Happy 4th of July

We were invited to spend the 4th of July up in San Jose with our friends Derek, Evelyn, Adrianna and Garret. It was a gorgeous day up there - mid 80s - their friends Mark, Cherry, and their two daughters joined the fun too.

Cam's 4th of July was all about food and fun :)

After some time playing in the pool with the kids (without getting wet, natch), it was popscicle time.





Next: back to the pool.







Then it was time for a 4th of July themed Jello bowl! (no alcohol :) )









After Jello, it was time to play house with all the kids running in and out. Amazingly, no fingers were smooshed in all the excitement.




The kids' sugar was low, so cupcakes were brought out for everyone to enjoy.






Hope everyone had an awesome 4th of July!!!

Cam's wagon: multipurpose :)

Typically you'd see a photo of Cam in his wagon (which he can get in and out of on his own very nicely now :) ) but for our Memorial Day BBQ w/our wonderful neighbours, we had to repurpose it to bring over some goodies to share :) Cam had a blast playing with Ryan and we all enjoyed the boys antics (mostly a lot of chasing and yelling). Thanks for having us over, Awesome Neighbours! :)

ps
yes, that is Cam's butt sticking out of Ryan's toy drawer.

Birthday Fun with Mommy

We are up in San Jose to celebrate Mommy's milestone birthday! A fun bbq at the park by Evelyn + Derek's house this afternoon - the boys running themselves ragged at the amazing park. Ahhh - good times :)

If only we'd had video - Garrett and Cam were hysterical together. Cam tries to keep up with Garrett (who is 5 months older and 7 lbs heavier) and they both seem to want the attention of each other's parents :) Garret is part monkey; he climbs up the little rock climbing wall near the slide with ease. Just hoping Cam doesn't pick up on that, lol.

Sarah, Charles, Grant and James joined us too - so much fun! Sarah had her camera and got this cute shot of Cam - goodness only knows what he was looking at with such wonderment and confusion. Probably Garrett climbing up the rope gym - luckily Cam didn't try that! We had a blast with everyone (my friend Deb joined us too) and are really looking forward to the big birthday treat - Kevin and I are going to Sent Sovi in Saratoga for dinner. Just the two of us.

Sit down for this part, folks. You'd think it was the "going to dinner alone" part, but you'd be wrong.

Mike and Sherry (this was MIKE'S idea) are going to babysit Cam at their house tonight. Not sure if Hell has frozen over or if we should buy a *lot* of lottery tickets tonight!! :) Mike is our chauffer for the evening so we don't need to worry about imbiding too much wine (and also to escape the house in case Cam won't sleep). We're all staying over at Mike and Sherry's (doggies included) for the night and will go home in the morning.

Dinner with just the two of us. Wow. The last time that happened, I was about 10,000 months pregnant with Cam....oh, about 20 months ago :)

We can't wait! More details later.

ps
dinner was amazing, and even better, Cam slept the *entire* time we were gone. Apparently 6 neighbours on Mike and Sherry's street, plus Evelyn, were on call in case Cam got to be too much. We're glad to have averted any trouble and might have to try the babysitting thing again sometime. Thank you so much Kevin, Auntie Sherry and Uncle Mike!!!!!!!! You all made it an amazing, wonderful, perfect birthday!!!

Birthday party for a buddy

Today we drove up to San Jose to go to Garrett's second birthday party - Cam had a blast! The party was at The Little Gym (similar to the Wee Workout place in Paso Robles but, oh, about 10x as big!!). There were tons of mats and after Cam watched Garrett jump down from two stacked mats, he started trying to do that himself and pretty much mastered it by the time we left - we'll see just what he's climbing (and jumping off of) on at home this week :)

There were about 30 kids there, ranging in age from 1-8. Everyone had a great time and by the end of it, Cam was lying down on the gym mats saying "nite nite" :)

The car ride was great in both directions; seems that turning the seat around has made a huge difference and Cam slept pretty well, then hung out checking out the scenery until we got to our destination. He was happy to get home and let out a huge sigh when Kevin laid him down in his crib - he was probably tired of being in his carseat, lol.

We didn't bring the camera in with us but if we get any photos from Evelyn, we'll be sure to post them.

Good times :)

After our trip to Wiamea Canyon, Uncle Pat came over for a beer and to hang out for a while, which thrilled Cam to no end. They had a great time playing before Kevin took Pat back to his hotel to relax and pack for his early flight on Sunday (another 28+ hours of traveling ahead for him to get back to Macau).

Thanks for coming to Kauai, Uncle Pat!! Come visit this summer!

Fun at Brenneke Beach!

While Daddy, Uncle Pat, Grandpa and Grandma were ziplining today, Cam and I meet Derek, Evelyn and the kids down at Brenneke Beach. We started off on the slides, then worked our way down to the sand and water :)



Cam took a little bit to have fun playing in the sand. He did enjoy playing (read: knocking over sand castles :) ) after a little while but we had to keep him distracted so he didn't chase the chickens roaming around.



Afterwards, everyone came back to our place to get cleaned up. The kids had a blast playing together! Once we turned on Thomas the Tank Engine, all playing stopped and everyone quieted down to watch TV :)


Later on, Grandpa and Grandma came over to babysit Cam while we went out to dinner (for the first time since Cam was born!) with Uncle Pat to a really nice place in Poipu Village. Cam ended up getting to stay up until 10pm (long story) but went to sleep once we got home. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma for giving us the opportunity to get out!

Another great day in Kauai! :)

Yay, Uncle Pat is here!

Big smiles, big hugs and Uncle Pat has a new shadow :)

Even though Cam hasn't seen Pat since last July, he was *thrilled* when he saw him standing in the doorway. The boys are currently on the lanai. The "big" boys are drinking beers watching the little one throwing Doritos to the chicken and various birds that have descended upon us.

One has already flown into, and right out of, the condo. Screen door now closed to prevent that from happening again!

Just another day in paradise.

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 and Pumpkin :)

Our awesome next door neighbours' adopted a golden retriever/poodle puppy a couple of weeks ago and today we all got to meet her. It was love at first sight for Cam and Pumpkin (the puppy). High jinks ensued :)

ps
Excuse the dark video; it was after 4pm and about to rain, so very overcast.

15 months today!

Cam is 15 months old today - hard to believe! Well, actually not; in the few months since his birthday he's become a very active little boy :)

I've been lax on updates but here is a super quick rundown.

Cam got broncitis but was better by Thanksgiving. Then I got broncitis and lost my voice for more than a week (both K and Cam enjoyed that!). Thanksgiving was great! So nice to have 4 days off :) Holiday shopping is 95% done - phew! Cam is continuing to adjust to the new room at daycare but doing very well overall. Its dark at 5:30pm these days, so he doesn't get to play outside with the dogs as much as he used to but makes up for it on the weekends. We have a fun weekend coming up; K will be in Irvine for his company's holiday party, coming home on Saturday and we'll get our Christmas tree. Then on Sunday we're headed up to the Bay area to visit friends. Hope it doesn't rain so the kids can play outside!! Cam still isn't sleeping through the night but getting closer!

That's the short story - its not very interesting, hence the lack of posts recently. K shot this video this past weekend of Cam on the doggie bed - he's taken over one of Charlie's old beds that just got a new cover put on it...loves jumping on it!

Halloween party fun

Our next door neighbour's Katherine, Jason and Ryan had a great Halloween party this afternoon we were invited too. Lots of food, fun games (a piñata!), more food and running around. Cam fell in love with one of the pumpkin pillow decorations, but also with part of Jason's costume, a Nerf sword. Then there were all of Ryan's toys to play with - it was a busy time for him, lol. Kevin and I got to relax in a very kid-proofed home and enjoy ourselves too with a bunch of other parents (Cam ISN'T the only kid that doesn't sleep through the night!! So nice to hear that!!)

Cam did get to wear his costume (which was a giraffe, like George, natch) but it turns out the 18-24 month size was too small!! His torso was longer than it allowed for the hood, with the really cute giraffe head, to come up over his head, although the sleeves and legs were long enough. Bummer!! I'll try to find something else before Friday for him but we're so disappointed this one doesn't fit. :( Cam was still freakin' adorable in it, hood or not!

The highlight of the night for everyone was the piñata, of course :) Cam was allowed to take a few swings at it (we feared for Jason and Katherine's windows but all is well there!) - he loved being able to participate with the "big kids" and joined in when the piñata was cracked open, although he didn't notice when we stuck the candy he collected in the other kids bags (phew!). We all had a blast and are so grateful to live next door to such wonderful people! (Mommy's streak of fantastic neighbours' continues - Charles and Sarah used to be neighbours too!)

First birthday festivities :)

Cam got his first taste of sugar (organic, at least) on his birthday cupcakes (recipe here) at his party today :) The cupcake - eh, not so nuts about it, but the frosting and especially the marshmellow eyes were a BIG hit.

Cam's first birthday was Elmo-themed and a lot of fun, even though it was 107° outside! (does Mother Nature know that its September and almost fall??). Our fantastic neighbours Katherine, Jason and Ryan loaned us their fun sprinkler toy and all the kids got to play in the water - our only mistake was not doing the water AFTER the birthday cake :)

We all had a great time and are so grateful so many friends and family could be there, from near and far. Thank you for joining us to celebrate Cam's first birthday! We figure he'll come down from the sugar high just in time for his actual birthday on Wednesday :)

Auntie Sherry visited!!

Auntie Sherry had a day off from her crazy consulting schedule and she came down to Paso to visit us! Cam loooooooved having a new person to play with and "walk" him around :) Buster-dog also came down; Chance was thrilled to have someone to play with, although their game seemed to be who could mark more plants, etc. in the yard. At least they didn't pee on any of our legs :)

It was a very quick visit but so nice to see them both!!

And we're off!

Cam has been cruising along the couch for a while, and has loved to walk holding onto our fingers (thanks for teaching him that, Uncle Pat!) but today....today all the pieces for actually walking fell into place. Enjoy!

ps
seriously - we need childproofing tips! What's worth worrying about and what's good to just let be. Please share!!!

Where's Camdo?

We put an orange shirt on him to make sure he didn't totally blend into the background!

Carla, my very dear horsie friend (who will be teaching Cam to ride in about a year), and her S.O. (significant other) Richie were on vacation in late July, driving from San Jose to Clatskanie, OR to visit Carla's family. Along the way they stopped at a hunting shop and Richie was determined to find some "cammies for Cam".

At first Carla thought he was talking about her great-nephew Campbell, who is about a year older than our Cam, but Richie was on a mission for "Michelle's Cam". So he looked high and low for something that wouldn't be too small for our guy and he did amazingly - the hat fits perfectly and 2T bibs are a little bit long on Cam, but something tells me that by Christmas, they will fit perfectly :) Thank you, Carla and Richie!!

ps
the title was meant to be a play on "Where's Waldo?", not Rambo!

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

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

A visit from Uncle Pat!

Kevin's best friend Pat is visiting with us for a couple of days (he's been working in Macau, China for the past year) and Cam is LOVING him :) He's usually a little shy around people he doesn't know, but he took right to Pat, grinning and laughing away with him.

We were a bit worried Cam might be cranky after not getting much sleep at daycare today, but he was thrilled to have Pat here to play with :) Wanted to share this photo of the two of them but also to show Cam's funky sox from Trumpette - they have the coolest baby socks!!)

Tooth update: two more on the bottom! While Cam was smiling at Pat today, K saw them. We totally missed those white bumps! They had been there a few weeks ago, but we've been all about the double ear infection....wondering if the two are related...

ps: Someone turned 9 months yesterday!!

Trip to Bay Area - with (almost) no crying!!

Yesterday we finally did a trip up to the Bay area with the new carseat. Overall, it went GREAT!!

A key ingredient was to leave Paso right around Cam's typical naptime, so he slept almost the entire way up to Morgan Hill (about 2 hours) where our first stop was to visit Auntie Sherry who was playing in a soccer tournament there. Cam got an opportunity to say hello to Mr. Keogh (insider's joke) and he was FASCINATED with him; we're thinking its the beard :) See photo at left: mommy and Cam along with Mr. Keogh. Who, by the way, is Auntie Sherry's husband and is coaching her soccer team. The gals on the soccer team were super nice to Cam, although he was overwhelmed to be the center of attention for the entire team for a bit!

We got there in between games and it was super duper windy, so by the time her last game started, Cam was giving us his "I'm done" signals and we got him back in the car so he could take another short nap while we headed up north to San Jose to visit with Sarah, Charles and their boys, James and Grant, who is just about Cam's age.

Grant is such an easy-going, good natured, happy baby! I'm convinced the two of them will enjoy playing together as they get older. They were both very interested in each other and started to "baby wrestle" when we put them down on a blanket in the backyard - too funny! Each of the boy's bit the other's behind (on the diaper) to keep him from crawling away, which was freakin' hysterical.
It was really nice to visit with Sarah, Charles and their friend Johnny; we all hadn't seen each other since Sarah and I were both pregnant late last summer. We fed Cam some carrots and turkey with veggies, and almost stayed for dinner with everyone, but Cam hit his wall and it was time to get in the car to head south again (thanks again for the invite; next time we'll plan our visit better!!). We battled the setting sun for about an hour (it kept going right into his eyes and we don't have the shade on the Britax that we had on the Graco carseat) but he eventually fell asleep and slept the entire way home, until we had to slow down to turn left onto Rte 46, when he woke up very ticked off. It took a while to settle him down once we got home, but he ended sleeping okay overall last night - woke up around 6:30am, which is a nice change from the 5:15am he's been doing the last few days. We think his ears are still bugging him; we're halfway through the antibiotics, but he's still waking up a lot at night, we think due to the pain, but we're not sure. Hopefully this double ear infection will get cleared up this week.

We're just waking him up from an 1.5 hour nap right now: as you can see he's very happily snuggled up with his buddy George (the Giraffe) and oblivious to the open curtains and bright room. If he doesn't wake up in the next 5 mins, I'll just close the blinds and let him sleep until he does wake up. We're going to see Uncle Steve, Auntie MA and cousin Loretta to give them 3 rose trees from our yard, but that's about all that's planned for today. We'll let you know if we have any other adventures today! Hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Love,
M + K = C

New slippers!

Cam got some adorable horsie slippers from Auntie Carla - a late Christmas present. She had the foresight to get the 6-12 month size at that point, not realizing how perfectly they'd fit him when he got them! Sadly, you can't really see them in this photo; we'll get a better shot of them up here :)