7 Month Birthday

Likes:  Cameron is one of the easiest going babies I know.  He is content in most situations.  He has been crawling since 6 months and one week old.  His favorite crawl is similar to the army crawl.  He is working to get up on his knees to master the regular crawl.  He likes to be around Mommy, Daddy and Alexis.  He follows us up and down the hall.
When his sister comes in the room his whole body responds in excitement.  That's pretty neat.
He likes to nurse, in fact, when he knows it is time, he practically attacks me to get to the milk.
Cameron does very well in child care situations so far.  We are at the YMCA a few mornings a week,  the church nursery on Sunday, and have a babysitter at the house 3-4 times a month.   He enjoys other babies, especially now that he can get to them on his own.

Dislikes: Anyone who's stressed out.  Alexis was crying with her babysitter recently and he joined right in.  He is emotionally sensitive.  The other day Josh was playing the "fast/slow" game in the car.  Alexis loves going fast and I always pretend to not like it by screaming.  It's a big production...anyway- Cameron heard me screaming and burst out in tears with loud crying.  We're on a mission to toughen him up :)
Last week we found out he is not a fan of the car wash. 

Sleeping: Cameron sleeps from 8pm-8am all the way through.  Sometimes he wakes at 7:30 or so, but I wait to get him until 8 because I need that time ALONE!  He naps from 10:15am-11:45/12:00 and 1:45-4:30.

Eating:  He nurses five times a day.  8am, 12pm, 2pm, 5pm, and 8pm.  He eats solids three times a day.  8:30am- Oatmeal, 12:30pm a fruit or vegetable and rice or oatmeal, 5:30 rice or oatmeal.  After meals I offer puffs or baby mum-mums.  He also gets those treats if we are eating out.  They are a great time filler!  He has liked everything so far.

Playing:  Cameron spends a lot of time in the high chair, the jumparoo, the play pen, and on the floor in the living room.  I mentioned before that he is crawling.  It is fun to put him in the middle of the living room and watch him make a choice on what he wants to play with.  We have a lot of baby toys, but it seems he will most often head for the vents or the tv cabinet.  Alexis has an unloaded chick-fil-a card which he also enjoys chewing on.

Signing- Cameron has signed "eat" and "dog" so far.  He is close to getting "more".  I sign every chance I get.  The majority are at the table while he is eating.  Alexis enjoys teaching him the signs and asking me "how do you say it with your hands, Mommy?"

Talking-  For the most part he is a quiet baby.  He laughs more than he talks, which is really fun.  Just before seven months he said "bye-bye"  to our three year old friend, Addison and her 21month old brother, Caleb.  I'm gonna call that his first word.

Updated Q &A with Alexis

Favorite Fruit?  Cauliflower
Snack?  Goldfish
Animal?  A lion
Outfit?  A panda outfit
TV Show?  Daniel Tigers
Place to go?  Chick-Fil-A
Game?  Musical Chairs.  We were gonna play that at church this week!
Color?  Purple
Toy?  Blocks.  I like to build with blocks
Book? Mickey Mouse
Favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy?  Reading books
What are you going to be when you grow up?  I think I'm gonna be able to pick up Addison!
What about a job?  I'm gonna put the people in jail because they break the law.
Who's going to be your husband?  Grandpa
What kind of car will you drive?  I will drive a brown car.  It's name will be called JaFe.
Where are you going to live?  Georgia
What do you want for Christmas?  I want a green ball. A little one.  And, and, and I want to have batteries for the light in my room.

Four Months Old

Likes: The high chair!  Cameron joins us at the table for meals like a big boy.  We used to slide him up in the rock and play, but we noticed he didn't love laying on his back anymore.  Next month he gets to eat some rice cereal. 
Cameron has mastered the jumping part of the jump-a-roo.  He loves the bright colored animals and is content to watch them for a while. 
Sometimes after dinner we have a dance party with Lexie's school music.  Cameron loves the hopping part of the hop-hop-hippty-hop song.  
Now I will state the obvious: he likes to nurse.

Dislikes: Loud noises.  He is scared of Will's bark and Lexie's scream.  Also, he doesn't like sudden movements.  We're working on it.

Sleeping: Cameron is a very good sleeper, still.  He is swaddled with one arm out.  Occasionally, I will leave both out, but he sleeps better with one in and one out.
 He sleeps at night from 8pm-7:30am.  I still wake him at 10:30pm to squeeze another feeding in. He takes two good naps a day.  The third nap is a fight.  The first and best nap is from 8:45/9:15-11am, unless it is Sunday.  The next nap is from 1-2:30 or 3ish.  The last nap from 4-5.
I no longer have the option of putting him in the swing because he weighs too much. He does not sleep on the go, which is a challenge because we are stuck at home.  You all know I HATE that.  I'm in the process of figuring out what I should do.

Eating:  He nurses six times a day. These are usually the times: 7:30/7:45am, 11:00am, 2:30/3pm, 6pm, 8pm, and 10:30pm.  In a couple months I plan to drop the 10:30 feeding.  I'm too scared to do it right now because I worry he won't sleep through the night. He is gaining well.  Last week he weighed in at 18lbs 10 ozs. 

Playing: During one awake time a day (usually the early morning) I rotate Cameron through the baby things we have.  He usually starts with the jump-a-roo because I know he has his best energy right after waking.  Then we move on to the play mat, where he plays with the animals above him.  After that I set him in the Bumbo to sing songs and/or read books.   The other awake times are spent in the car, dropping off/picking up Alexis, going on walks to the park, grocery shopping, etc...

Signing- We are working on mommy, milk, all done, up, and more.  I've been singing lots of songs with hand motions, thinking that it will help him learn to watch the hands. 

Bouncing!

Last night was Cameron's first time in the baby jumperoo. He cared most about looking at the bright colors on the side panels.  We are hoping for as many hours of entertainment with him as we got with Alexis!

Parent's Day Out

The note she gets each day

Learning about April weather

Also learning to color inside the lines

Cute, but I'm sure she had lots of help :)

Alexis has been attending a Parent's Day Out program through a local church for almost two years.  She started one day a week in the baby room (0-2years)  when she was 12 months old.  This year she moved up to the two year old room and attends two days a week from 9-11:45 am.  Alexis is particularly fond of one of her teachers, Mrs. Sohee.   Mrs. Sohee is a Korean lady who moved here 22 years ago. The two of them have a cute bond. 
On Tuesday Alexis got in trouble for breaking the crayons.  This is her first time really getting in trouble at school.  Mrs. Sohee pulled Alexis aside to talk to her about the incident.  She also talked to me when I came to pick her up that day.  Alexis and I talked about it on the way home.  I asked her how it felt to have Mrs. Sohee talk to her about the mistake she made.  She said "I felt sad, Mommy".  That evening we all talked about it at the dinner table, deciding that the best thing to do would be to return some new crayons.
Today Alexis returned to school with three of her own unbroken crayons.  She was so excited to say she was sorry!  So excited that she zoomed past the teacher passing out hand sanitizer and straight up to her classroom into Mrs. Sohee's arms. I'm hoping the whole incident made a lasting impression on her.   We shall see...

Q&A with Alexis

 Last week I sat down with Alexis to ask some questions and get some answers.  Here they are:

Favorite Fruit?  Banana
Snack?  Goldfish
Animal?  Puppy
Outfit?  A DUKE outfit!!!
TV Show?  Super Why
Place to go?  To the zoo
Game?  It's Duke.
Color?  Orange (she was holding an orange crayon at the time)
Toy?  Dolls.  I like to take care of them
Book?  A library book about a cat.
Favorite thing to do with Mommy and Daddy?  Play with balls.

What are you going to be when you grow up?  An elephant
What about a job?  Work on the computer
Who's going to be your husband?  Grandpa!
What kind of car will you drive?  Daddy's car
Where are you going to live?  North Carolina
What do you want for Christmas?  A sucker

Three Month Birthday- One Day Early

Three Months Old!

Play dates are fun!

What?

 All swaddled up!

First trip to the Zoo

Cameron is no longer a newborn!  Fourth Trimester is over!  Can you tell I'm excited?  Actually, the newborn phase was not nearly as horrible as I anticipated.  Cameron continues to be a affectionate, calm and smiley.  Even during his fussy times he manages to laugh and smile in between crying.  He makes the funniest sounds that are sometimes even a surprise to him.  His eyes are still blue and we think that will stick.  Some of his hair has fallen out, but that's okay because new hair is coming in!  He is drooling like crazy.  It's time to break out the bibs!

Likes:  Like all babies he likes to be held.  Not only does he like to be held, but he also likes to hold you back.  One of his arms is often clutching me. It's so adorable.
Before putting him down for naps and bed I  sing "Jesus loves me" and "Jesus loves the little children"  Cameron sings and coos along with me.  I don't typically enjoy holding babies, but it's hard to put him down when he's being so cute!  I'm beginning to understand why some parents give in to their children :)  

Dislikes:  Being poopy, but who does?  Also, sitting still to nurse.  He nurses best in a dark room with no noise. That never happens.

Sleeping: Cameron is a very good sleeper, still.  He continues to be swaddled.  He is beginning to break out of it, but I am fighting that one as long as I can!
 He sleeps at night from 8pm-7am, although, I wake him at 10:30pm to squeeze another feeding in. Sometimes he wakes up at 5 or 6 am.  I let him cry or use the pacifier.  He goes back to sleep until 7.   He takes 4 naps a day.. 8:15-10:30, 11:45-2, 3-5, and sometimes a short one around 6:30.
If I get him down before he's over tired then he goes down without a fuss.  If he's overstimulated or overtired there is some crying involved.  If it's been a busy day out, I usually swaddle him up and put him in the swing. 

Eating:  He nurses six times a day. These are usually the times: 7am, 10:30am, 2pm, 5pm, 8pm, and 10:30pm.  I am nursing instead of bottle feeding at the 10:30 feeding.  It's working out great!

Playing:  Cameron has a favorite book! The title is: Bubbles in the Bathroom.  I can tell he likes it because he is much more focused than some of the other books we read.  I try to follow the author, Mem Fox's advice by reading three books a day.  One favorite, one familiar, and one new.  That's the goal.  Cameron is the second child - We don't always hit it.
In the last week Cameron has been rolling over more and more.  I wouldn't say he has mastered the task, but I don't expect it since that is more of  a four month milestone.  He has just begun to do the baby ab exercises where they try to sit up a bit.  We think he has athletic tendencies :)   I am going to guess that he will be crawling by five months because when we put him in tummy time he tries so hard to move and often moves a couple inches forward. We'll see if I'm right.
I bought a play mat for $8 at the local consignment shop.  He really enjoys looking at the faces of the animals and grabbing them down to put in his mouth.  Speaking of grabbing- my head hurts because he likes to grab chunks of my hair.


Signing- I started this week.  Mommy, Milk, and More.
I remember from Alexis is was very, very slow going at first.  She didn't sign back to me until 8 months!  BUT, by 12 months it had really paid off.  She was signing/speaking over 20 word.  It continues to show in her speech today.
Sooooooo, I spend my days repeating and repeating and repeating.  Sometimes I get tired of hearing myself talk, seriously.