lost dog

Yesterday as I was waiting for my drink at Starbucks, I noticed a sign on their wall regarding a missing dog. The people were offering a $1000 reward if the dog was found. Later as I was telling Chris about the steep reward, I told him that I don't think I would feel right accepting $1000 for simply doing a good deed for someone. Obviously they feel very strongly about this dog. Granted, I don't think I could ever justify spending that much on a reward for a non-human, but the fact remains that they really miss their dog. I just wouldn't feel right about accepting such a generous amount for something like that. Chris and I proceeded to have quite a lengthy debate about this and we both have very strong and very different opinions. I'll let him give you his side and you let us know what you think...

(Chris)My feeling on this is pretty simple. If someone is willing to give $1000 to me for finding their dog; I clearly deserve the money more than they do. I think it’s ludicrous for someone to spend that kind of money on a reward for a dog. Kelly thinks it would be weird to accept that kind of money for finding the dog. Why would they offer it if they would have trouble giving it to me? For $1000, I’m not going to go door-to-door looking for this dog. I’d keep my eyes out and if I saw it
. . .payday. I would probably keep the same lookout for a $100 reward but they’re not offering $100, they’re offering $1000. Why? I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter, the terms are pretty clear and I’m game if they are. Here are three scenarios in which I can understand offering a $1000 reward for a dog:

The dog originally cost $5-$10k
This could be understandable as it would appear they’re just protecting their originally absurd investment
The dog is a seeing-eye-dog or has special skills that would aid somebody
In this instance, I would consider the reward even more insane. If it were my dog, I would put a picture of the dog and in huge letters say “SEEING EYE DOG MISSING.” I would never accept a reward in this instance.
The dog poops gold bricks
This is pretty self-explanatory. However, if somebody did have a dog that could do this, they clearly don’t deserve to own it as they let it escape. In this case, it would take a lot more than $1000 for me to return it. I may need to keep it for a week or two before turning it back over.

what happened?

A few weeks back, we thought we scored with the time change. Instead of waking up at the usual 6:00 (or, let's be honest, slightly before), Cam started waking at 7:00. I was in heaven!! However after about a week, he slowly but surely made his way back to 6:00. What the heck?? How does he know that, while I am a morning person, having to wake up when it still isn't quite light out isn't my idea of a perfect morning. What a little stinker. Here he is quite upset after I didn't go in to get him until the God forsaken hour of 6:15. :)

easter #2

Sunday we had Easter with my side of the family. We decided to have it at a park so that Cam wouldn't get too overwhelmed with so many people in one house. Evidently everyone and their mother had the same idea. While it was super crowded, it actually made it more fun and there was plenty of space for us to spread out. Cam did amazingly well considering the number of people. We stayed for close to three hours, which is a long time for him. The girls also did great and it was so nice to be all together all afternoon.




Yesterday I got my hair done. I LOVE IT!!! I think this is one of my favorite styles that I will keep for a while. I also love the coloring...just what I wanted. Thank you Liz!!



This morning Cam had his OT session. Normally I like to post pictures of the things we do, but I don't think I could have caught many smiles from him as this was somewhat of a rough one for him. Thankfully, I've gotten a lot stronger now and don't break down myself when he is upset so much of the time. I know it is for his good.

Tonight Susan, my mom and I are going out to dinner. I'm so excited. I honestly don't remember the last time the three of us have hung out. :)

family

Chris's parents came to visit a couple of days ago. We had a great time and Cam was such a good host, giving them quite a few shows demonstrating his new talking skills (or I should say gibberish skills...but this is a great improvement for him and quite exciting for us!) Yesterday we went to Victoria Gardens. We had talked so much about the place, they were anxious to see what it was like. Cam had a great time on the playground and we enjoyed walking around. Cam was very spoiled with all of the attention from his grandparents as well as the biggest Easter basket I've ever seen filled with all sorts of goodies!





That night they watched Cam while we met Susan and Chris for dinner. This was the second time we had gotten to go out, just the four of us...wish we could do it more often, however sadly they leave to go back home in a week.

This morning, after Cam and I got back from MyGym (I've switched to here from Gymboree. It is AWESOME and I would highly recommend it if you have one in your area. They have constant activities and stimulating things for the kiddos) we headed out to Chris's brother's house for Easter with his side of the family. When it comes to holiday meals with little kids, I'm all for making it simple. We had a bbq and it was so much easier than making the huge, traditional meal. We are doing the same with my side tomorrow. I'm sure once the kids get older, we'll go back to the typical feast, but for now, it's all about the making it as easy as possible.

spring training, animal crackers, and dancing

Chris got back last night from a weekend with friends. Friday morning he and three friends drove to Arizona for spring training. This is becoming an annual event, one which he greatly looks forward to. He came back having had a fun time and was missed by both Cam and I. We, too, had a fun weekend full of dog parks, kid parks, and time with my mom and dad.

In honor of the Giants, here is a cute little guy decked out in a gift from grandma and grandpa...



I took advantage of the Chris-free evenings by renting a movie I knew he wouldn't want to watch. "Becoming Jane" was my choice and I really enjoyed it. Chris has been known to enjoy a chick flick or two, however I think this one might have crossed the "boredom" line for him, what with the accents and fancy costumes. :)

Last week Chris got some animal crackers form Costco "for Cameron". Can I just say that I will NEVER get these things again. They are the most addicting little suckers ever!! This huge canister just calls my name every time I pass it. Yes, Cameron enjoys them also, but I've been doing far too much enjoying myself!!




Tonight Chris and I are tuning in, for the first time, to "Dancing with the Stars". The only reason is that Adam Carolla is on it. Chris is a big fan of his radio show, so he is obviously a bit curious. We do plan on tivo'ing it, because in all honesty, how on earth do they plan on filling TWO hours with dancing?? I foresee a lot of fluff stuff that should be fast forwarded through. :)

Saturday morning I drove out to help host a baby shower for Jen. It was the perfect length, didn't include cheesy games that no one likes to play anyway, and I think Jen had a fun time and felt very loved by all her friends that came.


That night Chris and I met our friends, Brett and Leslie, for dinner at Claim Jumpers. We had not seen them in months and we had such a great time and wish they lived closer!



Sunday Chris and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. It seems to have gone by so fast, yet I feel like we have been married forever. I couldn't ask for a more amazing best friend to have gone through life with these past six years. He has proved to be even more of an awesome husband these past few months in everything we are going through with Cameron. Anyway, while my mom babysat, we drove out to Palm Springs and ate at the Cheesecake Factory.



After dinner we did something we rarely get to do anymore, people watch. Yes, this is how I wanted to spend our anniversary, a nice dinner out and then relaxing watching people go by. And it also didn't hurt to add some icecream to the mix. My flavor? Chocolate Therapy (could you think of a better name than that???)

oatmeal poops

Every single morning, Cam has a ritual. After his bowl of oatmeal, he gets down and goes to play with his toys under the table. Literally within 1-2 minutes, we look over and he is quite intent on also producing his morning doodoo. It is so funny to see him get real still and concentrate. Here is a great picture...



One of the many things that makes our hearts melt is when we are doing something in the kitchen and up patters Cam, with book in hand wanting us to read to him. We'll always drop anything we're doing and head to the living room where he'll plop in our lap and wait anxiously for us to start. Sooo precious!

top 5

Last night when I asked Chris to rate dinner (as I do every night), he said it was good enough to be in his top 5. He then said, "I suppose you want me to list my top 5?" Of course! So here you go. I know, you are on the edge of your seat, right?

In no particular order...

1. White Chicken Enchiladas
2. Peanut Butter pasta (basically this is a thai peanut sauce, but we gave it our own name)
3. Sunny Pasta (again our own name--consists of green onions, sundried tomatoes, toasted almonds, and chicken tossed with EVOO)
4. Turkey burgers (I buy these great pre-made turkey burgers from Jenny-O that are already seasoned)
5. Skillet Dinner (I LOVE this because you can literally make it in 30 minutes...see below)

Skillet Dinner
1 lb. ground turkey
1/2 cup water
1 can tomato soup
1/2 cup salsa
4 flour tortillas torn into small pieces
1 cup cheese

Brown meat and drain. Add remaining ingredients (top with cheese) and let simmer 5 minutes. Top with sour cream.



Today my mom brought my two nieces over to play. She and my dad are taking care of them for a couple days while Susan and Chris are at a missionary retreat. We had an Easter Egg hunt in the back yard, which Cameron seemed to enjoy.



Here we were trying to capture Cam giving Savannah a kiss. He doesn't look to into it, but he did give her a couple!

cabinets and words

A couple weeks back Chris's dad came down to help install cabinets in our garage. He and Chris were quite successful and we now have everything that was previously on the floor in a cabinet. What a great feeling! Thanks so much Wayne for driving all the way down here and spending countless hours installing these for us!




Tomorrow we have our first visit from the OT. I'm very excited to get some strategies to start working on with Cameron. Here we are watching Baby Einstein while I explain what each picture is about. I'm trying to flood him with words and so I use every opportunity I get.



We are also going to start the PEC system. Basically we will be using pictures to help stimulate his language use. Through various steps, he will get to the point where he hands me the picture of what he wants, instead of fussing and me not knowing what he needs (or me giving him everything without making him do anything). The words for each picture will accompany the task and eventually/hopefully this will develop into speaking. Here is a common object I guarantee he'll use as it is his all-time favorite food!