Happy Birthday Campbell

May 29th - CAMPBELL's ONE!!!

Happy birthday to you! happy birthday to you! happy birthday dear Campbell happy birthday to you!!! We had a CAR birthday party to celebrate Campbell's FIRST YEAR. He loves cars! I think he was born knowing how to push a car and make the car noise. Such a boy! Our friends, the Smiths, helped us celebrate the big day.

Campbell eating up the car cake. He like the icing and the Oreo better than the cake part.

Opening gifts with help from Spencer and Riley. Spencer wanted to help TOO much!


We attempted to get a group photo of the kids. Sadly this was the best pic we could get.

And of course no GOOD birthday bash is complete without a warm bubbly crowed bath to end the evening, right?

Campbell you ...

• are walking like a champ and often even run.
• are climbing climbing climbing - I think you know it drives me CRAZY
• play wonderfully by yourself, but really love to play with your brother
• are saying 30 or more words
• have 8 teeth and 4 molars on the way
• are fearless
• have the cutest smile - laugh- and flirty eyes and KNOW when to use them
• still wake up at night and expect to get in Mama and Daddy's bed before daylight
• have strawberry blond hair that's thick in the back and still lacking in the front
• love your sippy cup and especially love to steal Spencer's
• put everything in your mouth - really grosses Mama out!
• love to find things, toys, crumbs, etc. and bring them to me with your huge smile.
• greet your Daddy with smiles and hugs when he comes home from work.
• love to cuddle with me after your nap.
• have a sweet happy disposition.
• are LOVED LOVED LOVED!!!
  
  Things most said about you by strangers or by people keeping you at church or the gym: "He's the best baby!" "Look at those dimples." "He's climbing on everything!" "What did you give him some kind of walking/running potion?"
  
  

Watch me grow....


a few days old

One month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

9 months

10 months

11 months

12 months ----Yeah the big 01

Wordy Wednesday

Campbell will be a ONE this Friday! I can't believe it's been a year since that cute little man entered the world. I've been using the "he's too little" to explain why he's not able do several things Spencer would like him to do.

You know like not being able to hold his own ice cream cone in the car

or not being able to ride the tire swing by himself

or not being able to correctly use the hula hoop.

(but he was trying SO hard)

Spencer was going to playschool for a few hours the other week. I reminded him that Campbell was still to little and couldn't go yet (Campbell doesn't get to participate until he's a year). He leaned over to Campbell and said...

"It's okay Campbell. You'll get to come when you are filled up with birthday cake!"

Speaking of Campbell. He is saying more and more. He loves to tickle. He'll go up to Spencer and rub on his arms as he says "tickle tickle tickle" . It's so cute and I think he's realized that we all love it because he does it A LOT!!

He's one cool dude!

Wordy Wednesday

Oh how I hate the days when it seems that the only thing I hear is a whiny voice.

So several weeks ago as we sat at the dinner table holding hands for the blessing. I had this to say..."Dear Lord, thank you for this beautiful day. Thank you for our food. And Dear Lord please help Spencer to stop whining!"

I peeked to see what Spencer would do when I said a specific prayer for his whining at the dinner table. I wish I had a video of it. He kept his chin down, squinted his eyes, looked at Jake, looked at me then said with his loud laughing voice and bouncing shoulders..... "HYSTERICAL!"

Glad that he thought that was so darn funny, but I was especially thankful that just-like-that my pray had been answered!! If only all prayers were so quickly answered. If only that whine was forever gone. That would have been considered a miracle.

This time last year

I get nervous and emotional still thinking about this day, May 16th, last year. We were sent speeding to the hospital from my doc appointment. I had just met my doc for the first time, only had live here for a week and couldn't have told you how to get to the hospital. Not to mention the fact my unborn baby had only been cooking 33 weeks and I could count on ONE finger the number of nights I had been away from Spencer. This day last year was the start of my three week stay in the hospital.

{One year ago} {See my post titled "Catch up" on May 21, 2008 for the full story}

I'm so grateful for my husband, mother and mother in law who made sure Spencer and I were wonderfully taken care of and not alone. I'm so grateful for my nurses who truly were fabulous!! They made sure Campbell and I were safe and then for the next few weeks became my friends. I think they were fascinated by our story and so many moves, etc. It was fun getting to know them. Being in CO, a far away land to me at that point, and having people who wanted to get to know me felt good. I am thankful for Becky, the beautiful young girl from South Carolina, who always made sure my room was spotless, brought me oodles of magazines but most of all came to chat about life. She was truly looking over me. In fact, she offered to clean the postpartum wing in hopes she would find me after Campbell was born. She did and it was a tearful and happy reunion to be able to tell her my little man and I were just fine. She came bringing gifts for my boys and then shared with me about the loss of her second child and why she was so worried about me, but didn't tell me until she knew Campbell was fine. I still can not tell the whole "Becky" story without crying.

I WAS and AM BLESSED.

My heart goes out to all the Mommy's who have to go on bed rest, who have a medical problem that may harm them or their precious baby. I thankfully never knew what it was like to have a baby in the NICU. I know how it is to worry that the NICU is a huge possibility for your child. What true heart ache it must be to go down that road. I am blessed. I am not happy that I had to be in the hospital on bed rest, that I was in that low percentage of people that get placenta previa, that I fit NONE of the criteria for previa, that I had to have a c-section because of it, or that my sweet second baby boy was 5 weeks early.

However, I am better for the experience. {Mary, one of my great nurses, with baby Campbell.}

Wordy Wednesday

{Spencer with his "girl friend" at the library. He LOVES this bronzed gal.}

I was frustrated with something one day. Notice, I said one day cause I'm rarely frustrated! Ha ha ha! Spencer came over to me and had this to say...

Spencer: "Mama, it's okay. When things go wrong they can still work out for the best!"

I thanked him for his words of wisdom. Told him that was a great way to look at things. Then asked WHERE IN THE WORLD had he heard that!!?? He proceeded to tell me that Caillou's Mommy says that. So TV isn't all bad!! Yeah!!

*******

Spencer knocked or should I say threw his cup off our deck the other day. I saw that it was broken (it's one of those pricey travel cups that has a button flip top-the top was broken off). I told him that he wasn't suppose to be dropping things off the deck and that he better hope the cup could be fixed.

Spencer: "Well if it is broken maybe we can just decorate it."

Me: WHAT!

I'm not sure if he was trying to practice his statement from above or if he has just been around Bevie too much!

A wink and a smile

May 8th 2009 - Our 5 year Wedding anniversary!

The past FIVE years:

5 moves

2 kids

Less hair (Jake--likely caused by the 5 moves and two kids, NOT your wife!)

Fewer photos of "us"

more stuff

more laughs

bigger smiles

It has been a fun, adventurous and happy 5 years!

The song we danced to at our wedding said it perfectly,

"We go together like a wink and a smile."

Wordy Wednesday

Spencer: "Mama, I'm gonna sing my ABC's on American Idol. And then you can just get me out of the TV when I'm done."

Sure thing Spencer. Make me proud!

When we were out and about the other day I thought I left my phone at home. So we back tracked a good 10 minutes to go get it. Well, wouldn't you know it was in the car the whole time and I didn't figure that out until we pulled up to the house.

Me: Spencer I'm crazy! The phone is right here on the seat next to me. Uuuuuhhhh!

Spencer: "You ARE crazy! (insert huge head nod) You are. You are. You are."