On the 4th of January, Cammie had a little party with his friends at the house. He chose a Disney Cars theme - he wore a Cars shirt, had Cars tattoos (Thank you Auntie Kate), Cars decorations and even a cake! He had such a great time and I think the kids did too. Unfortunately some of the families couldn't make it because of the flu and colds (We missed you Connor family, Villanueva family, Krys and Noli!!).
Finally, on the 11th of January we had a family birthday party for the December/January birthdays. Our family got together at my parents' house and we ate a lot of food, shared a bunch of laughs and the family once again totally spoiled Cammie with gifts and attention! We are so blessed to have so many friends and family that support and love our little family. We love all of you.
As I said in the beginning of this post, January has been busy, fun and challenging for us. Lets start with the fun and busy parts of our month! Cammie and Nattie had several playdates with friends this month, which included trips to Ikea, parks and home playdates. Cam has been playing at MyGym every Monday still and loves every second of it!! He loves his classmates (friends), he loves his activities and most of all, his teachers (Coach Mike and Miss Courtney!!) He has grown so much in the last 9 months it's crazy! I feel that he is more athletic, social and brave. Being in an organized playgroup has brought Cammie out of his shell a little (not sure if it is common for every 14 month old to be a little shy). He is very social, loves to be an example/helper, learn new things and meet new people. I'm very proud of him.
Because the weather has been so amazing lately, we have been taking family walks nightly. We all get bundled up and head out for a walk around the neighborhood (with a quick stop at the park). Cammie walks almost the entire way himself and loves to find leaves, rocks, flowers/plants, stars and especially the moon. He thinks the moon is the coolest thing ever (next to his mama of course!) On Monday, Kate came over for dinner and spent the night! The next day she went to MyGym with us and Cammie was in HEAVEN!! He loves Kate so much - he showed off the entire time she was in our presence! She was so helpful with the kids and I was so sad to see her go. She also spoiled us again and took a few pictures of the kids. WE LOVE YOU KATE!!
Now the challenging part of the month: SICKNESS! Oh my, it feels like we caught the plague! The second week of January, Cam started acting out and not sleeping very well for a few days (this always means sickness is looming). In the middle of the week, I got the worst sore throat and headache. By the end of the week, Cam was showing physical signs of sickness (extreme runny nose, 101 degree fever, horrible cough, etc). My mommy instincts kicked in and I put myself on the back burner - my sweet baby needed me. I knew this wasn't a cold and feared it was the flu, so I called his MD for an appointment. They got him in the very next day (Saturday). Ryan was sweet enough to take him in because I felt horrible. We were right - not a cold, CROUP!!! His fever was gone by the appointment and they gave him a oral steroid to help with the barking cough. By the following Tuesday, his cough was even worse and he wasn't improving like they said he would. I made the decision to take him back in to check his ears and lungs. Every sickness he has had results in an ear infection. The MD said his ears and lungs were clear but he still had croup. I was told it needed to work itself out - sigh. By that day, we were going on 7 days with minimal sleep. I'm talking waking up every hour, every night. We were all exhausted. By the end of the week I felt better, Cammie still was snotty and coughing but Ryan felt bad. NO!!! After Ryan and I got sick twice, Cammie had a cough/cold/croup and Nattie had the sniffles, the 3 weeks of pure hell seems to be coming to an end. FINGERS CROSSED!! I know this is a part of life but that was rough for sure. I'm so glad my angels are feeling better and are back to their amazing selves.
Ok! The best part of the blog - KIDS!! After Cammie turned two, everything accelerated! His vocabulary, activities, interests, EVERYTHING! He woke up one day and just started talking in sentences and saying names clear as a bell. "I love my mama," "I want to help my mama," "I want to watch Curious George," "I go feed the ducks," "Aunt Rosie," "GRAMMIE!," etc. It is amazing!!! I love listening to his little voice and try my best to continue to talk to him constantly throughout the day. I feel that explaining myself and what I'm doing is helping him learn. My favorite thing he is saying now is, "Awwww, I love Mama." I cried the first time he said it. It melted my heart.
Cameron officially knows the entire alphabet (upper case and lower case letters), can almost count to 5, knows some colors (purple, blue, orange, red) and has mastered manipulation. He loves to negotiate and try to win what he wants. For example, if you tell him "No Cammie, I don't want you to bring anymore cars downstairs," he will put his sneaky face on and shuffle his feet and slowly move upstairs to get the cars. I swear he truly believes that I can't see him do this - it's pretty funny. Cammie is still obsessed with anything that moves, especially FAST CARS! Thomas is still pretty important and lately he can't get enough Curious George. He is a great dancer too now and has his own play list that he likes to dance to on Spotify. Here is his favorite songs:
- Can't Hold Us (Macklemore)
- This is Halloween (From A Nightmare Before Christmas)
- Can we fix it? (Bob the Builder)
- You've got a friend in Me (Toy Story)
- Strange Things (Toy Story)
- When She Loved Me (Toy Story, "Sad Song")
- Curious George Theme Song (Curious George)
- Hot Dog! (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
- Thomas Theme (Thomas)
- Go, Go Thomas (Thomas)
- Day of the Diesels (Thomas)
- Monsters Inc Theme song (Monsters Inc)
- I just can't wait to be kind (Lion King)
- Happy (Despicable Me 2)
- Somebody That I use to know (Gotye)
Cammie is eating a more diverse foods and still loves mac n cheese : ) He is extremely picky with mac n cheese though and will only really eat the Annie's Organic kind. Cam loves raw broccoli, greek yogurt, turkey, pickles, goldfish, Annie's crackers, craisins, yogurt covered raisins, grilled cheese sandwiches, PB&J sandwiches, chips and salsa, salads, carrots, hummus, turkey bacon, guacamole and more. It's crazy to see his taste changing and he is starting to try more things. He started to do this cute little thing where when he is done eating, he puts his fork and tippy cup in the middle of his plate and says, "I all done."
My little lovie enjoys helping me with chores. In fact, he has entered the "I want to help Mama with EVERYTHING" phase. Sure it takes a little more time, but I feel like he actually likes to help and looks forward to it. He still helps with the laundry, likes to sweep (I give him the dust broom and pan), fold clothes, pick up toys, help unload groceries, unload the dishwasher, and even help with his little sister! Cammie will bring me diapers, wipes, bibs, burp clothes and binkies. He will even throw dirty diapers away and throw dirty clothes into the washer for me. He is so helpful and it saves me a couple extra steps.
Cammie is also excelling at potty training and is only going through 2 pull ups a day. I'm so proud of him!! He isn't necessarily telling me verbally that he needs to go every time but he is starting the "potty dance." I make an effort to ask him if he needs to go potty every 15 minutes or so throughout the day. It is extremely time consuming and sometimes an inconvenience but the look of pride on his little face makes it worth it. He always wants to call his Nona and Papa and tell them he used the potty. Anyone who will listen, he tells them that he pees on the potty : ) Cam is also in a big bed now! He was already in a toddler bed, but Ryan and I decided that he would probably sleep better in a bigger bed. We moved our extra full size bed into his room and so far (been over a week) he has been doing very well. He thinks he is pretty cool.
I'm beyond proud of my sweet baby boy and he is so much fun to be with all day. He is such a compassionate, loving boy who is outgoing and friendly to everyone he meets. He is fully embracing the role of Big Brother and loves to be with Nattie (When she is out of sight, he asks where she is). I'm so looking forward to the next couple months and can't wait to see what this kid will do next!
Natalie Quinn. I don't know where to start with this adorable little girl. She is such a sweet and sensitive baby and we are absolutely IN LOVE! She is still a good sleeper, a master nurser and smile expert. She can now roll both ways, tries to sit up when laying on her back and tells amazing stories. She loves to play under her jungle gym and stand in the jumperoo (Cammie says, "Can I do???") Nattie now follows (with her eyes) Cammie everywhere he goes. She thinks he is super silly and is always smiling at him. Lately, she has been reaching for him when he is close and wants to pull on his shirt or pants. Cammie is doing the same thing and wants to hold her hand, put his head against hers and snuggle. I am completely smitten with these two babies.
Because December was so busy and packed, we stopped giving Nattie one bottle a day. Unfortunately when we tried to give her one the beginning of January, she wanted nothing of it. She would sob and turn her head and win every time. FORTUNATELY, Ryan is persistent and resourceful and got Nattie back on the bottle as of this week!!! So we are back to giving her one bottle a day (at night) so if I decide to go out, she will be able to be with Daddy or Nona. Saturday is a big day or Nattie and me. Ryan and I agreed that Nattie will begin sleeping in her nursery starting February 1st. I'm extremely sad about this and don't want this time to come. She is the perfect roommate and makes nursing in the middle of the night super convenient and relaxing. I know that she needs her own space and hopefully this transition will be easy for the both of us.
I'm so in love with my little girl and couldn't be happier. She is such a wonderful daughter and completes our family. I love seeing my babies interact and love on each other. You can see the look on her face that she cannot wait to play with her brother. They are going to have so much fun together.
To finish up this month's blog, I want to finally announce that my brother asked Heather to marry him!! They are ENGAGED! He asked her on her birthday (12/12) but I wanted to make sure that they let everyone know before I said anything. They plan to get married November of this year. Last weekend, they came down to our house and asked us to be their Maid Of Honor and Best Man! Natalie and Cameron will be the ring bearer and flower girl. We were so honored and surprised!! We absolutely adore them and couldn't be happier. WE LOVE YOU RY AND HEATHY!!!
As always, here are this month's pictures. I hope everyone has a great February!!
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As I said in the beginning of this post, January has been busy, fun and challenging for us. Lets start with the fun and busy parts of our month! Cammie and Nattie had several playdates with friends this month, which included trips to Ikea, parks and home playdates. Cam has been playing at MyGym every Monday still and loves every second of it!! He loves his classmates (friends), he loves his activities and most of all, his teachers (Coach Mike and Miss Courtney!!) He has grown so much in the last 9 months it's crazy! I feel that he is more athletic, social and brave. Being in an organized playgroup has brought Cammie out of his shell a little (not sure if it is common for every 14 month old to be a little shy). He is very social, loves to be an example/helper, learn new things and meet new people. I'm very proud of him.
Because the weather has been so amazing lately, we have been taking family walks nightly. We all get bundled up and head out for a walk around the neighborhood (with a quick stop at the park). Cammie walks almost the entire way himself and loves to find leaves, rocks, flowers/plants, stars and especially the moon. He thinks the moon is the coolest thing ever (next to his mama of course!) On Monday, Kate came over for dinner and spent the night! The next day she went to MyGym with us and Cammie was in HEAVEN!! He loves Kate so much - he showed off the entire time she was in our presence! She was so helpful with the kids and I was so sad to see her go. She also spoiled us again and took a few pictures of the kids. WE LOVE YOU KATE!!
Now the challenging part of the month: SICKNESS! Oh my, it feels like we caught the plague! The second week of January, Cam started acting out and not sleeping very well for a few days (this always means sickness is looming). In the middle of the week, I got the worst sore throat and headache. By the end of the week, Cam was showing physical signs of sickness (extreme runny nose, 101 degree fever, horrible cough, etc). My mommy instincts kicked in and I put myself on the back burner - my sweet baby needed me. I knew this wasn't a cold and feared it was the flu, so I called his MD for an appointment. They got him in the very next day (Saturday). Ryan was sweet enough to take him in because I felt horrible. We were right - not a cold, CROUP!!! His fever was gone by the appointment and they gave him a oral steroid to help with the barking cough. By the following Tuesday, his cough was even worse and he wasn't improving like they said he would. I made the decision to take him back in to check his ears and lungs. Every sickness he has had results in an ear infection. The MD said his ears and lungs were clear but he still had croup. I was told it needed to work itself out - sigh. By that day, we were going on 7 days with minimal sleep. I'm talking waking up every hour, every night. We were all exhausted. By the end of the week I felt better, Cammie still was snotty and coughing but Ryan felt bad. NO!!! After Ryan and I got sick twice, Cammie had a cough/cold/croup and Nattie had the sniffles, the 3 weeks of pure hell seems to be coming to an end. FINGERS CROSSED!! I know this is a part of life but that was rough for sure. I'm so glad my angels are feeling better and are back to their amazing selves.
Ok! The best part of the blog - KIDS!! After Cammie turned two, everything accelerated! His vocabulary, activities, interests, EVERYTHING! He woke up one day and just started talking in sentences and saying names clear as a bell. "I love my mama," "I want to help my mama," "I want to watch Curious George," "I go feed the ducks," "Aunt Rosie," "GRAMMIE!," etc. It is amazing!!! I love listening to his little voice and try my best to continue to talk to him constantly throughout the day. I feel that explaining myself and what I'm doing is helping him learn. My favorite thing he is saying now is, "Awwww, I love Mama." I cried the first time he said it. It melted my heart.
Cameron officially knows the entire alphabet (upper case and lower case letters), can almost count to 5, knows some colors (purple, blue, orange, red) and has mastered manipulation. He loves to negotiate and try to win what he wants. For example, if you tell him "No Cammie, I don't want you to bring anymore cars downstairs," he will put his sneaky face on and shuffle his feet and slowly move upstairs to get the cars. I swear he truly believes that I can't see him do this - it's pretty funny. Cammie is still obsessed with anything that moves, especially FAST CARS! Thomas is still pretty important and lately he can't get enough Curious George. He is a great dancer too now and has his own play list that he likes to dance to on Spotify. Here is his favorite songs:
- Can't Hold Us (Macklemore)
- This is Halloween (From A Nightmare Before Christmas)
- Can we fix it? (Bob the Builder)
- You've got a friend in Me (Toy Story)
- Strange Things (Toy Story)
- When She Loved Me (Toy Story, "Sad Song")
- Curious George Theme Song (Curious George)
- Hot Dog! (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
- Thomas Theme (Thomas)
- Go, Go Thomas (Thomas)
- Day of the Diesels (Thomas)
- Monsters Inc Theme song (Monsters Inc)
- I just can't wait to be kind (Lion King)
- Happy (Despicable Me 2)
- Somebody That I use to know (Gotye)
Cammie is eating a more diverse foods and still loves mac n cheese : ) He is extremely picky with mac n cheese though and will only really eat the Annie's Organic kind. Cam loves raw broccoli, greek yogurt, turkey, pickles, goldfish, Annie's crackers, craisins, yogurt covered raisins, grilled cheese sandwiches, PB&J sandwiches, chips and salsa, salads, carrots, hummus, turkey bacon, guacamole and more. It's crazy to see his taste changing and he is starting to try more things. He started to do this cute little thing where when he is done eating, he puts his fork and tippy cup in the middle of his plate and says, "I all done."
My little lovie enjoys helping me with chores. In fact, he has entered the "I want to help Mama with EVERYTHING" phase. Sure it takes a little more time, but I feel like he actually likes to help and looks forward to it. He still helps with the laundry, likes to sweep (I give him the dust broom and pan), fold clothes, pick up toys, help unload groceries, unload the dishwasher, and even help with his little sister! Cammie will bring me diapers, wipes, bibs, burp clothes and binkies. He will even throw dirty diapers away and throw dirty clothes into the washer for me. He is so helpful and it saves me a couple extra steps.
Cammie is also excelling at potty training and is only going through 2 pull ups a day. I'm so proud of him!! He isn't necessarily telling me verbally that he needs to go every time but he is starting the "potty dance." I make an effort to ask him if he needs to go potty every 15 minutes or so throughout the day. It is extremely time consuming and sometimes an inconvenience but the look of pride on his little face makes it worth it. He always wants to call his Nona and Papa and tell them he used the potty. Anyone who will listen, he tells them that he pees on the potty : ) Cam is also in a big bed now! He was already in a toddler bed, but Ryan and I decided that he would probably sleep better in a bigger bed. We moved our extra full size bed into his room and so far (been over a week) he has been doing very well. He thinks he is pretty cool.
I'm beyond proud of my sweet baby boy and he is so much fun to be with all day. He is such a compassionate, loving boy who is outgoing and friendly to everyone he meets. He is fully embracing the role of Big Brother and loves to be with Nattie (When she is out of sight, he asks where she is). I'm so looking forward to the next couple months and can't wait to see what this kid will do next!
Natalie Quinn. I don't know where to start with this adorable little girl. She is such a sweet and sensitive baby and we are absolutely IN LOVE! She is still a good sleeper, a master nurser and smile expert. She can now roll both ways, tries to sit up when laying on her back and tells amazing stories. She loves to play under her jungle gym and stand in the jumperoo (Cammie says, "Can I do???") Nattie now follows (with her eyes) Cammie everywhere he goes. She thinks he is super silly and is always smiling at him. Lately, she has been reaching for him when he is close and wants to pull on his shirt or pants. Cammie is doing the same thing and wants to hold her hand, put his head against hers and snuggle. I am completely smitten with these two babies.
Because December was so busy and packed, we stopped giving Nattie one bottle a day. Unfortunately when we tried to give her one the beginning of January, she wanted nothing of it. She would sob and turn her head and win every time. FORTUNATELY, Ryan is persistent and resourceful and got Nattie back on the bottle as of this week!!! So we are back to giving her one bottle a day (at night) so if I decide to go out, she will be able to be with Daddy or Nona. Saturday is a big day or Nattie and me. Ryan and I agreed that Nattie will begin sleeping in her nursery starting February 1st. I'm extremely sad about this and don't want this time to come. She is the perfect roommate and makes nursing in the middle of the night super convenient and relaxing. I know that she needs her own space and hopefully this transition will be easy for the both of us.
I'm so in love with my little girl and couldn't be happier. She is such a wonderful daughter and completes our family. I love seeing my babies interact and love on each other. You can see the look on her face that she cannot wait to play with her brother. They are going to have so much fun together.
To finish up this month's blog, I want to finally announce that my brother asked Heather to marry him!! They are ENGAGED! He asked her on her birthday (12/12) but I wanted to make sure that they let everyone know before I said anything. They plan to get married November of this year. Last weekend, they came down to our house and asked us to be their Maid Of Honor and Best Man! Natalie and Cameron will be the ring bearer and flower girl. We were so honored and surprised!! We absolutely adore them and couldn't be happier. WE LOVE YOU RY AND HEATHY!!!
As always, here are this month's pictures. I hope everyone has a great February!!
