Camden is TWO

What the hell, time?  Did you drink a bunch of Red Bull or something and decide to literally fly by?!  I thought the first year of Camden's life went by fast, but looking back at how quickly the second year went by - I am proven wrong.  It feels like last week (OK, maybe last month) that I was reflecting on his first year of life.

Now, my little love is two and I can hardly believe it.  Two!

(Photo Credit: Meghan Granito Photography)

I know that every mother thinks their kid is special and wonderful and all, but inside I feel like the frigging president of the proud mommy coalition - today especially.

Cam is one special little guy and I get very emotional thinking about the fact that I get to be his mom and just how much that means to me.  It has been amazing to watch him grow and learn this last year; to see him develop his own likes and dislikes, and start voicing his thoughts and opinions.  That last one has been both comical and a test of our patience.  

I shared some Hammy Cammy details back in October, and it's incredible to look back at that post and think about how much he's grown and changed in just that short time.

- Has finally started to say, "I love you."

- Will tell you he has to "go potty."  He really just wants to wash his hands.

- On the way to daycare a few weeks ago he told me, "Mommy! You booiful (beautiful)." I about died.

- His idea of playing with his kitchen is pulling out all of the fruits, vegetables, silverware, plates, etc., leaving them in a heap on the floor, and then walking away to play with something else.

- Will do the most random things and then say, "I funny!"

- Can count to 14.  Why 14?  Because we have 14 steps from the main floor of the house to the upstairs and someone insists on walking by himself.  Counting keeps him from doddling.

- Is slowly learning the ABCs and can recite small sections of them on his own.

- Loves to sit in a "special chair" when we stop for a coffee (for me) and scone (for him) from Starbucks.

- Has started to sing along to "Wheels on the Bus."

- Speaking of "Wheels on the Bus."  At the end of the song, he yells "Mommy!  Shark!" and that's his way of telling me that he wants me to sing "The shark on the bus goes chomp, chomp, chomp..."

- Will tell me, "Mommy! Wook! Moose!" or "Mommy! Wook! (Insert random animal)!" while we are driving down the road.

- Has recently discovered movies and requests Monsters University by pulling the DVD off the shelf all. the. time. 

- If he wants to tell me something "important," he will put his hand on my shoulder and look me right in the eye and say, "Mommy..."

- When out in public, has started saying, "Hi," and waving to anyone that looks in his direction.

- He officially has a timeout corner, because the child gets at least one timeout a day.

So, I get to be the mom of this awesome little human.  Don't get me wrong - we have our challenging moments (and days), and I am always ready when it's time for his nap and bedtime, but I feel very lucky that Camden is ours and we are his.

We had his two year well check up today.

Height: 32 1/2 inches (7th percentile)
Weight: 23 pounds 13 ounces (13th percentile)
Head Circumference: 19 inches (45th percentile)

I didn't know just how much I could love someone until he came along.  The love I feel for him just multiplies every day - even on the rough days when he's living up to the "terrible two" cliche and giving me a hard test in patience.  I cherish our nighttime routine and the few minutes we share after our nightly book, sitting and rocking in the dark, where nothing else in the world matters (to me, anyway).  In those moments, everything is quiet and snuggly.  I hope that someday he will understand even a fraction of how much his dad and I love him and how important he is to us.

It's hard for me to look at him and see him as a big brother.  I see him as my baby.  I suppose I always will, even when he's not the baby anymore.

Happy 2nd Birthday, my squishy man cub.  I am so lucky, and so proud to be your mama.  You've made me a better person, a more grateful person. I love you to the moon and the stars.  You, my little love, are my greatest achievement (at least until your brother or sister comes along and then you'll have to share that title).

Take Luck,

LP

Big Brother

On Thanksgiving morning, I made a special announcement on Facebook and Instagram - that come this spring (end of May), our little turkey will be a big brother.

He's thrilled, or at least seems to be when lifts up my shirt, pats my tummy and says, "Hi, baby!"  We'll see how his feelings change when he says hello to a real life baby that doesn't leave his house.

I am 15 weeks along with my feet firmly planted in the second trimester.  Amen, hallelujah.  Much like my pregnancy with Camden, the first trimester was rough and felt never-ending.  I didn't have the textbook "morning" sickness, but more of an all day funky funk that got worse as the day went on.  By 3:00 in the afternoon, I was pretty much done-zo and bordering on miserable.  

I'm very thankful to be feeling much better and to not have my expanding, water retaining ass permanently glued to the couch.

My official due date is May 31st and we will find out whether this little bear is a boy or girl on January 5th.  I think it's another boy, and until recently, Ryan was convinced that it was a girl, but is now thinking it's a boy, too.

We found out I was pregnant right before our trip to Disneyland, so were able to share the exciting (albeit very early) news with Ryan's family face-to-face.  The greatest part was that Ryan's sister had some news to share with us as well - they are expecting another little boy in April!  Squeeeeel!

I am now kicking myself for not blogging more about my pregnancy with Camden or just taking better notes in general about how I felt each week.  The biggest difference is (clearly) that I'm chasing around a wild tornado toddler this time around, and not as able to be a couch potato.  Swim lessons and gymnastics class during weeks 6-12 were really enjoyable.  What super-nauseated pregnant woman doesn't like spinning in circles, tossing their kid in the air, and jumping up and down on the trampoline?

Ready or not, we're on our way to becoming a family of four!

Take Luck,

LP

Camden's Second Birthday Party

We celebrated Camden's second birthday party on Saturday morning.  As you might have imagined, it was totally Pinterest worthy, complete with a Thomas the Train Engine table cloth and balloons... And, that's about it.  Much like his First Birthday Party.

Per my usual style, I kept things simple.  We had some Thomas decorations and a brunch-like spread of food.

Because I know how much everyone loves to be at a two-year old's birthday party - we didn't dilly dally and got right down to food, gifts, and cake.

Cam got lots of wonderful gifts from family and friends, but his favorite was hands down, the balance bike and helmet he received from Grammy and Papa.

We've been practicing singing "Happy Birthday" for the past couple weeks, and his little face just lit up when everyone was singing to him.

Swimming lessons and blowing bubbles in the water are totally paying off because he was even able to blow out the candle all by himself without getting too dangerously close to the flame.  Much like his first birthday party cupcake, he couldn't have cared less.  Why this child doesn't capitalize on his opportunities to eat super sugary treats is beyond me.

We wrapped things up (and took off his frosting-filled shirt) and he got to business playing with some of his other gifts - including this tee ball set from his dear old mommy and daddy.  He said his thank you's, gave his hugs goodbye, and then it was nap time.  For him and for me.

His actual birthday isn't until Thursday, so I'll save the hysterical dramatics about how I can't believe he's two and wah, wah, wah, until then.

Take Luck,

LP

Cam Meets Santa

I'm really becoming a poor excuse for a blogger lately.  And the fact that I have to preface every post with that sentiment is telling me that I need to buck up or stop.

This past Friday was my day off so after Cam's nap time, I pulled his literally little man clothes out of the closet and we made our way to see Santa.  

Based on his reaction to the Easter Bunny, I found myself (again) setting the expectations bar very low for this experience.  When we got to Santa, we were behind two other families, and I was happy to be.  I hoped that would give Cam a chance to look at the big guy from afar and see that it wasn't so scary.  Well, it became our turn and my little guy who had just been "ho ho ho-ing," and pointing to all the trees and balls (ornaments) was not moving, and had a death grip on my hand.

I sat down next to Santa with Cam on my lap first, asked the photographer to take a photo, and then promptly handed off, got up, and ran behind the camera saying, "Go! Go! Go!" to the cameraman.  The jerk (not really, I'm just being dramatic) only took two photos and this was the "best."

Don't get me wrong - I love the crying-babies-with-Santa-photos, but I was hoping for better.  Maybe more of an sad crying face?  Does that make me a bad mother?  Either way, it's another good future blackmail tool.  And don't worry - the lip tucked back in and the tears stopped as soon as Santa gave him a sucker.

Ryan likes to point out that this is a complete waste of money, and I can't say that he is incorrect, but I hope this is a tradition that we can continue for a long time (even when we have to bribe Camden to get up there) and compare that photos over the years.

It's hard for me to believe that this is Cam's third time meeting Santa.

Last year I'm pretty he was overall clueless and didn't realize what was happening until it was already over.

The first time, when he was only four days old and out cold, I was so worried that Santa was going to drop him that I didn't even want to ask him to try and prop him up a little more.

Here's to traditions and traumatizing your kids.

Take Luck,

LP

Halloween

Blogging has been seriously lacking lately, and not for lack of writing material.  More so a lack of motivation.  You see, at the end of the day, a hot shower and curling up in bed are much more enticing than plucking away on the ole laptop.

Halloween was over a week ago, so a recap is better late than never.

We decided to paint our pumpkins this year instead of carve them.  Deep down, I know we have many, many years of pumpkin carving ahead of us - so keeping it simple for another year was super appealing.

I laid down a big plastic sheet on the dining room floor, put blobs of paint on paper towels, and let Cam go to town on his little personal pumpkin.  He seemed to really enjoy it at first, calling every color "blue," and slathered paint all over the pumpkin.  It was all good until the paint got on his hands, which then got on his belly.  He tried to stand up and run away from the "dirty" paint, stepping in it, and things really went to hell.

Tears, tears, and more tears.  I kept asking him if he wanted to keep painting, and he cried, "No!"  So, I asked him if he wanted to take a bath, and he wailed, "No!"  This kid really does not like to be dirty.

After a nice bath and removing all the "dirty" paint, he was excited to admire his pumpkin from afar.

As far as his Halloween costume goes - I chose to exercise my Mommy powers and choose for him.  Lord knows how many more opportunities I will have to steer him away from costumes that have masks and weapons.  So, a dinosaur he would be!

A really happy and excited dinosaur, as you can see.

I was really excited to take him out trick-or-treating, but was mentally preparing for him to hate it.  I figured he would be afraid of the strangers opening their doors and reluctant to say "trick-or-treat," or "thank you," or anything!

It's funny I was worried about it because he loved it.  I mean, running in between each house yelling, "Hurry! Hurry!," loved it.

He said "trick-a-treat," "thank you," and "bye bye," like a little champ and loved getting to pick a piece of candy (or two!) out of the candy bowls.  I said I thought he would be afraid of strangers opening their doors, but he actually tried to walk inside of the first house we went too.  

I think his favorite part of the whole experience was getting to use the flashlight on Grammy's phone. I had a total brain fart and didn't even think to bring a flashlight (and like an idiot, I dressed in all black...).

We only went to about 10 houses before calling it quits.  I think he would have done the whole neighborhood if we had let him.  Our last stop was back at Grammy and Papa's house and I wish you could have seen the look on his face when Papa answered the door.  This child adores (seriously, adores!) his Papa.

I'm a mean mommy and didn't want to give him any candy, but after getting pressure from my mom and Ryan, I caved and let him have a mini Twix.

He practically swallowed it whole.

Halloween 2013

Take Luck,

LP