groundbreaking news!!!

Today as we were headed to the doc, a woman made a comment about how hard it must be to carry such a big baby. She was a very sweet lady and we kidded about how large he is for his age. We then got on the subject of walking and how he has yet to take his first steps. Honestly, I'm ok that he is going to be a late walker. They say that you shouldn't worry until they get to 18 months, so we have 3 1/2 to go! Anyway, this nice lady decided to give me some sage advice about how to speed along the process. You see, according to her, I simply need to, "wash him in dirty dish water". Yes, you read correctly. She actually suggested bathing him in some spaghetti, casserole (or fill in the blank with whatever you like) water. Now, why on earth didn't I think of that? It makes complete sense, right??? :)

realistic expectations

Last weekend while I was in Palm Springs, Chris took Cam up to Oak Glen. He said Cam loved it and spent most of the time walking around a little bench in the meadow right outside one of the restaurants. So we decided to pack a picnic and head up there today. It didn't turn out quite like we thought. He lasted about half and hour before we packed up to come home. For some reason, he just wasn't into it and was pretty fussy.

To be honest, we were both frustrated. We had been looking forward to this and were excited to go as a family. As we talked about it on the way home, we both agreed that many times we set our expectations too high when it comes to doing things with Cam. We forget the fact that he is a baby. Babies are unpredictable and won't always enjoy things we think they will. Don't get me wrong, we do a lot of fun things with him that he thoroughly enjoys. But to be honest, there are many times also that we have had to cut something short, or not do it at all simply because he is in an off mood, didn't nap well, etc.

If we had simply viewed today as a nice chance to get outside and introduce Cam to something new, rather than think we would stay there for a long time and Cam would love every minute of it, we would have had a much better time and attitude. It was a good lesson to learn. We still were able to get some good pictures.

swiss family robinson

I just left the video store in search of the movie, "The Waitress". I'm a Keri Russell fan (from the good ol' Felicity days). Unfortunately they didn't have it. I looked around, but could not find something that I could justify spending $4 on. I know, I'm cheap. But I HATE the feeling of flipping on a movie, not liking it, and knowing I wasted $4. We rarely rent movies anymore...thanks to our trustee Tivo. Anyway, I got to thinking about those movies that, when you see them, remind you of your childhood. Here are a few of mine:

*Swiss Family Robinson-my favorite part was the end where they had a family race riding animals.
*The Nombmobile (sp?)-I barely remember this one. I just remember lots of pixies, which I thought were ultra cool!
*Sound of Music-Chris hasn't seen this, which I think is a crime. Even more of a crime is that he has no desire to see it.
*Flight of the Navigator-I thought Sara Jessica Parker was SO cool in this, despite her small role.
*Pollyana
*Summer Magic-few have heard of this movie. It is a GREAT Haley Mills classic.

schedule

I'm copying my sister's idea and posting my schedule. I found hers to be an interesting read. This is a typical day, however the past few days have been a little out of the ordinary as we are having some adjustment issues with daylight savings (for instance, Cam's 4:00 wake time this morning!).

6:00- Wake up. Yes, this is early, I realize. However this is the schedule I have chosen as I enjoy my evenings. I'm more than willing to wake up early in order to have my evenings free.
6:15- Go for walk
7:00-9:00- Breakfast, play time: read books, play with toys, let him chase balls ALL over the kitchen floor :)
9:00-10:00- nap- although sometimes this is only 30 minutes :( After having my daily cup of hot chocolate, I have my quiet time, email, and watch a little TV.
10:00-1:00- Typically we'll go to the park and swing and have more play time, then eat lunch. A couple days a week Chris will go with us and we'll go to lunch somewhere like fast food or Costco.
1:00-1:30- Nap
1:30-5:30- This time typically consists of another walk, running errands and more play time.
5:30- Dinner for Cam and play time until bed
6:30- Bath and bottle (Chris does this Mon, Wed, and Fri.)
7:00- Bed for Cam and free time for us, including a relaxing dinner. :)
9 or 9:30- bed time for me. Chris typically goes to bed with me, however will watch TV until he is ready as he would never fall asleep so early!

Notes: Once a week we to go Gymboree, which Cam loves! Every other week we'll go to MOPS on Friday. Right now, the park consists only of swinging and going down the slide. Once he can walk, we'll be able to do more things. I have a play area downstairs in the living room and upstairs in the loft. This way, we vary the toys. He spends A LOT of time in the kitchen chasing balls that he throws. This is a favorite pastime!

That is a typical day. Yes, it isn't that exciting in print, but I honestly enjoy my days with Cam, as well as my free evenings. Here are a couple pictures at the park.

Palm Springs

Jen and I went to Palm Springs for the weekend. Saturday we drove to the Marriott (we didn't stay here, but this is our all time favorite hotel) and relaxed by the pool for a while. Later we went shopping and out to dinner at Cheesecake Factory (Orange Chicken...AMAZING!). After dinner we headed back to the hotel, watched some TV, and fell asleep...at about 9:00. Yes, 9:00. Of course I was all for an early bedtime! Fortunately since Jen is pregnant, she was more than willing oblige.



Sunday morning we walked to the Coffee Bean for breakfast. Here we are sitting next to the beloved Lucille Ball.



We then relaxed for a while in our room (and painted our toes)and headed home, making a most productive stop at Cabizon on the way. It was a wonderful weekend and so incredibly relaxing for me. Here are a few things I enjoyed that I rarely get to do, now that Cam is in the picture (however I sure did miss him!):

*Reading magazines while sitting in the pool
*Eating my meals at my own pace
*Taking my time while shopping and actually getting to try things on
*Waking up in the morning and staying in bed for as long as I wanted
*Enjoying sitting at a coffee shop for an extended period of time

Ultimately, I'm so thankful to have had a friend, like Jen, to spend this time with. I feel so lucky that we have remained close for the past 15 years. Despite going through different phases of our lives at different times, our friendship has never wavered and I feel so lucky to have her in my life.

p.s. Thanks also to my great husband for taking Cam-duty for the weekend. They had a good time with one another and it was so nice to not have to worry one bit about my little boy.

question

Would you rather be given $5000, or given the opportunity to have dinner with anyone you would like, BUT not be able to tell anyone about your meeting??

Thinking this through, let's say you would want to meet George Bush. Imagine having a great conversation with him, getting lots of answers to your questions etc., but then having to keep that amazing experience completely to yourself. For me, half the fun of doing something cool is the sharing of it with others! It would be torture to not tell your family/friends all about it. Maybe torture enough to rather just have the $5000!!

Happy Halloween!

Last night was Cam's second Halloween. Last year we didn't do a whole lot...and this year wasn't too different. We did take him to my parent's church. I think he enjoyed seeing all the people milling about. We stayed a short while, then came home. I mainly wanted to go to show him off to my parents. He looked too adorable to just stay in doors. :)