A Great Big Laugh!

I love his laugh! It sure brightens my day and makes me smile. I was playing with him and he was just craking up, I dont know why he thought it was so funny, but apparently it was! And he looks naked, but he isnt! Just likes to hang out in his diaper for a bit after a bath.

The Battle Has Begun

Battlefield Mom
All I have to say today is "Ahh!!!" I feel like Im going to rip my hair out. Cameron is a little wild thing. I have been chasing him around all morning trying to keep him out of mischief and things he shouldnt be into. I am not swaddling him anymore for naps and now that he can sit up on his own and pull up to standing all he wants to do in the crib are those two things. So I spend a half hour or more trying to get him to go to sleep and stop playing. The frustrating things is that he is super tired, so you would think he would just zonk out, but no, he fights and fights to the end. Today he kept getting mad and hitting his head on his crib and then he screams and I feel bad but I have to let him cry himself to sleep. I feel like a bad mom! The last few days have felt like a constant battle to get anything done while he is awake, and then trying to get him to sleep.

Diaper Change: Mission Impossible
On another subject that ties in with my frustration is the diaper change... I dread changing diapers now, especially messy ones. He refuses to lay down so he wiggles and fights to get up and roll over and everything in between. So I end up holding him half in the air by one ankle and trying to wipe his mess off while he is screaming in the background. I know most people would question my strength, thinking how could he be stronger than me to wiggle away. Let me tell you, I have never met a stronger baby than him, he is amazingly strong for his size. So diaper changes, or clothing changes, are low on my fun-o-meter and very very high on my frustration- meter!

What was I thinking when I said I wanted him to crawl and roll and pull up!?

Crafts, Crawling and Food

I wanted to make some valentines decorations so here is one I made tonight. I bought a stencil cutter that my friend told me about and cut out the stencils for it. I have been planning this out in my mind for about a week and my friends mother in law happened to do one similar and posted pictures on her blog so I stole a few ideas from it, but most of it was me:) I love doing crafts! (Sorry about the TV in the background! I forgot to turn it off.)

Cameron is crawling! For about the past month he has been scooting and getting on his knees but never crawled on his hands and knees. On the 23rd he crawled across the living room, long term crawl for the first time! I was so excited. Every since then he has been going all over the place. So now he can pull up to standing, get into sitting from tummy and crawl. All of this happened withing the last month or so. I am loving watching him learn more and more. He also starting saying "mum" for me and "dada" for Bret. He understands a lot more even though he cant talk, I will ask him to hand me something and he will hand it to me and he knows when I say "up" it means I am going to pick him up or help him stand up. And lots more! We had to lower his mattress in his crib because he is pulling up in his crib now too. This morning we woke up to his mobile music playing and I went in and he was on his hands and knees pushing the buttons. It was so funny because he has never done that before. (I had another video of him crawling, pulling up and getting into sitting but it was too long and wouldnt download on the post)


I have been giving Cameron a lot more food rather than just baby food. One of his new favorites is grilled cheese. I make it a different way for him, I toast a peice of wheat bread and then right when it pops out of the toaster I put a peice of Kraft Singles on it and let it melt then cut it in little squares. He loves it! He can feed himself now, except for his baby food, he cant use a spoon yet. He also ate macaroni and cheese and spaghettios. I always give him a little of what we are eating, of course unless its not something he should have. He loves his food and loves to make a mess with it too!

Mommy Escape

Last night my good friend and neighbor Courtney called me and asked if I would be up for some shopping today. I jumped on the opportunity! I appreciate every moment of free time nowadays. This morning we headed out, just the two of us, no kids or strollers.

We went to the Super Mall first and went to Childrens Place, as mommies we are always on the prowl for good deals on kids clothes. I got Cameron a few new shirts and a pair of pants. Then we went to Southcenter Mall to shop for ourselves. We both found a pair of jeans that fit us, which is quite a novelty, its hard to find a good pair of jeans! I got a pair of khakis and some comfy Aeropostale sweats. Finally I can stop wearing my maternity yoga pants! We looked through lots of stores and had a fun time. We decided to go by Old Navy on our way home and that was my gold mine. They had a ton of clothes on sale. I got 10 shirts that acutally fit me well and are cute, and two sweater jackets to wear over shirts or tank tops. I have been wearing my pre-pregnancy clothes and they dont fit me amazingly and arent really any type of style, they are just plain old t-shirts. I feel like myself again! I used to have lots of cute clothes and I looked nice daily, but I have been in a bit of a frump with my style since I had Cameron.

I am so glad that Courtney called me last night and asked me to go with her. I had a lot of fun chatting, shopping and being babyless for a day. But, by the time it was all over I was ready to get back to my baby Cameron and Bret. I miss them when Im gone too long:)

Let Me Outa Here!

I have never really used the Pack and Play as a means of containment until the other day. I had to get ready because we needed to be somewhere that morning and I was trying so hard to get dressed and Cameron kept getting into things he shouldnt and being a wild boy. So I pulled out the Pack and Play and put him in there with some toys. Let me just say, this did not make him happy. He played for a few minutes until he decided he wanted to get on the move and then the crying and screaming began. He was so pitiful, he would put his hands up against the mesh and make a sad little face and whine. Unfortunatly for him, this didnt work on me because I was running late and had to hurry to get ready and didnt have time to take him out. Mean mommy, right? Anyway, I just thought it was cute and funny the way he put his hands on the sides.

Cutie- Pie

I took these pictures last night of Cameron, he was being so flirty and cute. I love that little boy!!

A New Calling and A Climbing Baby

This Sunday I was released from my calling as Activity Days leader over the 10 year olds and called as the Beehive advisor. I am so excited to be in Young Womens! I love YW and I have wanted to be in it ever since I left it myself. I think it is a really fun, fulfilling calling, or at least it seems like it will be. I love the idea of getting to know the girls and being able to teach them and hopefully be an example to them. Whenever I get a calling I wonder what it is that Heavenly Father has for me to learn in that calling. I keep getting called to teaching callings, so maybe I have a lot more to learn than I think. Bret and I have been the 12 and 13 year old sunday school teachers for about a year and I think that in that calling I needed to learn patience. Im telling you, I am afraid for my sanity when I have teenagers of my own. Sometimes my brain hurts after teaching that class, so I think maybe that patience lesson is being transferred to this calling as well. Anyway, I am really excited to be in this calling and I really look forward to fulfilling it as best I can.

On another note, I have been busy saying "No, No, No" for the last few days. Cameron is now a lot more mobile than he has ever been and he has started climbing and pulling up on things. He trys to climb the stairs, the coffee table, his toys... not to mention he is obsessed with the fireplace and he loves to pull the cover off the bottom to expose the cables and that makes me nervous! I have to follow him around whereever he goes to be sure he doesnt get into things he shouldnt or fall and hurt himself. I hope that as he gets more stable and figures out what he shouldnt get into it will be easier for me too. I need to do some baby proofing now, thats for sure. I am still in awe at the way that one morning he woke up and was just able to do way more than the night before. Amazing. He also all of a sudden figured out how to feed himself. So that has been really fun. He loves toast broken up into pieces and gerber crunchies(they are like baby cheetos). I am really proud of him for all he is learning and how smart he is getting.

Melting Pot Birthday Dinner

Bret and I went out to dinner tonight for my birthday. I am in love with the Melting Pot so he took me there. We dont go too often, only special occasions, so it was a treat for sure! My mom came over to watch Cameron (who had an explosive day in learning leaps!) and we left to dinner. Normally it takes at least 2 hours for dinner but for some reason tonight it was speedy and we were done in an hour. Not to waste precious alone time with a babysitter at home we decided to do a little shopping at the mall, alone. Its a weird feeling to be walking through a mall without a stroller and going into stores and not having to pay attention to if my baby is pulling things off racks. It was so much fun to have a date with Bret. I need to keep up with my resolution to do a monthly date... we will see how that goes. I am thinking I will make some fondue one night this week for dinner again, I always crave it again right after I have it.

My mom took this picture of us just before we left. We dont have very many pictures of just us and its fun to document our date with a picture.

He Figured It Out!

This morning we came downstairs after we woke up and Cameron started to play on the livingroom floor. He has gone from his tummy/crawling position to sitting one or two times before but I think it was more accidental. But this morning, he is a whiz at it out of nowhere! He keeps doing it. I changed his diaper and left him on his back and he rolled over and got into sitting all on his own. It blows my mind that almost overnight he mastered this skill. Amazing how they learn!

Its My Birthday!

So today is my 23rd birthday, I know is sounds cliche but I cant believe Im already that old! And 23 isnt even that old anyway! But I feel like I should still be 16 running around at church dances and living with my parents. But, here I am, very happily married with a beautiful little baby. Time sure does go fast! I always remember looking at the young couple in the ward and thinking it seemed like an eternity til I would be there and now Im one of those young couples.

Anyway, back to my birthday... Bret is working nights now so we couldnt really go out tonight so we are going to go to dinner at the Melting Pot tomorrow. It is my favorite restaurant and its a real treat when we decide to spend the money to go. Since we werent doing anything today my good friend Sheila came over and foiled my hair for me for my birthday. On this subject, I havent had my hair colored in 6 months!! For me that is an eternity. I have either been working in a salon or in beauty school and have been getting my hair cuts and color for free or really cheap for the last 5 years. I havent been able to suck it up and go pay the money to get it done. Sheila and I went to beauty school together and then the ATS together too and we both worked for Gene Juarez. She just had a baby in mid December so I havent wanted to ask her to do the color, but finally its done and I feel human again!

After we did my color we went to the Super Mall to do some shopping. I got a few really nice sweaters from Bananna Republic that were originally $55 and I got them for $13! Good deal, right? Normally the stuff on clearance isnt so amazing, but these are really cute. Then I got a few shirts from Old Navy too. I am always on the hunt for a shirt that can hide my baby belly:)

We wanted to go to Olive Garden for dinner but when we got there it was 45 minute wait, anyone who has a baby knows that that is not going to work so well. Not to mention, we had two babies. So we gave up on Olive Garden (I really am still craving it!) and headed over to Azteca and had dinner there. I think I ate way too many chips and salsa...

Anyhow, my birthday was a lot of fun and I am so glad I am blonde again! Now Im just looking forward to the Melting Pot tomorrow night, yum!!

January Craft

Another craft night has come and gone. This month we did these Be Mine blocks for Valentines day. Arent they cute? I love that we are doing this each month, I love crafts and its so much fun to get together with friends and chat. So hurray for Courtney and I for having this splendid idea of having craft get togethers!

Zoom Zoom!

We bought this for Cameron for Christmas and I wasnt sure he was quite ready for it yet, but I set it up today and he loved it! I still have to sit by him because he gets really excited and wiggles and falls off, but he stayed on it really well. I am glad he liked it so much.
I think this picture is so funny! He looks like he is modeling on it:)

First Haircut... Sort Of

I was getting tired of the long hairs hanging over Camerons ears and neck and he also had some really long hairs on top. On top they were almost 3" in some places! So today the missionaries came over for a haircut and I decided we were going to attempt to cut his hair too. It worked! I didnt really do a full haircut I just cut a little off the top, sides and back. But now he looks so clean cut and handsome. It looks cute spiked or combed over to the side and there are no long crazy hairs hanging over his ears, thank heavens!

Pair of Picture Frames

I have been up to yet another craft. I saw some cute picture frames in a store in Sumner this last week so I wanted to try making them. I really like the antiqued look and I think these are really cute! Not to mention really easy to make. The top one is just a wooden sign from a craft store that I mod-poged paper to, used a block nail file to smooth the edges of the paper so they look like they are one instead of looking like paper on wood. Then I used a little mod podge over top of the paper to seal it and then used stain over top. The second is a really inexpensive wood frame from Joannes that I did the same process to. Then I attached the silver holders to the bottom and put paper in them with a word. The top I used upholstry tacks to attach a photo. Anyway, they are really easy and they look so nice on the wall! (the picture quality isnt amazing because I couldnt use the flash, if I did it reflected off the pictures and you couldnt see th frame)

Stuff Cameron Is Up To

Cameron has been doing lots of new things lately or just doing funny things that I caught on camera. I figured I would combine them into one post.

Just the other day he tried Kraft Singles Cheese for the first time and he really likes it! He is starting to chew/mash his food so that brings opportunity for alot more kinds of food and textures. He also tried this last week canned peaches (in small peices) and he tried his first 3rd foods baby food so it had little peices of noodles and carrots for him to chew. He seems to really like trying new foods, he makes some funny faces sometimes though! Its really fun for me to give him new things and watch him learn how to eat them.
Since Cameron now has two teeth I have been brushing his teeth/gums with a toothbrush instead of a finger brush. He doesnt like it when I do it that much, except that he loves to suck off the fruity flavored toothpaste. But, he does love to do it himself, stubborn already! I think its super cute to watch him try to brush his teeth/gums on his own. I think he mostly chews on it but he gets some brushing movement in there.

Ok... This one is weird and funny! He is slowly growing more hair and his new thing is to pull his own hair. It must not hurt because he doesnt cry or anything but he makes a really funny face, as you can see above, and pulls on his hair like he is mad. But he never is mad he just laughs or keeps playing afterward. I think its so funny to watch him do it! I have no idea where he got the idea to pull his hair.

As I have posted in the past he is really close to crawling, he gets on his hands and knees and rocks. He has even crawled forward a tad bit a few times, but usually ends up crawling backward. Just two days ago he started doing this army crawl type thing to move forward. Now he can go in circles, crawl backward and army scoot forward. I think its cute that he figured out this way to do it, but I sure hope he firgures out crawling on his hands and knees forward soon because I couldnt imagine that this would be the most comfy way of getting around.

Sleeping On The Tummy

I know that every kid eventually figures out that they can sleep on their tummy and ignore the fact that their parents put them on thier back... But I have been able to keep Cameron on his back or side up until tonight. I know it might sound horrible that I have been doing this until he is 8 months, but I still swaddle him at night. By keeping him swaddled it impaired his rolling over and he slept on his back. Lately he had been breaking out of the swaddle and rolling to his side in his sleep but the sleep positioner has kept him from rolling all the way over. Tonight I went in to check on him and he is flipped around in his crib (Head were his feet should be) and on his stomach. I feel SO nervous with his on his tummy so I put him back on his back and instantly he rolled back to his stomach. I guess the swaddling days are over:( And I suppose I will have to get used to him sleeping on his tummy. I hate that he is growing up so fast, not swaddling anymore makes me feel like he is not that little tiny baby I brought home from the hospital. Its ironic that I wanted him to roll over so bad and now that he does its making me worry about more. Anyway, I have a feeling that I am going to be in his room a lot more than normal all night tonight checking on him and making sure he is breathing ok. Especially because I cant keep his head turned to the side, he keeps burrying it in his hands face down.

Two Little Teeth

If you look close you can see his two little teeth. He is very stubborn and wont ever let me look at his teeth or get a picture of them so we accidently caught this one when we were up at my parents. I love his little teeth!

Orting Flood Evacuation

On Tuesday night it rained all night long. It was raining so hard it was almost keeping me awake from the noise. The snow level was at over 6000ft so it was even raining in the mountains. With all the snow we have had lately this caused a bit of a problem. All over Washington rivers were flooding towns and people were being evacuated. In Orting we live in between two rivers, the Puyallup River on one side of the valley and the Carbon River on the other. Both rivers were on flood watch and were expected to reach record levels. Early in the morning they started evacuating the south side of Orting, then as the morning went on they started evacuating closer to us. We left before we got an evacuation call, but not long after we left we heard that all of Orting was being evacuated. Cameron and I went to stay with my parents becuase Bret is working a night job where he works until 2am. It was a frustrating drive up there because hwy-410 was closed because part of it was submerged under water, so we tried other routes and roads were closed so it took us a bit to figure out a way to get there. After Bret got off work he decided to try to come home and the flooding wasnt near as bad as expected. The rivers crested and are on the rebound right now. Thank goodness it wasnt as bad as predicted! Cameron and I came home yesterday. There were some places where there was water over the road but it wasnt bad. I am very thankful that everything was ok. Bret said next time we buy a house it wont be in a valley!

8 Months

Cameron is 8 months old today. Time is flying by! Over the last few weeks he has really grown and changed a lot. He has two bottom teeth now and it makes him look a lot older to me. He is really stubborn and barely ever lets me see them except when he smiles and talks. When I try to feel his gums or look at his teeth he clamps his mouth shut. He has a ton of energy and is always wiggling around and trying to get to a toy or get away from me. He loves playing with other babies now.

He finally has a little bit of hair, its not really thick but the hair he does have is long. The other night I wanted to try some gel in his hair and I gave him a little mohawk. Its hard to capture in a picture, but it was so cute and funny! Im thinking I might have to give him a little haircut soon because he has some really long hairs that hang over his ears.

He loves to stand on his Crawl and Cruise Jungle he got for Christmas and yell, its so funny!

The other night we got to go to a baby shower for a friend I used to work with and it was at another girls house I used to work with. She was pregnant at the same time as me and our babies were due a week apart. Her son, Hayden, was born 12 days after Cameron. I was fun to let them play together. Cameron had a lot of fun!

Like I said, Cameron LOVES to stand up. He has started pulling up on us. He cant do it as well on other things like tables and such but he can certainly pull up on our legs. He insists on standing most of the time. And when he is not standing he loves to crawl backwards all over the living room. Im hoping he figures it out soon and crawls forward instead of backward. I am amazed at how quickly he is changing and growing up.

Tag From Ralene

Five things I remember from 10 years ago:
1. I was in the 7th grade
2. It was my first year in middle school
3. I had just come into young womens
4. I had a crush on Chris Dutton and Tony Cao
5. I loved walking hom from school in the rain!

Five things on today's list of things to do:
1. Get my haircut
2. Clean the pantry
3. Take down holiday decorations
4. Vacuum downstairs
5. Go to the Mall with Bret and Cameron

Five snacks I like:
1. Anything chocolate
2. Ice cream
3. Cheeze Its
4. Warm Pretzels with Cheese dip (Auntie Annes or Pretzel Wetzel, yum!)
5. Even though its not really under the snack catagory, I love fruit!

Five things I would do if I were a millionaire:
1.Pay tithing and fast offerings
2. Pay off my house and car
3. Re-Decorate my home the way I really want it to look
4. Put some away for my kids college
5. Invest the rest

Five places I have lived:
1. Provo, UT (Breifly as a baby)
2. Tukwila, WA
3. Burien, WA
4. Federal Way, WA
5. Orting, WA

Five jobs I have had:
1. Cashier/Waitress/Busser at The Daily Perk
2. Sees Candy Guest Service Rep (I filled the boxes behind the counter)
3. Guest Service Rep and Bridal Coordinator at Gene Juarez Salon
4. Front Desk Manager at Gene Juarez Salon
5. Hair Stylist at Gene Juarez Salon

I tag Andrea, Courtney, Diane, Amelia, Megan, Jody and Nicky.