Just for fun.

Cameron had his first taste of baby food yesterday...aside from rice cereal. He's still not sure he really likes eating off a spoon. Sometimes he does really well...and other times he acts like we're torturing him because he's hungry and we just keep sticking this weird stuff in his mouth. Here is a video (kind of dark & fuzzy...we couldn't do more to get a better one because we ran out of room on our camera card). More to follow I'm sure...

Also, now that he is wanting to sit up more we are trying to get him used to his Bumbo seat. He's really not that fond of it...unless we put him in front of the mirror. We took this video this morning. He was checking himself out and seemed to be pretty interested in looking at either his feet...or the stripes on his sleeper. Not really sure which one.

Vegas Christmas fun!

Cameron attended his first Christmas party before leaving for PA. It was our annual PJ Christmas party with all the girls. We missed Caroline & Jacob 1st this year. However, we had lots of fun with Jen & Jacob 2nd, Katya & Karina, Bella, and Monica. playing Dirty Santa for our ornament exchange, watching movies, and eating lots of goodies. Little Serafina (Cameron's future wife) was present in spirit...but wasn't born until December 17th.

On Christmas Eve, we went to our friend Jose's Christmas party. Lots of Mexican food to eat...plus we were visited by Santa! This was Cameron's first time sitting on Santa's lap.

On Christmas morning, Cameron got up at 7 AM and jumped into bed with us...ok so maybe we put him there. But I'm sure someday soon he will be jumping in on his own. His first Christmas was pretty standard for us. We opened gifts then cooked some breakfast. Next we started putting together toys. The difference this year is that the toys were Cameron's not David's. We watched a movie and later cooked our traditional Christmas dinner. It was basically a day of being lazy and staying in our PJs all day long.

Cameron got a Jumperoo for Christmas...and below is a video of him figuring it out. He loves it! Otherwise, he got an entire new wardrobe. That is no joke! I had to borrow a second suitcase before leaving PA. Plus I had to mail home a huge box to fit everything. Then Grandma Donna mailed a huge box of clothes and toys. Spoiled is an understatement!!

Here is a video of Cameron trying to sit up on his own...he was practicing on Christmas. The first time he did this was on Christmas Eve. He is not content just sitting there with something behind him...he continues to try pulling himself up (even when laying down).

Finally, some Christmas pictures.

Cameron's Latest

Let's see, since the last post Cameron has started taking his baths in the big tub. He actually started that while in PA because that's all we had. He loves it. He just splashes and laughs...well laughs until it's time to put clothes on afterwards. Then it's like we're torturing him.

As of Christmas Eve, he started trying to sit up on his own. He just tucks his little chin and lifts his head trying so hard to sit up. We have been holding onto his hands so he can pull himself up all the way. Sometimes he will surprise us and go all the way up to a standing position. He'll sit there for a little bit holding onto our hands for balance...then wants us to let him back down before doing it again. Won't be long and he'll be sitting on his own I'm sure.

Well, we finally got a video of a little bit of his fake screaming. It's not one of the best. Usually when no one is around he will give a really high pitched scream and get pretty loud. This one was a little weak because he knew we were right there watching.

Oh, and we're starting to get the hang of sleeping at night for more than 3-4 hours at a time. Last night was the first night he actually slept for 7-hours straight!! Went down around 10:15 PM and didn't get up for a feeding until 5 AM! We had been hitting the 5-hour mark...followed by another 3-hour stint, but we're hoping this 6-7 hour thing sticks around. I guess at this age we consider that sleeping through the night (only being up 1 time during the night). I miss my sleep. =)

New Cute Videos

Well, I had to do a sad thing today...move up the shoulder straps on Cameron's car seat. He's getting so big now. I know it's a good thing, but it's kind of sad that he's growing so fast. He is getting very vocal and turning into quite the talker. Here are a couple of new videos. He loves the camera!! The first one is him talking to his daddy...the second is of him talking to the new blanket from Aunt Lynn. He spent a good 30-minutes downstairs on the floor with that blanket...was so loud I could hear him upstairs. He also apparently learned some bad tricks from his cousin Ava while we were gone. He has started fake screaming to get attention. It's so funny, but I haven't been able to catch it on video. He tends to stop as soon as he knows someone is paying attention.

First trip to PA - Dec 9-18.

What I've discovered is that traveling alone with a baby is really hard to do! On the flight there, Cameron was a trooper. He mostly slept during our 2 flights (we had a layover in DC). When he was awake he stayed pretty quiet...looking at the lights and new people. He did start to get bored though at the end, which made him a little antsy. I was so glad to have a seat open next to us because I had to change a dirty diaper in the air...planes are not very infant friendly.

The flight back was direct. We ended up with a 2.5 hour delay leaving Pittsburgh and Cameron was really fussy & restless. I think a lot of it was due to the amount of time he had to be in the carseat before we got there...then in his sling or on my lap. When we finally took off, he settled down a little more. Slept most of the 5 hour flight. Maybe awake 1.5 hours total of it. During that time he was smiling and looking around. We had a bit of a rough ride for a while. During that time Cameron kept his eyes glued to me. I could tell he would start getting scared and was looking at me to see if it was ok...right about the time you see the fear creeping in, he would stop and get this huge grin on his face. I have to say the flight back was the worst part because it was a full plane and we were so cramped in our seat.

While there we did lots of visiting! He got to meet lots of new people and got passed around constantly! It was so cold there, his hands were constant ice cubes. Because of that he got spoiled and slept in bed with me and Grandma Beth every night. He was completely in awe of Ava! When she made any noises he would just grin (she is all about making noise and trying to get people to do it back to her). The last night at dinner he wouldn't take his eyes off of her sitting in a high chair eating french fries. I think he even got one thrown into his car seat.

Talking to Great Grandma Ann:



With Great Grandma Barb:



With Papa, Lisa & the kids:



With Grandma Beth & the Girls at our Christmas:



We had a snow storm the day we went up to Erie with Grandma Beth. It was a complete white out...caused us to head home earlier than we had planned. When we got home it was still snowing a bit so we had to take pictures. Cameron was not thrilled with the fact we bundled him up to go outside.

Overall, we had fun in spite of the trauma. On the way home from the airport we almost hit a deer. Then the day of the snow storm we nearly missed being in an accident (fishtailed around the car in the ditch in front of us...then back around the car that was stopped coming from the other direction). Oh, and Grandma Beth's bad knee started to give out and I think she tried to ram his head into the fireplace. =) We're hoping daddy let's him visit again.

A few videos of the slumber party fun:

Almost 9 Weeks Old!

It's funny how fast things change. Since our last post (2 weeks ago), Cameron has started smiling and cooing quite a bit. Most of the smiling happens just after he wakes up. That and he will laugh and talk to the ceiling fans. Unfortunately, we haven't caught much of this on video yet. When we do I will post it. I did get a cute video of him on his changing table this morning cooing and talking. He loves laying there! I also took one of him happily carrying on while laying on the couch (though the lighting isn't as good).

Then just some random snapshots. We take him to the doctor on Monday for his shots...so we will find out just how much he has grown in the last month. I can tell you he is really starting to live up to nickname...chunky monkey!

First Thanksgiving!

I thought I would post some photos from Cameron's first Thanksgiving! "Captain Adorable" started off with a little nap to prepare for all of the excitement. Shortly after he decided to help mom and dad in the kitchen. He hopped in his little sling (kangaroo pouch as we like to call it) and we started cooking.

After cooking, we all sat down to have our turkey dinner...then Cameron passed out. Too much tryptophan.

Even Max got to have her Thanksgiving day meal. David laid the bone on the floor before she came into the room. Apparently the aroma from the turkey had her all confused. She walked right over her bone and then laid down beside it on the floor. Didn't even realize it was there until we pointed it out after the picture!

Almost 7 Weeks Old

We've been taking some new photos and videos and I thought I would post a few. This video is just before bath time...thank god because he looks like a little scum baby with all the dried formula on his face (thanks dad). We thought it was cute because he was awake and looking right at the camera. He loves his bath time! He spends most of the time looking at himself in the mirror.

Max seems to have adjusted really well to the baby. She seems to be taking the protective role...gets concerned when the baby is crying, especially if someone else is holding him! Has to make sure everything is ok. Otherwise she just sniffs him and could really care less. Maybe a little jealousy from the attention the baby gets...but Azriel on the other hand is very jealous. When I am holding the baby he tries to get up in my lap too and refuses to budge. I have to practically tear him out of my lap. We laid Cameron on the floor beside him and it wasn't long that it was tolerated before he got up and ran away.

Last night we took a couple of other snapshots below. Boy he loves staring at the ceiling fan. Plus he's been holding his head up really well on his own for the last couple of weeks. Lots of tummy time!

Halloween 2008

He was really too little this year to do much for Halloween, but that didn't stop us from taking some photos that he will probably hate us for later! David had the idea to make him a little Joe Dirt redneck (this was way before he was born). He found a mullet wig online, a small Budweiser can, and a wife beater shirt...and had to buy them.

That day we put an orange onesie on him...and got the idea to make him into a pumpkin. I figured this was at least an attempt to give him a cute costume for Halloween. Poor thing was sleeping as I drew a jackolantern face on him with eye liner.


The evening of Halloween, we dressed him up in his costume. The first round of photos we tried to do he just cried because we were trying to sit him up to take them. Then we decided he would just do better laying down...even though you lost the full effect of the mullet.

Cameron's First Month

It's so hard to believe he is already a month old! The last 4 weeks seem to be a blur of dirty diapers, feedings every 2-3 hours, and not much sleep. I am still not completely healed and so that part has been really frustrating. We have not even begun to reach any level of normalcy in our schedule...and it drives me crazy that we get nothing done all day! It's overwhelming to think about how much life changes in just an instant. Although, just watching him sleep or holding him in my arms makes it all worth it. (first video is of Cameron smiling).

Funny Story:

One of the first few nights home we had our first christening, which was really funny! I was changing Cameron on his pack and play changer and no sooner did I get his diaper off...he started peeing. Before I could get him covered he got himself right down the side of his face, quite to his surprise. The funny part was, the onsie he had on said "Automatic Sprinkler". It wasn't kidding. We had to completely change his clothes. I sent David in to grab another onsie and when he came back the new one read "This diaper ain't going to change itself"...we were hoping at that point the clothes were not going to dictate the actions. Lucky for us they didn't.

Baby Noises:

Cameron is such a noisy baby...he is constantly making noise even in his sleep. His first week home, he made little squeaky noises and sounded just like a baby monkey. They changed so quickly though and after just a few days of being home we starting hearing a goat (that at times sounds like a dolphin). I'm so bummed I didn't get any of the monkey sounds on video, but we are doing our best to capture the goat noises. They are so cute! Poor thing though has acquired the moniker Goat Boy. It actually worked out well though because during mom & Lynn's trip out, Ava was making a lot of grunting noises and so they were Goat Boy & Goat Girl. I have a video I will upload here so you can hear his little noises (it is not the best rendition of his goat noises, but it's enough you can get the idea).

Our Schedule:

Or lack there of...Cameron has not slept more than 2.5-3 hours at a time (at least for the most part). Especially at night. For the first three weeks his days & nights were really mixed up. We would have a 2-3 hour time block in the middle of the night where he would be wide awake...and we would be exhausted! Let's just say he spent a lot of time sitting in his glider chair in front of the couch during those hours where I would be asleep.

We attempted to get him into his crib around 3 weeks. He wouldn't have it though. He would sleep for about an hour (if we were lucky) the first couple of nights...then not go back down. We kind of gave up on the idea and put him in his glider chair...that thing is a god send it seems...next to our bed. This has helped tremendously the last week because he is back to sleeping at night, even if it is no longer than 3 hours at a time. We'll keep working on the crib though.

I think the lack of a schedule is one of the more frustrating things to attempt to get under control. We're probably nowhere close to establishing a schedule, but I'm bound and determined to get there. Hopefully before I go back to work.

Family Visits:

Mom, Lynn, Olivia & Ava came out to visit for a week. It was great that they could bring the girls because this was the first time I got to see Ava. Having all the kids together was so much fun, even though I was pretty laid up and couldn't do as much as I would have liked. We didn't really do much...hung around the house, did a little shopping, and carved pumpkins. David & Olivia bonded quite a bit on this trip - he had to take her to Sky Mania to jump on the indoor trampolines and they spent countless hours playing Wii.

Just this last week, David's parents and brother came out to visit. This time I was feeling much more "normal"! We still spent quite a bit of time hanging out at the house so they could see Cameron. The guys went to play golf and the girls got to go have lunch with Cameron. Donna took the baby for a while so I could try and catch up on a little bit of sleep (though didn't really happen...I think we're getting used to 5-6 hours total all spread out). Then we all made fools of ourselves playing Wii Fit.

Finally:

Cameron is already getting so big! At his first appointment he had dropped 4 ounces (at 6 lbs 8 ounces). We had his one month appointment on 11/3 and he was up to 9 lbs 6.5 ounces!! He's actually right on track, but I was a little depressed thinking that he will soon be out of his newborn sizes. I keep saying I want to stop feeding him so he will stay little forever. He also grew 2 inches (from 18 to 20). We figured he had a bit of a growth spurt because had to adjust the straps on his car seat and when you picked him up he felt heavier. My little chunker. =)

Cameron's Arrival - 9/30/08

Cameron's arrival was a big surprise for us...while I wasn't thrilled with the idea of a c-section being scheduled for 7-hours after I left the doctors office...it all worked out because I was too busy tying up loose ends to really think about it.

We got to the hospital at 5:30 PM...our prep experience wasn't fun! The nurses couldn't get the IV in so after blowing 3 of my veins, we were up and running. We thought we were going to be delayed due to the twins they were delivering ahead of us. However, promptly at 7:30 PM I was walking into the OR where once again we were facing problems with shots! The anesthesiologist couldn't get my spinal in...it's a little scary when they have a needle in your spine and starting asking you if the needle is too far to the right or left...how am I supposed to know where they should push it in?! Well, it wouldn't go and so we had to take it out and try again. The second time worked (thank god)!

For those of you that have never been through a c-section...let me just tell you that medicine makes you shake REALLY bad! Plus I could feel everything they were doing (just without any pain). I was trying to focus all my attention on what the doctors were talking about so I could take my mind off of what they were doing...along with trying to keep from shaking.

Cameron was dead set on staying in there. Everytime they would pull, he would dig in his elbows. It took quite a bit of tugging on the baby and pulling on me (that's the part David couldn't take). It was quite eventful based on listening to the doctors conversation...we had amniotic fluid that shot 7-8 feet in the air, then Cameron had his ambilical cord wrapped around his neck once, and then just before they got him out he decided to pee all over (the doctor commented that at least we knew it worked). Then after just about 10 minutes...Cameron was out!

Born at 7:59 PM - weighed 6 pounds 12.5 ounces (much smaller than we thought he would be) and 18 inches long.

The rest I don't really remember. Apparently they brought the baby to me and I kissed his head. David left with the baby while the doctors stitched me up. I was just shaking so bad from the medicine that I honestly had no idea how much time had passed or what was even going on anymore. Before I knew it...I was being transported back to triage for about an hour of recovery...I felt every bump of that trip!

Back in recovery I finally got to see the baby...at least this is the first time I remember seeing him. They gave him right to me. It was tough to hold onto him because I continued shaking uncontrollably for another 30 minutes. Luckily the hospital wasn't busy and we were soon transported to our postpartum room.

There was no "well baby nursery" at this hospital so Cameron got to stay with us in my room. We were quickly immersed in the world of feedings, changings, and no sleep. With all the machines I was hooked up to and the nurses constantly coming in to check our vitals...we've since only had 3-4 hours of sleep each night. Since I couldn't get up to take care of the baby (that's my excuse anyways) I kept him in my bed with me. I'm not sure I've really put him down since. We got discharged on Thursday night around 9 PM and were anxious to get home and finally start to settle in.