Peas and Carrots

You know that saying, ".. like peas and carrots"? Well, for Camden it's not a walk in the park.

Earlier in the week I tried to give him peas in a desperate attempt to clear his bowels and give him more vegetables. He was okay with them, but his body totally rejected it. He kept throwing up pea-colored green whenever he did tummy time or was wiggling around the floor. This happened two days in a row.

So, no more peas for a while.

Yesterday I tried to give him some carrots. Don't worry, I bought the organic kind. He absolutely despised them. I was so shocked! Carrots must be an acquired taste (like avocado once was for me). It was the first food he wouldn't open his mouth for and would even push the spoon away.

Side note: The pictures I took of him after he ate the carrots made it look like he had red around his eyes and his face. He was coughing quite a bit more than usual (not choking or anything) so I'm wondering if that was a very mild allergic reaction. Hmm.

Finally I decided to trick him and mix avocado in with it and he reluctantly ate most of it. I just hope he's not going to be as picky of an eater as his mom and dad. Dad won't eat any green vegetables except for very buttered/salted green beans and the occasional iceberg salad (aka non-nutritious foods). Mom is more open now, but used to never eat any meat besides chicken and the occasional burger. Trust me, I'll eat almost anything nowadays .. darn breastfeeding appetite!

One barrier with the baby is the list of foods he can't or shouldn't have right away, especially since he is constipated and NOTHING is helping! Also, I need more ideas of vegetables and other foods to make for him. One new food I thought of tonight was broccoli. I love broccoli so that should be fun to make. I'm definitely getting a lot more use out of my steamer nowadays.

Doggy Doctor Time

It's that time of year again. Everyone in the family is getting their annual check-ups and Cato was next on the list. Our sweet, lazy, 6-year-old mastiff was due for a visit to the veterinarian and I toted baby along (who squirmed his way out of the moby wrap).

It's so hard to believe that 6 years ago I saved this dog from the Indy Humane Society. He was the most docile and loving dog there. I have no idea why anyone would abandon this dog with such a great temperament! My mom fell in love instantly with him and from day one called him her grand-dog. He was about 60 pounds when I got him and they told me he was 4 years old; I've got the paperwork to prove it. The next day he went to the vet's office and they informed me that I had a puppy on my hands!!! Let the chewing begin...

He has been such a great buddy of mine throughout my college days and career days as well. Now he is a big brother to an amazing kiddo! He's so gentle with Camden and I absolutely can't get enough of both of them.

Anyone who knows me, knows I love this dog. I love him enough to save his life with emergency surgery (TWICE) in order to remove stuffing that he ate from a blanket and a dog bed. I love him enough to allow him to see a dermatologist veterinarian (Cha$ Ching$) to find out why his belly and paws get so red. I love him enough to continue to give him expensive anti-fungals to treat his dermatitis and pay for expensive shampoo. Given all this history, I'd have it no other way. I'm pretty sure I'd be bored if I didn't have Cato by my side all these years. He definitely keeps me on my toes.

He is currently 88 pounds, up about 3-5 pounds since last year, which the vet informed me is not so bad considering we have a new baby. The vet has a set of twins at home about Cam's age. All in all his visit went well and I'll get the blood work back tomorrow. I can't wait to get that definite A-Okay from the vet.

My Two Front Teeth

My sweet, little baby I brought home from the hospital just last week (or so it seems) has his two front bottom teeth! He is such a big boy!!

I am just excited to see the next phase of his life. Crawling? Pulling up? More teeth? Ohmygosh please no more teeth for a while... Teething is a horible experience and I have so much more respect for my mother (mainly that I'm still alive) for raising two girls.

Time flies with a kid, so hopefully Cam and I can bunker down for this cold winter (30 degrees above normal a few days ago and 20 below now.. Indiana..) and then summer will be here before we know it.

First Hair Cut

Wild man's hair has been cut for the very first time! I can't believe we actually waited until he was 6 months to do it, but it was long overdue. We just trimmed it about a week ago and he almost needs it done again!

His hair was in his eyes, almost to the tip of his nose, and covering his poor ears!

Before

After

Yes, my son is a certified hunk. :)

Anyways, I called around to my hair stylist (who never called me back. thanks a lot Kristi.) and Cookie Cutters, which is a local place that is a kids-only cutting salon. It's quite popular around here. They took their sweet time calling me back, too, so I decided that since he just needed a trim around the edges that I would go ahead and do it. I actually used to cut my own bangs so I had the proper scissors to do so.

I started by laying him down on the floor so that he didn't move his head around too much. I made sure to not ever point the end of the scissors towards his face and voila! Hair cut for baby! I don't think I got it exactly straight, but as much as he was moving around, I probably did just as good as anyone else would've. So my baby is growing up and is now a big boy. A big boy with lots of hair!

Puree, baby!

Camden has been trying lots of new foods lately. Some he really enjoys eating and some he doesn't. Based on my latest experiment, I think he just doesn't enjoy textured/chunky foods yet. I gave him avocado one day and it was sort of chunky (my first attempt at pureeing it). The next day I added more water and made it into a truly soft puree and he gobbled it up!

I thought breastfeeding every 2-3 hours was hard, but now I have to feed him 2-4 jars of food in between there adding 3 extra feedings; and he doesn't miss a meal. It's so neat to see his initial reaction to the new foods. He really didn't like pumpkin and we tried it several ways. That's my boy for sure! I can't stand it either. So far he has had (and loved): oatmeal, banana, butternut squash, sweet potato (a favorite), and avocado. I also have some organic carrots and peas to try next. I hear peas are a popular favorite among babies. We shall see about that.

Also stay tuned for a post about teeth. We have two!!!

Time Capsule - 1992

The other day my step-dad was cleaning out his basement and found a time capsule my second grade teacher had us make. I was so excited when he shipped it to me! Many things could be inside...

Yes, that is aluminum foil wrapped around a shoe box. :) Like the pic? I know, I was blonde. Now I'm not. I have no idea what happened there. Also note that it says, "Do not open until 2002" and I realize I'm about 10 years past due.

Inside was a picture of my second grade class and this letter from my teacher, including a fragment.

"Kelly, you have the potential to do great things. And I hope you do!"

Sorry Miss Conley, but no. That isn't. A sentence.

Also it had a list of prices for things (that I wish was still current today). Gas was $1.09 per gallon. ONE ZERO NINE!! Also, a three-bedroom home was about $100,000. I would take that any day now. Haha.

One of my favorite books as a child was The Indian Cupboard. I do remember that about second grade. What I didn't remember is where that book ran off to; now I know.

There were a few other smaller things, but it was great to go back in time when all I really cared about was homework, my (at the time) 10-month-old sister and friends. Now I have a little baby of my own. I think I might make one for him to open when he is 18 as well.