4 months old!

I can't believe our sweet baby boy is 4 months old already! He's actually closer to 4 and a half months now - I am late posting because I wanted to wait until his well visit so I could fill everyone in on his stats :-) Our little guy is clearly thriving at a whopping 17 pounds, 8.5 ounces (83rd percentile) and 26 3/4 inches long (95th percentile!)! I'm so curious to see if his bigger size continues as he grows up or if he slows down later on and becomes more average sized like Brett. Only time will tell, I guess! 

Camden is such a happy baby who gives us lots of smiles throughout the day, and recently he even started giggling! He is also quite the chatter box these days :-) He will look right into our eyes and coo and babble away. I swear, it is the sweetest thing ever! One of his favorite times to coo and smile is during nursing - he'll pull away from my breast and look up at me with the hugest grin and start babbling away. He also enjoys smiling and cooing at himself in the mirror - and since he doesn't know it is himself yet, it makes it that much more fun to watch. He loves that baby! :-) Camden also loves sucking on his hands and is starting to grasp toys. He tries really hard to get a good hold but isn't quite able to bring teethers to his mouth yet without dropping them. He is getting close though! So far, he is pretty content to stay in one place, so he hasn't started rolling over just yet. This is very different than his big brother who was raring to go the moment he came out and was rolling over by 10 weeks! As much as I love Brett's energy, I'm hoping this is a sign that Camden may be a little bit calmer :-) 

Here are some pictures of Camden at 4 months old!

Camden is growing and changing like crazy these days and I can hardly believe how fast the time is going by! Since we know our family is complete, I find myself trying to savor each and every moment, and am in no rush for the baby stage to be over. I even get a little sad sometimes when I look at his newborn pictures, knowing that I will never go through these stages again. Those feelings help me to fully embrace every single second and truly appreciate how magical a new life really is. We love you Camden James and are so thankful you are all ours!

Weekend Adventure part 2: Great Lakes Crossing

Our weekend adventure continued on Sunday with a family breakfast and swimming at the hotel, and a trip to Great Lakes Crossing where we explored the Bass Pro Shops and had lunch at Rain Forest Cafe!

Who needs a trip to the Aquarium when you can see fish for free at the Bass Pro Shops?!

Brett pointed to this fish and said "Yana (my mom) would like this one!"

2 out of 3 of my handsome boys :-)

"Take a picture of me holding this ore, mom!"

Who knew there was a brand called "Red Head"? Too bad all their stuff was camo, otherwise I would've bought something - ha!

Brett was mesmerized by this awesome bi-plane hanging from the ceiling! 

This place seemed to have everything, including an outdoor scene with targets to shoot at! Apparently Kyle played this 'game' often in WI as a kid, but this was the first time I had ever seen one!

I really loved watching them do this together :-)

After spending close to an hour and a half at the Bass Pro Shops, we were hungry and ready for lunch! So off to Rain Forest Cafe we went!

Look at that? More fish! No trip to the Aquarium needed :-)

This place is so awesome! The ceiling is covered in vines and life size hanging animals which all move and make noise every 20 minutes or so. There was also an area with life-size tigers and elephants (that I forgot to take pictures of)!

The connected toy store was covered with wildlife too!

We were lucky in that we got there before the crowd hit and got a table right next to one of the aquariums! At first, there was barely anyone there, but by the time we left there was a huge line wrapping into the mall!

We had such a great weekend and hope to take an annual weekend trip every winter - because really - who doesn't need to get away this time of year?! :-)

Weekend Adventure Part One: Discover the Dinosaurs!

What started out as a parenting FAIL ending up turning into a parenting WIN. We had originally planned to check out the new Aquarium at Great Lakes Crossing about an hour away and then spend the night at a nearby hotel. We had looked forward to this ALL week and Brett's excitement was literally erupting when he came home from school on Friday. knowing that we were going the very next day. Well, then the bombshell hit. I got a call around 5pm from Kyle and the first thing he said was "We have a problem" and by the sound of his voice I knew it wasn't good! He had gone online to purchase our tickets ahead of time so we wouldn't have to worry about it Saturday morning....and get this....they were already sold out for the whole weekend! FAIL!!! When I first told Brett the news, he seemed disappointed but okay with it - at first - and then the news set in and the tears began to flow. I practically started crying myself because I could almost feel what he was feeling and it broke my heart! Kyle and I quickly started brainstorming of what we could do instead....and then the light bulb moment came! I had just seen a commercial for "Discover the Dinosaurs" that was going on that weekend at the Cobo Center in Detroit!! That was it! I talked to Brett about it and within seconds his teary face turned to smiles, excitement, and questions about what our new plans would entail. That was the moment our fail turned into a big fat WIN :-)

I can't even begin to describe how cool this experience was! You could push buttons to make the dinosaurs move and make sounds and the special effects were just awesome!

Brett could barely take his eyes away for a picture - he was captivated.

After spending a long time looking at the dinosaurs, we went through a maze, played putt putt, and panned for gold and gems!

First you poured some dirt into the strainer and shook it back and forth under water.

Next was the fun part, looking for gems!

Camden slept for most of the afternoon, but was wide eyed when he woke up! There was just so much to look at!

 

After those activities, we went to the Ice Age! 

First things first, digging for bones!

Then we walked around and saw animals from that time period which also moved and made noise!

We seriously had such a great time and I'm so glad things worked out the way they did! I definitely recommend this activity for anyone with kids! 

Afterwards we drove about a half hour to our hotel, relaxed a bit, and then were off to dinner. Camden was such a happy guy the whole time and loved stretching his legs on the big bed while his brother jumped on the other one :-)

Dinner selfie at the end of a great day!

Stay tuned for our Sunday adventures!

Brothers :-)

Awe, I love being able to say that word about my boys - 'brothers' :-) We've wanted to give Brett a sibling for so long and since it didn't happen according to our time table, I worried that the big age different between the two might make bonding a little more challenging. Well, I am happy to say that I was WRONG! Camden adores his big brother already and doesn't take his eyes off him when he is around, and Brett has happily taken on the big brother roll of helping care for his little brother, singing to him to make him smile, and bringing him toys when he is sad. And I have to say, watching the two of them begin the long lasting bond of brotherhood melts my heart every day.

This was one of the first times Brett played with his little brother long enough to get some great smiles out of him....and Brett was glowing the whole time, knowing that he could make Camden happy too :-)

I spied this sweet moment from the kitchen and quickly grabbed my phone to catch it on camera. Camden started to get fussy so Brett ran over and started talking and singing to him - and VOILA - he was happy again :-) No mom intervention needed!

Entertainment for both boys --- the tablet for Brett, and his big brother for Camden :-)

Tummy Time!

Right before this picture was taken, Camden was looking straight into Brett's eyes in awe....and then the camera came out and he turned away! Still pretty cute though :-)

I love watching this relationship begin right before my eyes - and to think - it's just the beginning.....

Fun with my big boy!

Since Camden was born, I've really tried to make sure I still have special time with Brett every day so he still feels important and never feels like his baby brother has taken over too much of our attention. Brett was an only child for almost SIX years which is a pretty long time if you think about it! And I have to say, although we went through a bit of a rough patch behavior wise over winter break, he is doing pretty amazing. I love this kid so much and the special moments we share together are priceless :-) 

I have been fortunate in that I have had lots of help when it comes to picking Brett up from school every day. My neighbor Kathy brings him home 2-3 times a week and my mom helps out the other days. Atleast one of the days when my mom helps out, I have her stay home with Camden so I can pick Brett up. I look forward to those afternoons when I have some special time with my big boy, even if only for a few minutes on our walk home :-)

And by these smiles, I think Brett enjoys it too :-)

One afternoon I bundled Camden up and we joined Brett and his class for Fun Friday activities! Brett absolutely loves when I volunteer in his classroom and I do too :-) This particular day they were learning about Force, Friction, and Motion. And what better way to teach it then marble mazes, cars, and race tracks! I love that he is still 'learning through play' at times in Kindergarten.

A friend of mine posted a recipe on how to make Snow Ice Cream, so during a snow day last week that is exactly what we did :-) Surprisingly, it actually tasted really good and both Brett and I were huge fans!

Brett got a Circuit Set from Kyle for Christmas, and since he got so many things to put together that required adult help, we put it away for a little while. This past weekend, Kyle took it out, totally expecting to have to help Brett with the whole thing. Well, we should have know better....after learning the ropes, he was able to create each set himself! That's our boy!

Figuring out where each piece needs to go...

...and erupting in laughter as the disk takes off into the air!

Who knew this activity would entertain him all afternoon? Score!

These pictures are just a few of the fun moments we have had together in the past few weeks and I look forward to capturing many more :-)