I really enjoy reading about other people's typical days. I also am kind of mad I don't have more records of what my days looked like with only one baby. I bet I had so much free time! (Yeah, right!) Anyway, here's what a typical day looks like in our household. On this particular day, it was a Friday, the one day a week we have no scheduled activities (no camps, no classes, no appts).
5:00 am -- Teddie wakes to eat. I feed her a bottle and put her back to sleep
6:00 am -- Teddie stirs and needs to fart/get her paci back. Rick takes over
7:00 am -- Rick brings me Teddie who is still really squirmy but half asleep, so I hold her until she wakes up for good around 7:15
7:15 am -- Teddie and I hang in the bedroom, then head downstairs. Change her diaper, put on dry clothes for her (she's a big spitter!!)
7:30 -- Rick gets Campbell and brings him downstairs to hang out with me and T. I'm drinking my second cup of coffee, Cam is playing with his new pizza set from Mimi, and Teddie is in her swing.
7:45 am -- both kids want to eat. Cam gets breakfast, T gets a bottle. Tidy up the kitchen, empty dishwasher, sweep the floors and wipe down counters. I put a load of laundry in.
8:30 am -- I put T in the carseat to snooze because we are going to leave the house around 9:00 am to head downtown. Get myself and Campbell dressed.
9:00 am -- load up the kids in the car and head to Mimi's apartment downtown to say hi. We hang with her and Allie comes by to say hello, too!
9:30 am -- Teddie is awake once we arrive at Mimi's so I feed her
10:30 am -- we head to the zoo across the street from Mimi's apartment. Cam loves the tractor at the farm, so we play and hang around there. Cam eats a snack in the stroller and Teddie nods off.
10:50 -- Teddie falls asleep in the stroller
11:30 -- T is up again, and eats again!
*(she's been catnapping more frequently when we are out and about, but she normally takes a great long nap in the middle of the day when Campbell naps, too!)*
12:00 -- get in the car and head back home. (T screams he entire drive home. Campbell makes me play Let it Go on repeat. Fun times!)
12:30 -- home and Cam eats lunch. I feed Teddie the rest of her bottle (I have to force her to finish bottles during the day or she won't get enough to eat! She's definitely NOT my daughter when it comes to eating!)
1:00 -- both kids are ready for a nap. I wrap Teddie in her swaddle me, put the paci in and place her in the swing. She's out within minutes. Campbell goes upstairs, we read a story together, put on his sleep sack and he's in bed. He is not going to sleep though, he's singing and talking and playing with his stuffed animals. I fold laundry, wipe down bathroom counters, sweep the floors and sort through mail/emails.
2:30 -- Cam finally passes out. This is VERY unlike him. He normally falls asleep instantly. He told me his tummy hurt in the car, so perhaps he's not feeling great.
3:40 -- Teddie wakes up and gets a bottle.
4:00 -- I decide to wake Cam up because if he sleeps much later he won't fall asleep at bedtime. He wants a snack and we play in the living room/outside on the patio while Teddie practices tummy time.
4:30 -- Rick comes home early as a surprise! I fold some laundry and entertain T while Rick and Cam play together and take Maizey for a walk.
5:00 -- Teddie is getting tired (as am I) so we snooze together on the couch while Rick and Campbell play in the basement.
6:00 -- T is awake and gets fed again. Cam gets dinner, too!
6:30 -- I get dressed and ready because we have a babysitter coming! Rick and I leave for dinner with another couple for the evening.
10:00 -- We get home. (Wild ones we are!) Cam was in bed at 8:00. Teddie was awake when we got home so I fed her and put her to bed. Rick and I watch an episode of Breaking Bad (we are officially addicted.)
3:00 am -- Teddie wakes up to eat. She eats for about 10 minutes, then goes back to sleep.
5:30 am -- T wakes up for the paci. Pop it in, and she's back out.
7:00 am -- up for the day... and we repeat everything above.
Right now, at 3.5 months, Teddie is sleeping through the night (9-5) a few nights a week. Some nights she wakes up at 3 am to eat. Some nights she needs the paci. It's really not consistent. Given the fact that Campbell was waking 8-10 times a night (no exaggeration there) at this point, I'm considering ourselves very lucky that we only have to feed her once or max twice a night.
I really feel like I've got a good routine down with both kids. I'm lucky that Cam is great at entertaining himself right now. I'm also lucky that Teddie is generally a happy baby and I can leave her for short periods of time when Cam needs me. The only thing I really am trying to work on is getting home cooked meals prepared more regularly. Right now, I'm able to plan/shop/cook for about 3 days a week. Rick and I both agree that it's going to take a bit more time for me to figure it all out (without any help to watch the kids, running to get a couple of eggs or something last minute is not easy!) Nevertheless, we are making it all work and somehow, we aren't just surviving right now. I'd say we are thriving.
So that's what our day looks like in general. I look forward to more regular nap times and early bedtimes, but for now, I'm taking it all in stride and trying to continuously remind myself that "the days are long, but the years are so short!"
A Dose of Happiness
Showing posts with label Campbell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Campbell. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2014
Friday, July 11, 2014
Life with Two
I think the last time I wrote, we were two weeks out from moving into our new home. My how time has flown. And my, how difficult I've found it to write down anything on this blog. But, still, even if it's once every three months, I'd like to document our life so I can look back. So, here it goes!
We moved into our new house on March 7. It was the most chaotic, stressful move I've ever done. 37 weeks pregnant. With a toddler. And a dog. And a husband. Whew! But we did it. And we are so very happy in our new place. The dog has a yard to run in, the kids have a basement to play in, and I have a gourmet kitchen to cook in. (Let's be honest, though, there hasn't been a ton of cooking going on lately!)
On March 26, at 7:20 am (about 10 minutes before Rick leaves for work in the morning), my water broke. I was 39 weeks along exactly. We loaded the car with Campbell, Maizey (our dog) and battled rush hour traffic to the hospital as my contractions began to intensify. One hour later, we arrived downtown at the hospital where my mom and sisters met us. They took Cam and Maizey for us, then came back for the party. When I checked into triage, I was only 3 cm, but I was admitted as my water was broken and we were having a baby that day! So up we went to our room, and after trying to be brave for a couple of hours, I finally decided to get my epidural. I felt great afterward and was really just anxious and bored. I wanted that baby to come, but I was stuck at 5 cm for over 5 hours! At about 7:00 my epidural completely wore off on my left side. I mean I could feel everything and it was brutal!! So the anesthesiologist came in and replaced it for me, and said it would take about 20 minutes to kick in. Those 20 minutes were excruciating, but once it worked again, I started feeling some pressure. I told my nurse I needed to push and she assured me I wasn't ready yet as I had just been checked and was only 5 cm. I told her I needed to push and she said she'd get the doctor and see if she wanted to check me again. As the doctor strolled in (sadly, not my OB) she was smiling and asking me how I felt and I just shouted, "OMG she's coming out!" And, I was right. That baby girl just slid on out and the doctor had to literally leap to catch her. No gloves. No pushing. No nothing. I went from 5 cm to delivery within 20 minutes. It was insane! But at 8:12 pm, our little Teddie Diane was born.
She was 6 lbs 1 oz and 16 inches long (though I really think she was about 18 inches). She's a little peanut and her small size proved to make things a bit complicated at first, but she's been such a great baby! She's got the sweetest personality, loves to smile and coo and talk to anyone who will listen.
Because Campbell was such nightmare as a newborn, Teddie has seemed like a breeze. Don't get me wrong, we have our hard days, but she eats and sleeps and only cries if she's hungry or tired or needs a good burp. I've never been unable to stop her crying, which is SO different than how Cam was. She was sleeping 8-9 hour stretches up until about 10 days ago when she got a cold. Last night she gave us an 8 hour stretch again, so we're hoping she's back on track, but truthfully, I don't really care. I don't find myself analyzing her eating and sleeping like I did with Campbell. I just don't have time. And I know how quickly this baby phase passes by, so I really am just enjoying it.
We've had the best summer so far. Tons of space in our yard to play outside, lots of play dates with friends, camp, sleepovers and BBQs galore! Our 4th of July was one for the record books. It was such a perfect day of family time, friends and fireworks.
Our days are chaotic. So very chaotic. But it's beautiful chaos. I look forward to 6:00 when Rick comes home, but I also don't find myself waiting at the door like a little puppy like I did when Cam was a baby. It's just so different. I am more confident, more in control of my emotions and thoughts, and just feel all around happier this time around. It has made such a huge difference to just be content with life at this moment, rather than wishing away the bad hours/days. This transition was so much easier than I ever thought it would be. I'm exhausted, but I'm not stressed out. We have really just settled into our new routine so smoothly, and I'm so grateful. Life is good right now. Oh so very good.
Our little peanut is now three months old. I plan to write a post about what our typical day looks like at this stage of life, but for now, here's a picture of the little beauty. Our TBear, Teddlesworth, Teddles, Tedderella... we love you more than you'll ever know. Now stop growing up. It's going too fast!!
We moved into our new house on March 7. It was the most chaotic, stressful move I've ever done. 37 weeks pregnant. With a toddler. And a dog. And a husband. Whew! But we did it. And we are so very happy in our new place. The dog has a yard to run in, the kids have a basement to play in, and I have a gourmet kitchen to cook in. (Let's be honest, though, there hasn't been a ton of cooking going on lately!)
On March 26, at 7:20 am (about 10 minutes before Rick leaves for work in the morning), my water broke. I was 39 weeks along exactly. We loaded the car with Campbell, Maizey (our dog) and battled rush hour traffic to the hospital as my contractions began to intensify. One hour later, we arrived downtown at the hospital where my mom and sisters met us. They took Cam and Maizey for us, then came back for the party. When I checked into triage, I was only 3 cm, but I was admitted as my water was broken and we were having a baby that day! So up we went to our room, and after trying to be brave for a couple of hours, I finally decided to get my epidural. I felt great afterward and was really just anxious and bored. I wanted that baby to come, but I was stuck at 5 cm for over 5 hours! At about 7:00 my epidural completely wore off on my left side. I mean I could feel everything and it was brutal!! So the anesthesiologist came in and replaced it for me, and said it would take about 20 minutes to kick in. Those 20 minutes were excruciating, but once it worked again, I started feeling some pressure. I told my nurse I needed to push and she assured me I wasn't ready yet as I had just been checked and was only 5 cm. I told her I needed to push and she said she'd get the doctor and see if she wanted to check me again. As the doctor strolled in (sadly, not my OB) she was smiling and asking me how I felt and I just shouted, "OMG she's coming out!" And, I was right. That baby girl just slid on out and the doctor had to literally leap to catch her. No gloves. No pushing. No nothing. I went from 5 cm to delivery within 20 minutes. It was insane! But at 8:12 pm, our little Teddie Diane was born.
She was 6 lbs 1 oz and 16 inches long (though I really think she was about 18 inches). She's a little peanut and her small size proved to make things a bit complicated at first, but she's been such a great baby! She's got the sweetest personality, loves to smile and coo and talk to anyone who will listen.
Because Campbell was such nightmare as a newborn, Teddie has seemed like a breeze. Don't get me wrong, we have our hard days, but she eats and sleeps and only cries if she's hungry or tired or needs a good burp. I've never been unable to stop her crying, which is SO different than how Cam was. She was sleeping 8-9 hour stretches up until about 10 days ago when she got a cold. Last night she gave us an 8 hour stretch again, so we're hoping she's back on track, but truthfully, I don't really care. I don't find myself analyzing her eating and sleeping like I did with Campbell. I just don't have time. And I know how quickly this baby phase passes by, so I really am just enjoying it.
If there are moments in the middle of the night when I get frustrated that she won't stay asleep, I repeat the following sentence to myself, "It is a privilege to be rocking/feeding/snuggling this baby right now." And it's so true. I know so many people who wish they could be in my position -- awake at 2:00 am feeding a baby. And I am privileged to be able to do it.
We've had the best summer so far. Tons of space in our yard to play outside, lots of play dates with friends, camp, sleepovers and BBQs galore! Our 4th of July was one for the record books. It was such a perfect day of family time, friends and fireworks.
Our days are chaotic. So very chaotic. But it's beautiful chaos. I look forward to 6:00 when Rick comes home, but I also don't find myself waiting at the door like a little puppy like I did when Cam was a baby. It's just so different. I am more confident, more in control of my emotions and thoughts, and just feel all around happier this time around. It has made such a huge difference to just be content with life at this moment, rather than wishing away the bad hours/days. This transition was so much easier than I ever thought it would be. I'm exhausted, but I'm not stressed out. We have really just settled into our new routine so smoothly, and I'm so grateful. Life is good right now. Oh so very good.
Our little peanut is now three months old. I plan to write a post about what our typical day looks like at this stage of life, but for now, here's a picture of the little beauty. Our TBear, Teddlesworth, Teddles, Tedderella... we love you more than you'll ever know. Now stop growing up. It's going too fast!!
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Two.
Campbell turned two on Saturday. TWO! It's really hard to wrap my brain around. Two years ago we were in newborn chaos. Back then, I could not have pictured what life would be like with a two year old. Even when I did get a glimpse of what his personality would be like as a baby, I never imagined it to be this fun, this exhausting and full of so much love.
Everyone told me that difficult babies (which Campbell absolutely was!) make for easy toddlers. While I wouldn't call toddlerhood easy, it's definitely better than I expected. Cam is really easy going and super verbal so it makes our lives a lot easier. He doesn't get mad if someone pushes him or takes a toy from him. He only gets really frustrated when he can't figure out a toy or if we tell him he can't do something. And when he gets mad, he either yells, cries, or says, "Campbell sad!" It's hard not to giggle at that.
We went to the doctor yesterday and he weighs 30 lbs 11 oz. (90th percentile) and he is 34.5" tall (50th percentile). The doctor, like me, isn't concerned about his picky eating because he eats something from every group (except meat) and just needs to keep being exposed to new foods. So we will keep offering them and I'm sure he'll keep refusing to touch them. But it's not worth a fight at this point. I'm a big fan of picking my battles. This is one I'm willing to go with the flow on and take his lead. I really don't want to create traumatic memories around the dinner table nor cause eating issues because I made him sit at the table until bedtime so he would eat his meat.
To celebrate Cam's big day, we had two different little parties. Sine last year's Halloween party was such a hit with his friends, I decided to make this year's bash a birthday celebration too. So a few of his buddies came over dressed in their costumes and celebrated our little two-year-old. Here are a few pictures:
Being two is tough stuff.
Everyone told me that difficult babies (which Campbell absolutely was!) make for easy toddlers. While I wouldn't call toddlerhood easy, it's definitely better than I expected. Cam is really easy going and super verbal so it makes our lives a lot easier. He doesn't get mad if someone pushes him or takes a toy from him. He only gets really frustrated when he can't figure out a toy or if we tell him he can't do something. And when he gets mad, he either yells, cries, or says, "Campbell sad!" It's hard not to giggle at that.
We went to the doctor yesterday and he weighs 30 lbs 11 oz. (90th percentile) and he is 34.5" tall (50th percentile). The doctor, like me, isn't concerned about his picky eating because he eats something from every group (except meat) and just needs to keep being exposed to new foods. So we will keep offering them and I'm sure he'll keep refusing to touch them. But it's not worth a fight at this point. I'm a big fan of picking my battles. This is one I'm willing to go with the flow on and take his lead. I really don't want to create traumatic memories around the dinner table nor cause eating issues because I made him sit at the table until bedtime so he would eat his meat.
To celebrate Cam's big day, we had two different little parties. Sine last year's Halloween party was such a hit with his friends, I decided to make this year's bash a birthday celebration too. So a few of his buddies came over dressed in their costumes and celebrated our little two-year-old. Here are a few pictures:
On his actual birthday this past Saturday, we had a very fun-filled, family packed day of fun. Rick's mom and my parents both came to town to celebrate. We started the day by opening presents and then headed to the aquarium with my sisters and niece and nephew. We had a blast, and Rick had never been to the Shedd Aquarium before so he really enjoyed it. Cam thought the live show was "too dark" but sat mesmerized through the whole thing anyway. Later in the evening, we had a small pizza party with more presents and cake.
Cam hasn't stopped singing "Happy Birthday" to himself since. He's also been asking for presents and cupcakes every day, as well (yikes!) Birthdays are a big deal to me and my family always made a big deal of them as we were growing up. I hope Campbell felt as special as we wanted him to feel. It was a really fun weekend!
And just because you know me and how I like to keep it real...
Being two is tough stuff.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
18 Month Stats
Just wanted to document Campbell's 18 month stats from our doctor's visit last week.
Height: 32 in (50%ile)
Weight: 28 lbs 5 oz (90%ile)
Head Circumference: 50%ile
Dr. T was so happy to see the little mister. She said his speech is at the level of a two-year old and encouraged us to continue challenging him because he's a smarty pants. She also encouraged us to buy Cam a play doctor set so that he can begin to role play about the doctor in hopes that at his two year check up he won't be so freaked out by stethoscopes, etc. since he has acquired some pretty irrational fears lately (hello, vacuum!) I thought it was a great piece of advice for moms of toddlers. I never would have thought of it myself. I did decide to get a dermatologist referral because the poor kid is constantly itching and a new rash seems to pop up every week, so hopefully we can get some answers soon.
Overall, he's a very happy, very healthy little boy with a personality that oozes from every pore. Here are some recent pictures of the little guy.
Height: 32 in (50%ile)
Weight: 28 lbs 5 oz (90%ile)
Head Circumference: 50%ile
Dr. T was so happy to see the little mister. She said his speech is at the level of a two-year old and encouraged us to continue challenging him because he's a smarty pants. She also encouraged us to buy Cam a play doctor set so that he can begin to role play about the doctor in hopes that at his two year check up he won't be so freaked out by stethoscopes, etc. since he has acquired some pretty irrational fears lately (hello, vacuum!) I thought it was a great piece of advice for moms of toddlers. I never would have thought of it myself. I did decide to get a dermatologist referral because the poor kid is constantly itching and a new rash seems to pop up every week, so hopefully we can get some answers soon.
Overall, he's a very happy, very healthy little boy with a personality that oozes from every pore. Here are some recent pictures of the little guy.
Little Miss Iz takes such good care of him...
My little diva
Kid literally gets into everything.
His Happy Place
Heart Melter
Enjoying his half-birthday cake... a lot!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Eighteen Months
Dearest Campbell,
I can hardly say the words... you are eighteen months old! One and a half years! I know I say this every time I write to you, but I can not believe how fast the time is flying. I truly can't. It makes my heart swell and my eyes tear up all at the same time.
The past few months have been busy! You had an extra long visit from Nanny and she loved on you every minute she was here. You traveled to Florida for Passover, Austin to celebrate Poppy, Atlanta to cheer on the Michigan basketball team, and in two weeks you'll be going up north to visit Nanny at "camp"! You are a jet setter.
As the sun has started to shine more, you have loved being outside. You love to run up the street with your chalk and make marks along the sidewalk, you love playing at the park and in the sandbox, you love bubbles and swinging and playing in the water. Oh how you love the water. You could stay in the pool all day if we let you! You still love everything trucks and cars, but in the last few months, you have found a new obsession -- buses. You love school buses, city buses, tourist buses, all buses! It's adorable how you say, "buuuuusssss!" every time you see one. You are still an avid reader, and regularly grab books and plop yourself on our laps and say, "read." Your favorite books right now are Little Pookie books and any book with cars and trucks, of course! You love playing with stickers and climbing on everything you can. You are on the go all day long!
If I had to name one ultimate goal in raising you, it would be that you would grow up to be kind. Of course I want you to be smart, and handsome and athletic and brave, but above all else I want you to always be kind. And I can absolutely say that you already are such a sweet, gentle and loving little boy.You say please ("peas") and thank you ("hank ooo") often and occasionally say it unprompted. You share your toys very well with other kids, and are very sensitive to your own and others' feelings. Sometimes, you come up to me and quietly say, "snuggle?!" and bury your head in my shoulder. You have such a big heart for such a little boy. It's the most amazing thing to watch.
You are also still quite the talker. You talk a lot. You love to name objects and animals as you see them all day long. It's not unusual for me to hear you in the car saying, "bus! doggie! plane! car!" And I just smile. You are also still so curious. Everything you see you want to know what it is. You shout, "oooh wha dis!?!" and you don't stop until we explain whatever it is.
And in the eating department, well we have made some big progress! You still love all your regular foods (avocado, plain pasta, fruits, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) but you've also expanded your palette in the last few weeks. You now eat waffles for breakfast, you love bell peppers, and you eat mac and cheese -- hot!! You are also mastering the use of the fork, and boy are you proud when you get that fork in your mouth with some food on it. It's adorable.
While the last few months have been predictable, routine and really smooth overall, there have been a few challenges that we have faced as we do with every phase. You have entered a pretty intense fear stage where certain people (usually men with beards or hats) and certain things (vacuum cleaners, blow dryers, etc.) cause you to cry uncontrollably and bury your head into me. In the last few weeks, you have made huge progress though and I think you're starting to slowly overcome some of these fears. It's all very normal, but it's sad for me to watch.
You've also discovered that you have opinions and you like control, which means you have learned how to throw a tantrum. Sometimes you get very frustrated with me and just yell at the top of your lungs because that's the only way you know how to communicate with me that you are mad. Sometimes you flail yourself on the floor and I just have to walk away until you calm down enough for a hug. Luckily, you listen well and generally recover quickly from these moments, but it's not to say they are fun or easy.
The last challenge we are battling is kind of funny because it really just shows how smart you are. You see, you've realized that when you throw Mo out of the crib when it's time to go to bed, Mommy or Daddy will come in and give him back to you. So this nightly ritual has become a fun game for you. You only do it once or twice, but you do it every single night. Thankfully, once you fall asleep, you are still a rock star sleeper. These days you fall asleep around 8:00 pm and wake up around 7:00 am. You nap from 1:00-3:30 and sometimes 4:00!
Campbell, it's impossible for me to write down how much I love you. It's impossible to describe to you how full you have made my life. Our days together aren't always glamorous, and they aren't always exciting. But, Buddy, they are the best days of my life.
I love you to the moon and back, always and forever.
Love,
Mommy
I can hardly say the words... you are eighteen months old! One and a half years! I know I say this every time I write to you, but I can not believe how fast the time is flying. I truly can't. It makes my heart swell and my eyes tear up all at the same time.
The past few months have been busy! You had an extra long visit from Nanny and she loved on you every minute she was here. You traveled to Florida for Passover, Austin to celebrate Poppy, Atlanta to cheer on the Michigan basketball team, and in two weeks you'll be going up north to visit Nanny at "camp"! You are a jet setter.
As the sun has started to shine more, you have loved being outside. You love to run up the street with your chalk and make marks along the sidewalk, you love playing at the park and in the sandbox, you love bubbles and swinging and playing in the water. Oh how you love the water. You could stay in the pool all day if we let you! You still love everything trucks and cars, but in the last few months, you have found a new obsession -- buses. You love school buses, city buses, tourist buses, all buses! It's adorable how you say, "buuuuusssss!" every time you see one. You are still an avid reader, and regularly grab books and plop yourself on our laps and say, "read." Your favorite books right now are Little Pookie books and any book with cars and trucks, of course! You love playing with stickers and climbing on everything you can. You are on the go all day long!
If I had to name one ultimate goal in raising you, it would be that you would grow up to be kind. Of course I want you to be smart, and handsome and athletic and brave, but above all else I want you to always be kind. And I can absolutely say that you already are such a sweet, gentle and loving little boy.You say please ("peas") and thank you ("hank ooo") often and occasionally say it unprompted. You share your toys very well with other kids, and are very sensitive to your own and others' feelings. Sometimes, you come up to me and quietly say, "snuggle?!" and bury your head in my shoulder. You have such a big heart for such a little boy. It's the most amazing thing to watch.
You are also still quite the talker. You talk a lot. You love to name objects and animals as you see them all day long. It's not unusual for me to hear you in the car saying, "bus! doggie! plane! car!" And I just smile. You are also still so curious. Everything you see you want to know what it is. You shout, "oooh wha dis!?!" and you don't stop until we explain whatever it is.
And in the eating department, well we have made some big progress! You still love all your regular foods (avocado, plain pasta, fruits, cheese, tomatoes, etc.) but you've also expanded your palette in the last few weeks. You now eat waffles for breakfast, you love bell peppers, and you eat mac and cheese -- hot!! You are also mastering the use of the fork, and boy are you proud when you get that fork in your mouth with some food on it. It's adorable.
While the last few months have been predictable, routine and really smooth overall, there have been a few challenges that we have faced as we do with every phase. You have entered a pretty intense fear stage where certain people (usually men with beards or hats) and certain things (vacuum cleaners, blow dryers, etc.) cause you to cry uncontrollably and bury your head into me. In the last few weeks, you have made huge progress though and I think you're starting to slowly overcome some of these fears. It's all very normal, but it's sad for me to watch.
You've also discovered that you have opinions and you like control, which means you have learned how to throw a tantrum. Sometimes you get very frustrated with me and just yell at the top of your lungs because that's the only way you know how to communicate with me that you are mad. Sometimes you flail yourself on the floor and I just have to walk away until you calm down enough for a hug. Luckily, you listen well and generally recover quickly from these moments, but it's not to say they are fun or easy.
The last challenge we are battling is kind of funny because it really just shows how smart you are. You see, you've realized that when you throw Mo out of the crib when it's time to go to bed, Mommy or Daddy will come in and give him back to you. So this nightly ritual has become a fun game for you. You only do it once or twice, but you do it every single night. Thankfully, once you fall asleep, you are still a rock star sleeper. These days you fall asleep around 8:00 pm and wake up around 7:00 am. You nap from 1:00-3:30 and sometimes 4:00!
Campbell, it's impossible for me to write down how much I love you. It's impossible to describe to you how full you have made my life. Our days together aren't always glamorous, and they aren't always exciting. But, Buddy, they are the best days of my life.
I love you to the moon and back, always and forever.
Love,
Mommy
Thursday, April 11, 2013
ATL
Let me just say this, if there is an Academy Award for expert traveler, Campbell should start writing his acceptance speech.
You see, Michigan made it to the Final Four last weekend and my super fan husband decided to fly down with his buddy for the game on Saturday. They stayed with my sister and cheered on the incredible Wolverines Saturday night.... and we won! Michigan made it to the championship for the first time in years! Obviously, I was bummed that I wasn't there for so many reasons, but it was still such an exciting win!
Rick called me on Sunday morning, with barely a voice at all, and told me Cam and I needed to get on a flight and come down for the championship game. So we did! With two hours notice, I packed us both up, got to the airport (thanks to my dad!) and hopped on another flight with my little man. I was so stressed about the whole thing, but it turned out great. If you remember this post, you can imagine I had severe anxiety about an outburst from Cam and a stranger attacking me about it. But, Campbell was a champ traveler and did an amazing job! We made it to Atlanta without a glitch and the weekend was so fun.
It was basically a Campbell and Michigan love fest. Candy (aka CaCa in Cam language) was so gracious to babysit for us so that Rick and I could attend the game on Monday evening. Though we didn't win the game, they played a tough game and we had a lot of fun!
Thank you again, Rick and Candy, for making the weekend so memorable and fun.
Because I'm kind of obsessed with iMovie right now, I put together a small video of our Atlanta Adventures. Enjoy!
You see, Michigan made it to the Final Four last weekend and my super fan husband decided to fly down with his buddy for the game on Saturday. They stayed with my sister and cheered on the incredible Wolverines Saturday night.... and we won! Michigan made it to the championship for the first time in years! Obviously, I was bummed that I wasn't there for so many reasons, but it was still such an exciting win!
Rick called me on Sunday morning, with barely a voice at all, and told me Cam and I needed to get on a flight and come down for the championship game. So we did! With two hours notice, I packed us both up, got to the airport (thanks to my dad!) and hopped on another flight with my little man. I was so stressed about the whole thing, but it turned out great. If you remember this post, you can imagine I had severe anxiety about an outburst from Cam and a stranger attacking me about it. But, Campbell was a champ traveler and did an amazing job! We made it to Atlanta without a glitch and the weekend was so fun.
It was basically a Campbell and Michigan love fest. Candy (aka CaCa in Cam language) was so gracious to babysit for us so that Rick and I could attend the game on Monday evening. Though we didn't win the game, they played a tough game and we had a lot of fun!
Thank you again, Rick and Candy, for making the weekend so memorable and fun.
Because I'm kind of obsessed with iMovie right now, I put together a small video of our Atlanta Adventures. Enjoy!
Monday, March 4, 2013
Austin Round Up
Well, Campbell and I were on the road (or in the air) again! We headed to Austin last week to support Poppy and the incredible work he is doing for the Jewish Federation of Austin's Men's Division. The Sisters, Cam and I are so proud of the passion my dad has poured into this organization and the blood, sweat and tears he's dedicated to making the Momentum event a success. We were honored to be a part of it.
My dad spoke of the DNA that connects us all, particularly us Jews and how our contributions to charitable Jewish organizations like the JUF help families, senior citizens and refugees who may not know our names or faces, but are incredibly grateful for our help and support. He spoke of his own family who escaped the Nazis because of the Shanghai government's policy to accept Jewish refugees into their ghettos. His words brought me and so many others to tears. So inspiring.
Our visit was full of sunshine, good food and company, and a lot of lovin' on the little man.
Auntie Ash may just be a little obsessed with her nephew and took a lot of selfies of her and the munchkin.
We took advantage of the sunshine and headed to Zilker Park to let Cam run around and let off some steam. He ate it up. Especially the swings, his fave.
Coming from a long line household of Voticky women, the poor guy is subjected to a lot of activities that his father would not be proud of. (And had Rick been present, they would not have happened.)
Like being dressed up...
But this kid is such a trooper. He sat through so many meals out at restaurants, shopped till he dropped, and let everyone snuggle on him like he was going out of style.
It was a short visit, without much time for visiting with friends. But it was a perfect amount of Voticky bonding. Our flight home was one of the most successful flights I've taken with him by myself. Before we left for the airport on Saturday, I had pretty much sworn off traveling alone with the little guy ever again. But he proved me wrong and rose to the challenge, and I'm pretty sure we'll be hopping on another flight again soon by ourselves because who can stay away from all the goodness Austin has to offer!?!?
My dad spoke of the DNA that connects us all, particularly us Jews and how our contributions to charitable Jewish organizations like the JUF help families, senior citizens and refugees who may not know our names or faces, but are incredibly grateful for our help and support. He spoke of his own family who escaped the Nazis because of the Shanghai government's policy to accept Jewish refugees into their ghettos. His words brought me and so many others to tears. So inspiring.
Our visit was full of sunshine, good food and company, and a lot of lovin' on the little man.
Auntie Ash may just be a little obsessed with her nephew and took a lot of selfies of her and the munchkin.
The mister got his first taste of frozen yogurt and l.o.v.e.d it (especially since it had blueberries in it!)
When we took him to opening day at SnoBeach (how lucky were we to be in town!!) he was not such a fan of the sno-cone. He has so much to learn.
Me, on the other hand, well, I couldn't have been happier. The taste of my adolescence and the sun shining above made for the perfect afternoon.
We took advantage of the sunshine and headed to Zilker Park to let Cam run around and let off some steam. He ate it up. Especially the swings, his fave.
Coming from a long line household of Voticky women, the poor guy is subjected to a lot of activities that his father would not be proud of. (And had Rick been present, they would not have happened.)
Like being dressed up...
And too much shopping... (at least we gave him a football!)
But this kid is such a trooper. He sat through so many meals out at restaurants, shopped till he dropped, and let everyone snuggle on him like he was going out of style.
Dad, I couldn't be more proud to be your daughter. You are a true inspiration to our family, our friends, and our community. Thank you for setting such a brilliant example for us all. Love you so much.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)