My self-control, that is.

It seems to be missing. I keep thinking I will find it in the bottom of one of these boxes.

But so far, it’s not there.  I cannot stop eating frozen junior mints.  (Yes, they have to be frozen.)  I blame my mom (don’t we all point the finger at our parents for our issues?)  It all started with a package of Chocolate Twizzlers.  They had been in my pantry for quite some time, and my mom found them while she was here.  During a trip to the store, I tried to buy some more Twizzlers for her, but I couldn’t find them.  Being such a good daughter, I bought her a box of Junior Mints instead, which she promptly placed in the freezer.  And with that, an obsession was born.  I’m averaging a box day…and not the little box, the big box.  I am completely o.o.c.

I do this with food.  I get completely obsessed with one item.  Eventually I get sick of it, but I’m going on week 4 of the Great Junior Mint Obsession of 2008 with no end in sight.

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I took all 3 kids to the store for the first time today, and it was a success!  It helps that it was Target, which we all love.  And it helps that almost all of the items on my list had to do with the kids (like some new art project stuff, backpack and lunchbox for Logan, etc.)  Oh, and the promise of a new superhero toy always helps, too.  Next obstacle…the grocery store.

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So Logan got to pick out a new backpack and lunchbox today.  The first backpack he chose was a pretty pink Princess one.  If you remember, Logan has a thing for princess stuff, which makes me laugh because he is such a boy. So anyway, he picks up this princess backpack and I am faced with the ageold gender stereotype dilemma.  Do I tell him it’s for girls?  Do I let him get it?  Do I try to gently point him in another direction?  I chose to gently point him to the other backpacks.  “Logan, that princess one sure is pretty, but I’m worried you might not like it for the whole year.” That was totally code for “the other boys are going to point and laugh and you are going to want a different bag after the first week of school.”  His next choice was a Tinkerbell bag.  I wasn’t sure he was going to give up on Tinkerbell, but in the end, with encouragement from Connor, he settled on the Hulk bag.  Now it was time for a new lunchbox.  Guess which one he wanted.  Yup, the princess one.  There was no changing his mind this time, and, quite honestly, it doesn’t bother me that he wants some princess stuff.  I mean, they are really pretty, and I just look at it like my boy like pretty girls. So Logan is now the proud owner of a Hulk backpack and a Princess lunchbox.  We’ll see if he really carries it all year.  We do have several other lunchboxes he can use, and I just figured we will have on for Camryn in a few years if he changes his mind.

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I did a little scrapbooking this week!  Connor and I have been having “art time” in the afternoon while Logan sleeps (well, rests on his bed.  The actual sleeping days are getting fewer and farther between.)  Anyway, here are two pages I’ve done this week.

Actually, here are some more, while I am sharing pages.  I never got around to putting these on the blog.  They are all made using Paper Trunk’s newest line of papers, Wrangler.

This blog has officially taken me forever to finish, in between feeding Camryn, feeding the boys, cleaning up spilled apple juice, refereeing a couple of fights, and of course, eating 8,432 frozen junior mints.  All in a days work.

It’s about time for the completed nursery pics, don’t you think!  I’ve been meaning to get in there and take pictures for the past month…what can I say, there’s been a lot going on.

Without further ado, here is Cam’s completed room.  The only things I need to do are fill the frames with Cindi’s gorgeous pictures, and hot glue some buttons on the memo board.

Next on my house project agenda: painting the dining room and the main hallway.  But those will most definitely be waiting until after the boys are back in school (only 3 more weeks until school starts…but who’s counting, right?)

Oh. my. gosh.
Look at her bow.

It is so big.
She looks like one of those first born girly-girls.

Who understands those crazy girl moms anyway.
She only wears those bows because they drive her dad crazy.

I mean her bow.
It’s just so big.
I can’t believe it’s so poufy.

It’s just out there.
She’s just so….cute!

I like big bows and I cannot lie.

P.S. You know how some people take pictures of a baby in the same place or with the same toy all year to see how they grow? I think I might do that with the gigantic bow I made yesterday. I didn’t really mean for it to be a large as her head, but I love it still!

P.P.S. I caught the tail end of a smile last night. I think she smiled because she loves her bows as much as I do.

Maybe today was a little more like what an average day is going to look like.

Let’s start with a 5 year old who went to bed too late and woke up too early. And let’s just say that this particular 5 year old’s behavior is very much dictated by a) sleep and b) blood sugar.

Let’s add in a 3 year old with a bit of a tummy issue, which means I was not only changing Camryn the Poop Machine, but also cleaning up an “oops, I thought I was going to pee and poop accidentally came out” mess. And that happened twice.

At 10:30, Logan found me in Camryn’s room, arms loaded with Nutella, bread, and peanut butter, and he requested a sandwich. I sent him back to the kitchen with it, and 30 seconds later, he appeared again with Nutella all over his mouth. “I had a taste” he informed me. I chuckled and sent him back again. I finished the diaper change, walked into the kitchen and found him with his tongue in the Nutella jar, having one more taste. Next time use a spoon, buddy…

During one of Cam’s feedings, Connor wanted a snack. I told him to go ahead and find himself something. He asked for Cheetos and Chex Mix. Not the healthiest of snacks, but I didn’t have it in me to fight that battle. I see him walk through the living room (yet another battle I didn’t want to fight…sure, go ahead and eat your snack in my room while watching tv.) He was carefully balancing two heaping bowls, one filled with Cheetos and one filled with Chex Mix. It was at that point I remembered it wasn’t just any Chex Mix. It was chocolate Chex Mix. And there went Connor’s dinner…

Just a few little snippets of our day.

Pictures are from this morning, before the mayhem.

I’m glad we have plans to swim with friends tomorrow.  I might lose my mind if I had another day like today.  Never a dull moment, that’s for sure!

Camaroon/Cama-lama-ding-dong/Cami J. Blige is starting to be a little more awake. Instead of sleeping 22 hours a day, she is only sleeping 19 or 20. Not that I am complaining even a bit. Her sleeping habits have helped my first two days on my own go very smoothly. But I do love her awake hours. I know she is only 17 days old, but she is already cooing and smiling some. They aren’t even gas smiles. She looks right at me, talks, and grins. So sweet! I have tried to get it on camera, but no such luck so far. In fact, Derek hasn’t even seen it. I am pretty sure he thinks that I am making it up. But the boys will vouch for me! I actually think I saw her first smile a few days ago, but I wasn’t totally convinced until it kept happening.
Here’s my wide awake girl.

This blog has become the Camryn blog lately. I need to blog about C and L, too. They are doing really well adjusting to our new family dynamic. Logan is such a little love bug lately, being super sweet and affectionate to both Camryn and I. He is also testing all the boundaries, which I suppose is to be expected from a 3 year old. He is still crazy, fearless Logan. He runs “as fast as the Flash”, and lives life with such happiness and joy. He sure makes us all smile.

Connor is….well, Connor. He spends the bulk of his days in Connor-Land where he is the star of his own imagination. His creativity amazes me, and he is so much fun to talk to. One of these days, I need to blog about the big tread inside of him and all of the arrows that are controlled by the tread. And there are certain amusement park rides that make his tread move way too fast, and also being hungry can break his tread. He is such a character, that’s for sure!

I am feeling so incredibly blessed lately. Life is so sweet!

I apologize if you are the lucky (or unlucky…) person to find my daughters umbilical cord. When we left for church this morning, her cord was still attached. Upon arriving home, I discovered that it was gone. The only clue is a tiny little black mark on the inside of her dress when it must have hung on before falling to the ground. Or onto my friend Karyn who held her the entire morning. I know I would be pretty grossed out to find an umbilical cord.

Other things about Camryn that I have learned/want to remember…
-she likes to be swaddled with her arms out. She gets quite pissy if her arms are not free while she sleeps.
-she is a good little sleeper, typically with one 4-5 hour stretch at night plus lots and lots of naps during the day.
-she is a super efficient eater, just like the boys. She is serious about eatin’ time!
-she is cuddly and really loves to be held (I suppose that’s probably true for most newborns.)
-she likes to be held up on my shoulder.
-she complains when she has a dirty diaper. The boys never cared about sitting in their poop, but Camryn will actually get fussy about a dirty diaper. What a little princess!
-she can sleep through anything. I mean anything. Slamming doors, the dog barking, the boys fighting…she has yet to be startled awake from the noise level in our house.
-I still can’t decide if she looks more like Connor or Logan. When she cries, it’s all Logan. But when she sleeps, she gets this little furrowed brow that is totally Connor. I think she has more of Derek/Logan’s eyes, and more of my/Connor’s mouth. Not sure about the nose yet.

And just because posts are better with pictures, here is one. Thurman, party of 5…

Cindi has some of my maternity pictures and newborn pictures of Cam on her blog. I just can’t believe how amazing they are. I can’t wait to have them up on the walls! Thanks again so much, Cindi!

We are just about to head back home after five days of visiting family and friends. It’s been a fun trip, and I think I am equal parts nervous about Derek going back to work and us being on our own, but I am also excited to officially begin our adventure as a family of five. I sure am going to miss my mom, though. There is just something about giving birth and having a newborn that makes me appreciate my mom a million times more than normal. She’s been with us (either at our house or hers) for 2 weeks, and I am really going to miss having her around every day. I am so incredibly thankful that my mom and I made the switch to friends when I grew up.

(Derek thinks I am going to have a breakdown when we leave, and I keep telling him I won’t and that I will be fine. But thinking about my mom and how much she has helped and how much I love and appreciate her is making me think that D might be right! I hate when my husband knows me better than I know myself…)

I’m sure eventually I will blog something besides pictures, but not yet. I took these pictures last week, and I just have to share. (my sister-in-law Noel made the quilt in the pictures-it is so cute!)

I call this one “Contemplative Camryn”

Can’t you just see her on stage someday? She is performing already.

Here she is perfecting her “bend and snap.” Elle Woods would be proud!

Every model reaches her breaking point.

She reminds me of a baby bird in this one. A chicken-legged baby bird.

She is my sweet girl.

I know I am completely and totally biased, but oh my word, isn’t she just the sweetest thing??

Cindi is amazing, and if you need a photographer in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, I obviously highly recommend her!

The other day, I was looking at the pictures Cindi took of Camryn’s birth, trying to find one of me and my sweet girl for the blog. So you know how they hook up an i.v. and give you fluid while in labor? I think I had about 3 bags of fluid, and I would estimate that 2 of them settled right in my face. The chins in my pictures are ridiculous! I mean, I know I was 9 months pregnant and swollen, but really, the pictures are so unflattering. And I am a little emotionally tender right now (thanks a bunch, hormones), so I’m not ready to put those on the blog quite yet. I do really like this one, though.

I know there will come a day when don’t care that I look like a beached whale in the pictures, but that day is not today

The other day, Camryn was taking a little nap (the girl naps all the time…I forgot how sleepy newborns are! She must sleep at least 20 hours a day. No complaining about that from me, that’s for sure!). Anyway, she was sleeping, and I noticed that Logan kept running in and out of my room (another thing about Cam-she can sleep through anything. Which is good since chaos is all around her all the time.) I went to investigate and found Logan “sharing” his toys and books with her. What a sweet big brother!

Logan specifically gave her Wonder Woman. He told me that was her favorite superhero.  Our girl will know all about superheros with two obsessed big brothers.

Connor and Camryn.  I got a bunch of sweet pictures of them together the other day.  Watching Connor and Logan with Camryn makes me want 10 more kids.  Okay, not really, but it is just so sweet!

I wish so much the focus was on their hands on this picture.  Look at how Camryn is holding Connor’s thumb!

Yesterday, at 5 days old, Camryn went to her first movie.  Such is the life of a third baby.  We saw Space Chimps, and she did great.  She slept in the front carrier the whole time.

Everyone happy (and silly) after the movie.  (If you will, please notice my ankles.  It’s so nice to see them again!  There is an actual shape from my knee down instead of just on thick trunk.)

That’s about it for now.  Everything is going really well so far.  Of course, my mom is still here which makes a huge difference.  My laundry is magically getting done, the dishwasher runs itself, and somehow the toys all get picked up and the kitchen stays clean.  Not to mention the boys have a Wii partner, a lego builder, and a story reader at their service.  My mom is amazing!