Feeling Blessed

Lately I have been feeling very thankful for all the things that we have. I think that sometimes we forget all the many blessings we have and forget to be truly thankful. I was just thinking the other day while I was rocking Cameron to sleep (some of the only quiet alone time I get to think) and I just felt so blessed to have him in our life and part of our family. That started my thinking and then I really realized that we have so much. I am so grateful for our house and that we are able to have a home for him to grow up in. Im thankful for all the things we have in it, for the ability to furnish our home and that we can have all the necessities. Then I thought how lucky we are to have two cars so that I am able to get out and do things with him during the day. I am especially thankful for all the hard work Bret does so that I can stay home with Cameron and take care of him and help him learn and grow. The list goes on and on, the gospel, Bret being worthy to hold the priesthood, priesthood blessings, family, friends, the knowledge that our family is sealed together forever... you get the picture. So I am making a conscious effort to always remember all my blessings, big or small, and to remember that they came from my Heavenly Father. Ever since we were married we have been just saying our family prayer in our room together before we go to sleep. But I thought about it and even though Cameron is too small to realize whats going on I want him to be a part of it. So we are going to start saying family prayer together with him before he goes to bed each night so that he can learn from it and to help him understand what prayer is over time and why we do it. I feel like its such a big responsibility to teach him the gospel and sometimes I worry I wont be able to do the best job. So yet another thing to be thankful for, I know that I can teach him with the help of Bret, Family and of course Heavenly Father and that I shouldnt feel overwhelmed. I know it might sound silly to be thinking about that already but I feel like it starts now and I need to start building a good base for him to build on. Anyhow, thats a little off subject, just some of my thoughts lately. So if you read this think of all the things you are blessed with and you will be truly amazed!

This is one of my favorite songs and has really stood out to me lately...

Count Your Blessings

When upon lifes billows you are tempest tossed
When you are discouraged thinking all is lost
Count your many blessings name them one by one
And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings every doubt will fly
And you will be singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold
Think that Christ has promised you his wealth untold
Count your many blessings money cannot buy
Your reward in heaven nor your home on high.

So amid the conflict whether great or small
Do not be discouraged God is over all
Count your many blessings angels will attend
Help and comfort give you to your journeys end.

Chorus
Count your blessings name them one by one
Count your blessings see what God hath done
Count your blessings, name them one by one
Count your many blessings see what God hath done.

Look How Much I Have Grown!

I was looking through the pictures from his first week home the other day and I was amazed at how small he looked on the changer in this photo. He takes up the whole thing now and Im thinking we might have to move to the floor soon cause he is getting kinda crammed on the changer now. I dont even honestly remember him being that small, which I hate that I cant remember but I think that I dont notice the changes as much since Im with him every day. I wish I could remember what it felt like to hold him when he was that small. Its such a bummer that the first week has to be so hectic and sleepless because it kinda makes your memory a little less effective. And thats the time you want to remember the most because they are still so small and want you to hold them all the time and cuddle up with them... I feel like before I know it he will be crawling or walking and he wont ever want to be snuggled up with again:( So I am trying to savor every little moment with him so that I always remember how small he is now.

Pictures

Here are a few new pictures of Cameron being so darn cute! I love his big blue eyes:)

A New Milestone Met

The other day in the morning we went downstairs and I had him sitting on my lap and I picked up the remote to turn on the TV and all of a sudden he started batting at the remote like he was trying to touch it! I got really excited because he hasnt really started reaching for or grabbing things yet. So I held it there and he put his hand on it and started feeling the buttons and smiling. This was the beginning of it! Yesterday in his bouncer he started reaching for his toys and trying to pull them to his mouth but he only did it twice. Then this morning it was non-stop! He sat in his bouncer for almost an hour grabbing at the toys pulling them to his mouth and sucking on them. He is really becoming quite the explorer. I gave him a toy to hold and he held on to it and had it in his mouth but he kept dropping it every time I tried to get a picture of him with it up by his mouth. I am so proud of him! I am constantly amazed everyday at all the new things he learns and the way he grows.

Grandpa's Great, Grandma's Groovy!

Cameron loves his grandparents! And so do I of course. They have been so helpful and handy:) My mom stayed with us the first week after Cameron was born and helped me learn some things and did our dishes and laudrey and all the nice things she could. We REALLY appreciated that! And Im glad my Dad could let her go for a week. They have babysat a few times so that Bret and I could go on dates and they are just overall super helpful and always willing to lend a hand. Im sure the incentive of getting to hang out with their only grandbaby is greater than just being helpful, but we appreciate it regardless. The photo of him and his grandma is from the 4th of July and the one of him and his grandpa is from just last night! (Look how much he has grown in just a few weeks!) My mom is so funny, she makes time to come see him at least once a week and I think its great cause then he will know who she is. Bret jokes that one day when he gets a spread in a magazine for some fancy car he has customized he will thank her in the article for pushing him out into the garage once a week:) Joking, of course. In the end we can all say, thank Heaven for grandparents!

Dance Dance!

Last night my parents came down to watch Cameron so that Bret and I could go to the Dance Festival which was put on by I think 11 stakes in this area. We met up with our friends Aaron and Courtney and their son Hank. It was so much fun! It was really cool to watch all the different types of dance and I am so amazed by all these young men and young women! It must have been so much work to learn and perfect all these dances. I wish I could have done something like this when I was that age. They went through the ages of dance starting with the Pioneers and then from 1920-2000 they went through each decade and the styles of dance. It was at the Tacoma Dome and it was actually pretty packed. It was a nice way for Bret and I to get out on a date and Cameron enjoyed his time with his grandparents:)

Cameron Talking

So we discovered that Cameron really likes animal noises, he normally smiles a ton and sometimes tries to imitate the noise. He does this mostly with cow "moo's." So sometimes we will sit with him and make cow noises and everytime we make that noise he tries to too. Of course whenever we pull out the camera to try to capture this he doesnt do it... it always fails! So we tried to get him doing it, he wasnt very cooperative but this is the best we could do on camera. Dont be frightened by Brets bark... it was kinda scary and I think it scared him a little too lol. I think he is starting to teeth so he is constantly drooling so you get a little taste of that in this video as well. We are really enjoying all his funny noises he makes when he tries to talk to us. He is doing it all the time now!

Memories...

I found this on Andrea's blog and thought it would be fun:)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, if it is recent or years old, silly or serious--anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Weekend at Lake Mason

This weekend on Saturday we went out to a family friends cabin on Mason Lake in Belfair, WA. It was so much fun! We drove out early in the morning and came back late that night. This is our little family hanging out on the dock. I was so glad the weather was really nice, it made for a great mini-vacation.
Cameron hung out inside most the day, but his Grandma and Dorothy (family friend) didnt mind at all! They enjoyed taking care of him and playing with him so that Bret and I could go out on the water and have some fun!
Bret and I rode the wave runners all day. It was so much fun, we decided one day we will have to get some for ourselves. Bret also went innertubing and he is paying for it today. He "forgot" to wear sunscreen so he is absolutly useless to us after yesterday. He is burned so bad on his shoulders he is blistering, he cant wear a shirt without it hurting and he can barely put a shirt on or take on off on his own for that matter. I guess he will be remembering the sunscreen next time...
Bret is pretty good on the waverunners... he can jump and hit big waves and splash all over the place. He kept getting close to me and turning fast so that a ton of water would spray up on me. He rode these all day, literally, unless he was on the boat or innertube.
I did ok... not the best at it. But I caught on quickly and was having a blast in no time. I almost cause a bit of a collision between Bret and I, luckily I stopped fast enough and spun around and all I did was splash a TON of water up on Bret. I wish I could have done it again.

All in all we had such a fun weekend. Cameron enjoyed observing the different scenery and hanging out with his Grandma and Bret and I enjoyed a little bit of a date on the lake:)

Cameron's New Ventures

Since he has been sitting up so well I decided to try him in the Bumbo seat and he liked it! Its nice because it gives him good back support and he can practice holding his head up. His new favorite thing is looking around and seeing whats going on around him so its great for that and hands free for me, I cant ever complain about that! So he spent some time in it today and he really seemed to enjoy it. Look at those chubby legs on that kid! He cant really sit in it as well if I have pants on him because its too much to fit =P

Also, he has been doing better with tummy time. He used to hate it and everytime we would set him on his tummy he would cry. Then he started being able to do it for a minute or two and now he doesnt mind it quite so much. He is really getting better at holding his head up so I think that makes it more enjoyable for him since he can now look up and around. The mat he is on has a little pocket that you fill with water and there are little foam fishies and sharks that float around it in. He is really fascinated by this. You can tell he wants to explore more than he is able to, he will set his hand on it and feel the plastic but he cant really grab or really do much else to explore. Hopefully he will be able to soon. Its so amazing how he is growing and learning everyday.

Cousins!

Kim (Camerons Aunt) brought Taylor and Colby (his cousins) over for haircuts today. It was so fun to see them and chat. They were having fun playing with him in his bouncer. Taylor even helped feed him! After we put him down Colby carried around the monitor listening to the noises he was making. Cameron really enjoyed seeing them all, he wanted to sit up and see what was going on the whole time. They even offered to babysit sometime... which I will totally have to take them up on! All in all it was so fun to spend time with family and for Cameron to see his aunt and cousins.

What do you think?

The first picture was a 3D ultrasound picture when I was 33 weeks pregnant with him. And the second was when he was about a week old. Do you think it looks a lot like him? I would love to do the 3D scans with every baby I have. Its so cool to see them in 3D wiggling around in there!