Our Thanksgiving

It's been a rough week following a rough Thanksgiving. Emotionally we've had to deal with Erika's grandmother going into rehab and her Uncle Gary having brain surgery. Last Wednesday Kevin ruptured part of his gastrocnemius (calf) muscle while bowling. He can't bear weight on it, nor should he. He's been in a splint on crutches and not enjoying himself. Fortunately we have help since his brother moved in with us on November 18. Chris has been wonderful and very helpful and we'd be lost without him since Erika would have had to stay home. Camryn had a cold, she was just miserable for a few days, but she seems to be getting better, though having a (hopefully) brief period of not sleeping well. Erika caught Camryn's cold and has been under stress at work, so also not enjoying herself. Mason is the only one not doing too badly, though he's always partially neglected now because of Camryn, so he might disagree with that.


Mason passed out on the couch while watching TV one day when he was sick and hadn't had a nap. This is the first time he's ever done that, the boy never runs out of energy.


Tummy time, enjoying a Pooh book.


First time in her exersaucer. She seems to have her mouth open more often than not.


Starting them young.

Mason's riding a tricycle

After just one year of trying with him, Mason has finally mastered his tricycle. And as you can see in the video, cannot stop riding!

Baby gym

Babies actually like those elaborate "gyms" that they play with on the floor. It has a star that has lights and music and a smile that she loves. She's watching it while playing with the rattle.

Having fun

We had a fun, busy weekend (Erika wouldn't have it any other way, though every now and they the parents long for lazy days without kids and of lying in bed all day).


We hiked part of the Super Trail to Mt Wrightson in Madera Canyon (Santa Rita Mts). Mason walked the whole way, about an hour and a half. It's nice not carrying him, but the pace is slower.

Fall colors in Tucson!

Working on that fist. Hasn't found the thumb yet.

Mason was a train conductor for Halloween. He was excited about the costume, but instantly wanted to take the hat and bandanna off. He went trick-or-treating, but was afraid of the cars and maybe the dark, he wanted to go home pretty quickly. But once he was home he said, "That was fun trick-or-treating and getting candy. Who knows....

This is what Camryn does after she has had a bath. Cold? Probably, but this photo was taken after we warmed her towel up in the dryer.

Mason and Camryn had their first bath together, they loved it. Mason helped wash her hair, but mostly just played with his toys.

She loves this pink bunny, it's so soft, she smiles when it touches her.

Camryn's room

In case you were curious what Camryn's room looks like. It's not much different than what Mason's was, we used the same bedding. But the walls and curtains are purple.

Sweet relief

Great news! Camryn has become a non colicky, beautiful, charming baby girl. She naps in a bed (3 1/2 hours today) and is sometimes even very easy to put to sleep. If she wakes during the nap (which does happen 2-3 times), we just have to give her back her pacifier and she goes back to sleep. We looked back at her worst times and figured it was after Erika ate something with soy. However, dairy is still a major problem also. Camryn smiles a lot now and enjoys looking at her mobile (which is actually the one Uncle Don bought Mason).


She loves her baths, but hates being cold and wet afterwards; she does scream bloody murder while we try to get her dressed.


The angel is asleep in our bed. When she was colicky we were so desperate for her to sleep, and for sleep ourselves, that Erika and her slept in bed together, and we haven't tried to break the habit. For Camryn's safety Kevin sleeps in the guest bedroom. Camryn sleeps so well in that bed we just decided to keep her there for naps also. She likes to fall asleep on your chest or while nursing, and you can't really do that in a crib. Soon we'll see if she'll sleep in the crib at night and maybe still nap in our bed.

And not to forget about Mason, he's still a wonderful big brother. He's mindful to be quiet when we're putting Camryn to sleep. He's had a fever and runny nose for three days now, we suspect he has the H1N1 flu (it's going around like crazy here in Tucson), but his energy is great so we're not worried. His fever actually broke today. We've tried to keep him separated from Camryn and we all wash our hands a lot.

A nice weekend with the family

Sometimes a relaxing weekend is nice. Yesterday Erika took both kids and Woody to the dog park. Camryn slept in the Moby while Mason played by himself (a nice change from needing our constant attention and/or wanting held). However he had two pee-pee accidents. Erika spent most of yesterday and today carrying Camryn in the Moby, during which time she also vacuumed, picked up the kids' rooms, did laundry, read her book, and wrote this blog. Kevin watched football and cooked dinner while taking care of Mason, who spent the weekend playing with toilet paper. He played football and built towers. Did you know a roll of TP could be a helmet?


So we also went to the zoo today (even when relaxing it's nice to get out of the house). And the way we figure it, we have to carry Camryn anyways, we might as well be walking somewhere enjoyable instead of doing laps around the house. Camryn slept the entire time in the car seat/stroller! She even stayed asleep in the car and a little while after we got home. That is the first time she's slept so well not being held. We'll try not to get our hopes up.


Camryn had her first smiles this weekend! She woke up yesterday in a great mood and was grinning like crazy after eating. Mama called Dada in and he said "Hi" to her and she flashed him a great big grin! When we're exhausted because she's not sleeping well, those are the moments that keep us going.