The Park, big boy bed, bathing, and preschool... whew!

We had a ward bbq last weekend at a park right on the lake. Cameron had fun looking at the ducks.

It was a pretty chilly day with the wind blowing hard, but some guys just love the water, I guess. I'm sure they were freezing.

Cameron got a big boy bed over a week ago. A couple in our ward was getting rid of a twin bed, so we took it. The first two nights were fine. Then he realized he could get out of bed. That night was hades. Really. So I got a baby gate to put at his door. The first time I put it up before his nap, he cried for a half hour before going back to his bed to sleep. Now when I'm putting him down for a nap, he reminds me to put up the gate!

I turned around from the computer the other day and saw that Cameron had placed Elmo behind him, as if he were sitting in Elmo's lap. I thought it was cute and grabbed the camera. Cameron wasn't too happy I did that.

He's saying no and whining here. Classic Cameron.

Poor Charlotte. We haven't taken nearly as many pics of her as we did with Cameron (we would take 40 of the same pose with him). But I wanted to get a bath picture taken and compare it to one of Cameron around the same age.

Cameron started preschool today! It was awesome. Chad took him on the bus with him and dropped him off. Things went smoothly since Cameron found the play cash register they have in the classroom.




When I went to pick him up, he barely looked up from his painting easel. He had so much fun. And I had a good time getting stuff done at home while Charlotte napped! What a great morning!

Charlotte napping in her car seat when we went to pick up Cameron.

In other news, we're blessing Charlotte on Sunday so our parents and my brother are coming into town this weekend. We're so excited and have planned fun activities--- a drive to and cookout at a cool lake, a Brewer's baseball game, cooking on the grill, etc. Can't wait to see you guys!!

A few more pictures... for the grandparents

Hurray! We cut Cameron's hair! I hated the bushiness of it, but Chad didn't want to cut it. I did it anyway and made it look awful. Chad fixed it and now it's cute. I think it makes Cameron look older (and not so much like Bozo). His curls were cute, but the top just looked silly.

This is what Cameron wore to church on Sunday. I had seen this shirt at Penney's for a while and finally saw it on sale. Love the pink stripes.

Notice the white in her mouth? She was just starting to spit up as I took the pic. Thought you'd like to see her in action! Sorry if this is too gross. I think it's funny.

August 12, 2005

Well, I'm a little slow on the up-take. That, and we didn't have the internet until Thursday night and I'm slightly sleep-deprived.

But, I wanted to post some pics and give a shout-out to Chad since we got married 4 years ago Wednesday, August 12th (a long, hot, and great day)!

It was SO hot! Grandpa got mad he had to put his coat back on for pics. And Clay breathed his hot breath on my back. Nice.

(If you click on the picture and enlarge it, you'll notice my scary muppet eyes-- I couldn't find another good group shot-- and the angry look on the kids' faces. Really, they were very hot-- dripping sweat.)

I smashed the cake in his face. Then he blew a snot rocket on me. Very classy!

Getting dressed before the Lynchburg reception. I think Chad overdid it a little.

Seriously, I don't think I've ever been so hot. And my jaw hurt from smiling so much. Guess I should practice smiling every day, huh?! :) We got stuck in traffic on the way home (DC traffic for hours). We had a lunch at Maggiano's, a reception at my parent's house, and then stayed the night at The Jefferson Hotel in downtown Richmond-- in the nicest room I've ever stayed in!




We then drove to Myrtle Beach, SC for a week-long honeymoon. Then we drove back to VA to have a reception in Lynchburg. Two days later, we drove to Wisconsin. And we've been here ever since!

I love you, Chad.
It's been the craziest and greatest 4 years of my life!

Pics... finally

It rained a lot last weekend. Chad made some paper boats and he and Cameron raced them outside in the gutter. It was pretty cute. Cameron wanted to do it again when the boats reached the drain, but they were a little disintegrated. Maybe next time.

Finally connected

It's weird. You come to rely on something every day. And then it's gone. What do you do with your time?

Well, the first few days without the internet were kind of hard... like going through withdrawal. But then I started to get used to not reading emails or knowing what was going on with anyone out there.

Now that I have it back, however, it feels so good! Guess it would be this way if I decided to stop eating chocolate for a few weeks and then finally had a chocolate chip cookie.

Mmmmmm...

Anyway, I'll work on getting some more pics loaded. Patience people. I'm not the most jovial person when I get 4 hours of sleep a night.

Still alive

We just got the internet, but it won't be hooked up until Thursday. So, stay tuned for some pics.

Otherwise, we're surviving. My sister, Katie, was here for 10 days and just left this morning. She was such a big help at taking a night shift with the baby, playing with Cameron, making meals, and doing dishes. It was so great to have her here... thanks so much, Katie!!

Charlotte is doing well... we're still working on sleeping and eating at regular times (really, what is "regular" to a 3-week-old?). Cameron is adjusting... semi-well. Some days are good, some are bad. He's still nice to the baby. Not always so nice to the rest of us. The kids have been in the same room and Cameron wakes up every time Charlotte does. And sometimes even more. Now that Katie's gone and not sleeping in the living room, I think we'll put Charlotte in there tonight and see how it goes. Hopefully a good night's sleep is most of what Cameron needs to be a normal, sweet kid again!

I keep waiting for the 6-week mark. I love this little girl more than anything. I really feel like I've bonded with her and I'm finding that waking up at night isn't as annoying as it was with Cameron (except when she wants to party at 2). But, I really did block out this part of Cameron's life. Did we wake him every few hours during the day when he was this little? Or did we let him sleep until he needed to wake up and eat? I really have no idea. So in a way, I feel like I'm doing this for the first time. I feel a little more confident in my abilities as a mom (and I'm not as freaked out about my role as a mom), but the techniques I'm trying seem all new. So that's why I've got the 6 weeks date marked on my calendar. I sure hope I'm not setting myself up for disappointment by thinking it will all be magical after that... I think I'm a little more realistic than that. But I know things change quite a bit after that time. Babies start sleeping for longer stretches (and usually at night), they're more alert and start to smile... things that will make it seem worth all the hard weeks before.

Anyway, that's what's been going on. It'll be exciting to go back to church next Sunday (after Char is over 4 weeks old) and get out into the world again. And it'll be nice when Cameron starts sleeping (and allows us to sleep) more.

I'll post more later.