Cameron's first year is coming to an end

Hi everyone! Today is officially Cameron's 1st birthday! I can't believe this year has flown by the way it did. I can honestly say it has been the best year of my life. On January 1st, we came home from the hospital with the most perfect little boy and had no idea what we were doing. Parenting was extremely challenging at first (breastfeeding, no sleep, no personal time, etc) but as the months went by, things started to come easier. Cameron was an easy baby from day one. He has always been very laid back, quiet, sweet and patient with us. He made becoming first time parents fun and enjoyable. I stopped and thought about my favorite memory of Cameron and I had a hard time coming up with just one. Every month I say that it is my favorite month, every day (well almost every day) we have a great day. I'm completely spoiled to have such a wonderful husband and baby. This month has been crazy! Cameron is currently cutting his two front top teeth and is chewing on everything (including mama and daddy). He is obsessed with the word "GOBBLE" and says it all day, every day. His favorite words are: GOBBLE, BABY, PAPA, MAMA, DADDY, UP, WOAH and GO. Every word is said with immense animation. Cameron is now aware of my Dad's tattoo he has on his chest. As I stated in an earlier blog, my Dad surprised Ryan and I and got Cameron's portrait and name tattooed above his heart (Awwwww!) Cameron now pulls down my Dad's shirt, points at the tattoo and says, "AWWW BABY!" It is the cutest thing ever! When he sees my brother, he pulls down his shirt and looks at his tattoo (Michael and Joanne). Now he pulls Ryan's shirt down and looks confused like, "where's the baby??" Cameron is now an expert at the tippy cup and eats all table foods. He pretty much loves everything but here are some of his favorite foods: Avocado, Bananas, Pasta, Tomatoes, Broccoli, Spinach, Meatballs, Salami, CHEESE of all kinds, jam, bread, carrots and Brown Rice. He is a messy little eater! Christmas was fun this year. He was all about destroying the presents under our tree all month, but when it came to actually opening the gift, he had no interest (OF COURSE!) Christmas Eve was bittersweet. While we had a blast being with family and visiting, it was extremely hard to celebrate without Gramps. He would have had a ball watching all of his kids, grandkids and great grandson laughing and playing together (SIGH). I know he was there with us, he would never miss it. Cameron had such a great time playing with his older cousins. After opening presents, they all threw wrapping paper back and forth and Cam just squealed in delight! So much fun! We were able to get the Thody Family together for a Christmas celebration - it was a lot of fun to see everyone. Christmas day was spent at Ryan's parents' house in the morning and my family's house in the afternoon. It was busy but fun! Cameron had a birthday party with his family and friends. It was so wonderful to see everyone and have our closest people around us on that great day. This little boy is very loved and very lucky. THANK YOU AGAIN!! We love you! Also, Thank you to everyone who helped set up, work the party and clean up - it was a lot of work (and letting us use your home, Mama and Dad!!) I want to finish this post with a big thank you to a couple people. First, thank you to my wonderful parents. Mama, you have given me great advice on how to be the best mother I can. I couldn't have gotten through the hard times without you. I love you very much. Dad, watching you and Mama become Grandparents this year was amazing. You both embraced it and are the best Grandparents in the world. Thank you for always getting on the ground with Cam, making noise and teaching him music. Finally, my husband Ryan. Ryan, becoming a parent with you have been extremely rewarding. You are a terrific partner and you do more for your family than most. You are a selfless, adorable person who deserves everything in life. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to stay at home with Cam and enjoy our baby all day, every day. Thank you for giving me the best gift in the world, our son. I love you more each day. Here are some pictures of Cam this month. Happy New Year Everyone! Hope everyone had an amazing year like us and has a great one in 2013!!

Couch Cruising!

Today Cameron turned 11 months old. I still can't believe how quickly his first year is passing by. Next month, my little baby boy will be one year old. I can honestly say that this has been the best year of my entire life. Not only am I blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with my little man, he has taught me many new things. I now have an extreme amount of patience, forgiveness and energy that I did not have before Cameron. Some nights we only get 5 hours of sleep, but now I am able to get up dancing and singing to start his day off right. He is such a joy to be around and I can't wait to see what the next couple months have in store. This month has been eventful! Cameron can pull himself up with no heistation and cruises around the living room holding onto the end tables and couches. He LOVES helping us "unload" the dishwasher! He pulls out the spoons and hands them to us (don't worry, knives and forks have been already removed). He can already say several words: Mama, Dada, Papa, Up, Puppy, Yum and as of yesterday, baby. Cammers is full of giggles and smiles all day long, which makes my life happy! He still loves to dance and wiggle. As of two weeks ago, he now waves bye bye and shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want something. Cam also lifts up his arms when I say, "Up please". This makes changing his clothes SO EASY! Cameron completely refuses pureed food now. He is eating strictly table food. This is extremely exciting for me because I love to cook! I had made several little baby meals for him and he seems to like almost everything (except meat). His current favorite meal/snack is cheese favored crackers dipped into cream cheese mixed with avocado. "YUMMMMM," he says! Cameron and I started to attend a baby story time group at the local library on Thursdays. For a half hour, the children's librarian reads a couple stories, blows bubbles, sings songs and dances. All the moms and babies join in. After the story time, all the moms and babies go into a playroom and let the little bambinos crawl around and play! He seems to like it and we now know we need to work on sharing! Poor guy always gets his toys snatched from him! Cameron recently attended his cousin Charlie's 1st birthday and had a great time! They are so cute together. Thanksgiving this year was different - first we had "dinner" at noon (Uncle Ty, Uncle Mike, Luke and Ryan went to Apple Cup this year together and had to leave early) and second it wasn't the same without my Gramps. I kept waiting for him to stomp down the hallway and say, "Jesses!!" I'm so glad I had the support of my family to help me through it. And of course sweet little Cam. After "Dinner," I stopped by Ryan's family's house for a bit. It was nice to see everyone. I can't wait to blog next month and tell everyone about Cameron's new adventures and talents! Next blog will be full of Christmas and birthday stories! Until next time, here are some new pictures of the Ham! Enjoy! The first 7 pictures were taken by Dawn Lucrisia-Johnson and the Santa hat pictures were taken by the famous Zon and Kate Duo. THANK YOU DAWN, ZON and KATE!!