry with a paper towel. I must try to take a video so I can post it here.

Cameron plays really, really hard all day long. Sometimes that means she only takes one nap. And guess what? I don’t stress about it! I know, another shocking revelation from the sleep queen. We still leverage the third nap as a tool to keep Cameron from being overly tired. DH loves that he can just pick her up, she almost conks out in the car and he puts her down for a 45 minute or hour nap.

I’m also convinced that the physical development Cameron has shown over the past week is due in no small part to watching and learning from the other waddlers. She absolutely loves to watch the «older» kids and emulate them. My little munchkin is growing up far too quickly!

Annoyance at having her picture taken. AGAIN.
I knew that Cameron would love playing with this enormous packages of toilet paper. Isn’t it funny how kids get enthralled with odd things?

A rare Cameron and Mommy shot.

Um, think it is time for us to baby proof? So far we’ve installed the interior latches for key (aka low) cabinets and drawers and also installed baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. That’s it for now. But I’m sure we’ll need to do more as Cameron starts really walking.

I have a winter hat. It’s probably four or more years old. I think I got it marked down from Old Navy one spring. It’s gotten kind of dingy over the years but it’s simple and it keeps my head warm. What more to ask for?

I’m always cold. It’s a running joke between me and DH. So during the two week cold snap in Charlotte I found myself wearing it indoors. After all, everyone knows you lose 85% of your body heat through your head. Right? Well, maybe not.

So I was keeping myself warm through my cozy hat and my thick woolen socks. But Cameron saw my hat as something more than just a utlitarian piece of clothing. She saw something hysterical. I picked Cameron up while wearing the hat and she immediately screeched in happiness and started tugging at the brim. Now all I have to do to get her in a good mood is put the hat on, pick her up and let her pull the hat down over my eyes.

Here is my hat…keeping me warm and Cameron happy the winter of 2009/2010.

Bit by bit Cameron is becoming more mobile. She still does commando crawling so she hasn’t figured out how to sit up from a horizontal position. But I’m sure she’s close.

DH and I have been trapped inside with Cameron all weekend because of the 2 or so inches of wintery mix that hit Charlotte on Friday night. All of my appointments for the weekend were cancelled and most stores are still closed as of writing this on Sunday afternoon. It’s very annoying and makes me feel like I might have to play catch up this week.

But why should my pain be your pain? Instead, enjoy these photos from the last week.

Cameron is suspicious.
This look does not bode well for future adolescence!

Think it’s time we got our act together and really baby proof?

Cameron now enjoys pulling herself up and looking out the window.

Dear Cameron,

Today you are ten months old. You love nothing better than to have Mommy or Daddy sitting on the floor with you while you play.

This month has also seen you starting to assert your independence. The head shake is back and used primarily for food related requests. Vegetables? Head shake. Cheerios? Hand reaching forward to grab. You have also made your preference for Cheerios known by screeching when Daddy or I walk over to the cabinets to get some food for you. I give in a lot more often than Daddy does. You better be careful…Daddy will definitely be the disciplinarian!

Another new trick is arching your back and trying to scoot off the changing table pad. I can usually distract you with a bottle or shoe to play with while changing you.

I am officially declaring in this blog post that you have said your first word, «Charlie.» DH and I knew it would be your first word because it is probably the word we say the most often besides Cameron. While you still lack the language control to say the «ch» Daddy and I can definitely make out what you are saying. Up next? Hopefully Mommy!

You have learned how to fairly gracefully tip yourself over from a sitting position and start crawling. After a lap or two around the room you scoot under the coffee table and poke your head up right next to Mommy’s feet. I can’t resist scooping you up and giving you a kiss before you squirm away and insist on being stood up on your own two feet. You are already growing up far too quickly.

We can’t wait to see what you will do next!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

This weekend I stole a few hours to do some shopping for Cameron. It is so much more fun to shop for her than myself! Kohl’s was having a great sale with some stuff up to 70% off for kids. I hadn’t even been planning to go into the store (isn’t that always the way?) but I had something to return and Babies ‘R Us was very lacking in fleece PJs and socks.

As of today all of Cameron’s 9 month clothing has been put away and she’s been moved into her 12 month clothes. I love it because it means all new outfits for me to enjoy. Cameron could care less, of course…the pants are still a bit long but she can still crawl around with no problem.

Our friends, Pat and Nikki, sent along this adorable Adidas outfit. Cameron is ready for her professional sports career to start!
As you can see, the squinty look has become a favorite of Cameron’s when the camera is whipped out. She’s quite the ham. DH and I try to present a lot of options for finger foods but Cameron always prefers her carbs. I can put a new kind of food in front of her and she will only pop it in her mouth if it is carb related. Otherwise it takes 6-7 introductions for a new food before she puts it in her mouth to try it. Then it is a 50/50 chance if Cameron will actually like it.