Latest Quirks

Campbell is one funny kid. He seriously cracks us up, and the past couple of months he has developed some new quirks that just make me giggle. I have a few documented in pictures and the rest I'll just have to narrate. Enjoy!

1. Downward Dog
Mr. C is getting stronger and more active, and does not like sitting still. He is crawling, crusing and pushing his way through our days. And every few minutes, in the middle of his race to get a toy or grab a hug from someone, he'll put his head on the floor and push up. We like to think he's into yoga... he's getting his zen on. Let me tell you, when that butt hits the air every few minutes of every day, it just makes you laugh.

2. Yayy!!!

Cam is a sensitive soul. Whenever he does something and we get excited or want to encourage him to keep doing it, it's natural for us to shout, "Yay!!" and clap. Well, this totally terrifies him. His face goes blank, he looks around like someone is coming to get him, and his body stiffens. Poor kid.

We've tried, "All right!" "Way to go!" and "Hooray!" but they all lead to the same reaction. What a little weirdo.

3. Fishy Face
 As Cam's teeth have been coming in, he's discovering what his tongue and mouth can do. He's constantly rubbing his hands on his mouth, licking his lips, smacking his lips and blowing bubbles. One of his latest tricks is the fishy face. It's pretty stinking cute.

4. Jammie Meltdown 

While there isn't much humor in a baby meltdown, I have managed to find the lighter side of this nightly ritual as it's been going on for a good couple of months. You see, unless this bugger is really hurt, really scared or teething, he really doesn't scream and cry and hold his breath. He's more of a fusser if he's unhappy with something.

Except when it comes to pajama time.

Cam loves his bath before bedtime. He loves his lotion, and his vitamins and the silly songs we sing as we put on his diaper before bed. And as soon as I take out his pajamas and start to put them on, the kid screams and cries like the world is ending. It's sort of a fake cry, really. No tears, and every few seconds he'll stop and look at me and smile, and then get back to his melting. He doesn't do this when he's being dressed at any other point during the day. Just night time. Weird, yes. Funny, kind of. But, buddy, I'm totally cool if you want to drop this little quirk any time soon. My ears hurt.



5. Toy Swap

We spent a good amount of time teaching Maizey early on that Cam's toys were not her toys. She learned really quickly and after maybe one or two destructive episodes, she really hasn't touched his stuff.

And then there's Cam. He's a little stinker. This kid has toys coming out of all corners of this house. Talking toys, plush toys, wheeley toys, walker toys, bouncy toys, and on and on.

But, of course, you always want what you can't have.

And all Cam wants are Maizey's toys. No matter what I try to offer him, he just wants a Nylabone. Thinking of buying him one for his birthday... at least that one will be clean!

6. Booty Dance

 And lastly, I can't post the evidence of this because a) it's way embarrassing, b) it's totally inappropriate, and c) if it went viral and I ended up on The Today Show, I'm pretty sure Cam would disown me as his mother once he was old enough to use Google.

Have you ever seen that Friends episode where Rachel can only get her baby to laugh when she sings "Baby Got Back"? Well, I've always dreamed of being Jennifer Aniston...

You see, while we were in Austin, I was dancing in the living room, being goofy and overtired, and we noticed that as my back turned to Cam, he would start laughing. So I started to shake my booty a little more and the kid was laughing so hard his face was red and his eyes were watering. I danced a lot that day. And the next day, and the next day. You just can't stop when he's laughing like that... it's too much.

Judge away, but I totally empathize with Rachel now and will probably do many more inappropriate things to get this kid to laugh like that again.

Our Trip to Texas: According to my iPhone

Two weeks ago, we packed our bags, stroller, carseat, and ourselves and headed to Texas for a week full of Sourthern fun. I decided not to bring our big camera for the sake of my sanity as we were carrying SO many bags, so pardon the update via iPhone pictures (and Ash's camera!)

We flew into Dallas where we met Mimi and Poppy, Ash and Gena for the Michigan/Alabama game. The flight was good and Cam was a great traveler as usual (thank you Lord!), and when we stepped off the jetway it was pretty clear we had arrived in Texas. Man that heat hits you hard! 

We have literally been planning this trip for nearly two years. I think I had just found out I was pregnant when the Cowboy Classic was announced, and Rick immediately declared we would be going. My mom immediately nominated herself as the babysitter, and my dad so generously offered to get us tickets. I'm pretty sure I've written about my habit of looking forward to an event for so long and then as soon as it begins I get sad because I know it will be over so soon. Well, I haven't changed much, and as soon as we touched down in Dallas my heart dropped a bit in my stomach because I knew this ten day long adventure I had been counting down until would be over in a flash.

Nevertheless, Ash met us at our hotel and of course, she was most excited to see Baby Cam and Mimi.

We all got dressed in our Michigan gear and headed out to wander around and eat dinner. The entire city was dressed in red or blue. It was really unbelievable.

 Someone was such a good sport...

We did a bit of shopping and browsing, and I'm pretty sure I got to hold my baby for a solid ten minutes all evening. This kid is one loved munchkin.

 And when he got sleepy, Mimi scooped him up and snuggled him.

Gena flew in from LA and arrived sometime in the middle of the night, and was apparently treated like royalty when she arrived at her living quarters for the weekend.

I hardly slept that night. Between sharing a room with a baby who has sixth sense for his Mama when she's near, the beautiful serenade I received from my lovely husband's nostrils, and the excitement of the big day coming up, I was wound up to say the least! But, bright and early, just as expected, Ash and Gena and a slew of Michigan fans showed up for a breakfast reunion the next morning.

Oh man it was good to see this lady!

Thankfully, she loves me enough that she forgave me for attacking her upon sight and spilling her chai tea all over her. Oops.


We all "ooed" and "ahhed" at each other's gear. 

And we hugged a lot.

Then it was time to kick off the football season. Ash packed her car full of tailgate awesomeness and we headed to the stadium in two separate cars. Picture this: My dad driving me, Campbell and my mom in one car, following Ashley whose driving her car packed full of people. Ashley's excited, anxious and ready to get going so she leads the way in a speedy manner. I'm texting Rick to tell Ash to slow down because my dad is having a field day with his comments. After about twenty minutes of driving, my dad is huffing and puffing that she's going the wrong way. I'm getting more nauseated as the minutes pass, my mom is telling my dad he's going too fast. It was fun. One hour later, we arrived at our tailgate spot, and Rick quietly whispers in my ear, "Poor Ash. She took us to the old stadium at first. Too bad that thing was blown to pieces!"

I digress. We arrived, we poured our beverages and soaked up the 110°F heat.

It was hot. Like hotter than I ever remember being. I seriously don't remember how I lived in that heat for so many years. I guess when you're younger, you don't care as much. But holy hotness, it was hot!

Campbell spent some time at his first tailgate, and then Mimi and Poppy took him back to the hotel to cool off and go to sleep.

And then it was time for the game. Walking into the stadium took my breath away. There's nothing like the Big House, but this stadium stacked up pretty well. Our seats were awesome. First row a few sections up.

This guy was so happy.

We were cautiously optimistic that it would be a fun night and at least a close game, though we knew deep down we didn't really have a chance of winning.

And then the game started. And Rick looked like this for four straight quarters. 

And by the end, we were all a little depressed. A little sad to be defeated. A little sad that the first game was over. And a little sad that we had to battle traffic for an hour+ to get in our beds.

The next morning, we sulked and wallowed and packed up our car for Road Trip o' Fun!

And when we arrived in Austin (via Sonic!) it felt good to be in a new house my parents just moved into but sorta looked like my old home home :) 

Our week in Austin was amazing. Everything I had hoped for and a little more.

Campbell spent a lot of time reading with Mimi...

 

And laughed a lot from Poppy's clucking and tickles.

SO bummed this one is blurry!!

Mimi set up an entire playroom that resembled Disney Land on crack. To say Cam was in love would be an understatement. That kid spent five seconds playing with one thing and quickly moved to another for seven days straight.

 

Asher came back for a couple of days because she missed us and wanted more Campbell lovin'. 

We cooled off in the pool. This kid knows how to chill :)

Cam played the piano and visited the mall, and by the end of the week we were ready to get home.

 

Thank you, Mimi and Poppy, for hosting us. Thank you Ash for coordinating such a fun tailgate. Thank you Gena for making last minute arrangements and hanging with us for a while down south! 

Happy football season, y'all! 

Strike!

(I promise to post an update on our trip to Texas last week, but there have been so many things pressing on my mind that I feel like I really want to write about at this moment. The update will come soon. In the meantime, pardon my rambling!) 

Yesterday, the Chicago Teacher's Union went on strike for the first time in twenty five years. I find this so monumental and so important, I couldn't ignore writing about it. I think the effects of this strike will be greater on this country than one can imagine. What happens in Chicago right now, the nation's third largest public school system, will make a huge impact on the entire country's public education system.

Initially, I was torn about my position on this strike. As a former teacher, in both the city of Chicago and the suburbs, I feel immense support and empathy for the teachers on the picket lines today. I also have such mixed emotions about unions, testing, teacher evaluations, merit pay. I don't think students should be tested for 20 days of a school year. I don't believe teachers' effectiveness is at all correlated to test scores. And, I certainly believe there are bad teachers out there who continue to work in the field because of tenure, a policy that has affected me and many others I know in such a cruel way.

Today, though, my heart strings were pulled as I thought about the little boys and girls who used to flood my classroom on the south side of Chicago. The ones who came to school every morning hungry for breakfast as I served them their muffin and milk in our classroom before the bell rang. The ones who wore t-shirts with their father's picture on it, the only memory left of the man who was lost to drugs and gang violence. I think about these kids wandering the streets today, probably thrilled to not be sitting in a stifling hot classroom, but also silently scared about where their lunch will come from and where they will find refuge from the bad influences they seem to avoid while shielded by their school walls. My heart breaks for them and for the teachers fighting for their rights.

I wanted to share this article with anyone out there who has a minute to read it. It's written by a teacher and is insightful and reveals the heart of what so many teachers are feeling right now. I hope it can shed some light to those of you who don't quite understand the truth behind this strike. Teachers don't go into the field of education for the money. We don't expect to win awards, have movies made about our efforts, or receive bonuses. We do it for the kids. It's always been about the kids, and I am beyond proud that teachers have finally found the courage to stand up for the innocent little ones when it seems like no one else will.

I hope you'll take a moment today to educate yourself on the incredible importance of this historic event taking place right now. Then form your own opinion and take action however you see fit. 

The Power of 2

Anyone who knows my sister, Candy, well knows she has a minor obsession with even numbers. (And if you don't know her, check her out here. She's pretty awesome.) It started at a young age. Little things like, the volume on the television had to be set to an even number. If it wasn't she would promptly ask you to change it up or down a notch. She could never live in a house with an odd number as its address. But don't fret, because if you find yourself living in such a place, she can always figure out a way to make it even. Example: Our address is1945. Before buying our condo, Candy reassured me it was a great address because 1+9+4+5 = 19 and 1+9 = 10 so it's really even. Phew!

Candy's freckles on her body are in pairs of two. (Seriously!) She was born on the 22nd. She is the second born of our family. The list goes on. When our family thinks of the number 2 or 22, we think of Candy. It's just a part of life.

Recently, I've been noticing the number 2 pop up in my life a lot. It started by noticing the clock a couple of mornings in a row at exactly 10:22 (Candy's birthday). Then, last week I bought a drink at Walgreens on my walk with Cam and received $0.22 back in change. And then it continued...

Last week in Dallas, Rick randomly passed out our tickets for the football game as we were walking into the stadium, and I immediately took a picture of my ticket to send to Candy. It was just starting to get too weird.

I then went online to enter my Pampers points (if you don't know about this and you're a mom who uses Pampers, ask me about it. AWESOME!) and my new total was revealed:

 

Again, had to take a screen shot and text it to Candy. 

And then yesterday, on our flight home from Austin, my mom and I asked the American Airlines lady if she could find two seats together for us so we could tackle the flight with a baby as a team. She kindly printed new tickets for us and we were assigned to seats 22A and 22B. No joke. 

So what does all this mean?? Probably nothing, but after a recent discussion with a dear friend about the idea of number sequences and their possible meaning or signals, I decided to Google the sequence 22 and 222. Just because.

Here's what my very minimal search revealed:

A recurring 2 is a message to have faith, trust and courage as your prayers are manifesting in your life, even if it is not obvious just yet. Patience may be needed, but you may rest assured that all will turn out for the highest good.  (http://psychicjoanne.hubpages.com/hub/Angel-Numbers-Recurring-2s)

As a former student of mine would say, "Aww, Come ON!" 

I'm not a true believer in messages being sent through numbers, and I'm not convinced that any of this means anything other than Candy and I need to hang out more. But, that little Google search hit me hard, and I needed to share it with the many people who read this blog and may need a little extra faith, trust and courage today. And, if you notice a 2 in your day today, think of Candy. I certainly will.

10 Months Old

Dear Sweet Campbell,

My goodness, can you believe you are ten months old today? This is going to be one long update, because you have been so busy this month! You have reached so many milestones and grown so much in the last few weeks, it's been exhausting keeping up with you!

You are still a super sleeper, taking two great naps and going to bed at 7:00. This past week, while we were in Austin, you slept in consistently until 7-7:15 am. I am not sure if this is your new wake up time or if you were just enjoying being on vacation, but let me tell you I enjoyed it!! You are still an awesome traveler and adjusted really well to your multiple new surroundings while we were in Texas. Way to go, Bud!

You're still taking four bottles a day and eating a lot of food for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While I have been trying to encourage you to eat what we are eating, you're not a big fan of "real" food. Despite having four teeth now, you much prefer your purees, mashed up foods and puffs.

You are currently wearing mostly 12 month clothes and we moved you up to size 4 diapers. Your big tush seems much happier in the new size :)

Buddy you are on the move! You are officially a fast crawler and you keep us on our toes.

You are pulling up on everything! From furniture, to people, to toys and Maizey, we can't take our eyes off of you!

You've even taken a few steps around some furniture and while holding onto walkers and other pushable toys.

You have figured out how to climb up short stairs, but you're still working on that oh-so-safe skill. Yesterday, you stood up on your own (no support at all!) for a good 5-8 seconds. It was so shocking to see, and I wish I had a picture of your face. You seemed so scared and proud all at the same time.

You are a babbling machine! You wake up talking and don't stop until you go to bed. Your expressions are hilarious, and while most of the time, you make no sense at all, you are clearly saying "dada." You don't associate any meaning with it yet, but it's pretty cute to hear you say it.

You've learned a couple new tricks this month which I think are adorable. You can give us a high five and you like to clap along when I sing Pat-a-Cake to you. We're still working on getting you to wave hello and good bye, but you'll get there!

You have some very strong opinions my love! You definitely favor one lovey over the other (Lloyd, the monkey is your fave!) You would much rather drink water from an open container instead of a sippy cup. You are tired of certain books and bat them away now until we read the one you're more interested in. And you most certainly prefer being held by your mom. Fortunately, I don't have anyone else vying for my attention (except your dad) so I don't really mind, but you have a slew of people who would love to hold you and love on you, so give them a chance!

You still have the most squishable thighs, the chubbiest cheeks and the most marshmallowy arms. And man I love every bit of them. I am dreading the day they start to melt away now that you are on the move, but let me assure you I have been munching on them a LOT this month!

You still love books and would probably flip through them and read most of the day if I let you. You love anything with wheels (cars, trucks, strollers, wagons) and you love to make the wheels spin. You love to shake musical instruments and bang on the drums... you even go to play a real piano at Mimi and Poppy's house this week and you loved it! (Though I'm pretty sure if anyone else had been the one playing those tunes, Poppy would have thrown that piano out the door!) You are active, so ticklish, and still love your cuddles. You are simply perfect.

Bunny, there isn't much else in this world that fills my heart up as much as you do. You are truly a little angel. Sometimes, I'm afraid to blink because time is moving too quickly. I just hope as you grow up, your sweet and flexible personality continue to grow on the inside because it is so endearing and makes this momma so proud to call you mine.



I love you to pieces,
Mommy

 

And a couple outtakes because, let's just be honest here, this kid can go from zero to sixty in two seconds flat :)

Stop the torture!

Oh wait, I like the elephant. Ok it's cool, Mom, continue!

She's Back!!

Cam and I are still hanging out in Austin and I will post a full recap when we return home!

But, in the meantime, one of my favorite bloggers has come back after a little hiatus and I think you should all pay her a visit and welcome Spunky back at www.spunkyinthesouth.com!

And, for Campbell's fans out there... Here's a sneak peek at what we've been up to these past few days...