Our little girl is getting big!

Everyone tells you to enjoy your kiddos when they're little because they grow up fast. It's so true! We're only two and a half months into this and I'm already shocked by how fast our little girl is growing up. I can't believe it. Every once in awhile it hits me... I'll be looking at her laying on the bed or sitting in her swing and I suddenly realize how much bigger she's gotten since we brought her home from the hospital in February.

Just look at the difference...

In the bath...

THEN

NOW

In the swing...

THEN NOW

In the chair...

THEN

NOW

It's hard to believe isn't it?

Smiles

Yesterday it was in the 70's and today it's snowing...WHAT?! Crazy Colorado spring time weather. I'm just glad we're starting to get some summer weather. I love the summer! It's so fun to play outside when it's nice and warm. I have a pretty good feeling we're going to have a blast with Cameron this summer. I'm really looking forward to it!

Have you ever noticed when a baby smiles, they don't just smile with their mouth? It's their whole body that smiles! When Cameron smiles her eyes light up, she kicks and bats her arms...she just looks so excited. But then again, who wouldn't be excited if they had such a cool mommy? ;-)

You can tell she's not totally amused with me the whole time. If she could talk I have a feeling it would go something like this: "Mom, seriously it's too early to be taking videos. Put the camera down. No, I'm not going to smile. I'm just going to stare at you. But you are pretty funny, and I like when you say hi to me, so...well okay, I'll smile!"

Grandma Shower

Thursday afternoon a few of my mom's friends threw her a Grandma Shower. What a great idea! They all bought her "grandma gifts" - toys for her house, etc. It was really fun. We got some really cute outfits and toys to keep at our house too. All the ladies were really sweet. We had such a nice time.

For those of you who are grandma's out there, I would definitely recommend that you start this tradition in your circle of friends. It's a great excuse to get together and a whole lot of fun.

New Jersey Weekend

This weekend we went to New Jersey to surprise my grandparents for my grandma's 80th birthday. No one knew that we were coming so it was really fun to see the reactions. We packed a lot into 4 days, so I broke the post into several parts so you can actually read it ;-)...

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Part 1: The Plane Ride

Saturday morning we flew out to New Jersey. It was Cameron's very first airplane ride and she did great. She slept for the majority of the flight, the perfect little flyer. There were a few minutes at the beginning of our descent when she woke up and cried, but we were able to get her settled down quickly. I'm pretty sure I didn't start nursing her soon enough, so it was probably my fault that her ears were hurting. Oh well, live and learn right?

Mommy and Cameron waiting to get on the plane

Mommy, Grandma and Cameron on the airplane

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Part 2: The Surprise

We left Cameron on my grandparent's door step with a sign and a happy birthday balloon. She looked so cute and my grandma and grandpa were shocked to see a little baby sitting on their doorstep!

Cameron with her "Hi There, I'm Cameron Brianne" sign and birthday balloon

Grandma Norma saying hi to Cameron

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Part 3: The Birthday Party

Saturday night we went to my Uncle Ray and Aunt Anne's house for my grandma's birthday dinner. I felt bad because they didn't know we were coming so we kind of crashed the party, but everything ended up working out great. Anne made a yummy dinner and Mac made the cake.

My grandma and grandpa

Doesn't my grandma look great for being 80?

Even Cameron got a place at the dinner table

My mom and dad

Grandma blowing out her candles

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Part 4: The Beach

My sister and I grew up playing on the beach at the Jersey Shore. Every summer we would go visit Grandma and Grandpa in New Jersey. It was always a blast.

So, of course, we had to take Cameron to the beach. I think she liked it! We even took off her socks and put her feet in the sand. HAHAHA Fun, fun, fun.

Our family on the inlet

Cameron sticking her toes in the sand, well actually just her little toe!

Daddy and Cameron

Great Grandma Norma and Cameron

Grandma and Cameron

4 generations of beach bunnies

4 generations of hands

Mommy and Cameron playing in the sand

The Volks on the beach

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Part 5: The Family

Cameron got to meet just about everyone in my mom's family. It was kind of strange for me to be bringing my little girl there to meet them because for so many years I was the little girl coming to visit, but it was really neat.

Great Grandpa Bob rocking Cameron

Great Grandma and Cameron

Aunt Mac with Cameron

Aunt Anne and Cameron

Uncle Ray and Cameron

Grandma and Cameron

Daddy and Cameron

Somehow, I never ended up getting pictures of Cameron with Uncle Bobby, Aunt Patty and Uncle Bob.

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Part 6: The Shopping

Monday afternoon (my grandma's birthday), my mom, grandma, Ryan, Cameron and I went shopping at the Carter's and Oshkosh outlet stores. Between all of us we bought Cameron a ton of clothes, BUT everything was on sale so we did pretty good for ourselves. She is going to be a well dressed little girl, that's for sure!

The birthday girl

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Part 7: The Trip Home

On her second flight Cameron looked like a veteran flyer. She was really good the whole flight and she even woke up and played with us for awhile.

Mommy and Cameron on the flight home

Daddy and Cameron, Cameron has her own seat, what a big girl!

This is kind of a long video, but Cameron is super smiley and it's really cute, so I thought I'd post it anyway.

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We had a great time visiting everyone. It's crazy to think that the next time we go visit the Jersey Shore Cameron will probably be walking!

Here are a few other pictures of us hanging out:

That's all I've got...wow, that was a long post!

Two Month Doctors Appointment

We just finished with Cameron's two month doctors appointment. The doctor said that she looks great, so we must be doing something right! Her growth is right on track: 50th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for length and 55th percentile for head circumference.

Weight: 10 pounds, 12 ounces

Length: 23 inches
Head: 39 centimeters

At a baby's two month appointment they start vaccinations, which is something that I have really been wrestling with the past few weeks. It's hard because all we want is what's best for Cameron, but there are some very different opinions as to what is "best" for a child when it comes to vaccinating. Being the Type A person that I am, I did quite a bit of research before we went to the appointment today and then I had an in depth discussion with the doctor. And after all that, I felt even more lost than when I started.

I think Ryan summed it up best when he said: "It's like we're damned if we do and damned if we don't". That's totally how I feel about the whole vaccination issue. I guess it's just one of those things where you make the best decision you can with the information you have and then just pray that God takes care of your child. Hmmm, I feel like I've been saying that a lot this past year!

Long story short, Cameron ended up having two shots today. Oh my goodness, that's got to be one of the most heart wrenching things ever. I'm sure every mom out there can relate. One minute she was perfectly content, just sitting there on the table smiling and cooing and at us and then BAM she gets stuck, ouch! She actually did great, she hardly cried at all. I think I probably cried more than she did, man it was hard to watch.

After our appointment with the pediatrician, we stopped by Dr. Finnegan's office (our OB). His office is right across the parking lot so we thought it would be fun to drop in so he could see Cameron. He is so wonderful! It was really nice to see him and chat for a few minutes.

Morning Ritual

Waking up in the morning is quite the process for our little Cameron. She cracks me up because as soon as we unswaddle her, her arms immediately pop up so she can stretch them out. Then, as soon as she's "free", she starts smiling at us like crazy. It's adorable! Who would have ever though waking up in the morning could be so much fun?

Here's a video that we took a few mornings ago when she was waking up. She wasn't as smiley as she usually, but it will give you an idea of what our mornings are like.

Two Months Old!

Cameron is Two Months Old!

April 13, 2010

Weight: 10 pounds, 12 ounces

Length: 23 inches

Head: 39 centimeters

Everyone tells you that time flies by when you have kids, and boy is that the truth. I can't believe Cameron is already two months old. I'm with her every day so it never really seems like she's getting much bigger, but when I look back at pictures from when she first came home from the hospital there is already such a huge difference.

So Cameron, what are you up to at two months old?

• You are a great sleeper. You started sleeping through the night (8+ hours) between 6 and 7 weeks and you've been sleeping like a champ ever since.
  
• You are extremely alert, you smile a ton and you've started talking to us.
  
• You've officially graduated to your 0-3 month clothes.
  
• It's not easy for you to wake up in the morning. You need several minutes so you can adequately stretch before moving onto other activities.
  
• You're eating about 6 times every day and have fallen into a predictable eating schedule.
  
• You love your baths, especially when Mommy pours cups full of water on you.
  
• You really enjoy your play yard. You'll spend hours batting at the toys and kicking. You're favorite toy is the zebra.
  
• You like getting outside in your jogging stroller or Baby Bjorn. Most of the time you fall asleep, but you're always happy.
  
• You are mesmerized by the camera. Whenever we take your picture you stare at it inquisitively.
  
• You can hold your head up for several seconds at a time.
  
• You've definitely learned to let us know when you're not happy, but you never stay unhappy for very long.
  
• You're really starting to develop your own personality.
  
• You have a wonderful disposition and your Mommy and Daddy are so blessed to have you as their little girl!
  

Click here to view Cameron's one month picture and see how much she's grown sense then.

Cameron's First Hike

It's feeling more and more like summer everyday and you know what that means...it's time to play outside! We went hiking with the Anderson's Sunday morning at Devils Backbone in Loveland. It was really fun and Cameron did great. Ryan carried her in our Baby Bjorn which worked perfectly. She was able to cuddle up right on his chest so she pretty much slept the whole time, but that was okay with me!

The fam in front of the backbone

The Anderson Crew - Matt, Angela, Morgan and Brady

Little Miss Cameron

Lunch time

Ryan and Mr. Brady eating lunch

Family Photos

We had some professional family photos taken yesterday afternoon by Corrie Kraft. She is an awesome photographer! We ended up taking almost 500 pictures. Cameron did great. She was a real trooper and was good for us basically the whole time. Needless to say it's going to take awhile for Corrie to get all the photos edited and ready to go, but she posted a few teasers on her blog. You should definitely check them out. They are super cute!

CorrieKraft.blogspot.com

If you need a photographer check out Corrie's website: CorrieKraft.com. She does weddings, engagement photos, bridal shots, family photos - pretty much anything. And like I said, she is awesome.

Motherhood

When I was pregnant people would tell me all the time how wonderful it was to be a mommy. I would nod my head and smile and tell them that I was excited, that I couldn't wait, that I knew it was going to be great, etc, etc. But the truth is, there is no way to fully appreciate what they mean until you experience it for yourself.

Sure it's hard sometimes - being up in the middle of the night, dealing with a baby who is fussing for no reason at all, trying to make dinner one handed. I can only imagine what it's like being the mother of a two year old who has just learned to tell you no, or a middle school girl who has taken a recent interest boys, or a teenager who has a bad attitude. But I'm convinced that the rewards of mommyhood by far outweigh the challenges. At least they have for me so far.

The past few days I have found myself thinking over and over how blessed I am that God has entrusted us with this little person's life. Cameron is such a sweet little baby and every single morning I'm excited that I get to spend another day with her.

These are just a few of the things I love about being Cameron's mommy, I know I could come up with a lot more.

I love...

• Knowing that I can calm her down when nobody else can
  
• Watching her explore the world and learn to do new things
  
• Listening to the sound of her little noises and coos
  
• Dressing her up in cute little outfits
  
• Holding her on my chest while she sleeps
  
• Watching her smile back at me when I smile at her
  
• Feeding her, it's such a special time
  
• Telling her stories and reading her books
  
• Watching her sleep, she's so peaceful
  
• Knowing that I get to watch this little girl grow up

What a blessing it is to be a mommy!