Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy 1st Mother's Day



Our little family.
My Mother's Day present - a new car! I absolutely love it!
Self portrait of me & my baby boy!

I received a handmade Mother’s Day card from one of my dearest friends yesterday. It read “Happy 1st Mother’s Day.” I understand completely the thought & spirit with which this card was intended. I was thrilled to get a card from anyone other than immediate family. But the sentiment did give me pause. Because this is not my 1st Mother’s Day. In fact, this is my 3rd Mother’s Day. You see, my first child, my daughter Carsyn, was born Dec. 13, 2006. She died 2 days later, and my life changed forever. On my 1st Mother’s Day, I visited Carsyn’s grave. I left flowers for her & wondered what she would be like now & how big she would be & if she would be holding her head up & if she would still have that almost black hair & dark olive skin she was born with. But mostly I wondered “WHY, WHY, WHY, Why isn’t she here with me!?! Why can’t I hold her in my arms?”

By my 2nd Mother’s Day, I was 6 months pregnant with Camden. I was joyous about his impending arrival, but also fearful. After genetic testing and dozens of ultrasounds, we knew he was healthy, but that did not allay my fears. Once you’ve experienced the death of a child, there is no assurance strong enough until that baby is in your arms. It was right around that time, that 2nd Mother’s Day, that I finally received an answer to my questions of “why?” Of course, no answer will ever be good enough, but this one at least gave me a sense of peace. Brad & I had always agreed that we only wanted one child. I desperately wanted a girl and was thrilled beyond belief when we found out Carsyn was a girl. We never had any plans for any other children. So if Carsyn hadn’t died, I honestly believe that we never would have had Camden. Now I can’t imagine life without Camden. So yes, in the most important way, this is my 1st Mother’s day. It’s my 1st Mother’s day with a living child, my sweet precious Camden.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Brad's Birthday



Brad was invited to play in an Alabama Foundation golf tournament at The Ledges on his birthday. Nick Saban was on hand to mix and mingle & give a speech.
Here Brad is offering Nick a few coaching tips. Brad assures me that Nick started taking notes right after this picture was taken.
Brad's team along with Cindy Gray & Coach Saban


Brad's birthday was April 23rd. This was a present from my Dad.Yes, this is how Brad really acts all the time.
Wow, what could it be? A subscription to Martha Stewart Living?
Hmmm, I'm not sure this is really for me...it's a little too small...
But wait, it fits this little guy just right!
Happy Birthday, Daddy! Thanks for my present!
After playing in the golf tournament, Brad met us at BWW for a birthday beer.
Somebody is eating my birthday card!
If you listen carefully, you can hear Camden wishing Daddy a Happy Birthday!

Sophie's Birthday Party



Camden was recently invited to Sophie's 3rd birthday party at the Little Gym. This was his first time attending a birthday party. He was the youngest one there, but he had fun.

This is a little blurry but I just had to put it up anyway. Camden's inside the baseball that holds the parachute.
The birthday girl jumping up & down!
Sophie in the seat of honor & Caleb next to her.
David, Mike J, Brad & Camden, Mike Z - Sophie's Dad
A little taste of frosting from the birthday cake.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Beach Baby!



Camden would rather stand up than sit down.
I was overly optimistic about the weather when I was packing for our trip to the Outer Banks. Camden had several new summer & beach outfits that I just had to bring. I ended up not bringing any pants and only one long sleeve onesie for him. Turned it was much colder than I had anticipated so I had to get creative with the layer. I finally remembered I had brought some baby legs and was able to piece together this ensemble. It was my favorite!

Beep Beep & Dancing



Here is Brad being silly with Camden.

We met Brad at BWW on his birthday & Camden did a little birthday dance for Daddy.

Right before Brad's birthday, Camden starting pulling himself up into a sitting position by himself. This was when I was really sick with a sinus infection and lost my voice for about a week.

Friday, May 1, 2009

Feeding Time




Here's a video of Sara & Katie feeding Camden.

FYI #1- I have been having terrible Internet connection issues. That's why I have been so sporadic on posting this week. Hopefully we will have the issue resolved soon & I can get caught up on posting. I'm still over 2 weeks behind! In the meantime, just keep checking back, or you can add my blog to your Reader. I just loaded up all the blogs I follow into a Google Reader a couple of weeks ago and it's awesome! If you don't have a Reader you should get one. I added a quick link on the side bar to make it easy for you to add my blog to your reader.

FYI #2 - Be sure to check the two posts below: Outer Banks & Easter Sunday. Easter Sunday is new, but posted underneath Outer Banks. Outer Banks was previously titled obx & now has commentary to go with the pictures. I was having connection issues and was afraid if I didn't publish it before I was finished with it I would lose it.

Outer Banks



Me & Camden at the beach in North Carolina. This was the best weather we had the whole time we were there. It was mostly cold, rainy & very windy. I learned that while 60 degrees at home is very comfortable, in N.C. on the beach it is very cold! We had a great time despite the weather.
Yes, I am wearing a baby sling in this picture. Did you ever think you would see the day? Me neither. But it was a last minute purchase for this trip. I was concerned that there wouldn't be any extra seats on the planes & that I would have to check his car seat at the gate. So the sling was my back up plan for boarding with a baby & huge diaper bag. Luckily, I didn't have to use it, but it came in great for this walk to the beach.


Playing in the sand.

Me & Susan


The whole gang that went. Of course Susan & I aren't in this picture...
Clockwise, Katie, Jan, Sara, Connie, June, Bonnie & Joanne. Katie & Sara are Susan's kids. Connie is Susan's mom. Jan is Connie's sister (& Susan's aunt). Bonnie is Connie's college roommate & June is her mother. Joanne is Connie's hometown childhood friend. It was a houseful of ladies & one baby boy. What fun!













I just had to share this one. This is how Camden sleeps all the time now. Is there anything cuter that a baby sticking his butt up in the air? This is where he slept at the beach, in a pack n play in a closet on the bottom floor of the condo. Don't worry, I didn't close the door. It was just a really small bedroom & that's the only place the pack n play fit. This was a 3 story condo with the main living area on the top floor. I had the baby monitor & the girls would sit & watch it & wait for Camden to wake up. At the very first little wiggle, they would come running down the stairs & inform that Camden was awake, before he even started making any noises! It was so funny. Sara & Katie really loved playing with Camden. He really enjoyed all the attention!







Katie & Camden










Susan & I gave Camden a bath in the kitchen sink. At first he wasn't too thrilled about this, as you can see from his expression. Then he figured out he could kick, kick, kick & splash, splash, splash. Then we figured out we put way too much water in the sink! I definitely got pretty wet.






The girls loved feeding Camden, whether it was a bottle or baby food. Susan thought he looked like a baby bird the way he would flap his hands and lean forward with his mouth open. It got pretty messy!



























Joanne was so sweet to keep giving all the kids little presents. This was a make-up brush that was loaded with sparkly glitter. The girls had fun dusting themselves & Camden, too! By the end of the night Camden was covered with sparkles and baby food, thus the need for the bath!




















But not to worry, the girls made sure that Camden had gender appropriate toys to play with, like fire trucks! All in all it was a great trip! The girls were a big help with Camden. We will definitely have to go down to Birmingham visit them more often.
Thanks for inviting us to the Outer Banks, Susan!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...