Annual Zoolights Date Night

Tonight was our annual ZooLights Date. A group of boys from our ward always plan it and we are lucky enough to bum along.

It started off with Fondue at our house, which I am so sad I didn't take any pictures of. And then we headed out in the freezing cold. After it was all over we came back to our place for some nice toasty hot chocolate!

There never are many animals out and about, but when there are...you know it because there is a swarm of people around as if they have never seen an animal before.The zoo is much more enjoyable at night and especially when there are Christmas lights everywhere. This was the fun group we went with!
Getting a normal picture with Dan is nearly impossible.

Camden slept for most of the date, but once he woke up he had a blast looking at all the lights.

You Good Liar You

I should've know better than to believe my husband when he said we'd be spending Christmas in Vegas. Who spends Christmas in Vegas?!?

To make a long story a little less long...Dan and I(looking back, apparently it was only me) decided we would be staying here for Christmas seeing how tickets can get a little pricey. Knowing that we would not be going to Utah for Christmas, Dan's buddy Tyson invited us to cash in on his "Christmas Vegas Getaway". Everything was paid for except breakfast and lunches, and Dan just happened to have those days off work. I know, I know..I should've caught on. Well...I didn't until we got to the stinkin' gate at the airport and I saw Salt Lake City was the destination. That little turd! It was a happy surprise, I just felt like a sucker not knowing he could pull something like this off.

Nobody knew except our parents, and Tyson! So when we arrived home it was so fun to see our families reactions.

Just a fair warning...this is a mega long post, but I couldn't resist posting these pictures.

As soon as Camden finished opening his gifts he went straight down for a nap, he was exhausted!
I am pretty sure Uncle Cracker felt bad Camden's toy wasn't getting played with(since Cam was asleep), so he took the honors.

My Mom was kind enough to share her drink of choice with Cam. That's what Grandma's are for, eh?
Don't ask about the sweatband! This picture was just too cute to pass up.

This is Dan's brother Aaron and his wife Denise. They are such a riot! Denise got in a pretty bad car accident the night before we left. Hope you are feeling better Denise. We love you!

Cousin BreeAnn found the trick to grab his attention!

We had so much fun visiting with everyone. Here he is with Grandma Bonnie and Aunt Chrisee.

This is Camden's cousin Savannah. She had on the cutest pink cowGIRL boots ever, not to be confused with cowBOY boots.

This picture was at the request of Dan's brother-in-law Mike. He knew Dan would be so mad when he saw Camden holding this bear. Dan was so glad to hear Camden barfed after this picture was taken. Sorry Natalie, at least it matched your sweater.

Christmas would not have been the same in Vegas, I was so glad we were in Utah!

T'was 2 Days Before Vegas...

Since we are going to be in Vegas for Christmas we decided to do our little family Christmas tonight. It wasn't anything big, we just wanted to do something, seeing how it is Camden's first Christmas. So after we ate a yummy Christmas dinner of Fajitas and rice, we opened our gifts.
I am pretty sure Camden enjoyed the wrapping paper more than the Air Jordan's that his Dad bought him.
We decided, what better gift to open Christmas morning than Camden...so we packed him up and plan on saving him for later.
Here is our first Christmas together as a family of three, thanks to the self timing camera sitting on the floor. We tried putting our Christmas loot in front of us but it is kinda hard to see.

WARNING: Choking Hazard

This afternoon I was trying to finish up a project I had started but Camden didn't want this to happen. He was fussy and wanting to be held so I did what I thought was brilliant...found something to distract him. I set him in his chair and gave him a "biter biscuit". These are easy dissolving cookies for TODDLERS that are teething. On the back of the box it states that these can be a choking hazard and to only give them to children that are strong enough to crawl on their own. I didn't see what crawling had to do with eating, so I gave it to him anyway. It worked, he loved it and was making a mess so I continued with my project. To make a long story short...he ended up choking on the dang thing and scared me half to death. I tried to get it out with my finger but it was stuck, so I picked him up out of the chair, set him on my knee and smacked his back like I meant it. After the third smack he started to cry and the food came up.


Who am I to think the warning on the back didn't pertain to me?

Toe-Jam and a Tooth

Yesterday when I got home from work this is what I found...

Some major Toe-Jam...

And a second tooth!

Jumpin' Jackpot

Tonight we splurged! Tiffani got a babysitter, we left all our kids together, and went on a double date to Dave & Buster's. This place is like 49th Street Galleria for you Utahans old enough to remember, or Chuck E Cheese's on steroids. I should've taken pictures of some of the people there, really...it was all adults, some a lot older than others.

We ate dinner first and then we were off to win tickets. The first "game" I played was the Jumpin' Jackpot. A light spins around this contraption and when it reaches the bottom you have to jump as if you were playing jump rope. Sounds stupid, but it was sooo fun and I have to brag because I rocked at this! I made it look easy so Dan decided to give it a try...much to his dismay he...well, let's just say jumping rope isn't his forte.
But he is good at whatever this game was called! He scored us a ton of tickets on this one!
Watch out people, you don't wanna get on this couples bad side. They will tear you apart.
After playing hard all night we went and cashed in ALL our tickets! We ended up getting somewhere around 1400 tickets, and out of everything we could've "bought", my dear sweet husband picked this...(dun dun dun)
A stupid plastic toy that blows air in your face! WOW, I love him!

Can This Really Be?

My little man turned 6 months yesterday! I cannot believe he is really that old, and I cannot believe I am really that old! WOW!

I never posted a picture of him when he turned 5 months, so here it is.

I know what you are thinking. This picture doesn't look much different from the one below. But I am here to say that he has changed tremendously in the last month.

He now weighs 18.1lbs. Not a huge difference from before but give the kid a break...he was barfing pretty much that entire time. He is 27 1/2 inches tall.

The lucky guy got 6 shots in the legs and one oral vaccine, which he handled pretty well. Once he started to cry I shoved the binky in his mouth and he was fine. I have probably created my own monster with that plug because he would do fine without it, but it really comes in handy for the noise pollution.

Over this past month he has started sitting up on his own. He still takes his fair share of tumbles when I sit him up, but he is getting the hang of it and loving a bit more independence. I have really noticed him watching me when I leave the room and sometimes he even cries until I come back in his sight. This is bitter sweet. I love the fact that he recognizes me and wants me around(come on people, this won't last forever), but the crying...not so sweet!

He loves toys. He recently found the wheel on his stroller and was fascinated by it. This and anything that lights up will surely grab his attention. He loves to be the center of attention. He will pound toys on anything near him, and talk your ear off for days. He loves to watch our mouths move when we talk and has been caught trying to mimic the movements.

He has started to show interest in holding his own bottle. It would be too good to be true if he had actually mastered this skill. I will keep praying. I am loving that he is a pretty good baby food eater. When he is hungry he will open up wide and try just about anything.

He recognizes his name and will look when it is being called(almost every time, but sometimes that male selective hearing kicks in). And my favorite thing lately has to be when I walk in to pick him up from the gym daycare and his face lights up. He kicks his feet and shakes his hands with excitement and I love that he loves me. Dan still wins the award for getting him to laugh the hardest. He loves his Dad and busts up at everything he says and does!

I cannot believe he is already this old, man time has flown by!

Two New Favorites

I cannot get enough of this kid! He melts my heart! I think this picture is my new favorite. He has been super smiley lately until I take the camera out, and he turns oh so serious!

What I was trying to capture was his new friend that came to town, Mr. Tooth!
It is so weird to think that my "new" baby has a tooth already. It finally broke through the skin last week and we can't stop looking at it. It is my favorite when he gives me a big smile and his tooth shows. He is getting so big!

Getting In The Mood(The C-mas Mood That Is)

Growing up in Utah I totally took advantage of the snow getting me in the Christmas spirit. Since moving to this beautiful desert(no sarcasm intended ha ha)I have noticed that it is harder for me to get in that jolly, shopping, hot chocolate, carol singing mood. So today I decided decorating gingerbread houses would do the trick. We put Camden to bed(he wasn't feeling very good), and the two of us had a gay ol' time.

As Dan and I were decorating I found out that he has NEVER decorated a gingerbread house before! Can you believe that? I think his turned out pretty darn good for a first timer!



Please note the beautiful icicles he decorated on his roof...oh how I miss breaking icicles off Nanny's roof and eating them!

I Don't Think So

Camden has always been a really good napper until just a few weeks ago. I am not quite sure why there was a change, but something changed. I thought it was a phase and he would get over it and be back to his normal good napping self. Well he still hasn't snapped out of that so called phase. So today I told myself he is on MY schedule and I will put him down for two naps, no questions asked.

The first nap went great! I kept him up a little longer than he wanted, made sure he was fed and had a clean diaper before he fell asleep. Me being the naive little person I am, thought the second one would be that easy! I don't think so!!! As I sit here typing, he is lying in his crib SCREAMING and has been for the past 53 minutes. The longer he screams, the more I keep telling myself he is getting to the "tired cry phase", and will be out any minute. But at the same time a little bird sitting on my shoulder keeps telling me to go pick the poor kid up, he is not tired. How long do I let this go on for?

Oh the joys of motherhood! I wouldn't trade it for anything.

He is now gagging he is screaming so hard(yes he is a little bit of a drama queen, but I love him).

Three's Company

Today we had two friends over to play and we had a blast. As we were all jammed on our bed playing with toys I couldn't help but think about life with three kids.

It was nice because the three of them pretty much entertained one another. But I think I am good with just having friends come over. Because when it comes down to it...one mouth to feed, one bath to give, one butt to change...that is overwhelming enough for me. Whenever I am feeling crazy and thinking I want another kid...I will just borrow these two because they are angels and Camden loves them.

He Was A Skater Boy

Check out how studly he looks in this get up my sister in laws bought him.
I made him put his hand like this to show the bling around his pocket.
He is one hot skater!

We Need A Break

Tonight we(by we I mean mostly me) put up ALL our Christmas decorations! After we got the tree up Dan suggested we take a break(Dan loves to take breaks right after we get started) and eat some peppermint icecream.
Good idea Dan! YUMMY!!!

Please note the festive ice cream cups! We made them last year on a date. Aren't we cute?!?!

You've Got Mail!

One of my most favorite things in this world is getting mail! I look forward to walking up to get the mail everyday in hopes that I receive something other than a bill. Today when I opened up the mailbox I immediately spotted a package! Unfortunately it wasn't addressed to me, but to Camden instead. This is almost as good, seeing how he cannot really open it, I needed to help.

So here he is "opening" his mail before I ripped into it like a 4 year old on Christmas morning.
Shot down! Inside the package was another wrapped package with instructions to open December 1.

So I called my mom to tell her I got the package and to thank her for the surprise, whatever it may be. But she quickly reminded me that the package was for Camden and not me. I told her how I tried to let him open it earlier and he just sucked on it. She gave me instructions to let him start sucking on it now and hopefully he will have it open by December 1. I really hope he mysteriously learns how to unwrap and I get a sneak peak before the 1st.

Finger Lickin' Good

Camden has been chomping on anything and everything lately. I assume this is because he is teething. I have tried giving him a million different things to appease him during this stage and have been frustrated at finding the perfect item. I bought this "fresh food feeder" awhile back and thought I'd give it a try today.
If you can't tell he LOVED it! I stuck a banana in it and he went to town for a good twenty minutes. I love that I didn't have to mash it up or spoon feed him. I just popped it in and BAM, he was totally content!
After he had successfully eaten the banana he licked his fingers clean(or began chewing on them, either one)!

Gobble Gobble

This Thanksgiving we celebrated with just the three of us. Dan wasn't supposed to have work off, but at the last minute he was able to thanks to his boss. It was a simple dinner with a ton of leftovers.
I insisted we take a picture of how beautiful our turkey turned out.We ate soooo much and still had way too many leftovers. I think I cooked for 10 instead of 2.

After taking a nice long nap we headed across the street to the school yard. The weather was perfect and it was nice to just hang out.

This past year I have been able to sit back and really be grateful for the simple things in life. It is amazing how your perspective changes once you welcome an infant into your home. I have so much to be grateful for and I'm glad I took the time to ponder my blessings today.

Birthday Part 2

Because Dan was gone taking a test all day on his birthday, we decided to carry the festivities on over to the next day as well.
We brought a cake to his work and made everyone(including the golfers eating lunch) sing to him! He was very embarrassed but deep down I'm sure he loved it! He managed to blow all 32 candles out the first time.

I wonder who enjoyed the birthday balloons more...Dan or Camden? It was fun to spend some time with him even if it was at work. Hope you had a happy day Dan!

How Sweet

I forgot to write about this the other day when it happened and I don't wanna forget about it so here it goes...

Dan called me from work the other day and I put the phone up to Camden's ear to see what he would do. Dan started talking to him and Camden got the biggest grin on his face. He kept trying to turn towards the phone to look at it because he recognized his dad's voice. I thought it was pretty sweet. He loves his dad!

Happy Birthday Dan

Today is Dan's birthday! So this post is all about him. Since he turns 32 years OLD today, I think it will be fun to write 32 tidbits about him.

1. He is pretty darn old

2. He is still the hottest OLD MAN I've ever met

3. He is very compassionate and attentive towards others needs

4. He is very fun loving

5. He is such a good "handy man" when it comes to just about anything(other than cooking)

6. He thinks he is funny

7. He is a mommas boy(I think it's kinda cute)

8. He could eat rice with soy sauce for every meal

9. He is the hardest worker there ever was, he works his tail off and hardly ever has a day off

10. He rarely complains(but when he does, man...you better watch out)

11. He is the best dad. He is always hands on and loves to play with Camden

12. He loves to hug everyone

13. He babies his dog like she is a princess

14. He is motivated

15. He is eight years OLDer than me

16. He rocked a perm in high school

17. He is the 7th out of 10 kids in his family

18. Did I mention he is pretty OLD

19. He was a seminary nerd in high school

20. He loves BMW cars, it is his dream to have an M3 BMW(I think that is the one)

21. He loves his nieces and nephews and has a lot

22. He is the best husband ever

23. He has owned his own company

24. He is a huge BYU fan

25. He is a Golf Professional

26. He loves working with the YM in his church calling

27. He hates having his picture taken and will rarely make a normal smile during one

28. He has been to Hawaii and didn't take me

29. His two favorite meals are Shepard's Pie and Stroganoff with rice(don't ask me why)

30. He is taking a BIG golf test today and I know he will do great

31. He had Guillain Barre Syndrome and was hospitalized right after we got married

32. He is one HOT 32 year old man

There you have it people, everything you ever wanted to know about my husband. I love him to pieces and hope he has a Happy Birthday.

Perfect Night

We have finally been able to enjoy cooler weather around here, it has been sooooooo nice! It sprinkled just enough to clear the air for a beautiful sunset.

The sunsets here are amazing!

Tonight I have all my windows open and have been enjoying the slight breeze. We didn't even need to turn the AC on ALL day today. Yay, I love this weather!

Spit Swappin'

Today we were so excited Tessa came to play!

I stuck these two love birds next to each other on the Love Sac and they had a blast. Camden was mesmerized by Tessa's bright pink bow and kept trying to grab it and put it in his mouth. Tessa fell in love with Camden's blue eyes and kept wanting to grab them. I decided I had better give them something other than one another to play with before one of them accidentally got hurt. I gave them this green frog to play with while I went to get another toy. When I came back I noticed all they needed was one to share. Tessa would play with it for a minute and put it in her mouth before sharing it with Camden.
She did not want him to feel left out by any means, so she would promptly give him a taste of the toy as well. They were having so much fun I decided one toy was good enough. Why not let them swap spit? It will eventually be happening during their dating years, so why not get them used to one another's germs now?!

Thanks a bunch Tiffani for letting her come over, we had a ball!

Going Topless

Today Camden has been drinking his regular full strength formula and is acting so much better. Even though the amount of food he eats is only half of what it used to be; I am so glad he is finally eating food again. I was hopeful he would be able to drink 6oz at a time by tomorrow. But I should've known this wouldn't last. Just when I thought he was on the mend and feeling better...I take him out in public and he thinks he needs to start throwing up again. This first happened at Costco and it was everywhere. Luckily I had an extra onesie in his diaper bag to change him into. A few hours later we left for Mutual and he decided to barf again, only this time I didn't have a spare onesie in the diaper bag, just the dirty one from Costco. Hence the topless photo below!

I know he will hate me someday for making him wear this hat. But until he can refuse, I am going to put him in whatever I think is cute.

I give up on what to do with this barfing child of mine. He has got it coming out of both ends now, it is starting to get old.

48 Hours Without Food

I am glad to see today coming to a close. What a draining day we had!

First of all neither Camden or I had the best night's sleep, seeing how he would wake up moaning off and on. And second of all, the crying started at 6 in the am! You hear mothers talk about their children that would cry for hours at a time, day in and day out, for months. My heart goes out to you mothers. I am not fit to be one of those saints. Camden cried for 5 hours straight and nothing I did or said would console him. Talk about emotionally exhausting for both of us. I seriously didn't think it would ever stop, or that I would be sane once it did.

Today was the start of the second day that he has had nothing but pedialyte to drink. I felt abusive. I knew he was fine and he wouldn't starve to death. But at the same time I didn't think it was fine for me to deprive him of food and nutrition. But being the obedient person I am, I listened to the doctors advice and gave him 1 teaspoon of pedialyte every ten minutes for over three hours! Talk about clock watching! Talk about torture!! Talk about teasing the poor kid!!! Ten minutes is a LONG time when you can hear your child's tummy rumbling. This was very hard for me. We finally made it past three hours and I felt good about giving him 2 teaspoons...then 3... you get the point. Every time I got to increase the amount I felt like having a party. I was seriously so proud of him for making it this long and not throwing up anything!!! If they made a bumper sticker that read, "Proud Parent of a Non-Thrower-Upper", you bet your booty it I'd slap that baby on the back of my car.

So to end the night he received..........drum roll please..........two ounces to hold him over until morning. Do you think he will last the whole night???
When he finally started drooling again tonight I wanted to cry. It was so monumental I had to take a picture to document. Up until I took this picture, his lips were dry and mouth getting the same. I am so glad to see life filtering back into him!

Now that this day is over and Camden is fast asleep and resting comfortable; I can't help but think how silly this whole thing was. As I finish typing this post I want to erase it so nobody can read and see what a mess I was! But at the same time, he is bound to get sick again some other time in his life. And seeing your child sick, and feeling totally helpless is heartbreaking, but not the end of the world.

So here's to hoping tomorrow is even better than today!

Hard Day

Last weekend Camden had the flu and hasn't been the same since. I thought he was over the flu and just fussy because he was teething. But the projectile vomiting that has been going on since Wednesday surely gave it away.

Normally he will take a 6-8oz bottle every three hours. Yesterday he had 3 bottles total, and threw up every last ounce. He wasn't acting overly hungry, but instead he would just play with the bottle in his mouth. I wasn't too worried until he woke up this morning and hardly had any urine in his diaper. Trying not to overreact I feed him his usual bowl of rice cereal followed by a 6oz bottle. Not even 5 minutes after that, everything he just ate was down the front of me, him, and the couch. So to make this long story shorter...he was allowed a 1/2oz of pedialyte every twenty minutes so long as he kept it down for an hour and a half. Well...the poor kid couldn't even keep that much down. How in the world do you console your starving 5 month old and try to explain why you aren't feeding him? It is draining!

Trying to come up with ways to distract him, or stop the crying. I thought I'd let him soak in the tub. Evidently he was so hungry he thought he could eat his bathtub.
He sat like this sucking on the tub for at least ten minutes. I had to peel the poor kid off, he was starving!!! I know he will be fine, hopefully sooner than later. But I never realized having a sick kid could be this hard. He is normally a pretty happy guy, but he just hasn't been himself lately.

He is now tucked away and fast asleep! Here's to hoping tomorrow is a better day!