7 Months Old

Our little baby girl is growing up so fast - sniff. I can't believe how quickly time seems to fly by when you have a baby around. It feels just like yesterday that we were holding this tiny little bundle in our arms wondering if we were ready for this journey. And now Cameron seems so grown up and we feel like old pros at this (well, sorta.) We love this little girl more than we ever thought possible. Happy 7 months, baby!

Bath Time

Well, I finally got a video up and running. It's a very quick clip but you can see the little peanut as she plays and talks to us in the bathtub. Bathtime is one of Cami's very favorite times of the day. No matter what her mood is - just plop her in the tub and she is a happy camper!

Happy Valentine's Day

Cami had a fun and eventful first Valentine's Day! She had lots of fun celebrating her friend Ben's first birthday at a party where she got to hang out with all her best buddies. Then she went to her Grammy and Papaw's house to have her very first sleepover! This was a big deal for both Cami AND mommy. Although mommy probably had a much harder time being separated than Cami it was great for everyone involved. Mom and dad got some much needed alone time and Cami had a good 24 hours to bond with Grammy and Papaw without her mommy hording in all the time.

Art Project

I set out to make cute little hand print Valentines for Cami to send to her grandparents. I got all the supplies I needed, undressed her down to her diaper, got plenty of wet towels to clean up - I was ready! As soon as I placed her tiny little hand in the paint she made a fist and would not open.

She started reaching for things with her little red fingers and was ready to explore this gooey substance on her hands. I learned quickly that I was not going to get handprints out of this! In the teaching world, this is called a "teachable moment." So, I let go all of my preconceived ideas of how these valentine cards were supposed to look and just let her explore as she wanted.

At first I helped her move her fingers over the paper in the finger painting fashion, but soon she was ready to paint on her own. She painted lots of cards, the counter, the wall, her body...it was great!

Afterwards, she got to sit in the sink to clean off. But wow, another cool experience...running water!

When it was all said and done, Cami made 6 adorable finger painted Valentine cards and one masterpiece to hang on our refrigerator. This is definitely going in the baby book!

3 Paci's

I just wanted to post this picture because it is too funny! I caught Cami sleeping with one pacifier in her mouth while holding one in each hand. A girl has to be prepared, right?!?!?

New Things

Cami has been introduced to some new things. She is no longer taking baths in the lay-down type tub. Now that she can sit up she takes a "big girl" bath in her new ducky bathtub. The first time we put her in it she seemed a little confused, but it didn't take long before she learned she could use her hands to splash the water. She also got to go for a ride on daddy's back with a new baby backpack. Just like everything else we introduce her to, she seemed a little concerned about this new situation. She is used to being carried on the front, but that was getting WAY too heavy! Last night on our walk she fell asleep in the backpack. I guess that means she likes it.

Although Cami hasn't just been "introduced" to the dogs she has recently "found" the dogs. She loves to watch anything that Molly and Maddie do and will lunge and grab at them any chance she gets. Maddie loves to be around Cami but will not stay long enough to let her actually grab her. Maddie has the long hair and has learned quickly that Cami has a good grip. Molly, on the other hand, will sit and let Cami grab her. This is why I only have pictures of Molly with Cami. I have actually caught Cami putting Molly's tail in her mouth. Oh lordy, I am going to have to get over my germ phobia!

STTN

Well, it's official - Cami is sleeping through the night! It has been a very long road to this, but I have learned valuable lessons to use on my next child to help him or her sleep through the night much quicker. My first lesson I learned is do not swaddle past about 8 weeks. Cami got addicted to the swaddle blanket and was unable to sleep with out being in her "straight jacket" until 5 months old! For those of you without kids or no swaddle experience...that is way too old! My next lesson is do not give a bottle in the middle of the night each time they wake up. Cami was taking a bottle every night at 2 or 3 a.m. on top of all the other night wakings for a paci!!! Once I stopped giving her a bottle she was just fine with it. So I learned she didn't really NEED the bottle, she was just taking it out of habit. And finally, the most important lesson I learned is do not get up at every tiny noise they make. This was the hardest thing for me to learn. I would jump up quickly to put a pacifier back in her mouth just so she would get quiet and go back to sleep ASAP. This terrible behavior just taught little Cami that all she has to do is whimper and mommy will come running to put the paci back in. Well, no more! Once I finally got my act together and learned these things we had a baby that was sleeping through the night or STTN as they say on all the baby sites I read daily. Now I can proudly say "yes" to every single person who doesn't know what else to ask about a baby other than "Is she sleeping through the night?"

New Skills

Cami is doing all kinds of new things lately. 1) She has finally accepted the fact that she needs to eat food off of a spoon and not to rely solely on the bottle for her nourishment. The meals are so much more enjoyable now. No more crying at the highchair, from me or her! 2) She is able to sit up unsupported. Although, she can only sit up when we put her in that position. She has not been able to sit up from a laying down position. But, hey, we will take what we can get! 3) She FINALLY rolled from back to tummy. I was starting to get concerned! Now that she has learned to do this skill she does it constantly. Especially in her bed when she should be sleeping :) 4) She reaches for mommy and daddy. This is the cutest and most heart warming thing she could ever do! She has learned that when we come over to her with arms extended that she will be picked up. So she will reach her arms out (not up, yet) to show that she wants to be picked up. I'm not sure if she is just 'helping' us out or if she really is showing that she wants us, but I am choosing to believe the latter. Just to show how much she has grown and changed in the last 6 months I added some pictures from Cami's 1st week of life until now. (Thanks for the idea, Vanessa) My how she has grown. Cami's first week of life. She was hanging out naked by the window to help with the jaundice. Cami at 2.5 months. This is the first time I got her smiling on camera.

Cami today. Her feet almost hang off of the swing. This is probably the last time she will sit in this swing. She does not like it anymore. I guess she doesn't want to feel constricted and confined.

Professional Pictures

Cami got her first photo shoot with a professional photographer on Tuesday. We took her in as a happy baby and she left a very unhappy baby. I guess it's a lot to ask of a 6 month old to pose for half an hour! Although she was not in the best of mood they still captured some fantastic pictures! When they brought the finished products out for us to see in frames (great selling tactic) tears filled my eyes! Cami looked so angelic and beautiful!!! I wanted to buy all of them. We compromised on these 5 shots, but it was so hard to choose.

Friends

Yay for friends! Cameron had a big play date yesterday with all of her friends. We try to get them together every so often so they can play and we can have an actual adult conversation :) The two older ones, Ben and Avery are 2 weeks apart and very close to 1 year old. Then Emma and Cameron are within a month apart at 6 and 7 months old.

We knew we would only have a matter of seconds to get a picture of all the babies before they all wanted down, and sure enough-we lost one. The little brown head that you see at the bottom is Gracie. She hangs out with Amy and Avery each day.

Emma is such a cute little social butterfly. It looks like she is putting her arm around Cameron for a good friendly picture. But, as you can see by Cameron's face she was not interested in taking a "friendly picture." This cracks me up.

Almost 6 Months

Cami had her first trip to the park today. I have been dying to put her in one of these baby swings and I finally found a park that had one. After I got over my initial paranoia of all the billions of germs she would be touching from getting in this swing I let loose and we had a great time. Plus, I remembered I had hand sanitizer in the diaper bag :)

I don't know if Cami liked the strings on her hat or the shadow from the equipment better. They were both equally interesting...not so much the swing. But, she will grow to love it!

The first trip down a slide....man, that slide was fast!

Here are a few random pictures I have taken over the month. Since I have not been blogging lately, I decided to add a few extra pictures.

Cami got this robe as a shower gift. Although I thought it was super cute when we got it, I now realize that a robe for a baby is not very practical. However, I don't want it to go to waste so we put her in it one night after bath time. She seemed to like it better than the typical wrapped up in a hooded towel! I thought it was too cute to not take a picture so I took like 15...crazy first time parent!

We started a nightly tradition of "naked time" (for Cami, not us) before we begin the bath. Here is a picture of the little sweet cheeks as she chills out watching Baby Einstein.

Cameron is now eating solids! She started with rice cereal which was not a hit. But, we quickly moved to oatmeal and she tolerated that. We have also tried carrots and prunes. It all depends on her mood whether the meal is a success or not. Happy baby! Cami is such a wonderful baby! Her little smile and big bright eyes just make my heart melt. Cami has been trying really hard to sit upright. She gets better and better each day. I don't think it will be long before she is sitting up without toppling over. If you look closely you will see her jammies are covered in drool....teething much!!! Cami fits perfectly in the sink in the bathroom. This is the kind of picture that I will look back on in 10 years and think "wow, you were so tiny...you even fit in the sink!!"

Christmas

Our family had a wonderful first Christmas with Cami! Although she is too young to care about presents and Santa we still had so much fun helping her open presents and watching her eat all the wrapping paper and bows. It's so true what they say...babies love the things presents come in more than the actual present! Cameron had a very busy week meeting lots of new relatives. After spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family here in Dallas, we traveled down to Marble Falls to see Neal's side of the family. Cami was such a good baby as she was passed from new person to person. After the weekend, we came back to Dallas for Cameron to meet some of my side of the family. She was a hit. Everyone commented on her big cheeks and blue eyes. Click on the picture to see a slide show of all the Christmas pictures.

Christmas