East coast visit

We're here! After much planning, we are on the east coast in lovely Seabrook, New Hampshire, comfortably esconsed into Dave + Danielle's lovely beach house :)

Our red-eye from SFO was slightly delayed (typical SFO - fog so only 1 plane could land at a time) and Cam was awake waaaaay too late, but he eventually fell asleep on the plane. Keeping him asleep was a challenge as we apparently were traveling with a bunch of insomniacs, but we made it to Boston (on time, no less) and arrived to gorgeous sunshine and clear skies. We'd checked weather.com before the trip, so the sunshine was a nice surprise!

We made it to the beach house around 9:30am. By 1pm, Trina, Jamie + Isley had joined us, with Chris + Tyler shortly thereafter and there was *still* room at the beach house for more :)

Since this was the first nice weather for everyone else, we spent most of the afternoon either out in the backyard or down on the beach. It was so nice for Cam to meet Tyler for the first time, plus he seemed to remember Isley as well. They are all having fun together :) Both Tyler and Isley all were kind enough to bring toys from home for Cam to play with while he's visiting - so far the Baby Einstein flash cards are the biggest hit.

Looking forward to dinner with everyone and (once the kids go to bed) Chris brought champange for us all - yum!!!

Here a Burke, there a Burke, everywhere a Burke

We all have the same last name now :)

More photos soon!

Kilohana Train Tour

We met Derek, Evelyn, Adrianna and Garrett over at the Kilohana Plantation for their train tour today. Both of the boys were excited to go on the train (they both are huge Thomas fans), despite the downpour we had just before we left the depot. Luckily we all brought rain gear!

During the plantation tour, they stopped the train to let everyone off to feed the wild pigs they have on the plantation. Needless to say, all the kids loved it! Cam loved throwing bread to the pigs, but it was close to lunchtime so he snacked on a couple of pieces too :)

The plantation train tour was pretty quick (although the perfect length for kids), about 45-50 minutes. Afterwards we all went to have lunch at a local deli that another passenger recommended - we bumped into him there, lol! The kids were all exhausted by the time that was over, so we brought Cam home for a nap, but since the kids were asleep in their car, Derek and Evelyn decided to drive up to Wiamea Canyon and had a terrific time. Adrianna woke up so she got to hike with each parent (one stayed behind in the car with the still napping Garrett).

After they got back, they walked over to our place (they are staying 3 speed bumps up Pe'e Road), we all walked over to the Grand Hyatt to see the grounds, and meet Auntie Sherry for a drink before dinner (Uncle Mike was napping after working a bunch the previous night - long story). All the kids had a good time with the stairs and tired themselves out (we're all getting a workout chasing everyone!), plus we had some very nice cocktails before heading back home to meet Dick and Janice for dinner at our place. Dinner wasn't fancy but we all enjoyed ourselves - we got to hear about D & J's amazing helicopter trip, which sounded like a lot of fun! Maybe the next time we visit we'll do that :)

All in all, another terrific day! Uncle Pat comes in tomorrow from Macau, China (after a 20+ hour plane trip - yikes!), so we'll see what we end up doing for fun. A trip to Brenneke's for Uncle Pat and Daddy will *definitely* happen!

Cam got his first drum today

Something tells me this won't be the last drum he gets :) He loves how loud it is but also that the "beater" it comes with can be used on other stuff - we'll be hoarse soon telling him to only use it on the drum :)

You have to turn up the volume *really* loudly to appreciate just how loud this darn thing is (Kevin's idea, after Cam loved playing with cousin Loretta's drum over the holidays) - take how loud that is and multiply by 10. I need cotton balls for my ears :)

ps
you can hear Charlie nervously drinking water in the background :)

Swinger

Cam was never totally into swings until he got to try the outside, sitting upright version at the playground. But last night, when he was winding down for bed after his bath, he saw the swing cousin Chris, her husband Mike and son Tyler got for him last year, and let Kevin know he wanted to get into it. He swang in there for a good 10+ minutes, just chilling out w/George. A bit out of character, as usually at night he's chasing the dogs around the house. We figured he was off b/c of the new ear infection.

Well, tonight he wanted back into the swing! He loves the mirror, and will lay there and stare at himself; loves the toys, loves the music and loves to just hang out and swing. He took his first bottle (we're putting his meds into his first bottle of just a couple ounces) in there - amazing!

Cam is feeling better today, not quite himself totally but on his way. We've decided to spend an extra day at home and head up to house/dog sit on Sunday, to get a few things done around here and give Cam an extra day to recouperate. We might try to get him a haircut tomorrow too - that will depend on how the night goes and if mommy is up for it tomorrow (we'll go to a place here in Paso that specializes w/kids - no bowl haircuts for this kid!) - we'll let you know!

Da Da for Father's Day :)

Cam's "walking" is coming along quite well, as you can see in the video. So are his vocals; on Sunday he clearly said "Da da" for the first time :) K was thrilled! We also think he says "doggie" and "daddy" but its probably wishful thinking.

We had a busy weekend; Grandpa and Grandma Janice visited with us on Saturday and stayed the night, and on Sunday we got to go see Uncle Steve, Auntie MA and Loretta. Cam was invited to play in the pool, but the water was a bit too cold for him, so he declined - he had more fun getting passed around to everyone sitting outside enjoying margaritas and then had a blast playing down on the patio with Loretta and the dogs.

We did find out that the "Little Swimmer's" diapers don't really hold that much #1; mommy ended up drenched! Fingers crossed we don't find out about #2 the hard way :)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day!

Love,
M + K = C

Happy Monday :)

We had a great weekend down here in Paso; on Saturday we took Cam over to Barney Schwartz Park to play on the swings and also take a walk up to the pond. It was windy as all heck but we all had a good time, plus mommy and daddy got a bit of exercise!

Sunday we spent the afternoon with Uncle Steve, Auntie Mary Ann and cousin Loretta. Had a great time and FABULOUS dinner (thanks again!), plus Cam had fun hanging out with everyone; Uncle Steve had him giggling and Cam loved playing Super-Baby with Auntie MA. Cousin Loretta helped him with his dinner, which was great.

Somehow we managed to not take any photos this weekend - go figure! We'll catch up this week. Oh; Cam's ear infection hasn't cleared up and we were back at the Doc's office today. He's back on the antibiotics (different strength and dosage than before) and hopefully we'll get this cleared up. If he gets another ear infection within the next 4-6 weeks we'll go to see a specialist.

Quick 9 month stats: (a week early but since we were at the Doc's today)
Weight: 25lb 8oz / 96th percentile
Length: 30" / 95th percentile
Head: 19.25" / 99th percentile

Still a big kid! He'll easily hit the one-year-goal of tripling his weight and adding 10" to his height if we keep going this way.

Cousin Tyler's got a blog!

We are so excited to see our super-cool cousin Tyler is now on Blogspot!

Tyler's mom Chris is my absolute favourite, bestest, most awesome cousin; more of a sister than a cousin, really. Ty-Man and Chris (along w/daddy Mike) are all the way on the East coast in New Hampshire, and we can't wait to see the boys meet each other in the fall when our family comes to visit. I've been harbouring secret hopes they'll grow up to be as good friends as Chris and I are :)

Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging, Chris, Mike and Tyler!!

Cam and Uncle Steve bonding

With a burpie, of course!

And glowing devil-eyes :)

Trip to Atascadero Zoo

We went to the zoo in Atascadero today; not sure we'll go ever again as it was pretty sad, from a habitat perspective. Those poor animals! The folks there sure are trying hard but....it was sad.

The kids, on the other hand, had lots of fun. Isley got a chance to do something more fun than wait for Cam to wake up from a nap :)

Side note: this was the longest trip Cam has taken in the new carseat and he did AWESOME. Fell asleep on the way home and didn't even wake up when we took him out of the car :)

Cousins

Despite the gale force winds blowing through Paso Robles, we got the kids outside to have a quick photoshoot of the cousins.

Guess what we found this morning...

Checked on Cam at 2am b/c he was so quiet. I'm so used to him waking up then! This is how I found him. Not how he started, of course. Usually him rolling onto his belly wakes him up and his protests wake me up, but last night he must have liked it and snoozed through it.

Big news: Auntie Trina and cousin Isley are coming to visit next weekend for a couple of days. Its a quick trip but we're all looking forward to it! Cam will finally get to meet his other cousin :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cam had a great time over at Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary Ann's new home for Thanksgiving dinner. Grandpa held him and got some smiles, but Cam had the most fun with his cousin Loretta who got more smiles and coos from him than everyone else combined :) He was completely fascinated by watching her and she did a great job of playing with him as well as managing not to get her hair pulled!!

Dinner@Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary Ann's house

We were all invited over for dinner to Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary Ann's house on Saturday night. Cam had a great time being held by everyone (especially in front of the fireplace) and had fun playing with his cousin Loretta.

ps Cam was two months old yesterday!

The "Burpie"

Cam has learned how to grab at items and loves to hold stuff in his fists. He's pretty indiscriminate - he'll grab your shirt when you're holding him, loves to grab (and not let go of) my hair when its not in a ponytail (ow!!) and has also started grabbing the little burp cloths off our shoulders and carrying them around with him, like a favourite blankie. Now he wants to have one in his hands when he goes to sleep! The last couple of times he hasn't settled right down for a nap, we hand him one of those and he's out within a minute.

Cameron's Grandma on the west coast crocheted 2 beautiful blankets for him, his east coast Grammie has bought him a plethora of cute flannel blankets w/dinosaurs embroidered on them, my godmother (his great-aunt Kathy) and cousin Chrissy crocheted him an adorable blanket, plus Chrissy made him a gorgeous quilt and one of my favourite clients had a blanket embroidered with his name and birthdate on it that's one of our favourites - the point being, there are some much nicer blankies to choose from!!

But no - Cam loves the $1 burp cloth...I realize this is just the beginning of him asserting his independence :)

Just for Auntie Trina :)

I swore up and down Cam would never sleep in bed with us. I was wrong! Here he is lounging around. For some reason, he does sleep extra peacefully when in bed with us; doesn't thrash around as much as he does in his crib (he's trying hard to suck on his thumb but doesn't a) realize his hands are his and, b) know how to keep his thumb out without his fingers poking his eye! Ah, the travails of infant-hood :)

The first smile!!

Everyone tells you that its gas, but I'm positive Cam has been smiling at us since he was about 3 weeks old...it took forever to get a photo of it b/c he hated the flash on the camera, but Auntie Trina finally caught his grin digitally while she was visiting. And he's smiling at mommy in this picture (for once! he smiled at daddy first)

Auntie Trina visits

Cam's Auntie Trina from Vermont came to visit us for almost a week. Unfortunately her trip out was pretty miserable (her flight was delayed and she missed her connection in Newark to San Jose, then had to stay overnight in Newark along with tons of other displaced travellers) and she arrived in the middle of our first rain storm of the winter on October 12, but it was all uphill from there. :)

Mostly she hung out with all of us, getting to know her new nephew (and giving mom and dad a much needed break - she even changed diapers!), as well as cooking some fabulous meals for everyone. A big thanks to Sue Shaw, Trina's mother-in-law, for sharing her fantastic meatloaf recipe - a new family staple!

4 week checkup; a-ok!

We met with our new pediatrican, Dr. Nave, in Templeton (only 10 minutes from the house, much closer than mom's HMO up in San Jose) today for Cam's 4 week checkup. It went pretty well; Cam didn't like being naked in the cold room to get weighed but once he got re-dressed he did great. Cam's weight gain was awesome: 13lb 7 ounces. Since he lost 11 ounces the first day he was born, he regained that, plus almost 4lbs on his birth weight in 4 weeks! Totally explained why he didn't fit into newborn clothing anymore. His length increased almost 2" to 23-3/4". Both Kevin and I are hoping he'll eventually be a tall guy.

Four Week Old Stats
13lb 7oz
23.75"

Kevin's sister-in-law saw Dr. Nave at a St. Rose event (their kids both attend this school) and mentioned Cam was a new client; at first Dr. Nave didn't know who she was talking about but then she realized MA was talking about "the big baby" she'd seen that week :)