Camp's First Shiner

Camp got his very first shiner a few days ago. This picture was take FIVE days after it happened. He was playing in Emma Claire's room while she was gone to school and somehow fell and hit his eye on her window seal. It seemed to get worse every day but he never acted like it bothered him. I'm sure there will be many more of these in our future!

Camp's First Dude Day

"Dude Day" was a blast!  On Saturday we began with Just Tires (let's not talk about how much $ we spent there), then to Wendy's before hitting up Lowes and the Rolesville city park playground. 

Camp was a trooper.  Of course, he's still 3 so having an Ipad or smartphone nearby is recommended to help entertain when needed.

I asked him at Wendy's what was his favorite part about preschool; he said "going to chapel with you.  I like you!"  Love this guy!

At Lowes he got bored quick, but hung in there.  When we left he said, "That was so much fun!"  I said, "Really? Do you want to go back?"  Camp:"Umm, no, I wanna go to the playground."  So, after a quick visit to Food Lion off we went to the playground...great times. 

See the pics of my little man below scaling a 9ft climbing wall wearing cowboy boots.

Update on the Kiddos

Dawson @ 12 Weeks:

• Dawson is such a champ. He is such a good baby and has a wonderful personality. 
• Last night he slept 9 hours straight! AmAzInG! He has been sleeping well since he was born but last night was just icing on the cake. The first night home from the hospital he even slept 7 hours straight. Some nights he does better than others, but I have absolutely nothing to complain about. If he wakes up he falls asleep while nursing and goes straight back to bed. This momma thrives on sleep. : )
• Dawson is so strong. He has already rolled over from belly to back when he was just  3 weeks old. He loves to be held sitting up and if you put him on your shoulder he holds his head up on his own to look around.
• He is on path to be bigger than Camp. At 8 weeks Camp weighed 13 lbs 10 oz and Dawson weighed 12 lbs 4 oz at his 6 week check-up. Camp even had 2 pounds on him at his birth weight! He had gained one pound per week for the last 4 weeks!
• At his 6 week check-up Dr. Rule decided to put him Zantac for acid reflux. He doesn't have the projectile spit-up like Emma Claire and Camp did but his is the silent reflux. He would have episodes of choking and would scare us to death in the middle of the night. He would also scream out in pain often when laid flat on his back. He is doing MUCH better now and seems to be adjusting to the awful tasting medicine.
• He is eating every 3 hours during the day and occasionally at night if he wakes up. I'm not sure how much he is eating but the other day I pumped a bottle and had 5 1/2 ounces in 5 minutes. I would say he is taking in a lot!
• Dawson is very much a snuggler. Neither of my other two ever liked to be cuddled or be rocked but Dawson loves it. And..... Mommy loves it!
• He is definitely already a Momma's boy! He loves for his mommy to hold and love on him.
• Dawson is Camp's twin. He looks identical to what he did when he was small. Benjamin has some pretty strong genes in our family! ; 0
• Camp and Emma Claire absolutely loved their swing. They lived in it every day and that is where they were the happiest. Dawson on the other hand doesn't care for it. He would much rather sit in his vibrating bouncy seat. I have tried to get him accustom to it so he will be ready for the infant room at work. After he eats he will sit in it for a few minutes with the music on but the swing part off.  Baby steps right?!
• He does very well taking a bottle if I am able to pump. However, he takes it better from Emma Claire than he does anyone else. She is our official bottle holder.

Camp @ 3 Years 3 Months:

• Camp....what can I say? This boy is FULL of it. He is so full of life and energy. He goes all or none.  Not in an uncontrollable energy kind of way; but an extreme intensity kind of way.  Everything he does is...well, intense!
• Camp is our tender hearted one.  Don't get me wrong he is still very strong willed, but when he is punished it really breaks his little heart. He is much harder to punish. 
• Camp loves trains, balls, flashlights, riding his bike, watching Cars 1 & 2, playing with anything electronic, and playing with his big sister. 
• Camp adores Emma Claire. On the days she is at school he can't wait for her to get home and play. He plays very well alone but it's much more fun when she is home! Of course, they still have their brother/sister moments and that's all I'm gonna say about that!
• Camp is doing amazing with his speech! In March he was only saying a handful of words and now he is singing songs and telling stories like a pro. I'll blog more about his speech progress later.
• We never had terrible two's with Camp but I think we are having more of the terrible three's. He has begun fit throwing when he doesn't get his way and deliberately disobeying. There has been much more punishment here lately.
• One of Camp's most favorite things to do is ride his cars bike. He BEGS to go outside and ride his bike even on rainy days. 
• Camp still has a great sleep schedule. He goes to bed at 8:00pm and sleeps til 7:30ish. He also still takes about a 2 hour nap in the afternoon. Every morning when he wakes up he stumbles in our room still droggy and says 'I had a hung rest, I want breakfast now.' Adorable. We have no clue what hung rest means but he says it every morning. If I asked if he had a good rest he will say, yes, so I'm assuming that is what it means.
• Camp loves breakfast type food. In one day he ate waffles for breakfast, oatmeal for lunch, and cereal for dinner. I know, bad parenting, but I was having a bad day. He is still a very picky eater but making improvement. It seems to be more of a texture thing. He will eat certain things when we make him but sometimes they make him gag. He will do his best to chew and swallow them because Daddy says it will give him hair on his chest. : ) 
• He is still in a pull-up at night. To be honest we haven't pushed it. He doesn't have accidents during the day so I'm happy. Every now and then he will have an accident during nap time but he is doing very well over all.

 Emma Claire @ 5 Years 10 Months:

•  Emma Claire is still our princess. Most of the time you can find her wearing a dress, heels, jewelry, and carrying a purse. Of course there must always be something pink!
• She is loving kindergarten and enjoys going everyday. They are beginning to read sentences and she is thrilled with her progress. At the first of the year she had trouble with getting her vowels but once she mastered that skill she has been well on her way!
• Emma Claire still has a small petite build. She keeps asking me why her friends that are younger than her are taller than she is. ; ) She wears a size 4 pants in the waste but a size 5 in the length.
• She is such a wonderful big sister! Emma Claire loves her brothers very much and is very motherly. They still have their sibling rivalry but many times you can find her helping Camp clean his room or singing to Dawson so he will stop crying.
• Speaking of singing...and she LOVES to sing...we're thinking about singing lessons. ; )
• Her new phrases are 'by the way' and 'just so you know'. Yesterday she told me, 'I don't think you understand.'
• Emma Claire's favorite foods are pizza, spaghetti, chocolate gravy, and fish.
• She has taken off on riding her bike without training wheels! Within a week she was riding it like a pro!
• She and her daddy make regular visits to the Border (local greasy spoon) where she always orders 3 little pigs (sausage wrapped in pancakes).
• Emma Claire still loves to dance. We plan to start hip-hop classes soon per her request. I'm not sure she will like it but we shall see! 
• She's funny about crowds and attention: She isn't shy at all when she thinks people aren't paying attention.  She sings to the top of her lungs, and dances her little heart out.  But the second the crowd turns toward her, she turns beat red, ducks her head, and clams up with 5yr old giggles.  Precious! 
• Emma Claire has really taken to arts and crafts. She will sit in her room for her entire 'rest time' drawing, coloring, cutting and pasting. Actually her drawing has gotten really good. Just today she looked at a picture of a cat and drew a picture that looked just like it. She definitely got her drawing skills from her daddy! ; 0
• She has lost 1 tooth and has 3 more that are loose! I'm not ready for these big steps. It's all happening WAY to fast.

Camp's Big Boy Pillow

Today while Camp and Emma Claire were playing around she got them pillows and blankets to make a pallet on the floor. Let me just tell you that Camp loved it! As soon as Emma Claire would throw that blanket down he would lay right down and curl up onto that pillow.  It made me think he might be ready to start using a pillow and I was right! Just look at this boy!

When I took him in his room for nap time he just grinned from ear to ear when he saw I had given him his own pillow. He reached right for his bed and I never heard a peep. Almost 3 hours later this was still the site I saw...... : )

Camp Fun Facts

And we have another eye tooth!

• His top left eye tooth.

Two more to go and our sweet boy is done cutting teeth for a while! ; )

Camp Fun Facts

Camp cut his first eye tooth today! Boy are those hard ones to cut!

• His top right eye tooth.

Camp Said Emma Claire

Today I finally heard Camp try to say Emma Claire! It's not exactly right, but it sounds the same every time!

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

We FINALLY Started Brushing Camp's Teeth

I know, I know. This is just something that we have just not gotten into a habit of doing with Camp yet. BUT now we have started and he LOVES it! Mostly he just tries to eat the toothbrush. : )

Click Here to Watch the Video. (Please excuse the end of the video. I am still trying to figure this camera out! : )

New Words

Camp has added a couple of words to his vocabulary the last few days! : )

• Go
• 'Moan' for Come on
• 'Blue' for Blue's Clues

Camp's Word Count

Camp's word count at 17 Months:

Bye
Momma
Da-Da
Sissy
Bite
Balloon
Hey
Go
Ball

I am trying SO hard not to compare him to Emma Claire at this age. At her first birthday she was saying so many words and by 17 months complete sentences and some songs. Boys are just so different! I asked our pediatrician about it and this is what he said:

"He is a boy and the second child. He also has an older sister who talks all the time and does all the talking for him. He doesn't see any need to talk right now."

He said all this while laughing so guess all is well. ; 0  I'm sure once he starts talking we will be ready for him to stop from time to time!

Emma Claire & Camp Fun Facts

When I took Emma Claire to the doctor yesterday she weighed 38 pounds! I weighed Camp today and he weighs 30 pounds! I think he's going to catch her. : )

Camp At 17 Months

I sure love this boy! He gives me a run for my money like I never thought, but it all melts away when he smiles and gives me one of his sweet hugs. I can't believe how fast he is growing!

Likes:

• Camp loves playing rough with Mommy and Daddy. If I'm ever sitting in the floor he will run as fast as he can at me and try to knock me over. If Daddy is ever standing close to the couch he will stand under him with his arms up in the air wanting Benjamin to toss him onto the couch.
• Camp runs EVERYWHERE. Once he started walking he learned that he could run and then he was off. Most of the time you can find me chasing him somewhere. : )
• Being outside. Camp will stand at the door and beg to go outside. He loves for me to prop the back door open so that he can play on the back porch.
• Mac and Cheese, Gummies, Cheese, Bread, Bananas, Blueberries, Grapes, Strawberries,
• Building with Blocks.  Camp will sit for minutes at a time (and minutes is a long time for Camp ; ) building towers with Lego blocks.
• Playing Ball.
• Going to get the Mail with Daddy. Every afternoon when Daddy gets home he and Camp go get the mail together.
• Camp has just learned how to drive Emma Claire's motorized 4-Wheeler and he thinks he is somebody. He looks so cute driving it around our yard.
• Camp LOVES his sister. He doesn't care what she is doing he wants to be doing it too. I can find them many times sitting in the rocking chair together watching a movie.
• Movies. Blue's Clues used to be Camp's absolute favorite movie, but now he like to watch pretty much any animated movie. He will sit for long periods of time focused on what is going on.
• Sleep. Camp still loves his sleep and I am forever grateful. On non-school days he takes two naps and on school days he just takes one. Bedtime is 7:30 pm and he sleeps til about 7:30 am.
• He is not talking a whole lot yet so he will grab our hands and drag us wherever he wants us to go. Mostly to the snack cabinet.
• Camp loves, loves, loves to draw. We keep a magna doodle in his room and he will pull it out to play with it several times a day.
• He dances all the time! Anytime there is music playing he starts jumping up and down and slinging that booty from side to side.

Dislikes:

• Being told NO.
• When Mommy Vacuums. Most of the time if he is awake I have to hold him or sissy takes him to her room.
• Food that is not seasoned or cooked til soft.

Fun Facts!!

Camp blew me a kiss today for the first time! : )

Bye, Bye Passy Day 3

He did it again! Last night was great and he even slept til 8:10 am. If only nap time was so awesome.

Today I tried to lay him down for a nap at around 10:30 am (his usual time) and he flopped around like a fish for about an hour playing and talking to himself. Then I tried again at 1:00 pm and he was out like a light. No crying, no playing, no nothing. BUT, he was back up in an hour crying. I'm not sure what the difference is during the day than at night other than a little more light in his room but we will work through it. Camp still usually naps between 3-4 hours a day so at 4:00 pm I tried again and he was just not having it. He did play in his room for about an hour, watching a movie, so that mommy could have a few minutes by herself. : )

Tonight he went to bed around 7:45 pm, cried for about 3 minutes, and then he was out for the night!

Overall, he has done amazing! Actually, other than nap time you can't even tell that he is missing his passy at all. I said I thought it would take him 3 days to break his passy habit so we'll wait and see what tomorrow holds! : )

I'm so proud of you little man! I Love You! -Mommy

P.S. I know some of this is more than you want to know about breaking our passy habit, but this is mainly for mommy's records. : )

Bye, Bye Passy Day 2

Camp was a CHAMP last night! He slept from 7:50 pm last night till 7:40 am this morning. Actually, I was amazed. I just knew that it was going to be a really long night of him waking up and not being able to go back to sleep.

Today, however, has been a different story. I think he woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and was just plain cranky today. : 0  While he was awake he was actually fine without his passy and didn't seem like he needed it at all. He was just moody and at church this morning he took about a 20 minute nap in his class which shot his afternoon nap.  At about 2:30 pm we laid he and Emma Claire both down for their naps and at 4:00 pm he was still awake in his bed crying off and on. I finally just gave him his cup and turned a movie on and he was a happy camper. I'm not sure if the crying was from him not having his passy or if he just didn't want to lay down and take a nap.

After he got up from his 'rest' he was such a joy playing ball and running around this house. At bed time (7:30 pm) I asked him if he was ready to go nite-nite and he told us bye-bye, ran to his room, and turned his sound machine on. Camp just cracks me up! Benjamin loved on him a bit and then laid him down to sleep, but at 8:15 he was still fussing so Benjamin went back in and loved on him more til he was snoring on his shoulder. : ) He then laid Camp down and he has been fast asleep every since. Camp has gotten really attached to mommy lately so it just made more sense for Benjamin to do his night time routine. I'm not sure how he would do seperating with mommy with already not having his passy.

Here's hoping that we have another great night and tomorrow is better than today was.

Bye, Bye Passy

Today we said bye-bye to our best friend Mr. Passy. It was such a sad day for me and I had this sick feeling in my stomach all day. I just didn't want to take it away from him and I'm not sure why. With Camp it has just been so much harder than it did with Emma Claire. I guess I am just seeing how quickly they grow up and I want to hold on to every bit of time that I have.

So, here is how it went down. When Emma Claire was 16 months I cut the tip off of her passy just to see what she would do and to my surprise she tried to use it, threw it and never looked back. She didn't want anything else to do with one.  So today I thought I would give it a try with Camp.

We waited until after his first nap and lunch to give it try. He actually did very similar to what Emma Claire did with hers when she was his age. He took the passy and tried to suck on it but knew that something was different. He took it out and gave it a good look, tried again, and then just threw the passy down. We then told the passy bye-bye and then never went back.

Watch the Video Here!

The first nap without his passy was this afternoon and turned out to be a flop.  He cried and cried for an hour until I finally got him up and rocked him. He never went back to sleep but was completely fine without his passy. Needless to say when it got close to bed time I was beginning to get very nervous. Emma Claire did so well stopping with her passy and I didn't know how I would handle it if he couldn't sleep without it. I also knew that if Camp didn't sleep then that meant mommy wouldn't sleep either. : 0

Benjamin put Camp to bed at 7:30 pm and at first he did great. He flopped around in his bed for a while and tried to go to sleep but then he had, had enough and started to cry. BUT around 7:50 pm he was sound ASLEEP with that little booty stuck straight up in the air. : ) I can not tell you how relieved this mommy was! I'm not exactly sure how the rest of the night will go, but it's almost 9:00 pm and he is still asleep. I am hopeful that we will have a good night!

Thank you, Lord, for a smooth transition so far! Bye, Bye Passy....

Camp At 15 Months

My little boy is growing by leaps and bounds! Here are his stats from his 15 month check-up:

• Height: 32 inches @ 75 percentile for his age.
• Weight: 27 pounds @ 75 percentile for his age.
• Head Circumference: 47.5 cm @ 55 percentile for his age.

Dr. Dirk said you couldn't get them any more healthy, perfect, or more full of life than he is. At his appointment he kept Dr. Dirk rolling by just being himself. : ) Even after getting his shots, when the nurse opened the door for us to leave he took off running as fast as he could to go somewhere new. Camp has always got somewhere to go.

Things I want to remember about Camp at 15 months:

• He loves to play. He always wants us to lay in the floor and wrestle or chase him around the house. His most favorite thing is for Daddy to toss him on the couch.
• Camp LOVES to Dance. When ever there is any kind of music he shakes his little booty and twists as low as he can go. He will then swing one arm around and finish with both arms up in the hair saying "yea!".
• He points and grunts at anything he wants. He will also point his finger and mimic counting to 3 and then take off running.
• Because Camp is not talking much yet he has to be creative in letting you know what he wants. When ever he wants a snack or a ball rolls under something he can't reach or he is ready for nap he will come find us, grab our hand, and pull us to whatever he wants.
• Temper, Temper, Temper. I thought this child was going to be my laid back child. Boy was I wrong. And patience is not one of his strongest virtues either. When you tell him 'no' about something his legs will go limp, he will bow his back, and to the floor he will fall in a fit. Not cute when you are trying to walk across a parking lot with a 27 pound weight. ; )
• Camp adores his sister and they play together really well. Just last night after he got a spat on his hand for disobeying he walked over to his sissy and held up his hand for her to kiss it and make it feel better. They love to dance together, watch movies together, and play games together. I can't complain one bit because the two of them together has just been pure joy.
• Camp has just gotten into playing with balls. He will mimic counting to three, throw it, and then take off running after it. Last night he threw a royal fit when I had to take it from him to go to bed. Hopefully it's a sign that we will have a great ballplayer on our hands!
• He is a man of few words. Dr. Dirk said that he is not concerned at all right now because Camp has a big sister that gladly does all the talking for him so why should he need to talk. ; ) He said we should enjoy the quiet while we can. : ) The words he will say are: Momma, Da-Da, Bye-Bye, a form of Sissy, Bite, and Ball.
• My boy LOVES to sleep and I for one love it too! He goes to bed at 7:30 and will usually sleep until anywhere from 7:30 to on random occasions 9:30. He did sleep til 10:30 am on one morning which was wonderful for this mommy! On non-school days he will also take a nap around 9:30 am and then another one at around 2:00 pm.
• Camp enjoys all the fun he gets to participate in at school. Playing in the classroom with friends, music, discovery, the gym, the playground, and arts and crafts. His teachers are amazing and I have not one worry about leaving him with them on school days.
• He is a huge fan of Blue's Clues. For Christmas he got a TV for his room so during the day I will put a Blue's Clues video in his room and he will play in there with his toys for hours. Emma Claire enjoys it too, so most of the time I catch them in there together playing with toys and watching Blue's Clues.  
• He is one of the pickiest eaters I have ever seen. His menu mostly consist of waffles, grapes, mac-n-cheese, raisins, cheese, chocolate gravy, fruit, yogurt, cereal bars, cooked green beans, blueberries, and dry cereal. Of course he loves sweets but we can't have those for 3 meals a day. ; 0
• Bath time is one his most favorite times of the day. When he hears the water running he will take off running down the hall and try to dive in head first.
• Camp is a climber. If there is something to climb on top of he WILL be on top of it.
• Last but not least, Camp is definitely a Mommy's Boy. He LOVES his mommy! I have to say there is something different about having a little boy. I just melt when I get hugs from my little man.
•  

I love this little silly boy! He is mid busting a move in this picture.

These show his little personality perfectly! : )

Camp Fun Facts

Camp cut the last of his one year molars today!

• His top right one year molar.

Camp Fun Facts

When we got home from our long trip home last night we found a new tooth in Camp's mouth!

• His bottom left one year molar.

So proud you are finally popping all of these through little buddy!

Camp Fun Facts!

Two more teeth this week!

• His top left one year molar.
• His bottom left one year molar.