CRW: 4 Months

Oh, baby Cam:

 This boy is such a squeezable, kissable munchkin.

This past month with Cam has been the most difficult of his life thus far...many more periods of crying, a disappointing transition from sleeping 8-10 consecutive hours/night to waking up 1, 2, or 3 times/night, and an apparent flu and/or allergy that resulted in more dirty diapers per day than Sophie would have per month when she was his age.  We have adjusted, and we seem to be turning back in the right direction, but it has been challenging for sure.

All of those tears aside, this big boy is hysterical.  He laughs and giggles.  He makes crazy goo-goo, ga-ga sounds.  He continues to gain strength in his head/neck and can sit for extended periods of time in an exersaucer or bumbo seat.  He wiggles, twists, and turns, and has turned over once! He reaches and grabs for toys and thinks it is either totally hysterical or totally startling when a toy makes a sound or plays music!  The drool doesn't stop.  His obession with everything Sophie-related hasn't waned; sister knows how to entertain brother.

(Don't ask about this photo....)

Part of the difficulty with the Cam-man has been his uncanny and superhuman ability to escape the swaddle. Doug is known as the master-swaddler (I know how wrong that phrase sounds...).  Doug doesn't mess around with his straight-jacket-type swaddles.  And every parent knows that the key to good sleep is a good swaddle.  Doug has a technique that is tried and true; he has passed on his skills to me and on to grandmas/babysitters, etc.  But, Cameron is a magician who frees those arms from the double swaddle.  As much as his constant escapes are frustrating, they are also so endearing; he laughs and laughs when he is out of the swaddle.  I'm not exaggerating this at all. I'll open the door and look at him in the crib with his bare arms swinging around and his double-swaddle blankets down by his feet. He erupts in this HUGE grin and wiggles around.  It's hard to stay mad at him when he looks so darn cute and when he is so proud of himself.  I've rolled my eyes at him so many times in the middle of the night, and then I just laugh with him.  While Doug thinks his son is really cute and that Cameron's tricks are funny, Doug is still so perplexed at Cam's ability to free himself from the master-swaddle.  Doug has honestly lost sleep trying to figure out how Cameron can out-wit him.  I mean, out-smart him.  No, I mean out-last...out-strength...!!! You get the idea!

The stats: 14.10 pounds and 26 inches long!

We couldn't love you any more, Cameron!  You complete our little family.

(a family photo from last week's first day of preschool)

PS.  As of this past week, our son's name has LEGALLY been changed to Cameron Ries Whitfield.  Done and done!!

Preschool

We are officially parents of a preschooler.  How is that possible?!

Silly Sophie (all 30 pounds of her) back in the Baby Bjorn!

Last week, on the night of the preschool's parent orientation, I was too nervous and excited to eat dinner.  I had butterflies in my stomach for many reasons-- because I know how much Sophie will love school, because I am so excited for her to learn, to socialize, to develop, because I cannot believe that she is almost 3 years old and entering school, because I wish I could just hold on to her and be with her every minute of every day.  Long story short, I was a nervous ball of energy.  The orientation began with the Pastor of Children's Ministries whose opening prayer for all of our children left me crying.  I am officially the mom who cried at the parent orientation for preschool, because I was so overwhelmed with joy, pride, anticipation, fear, melancholy. (Doug must have had something fall into his eye during the prayer, too, because his eyes started to water at the same time....)  We met Sophie's teacher and saw her classroom, and we both said to eachother, "Sophie is going to LOVE this."  Sophie heard us return home later that evening, and she called us into her bedroom.  Doug sat in her reading chair, and I crawled into bed with Sophie.  We talked with her for 45 minutes all about her school, her teacher, the teacher's aide, the class, the daily schedules, the other parents, the snacks, the rules, etc, etc.  She was squealing with joy and getting more and more excited.  She wanted me to read every piece of paperwork that we brought home, including the information on tuition, parking, and emergency procedures. Our conversation became one of those moments when I smiled at Doug, and we both knew that we would remember this night for the rest of our lives.  Our little girl was ecstatic, asking question after question about school.  At one point, she jumped up and down in her bed and loudly said, "Now, can you back up, mommy and tell me about the toys again?!"  Days later, Sophie was still reciting the descriptions and explanations that we provided her.

In the days leading up to Sophie's first day of school, D and I both had special dates with Sophie.  Although neither of us came out explicity and talked to one another about our motivation for the dates, I think we both felt sentimental about our baby girl starting preschool.  Doug took Sophie for an afternoon swim and smoothies and chicken fingers in the sun.  And I took Sophie to Nordstroms!

SOOO EXCITED!

We celebrated the final day of summer with the Whitfield's 1st Annual Back to School Party!  We read all of her books that talked about school.  I decorated the house with yellow (her favorite color) streamers and balloons, and I conducted an "interview" to document everything from her favorite toys to friends to activities.  Sophie talked about how when she grows up, she wants to be "a doctor, a author, and a gymnast." We even got a chance to visit her classroom and meet her teachers.  The first thing Sophie did when she entered her new classroom?  Hugged the teacher.  Then, my talkative girl told her teacher how she likes to pinch her brother's cheeks to get him to laugh, how she has a fish named "Beauty and the Beast",  how her Grandma lives in Spokane, how she has a dollhouse with 3 meerkat babies....and as we walked back to the car after the quick meet-and-greet, Sophie said, "I'm smiling because I'm so happy! I love my teachers.  I'm so excited."

On the night before school started, Sophie chose to read a book of bible stories as her bedtime book.  At the end of one of the stories, the book asks "What do you want to thank Jesus for?"  Sophie looked all around the room, and I assumed that she would focus on one of her toys/stuffed animals/games/etc... but in true "I'm-ready-for-a-Presbyterian-preschool manner, Sophie said, "I want to thank Jesus for the moon."  Mommy and Daddy then had to explain to Sophie why we were crying happy tears again.  She is such a sweet girl.

When the first day arrived, Soph was still so excited.  She squealed with excitement and impatience! She had such a big and genuine grin on her face all morning.  When we rounded the corner to her classroom, other mommies and daddies were holding their children's hands, hugging and kissing them goodbye.  Sophie walked straight past them and into the classroom without turning around.  Doug and I both had to follow her in and ask for a hug goodbye!  Then, she was off to explore.  We were so proud of her confidence, her excitement, her independence, and her joy.  When I picked her up, my bubbly, BIG girl already looked so much older than she had 3 hours prior!  She told me the whole way home about her new friends, about which kids peed their pants and which kids cried (!), about the stories and songs shared, about how she spilled her yogurt on her shirt but she cleaned it up all by herself....it was an amazing first day!  She ran into her bedroom and asked her fish and many of her toys, "Did you guys miss me? I'm back from preschool!"

The Cam-man and I will miss big sissy during the days that she's at school, but he and I are also excited for a little mommy-baby time, too.  And maybe if he gets more 1:1 time with me during the mornings, he won't feel the need to shake things up by demanding so much 1:1 time in the middle of the night...!

Nonstop

The past week and a half has been nonstop for the Whitfield 4---spending time back and forth between Spokane and Priest Lake with my family (and a quick work trip to Atlanta for D).

Nonstop Fun: We have been living the life!

Nonstop Excitement: We are still so excited to be calling our little man, Cameron.

Nonstop Growth: Look how big this chunky-monkey is!  He is a tank. But this increased growth means increased strength (and drool).

Nonstop Colic (?): Although we aren't 100% sure of the diagnosis, it appears that our Cam-man is a bit colicky.  There have been some extended periods of screaming lately.  Our sweet, dreamy baby has changed things up on us! Perhaps his crying at all hours is related to a growth spurt.  I hope so.

Nonstop Hilarity: Sophie doesn't shut up.  She talks and talks and talks.  It's hysterical and there is no way for me to adequately capture it on this blog.  One example:  as we drove home today from Spokane, Sophie and I were singing a song together.  At one point, she told me to stop singing and said, "I wish that you had my voice when you sang.  I don't like your singing voice." Another example:   several months ago, my mom bought Sophie a book entitled "The Obstinate Pen" about a pen who wrote the truth rather than what the author wanted the pen to write.  While we have read this book many times, we hadn't talked about it for several weeks.  But, this week, Sophie was scribbling, pretending to be an author.  She asked what story she should write, and I told her to "Write 'my mommy is perfect.'" Without missing a beat, Sophie wrote "My mommy is a slummy mummy.  My mommy is sweaty-bo-betty." Soph then smiled at me and said "This is obstinate pen, mommy." Nonstop hilarity.

Nonstop confidence: Sophie is great in the water.  One night after dinner, she asked to jump into the lake.  Here is the progression of photos to document how her confidence and courage were tested by the chilly evening water...

Nonstop Nephew Love: We got to meet baby Grady, our nephew!  He is one month old and such a handsome, sweet little thing. Obviously, we all laughed at how giant our 3.5 month old son looked next to the 1 month old.  And the photos of these cousins didn't stop all weekend...

I'd love somebody to write a caption for this photo...what are each of these kids thinking??

Nonstop Family Love: The photos tell the story.

Grandma and her girl

The cousins with Grandma and Papa!

 

Papa and his boys

S and C with their Auntie Ali

The boys and their doting fathers

Nonstop Triathlon Success: At Priest Lake, Doug completed his 4th Tri of the summer.  He had THE FASTEST time out of the water!  It was such fun to cheer him on with the lake and the hills in the background.

Sophie making a snow angel on Daddy's wetsuit (her idea!)

Now, as Labor Day comes to a close, we have nonstop gratitude (for an amazing summer), nonstop anticipation (for preschool and a new routine with me at home), and nonstop excitement for a busy fall!