8 months old.

I love that when I think "Kam is 8 months" it doesn't really freak me out.

But when I think "Kam is 4 months away from 1 year" then I freak out.

Time is funny that way.

Kam's latest sleepy time tradition is snuggling in with "Mr. Bear" as we call him.

Clever, I know.

It's SO cute how much he nuzzles in and cuddles him while he's sleeping.

We have reached the pulling up on everything phase.

And by everything...I mean everything.

He tries to climb the wall.

He can pull up on to the coffee table, entertainment center, couches, chairs, his crib, the stairs, etc.

He can do most things without even any help.

He thinks he's such a big boy though and just lets go whenever he feels like it.

That's where I come in...

This boy loves the beach.  

The smell, the sun, the sand....he likes it all. :)

Still not in to eating very much solid food.

He will eat apples, coconut yogurt, puff cereal, and most recently...graham crackers.

He's doing great with swimming lessons.

He never coughs up water anymore whenever he goes under.

He even anticipates it and closes his eyes right before.

The other day he just plopped his face down in by himself.

He thought it was pretty awesome.  Haha

He finally started crawling on all 4s!

He still does army man some, but he's getting the hang of actual crawling.

It's pretty exciting.

It doesn't bring about any new trouble since he was already getting everywhere, so it's just more excitement that he's doing it!

He had to go into the pediatric office about 2 weeks ago and they weighed him just for fun.  

He topped in at 21 lbs 9 oz.

He's also pretty much out of his 9 month clothing...

Love my little tank!

He sleeps on his knees a lot now too.

It's awesome.

We've been to Disney twice recently.

He's so much fun to go with!

He loves everything about Disney!  The characters, the rides, the parade, the atmosphere...he likes it all!

Which makes me SO happy!

^ On the Winnie the Pooh ride.

I'm pretty sure bath time is his favorite time of day.

He splashes, plays with his toys, gnaws on the washcloth, and loves that Alex and I are both there.

And I mean really...rolls never looked so cute!! ^^

He FINALLY has a tooth coming in!

The bottom left center has cut through.

He's been having teething days since December so this tooth is a welcome guest!

His hair has also started to come in thicker!

He just had little fuzz for so long!

It's fun to see more hair on his head.

He LOVES riding in the cart when we have to go shopping.

Of course everyone Oohs and Aahs at him since he's so dang cute.

He thinks it's cool he's up all high and can see what everyone's doing.

I can't think of anything else that's "new."

Our biggest accomplishments in the last month are crawling and finally cutting a tooth!

He's still the happiest, most fun baby to be around.

Sometimes I seriously can't believe he's mine.

And as you can see below...he's quite handsome. :)

Happy 8 months, Kameron!

Words at Cars Land.

Yesterday my little family headed down to Disneyland with some of our friends.

(Ok...kind of our only friends here in SB. :)

(Thanks, Matt & Glenna, for being our friends.)

Obviously Disney was so much fun.

Obvs.

Rides were ridden, characters were seen, pictures were taken, feet were used (a lot), and conversations were said.

And honestly, my favorite words said was by Matt towards the end of the day.

"You guys make us want to be parents."

(Or something like that...)

I felt so honored.

Having a baby can be so dang hard.

It's messy, time consuming, sleep deprivating, and down right kills your back if you have a chunker like our little cub.

BUT it's so rewarding.

I get to watch Kameron learn.

I get to see him use his body more and more every day and see how awesome he thinks that is.

I get to feel how much LOVE he has for me.

I get to enjoy so many little moments every day.

And that overshadows all the lost sleep, smelly diapers, and not running around doing what I want to do when I want to do it.

And I was SO happy that Matt & Glenna could see down to the core how truly amazing it is to have a little person.

There are so many things that the adversary is throwing out there to try and deter couples from getting married and having children.

So if Alex and I can in any way fight against that...well then I feel triumphant.

  

Whose Are You?

The other night I was nursing and rocking Kameron for bedtime.

Well...I should rephrase that.

I was TRYING to nurse and rock him.

He was wiggling all over.

He was distracted by anything.

And he was doing this little number: whine because I'm hungry, latch on, let go, act like it's mom's fault.  (Repeat 54 times.)

He just wasn't settling into our routine.

After about 5 minutes of him doing this I decided to just cradle him really close and tight and sing quietly into his ear.

I Am A Child of God

And He has sent me here.

Has given me an Earthly home,

With parents kind & dear.

Lead me, guide me;

Walk beside me, help me find the way.

Teach me all that I must do,

To live with Him someday.

He instantly stopped wiggling and just watched me sing.

Pretty soon he was off to dreamland.

I felt so blessed in that moment to teach my son whose he is, where he came from, who he came to, and why he is here.

Some may say, "Oh he's just a baby.  He doesn't know what you're singing."

But I say poo to them.

Kameron knew.

He might not be able to tell me, but he knew.

He felt peace.

He felt security.

And he felt love from the words I was singing.

I hope those reading this can feel that too.

There's a lot of power knowing you are a son/daughter of a loving Heavenly Father.

I know it gives me strength to do things I never thought possible.

I hope my little cub never forgets that he is a child of God.

This video is slightly cheesy, but I still love it.

I love that it shows no matter your ethnicity, age, or social status...you are still a child of God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOrcqqpHCt8

7 months old!

Well here we are again.

Another month come and gone!

Let's see...what has happened since 6 months?

Kameron has totally mastered sitting up!

He knows how to catch himself if he starts to topple which has resulted in less tumbles. :)

We are almost full on crawling!

He has the art of the army crawl down.

Gone are the days of being able to leave him somewhere for a few minutes.

He knows how to get across the room and grabs at anything he can!

He's not much of a solids eater.

The only foods he loves are yogurt and apples...and the newly discovered pears.

I think he hates mushy food...which unfortunately is the majority that he can have right now with no teeth and not knowing how to chew.

So we're thinking once he can have more finger foods he'll be a happy boy.

At swimming lessons we have done submersions!

The first time was a little nerve wracking, but he went under like a champ.

Now he totally anticipates going under by scrunching up his face and closing his eyes.

It's hilarious.

We've definitely entered the phase of tantrums.

Blech.

If he doesn't like what's going on or if I have to take something away from him (cause y'know...it's electric cords...that are plugged in...or something like that...) then he arches his back, throws his head back, and has a hissy fit.

Good times.

^^ I mean c'mon.

You've never seen a cuter Valentine.

He likes to sit in the pews at church now.

It's pretty heartwarming how he just sits in between Alex and me playing with toys...or his toes...whichever.

He's starting to sit in his stroller without being in his car seat all the time now.

He loves seeing what's going on!

He's also started sitting in carts like a big boy.

It's SO much easier being able to shop without having to worry about a car seat or stroller!

He's starting to recognize places, which is kind of fun!

The other day when we walked on to the pool deck he started laughing and flapping his arms.

It was so great!

If you can't tell from the picture above...he's not missing any meals.

And I'm proud to say he loves the beach!

My friend, Leah, was in town and we took our kiddos to the beach.

Every time he's gone before he's either been asleep in the car seat or in our baby carrier.

This was the first time he was sitting in the sand.

He had a grand 'ole time!

Fistfuls of sand to the mouth happened over and over, but he has so happy I just didn't care.

He literally played in the sand for 45 minutes with zero complaints.

I'm pretty sure he would've stayed another 45 minutes.

Well that's an update on our sweet boy.

Happy 7 months, cub.

We love you!

Hourglass.

This morning I felt like I was having an out of body experience.

I can't even explain it really.

All I know is that I was really happy, humble, and grateful all at once.

The morning hours are some of my favorite times with Kameron.

He's well rested, so happy, and just loves life.

This morning when everyone had gone to work I finished up the dishes while he babbled away in his high chair and then we migrated on over to the family room to play with his toys.

After many attempts to crawl and opening and closing the gator's mouth 5,694 times he started to get tired.

When he gets tired he buries his face into my leg and whines.

It's part pitiful and part hysterical.

So I picked him up, sat down on the couch, and held him.

He then plopped that thumb of his in his mouth, snuggled on into my chest, and was...(wait for it)...still.

I was in pure shock.

He NEVER cuddles like that anymore.

He has become far too interested in the world to be inhibited by snuggles.

Once the shock wore off I was in pure heaven.

I never wanted it to end.

While we were snuggling Mindy Gledhill's chorus to her song "Hourglass"was on repeat in my head.

"When you reach for the stars,
don't forget who you are.
And please don't turn around and grow up way too fast.
See the sand in my grasp?
 From the first to the last, every grain becomes a memory of the past.
Oh, life's an hourglass.
Life's an hourglass."

It was quite literally one of my favorite moments in my entire life.

After about 10 mins he was about to lose it and was begging to be put to sleep.

So then I got to nurse my sweet babe to dreamland and all the while thank my Father in Heaven for sending me such a perfect little human to love.

Kameron Mark really is my favorite little dude.

Kameron's Half Birthday!

K, but seriously.

How in the world is my baby 6 months old?!?

The first month of his life I thought was never going to end (:\) and now it's just flying!

Kameron has turned into quite the active one!

He just wants to bounce, wiggle, roll, and stand.

And he's pretty strong!  So my days of being able to multi task while holding him are long gone.  If only he knew what was awaiting him when he tries to leap off of my lap!

He has gone from his little baby laughs to real laughing!

It's seriously my favorite thing in the entire world.

Speaking of laughing...he's ticklish on his feet, inner thighs, and his ribcage.

We have some nasty teething pain going on every few days...but those little buggers have not arrived yet!  I have a feeling we're in for a long haul...

Kameron definitely loves his thumb.  He's started taking a binky though, which is new!  He hasn't really been a fan of them, but when his mouth hurts he loves it and sometimes it's the only thing that calms him down.

He still loves his bouncy chair and has figured out that the seat turns 360 degrees giving him a whole new perspective about one of his favorite toys!

We have started going to a music class.  It's for kids ages newborn-5.  For 45 minutes we sing, play instruments, dance, and chant.  Kameron loves it!  His favorite parts are the welcome song, the sticks, and dancing!  His least favorite part is when the sticks get put away.  Haha

He's also started swimming lessons!  He absolutely loves water!  He was kicking and just wanting to do everything the teacher was having them do!  He was about ready for me to let go of him so he could head out.  Sorry, Kam.  Mama's not quite ready for that!  The teacher told me after that he was a real water baby and would probably be a really great swimmer with how he was responding to the baby exercises.  Who knows if she tells that to everyone, but Alex was pretty pleased since he played water sports. :)

His days of being able to sleep in public long and hard are over.  He gets so distracted by everything that he has a hard time falling asleep and then staying asleep.

His latest obsession is my water bottle.  He wants it over ANY toy.  He doesn't understand why he can't have it all the time so my sweet baby turns into a banshee when he can't lift it up since it's so full.

We've also started to get the hang of sitting up.  He does really well until he flaps his arms or tries to grab something.  Then he just tumbles.  We're working on it...

The problem is he just wants to stand all the time so it's difficult getting him to even want to practice sitting!

He's tried rice cereal, avocados, apples, sweet potatoes, squash, and bananas.

He hasn't hated any of them, but he definitely prefers avocados and apples.

He finally is starting to actually have more hair than just a little fuzz!

It's kind of exciting and kind of sad.

Since birth he's just had this little fuzz head and now it's actually sprouting people hairs!

He was in 9 month clothing before he was 5.5 months.

Still a chunk.

We have our appointment this week so I'm not sure how long he is or how much he weighs, but I can assure you it's a lot. (My lower back can testify.)

We recently got a high chair to put in the eating/kitchen area.  It's been a dream!

He likes sitting in it since he can play with some toys, but also be up with all the action.

He also likes it since it doesn't squish his chunky legs...unlike the Bumbo. :)

Overall, he's just the best little guy.

He's set the bar pretty dang high for his siblings to follow.

I'm in love with his gummy smile, his laugh, his squishy legs, his kissy cheeks, his baby blue eyes, and his pokey little toes.

Happy 6 months, Kameron Mark!

We love you, cub!

Confession.

There are times when I seriously don't know what to blog about.

Mostly because my entire day revolves around my family.

Alex & (especially) Kameron take up 90% of my time.

That other 10% goes into showering, journal writing, eating, and sometimes exercising.

But all I think about while in the shower or while eating is what else I need to get done FOR them.

And while yes, this can be exhausting to my brain at times...it's become my new normal.

And surprisingly, you know what?  I'm not nearly as bitter as I "should" be.

To most of society what I do day in and day out is boring, redundant, and unimportant.

And I think that's why I sometimes hesitate to blog anymore since it's not "cool" to hang out with a 5 month old all day. (And sometimes at night when he decides to party at 3am.)

I feel like I had way more "interesting" things to blog about before pregnancy and Kam's birth.

So I would open up a new blog post, write a sentence, then delete it and shut my laptop.

I felt like people didn't care about what I was about to share.

But as I watch my sweet baby sleep in his crib via the amazing invention of a video monitor, I've decided I don't care.

This blog is mine.

People can read it if they want.

Or they don't have to...and that's ok.

But if a blog is about writing things that are important to you...then sure, a lot of my future blog posts will be about my doings as a wife and mother.

Because that is my new normal.

I felt like when people would describe me pre marriage and pre motherhood they would say words like: dancer, piano player, friend, hard worker, listener, smart, singer.

And not that I'm not those things anymore.

But I've added wife and mother.

And those are my 2 most important describing words.

So I'm throwing caution to the wind and from here on out I am going to blog about whatever I feel like...and not worry about whether it's cool, interesting, trendy, or thought provoking.

I'm only going to worry about whether it's important to me and something that I want to share with others.

I can't lie though...living your day while watching a baby try and figure out this world...it's pretty great.

My testimony of God and the creation has grown leaps and bounds since being pregnant, going through childbirth, and taking care of Kameron.

And for that...I will be forever grateful.

So I shall leave you with some awesomeness:

1. Kameron loves grass.  And it may be one of the funniest things to watch him try to grasp one, single blade.

2. Alex sometimes will sing along to One Direction or Lady Gaga...it's amazing.  Ask him to do it the next time you see him.

3. My stretch marks are now a soft shade of purple instead of blaring, dark, bruise purple.  Progress, people!!

5 month cub.

Here we are again!

Man, time really does fly!

My baby is 5 months old!  FIVE!

It's crazy that in just one month he'll be a half of a year.

He's still the best baby...nothing new there. :)

Here are his latest and greatest...

2 weeks after his 4 month check up, he had to have another check to make sure his ear infection was gone.  They weighed him at that appointment and he chunked in at 18 lbs 3 oz.  Some days I swear he weighs more than that.  My back kills me by the end of the day.  But I'll take it over worrying about whether my baby is growing or not!  Trust me...he's growing!

At that same appointment, his pediatrician kept commenting on his ear drums.  I kept fighting back the laughter...I don't know why but it was just so funny to me!  Multiple times (literally) she said how perfect his ear drums were.  Now I've had my share of Kameron compliments, but they usually go something like: 

"Oh, he's adorable!"

or

"Look at his gorgeous eyes!"

But never have I ever received, "His ear drums are beautiful!"

But hey...that's right!  My body made those beautiful, perfect ear drums. :)

He's got rolling down like no one's business.

Front to back to front to back...

He was very proud of himself when he did it on the bed for the first time since it wasn't a firm floor.

His naps have gone downhill a little bit since we moved to Santa Barbara.

He's still quite the champ at night time sleep, which I very much appreciate, but his naps are either too short or he just refuses them all together.

It's quite apparent Kameron likes to eat.

But recently other things are FAR more interesting than eating.

The kid cannot stop looking around at everything while eating.

He basically just snacks now since he gets so distracted.

He's been showing signs recently of teething.

Runny nose, red cheeks, SUPER irritable and inconsolable at times, and just goes to town gnawing on anything he can get his little hands on!

It comes and goes in waves so I'm just not sure when a tooth is going to poke its little head out!

We shall see...

We started a couple solids this month.

We started with rice cereal.  He liked it ok...he wasn't super into it.

But he seems to really like sweet potatoes!

We're still trying to get the swallowing aspect of eating solids down, but he seems to enjoy the taste!

Since moving in with my in laws, he's been really into their dog, Beau.

It's pretty cute!  Beau is just a puppy so sometimes he wants to play too hard for Kam, but when they're both being gentle with each other...it's pretty heart melting.

Kameron is just a happy boy.

He loves to bounce, roll, laugh, play, grab, and look.

I feel so blessed to be his mother (even when he screamed for an hour straight at the DMV, which is a blog post all on its own) and I just love watching him grow.