Milk and Religion

Admittedly, I've teeter-tottered the decision about when to take Camryn to church. I hate the idea of people touching her, breathing on her, sneezing on her and sharing all their germs with her practically nonexistent immune system. And who doesn't love a newborn baby at church--where it seems that every newborn baby is game to coos and cuddles and caresses? On the other hand, the nagging guilt that I had been absent from church for about 6 weeks definitely rested heavily in my thoughts this past weekend. Ultimately, we decided that Camryn and I would attend sacrament meeting only and just the boys would stay for classes afterward.

Cami and I had fun raiding her closet for the perfect dress. She has about seven dresses that currently fit her  little 10-lb figure and we paired them with headbands and bows and onsies and jackets until we were quite overwhelmed by the dozens of wardrobe and accessory ensembles. I love that having a daughter means that we have to make these difficult choices! ;) We chose the red dress with the pink hearts, not only because it looked absolutely warm and cozy, but that it had significant sentimental value. I chose this dress for my niece Libby when she was born. It was during a time when we were still grieving our Amelia and I had a difficult time walking past baby clothes without getting that pang of sadness in my heart. Nevertheless, I saw this dress in the baby department at Target, at Christmastime. I couldn't help but stop and admire it. And if I couldn't buy it for my daughter, I would buy it for my newborn niece! Who would have imagined that my baby girl would be wearing the same dress two years later? 

Baby Camryn

Baby Libby

Clarke and I felt like, and probably looked like, first time parents as we ogled our baby girl throughout sacrament meeting, panicking whenever her little face scrunched up and turned red--quickly shoving the pacifier in her mouth and hoping she didn't start to bawl. Brock loved on his sister with hugs and kisses and snuggles. As soon as the closing prayer was offered in sacrament meeting and people began to exit the chapel, hands began to appear from everywhere, reaching for Camryn to touch her hair or her cheeks. The germaphobe inside me was cringing and I had to bite down hard on my lip to keep from slapping the hands away. After all, all the affectionate caresses from friends in our ward were sugarcoated with words of admiration and praise for our baby. It was fun to soak up all the compliments as they confirmed what Clarke and I already knew: Cami is adorable, precious, perfect, amazing and a true miracle. 

And guess who is smiling?

100% real smiles.

(there will probably be dozens of pictures in the next several weeks as proof, but here is a small smile for now....)

Yesterday also marked another big event for Camryn.

Confession: I love breastfeeding my babies. 

Not only is it convenient and thrifty, it creates a special bond between mother and child. Clarke will get all the credit for being the "playful" parent as our children grows, and rightly so, which means that this unique time that I have to bond with my babies is important to me. Nevertheless, I have to go back to photo shoots at some point and Clarke would really like to go out on dates, without our children for a change. This means one thing for my breastfed baby: momma needed to pump and Camryn needed to learn how to drink from a bottle. With great anxiety on my part ("Will she take a bottle?" "Will she like this bottle or do we need to go buy one of every kind from the store until we find one she likes?" "Is this a bad idea?"), Clarke offered Cami her first bottle and she took to it like a champ, downing four ounces in no time! Way to go Cami!

Cami exhibited a clear distrust of the dining room chandelier during her meal...

Go milk?

We Gots Da Bug

It's always exciting to welcome Brock off the bus after a day at school, to give him an I-missed-you-today squeeze and a smooch on his chubby cheek and to go through his backpack to see what treasures he brought home from school that day. Waxy and crayon colorful pictures of ninjas and knights, worksheets of clumsily written alphabets and numbers, the weekly library book about fighter jets or dinosaurs and the rock he found on the playground. And then there is the thing he brings home constantly that you can't see: every little flu and cold germ imaginable! 

Last week, Brock was grappling with his SECOND cold in a month. 

A mini-man-cold you might call it. 

"Don't sneeze on the baby!"

"Cover your mouth when you cough!"

"Wash your hands!"

"Did you wash your hands?"

"Well, wash them again."

In spite of copious amounts of Lysol blanketing every surface, doorknob and light switch in the house, and every precaution we could think of to protect Camryn from getting sick, the inevitable happened.

Cami caught her first cold.

*a-choo!*

cough-cough

sniffle-sniffle

pitiful baby cry

I really wish parents would smart-up and keep their sick children HOME instead of sending them to school to infect my child. *shakes fist at irresponsible parent*

Luckily, both kids seem to be on the mend. Brock, having had more practice at dredging his way through the coughs and the sniffles, is back at school and play. Camryn, on the other hand, has no idea why she can't breath through a stuffed up nose and why mommy is always coming at her with the saline and the nose bulb. Her first cold was bound to happen, though, and we're just so incredibly grateful that it hasn't resulted in RSV. 

Ice Ice Baby

Last Saturday, Clarke and Brock went on another exciting father/son adventure: ice skating!

Brock had never been ice skating and was anxious to try out his mad, ninja skating skills thanks to a "purchase one admission, get one free" coupon Brock brought home from school last month. They invited uncle Sean to come along when mommy and Cami had to bow out of the invitation due to Cami's first cold.

According to my guys, the rink was packed, but they had fun, nonetheless. Brock fell several times, of course, but Clarke managed to stay upright on his ice skates the entire time. Ten years ago, Clarke and I went ice skating on a date. If I recall, Clarke was agile on ice skates even then while I clumsily slipped and slid my way around the rink, taking several spills. Sounds like Brock might take after me. Sorry, little dude.

Brock and Daddy:

Brock and Uncle Sean

One Month

Today our sweet baby Camryn turns 1-month old!

What a blessing and a joy she is to our family! 

Losing Sleep

Dear Camryn,

You are my favorite reason for losing sleep, my darling girl.

(but it wouldn't hurt to try sleeping some at night instead of all day)

Love,

 your mom

The Competition

It seems that my posts and camera clicks have been largely Camryn-centered of late. The truth is that when it comes to Brock, I am met with stiff competition. 

My nemesis goes by one name: LEGO. 

Brock fell in love with Legos last year and it's clearly not a short-term romance; for when Brock is not enthralled in Lego Star Wars, on the wii, with daddy, he is closed up in his room creating finely engineered space ships or building dragons and castles. This past December, Brock scored FIVE new Lego sets for his birthday and Christmas (and we're not talking the little 39 piece sets, either. We're talking the BIG box sets with hundreds of pieces each!). 

So, the only way to capture my little boy anymore is to play his game. Literally.

And here's what I got when I asked him for "just one smile picture:"

and this...

 and this...

"What do I have to do to get a genuine smile out of you, stinker?"

His answer: "Just say skeleton poop, mom!"

And what do you know? It worked...

Camryn's Song

Three years ago, thereabouts, I typed up this quick little post about songs that remind me of my children. Brock's song is 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole. Amelia's song is 'Clair De Lune' by Debussy. Several weeks before Camryn was born, I began contemplating what song I might choose for her. One unwelcome title kept nagging at my brain, much like a sink full of dirty dishes or a pile of laundry waiting to be folded. It's not that the song isn't fantastic; it's the kind of song with a contagious groove that you want playing on the radio when you're conquering household chores or an excuse to dance around the kitchen while you make dinner.

The problem is that it's so cliche and probably the most "daughter-ish" song out there,
next to 'Butterfly Kisses.'

But, I followed my gut and purchased this song through iTunes.
Turns out, I kind of love it now...

And here are the first two verses:

Isn't she lovely  

Isn't she wonderful 

Isn't she precious 

Less than one minute old
I never thought through love we'd be
Making one as lovely as she 

But isn't she lovely made from love 

Isn't she pretty 

Truly the angel's best 

Boy, I'm so happy
We have been heaven blessed 

I can't believe what God has done 

through us he's given life to one 

But isn't she lovely made from love 

Happy New Year

Better late than never. 

We sent out our Happy New Year/birth announcement cards just last week,

 after missing the Christmas card deadline...for the second year in a row.

Oops.

Punkin and Princess

Nicknames are fantastic things!

I love it when someone feels comfortable enough around me to call me Char or Charly (my parents have called me Charly since I was a baby. My grandfather's name was Charlie and he passed away just months before I was born, so the nickname has a lot of sentiment behind it.). I don't think Clarke has an issue with nicknames either; just don't call him "Clarkie." EVER! He hates that. I've contemplated calling him Sparky, though, (after Clarke W. Griswold). And Brock has a number of endearing nicknames, including Brockie, Brocksters, B, Buddy, Stinkpot (daddy's favorite) and Punkin (momma's favorite). 

The other day, I was talking to Cami (aha....another nickname!) and I thoughtlessly started calling her "punkin." 

"Mom, that's my name!" 

Brock was clearly phased by the idea that his sister might be called Punkin too. 

His comment caught me off guard and we began discussing nicknames. And I have to admit, I sort of love that Brock really owns "punkin."

"And don't call her Brocksters, either, 'cause I like that one too." And then Brock added lightly, "But you can call her stinker, 'cause I don't like that nickname." Haha. What a nut!

Apparently, I'm  a hopeless cause when it comes to nicknames, though, because "punkin" just naturally rolls off my mother tongue when it comes to my kiddies. And every time I start to call Cami "punkin" I have to give myself a mental head slap. Now, I'm trying to get used to saying  "Sweet Pea" or "Princess" and hoping that, should those terms of endearment become habit, I don't slip and call my son "princess."

And since no post is complete without a picture, here is our Punkin and our Princess:

B is for...New Years Day?

Bath time! 

Camryn celebrated New Year's Day with her very first bath! 

And she loved it, I think.

Except, of course, for the naked part. hehe.

Blessing Day!

Ordinarily, in the LDS faith, babies are given a priesthood blessing at church, during sacrament meeting, in front of the congregation. It was important to Clarke and myself to plan Cami's blessing at a time when some of our out-of-town family would be here to participate in this ordinance. Particularly my dad, Cami's papa, who has been working in North Dakota these past several months. New Year's Day seemed as good a day as any for the blessing; but we faced the additional challenge of whether or not to take Camryn to church at only 2 weeks old. Ultimately, we decided that exposing our newborn to threat of RSV (and all sorts of other cold and flu bugs) was not worth it and made the necessary arrangements to have Clarke bless Camryn at home in the company of our immediate families.

In hindsight, Clarke and I had to chuckle at the preposterous idea that we crowded and squished so many family members into our tight little living space for the blessing. Our humblest apologies to our families. I don't think we've ever had so many bodies in our living room at one time! 

Clarke offered a very beautiful priesthood blessing for our daughter. The other priesthood holders in the circle included Cami's papa (my dad), her grandpa (Clarke's dad), and uncles: Scotty, Sean and Paul.

Camryn wore a special blessing dress for the occasion. It was the dress my Grandma Ailean had made for me when I was blessed 30+ years ago... I imagine my grandma was smiling down from Heaven that day, as her great granddaughter wore one of her creations. For the pictures, I placed Cami on the gorgeous quilt that my aunt Julie (my mom's sister) made for Camryn. It's a soft pink and offered a nice, vintage-like contrast between the dress and the background. And it represents a rich, hand-made heritage from my mom's side of the family.

Beauty

We can't get enough of this little beauty...

(This is one of those "throw away" shots as I was testing my lighting before Cami was dolled up in her blessing dress and accessories. Except that there is no way I'd throw this picture away. Ever!)

And finally, B is for Brother...

Sadly there is no New Year's Day image for this one, although my intentions were good.

With so many cousins to run around with, there was no way Brock was going to stop and pose for a picture with his baby sister. Even, if he kept telling us how "beautiful" Camryn looked in her blessing dress. But, we'll get one of the two kids soon! 

Not that we don't have plenty of sibling pictures already...