Cameron's Special Day

Eating his first Pillsbury cinnamon roll

Eating frosting and cake

Singing Happy Birthday!

Playing with new toys

I just love all of his facial expressions. 

The Whitfield 4 at our neighborhood's outdoor concert and bbq-- a HUGE party for Cam's bday :)

We absolutely love our new neighborhood and are overwhelmed with this fabulous community of new friends. 

Cameron's day included a lot of sugar, some mac and cheese, a family bike ride through the neighborhood, singing and dancing, some jealousy (by a certain 3-year old), some tenderness (by that same 3-year old), and outdoor fun with family and new friends.  It was perfect.  I still enjoyed some great cuddles from my baby, and I made sure he knew that he owed me those cuddles after the work it took to bring him into this world 1 year ago.  I'll remind him every year! Happy Birthday, my 1-year old!

My favorite shot of the birthday boy 

CRW: 1 YEAR OLD

When Sophie turned one, we hosted a huge celebration with all of our best friends (who can forget our carport-turned-corn palace?).  That particular birthday felt more of a celebration of our 1st year survival, success, and learning as new parents.  Yes, we celebrated our daughter's major milestone, but her 1st birthday held a much deeper significance and symbolism for all that we had achieved as new parents.

Today, my baby boy is 1 years old.  As we celebrate Cameron's 1st birthday, I feel elated for HIM.  He is a boy trapped inside the body of a baby! I know that sounds ridiculous, but he is so eager to explore the world, to be adventurous, to take on challenges, to act without fear, to socialize, to be active and athletic, to make his own decisions, to be independent, to take big falls and get back up... I can see his frustration at his steady but uneasy walking, and I can hear his attempts at making sounds as he reacts to the world around him.  He is ready to be 1!

He will ALWAYS be my baby.  I love his cuddles.  I love his warm smile.  I love that the absolute first thing that I noticed about him when I first held him was his dimple.  And I see that dimple every day--- he is sly and mischievous.  And he does it all with a dimpled grin.  That dimple will move mountains.  It will break hearts.  It will soothe.  It will cause him trouble and get him out of trouble.

This year has flown by.  As cliche as it is to say that, I must say it.  How is my baby already 1? Fast. He has started experimenting with more sounds and language. I will admit that I'm feeling a bit more relieved, because I had been concerned about this area of his development.  But, he is reacting to everything that interests him by saying "ooooohhhh!! ooooohhhhh!! woooooo! "  He will yell it while we drive and as he points out the window or while I'm filling up the bath and he sees all the toys floating around.  He just gets so excited about the littlest things, and now he has some sounds associated with the facial expressions and flailing limbs! He definitely says "dada" for Doug, "ba" for ball, "ga" for go outside (I think...) "kh" for truck, and "ca" for car. He can imitate some animal sounds (cat, dog, sheep). He loves driving cars on the ground and in the air, and he even makes car sounds.

In his first year of life, my baby boy has had 2 legal names.  He has lived in 2 different bedrooms, in 2 different homes, in 2 different cities, in 2 different states.

We recently tagged along with Uncle Chris, Auntie Ali, and Grady to a Cinco de Mayo party with some of their friends.  There were easily 20-30 kids of all ages running around; it was FUN chaos.  Doug and I work best when we divide and conquer.  He was at one end of the lawn pushing Sophie on the swing while I was with Cameron.  I watched Sophie on that swing, back and forth.  My girl was content.  Then I looked down at her brother.  He had tipped the water table on its side, dumping water on the 3-year old and 2- year old boys.  He was squealing with delight.  Then, he splashed his hands to get rid of the remaining water.  Later, he sat on the ground and threw a ball back and forth with a 3-year old girl.  I'm not exaggerating.  He held on to the ball, lifted his arms up over his head, and thrust the ball.  It didn't go far, but she would retrieve it and roll or throw it back to him.  The two of them played this game for about 10 minutes.  He never once looked up to find me.  Later, he found one of those Little Tikes ride-on big, red cars.  A 2-year old girl hopped in the driver's seat and Cameron pushed her around.  I helped direct the car, but he was on a mission to push her around.  During this whole time, Sophie was on the swings with a smile on her face.  Oh, my two, different children provide me so much joy!

Doug and I are so thankful that God gave us Cameron.  He is an amazing 1 year old who enhances our family in ways that I didn't think possible. Happy Birthday, buddy!!!!

Mother's Day 2013

Instead of talking about how much I LOVE being a mother to Sophie and Cameron....and instead of talking about how special my family made this weekend...and instead of talking about how amazing it was to spend this weekend with my whole family in Boise.... I'm going to focus on my failures as a mother. 

Exhibit A: I have failed as a mommy to prove two important things to my daughter: my monogamous love for Doug and my loyalty to Sophie.  Sophie shared with me that she always wants to live with me and "keep me company."  She said "we will all live in this house together with my husband."  Then she got serious and asked me "But how will we know whose husband is mine and whose is yours? What if you take mine?" I may have a sassy side, but I'm not that trashy, Sophie...

Exhibit B: I have failed as a mommy to instill respect for family heirlooms.  Cam drove a metal car all over the piano bench in about 30 seconds and created a permanent and deeply-engraved road for future joyrides.

Exhibit C: I have failed as a mommy to teach moderation.  On a recent field trip to the neighborhood farm, Sophie's preschool teacher asked the children to look for interesting things.  Sophie found some seed pods that were crackly and intriguing.  Instead of gathering 1-2 and continuing her exploration, Sophie became intent (or obsessed) with grabbing all of the seed pods in the entire creek area.  When I picked her up from school that day, her hands, her pockets, and her teacher's pockets were overflowing with these "interesting things."

Exhibit D: I have failed as a mommy to teach the important commandment: Thou Shalt Not Steal. My children were "playing" together when Cameron started crying.  After asking Sophie what happened, she explained that "I'm now playing a game with Cameron.  It's called 'Steal the books from him' and I'm his Master.  He's crying because he doesn't understand the rules."

Exhibit E: I've failed as a mommy to control a child who is 32 years younger than I am.  Cameron and I take a baby class at a local Little Gym.  Cameron is his own, independent boy who wants to explore, climb, and chase fear wherever he goes.  Sit in a circle and sing a name game? NO.  Run in place and make animal sounds? NO.  Practice summersaults? NO.  Cameron doesn't follow the rules, doesn't obey personal space, and doesn't resist the temptation of all the mats and climbing equipment on the far side of the room.  I spend my 45 minutes corralling him, trying to rationalize with him, and apologizing to the sweet little babies who just had the ball ripped out of their hands.  The best/worst part is that he does all of this mischief with the biggest smile on his face.

This has been a major year that has involved leaving my job to stay home as a mommy, having a 2nd child, and moving to a new city! I'm thankful to my husband for making me a mother (haha), for my two beautiful children, for my own mom who modeled the grace, wisdom, and patience required to be a mother, and to the rest of our extended family for the joy and support they bring to our lives.

HEART OVERLOAD.

Sophie the Entertainer

LONG video of my quirky girl... she performs her original songs and dances on a nightly basis, but we finally taped this one a few weeks ago.  My favorite part is when she elicits audience participation. And the dance moves aren't so bad either!