Monday, July 28, 2008

Charlie's tail and Cam


Golden retrievers are truly family pets. Not only is Charlie wonderful with the Caminator, his tail cracks Cam up. Until he's done, of course!

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

Daddy turned 40 today :)

At his request there was no party and it was a low-key family day. On Saturday we went to a pool party/chili cook-off at our neighbour's, Ray and Letica's, and they, along with our next door neighbour's Jason and Katherine, conspired to get Kevin a surprise birthday cake. After a rousing course of "Happy Birthday" (which Cam totally and utterly adored) from the rowdy crowd, we took home a giant piece of carrot cake, since Cam was getting tired.

Daddy was also thrilled with his "surprise" - a work area w/all the fixin's for the garage: workbench, wall cabinets, huge floor cabinet and tool case. Now he just needs a project to work on!!!

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Happy Birthday, Grams!

Karen (aka Grams), Kevin's mom came by tonight for a little birthday dinner with us. She, Cam and Elmo had quite the giggle-fest after Cam's dinner :) Cam even joined us for a bit more dinner when we all sat down, enjoying some of the beer-in-the-butt chicken (it's become a house fave since Daddy's Father's Day gift of a grill) and a lot of bread. He was still pretty tuckered out from daycare and when down just before 7pm. We had a blast w/Grams and are looking forward to dinner at her house soon. Happy Birthday!!


Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Cam's visit w/ENT specialist

Cam stayed home with us today so he could go down to see the ENT specialist in San Luis Obispo, Dr. Malotte. Dr. Nave referred us to three different doctors, and after a few pointed questions to her, we decided to meet w/Dr. Malotte.

Turns out that was a great decision. Super nice, very informative. Since Cam has had so many ear infections in a short timeframe AND also so many before he turns one, Dr. M does feel that tubes will be the way to go, or we have to keep putting Cam on stronger and stronger antibiotics to clear the ear infections. He didn't push the tube surgery on us but told us to wait and see what happens w/Cam over the next few months and decide then.

Cam did amazingly well with the exam, and a huge boon for Mick (as Dr. Malotte likes to be called) was that Cam took to him almost immediately: the Judge was only in the room for a few minutes before he was laughing w/Dr. M - a great turn of events. Cam's a pretty good judge of character, so we'll stick w/his instincts :)

Right now Cam has fluid with bubbles (meaning air) in his right ear, so that one is draining, and fluid in his left ear but no redness, so no infection - yet. (key word: yet) He slept from about 10:30pm to 6am this morning, which is the best he's done in quite a while, plus he did really well with his naps here at home, so we are hopeful that he'll start to sleep more at daycare. Daycare is the germ factory we've suspected - found out today kids in daycare have a higher rate of ear infections.

Chances are the next time Cam does get an ear infection, we are going to opt to get the tubes put in instead of going back on antibiotics for the 5th (!!!) time this year. I do truly fear Cam building up a resistance to antibiotics. Dr. M said that he's done tubes in infants as young as six months, and been doing this surgery for 20 years, and we hope that Cam will be one of the 90% of kids that the tubes make a big difference for (10% report no difference after the surgery). Since he's so textbook with everything else, we are guessing it will be the same thing w/the tubes. One caveat is that b/c he's getting tubes so young, chances are he'll have to have a repeat surgery when he's 3-4 to get tubes put in again; they only last about a year, and once they are gone and the hole heals, the ear infections will probably come back unless we put the tubes in again.

So that's the dealio :)

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

The sharer

Cam wants everyone to see what he's having for dinner :) Yogurt drops, ala Gerber Toddler. He loves those things!

Actually, daddy was tickling his feet under the high chair and Cam was giggling away, so we snapped a photo. Happy Tuesday!

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Not-so-sure-Natureboy

Cam's crawl has gotten super-fast, EXCEPT when he's put into new terrain. Then he coverts to this funky crab-crawl that is much slower but he's not sure he likes what his knees are touching. I tried to get this on video but I was laughing too hard :)

Butt first...

While we were up house-sitting, Cam learned that he loves loves loves steps. Of which we have none in our house, except for the step down from the slider to the patio. Yesterday we let him practice going up and down steps, which he happily did for about 20 mins. Crawl out of the house, lifting knees off of the prickly welcome mat; crawl back into house, turn around, repeat :)

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Cam's first trip to the beach

On Saturday we took a quick trip to the beach in Cayucos to give Cam his first look at the ocean. While it was 85° here in Paso, it ended up being about 60-65° in Cayucos! Luckily we all brought sweatshirts, although there were plenty of kids running around in swimwear, Cam's a warm-weather kid so he got bundled up :) (yes, yes, overprotective mommy!)

We think he had fun - he did his "judge" thing, so we'll find out if he really likes it next time we go. He did walk in the sand a little, and also tried (succeeded in) eating some, and liked watching the dogs running around, which is what he's doing in the photos. It was nice to get out and just muck around without an agenda, though! We need to do that more :)

Friday, July 18, 2008

Fun things to do with an empty Pampers box...

1. Put kid in box and push around house amid much giggles.

2. Take Advil for aching back.

3. Hide Pampers box so the now crying kid might forget about previous giggles.

4. Relent; put kid in and push around again. Realize you are a complete sucker for your kid. Hand over car keys now. Repeat Step 2.

Happy Friday!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

The love of electronics starts very young...

Kevin upgraded is cell phone recently and Cam's newest, most coveted prize is when Kevin lets him fool around with his old cell phone. He LOVES it - tries to talk on it, then scoot around the house on it. He's totally supervised, especially since Kevin found a photo of Cam from the day he was born that we need to get off there! Its by far the best shot we have of that day, and we really want it.

In the meantime, however, Cam has a lot of very happy time with the cellphone. Tried to get him a kid one; didn't want anything to do with it. He's obviously onto the superior Verizon technology for calls vs. Playskool. Can you hear him now? :)

Monday, July 14, 2008

Mello weekend

We had a pretty quiet weekend over here. Cam is still not sleeping well since we got back from Willow Glen (and also stopped the antibiotics, so the concern is that the ear infection is back), so we're all a bit zombie-like.

On Saturday afternoon we did head down to SLO to visit with Auntie Tishy (my former colleague from the Bay area) and her husband Scott in their beautifully renovated Craftsman near Cal Poly. Its a gorgeous property and they did everything so right; the main bathroom is truly to die for (they did this cool alcove into the wall so that the towels hang flush with the wall, it so simple but beautiful!).

They are also big baby people and after Cam did his "judging" thing, he totally warmed up to them both and had a great time. He especially loved being able to crawl in a circle (going through the kitchen, small bath, Tishy's office, then end up in the kitchen again), which he did over and over. For some reason, Cam also seemed to fall in love with Scott's boots. He did really well with their dogs too, although he was a bit unsure at first. It was a super visit and hopefully we'll have them up here in toasty Paso soon.

One very BIG deal that happened at Auntie Tishy's - Cam took his first solo steps! He was doing the finger-walking with daddy (you all know that one; grownup is bent over and Junior holds onto two of your fingers to steady himself while walking) and Tishy crouched down about a foot away and encouraged him to come to her. He did let go of Daddy's fingers and after a bit of uncertainty, he took two steps to reach her :) It was so cool! And WAY too soon to encourage again, although Kevin now holds out hope Cam will really walk for his 40th birthday (just less than two weeks, folks!!). We'll see - he's barely 10 months old and that seems way too young to be walking (for mommy, at least. Yeesh, my baby is barely a baby any more)

Sunday was chore day and we got as much done as possible. The list is still long but we got quite a dent in there; lots of laundry, dog baths, garage cleaning out, vacuuming and floor dusting got done. Sadly there is still much to do, but the good thing about being sleep-deprived is that you really do care less than you did aprés baby :)

No really good photos to post right now, but my girlfriend Sarah did give me some advice on a better camera to get so I can capture Cam's moments a bit faster than the one we currently have. I've been purusing Craigslist and eBay for a bargin; hope to find one soon!

ps
the girls at daycare keeping giving Cam a "faux-hawk" during the day; we've got to get a photo of it up as its pretty funny

Thursday, July 10, 2008

I'm 10 months old today!

People say it and you never believe it. How time flies after you have a baby. When you're in the throes of a 3-hr feeding schedule and getting to know the new little being in your life, it almost seems like time stands still.

Then all of the sudden your little bundle is 10 MONTHS OLD, standing on his own, crawling almost as fast as you can walk and babbling away about his black hole theroy and you get it - time flies.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

Waterworks!


Cam was too funny trying to drink water from a regular cup today; he's torn between chomping down on the cup and drinking the water, so ends up drenched, but ultimately happy. His sippy cup leaks so much, we thought we'd give this a try.

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Bye-bye, Willow Glen :(

We've had a terrific time up here at Mike and Sherry's - its going to be hard to go home! Great weather, great times with friends, great napping for Cam, great fun for doggies - we really couldn't have asked for anything more. Well, except a better housing market when we were looking two years ago! C'est la vie.

Cam's really enjoyed being out and about in his stroller every day - we're going to try to get him out more at home as long as the weather isn't insanely hot. Which is it supposed to be when we get back today....sigh.

Cam's also determined to keep practicing walking. He loves to hold on to our fingers and cruise around the house, and gets quite ticked off when we stop. Dude, we're OLD and our backs can't take it! :) But he's getting steadier and steadier - its still going to be some time before he's walking on his own. We should rest up because we'll be chasing him even more once he's a bi-ped.

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Trip to Noah's Bagels

Yep, that's right; our first family meal out was lunch at Noah's Bagels in Willow Glen today. Turns out Cam loves bagels and did a superb job chowing one, all the while checking out the local street scene on Lincoln Ave. He's a multi-tasker! Plus, chicks dig him (see photo).

Loving our vacation so far; Cam is napping AMAZINGLY - so different than daycare! We're getting in a bit of extra rest too, and visiting with friends :) The weather is wonderful too; mid-high 80s and cooling off tons at night. Which is nice b/c the three cats like to snuggle up and that wouldn't be fun if it was hot!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Vacation bath time :)

We finally made it up to Mike and Sherry's on Sunday afternoon, after packing up most of the house but managing to leave the kitchen sink, which apparently we needed for Cam to take a bath :) (It was was the fastest, easiest bath ever! We might have to try this when we get home.) We still forgot stuff, but nothing major (like the George's!). The dogs were happy to see us, and all 4 are getting along quite well. Cam isn't too sure about the newest addition, Mickey, but he's getting more comfortable as time goes by.

So far we're having a lot of fun, getting to see some of Mommy's friends and making lots of little trips out, with lots more planned for the rest of the week. Cam's been doing great traveling and settled in quite nicely to M+S's guest room; he's sleeping as well as, and maybe even a little better, than at home. He's in love with Dags, the cat, who has been a trouper with Cam trying (key word there!) to pull his fur and tail every chance he gets. We keep saying gentle but Cam just doesn't get it yet!

While we were out for a walk this morning we saw a house for sale just down the street for a very reasonable figure for Willow Glen (under $750k - way under). Of course, there is probably termite damage up the wahzoo, and its half the size of our house in Paso, on a lot a third of the size, but it was fun to imagine what it would be like to buy it and fix it up :) K and I still love Willow Glen and being able to walk everywhere on the tree-lined streets, but we'll head home to Paso on Friday or Saturday.

ps
Mr. Keogh; please note that we'll be sure to scrub down the sink so there are no baby cooties when you get home from Italy :) Love, Cameron