Birthday Giveaway Extravangza!

There are not one, but two birthday giveaways going on this week!

My friend Hillary is celebrating her birthday on Thursday by hosting bloggy giveaways all this week. The first one is for Homemade Gourmet products. Hop on over to her to blog at  The Other Mama  and enter to win! Also, be sure to check out some of her recent posts, because she is one funny chick!

The second giveaway is at Natalie's Sentiments. She lives in Chattanooga and features the most precious stuff on her blog. Her first giveaway is for a gift certificate to the Etsy shop The Sisty Uglers. I am loving the quilts! Of course, I love the little girl dresses and outfits, too, but I don't think Camden would appreciate wearing those!

So be sure to check out both of those blogs and enter to win a great prize every day this week!

Rubber Ducky, You're the One!

Camden has suddenly taken an interest in his rubber duckies, even when it's not bath time.

He crawled in the bathroom, pulled up on the tub, and reached in to get his ducks.

He is leaning on the tub, but pretty steady without holding on.

He still hasn't taken his first steps. I just know it will be soon.

Pool Time

Camden standing up in the baby pool! I swear, he's going to be walking any day!

Camden really loves the water. He prefers the big pool because Mommy & Daddy have room to splash him all around. He puts his face under water andholds his breath and he tries to swim. He will leap out of ours arms into the other ones arms. This kid has NO fear. He is definitely a thrill seeker!

Granddaddy has many canes, aka "sticks", and this black one with a tassel on the end is one of his favorites! He pulls up to standing on the scooter and then grabs the stick.

Sitting with Granddaddy. Hats and Glasses are also fair game for Camden.

Yay! I got the stick!

Stuffing his face with goldfish! Look how he has his whole hand crammed in his mouth!

I think this was the first time he ever had goldfish. But he eats everything like this! Camden always eats with gusto!

Giggle Monster

Come on ride the train, the choo choo train!  Ha! Now you will have the song stuck in your head all day! This is the Alpha Train, Camden's birthday present from his Nana. 

Now whenever I am sitting in my office chair at the computer, this is what greets me:

The Cam Man has really taken Peek-a-boo to a whole new level. He likes hiding under sheets and blankets that are big enough to cover his whole body. He sits there and giggles and screams with laughter. He can pull the sheet off by himself, and he can cover us up too!

Hiding is so funny! Enjoy the laughter!

This is what I was talking about a few days ago; Cam Cam escaping from his bedroom. He wasn't as enthusiastic as usual in this video, but you get the idea. He didn't turn around and look for me at all! I will have to try to capture it again. He can really book it when he is crawling now! 

Standing Up

Camden is getting really good at standing up with a prop.

Please ignore the cowlick behind his ear, the drool stains on his shirt, the blueberry stains on his butt, the clashing lime green bib, and the stoned look on my child's face. Hmmm, why am I even showing you these picture?

"Why, Mommy, Why?"

Oh yeah, because I wanted to show off how well Camden can stand up! With aid, of course. And these were actually taken last week. He can now stand up by himself for approximately 1.5 seconds! Such an accomplishment!

I think it's time for a hair cut, too. I seriously do style Cam's hair. Every morning we spray the detangler/leave-in conditioner on there and brush and style it. Then he rolls on the floor and it looks like this. 

Yes, I'm positive those are blueberries stains on his butt. I can't believe you would think otherwise. 

And  here is my superstar walking with the toy. Wow!

Baby Legs & Sesame Street

I just love baby legs! Cam's legs are really thinning out, but there is still a little bit of chunkiness left. 

Watching Sesame Street. We don't let Cam watch a lot of tv, but sometimes I put him in his walker and turn on Sesame Street. Usually he zooms around the house, and then every once in a while, the tv will catch his eye and he will be mesmerized. Then he's off again! He seems to be holding his leg up in the air in this pic. I guess that's his imitation of a flamingo.

Cam really cracks me up when he watches tv backwards! And No, we do not let Camden sit in the rocking chair while it is perched on top of the ottoman. I have no idea why it was up there. Probably to give Cam more room to run around in his walker. Which is also why we no longer have a coffee table in the den. And adly, he has outgrown his jumperoo. He sure did love it, though. 

Casa Blanca

So this is how Daddy lets Camden act in a restaurant:

We recently ate lunch at Casa Blanca.

Camden thought it was fun to put his feet up in the air and hold his spoon with his toes!

What a little stinker!

Could he be any cuter? It's hard to say No to that little face.

Since we are talking about food, I thought I would share some of Camden's favorites. He is a really good eater and not picky at all. He loves fruits, vegetables, meat, everything! I have my fingers crossed that he doesn't change his eating habits. A few of his faves:

• Blueberries - eats them every day!
• Avocado
• Bananas
• Yogurt
• French Fries
• Chicken - grilled or nuggets
• Quesadillas
• Beans - especailly refried or ranchero/pinto beans
• Pancakes!
• Tortilla chips

That's all of his absolute faves I can think of right now. So far the only thing we have given him that he refused to eat is scrambled eggs. I thought that was funny because when I was pregnant with him, I could not stand to eat eggs! I also craved pancakes all the time, which I had never cared for before. So I think my pregnancy cravings & aversions rubbed off Camden!

What Does a Big Boy Do?

PEEK-A-BOO!

I see you!

Who's a Big Boy now?

Who can stand up in his crib and peek over the edge?

Who finally learned to let go of the slat and reach up to the crib edge?

Camden! That's who! My baby is getting big!

He even has a new Big Boy Car Seat. It's so much bigger than his infant car seat. Camden loves it! He even takes naps in the car again. He had gotten too long for his other car seat so we ordered this one a few weeks before his birthday. He can still sit rear-facing (which is safer) up to 40 pounds. Then we can turn it around to face forward. The pediatrician did give us the all clear to turn him forward when we are ready, but I want to hold out as long as possible. Camden has always been very good in the car so I think we can last at least another year rear-facing. 

The Birthday Hat

That's a nice hat, Daddy. I'm gonna get it!

Hmmm, it might be a little big for me...

Uh oh, it swallowed my head!

Here I am! Peekaboo!

Maybe if I hold it just so...

Nope, that's too much work. You wear it Daddy! 

Eating with a Fork

Guess who...

is using...

a FORK?!

Cam Cam!

Climbing the Stairs

Camden loves trying to climb up the stairs. He can get on the bottom step, but then he doesn't know how to get up to the next step.

He is a great walker if you hold his hands. He still walks on his tippy-toes.

He thinks he is such a big boy! Big enough to tackle the stairs!

He does great going up the stairs. He's a little less steady going down.

I filmed this video sideways, and the only way I could rotate was if all the blackness surrounds it. Sorry!

Camden & I have a morning routine. After we get a new diaper and outfit on, we sit in the rocking chair and read a few books. His favorites right now are Wake Up! and Baby Faces. Next we sit on the floor in his room and play. Right now we are playing with his dump wagon with giant legos and his car carrier. Then, when Camden is ready to go downstairs, he crawls out of the room straight to the stairs. He tries to be really sneaky about it. He'll crawl a little ways and then turn around to see if I'm watching. If I don't look like I'm paying attention, he waits until I notice him. (I'm always watching him, but this is part of the game.) Then I tell him I'm going to get him and he starts laughing and crawling as fast as he can. But he has stop every few feet to check and make sure I'm coming after him. He just laughs and laughs. Then right before he gets to the top of the stairs, I catch him and tickle him. More laughter. If I didn't grab him, he would go right down those stairs on his hands and knees, head first. Don't worry, the baby gate is going up this week. I will try to get a video of this tomorrow.

Bucket Boy

Camden had a good time in this little green bucket.

Look at my hands!

Camden is constantly doing the cutest things lately. He has a new fascination with his hands. He just loves to make all kinds of hand gestures. No, not those kind of hand gestures. Innocent, baby hand gestures. So fun!

Birthday Highlights!

At long last, the birthday pictures!

This crazy thing won't let me put text between the pictures! I have honestly been trying to get this post up for over a week. I will try to come back later on work on adding info about the pictures.