The Bunny Hutch

We usually go visit LaVina & her family in December, just before Christmas. You know what that means: Gingerbread Houses! Now I am a SUCKER for Gingerbread houses. I buy them every year, and every year Brad refuses to make them with me. Same with dyeing Easter Eggs. I have some Paas Easter Egg Dye Kits in the attic that are easily 5 years old. So needless to say, I was thrilled the first time we visited Brad's sister and her kids asked me to help them make Gingerbread houses. Actually, that first time, it was a gingerbread train, and the box & instructions had been thrown away. (Ahem, LaVina) Let's just say I labored intensively over the contrustion off that train. Remy was really worried about me. I did prevail and a beautiful train was assembled and decorated. Since we didn't make it out to visit before Christmas I was disappointed we wouldn't get to do a gingerbread house. Then I remember all the fun gingerbread and rice krispie treat stuff that was out at Halloween and I thought surely I could find an Easter related project. Target let me down (probably too early) so I made a trip out to Michael's (Thanks Dad) where I scored a Gingerbread Bunny Hutch! Yippee! I packed it in my suitcase and it made it one piece all the way out to Colorado. Turns out the box was so big because it was pre-assembled. Remy thought that was better because it was more time for decorating. I thought it was better because those suckers can be hard to assemble! That left my main job as mixing up the royal icing. I showed remarkable self restraint by letting Remy & Joey do all the decorating and eating only a couple of pieces of candy. They did a fantastic job and were just as excited about the bunny hutch as I was. Sadly, the actual decorating of the hutch pictures were deleted, but here is the end result. This photo was taken several days later when baby bunnies had already had plenty of time to nibble away at the hutch and garden.We usually go visit LaVina & her family in December, just before Christmas. You know what that means: Gingerbread Houses! Now I am a SUCKER for Gingerbread houses. I buy them every year, and every year Brad refuses to make them with me. Same with dyeing Easter Eggs. I have some Paas Easter Egg Dye Kits in the attic that are easily 5 years old. So needless to say, I was thrilled the first time we visited Brad's sister and her kids asked me to help them make Gingerbread houses. Actually, that first time, it was a gingerbread train, and the box & instructions had been thrown away. (Ahem, LaVina) Let's just say I labored intensively over the contrustion off that train. Remy was really worried about me. I did prevail and a beautiful train was assembled and decorated. Since we didn't make it out to visit before Christmas I was disappointed we wouldn't get to do a gingerbread house. Then I remember all the fun gingerbread and rice krispie treat stuff that was out at Halloween and I thought surely I could find an Easter related project. Target let me down (probably too early) so I made a trip out to Michael's (Thanks Dad) where I scored a Gingerbread Bunny Hutch! Yippee! I packed it in my suitcase and it made it one piece all the way out to Colorado. Turns out the box was so big because it was pre-assembled. Remy thought that was better because it was more time for decorating. I thought it was better because those suckers can be hard to assemble! That left my main job as mixing up the royal icing. I showed remarkable self restraint by letting Remy & Joey do all the decorating and eating only a couple of pieces of candy. They did a fantastic job and were just as excited about the bunny hutch as I was. Sadly, the actual decorating of the hutch pictures were deleted, but here is the end result. This photo was taken several days later when baby bunnies had already had plenty of time to nibble away at the hutch and garden.

Skiing in Beaver Creek

Beaver Creek
Doesn't this look a postcard background that we photoshopped our picture onto?

Joey & the Sushi Boat! Shred Rolls rock! Sato in Edwards.

Let me just warn you: I have A LOT of vacation pictures to post. So be prepared. Sadly, I accidentally deleted the first 3 days of vacation pictures from my camera. We don't really need to go into the details of how that happened so let's just call it a camera malfunction. I am still just sick about losing those precious photos. I had some really cute ones, including Camden's first plane ride. You will just have to settle for Camden's second plane ride (in another post). But not to worry, you will still get to see plenty of cute vacation pics. Just not the ones of us playing tennis. Or us by the creek before the big snow. Or of the kids making their bunny hutch. So here goes.

***I am experiencing difficulty with the drag and drop feature in blogger. In the interest of getting all the vacay pics up in a timely fashion, I am just posting as is. So if things seem a little out of order, that's why. If anybody knows how to fix this, please tell me how!****

Brad went skiing in Beaver Creek with Remy & Joey. Now Brad only skis once a year or so. So he asked Remy & Joey to please only take him on easy greens. Which they did, on the first run. Then on the second trail, Joey led them on a Black! It was past the point of no return so Brad's only choice was to go down it! He did survive and the stayed on mostly greens and a few blues after that. I was so glad that the kids could go skiing with Brad so I didn't have to. Last time I went I just didn't enjoy it. It's too much effort to not have fun! Maybe I will go again next time. Anyway, Lavina, Camden & I met the three of them for lunch at McCoy's. Only we were late and the were early so they ate before we got there. So we took the requisite photo opps and then Lavina and I went to eat sushi. Yummy! Joey had had enough skiing for the day so he came with us.

"Daddy looks funny with that helmet & goggles!"

Aren't we pretty?

I insisted that Brad wear a helmet.

Joey & Remy on the patio of McCoy's.

I survived a Black Diamond!

Peyton

This is Peyton. He is 9 months old. Isn't he adorable?
Peyton is Brad's sister's husband's nephew. Got that? I'm not sure if that makes Camden & Peyton related or not, but I'm just going to call them cousins.

This is the first time Peyton & Camden met. As you can see, Camden, who is 2 months younger, is bigger than Peyton. Camden was fascinated with Peyton. He has never been around other babies before.

Peyton, on the other hand, has an older brother who's three and is around babies a lot. He thought Camden was pretty cool, though.

Here is their first meeting. So cute!

Ball Popper

Look who is sitting up like a big boy!

For a few seconds, anyway.
I love how he is more concerned with sucking his thumb rather than trying to reach out and catch himself when he started falling over!

This is the new ball popper. This toy is really cool! I'm not sure how much Camden likes it, but it entertained Brad and me for hours! The air shoots the balls up through the middle. Camden was more interested in holding the balls in with one tiny finger. Then they would all get stacked up and when he would remove his finger they would explode everywhere!

He also just wanted to hold the balls.

Brad is convinced that he can teach Camden to stand up and walk even though he is still not sitting up unassisted! Camden did a pretty good job of standing up until he would forget to hold on.

Baby Legs & Daddy

Here is Camden in those super cute Baby Legs I mentioned recently. They have really cute girl ones, but the boy ones I had seen before were a little too punk rock for my taste. We're talking black background with silver skulls & crossbones or black with red flames. Or too garish - orange & turquoise with cars. So when I saw these green froggy ones I just had to get them for Camden. Of course Brad thought they were weird, but he's a guy, what does he know? Camden had on his super cute little buddy socks with shoelaces sewn on the front, but I somehow managed not to get a picture of that. They really made the outfit.

Brad finally got home this morning and he and Camden were so excited to see each other! They were so cute with all their laughing and silly faces. I tried to get a good picture of their homecoming, but could only get one of them smiling at time. Just imagine the two pictures below photoshopped together.

We are leaving for vacation very early in the morning, so this will be my last post for a week or so. I know you will miss us, but I promise to post lots of pictures when we get back. We are heading to Vail, Colorado to visit Brad's sister and her family and to enjoy some snow. Since Camden slept through the big blizzard (light dusting that melted before noon) a couple of weeks ago, this will be his first time seeing snow. I found two super cute snowsuits on clearance (imagine that) that I can't wait to see him in. Hold your breath to see those cute pictures!

St. Patrick's Day

Dad's fancy new scooter. Zoom! Zoom! It goes 10 miles an hour! But, what's that in your basket?
There's a baby in your basket!

TGIFriday's - Green Beer & 1/2 Price Appetizers

At the St. Patrick's Day Parade downtown. Sitting in the car waiting for the parade.

Camden's impression of an old man without his dentures. He sucks in his lower lip to achieve this look. Fabulous!

My lucky charm!

More of Dad on his new scooter. That baby is awesome!

At the Parade. Camden was much more interested in the girl next to us (to my right, in blue) than watching the parade (which was coming from our left).

Sitting in the parking lot of Finnegan's, for people watching & ambience. The 3 bagpipes men came out and played a couple of tunes and then left. Since we didn't have any irish music on hand, we jammed out to Bob Marley.

Flower Power

My Flower Child

They had this precious flower headband in the dollar spot at Target today. Yes, I know it's a little bit girly, with the glitter and all, but it was just so cute! Camden wore it around Target for quite awhile. He was very chill today. He didn't mind not being able to sit up. I eventually found a blanket to prop him up on so he was a little more comfy, but he really didn't seem to care before that. And yes, I am guilty of "borrowing" items in Target and then not buying them. I mean it was a cute blanket and I was "thinking" about getting it, but then at the checkout I "decided" Camden didn't need any more baby blankets. Don't worry, I did actually purchase the baby leggings that he had been chewing on the packaging of. Stay tuned for a picture of that total cuteness. Anyway, I thought Camden looked adorable as a flower!Camden can hold up a full bottle and feed himself all by himself now! I am so proud of him! It is also nice to be able to prop him up on the boppy and let him have his bottle while I do other things like wash bottles!

This is our bedtime routine. After we get a fresh diaper and clean jammies on, we read 3 books. We always end with The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boyonton.

This is chair we sit in. Camden sits in our lap. By our, I mean who's ever turn it is that night. We try to alternate who puts Camden to bed every night.

"Books are fun to read, but everyone knows they really are for eating!"

"yum, yum, yum!"

More Videos!

Here are more videos for your daily Camden fix. In case you are wondering why I am posting so much this week, it's because Brad is in Israel and he misses us terribly. At least that' what he says. So enjoy all the posting for the next few days, because on Friday we are going on Vacation. I will be sure to post lots of vacay pics when we come back.

So they make these things called Biter Biscuits for babies. I think they should call them slobber cookies or goo biscuits or at least melt-a-ways. It consisted of some magical consistency that caused it to dissolve into a gooey mess when it came in contact with drool. What a mess! At least I didn't have to worry about it being a potential choking hazard. This was Camden's first experience with any kind of "solid" food.

This was Camden just being cute and talking.

I read in a baby book today about a good exercise for babies to encourage them to crawl. You are supposed to lay them over a bolster (round pillow, right?) and put a favorite toy just out of reach. Then watch as they push against the floor with their feet to propel themselves forward. Sounds good in theory, right? That's not how it went at all. Camden is really good at pushing with his feet, but somehow he was moving backwards! I didn't really get that on the video (babies are so uncooperative when it comes to doing cute stuff on video) but this will give you a good idea anyway.

Oh, I fixed the videos that weren't working in the last two posts so be sure to go back and check them out. I love the one of Camden playing Peek-a-boo. That's only about half as excited as he normally gets.

Camden has TWO TEETH!

"Look Dad, I have teeth!"I cannot believe it! Camden has cut two teeth! His front bottom incisors! I could not believe my eyes when I saw something white in Camden's mouth as his was jumping in his jumperoo. So like any good Mom, I immediately stuck my finger in his mouth, and sure enough, not one, but TWO teeth were poking through his bottom gum. One is sticking out a little further than the other, but I think they both came in today. Camden has not been fussy, but he has been sleeping a LOT lately. He also has not been eating us much the last couple of days. This would also explain the HUGE amounts of drool we've been seeing. We just laugh as it comes streaming out of Camden's mouth like a river. I feel like getting teeth is such a huge milestone. I never thought I would be the type of Mom who doesn't want her baby to grow up, but I SO AM! I admit tears welled up in my eyes and I got a huge lump in my throat when I realized my baby had teeth! Of course,I was also sad that Brad won't get to see this big milestone til he gets home on Thursday. He left for Israel yesterday. We miss you, Brad!

Look closely and you will see two whitesh nubs front & center on his bottom gum. You wouldn't think so, but it's actually really hard to get a picture inside a baby's mouth. I swear he has teeth in there!

Of course, Camden has his moments, but 90% of the time he is the happiest baby you've ever seen. He rarely fusses unless he is hungry, poopy or tired. What an angel.

Everything is so funny to Camden. Hearing him laugh is the best sound in the world.

Camden in his bumbo playing with blocks. You can see his a good grip on the red & black one on the right. The others he was knocking off the tray as soon as I stacked them up there. He only paused long enough to ham it up for the camera.

Camden has learned to play peek-a-boo. He has gotten really good at it, and he thinks it is so funny! What a sweet baby!

PEEK-A-BOO!

Playing with Blocks

Camden is very vocal these days. Sometimes he makes cute baby sounds, like in these videos, and sometimes he screeches, just to see how loud he can get. Camden turns his hands like this all the time. We think it looks like he is riding a motorcycle.

I've said it before and I will say it again: Camden absolutely loves to kick! Do all babies kick this much? I wonder. He started kicking in the womb, and has not stopped, yet. Here is a good example of his kicking:

This little guy is really showing his personality!

7 Months Old!

I cannot believe that Camden is already 7 months old. My, how time flies! It has been 7 months of bliss. Well, the first month was mostly a fog of recovering from surgery & adapting to a new born, but the rest has been wonderful! Camden is doing something new every day & he is such a joy! Every day just gets better and better!

My two handsome men!

So much to see at Buffalo Wild Wings!

Camden really had a field day with these coasters. So fun to wave them in the air, bang them on the table & chew on them!

Yummy! Camden loves to put everything he gets his hands on in his mouth these days, but paper products are his favorite!

"Kansas is going to the final four!"

Camden loves to stand up. He can push up with his legs into a standing postion.

He is getting so tall!

This face cracks me up. I think he was mad because he was hungry. I think he looks like Cartman from Southpark. What do you think?

This is a neat party trick: cramming your fist in your mouth!

Before Camden was born, Brad & I used to spend a lot of time at Buffalo Wild Wings drinking beer & playing trivia. A fellow trivia player, Vandy, is showing Camden how to play.

My Little Elmo, fresh from a bath.

"I always feel like somebody's watching me!"

Brad & I really get a kick out of the new Geico commercials. I found this red super ball with eyes in our kitchen drawer, and Brad promptly had to stage this picture. He's so funny!