Rick went on a much need and very well-deserved boys trip this weekend with his buddies, leaving Campbell and I to fend for ourselves. To be honest, as Friday approached I was internally dreading the beginning of the weekend. I was tired just thinking about being the solely responsible adult. But, Cam and I actually had a fantastic weekend together without Daddy. Really, I'm not even just saying that.
We played with Leela D a lot.
Cam decided to take off this weekend while pushing toys. So I took him to a couple of open play places on Saturday, and he found every. single. wheel. wherever we were. He pushed and ran and crashed into everything.
Auntie Lauren came to town!
Campbell got to open his very first birthday present...
And he rocked his new Halloween jammies.
Becca, Lauren and I enjoyed a ladies night Saturday night and spent the day Sunday hanging with the little dude.
Cam even got to see Shauna!
Despite the early wake ups and protesting a nap on Sunday, we really had such a fun weekend just the two of us. Even though we get to spend the whole week together every day, I really felt like we got some extra special bonding time in this weekend and I really, truly loved it. We missed you, Daddy-O, and hope you had fun with the boys!
There is really nothing better than a beautiful Fall. It's one of the reasons I fell in love with the University of Michigan, and then the Midwest. The leaves, the breeze, the smell of crisp air. It's just my favorite.
Add in some pumpkin, tall boots and scarves and you've pretty much made my heart melt.
I have always loved Fall and felt very deprived of this breathtaking season growing up in Austin. But this year, I have fallen in love with the season even harder.
Watching this little boy discover the crunch of leaves and the sound of trees blowing in the wind has been magical.
I am so glad he gets to grow up in a place where this is outside our window.
And, in preparation for the Winter months of being cooped up inside, I've decided to take on a new hobby and am looking for your input. Should I teach myself to sew or crochet?? You get to vote, and then I'll post my projects once I learn the basics (and maybe do a few giveaways!) Leave your comment and let me know what you think :)
This kid just doesn't stop with the hilariousness. He makes me laugh so hard sometimes, so I just thought I'd share a couple of his latest quirks.
The Face Smush
I'm not sure if it's the feeling of cold he's going after or if he's interested in whatever is on the other side. Sometimes I think he sees his reflection and is trying to kiss himself. But lately, I can't stop snapping pictures of him smushing his face up to every hard surface he finds.
Getting Lazy
Sometimes, it's just too much effort to lift up your sippy cup or foot to put it in your mouth. So, Cam has figured out a more convenient way to get what he wants.
Man, I got a lot of feedback from my last Keeping it Real post (back here). So much so, I think there's a little bit inside each of us that needs more time to confess. I think the Catholics nailed this one on the head... it feels good to get things out there and leave them be. So, let's continue.
I am really bad at saying "no." It's bitten me in the butt over the last couple of weeks, and while I continue to tell myself that I need to do better at it, I still suck. Do I think your new hair do accentuates your eyes? No, but I'll probably say yes. Can I spare you five bucks? Not really, but here you go. I'm working on it.
My name is Gill, and I'm a praise junkie. I read this blog article and literally thought to myself, "OMG, that's me." It was so eye opening because I have never ever admitted this out loud or had someone else point out this ridiculous characteristic of mine. But this lady wrote about it so well. It's frightening. I'm not going to go into it here, but it's bad. She does a great job of explaining... so go on over and judge me.
I have a load of clean laundry currently sitting in my dryer. I keep re-setting the dryer to run because I don't want to fold it.
I really try hard to do fun and educational things with my baby during the day. I try to use my resources and be creative, and often I like to post my successes here. But, sometimes it's just a fail. Like yesterday...
I'm obsessed with my baby and I know it's annoying. I take a ridiculous amount of pictures and post them to Facebook and Instagram. (Refer back to confession #2... if you don't comment or like my picture, I probably think you don't like me or my baby. So "like" my pictures.) I used to gag at others who did this. Now it's me.
Today is my first day back inside a gym in over a year. So embarrassing to admit. While I've been walking a lot and carrying 24 lbs. of cuteness around for almost 11 of those months, it still is so sad that I haven't been on a treadmill or in a Zumba class in so long. Feels good to be back... no weight loss goals, just purely for my mental and physical sanity and health. Hopefully I can maintain some routine and motivation to keep going.
My spending freeze was semi-successful. I went ten days without going to Target. Seriously that's huge for me. We ate a week full of dinners from food we already had in our pantry, fridge and freezer. Impressive, right?? I did buy C a new pair of jammies online for Halloween. And a birthday tshirt for next month. Oh, and I needed new running shoes (for my new gym membership...) Okay so it wasn't totally a spending freeze, but whatever.
And that my friends is how we keep it real.
(And, sorry for the all CAPS in the previous post. No idea what happened there.)
This article popped up on my Facebook feed last week. I remember sitting across from Rick on the couch and shouting, "Babe! Listen to this!" because I was that disturbed by it. If you don't have time to read it, here's the headline:
Published on Monday in the journal Pediatrics, an updated policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports that trampolines can cause serious injuries to both younger and older children, and the report discourages parents from allowing their kids to use one.
Why am I so hot and bothered by trampolines? Well, it isn't really trampolines. It's everything that is too risky, bad and unhealthy for kids anymore. From the foods we feed (or don't) to our children, the toys that cost a bagillion dollars because they will make your baby smarter, and the babyproofing companies that will come to your house to literally de-baby your entire space... it's just too much for me. What's next? Bicycles? Rollerblades?
The other day, I took Cam to an open play place and he was having a hoot playing in the pretend kitchen -- opening and closing the oven, banging the pots together and eating the pretend food. Another mom was nearby nagging her baby (who was roughly the same age as C) about putting things in her mouth. She kept saying, "that's disgusting," and "this is pretend food... not real food, that's gross!" And without any judgment, I just felt sad for the baby. Of course putting things in your mouth is gross. No doubt I find it disgusting when I turn around and find C chomping on a shoe or Maizey's toys. But, he's a baby! He's supposed to be exploring things with his mouth! It just breaks my heart that we are so worried about germs and obesity and child protective services that our kids can't be kids anymore.
As I start to think about preschool and which route I want to take with C (I can't believe it's even time to start thinking about this!) I feel so strongly that I just want him to be allowed to be a kid. Preschool is just that.. PREschool and I want him to play and run and get dirty. I want him to learn to tie his shoes, not how to complete a worksheet. I want him to learn to share, not how to recite the alphabet backward while standing on his head.
I certainly don't have all the answers, and I'm sure Cam will have his share of broken bones and illnesses because I let him crawl on public floors (gasp!) and climb up on anything. I don't think we have to say "no" all the time, and I don't think we have to keep our kids in a safe bubble. I believe we can be smart about they way we let our kids explore their world. I don''t want to imagine a world where Cam doesn't know what it's like to fly up so high in the air and crash down on a bouncy trampoline squealing with delight.
I am a big believer in "when you know better, you do better," but at some point, can't we just let kids be kids??
And, to avoid a pictureless post.. here are a few random ones from the past few days!
The weather could not be nicer right now. Crisp air, yellowing trees and a cool breeze have been calling us outside. Last week, Cam and I went to the Zoo with our friends to enjoy the outdoors and play with the animals. One of my favorite things about Chicago is that the Lincoln Park Zoo is free, a ten minute drive, and now across the street from my parents' new apartment :)
Little man had a hoot playing in the farm with the giant tractor tires and pretend crops. If you haven't picked up on it yet, Campbell is a little obsessed with wheels. You can imagine how much time we spent in this area.
Yes, I let my child chew on everything. Don't judge me.
We took a peek at the apes and the zebras and checked on the flamingoes and lions. And after frolicking with the animals, we parked ourselves on the grass and the let the kids eat each others' lunches and frolick in the sunshine. Emerson is a month older than Cam and these two have been pretty smitten with each other since they were itty bitty newborns. Em likes to kiss on Cam and Cam likes to pull Em's hair. Sweet stuff.
With the arrival of Fall weather also comes the arrival of Fall fun. From pumpkin patches to corn maizes and apple picking, I just love it all. It's another reason I love living in Chicago and savor every Fall day we get. We drove out to an apple orchard this weekend with the Passmans and Rubins. The drive itself was beautiful as I listened to my baby sleep in the back and watched this for forty-five minutes straight:
And when we arrived, you could smell the excitement (and the cider donuts!) in the air as hundreds of people gathered in line to pet the animals, pick some apples and enjoy a gorgeous Sunday morning.
And finally, one little boy has made a huge turn this weekend in the food department. For the last couple of months, we have been continuously offering him table foods at every chance we got. A few weeks ago, he finally ate a pea without spitting it out. Took him thirty minutes to actually swallow it, but he ate it. This weekend, little C ate his entire meals in table foods. Feeding himself and asking for some assistance as well, he gobbled up everything we put in front of him and I am oh-so-happy. It was super fun to watch him so I had to document his major breakthrough!
Since Cam was eight weeks old, he and I have been going to Mommy and Me classes, music classes, gym classes and playgroups. It started out as a need for me to socialize and get out of the house when I was dealing with a colicky newborn. I just needed the connection with other moms and some fresh air. It's also part of my inability to stay indoors all day every day. I'm a doer.
On Fridays, we go to My Gym with Sara and Leela. We started going when Cam was around 5 months old and it has been such a fun place for us. At first, he really didn't like it. The music was loud. There was a lot of stuff and a lot of people. And, he couldn't crawl to get to where he wanted to go. But, over the last few months I have watched him become a little more secure in his surroundings while we're there. A little more adventurous, and a lot more of a boy.
We decided October will be our last month there for a while. We'll take a break and try something new for a while, and so today I wanted to capture him in this place that has literally helped him grow.
There's a giant ball pit that Cam loves to play in. The first few times, he hated it. He cried and yelled and I got in with him to get him used to the feeling of falling beneath hundreds of balls. And now...
Since about three months old, Cam has loved the swings. When we are at the park, he could literally sit in the swing the entire time and be content. He thinks it's hilarious to go up high, he loves to try and kick me with his feet. He just loves it. So, you can imagine how excited he gets when the My Gym peeps bring the swings out.
My baby is also quite intrigued with himself and mirrors. There is a whole wall of mirrors at My Gym and he'll pop on over every now and again and check himself out and chat it up. Guess he likes his own company.
One of my favorite things about the program at My Gym is what they call Separation Time. The teachers bring out a bunch of toys and ask the parents/caregivers to step back and let the kids play independently while the teachers supervise them. My little man is quite attached to me, so I was nervous and hesitant the first time they asked me to step aside, but boy did he rise to the occasion. He has never once cried or crawled to me during Separation Time. He just dives right in, plays with the others and has himself a peachy ol' time. Love that.
From the very beginning of our days at My Gym, Cam has sort of been known as the kid who doesn't like to try the new gymnastics skills or activities. He gets scared, sad and is generally uncomfortable when the teachers would take him and put him on a trampoline or balance beam. But slowly, over the last few weeks, he's been taking some more risks and leaving my side a lot more often. So today, we tried all three adventures that the teachers had set up, and he ate it up.
I'm glad we continued to go to class every week, even when I was afraid he'd cry the whole time (and often he did). I'm so proud that he's coming out of his shell already at ten months old. I love that he's becoming more adventurous and confident and he's not even one year old yet!
