Cute

This blog will be yet another one solely about Cameron. I don't have a whole lot else to report. Our weekend was nice, but nothing too exciting. We did visit the new Super Target that opened up nearby. Woohoo! We did watch, "For Love of the Game" that I had Tivo'd. We both have seen it before, but I would highly recommend it...very moving (even though I'm not an avid baseball fan). Umm...yeah, that's about it. This is a video of Cam raising his hands. He has started to imitate us in this. I NEVER would have thought I would get sooo much joy out of seeing my son raise his hands. Come to think if it, you might not at all...but too bad, I think it's adorable! (you'll have to copy/paste it)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_erZN1HKkM8

I give up....

I'm just too darn cute!

awesome

Chris and I are huge fans of Rock Harbor church in Costa Mesa. Granted, I have never actually been there, but we listen to the messages nearly every week. They make my early morning bike rides and Chris's times at the gym much more enjoyable. A few weeks back J.P. Moreland spoke. It was awesome. The next evening he held a question and answer time. I've listened to it twice and plan on listening to it again in the future. He answers basic questions like, "How do we know Christianity is right?", and "How can we practice free will if God knows what we are going to do before we do it?". I would highly, highly recommend downloading this to your ipod or just listening to it on the computer. He explains things so clearly that even if you didn't believe in God, you would find it fascinating. Here is the link (copy and paste it):

http://www.rockharbor.org/resources/messages/index.php?page=current#

When you get to this page, type in "Kingdom Triangle, core doubts" in the search archive (top right). There are two parts. It is entitled, "Core Doubts: Q & A with JP Moreland"

Pastor Petinak

This past weekend we drove up to my in-laws to surprise Chris's dad. He was scheduled to fill in for their pastor and preach on Sunday. We headed out Saturday morning and arrived in the afternoon. It was fun to walk into the house and surprise him sitting at his desk.

He did a great job and it was fun to hear him (he used to be a pastor, so Chris had heard him before, but not for a long time). After church, we had lunch back at the house with our friends, Matt and Jana, Chris's grandparents, and some good friends, Mo and Annie. Debbie and Wayne had a party to attend that evening so Chris and I rented a movie. I would give it a 4...I can't even remember the name.

Monday we left Cam with Debbie and headed to Fresno to do a little shopping and eat at The Cheesecake Factory. I got some new shoes and a cute pair of shorts from Express for only $10 (those who shop at Express know this is quite a steal!). We drove home this morning. Poor Chris started getting sick yesterday, which made for a long ride home. Hopefully he'll start feeling better after another good night's sleep. Cam did so wonderful on both the trip up there and back. We have discovered this cheesy CD of kids' songs that literally keeps him mesmerized for quite a long time. It gets super annoying for us to listen to, but oh is it worth it!


Here is Cam kicken back in his little chair. How cute is he?




We ordered the most amazing appetizer (recommended by a friend), called Avocado Egg Rolls. So scrumptious. I gave them a 10!


Last night we got food to go from Chris's all time favorite Mexican place, Espe's. I've blogged about it before. It is good food...but I don't think I quite have the obsession that Chris and his brother seem to have. I must add that this is the second night of Espe's on this trip. We also went the night we arrived. Did I mention it is Chris's favorite???

Thanks Debbie and Wayne for a fun weekend. Cam loved getting lots of attention and being so spoiled!

Gymboree

Today Cam and I went to a Gymboree class. It's basically an activity class for moms and their babies. We did activities with songs and had the babies crawl all over the brightly colored blocks, slides, etc. It was really fun. Cameron seemed taken with all the colors and things to do. I would like to get him around others more, specifically other babies, in the hopes of helping his "nursery phobia"--this class seems like it would help a lot. This first class was free, but I'm not sure about joining. They are a little pricey. We'll see. :)

hooray!

This probably will only be interesting to a few people, but it is such a huge thing for me I wanted to post it. I've been trying to wean Cam for a long time now and he would have not part of a bottle. "Give me mommy or nothing!!", were the words I know he was dying to say. Well, we have finally turned a corner! His doc told me I could sneak some apple juice into the formula to give it some zing. It worked!! For the past two days, he has taken an entire feeding from a sippy cup! This will be so freeing for me as I have literally been a slave to him for the past year, never able to leave him for more than a few hours between feedings.

However (and this is a big however), while this is exciting and will allow Chris and I to do more things just the two of us, it is also extremely sad for me. I always used to wonder what women were talking about when they said that breastfeeding was so bonding. How could it be bonding? Well, I have learned that it truly is and, not to sound cheesy, I learned to absolutely love my feeding times with Cameron. It is hard to explain, but it has been so wonderful. I had a rough time in the beginning, but am incredibly thankful I never gave up. So while practically speaking, this is great, emotionally it is making me a little depressed. :(

weekend, nursery, and a late 9th month

Saturday we drove out to Chris's brother and sister in-laws. They had a church meeting for most of the day and Chris's parents were babysitting. We took Cameron and his cousin Hannah to the pool, hung out at their house, and had a great meal at Claim Jumpers before heading home.

We also borrowed a new toy. Since Cam would prefer standing or climbing up the stairs to sitting, we thought he might like to try walking!

Sunday we went to church. Our time didn't go quite as planned. I had signed up to work in the nursery because I have typically ended up there anyway due to Cam crying so much they have to buzz me. For some reason, he just does not do well around a lot of people unless I am there holding him (I noticed he was a lot more clingy on our vacation with Chris's family also). Anyway, I thought he would be fine in the nursery as long as I was in the room. However our ideas of "being in the room" proved quite different. He got unhappy as soon as I put him down to focus on another baby. I ended up having to call Chris to come and take him home because I wasn't able to be of much help with the rest of the kids. I know this is a phase for him, but it does make going to church more difficult each week.

That night, my mom came over for dinner and we watched a great episode of The Office we have tivo'd. Today we had a belated 9 month appointment for Cam (he's 10 1/2 months). It went great and I was reminded again how thankful I am that we absolutely love our doc. Cam hasn't changed much in the weight dept., but he has grown to 33 inches. He got a shot, screamed like heck, but quickly got over it. Right now Chris is giving Cam a bath. I'm about to go get our dinner ready, then we rented a movie for tonight. So I'm signing off...have a great night!

some random things I'm thankful for...

*Peanut butter-this is quite possibly my favorite food, next to chocolate (however I will soon ditch this brand as I'm trying to go no-trans fat)

*Email-this is my link to the outside, adult world. Luckily I have Chris home during the day so I don't go too crazy, but it is so nice to be able to hear from my friends and family on a daily basis, especially my sis who lives in Germany

*Baby Gates-Chris just installed this yesterday...appears to have been a good idea, huh?


*My almost gone stye-you can probably see what is left on my right eye (your left)...thank God it is almost gone!!!







*A funny husband-I'm so thankful Chris is so quick-witted (sp?)...he makes me laugh all the time

*Starbucks-need I explain?

*Non-humid weather-while it may be super hot here...I'm so thankful it is a dry heat. I wouldn't want to go outside in humidity. Even though people say you get used to it, I don't think I ever would

*Trash-I realized today how much I take for granted the fact that we have our trash taken for us each week. I think about other countries where you have to burn your own trash or somehow take care of it yourself

*Cam-he is so stinkin fun right now (even though today he's been a little stinker with his naps)

would you rather

Many of you know that one of my favorite games to play is the "Would you rather?" game. I love thinking up fun questions and posing them to people. I think they are great to get some fun conversations going. Some of my favorite ones are:

-Would you rather give up all sweets, or have to eat a whole tomato at EVERY single meal, EVERY single day? (imagine sitting down to your favorite meal...got the picture?...now picture having to chow down at a huge tomato before starting)

-Would you rather have chronic B.O. or chronic bad breath?

-Would you rather give up bread or chocolate?

See? Aren't they fun!? My eye doctor gave me a great one yesterday (although I'm sure he didn't realize he was). In his own way he asked me, "Kelly, would you rather continue getting styes or start taking off your eye make up at night?" You might be confused. I mean, who doesn't take off their eye make up at night? That's gross, you think. Maybe it is, but I have been guilty of it since I first starting wearing make up. Want to be even more grossed out? I never wash my face. I've been really lucky in that I have never had skin problems. It might have been a bad thing, because I have used it as an excuse to take poor care of my skin. Well, no longer. Two styes in 3 months has changed my outlook on skin care completely. I now have skin cleanser and will purchase some eye wash and am determined to use them regularly!! Styes vs. a few minutes each night of cleansing? Where is the Clean and Clear???

all aboard!

A while back I posted about a stye I had developed in my eye. It was incredibly painful and uncomfortable. Guess who has one again? I have no idea what the deal is. They are typically caused by dust/dirt in the air or a foreign substance/bacteria that gets into your eye. I must admit it gets pretty windy where we live. I also received a facial a few days ago...maybe some goop got in there? To be honest, I don't really care where this thing came from, I just want it to go away. Anyway, it hurts my eye for wind to blow on it so I couldn't take my daily walk with Cam today. Hmmm...how to fill the time staying in doors? It is amazing how creative you can get in trying to entertain a baby. Let's see...laundry basket...some rope...I know, a boat ride!! Yes, this afternoon was Cam's first time in his "boat". I pulled him all around and he loved it. He was so content. His favorite part of the ride was when we would pass by a certain wall hanging (or as I like to call it, a "point of interest on the trip"), which would make him break into a huge grin. I would talk to him while he rode saying things like, "Now we are passing the washing machine and dryer" or, "Keep those hands in the boat as we head through the doorway!" Did I get bored pulling him around for 1/2 an hour? Maybe a little. Was it worth it? If he is happy...anything is worth it.

fun week!

We got back yesterday from a week with Chris's family in Morro Bay. We rented a house so we could all be together (especially at night once the kiddos went to bed). The house was great and had a beautiful view of the ocean. Here are some pictures...enjoy!


Chris and his dad playing a game of crouquet.


Cam gets upset when noises hit a certain pitch. We took him to see some sea lions. Do you think the noise bothered him? Poor little thing!! (FYI-I wasn't just standing there laughing as he cried, like the picture shows...I quickly ushered him out to the more tame fish tanks)


Right behind me is where a few of us rented kayaks. That was probably the highlight of the trip for me. It was so much fun to paddle around. We had a great guide who had tons of interesting tidbits about Morro.



Each day different people were assigned breakfast and dinner. For Chris and my dinner, I made Sunny Pasta (I posted the recipe on a previous blog). This bowl doesn't even look as enormous as it was. Saying that we ate good on this vacation is a serious understatement!!


Cam seemed to really enjoy the beach, especially when the waves would come up and get his feet wet.


Here we are in the backyard on the 4th of July. Unfortunately we couldn't see any fireworks that night due to fog, but no one seemed to mind.


Here is the whole gang. It was such fun to be with everyone for such an extended length of time, especially Chris's uncle Butch and cousin Kayleen who came down from Oregon.

A few more highlights:

*I don't have a picture, but another ultra highlight for me was getting wonderful sleep. Chris's mom was wonderful enough to take Cam each morning before I woke up. This was such a treat for me!! Thanks, Debbie!!
*Each morning I would take Cam for a walk. It was fun to see all the beautiful homes in the neighborhood and just nice to be out in the quiet morning.
*Chris treated me to my first ever facial. It felt absolutely incredible.

happy 4th

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy 4th of July! We are having a fantastic time in Morro Bay with Chris's family. I'll have lots of pictures to share when we get back, but wanted to say hello!!