Big Sister Knows Best

This is a direct quote from Adelyn during breakfast a few days ago. Cameron was sitting in his high chair and kept dropping his sippy cup.

"Seriously Cameron, I'll give you one last chance. So, I'll give you 2 chances but if you do it 1 more time then I'll take it away and that's just where it will stay."

This made me hysterical on many levels. Her use of the word seriously made me feel like suddenly I had a teenager. Her threats on the "chances" made me realize how often I use that same approach. "That's just where it will stay" is straight out of Brian's playbook. Her seriousness in trying to reason with Cameron from a logical standpoint was so priceless. Clearly our little big sister is taking everything in and forming her own parenting style. Watch out.

Merry Christmas

Christmas was over-shadowed a little bit by a stomach bug that hit our family, but luckily Santa wasn't afraid to still come to our house. Addy put it best when she said, "How did Santa know all of the things I wanted?" She had a great Christmas and was a joy to watch. She was so excited about each and every present, even the ones that weren't for her. Cameron on the other hand, couldn't have been less interested. He was confused by the opening of presents and generally just uninterested in  the entire event. I'm pretty sure he'll come around next year though.
We feel incredibly blessed and particularly grateful this year for our tradition of staying in our pajamas all day on Christmas and I think Brian is especially excited about getting to play with all of the toys he got...for the kids.

Stay at Home Day

Addy is very aware now of a "stay at home day" versus a "school day" and is always counting down to one or the other. Since school was canceled the other day it was extremely exciting that what was supposed to be a school day turned into a stay at home day.

This picture pretty much sums up what is so awesome to me about a stay at home day.

1 year stats

OK here are Cameron's Stat's from him 1 year appt versus Addy at 1 year.
Cameron was:
31.75 height = 98%
23 pounds 12.8 ounces = 84%

Addy was:
29.5 inches (50-75%)
22 pounds 8 ounces = 75%

I am not kidding when I say that Cameron was on a full on "charm assault" with the doctor. Every time the doctor would talk, Cameron would give his best crinkled-nose smile and even cock his head to the side. He did it at least 10 times during the appointment. It was hilarious. He was so cooperative with the doctor and let him do everything, check the eyes, ears, listen to the heart. Cameron was awesome. He even commented that it was one of the fastest 1 year check-ups he'd done since Cameron didn't protest anything. Unfortunately he still cried when he got the shots, but he recovered pretty quickly. Consensus is we have another happy and healthy baby, good news all around!

Snow Day

The tradition continues. Another snow day called even though there is less than 2 inches of snow and it's already turning to rain. Oh well, we're embracing it and making the most of the snow day. Cameron did not know what to think. He didn't hate it the way Addy did when she was little, but he didn't seem overly fond of it either. Addy on the other hand has come full circle and has learned to love the snow. She had a great time!

The Christmas Program

Friday night was the night of the Christmas Program at Addy's school. Each classroom performed some Christmas songs and Addy's room (the big kid room) even did a play about Mary and Joseph. Unfortunately Cameron just missed being in the play since the infants didn't participate, but he still had a great time in the audience. Adelyn did such a great job! We couldn't believe that she actually sang loud enough that we could hear her from our seats. Usually she is too shy for this kind of a thing, but she had practiced all of her songs and she was ready. She was an angel in the play and nailed her one line perfectly, "Mary!"
It was so cute to see all of the kids on the stage. You could tell they had worked very hard and did a great job. Afterwards Santa Claus showed up and had a gift for every person. This would have been Addy's first opportunity to sit on Santa's lap, but she wanted nothing to do with it. She was smart enough to wait in line to get the gift, but wouldn't go near sitting on his lap. Pretty cute.

Happy Birthday! 1 Year Old!

Cameron is 1 year old! I cannot believe it. I'm certain I will say this for the next 18 years, but this was the fastest year of my life. I cannot believe that a whole year has already gone by and my sweet little baby boy is now a walking, talking, bundle of joy who is 1 year old. He had a bit of a rough week since he was sick a few days ago, but he rallied and was back to normal for his party today. He had so much fun and got lots of fantastic toys. He loved his cupcake and only cried when I took it away and he loved his toys and only cried when Addy took them away.
He is one lucky little boy and we are a very lucky family. Happy Birthday Cameron!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I am proud to say that I have successfully instilled in my children a love of Christmas music. We listen to it all of the time and Addy actually knows the words to a lot of the classics. Whenever we are in the car and a song comes on she now asks if this is a Christmas song or not. Of course, most of the time it is. Yesterday we got in the car and the song, "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" was playing. Addy listened to the words and then exclaimed, "It IS the most wonderful time of the year because it's Christmas and you LOVE Christmas Mama."
I could not have said it better myself.

Walk This Way

Tonight Cameron took the most steps he's ever taken.  He walked several different times going back and forth between Brian and myself. He does much better if he's has a toy in his hands when he does it and he's still a little wobbly but I'm sure in just a few days he will be much more stable. He also is attempting to say "Addy" now. It sounds more like "aa-ee" but it's clear that is what he is trying to say. He smiles and crinkles up his nose whenever we say her name. Truly adorable.
It's really cute to see the two of them play more together. Cameron loves to climb on her and over here and give her hugs. Unfortunately sometimes he also just whacks her or bonks his head on hers, but neither of them seem to be phased by it, at least not yet. So hard to believe he will be 1 in just a week!

Just Like Big Sister

Addy is at the perfect age now to just sit at her desk and color or work on homework. She loves doing it and she has an amazing attention span and concentration. The only problem is now Cameron crawls over to the desk and tries to take whatever she is working on. The other day Brian set Cameron on the chair and he got to be just like his big sister. I had a "flash forward" moment and I could picture them both working quietly at their desk on their homework. Some day this will be my reality right, or at least I can pretend that's what the future has in store for me?

First Steps

I keep forgetting to mention that last week Cameron took his first real steps. At school his teacher gave him a phone to play with and while he was playing with it, he was so distracted he didn't notice he took 4 steps towards her. When Brian got home with him that night he did it again. He has been reluctant to do it much since, but he is very stable now. He will stand in one spot for almost a minute and he's taken a few steps, but it's like his legs are cement. I'm not rushing things though, I know soon enough he will be all of the place.

Happy Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays. What's not to love about eating too much food and watching football? As usual I am filled with an abundance of gratitude. Just the other day I told Brian I still feel like I have to pinch myself sometimes that this is my life. Two beautiful healthy children, a 

wonderful husband, great job and home, I am so lucky. It's those moments that I hold on to when I'm overwhelmed with the reality of how busy our lives are, but I wouldn't trade it. I am grateful for every blessing in my life, especially my family. 

We've been talking to Addy a lot about how Thanksgiving is when you think about what you are grateful for. She consistently has been saying that she is most grateful for the sun, the stars and the flowers. Every once in awhile she includes her family, but today we did not make the list. 

As usual we had a wonderful holiday with the Bennett family, and first we took a walk in the park down the street since it was such a beautiful day. There is so much we have to be thankful for. 

Good trip

Last week I was in China for work and Brian's parents came to help him with the kids. I'd say we both had a good trip. Scott celebrated his birthday and Addy helped him pick out a mermaid ice cream cake (Addy's favorite part of the trip). The kids got to read tons of books, went to the children's museum, the library, out to eat and spend a lot of quality time with Grandma and Grandpa. We are so grateful for their help at times like this because being a single parent for a week would be very tough. It makes it a lot easier on me when I'm away when I know everyone is in good hands. It was so good to come back, it felt like both Addy and Cameron had aged a month in just a week.

Fairy

On Saturday I took Addy to a "Fairy Class" put on by the parks and recs department. It was hysterical. The kids were encourage to dress like a Fairy so Addy used that as an excuse to wear as many of her accessories as possible. At first she was shy but then she just loved it. The teacher read books, sang songs, did dances and we even made a little fairy doll. Addy was pretty excited because her friends Claire and Harper were there too. Pretty fun!