Montreal

This past weekend, Campbell received the first stamp in his passport as we traveled to Montreal to celebrate the wedding of my very first friend as well as Bubby Anka's 99th birthday!

The weekend was full of visiting with family and friends. Campbell got to meet so many people for the first time, so excuse the photo overload as I document his first trip to The Homeland.


On Saturday morning, Jayme came to have breakfast and meet Cam for the first time. We spent a couple of hours talking and catching up on the craziness of our lives.

Once upon a lifetime ago, we looked like this:

And, twenty-eight years, two weddings, one baby and two countries later... we are making new memories and continue to share a bond that only forever friends can.

Later that morning, Cam got to meet his Bubby for the first time. This remarkable lady who turns ninety-nine next week, cooed and loved on Cam just as I remember her doing to me as a young girl. She cracked jokes, told her remarkable stories, and made me seriously question the fact that she's nearly a  century old young.

How special that Campbell got to meet such a strong woman, who is literally living history.

Cousins Liza and Anthony stopped by to mush on the nugget, too

 

We left Cam with Mimi and headed to lunch to celebrate this matriarch and the 99 years she's lived so fully.

 

 We came back to the hotel and played and snuggled, and got ready for the out of town dinner to celebrate the soon to be Derksons!

 

We arrived at Tasty Foods, a classic pizza place we used to have our birthday parties at when we were young. The room was full of familiar faces and we spent the evening reliving past memories and talking about our current lives with people we haven't seen in years!

Rick and the groom, Phil

These four ladies used to carpool all the kids to and from school and activities together. They talked all night as if they hadn't missed a beat in the last twenty years.

Thank you, Liza, for babysitting Cam so we could spend such a fun night celebrating Jayme and Phil!

The next morning, we woke up to another packed schedule of visiting with friends and family. Campbell got to meet my sweet friend Gayle and her two adorable little girls.

And later that day, Vera and Norman brought my cousins Josh and Daniel by to meet Campbell and rough-house with Rick.

Josh was so sweet with Cam. He changed his diaper, wiped him clean, and held him when he was fussy. It made my heart melt to think that his dad used to do the same for me, and now he was taking care of my son. Where has the time gone!?!?

And then it was the main event. Jayme and Phil's wedding. I was honored to sign their ketubah and from the moment I saw Jayme in her stunning gown, the tears started flowing. I was so emotional the entire night. Memories of graduating preschool together, sharing a bunk at camp each summer, and dancing at our own bat mitzvahs flooded me the whole night. It was a gorgeous event for a beautiful couple, and we had such a fun time.

In the end, we were all exhausted and ready to go home. Though one little muffin was not so happy about saying good bye to his Mimi and Poppy.

We can't wait to get back to Montreal when Cam is old enough to appreciate Schwartz's and Orange Julep :)

Who Knew?

Who knew there were free babysitting services in today's money-hungry days! Where can you find such services, you ask? Just call diapers.com....

We are off to Montreal tomorrow, and packing with a very attention-hungry seven month old in the house has proven quite challenging. So, I got creative.

Don't judge... some day you'll thank me when you are in a pinch and need a babysitter too :)

More Projects!

What have I been up to lately you ask? Well, aside from the craziness of traveling and visitors, transitioning Cam to two naps, and keeping the house running, I've been getting a little crafty again. I can't help it. It's in my blood, and I guess it's my outlet for the built up angst I have thinking about said traveling, visitors, nap transitions and house-keeping.

Pardon the iPhone pictures. I never seem to have the real camera around when I'm in my element. 


Once Cam started sleeping a few months ago, and I found I had some time on my hands, I wrote about wanting to update our bedroom here. With new bedding, new re-purposed drapes, and an early anniversary present (hello new bed!!), the room was really starting to come together. It felt like a retreat for Rick and I, instead of a hideout. Only thing missing was some wall decor. I headed over to Pinterest and saw this. I headed to the craft store, and $13.00 later, our wall was adorned with a daily reminder of what's important in life:

Then came Father's day. After perusing Pinterest for some clever ideas, I decided Rick can never have enough pictures of Campbell in his office. If you ever get a chance to see his office, you'd laugh at the line up of pictures that forms a banner around the walls. It's adorable. So this is what I came up with:

 And finally, after cleaning out Cam's closet (for the millionth time I might add), I decided I needed somewhere to put or display the few hospital items that didn't seem to fit in a baby book before I decluttered and accidentally threw them away. Again, some time on Pinterest led me to the craft store to pick up a shadow box. And now the memories of November 9, 2011 sweetly hang over Cam's changing table for me to look at each day and remember.

Izzy's Second Birthday

This past weekend was spent celebrating Little Miss Spunky's second birthday!

Friday was her actual birthday, and we kicked it off with a family outing to Pump It Up. If you have never been to a bouncy house place like this before, you must go. I'm seriously considering having my next birthday party there.

We bounced, and jumped, and slid and laughed till every muscle in our bodies hurt.

And let me tell you, we were wiped!

Everyone had to sneak in their cuddles with Baby Cam when Izzy wasn't looking.

And then Izzy got in her kisses and cuddles, too!

One of my favorite things about this place was how loud it was. Perfect for a little boy who has discovered his voice!

All the playing pooped Baby C out, and there were plenty of arms willing to snuggle with him.

After we built up our appetite, we headed to Uncle Julio's for birthday lunch! Izzy opened presents, and ate tortillas and wore the restaurant's utensils!

The next day, Izzy's friends and the rest of our family met at the park for a birthday bash.


We swung on swings, splashed in the water and played on the see-saw. It was just all around fun.

And of course, there was lots of cake eating. LOTS.

Happy happy birthday, Izzy Bear. You are so loved, and you will always and forever be "stinking cute"!!