Ch-ch-ch-changes

So many things have happened since I posted last. I'm quite exhausted and it's the weekend so I'm going to make this short and sweet.

Camden weighed in today at 13 pounds 5 ounces!! He just went through a growth spurt (I figured as much) and gained 2 ounces a day since the last weigh-in!! GO BIG BOY! 1/2 - 2 ounces per day is normal for babies this age.

My little man also turned 3 months old today (Friday) and he's growing so quickly!! With that comes new challenges. Teething. Yes, my little baby boy is teething already!! My mom said I had all my baby teeth by the time I was 1 so I'm guessing he gets this from me. Sorry buddy..

Anyways, I'm also interviewing for two (very) different jobs so wish me luck! :)

I love the view..

... from my front porch lookin' out. :)

Wedding Bliss

I was in a wedding this past weekend for my dear friend Angela. She and her (now) husband were meant to be and it was such an honor to be a part of their big day. Luckily she is the most understanding person, even when it came to her wedding, so I had no problems sneaking away to feed Camden. Or if I was a little late, she understood. It's such a rare but amazing quality of hers and I love her for it.

The day started very early with the chopping of my hair and a completely new hair style. I haven't had actual bangs since I can't even remember! Everyone seemed to like it although nobody knew I was doing it except the bride, so it was a little bit of a shock.

The wedding was at a beautiful church in Noblesville and we ended up at the Indianapolis Zoo at the White River State Gardens. It was so beautiful there and we even got to sneak into the zoo and see the animals!!

The wedding was beautiful and reception was even more amazing! I loved the venue and the cake ... oh my the cake. It was delicious!!! Here are some pictures of the details. They gave doggie Ty Babies with personalized dog tags that had their names and the date on them. They were so adorable!!

There was also a chocolate and white chocolate fountain with fruit, pretzels, nilla wafers, etc to eat all night. Did I mention they were going ALL NIGHT!? OH YEAH!!

So congratulations to Angie and Kevin on their special day! I can't wait to see what the future holds for them (ah hem.. kids). ;)

Paci Pop

It seems like Camden does something new every day. Since he is only 12 weeks old, it's not uncommon I suppose.

We were having a wonderfully romatic lunch (sarcasm) at Red Robin this afternoon and he put his pacifier in his mouth. Twice in a row! I was so excited that he could do it himself. I'm so proud! Although he rarely uses it nowadays.

Weight Check - week 12

Brad came up with a brilliant idea (that I've struggled to keep up with) to take a picture of Camden every day for the first year of his life. I'm thinking about making it into a video with some songs in the background (Taylor Swift Never Grow Up or Ben Harper Beautiful Boy) and giving as a party favor for his first birthday. Yeah, I'm already gathering recipes and ideas for his first birthday .. next summer!!

I think it would be helpful to post on here to let you all know how he is doing and give weight and length updates since I go to a breastfeeding support group and get to weigh him often. :)

EVERYONE tells me that he looks just like me (hair, face, etc). Can you see it??

As of today, our big boy weighs in at 12 pounds 10 ounces. The last height measurement was a while ago so I'll update that at his four-month check up in 4 weeks.

How did we go from this..

to this..

.. in no time flat!?

Seems like just yesterday we were coming home from the hospital with a tiny little thing! Now he is holding his head up, laughing, babbling, playing, grabbing things, mouthing toys; all 12.5 pounds of him! My big boy is growing up way too quickly. He is 12 weeks today! Officially not 3 months for another eight days though. I'm so grateful that I was able to stay home with him for so long, but mommy really needs a full-time job. I have a few prospects that I think should work out great. Updates will come soon; hopefully with good news!

Mommy found Instagram

First Play Date

Camden had his first play date yesterday. My good friend Jaime brough her 14-week-old daughter over for a play date. It was kinda late in the evening and close to both of their bed times so it didn't go over so well. Plus, they are both still so young all they do is look around mostly (if at all).

They are so cute together! I love that Brooke is so small still. She is just about 1.5 lbs less than Cam and barely shorter. Cam does have HUGE feet though. He probably has bigger feet by a good centimeter at least. Yeah, he's going to be VERY tall. :) Of course, my nephew was as tall as me (at 5'9") at only 11 years old!

Daddy's first solo

Yesterday I went back to work officially. Because when I say "work" I mean PRN (aka two days a month), I'm still desperately looking for a full-time job. I'd prefer to find one that I can settle into for a long time using my exercise science degree, but for now I'll take just about anything.

Since I work the weekends and my hubby is off, he took Camden solo yesterday. From 7am-4pm he was all by himself with our baby for the first time (for that long of a time period anyways). He sent me lots of texts and pictures although I'm sure he didn't want to. I sort of kept texting throughout the day. I missed my baby!

Sometimes he takes the silliest pictures but I'm incredibly surprised to say that he took the absolute best picture of Cam that I've ever seen! Isn't it beautiful!??!?!? He looks so grown up! And the dimples (that Brad gave him)... oh my. This boy is going to be irresistable, although we've already had the talk that mommy will always be the #1 lady in his life. ;)

Roly Poly Baby

Look at mommy's little roly-poly. He is SO close to rolling over. He actually prefers (most of the time) that I lay him on his stomach. I think he likes it better because he can see more things that way.

Plus he gets to hear mom cheer him on to "roll over" constantly. ;0)

I know we have such a smart kid on our hands here. He has been non-stop talking since about 4 days ago. He just babbles and sticks his tongue in and out just like we do when we talk. It's the most adorable thing ever!! If videos didn't take a year-and-a-half to upload onto this website, I might share one.

Mommys little wiggle worm

Remember when I recently posted about how great the breathable bumper was and it works great?

Yeah ...

It's great for him because he can't get his limbs outside of it. Wait. Err, he can!? This kid is unstoppable. He amazes me every day. Oh well, we'll still keep the bumper up because it at least works most of the time. Heh.

Magic Eraser

I was going through my pantry the other day and discovered that I had almost two full boxes of magic erasers! I love those little things. I think I bought so many when we first moved in because the house was so gross. Instead of using that, though, I decided to bleach everything because well it was just more sanitary. To say I don't go through the house and wipe the door knobs each month would be a lie.

So naturally my insatiable urge to clean kicked into high gear. I got excited and found the dirtiest, most dinged-up door I could. I found it in our garage. It was the grossest looking door, but the magic eraser worked its magic and now the door looks brand spanking new!!! Brad had never used one before or seen what they can do. Needless to say, he was extremely amazed and excited how clean our door looked afterwards.

Click to enlarge

Click to enlarge

I would think that everyones dirtiest door would be this one; from the garage to the house. In our first home it was this way as well. I'm so glad this door got cleaned up and I'm even more excited that I have many more erasers to use. Unfortunately it did take 2.5 sponges to clean this door but I have plenty left!

Now if only I could find a magic eraser for stretch marks ... hmm ...

GO COLTS!

This is Cam's first Colts game/season! Ten years ago today, who knew what a beautiful family I'd have.

Our children

I caught Camden sleeping in his car seat after a short trip to Target. He looked so cute with his hat pulled down over his eyes!

I know people say you shouldn't wake a sleeping baby, but he slept for 3 hours in that thing. I finally started to take him out and I think he went into panic mode because he had slept so long (not meaning to) and was starving. Poor kid.

And then there is the furry kid, Cato. For those of you who haven't had the amazing privilege of meeting him yet, he is our 6-year-old Mastiff mix. He is so amazing and gentle with Cam.

He just wants all the attention and is used to getting it. I'm sure he'll get used to sharing soon. ;)

Fall Skies

Fall is here (unofficially) and it's bringing some beautiful skies with it.

As much as I complain about our location and neighbors, being near cornfields of nothingness does make for some great photo opportunities. Of course my dad does live on a lake, which would make these photos even more beautiful. Maybe he'd switch us houses, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that one. ;)

Happy high chair

I made a Labor Day breakfast this morning. Okay it was just pancakes, but they were from scratch. Instead of the usual 'you eat first and then we'll switch and you watch the baby' routine, Brad decided it was high time to start eating as a family.

So Camden was strapped into his high chair with two of his favorite toys: the o-ball and Sophie. He threw the ball on the floor one time, which was so cute, and he giggled at Sophie a lot.

I think food-inhalation and eating alone is a thing of the past for us. Thank goodness!! I like having our little man join us. Plus, he gets more exposure to watching us eat. That will come in handy when we start rice cereal because research says that he'll be ready when he starts to watch us eat and is interested in the things we put in our mouths. :)

Side note: Our pediatrician (whom we love, don't get me wrong) has already suggested we start rice cereal before he is 4 months old. Of all the suggestions and research from legitimate websites, organizations, etc I feel way more comfortable waiting until after 4 months at least. That will be an entirely different post down the road...

Grasshopper Gill

Meet my new little grasshopper friend, Gill.

Click to enlarge

I found him while I was cleaning up our mulch beds in the front yard. It had just rained and you can still see the little rain drops on his back. I LOVE my new camera!!!

Photography

A "push gift" is the newest trend with giving birth. I'd never heard of one until overhearing another couple at our childbirth class talk about it. At any rate, my husband decided to get me one anyways (because, well, he's just amazing).

I've always wanted a dSlr camera. Not because they are expensive .. they are. Not because everyone else has one or any other reason. I wanted a reliable camera that takes professional-looking photos. I want the memories we share with each other to last. When I look at old photographs when I was a baby, we've come a long way with technology. I just want Camden and future generations to really be able to see what life was like back then.

Brad decided to get me a dSlr camera for my push gift. I was so ecstatic to find out!! I think he might have gotten more motivation when we booked our newborn photos with a professional photographer. He didn't want to pay $150-200 per session every couple of months. =) We will surely get our yearly photos at a professional place (Sears, Olan Mills, etc), but in the mean time, this camera takes some amazing photos!

Here is the same photo. The first one is from our old point-and-shoot camera. The second one is from our new dSlr camera. You tell me the difference (click to enlarge).

Would it be worth it to you? I surely think it is. His skin is much more clear and soft. His eyes look normal and don't have red-eye as much. The colors are more true and bright. Also, it's way less grainy.

Since having this camera, even on the auto settings I can take amazing pictures (not only of Cam). I have been taking beautiful pictures of my once-pretty sunflowers and just different fun things around the city. If you have the money and especially with kids, a dSlr is the best investment to keep those memories alive. Trust me.

How to grocery shop with an infant

Step 1: Rock baby to sleep

Step 2: Make grocery list (quickly since they don't sleep forever) and gather coupons.

Step 3: Feed baby who just woke up & change diaper.

Step 4: Put baby in car seat and give pacifier (because we all know how much babies hate the car seat).

Step 5: Take baby out of car seat to change his diaper again.

Step 6: Rock baby in car seat to stop his crying so you can put your shoes on, get a bottle of water and grab your wallet/purse.

Step 7: Wipe puke from baby's mouth.

Step 8: Drive to grocery store praying that you don't hit every red light on the way. Secondary prayer is that baby is asleep when you get to the store.

Step 9: Get baby in Moby Wrap as fast, but gently, as possible to get baby to sleep.

Step 10: Run through the grocery store grabbing what you can and forgetting about the grocery list and anything on the bottom shelves (you don't want to wake the baby).

Step 11: Let the older ladies gawk at baby to get help pulling groceries out of cart at check-out.

Step 12: Drive home and put groceries away with screaming baby.

Step 13: Feed baby again. Change diaper again.

Step 14: Ask husband to pick up groceries on the list you forgot and/or couldn't find.