Growing Girl,
I can't believe you are already ten months old. That just sounds way too close to a whole year! You are starting to look like a little girl rather than my baby! With all the teeth and the expressive faces, and especially the way that you prefer to stand up and walk around holding onto things... It is almost enough to make my little mommy heart sigh with longing. Good thing I got it out of my system holding Baby Morgan and Baby Rex this week!
So here's your latest and greatest:
The Lovey. Oh, the lovey. You have really started to get attached to having some kind of soft toy to sleep with, and we have one in your crib and one in the play pen you sleep in at Mrs. Cara's. The moment you hold one, you immediate snuggle it up to your face and suck your thumb. It has occured to me that I am just encouraging a future obsession that could backfire, but hey, you seem to really like it and be happy. So we bought another one to have laying around the house, just in case we lose one. I have heard stories of parents that frantically search for a duplicate of a favorite toy, so we plan on just having enough of said-item that you don't get attached to just one.
Shoes! Mommy can't stop buying you shoes. I have even started sending some with your outfits for the day to Cara. (I don't think I have profusely thanked her that she allows Cameron to show up in her jammies everyday and gets her dressed whenever they get around to it. It serves as a back up outfit and allows me to leave the house with her still sleepy and comfy.) So far, I have bought some hot pink ones, chocolate brown (with ruffles, people!), and she most often wears the silver glittered converse shoes that Gigi bought. I just can't seem to bring myself to make you wear socks when it is still so hot! Eventually, we won't be able to help it anymore. But I know you will be bummed. You just seem to love being barefoot, even though it seemed weird when I set your feet in our awkward patch of grass in the backyard.
Sign language! This week you signed your first word back to us - Finished! It is really the only one that we are consistent with, but I hear that once you get going, it starts to come more naturally. I was so excited when you put your hands up in the air and waved them to tell me you were ready to get down from your high chair. It's so cute. I think the ones we will work on next will most likely be eat, drink, and Daddy. :)
Road Trip! We are heading to Abilene this weekend to meet up with all the family and some friends. Very much looking forward to a barbecue at Brittney's fabulous house on Sunday. Who knows what kind of trouble we can get into with a three day weekend! Hooray for Labor Day!
Well, other than your total crankypants episode yesterday (two hours of refusing to take a nap even when you were exhausted), you are still my best girl. How much fun was it to go shopping with Mommy at Kohl's? If only we had a coupon, it would have been perfect. Here's to another incredible month of watching you change and grow, and being on the downward slide to one year!
(Holy cow, I just realized that I am super behind on your baby book and wanted to have it complete so people could see it at your birthday party. Ugh. Mommy guilt sets in. Well, surely I can knock it out in two months time, right?)
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Weekend Update with Mommy
Yes, our lives revolve around the weekends. Mommy didn't have time to blog last week because she got sucked into the first two Twilight books, and now school has started and work is busy! So, there we go. Finally getting around to blogging.
Friday night, your daddy's family came to visit and met up in San Antonio. Your Uncle Tanner had to get moved into his house in College Station since he is starting at A&M very soon. That evening, Daddy and his brothers had a night out to go see the Silver Stars (WNBA team) and really enjoyed their 5th row seats. Then the next day, you took a long morning nap and got all dressed up to go to Fredericksburg.
A ton of friends and family were meeting up at the fair and horse races for the afternoon. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously hot. I mean, just look at your hot uncles. In the sweaty way I mean, though they are cute too...
We were all trying to keep you happy since Grandpa was hoping you would be his lucky charm!
We killed about an hour by doing some super fun shopping with Gigi, where she picked out several cute shirts, the most wonderful and adorable tutu (definitely pictures to come in that!), and these fabulous black and white shoes. You are going to have to start wearing shoes more since you apparently want to stand up all the time now.
See what I mean?
Even though we had to cut our afternoon short, we had fun getting to see so many friends and family. I know they are definitely looking forward to you being a little more mobile and flexible when it comes to eating and napping. You will definitely have some memories to make!
Friday night, your daddy's family came to visit and met up in San Antonio. Your Uncle Tanner had to get moved into his house in College Station since he is starting at A&M very soon. That evening, Daddy and his brothers had a night out to go see the Silver Stars (WNBA team) and really enjoyed their 5th row seats. Then the next day, you took a long morning nap and got all dressed up to go to Fredericksburg.
A ton of friends and family were meeting up at the fair and horse races for the afternoon. Unfortunately, it was ridiculously hot. I mean, just look at your hot uncles. In the sweaty way I mean, though they are cute too...
We were all trying to keep you happy since Grandpa was hoping you would be his lucky charm!
We killed about an hour by doing some super fun shopping with Gigi, where she picked out several cute shirts, the most wonderful and adorable tutu (definitely pictures to come in that!), and these fabulous black and white shoes. You are going to have to start wearing shoes more since you apparently want to stand up all the time now.
See what I mean?
Even though we had to cut our afternoon short, we had fun getting to see so many friends and family. I know they are definitely looking forward to you being a little more mobile and flexible when it comes to eating and napping. You will definitely have some memories to make!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Best Weekend Ever!
Hi Sweetheart,
Not only did Mommy convince Daddy to watch Twilight with her on Friday night (and then I had to buy the book, just to see what I missed) but we even got to go on a date Saturday and see The Time Traveler's Wife, which I am proud to say did a good job of telling the story from the book. We had so much fun getting to hang out all weekend, do some shopping (not one, but two outfits with leopard print!), and even had a great family day today.
We played around and took some silly pictures... These tulip jeans were one of the first things I bought for you when I found out you were a girl. And they finally fit perfectly! Apparently you like them too!
We certainly had some excitement when we arrived at church this morning... There were only two workers in your nursery room with 10 kids, so they weren't able to take any more. When we got there, there were three other families in line ahead of us, so the options were to just take you with us into the main service or just stay and volunteer. This is probably what Mommy's face looked like...
We figured we haven't volunteered in a while and should just help out - it was a wild hour and a half! Thirteen crawling babies, all wanting to be held, and four workers. You were so wonderful, I bet I only held you for two minutes the entire time. You were content to just see us across the room and play the whole time, no fussing. Believe me, it made us appreciate the workers who are there every week.
We grabbed some lunch to go and came home so we could all enjoy a two hour nap. We should definitely make that a Sunday tradition. It makes Mommy feel so much better after a late night out! Then after a trip to the H-E-B Plus (which is always a shopping experience) we came home so Mommy could cook a real dinner. Following a recipe and everything! I don't even remember the last time I did that, not counting instructions on the back of a box. :)
Then we decided Joe Dog could use a quick bath, so Daddy did all the scrubbing while we just watched and laughed.
Gotta dry off with a quick game of frisbee!
Thanks for making this such a wonderful weekend, Baby Girl! Mommy had a great time just hanging out with you and wishes we could keep the weekend going all week!
Not only did Mommy convince Daddy to watch Twilight with her on Friday night (and then I had to buy the book, just to see what I missed) but we even got to go on a date Saturday and see The Time Traveler's Wife, which I am proud to say did a good job of telling the story from the book. We had so much fun getting to hang out all weekend, do some shopping (not one, but two outfits with leopard print!), and even had a great family day today.
We played around and took some silly pictures... These tulip jeans were one of the first things I bought for you when I found out you were a girl. And they finally fit perfectly! Apparently you like them too!
We certainly had some excitement when we arrived at church this morning... There were only two workers in your nursery room with 10 kids, so they weren't able to take any more. When we got there, there were three other families in line ahead of us, so the options were to just take you with us into the main service or just stay and volunteer. This is probably what Mommy's face looked like...
We figured we haven't volunteered in a while and should just help out - it was a wild hour and a half! Thirteen crawling babies, all wanting to be held, and four workers. You were so wonderful, I bet I only held you for two minutes the entire time. You were content to just see us across the room and play the whole time, no fussing. Believe me, it made us appreciate the workers who are there every week.We grabbed some lunch to go and came home so we could all enjoy a two hour nap. We should definitely make that a Sunday tradition. It makes Mommy feel so much better after a late night out! Then after a trip to the H-E-B Plus (which is always a shopping experience) we came home so Mommy could cook a real dinner. Following a recipe and everything! I don't even remember the last time I did that, not counting instructions on the back of a box. :)
Then we decided Joe Dog could use a quick bath, so Daddy did all the scrubbing while we just watched and laughed.
Gotta dry off with a quick game of frisbee!
Thanks for making this such a wonderful weekend, Baby Girl! Mommy had a great time just hanging out with you and wishes we could keep the weekend going all week!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Jump for Jammies
Remember this little girl who stood in her jumperoo and laughed at Daddy's elephants?
Just look how big she is now! (I do apologize that it is sideways. I thought I could rotate it after-the-fact, but I have learned my lesson...)
Just look how big she is now! (I do apologize that it is sideways. I thought I could rotate it after-the-fact, but I have learned my lesson...)
Thursday, August 13, 2009
As it will, as it does come.
Cameron,
Someday your mom will make you watch movies that you will pretend to not be interested in, but secretly, you will be paying attention. And maybe when you are in high school or college, you will proudly describe how you have seen the Matrix and Star Trek and Harry Potter and The Time Traveler's Wife. Because your mom is a big sci-fi nerd thanks to her Daddy.
I used to love to think about the concept of time travel, how heartbreaking it would be to know that you could go back in time but not really change anything that would adversely affect the future that already exists. Perhaps this is what comforted me in not having too many regrets, because even the bad circumstances contributed to putting me on the path to the good stuff. No changing it now, but it worked out right.
Some people attribute this to nature and scientific law, but I see it as just another amazing characteristic of God - his omniscience. He sees all of time at once, and maybe allows things to play out in order for his plan to come to fruition. There is a great country song where a preacher dies in a bus crash while another passenger, a prostitute, lives. He gives her his bible as he is dying, and she eventually has a son whom she reads it to, and he becomes a preacher. Without a doubt, people might have questioned why God allowed the first preacher to die when he was living such a good life. But without that chain of events, the woman might have lived a very different life, and all the people eventually touched by her son could have ended up lost. Crazy cycle of might-have-beens, but God sees the whole timeline at once.
One of my favorite books is the Time Traveler's Wife, and the movie comes out tomorrow. I hope it honors how amazing the book is. I just read this really cool article about how it is one of the few stories of time travel that actually sticks within the fundamental "ground rules" according to a physicist. Things like not being able to go back in time and kill your grandfather (thereby erasing the chance for you to be born) or visit a time in history before time travel was invented. Duh. But nice to know that it isn't completely absurd like some things.
Anyway, it just got me thinking today about not only what a big nerd I am, but how I am so thankful today for all the things that affected me and pushed me to this point. They brought me to you. All the mornings when I dragged myself to class in college in my pajamas helped get me the degree that I needed for this job. Buying our house gave us the room to say, "Okay, I guess we can have kids now!" Meeting your daddy almost ten years ago, it seems like we just hit fast forward and arrived at your bright red hair.
So now, when so many things are changing for our family (like having some live in Costa Rica), I just smile and think how someday we will look back and be thankful for all the waiting and worry over how things will turn out. Because God sees the whole timeline and knows how all these things are meant for our good. So to borrow a line from the book, we should take it easy and be thankful "when the time comes, as it will, as it does come."
Someday your mom will make you watch movies that you will pretend to not be interested in, but secretly, you will be paying attention. And maybe when you are in high school or college, you will proudly describe how you have seen the Matrix and Star Trek and Harry Potter and The Time Traveler's Wife. Because your mom is a big sci-fi nerd thanks to her Daddy.
I used to love to think about the concept of time travel, how heartbreaking it would be to know that you could go back in time but not really change anything that would adversely affect the future that already exists. Perhaps this is what comforted me in not having too many regrets, because even the bad circumstances contributed to putting me on the path to the good stuff. No changing it now, but it worked out right.
Some people attribute this to nature and scientific law, but I see it as just another amazing characteristic of God - his omniscience. He sees all of time at once, and maybe allows things to play out in order for his plan to come to fruition. There is a great country song where a preacher dies in a bus crash while another passenger, a prostitute, lives. He gives her his bible as he is dying, and she eventually has a son whom she reads it to, and he becomes a preacher. Without a doubt, people might have questioned why God allowed the first preacher to die when he was living such a good life. But without that chain of events, the woman might have lived a very different life, and all the people eventually touched by her son could have ended up lost. Crazy cycle of might-have-beens, but God sees the whole timeline at once.
One of my favorite books is the Time Traveler's Wife, and the movie comes out tomorrow. I hope it honors how amazing the book is. I just read this really cool article about how it is one of the few stories of time travel that actually sticks within the fundamental "ground rules" according to a physicist. Things like not being able to go back in time and kill your grandfather (thereby erasing the chance for you to be born) or visit a time in history before time travel was invented. Duh. But nice to know that it isn't completely absurd like some things.
Anyway, it just got me thinking today about not only what a big nerd I am, but how I am so thankful today for all the things that affected me and pushed me to this point. They brought me to you. All the mornings when I dragged myself to class in college in my pajamas helped get me the degree that I needed for this job. Buying our house gave us the room to say, "Okay, I guess we can have kids now!" Meeting your daddy almost ten years ago, it seems like we just hit fast forward and arrived at your bright red hair.
So now, when so many things are changing for our family (like having some live in Costa Rica), I just smile and think how someday we will look back and be thankful for all the waiting and worry over how things will turn out. Because God sees the whole timeline and knows how all these things are meant for our good. So to borrow a line from the book, we should take it easy and be thankful "when the time comes, as it will, as it does come."
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Monday, August 10, 2009
Just a Jammies Kind of Weekend
Baby Girl,
Mommy wishes she was still in her jammies home with you (and you in your jammies!) We had such a lazy weekend. Daddy came home Friday night from going to his Grandmother Carol's funeral. We thought since it was such a short trip and that you definitely wouldn't sit through the service that it was best for Daddy to go alone. She will definitely be missed and was always very kind and gracious to everyone.
Saturday morning, Daddy woke up early and was not feeling well at all! After a few hours and some rest, he said the pain went away and he wasn't nauseous anymore, but the symptoms were suspiciously like a kidney stone. We are praying that he continues to feel better and that this is not a common occurance! So we stayed home most of the day, did laundry and dishes, and we were just generally lazy. Daddy had to mow a very funny stretch of grass in the backyard where our septic tank lines run, so the grass was tall and green while everything around it is totally scorched and yellow.
Around 5:00 we headed to Home Depot to browse and fantasize about all the things we would love to change in our house, and then Mommy and Daddy had dinner out while you spent the evening with Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Lisa. We tried to go have dinner at Mi Tierra, a San Antonio landmark downtown, but after driving all the way there and paying for parking, we found out we would have to wait 2 hours! No way I could wait and eat dinner at 9:00. I was already starving. So we loaded up again and went to a cozy little diner called Earl Abel's that Bo had heard about, but never tried. They make every kind of pie and cake imaginable! I think Daddy had Chocolate Ice Box Pie and I had the Lemon Chess.
And yesterday, we headed to church and then had a quick and noisy lunch with Levi and Christy Pool (and their girls). You were so tired and came home to take a two hour nap. Fabulous! All the things that I hoped to get around to just didn't happen, but oh well! Maybe tomorrow.... It always nice to just soak up you and your silly smile.
By the way, your new thing is what Daddy and I have been calling the "Scrunchy Face." You have learned this goofy way of smiling where you squint your eyes and crinkle up your nose and show ALL your teeth. We have been trying to get a really good picture of it for days now. It is so funny. Always good for a laugh!
Mommy wishes she was still in her jammies home with you (and you in your jammies!) We had such a lazy weekend. Daddy came home Friday night from going to his Grandmother Carol's funeral. We thought since it was such a short trip and that you definitely wouldn't sit through the service that it was best for Daddy to go alone. She will definitely be missed and was always very kind and gracious to everyone.
Saturday morning, Daddy woke up early and was not feeling well at all! After a few hours and some rest, he said the pain went away and he wasn't nauseous anymore, but the symptoms were suspiciously like a kidney stone. We are praying that he continues to feel better and that this is not a common occurance! So we stayed home most of the day, did laundry and dishes, and we were just generally lazy. Daddy had to mow a very funny stretch of grass in the backyard where our septic tank lines run, so the grass was tall and green while everything around it is totally scorched and yellow.
Around 5:00 we headed to Home Depot to browse and fantasize about all the things we would love to change in our house, and then Mommy and Daddy had dinner out while you spent the evening with Mr. Kevin and Mrs. Lisa. We tried to go have dinner at Mi Tierra, a San Antonio landmark downtown, but after driving all the way there and paying for parking, we found out we would have to wait 2 hours! No way I could wait and eat dinner at 9:00. I was already starving. So we loaded up again and went to a cozy little diner called Earl Abel's that Bo had heard about, but never tried. They make every kind of pie and cake imaginable! I think Daddy had Chocolate Ice Box Pie and I had the Lemon Chess.
And yesterday, we headed to church and then had a quick and noisy lunch with Levi and Christy Pool (and their girls). You were so tired and came home to take a two hour nap. Fabulous! All the things that I hoped to get around to just didn't happen, but oh well! Maybe tomorrow.... It always nice to just soak up you and your silly smile.
By the way, your new thing is what Daddy and I have been calling the "Scrunchy Face." You have learned this goofy way of smiling where you squint your eyes and crinkle up your nose and show ALL your teeth. We have been trying to get a really good picture of it for days now. It is so funny. Always good for a laugh!
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Totally Worth It
This report published by the USDA says that the average middle-income family like us with a child born last year will typically spend $221,000 to raise their child until only the age of 17! But my favorite is the mom's response at the end:
"Well, that's not half of it," joked the 42-year-old public school teacher. "I still have to put the little buggers through college."
Guess I can deduct $180 spent on diapers and formula this weekend, and the roughly $40 I just spent on baby food and snacks.
Cameron, if you weren't so stinkin' loveable, your daddy and I might get hung up on that huge crazy number. But just the other night, we were talking about how precious you are when you sleep and your daddy says with a sigh, "I just adore her!" You are so totally worth it.
"Well, that's not half of it," joked the 42-year-old public school teacher. "I still have to put the little buggers through college."
Guess I can deduct $180 spent on diapers and formula this weekend, and the roughly $40 I just spent on baby food and snacks.
Cameron, if you weren't so stinkin' loveable, your daddy and I might get hung up on that huge crazy number. But just the other night, we were talking about how precious you are when you sleep and your daddy says with a sigh, "I just adore her!" You are so totally worth it.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Meet Baby Morgan
I was able to swing by the hospital today at the perfect time to see Miss Morgan while she was sleepy and calm. She was a perfectly healthy 7 lbs. 4 oz. but she seemed so tiny compared to Cameron. (I am thinking, by the way, of officially organizing the "Chub Club" amongst our friends kids, but Cameron will definitely be the President. I digress...)
So here is the beautiful girl herself! Sadly, no red hair... Kara says it is blonde for now.
With her proud Mommy and Daddy (I think Morgan totally looked like Chad when I saw her today!)
And with Aunt Katie, as I am already lovingly called by big sister Mack. I know this new Mowrey will totally steal our hearts just like she did.
We are so thankful that both Morgan and Mommy are doing great. Let me tell you, Kara did NOT look the least bit unlike herself. No way that woman just had a baby the day before. Lovely as ever! We can't wait until they are settled at home and we can come invade again. Thank you Lord for the blessing of new life to remind us how much we are loved and cared for by you. May you watch over and give your special gifts to Morgan so that she may know and serve you well all the days of her life.
So here is the beautiful girl herself! Sadly, no red hair... Kara says it is blonde for now.
With her proud Mommy and Daddy (I think Morgan totally looked like Chad when I saw her today!)
And with Aunt Katie, as I am already lovingly called by big sister Mack. I know this new Mowrey will totally steal our hearts just like she did.
We are so thankful that both Morgan and Mommy are doing great. Let me tell you, Kara did NOT look the least bit unlike herself. No way that woman just had a baby the day before. Lovely as ever! We can't wait until they are settled at home and we can come invade again. Thank you Lord for the blessing of new life to remind us how much we are loved and cared for by you. May you watch over and give your special gifts to Morgan so that she may know and serve you well all the days of her life.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Happy Zero Birthday to Morgan!
Cam,
Your (future) sweet friend Morgan was born just this afternoon. We are waiting on her official stats, but I just couldn't wait to post the exciting news. We are so thrilled that she and mom "Dr. Kara" are doing wonderful. We love them so dearly and can't wait to love on all of them, especially Big Sis Mackenzie! You have already given her some good practice in how to love on her new baby. Maybe we can go see them tomorrow and get our first picture!
P.S. We are holding out hope that you will have another redhead to run around with. When Mr. Chad holds you, we laugh that he could totally tell everyone that you belong to them!
Your (future) sweet friend Morgan was born just this afternoon. We are waiting on her official stats, but I just couldn't wait to post the exciting news. We are so thrilled that she and mom "Dr. Kara" are doing wonderful. We love them so dearly and can't wait to love on all of them, especially Big Sis Mackenzie! You have already given her some good practice in how to love on her new baby. Maybe we can go see them tomorrow and get our first picture!
P.S. We are holding out hope that you will have another redhead to run around with. When Mr. Chad holds you, we laugh that he could totally tell everyone that you belong to them!
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