Tag / CamO

by Kelsey

Handprints in the She-Shed

With Demi filling up the last room in our house, we had to find a solution for office space. Working from home 3 days a week is a really nice privilege and so I need to take it seriously, get work done, and minimize interruptions. It would be pretty embarrassing if I were on an important phone call and, well, something like this happened.

So, we’re building an office, or as I like to call it my “she-shed” in the backyard. Here are some progress pics. We’re currently sorting out some electrical issues, but soon we’ll be on to mud, paint and flooring inside, and paint and railing outside. We’re so close!

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Yesterday while my brother was working on drywall, Cam saw him carry the piece of drywall he’d finger-painted a few weeks back. He started crying and asked what “Uncoco” was doing with his painting. So, we went in the backyard to check it out.

Here is some riveting footage of Cam checking out the office with his handprints forever inside.

by Kelsey

You Have to Get Up Pretty Early in the Morning to Fool This One…

There comes a time when your kid is suddenly smarter than you. I didn’t realize it would happen when Cam was just 2 1/2 years old. Here are a few times his smarts were smarter than ours.

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Inny was driving Cam in circles around the brewery to get him to nap so they could both join us inside. He asked her, “where are we going Inny?” She said, “to see your mom.” And he said, “This isn’t the way.” How did he know that!?

I recently threw away a cup we were using in the bath because it had been in there long enough and I didn’t want Cam drinking from it and putting his mouth on it anymore. He asked me where the cup went. I told him I had to throw it away because it had cracked in half. He then asked, “can you show me the two pieces?” First off, how does he know that when something is in half, there are 2 pieces? And secondly, did he know I wouldn’t be able to produce the alleged cracked cup? Somehow I think he did.

This morning Cam was watching Dora. Dora teaches some basic Spanish words throughout the episodes. Joe walked in and said, “abajo means up” and Cam replied, “no it doesn’t. It means down.” Get it right, dad!

Cam hates having the sun in his eyes, but refuses hats and sunglasses, so I recently put a shade on the car window. When I put it on, I thought I put it on the part of the window that would give the most shade. But apparently not. Cam told me I did it wrong and I needed to move it closer to him. A few days later I put the shade up again and he again told me I did it wrong. He was right. Both times.

 

 

 

by Kelsey

How Much Does it Cost?

Last night Cam was “grocery shopping” for me, throwing anything and everything he could get his hands on into a giant bag. When he finally stuffed the very last toy in, he handed it to me with a “here you go!” and I asked him, “how much does it cost?”

He replied, “let me check my calendar. Hmmmm…. it costs this long!”

And now, an unrelated, silly sticky-hand clip:

Happy Friday y’all!

 

Camo's Pretty Teeth
by Kelsey

Cam’s First Trip to the Dentist

While I was at work today, Joe had the pleasure of taking Cam on his first trip to the dentist. And when I say pleasure, I actually mean distinct displeasure because even though this was a pediatric dentist office with clean and happy kid-friendly surroundings, Cam wanted nothing to do with it. In fact, it was so bad that Joe compared the experience to the time in the hospital when Cam had to get an IV and there were four of us holding him down while he screamed and strained and kicked and cried.

It is so heartbreaking when you know you’re doing what’s best, but they are uncomfortable and unhappy and probably feeling a little betrayed.

On the plus side, Cam successfully got his teeth examined and cleaned. He also got a new toothbrush and a bouncy ball for being a “good” boy.

Camo's Pretty Teeth

But on the down side, the dentist said he can see Cam’s teeth starting to shift due to overuse of his “baba”, so as of today we’re only letting him have it for bedtime which prompted Cam to attempt some trickery. He asked Joe for his baba and Joe explained that he can only have it at bedtime because the dentist said it wasn’t good for his teeth. Well that clever little fox TWICE tried to con Joe into giving him the baba by yawning and saying that he was tired. Your parents weren’t born yesterday kid!

Camo's Pearly WhitesGood Brushing Habits

by Kelsey

Birthdays, BBQs and Back to School… err, Work

Memorial Day was the very last day of my 12 weeks of maternity leave. So bittersweet. I have loved almost every minute of maternity leave bonding with my new little love while also growing closer to my Cambone and learning to be parents of two kids alongside Joe. But at the same time, I also want the balance of work + life again. Challenging myself in the workplace is definitely a part of my balance.

Memorial Day was also a day to BBQ with the fam and celebrate Poppy and Inny’s birthdays a day early. Demi brought the patriotic cheer while Cam thinks we forgot the party hats (he mentioned that to me yesterday and again tonight, so apparently he’s very serious about party hats–noted!).

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Today, I returned to work on my 1 year work anniversary–so fitting! I remembered to bring in a photo of Cam and Demi to cheer up my space.

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The day was long and the night routine even longer. But while I sat in Cam’s room under the stars, Demi falling asleep in my arms, and Cam telling me about the “4 presents with bows” that he would like for his birthday, I remembered not to treat a gift like a burden. It was at least an hour past Cam’s bedtime, and I was beyond pooped, but I know how lucky I am to have these sweet little beings in my world.

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by Kelsey

Weekend Vibes: The Y and Picking Tomatoes

Cam and I went to the Santee YMCA this morning to get some sunshine and to get our wiggles out in their super kid-friendly pool. We spent about an hour splashing around. Ever since Palm Desert (where Cam went down their huge slide and got water up his nose), Cam hasn’t wanted to go on slides, so instead, we just bobbed around the shallow pools. His favorite parts of the kid structure are the valves he can open and close to spray people. Of course 🙂

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This afternoon we’re going to pick up the backyard so we can have dinner al fresco. But we got distracted by our overflowing tomato plants and picked a bucket’s worth. Cam, as always, is quality control.

by Kelsey

Cam’s Preschool “Tryouts”

I’ve been hustling to find a preschool for Cam and after a lot of research and just a couple tours, I’m pretty set on sending him to Taproot La Mesa. When I visited them, I just had a good feeling about it.

The Director is so warm and sweet and I can see how even the shyest of kids would open up to her. Beyond that, I think it’s the right size to help him socialize, but not so big that it’s overwhelming. I like that there was obvious order to the facility and the daily schedule. I like that it smelled of cleaning products. And lastly, it’s super convenient.

Today was Cam’s “tryout”. He spent one hour of free time where he was paired with one of the teachers and could play with whatever he wanted.

Upon arrival, he was very apprehensive and even teary. But then he saw the playground and got distracted. I told him we would go inside and meet the teachers together and that seemed to quell his anxieties. Once we got inside, I started filling out a form and before I knew it, he was creeping around the corner to see what toys they had. He started playing with his assigned teacher and I quickly said goodbye and that I’d be back very soon. He said “okay!” without looking up.

My mommy heart was pitter pattering, so proud of him for being brave and trusting me.

When I picked him up, the director told me he did great. At one point he asked for me and she said she could call me if he needed her to. But he just asked for a hug and was okay after that. She said she was surprised at how much of their conversations he understood. Smart boy!

We came home and he immediately fell asleep (with his carrot)… and I hung his first preschool painting on the fridge.

Today was a good day!

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by Kelsey

Cam’s First Vivid Flying Dream

Normally when Cam wakes up from a nap he is either grumpy or crying or at best just kind of quiet for a bit. A couple days ago I was in the living room waiting for Cam to wake up from his nap when I heard him through the closed door excitedly talking about something. This wasn’t normal and I was curious to figure out what was going on.

He then opened his door and marched down the hallway, very animated, talking and waving his arms. I asked him if he was okay and if he could tell me what was going on.

He proceeded to tell me about his flying dream:

He told me once, then twice, then three and four times. He was so excited about it he wanted to “show dad at the park” (which prompted a discussion about dreams not being real and that he couldn’t and shouldn’t try doing that at the park… ever!).

Even still, I was delighted at his delight. I have always been a vivid dreamer and I can remember many flying dreams over the years. They certainly are thrilling and I can see why he was so excited about it.

by Kelsey

Mini-Vacation in Palm Desert

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about all the amazing things I’d love to be able to do with Cam and Demi, all the trips and adventures and sites to see. But I’ve also been thinking a lot about the age-appropriateness of anything we do outside our house. If it’s age appropriate for a toddler and an infant, then Joe and I are going to have a lot more fun.

That’s why I booked this little end-of-maternity-leave/last-hurrah/Joe-birthday/belated-Mother’s-Day trip to Palm Desert. I used my Mom’s network to get a referral to somewhere in Palm Springs or Palm Desert that would be fun for the whole family and this place really fit the bill.

It was such a bonus that Regina and MoRo decided to come and Ralle and Bernice decided to come as well. Everyone had fun… from the 2.5 month old to the 90 year old. Seriously.

Cam even said the last day of the trip “this vacation is awesome!” That was a reward in and of itself–validation from my own CamO.

 

by Kelsey

A Doubly Sweet Mother’s Day

This Mother’s Day certainly was doubly sweet with my TWO babies. And of course getting to spend time with my mom is the cherry on top.

We started the day with a round of soccer golf, which was great for everyone. The adults enjoyed some friendly competition, Demi slept in the stroller, and Cam ran around collecting flags until he was totally pooped.

After naps we collected at UnCoco’s house for beer, bonfire and BBQ followed by s’mores.