Parent's Day

I'm a little behind on my blog updates. I wanted to get these Mother's Day photos up awhile ago. So we're doing a combined Mother's/Father's day post...

We had a great first Mother's Day. Church, brunch at Emeril's, a walk in the park, all in all a wonderful day. Little man was such a ham all morning, laughing at everything. He had a great time at brunch, sitting in his highchair like a pro, munching on Emeril's delicious cornbread muffins. Then passed out on the car ride home. We all enjoyed a post-brunch nap! Then we broke out my gift from Campbell, a BOB stroller, and headed to the park. Now Campbell and I can cruise the park in style and with great shock absorbers.

For Father's day, we celebrated by sleeping in - way to go Campbell on being sleepy. Then we had a great brunch at Superior. Dad enjoyed the afternoon playing golf with his new clubs and then we all went swimming. Looking forward to celebrating many more mom and dad days!

Like Son Like Dog

I'm not intentionally trying to compare our son to our labrador, but the similarities are striking especially since Campbell has started to army crawl (he's finally started to abandon the roll).

On one of his first trips across the house, he found the pups water bowl, and the splashing commenced.

Unfortunately, no picture of Waylon actually splashing in his water bowl, but that kitchen floor would be soaked.

Found the golf clubs!

Happy Easter

I love Easter. I love getting dressed up and going to a packed church service. I love hearing all my favorite songs and singing with more gusto than I normally do (because there are more people in the church to drown out my off-key voice). I love the sermon and message of Easter. What I don't love is how commercial it's all become.

Campbell and I just happened to be at Target the Saturday before Easter. Trips to Target are not a weekly event for us, more like an every two months kind of event. But we needed new PJs for c-man, and we were already near the store. The studio where we had Campbell's Easter photo taken was in the same area. As we made our way through the masses to the kids section of Target, we had to pass the Easter section. Seasoned moms and grandmoms, were in a tizzy buying baskets, candy and plastic eggs. I stopped for a moment to check out the scene, when a mom started commenting on how cute Campbell was. She continued, "oh, I know it's so hard the first year to buy Easter presents because you don't know what they want. I promise it will get easier next year when he can tell you what he wants!"

Excuse me? I was nearly speechless. When did Easter become Christmas part II? I smiled and sheepishly picked up a brightly dyed blue basket. I proceeded to grab a bag of eggs. Gifts? Was I supposed to buy Easter gifts? Ok, cookies for Brad and I to share. An iTunes gift card for Brad. Well, what's the point of buying a basket if you're not going to fill it. Campbell's gift? I finally made it to the kids section. The area normally reserved for all my favorite Carter's clothes was taken over by rack after rack of frilly dresses. PJs? I hunted for several minutes for boys pjs and finally found one size 12 month - Monster Beach Bash pjs will have to do.

I checked out, made it back to the car, loaded everything up when it hit me. I was just peer pressured into buying Easter presents for my entire family. I better do my Christmas shopping this summer or I'll be toast come November!

Campbell after his Easter portrait was taken. He was fascinated with all the lights we could not get him to smile!

Oh, mom. You dressed me up in this silly outfit again!

Church was too much for little man. Passed out during the sermon.

Post church family picture!

On our way to brunch! Yummy brunch at Dante's with friends.

The Roar of March and April's Blessings

I can't believe it's April. And I'm so glad it's April. March was a tough month.... Campbell was teething . In the baby book it said some babes cut their first tooth with ease and for others it's a miserable process. Campbell fell in the miserable category - poor thing was a wreck, and we tried everything to ease his pain and discomfort. Add to that a cold that seemed to last the entire month and his first ear infection. I had a massive sinus infection which did not help the situation. Luckily Brad came to our rescue! And by the end of March things were looking up!

And just in time for Campbell's Baptism. We waited till Spring because with Brad in Biloxi it was not easy finding a weekend when we were all together. So, Sunday, April 10th Campbell was baptized. It was a very special occasion for our family, and we celebrated the weekend with family and friends. Our dear friends, Kathleen and Durrell, flew all across the country to be part of the ceremony.

The next day, April 11th, was Campbell's 9 month check-up - on his 9 month birthday! It should have been a day worth celebrating, but instead it was a day filled with stress. Campbell is still not on the growth curve. My little man is too little according to the growth charts. So yesterday I spent the afternoon at Children's Hospital getting tests done. Our prayer is that there is absolutely nothing wrong; that Campbell is just slow to grow. Considering that he started at 5 lb. 11 oz., weighing almost 15 lbs. seems big to Brad and I. Teething didn't help the situation. Most nights in March he refused to eat or would eat very little. Now he's eating great and filling out. He's still the happiest kid I know and looks healthy to me, and yet every visit to the pediatrician's office results in panic phone calls to Brad and feeling like I am doing something terribly wrong. Everyone tells me, "when he's taller and bigger than Brad, you'll look back at all this and laugh." I really hope they're right!

Lots of pictures from March and April - keep scrolling!

Campbell's new favorite sleeping position. Love that duck butt sticking up in the air!

Use #101 for a boppy pillow... well at least he's comfortable...

Campbell helping us address his baptism invitations. We had return address labels covering the office, and some got on the envelopes... great job son!

Mom and Whitney, Dinner at Bourbon House, April 9th

Paw paw and Campbell discussing paw paw's golf strategy for the afternoon...

Family at Bourbon House. Campbell was out late before his big day in church, which actually worked out well because he slept through the rest of the church service after his baptism.

After the wonderful service at St. Charles Avenue Presbyterian Church. Campbell did great during his baptism. Then drank a full bottle at the beginning of the sermon, burped loudly during the middle of the sermon, and then fell asleep for the rest of the service.

Campbell and his godmother, "Auntie" Kathleen!

Campbell received so many beautiful gifts to celebrate his baptism. And of course his favorite was the ribbons used to wrap the gifts.

Maria?

When we moved into our New Orleans home, for awhile it felt like we were living in someone else's house. The events that transpired post-Katrina were surreal to say the least. We were not here for that event, but have heard amazing stories from friends. After settling in to "our" new house for a few weeks, Brad finally decided to tackle the attic. The attic was filled with the previous home-owners belongings. Tax records, personal files, baby crib, guitar case... Once we started to receive mail at our house, our box was flooded with mail for Maria and Paul.

I asked our neighbor because I was curious about the family that had lived here before us. Our neighbor Linda was all to happy to tell us about the wonderful family that had lived here - Maria and Paul and their son. Over the past three years, we have received financial statements, W4 forms, and countless solicitations addressed to Maria and Paul. And every time, I wrote Return to Sender, this person no longer lives here, and returned the mail to my mailman.

In some bizarre way, I felt connected to these people. Well, Friday I was working in the office (like every Friday), and I saw a car drive super slow in front of our house and stop in the middle of the street. The driver was starring at our house. I kept working and then realized that she was walking up to our house. I jumped up to open the door (because the doorbell always sends Maggie into a barking frenzy).

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Hi, I'm Maria!"

OMG! You're kidding.

I smiled and said, "Maria, so nice to finally meet you. I receive all your mail!"

Next thing I know I'm giving Maria a full tour of our house. Thank goodness it had just been cleaned. With cellphone camera in hand, she took several pictures of every room. She squealed at our fountain in the backyard... was shocked by all the improvements that had been made and told me her Katrina story. We talked about the neighbors and the neighborhood. And she shared her memories of raising her son in this house.

As we said goodbye, she gave me her card and home address. I now know where to send her mail!

Cream and Sugar? Yes please...lots...

Well, I should have known Campbell would be a chip off the old block. His sweet tooth is just as bad as mine. This morning, as I devoured two giant cinnamon rolls drenched in icing, I contemplated how to get more veggies into Campbell. Since introducing fruits (because that's yummier for breakfast), he has fought eating his veggies. Bananas are a mega favorite. Peas are the worst!

When I picked Campbell up at daycare yesterday, Ms. Gloria had quite the story to tell. I had brought two jars of fruit and the dreaded jar of peas. A veggie war had broken out at daycare! Campbell and Ms. Gloria were both covered in peas. She explained with a glint of triumph in her voice that she won the battle and got the whole jar of peas into Campbell (you mean the whole jar minus what's on you and him!). She proceeded to tell me that my son is the most strong-willed little boy in class and he hates peas!

Shocker... my son is stubborn, strong-willed and hates eating green mush. Oh my, I don't know where that came from. I couldn't even think that without laughing. Brad loves to remind me that I didn't eat guacamole until I met him (it was green mush... who eats that!) I smiled at Ms. Gloria and said well unfortunately, BOTH his mom and dad are stubborn and strong-willed. I won't bring peas next week!

When Campbell and I got home from daycare, the battle raged on. I had made asparagus puree for his dinner (the pediatrician said try something new every 3-4 days. and we had already tried all the single veggie/fruit jars). I mixed it with bananas/apples hoping that would help. If Campbell does not want to eat (as Ms. Gloria has noticed), he clamps his jaw shut, shakes his head and rips his bib off. Then the staring contest begins. Last night his eyes said "mom, if you think I'm going to eat that green goo you're out of your mind. And I know my big weight check is next week, so you might as well give me what I want!" I tried to feed him him just bananas/apples, but he was so tired it was a lost cause. Bath, nurse, in bed by 8:00. He was exhausted! And of course because he did not eat a full dinner he awoke at 2:30 starving. And then again at 5:30. That's not the norm for us. Guess I'll be buying sweet potatoes at the grocery store today!!!

First pea bite! That's not the face he makes when it's bananas!

Unrelated photos! But these were cute, so might as well post.

Growth Charts...

I'm not a fan of them. Campbell has been gaining less weight with each doctor visit. At our 6 month check-up I was informed that he had fallen off of the growth curve. Height consistent at 3%, weight dropped from 10% to 3% to off the curve. I think their scale is off because he looks happy to me. He's not the biggest kid by any means, ok, I'll admit I have a shrimp. Brad was in Biloxi and when I called to give the doctor's report, his response was less than positive. Panic set in! I worried for an entire week and then got great mom advice at our church Super Bowl Party.

The next day (Monday 2/7), Campbell moved into the "big kids" class. From Baby Bears to Teddy Bears. I was so worried about that too. I dropped Campbell off in his new class room and stood outside the door watching through the window. I must have looked like a panicked mom because another teacher saw me in the hallway and walked over to assure me that he would do great in his new class. Her words of encouragement almost brought me to tears. I'm not usually a crier, but I have a feeling I'm going to lose it when he starts kindergarten!

Since November 1, my weekday daily routine included a visit to daycare during lunch to check on my babe. I understood that my daily visits would be very disruptive to the bigger babes and so that Monday I called to check on him. Our big boy was eating like a champ. Three meals with solids and bottles in between. Played so hard he crashed at 9PM that night. The next night he crashed at 8PM. All my fretting about moving into the next class was for nothing. He was ready for the new challenge, and it has proved very beneficial for him. (Hmmm... that sounds like a good lesson I should learn now and remember for the future!) Now Campbell is an eating pro and he's going to bed between 8 and 9 every night. Our night owl has become an early bird!! I think our pediatrician will be very impressed at our weigh-in next week (Yes, we have to go for a weight check, one month after our last appointment. Come on Campbell you can gain a pound!)

Little man enjoying his sweet potatoes. I'm happy to say that more food actually goes in the mouth now!