the sweetest thing

Camryn has officially reached the playing with babies age. She carries them around almost constantly. She sleeps with them, pushes them around in her stroller and shopping cart, rocks them, kisses them, takes them outside with her, etc, etc, etc. It makes my heart so happy! I was all about playing babies and playing house. Forget Barbies…bring on the Cabbage Patch Kids. In fact, my mom still has all our old CPK’s at her house. When we were home for Thanksgiving, I brought my favorite one back with us for Camryn to play with. I named her Shelby Christine when I was a kid, but I’m sure Camryn will eventually name her something else. If she named her right now, it would probably be “da-da” since that is her favorite word and her favorite person in the world.

Yesterday, Camryn was so cute with one of her babies out in the backyard. I had to take some pictures, and since my blogging has been a bit lacking over the past few weeks I figured they would make good blog material.

First, she carefully gets baby all settled in the world’s oldest Powerwheel Jeep.

And then they are off!  But just for pretend because the oldest Powerwheel Jeep ever no longer runs.  And that’s a good thing….Cami, babies do not belong in the front seat!  And especially unrestrained!

Don’t worry, baby.  I’ll catch you before you fall all the way on the ground.

Camryn thinks she is such big stuff.  And all the while, baby is there by her side.

Don’t do it, Cami!  Yes, babies can be very frustrating, but just lock yourself in a room and take some deep breaths!

Just kidding!  (I LOVE this picture of her!)

But really, playing with babies is serious business.

I love seeing her play with her babies!  I know I am totally biased, but it’s just the cutest thing to see her act all girly and nurture things.  She is so different than the boys, that’s for sure!

Camryn’s a big girl now, playing outside and all.  She loves it the most when someone plays out there with her.  Logan sometimes worries that Cami doesn’t love him as much as she loves Connor.  It’s totally unfounded…she adores both her brothers, and as you can see,  she has plenty of love for Logan.

I wish you could hear her laughing when he peeked over the side.  It was the cutest thing ever!

Cami wishes there was room for two.  I know this, because about 30 seconds after I took this picture, she was throwing a temper tantrum to get in the car.

Logan didn’t get out of the car, but he did reach out and give her the sweetest little hug.  It made her happy.

And it made me happy, too.  I know there will be years ahead where the boys fight with Camryn, but for now I will just enjoy the sweetness.

So Logan and Camryn had their first day of school this morning.  As you can see, they were absolutely thrilled.

And, I just want to show y’all the evidence of the Houston humidity.  This is what happens to my camera when I first go outside.  Nice.

Despite the glum face, Logan had a really great day.  I love that he has his same teachers from last year.  This is Logan’s third year at the school, so he’s really comfortable there and had tons of fun today.

Camryn did well, too.  She cried when I dropped her off, which I totally expected, but it was short lived.  According to her teachers, she had a really good day, and the only other time she cried was during a diaper change.  That didn’t surprise me at all…she hates having her diaper changed!

As for me…it was weird having no kids at home!  I went to breakfast with a few friends, went to Sams (where at one point I totally panicked for a split second wondering where Cami was), and then I went home.  That was when it was weird…it was just so quiet!  I did a bit of cleaning, but I also read a magazine, watched some tv, started a sewing project, and caught up on blogs and stuff.  It was nice!  I was so ready to see my babies when 2:00 rolled around, and it was the perfect little break I needed.  Especially since Derek has been gone this week.

It feels so good to be getting back into our fall routine, although it’s definitely been an adjustment.  As a kid, I always liked the start of the school year, and even as a grown up, that has not changed at all.  It makes me want to go school supply shopping and stock up on notebooks and pens and make lists and get a nice, fresh start.  I love it.

It may not be as important as the first Christmas or the first steps or the first tooth or the first day of school. But it’s still a rite of passage, at least for my kids! On Wednesday, I introduced Camryn to the fun found in the tupperware cabinet.

Just like her predecessors, she took to it right away.

And even when things got a little perilous…

She didn’t let that stop her fun.  Or her smiles.

I love my tupperware cabinet.  It has served me well for many years.

(And if you want tupperware organizing tips, clearly you need to read a different blog.)

Right now, the house is completely quiet.  Derek and the boys are at chuch and I’m home with Miss Cami who is fast asleep.  She has been working hard on her top two teeth the past few days and is pretty much an unhappy mess.  She hasn’t been napping well (and the HUGE storms we had yesterday definitely did not help matters), and she’s got a Super Snot Nose.  She was fast asleep when it was church time, and I just didn’t have the heart to wake her up.  Plus I wouldn’t put her in the nursery with all the snot, just in case it’s from more than just teething.  Which means I end up sitting out in the foyer all of service with a cranky baby who needs a nap.  So we stayed home.  I should really do something more productive, but that’s what Mondays are for in Megan World.  However I just finished my second espresso drink of the day (I have NO idea what made me do that!  It just tasted so good!)  So I’m not going to be sitting still for long!  Maybe I’ll organize my tupperware cabinet.

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

I present to you The Chair.

(and you can see the new tile on the fireplace!)

I really should have taken a picture of the original fabric.  It was a delightful 70s brown and orange plaid.  Three years ago, I recovered it in a bit more modern red plaid.  But, as it turns out, I really just don’t like plaid in my home very much.  Can’t go wrong with a neutral fabric with fun pillows.  I really like how it turned out!  And, I didn’t have one single sewing meltdown, much to Derek’s relief.

Camryn likes the chair, too.  She was more than happy to model on it for me.

Today, she is 9 months old.  Seriously, 9 months already??  She’s been out in the world as long as she was in my belly.  Just like any proud mama, I think she is pretty amazing.  She is so sweet, so fun, so cuddly, and pretty much rocks our world.  The other day I was thinking about how for awhile I wasn’t sure if I wanted to have any more kids after the boys.  And now that she is here, I can’t even imagine what it would be like without her.  She has brought so much joy to our family! She is getting better and better at crawling.  This morning I looked over at the rocking chair and saw her standing up, holding onto it.  That’s only the second time I’ve seen her pull up by herself.  She says “da da da da da da” all day long, and it cracks me up because Logan is constantly telling her in a somewhat frustrated voice that “daddy is not here!  He is at work!”  One of her happiest places to hang out is right in front of the windows facing the backyard.  She loves to watch the boys play out there, and every once in awhile, she gets a little visit from Dallas.  She loves Dallas.  If he’s in room, her eyes are locked on him.

She is starting to eat more and more little finger foods.  Yesterday I gave her fresh cantaloupe, and she ate and ate and ate it.  She absolutely loved it!  She could also eat her weight in Cheerio’s or those little fruity Gerber puffs.  She makes a face at me when I feed her green veggies, but she eats them anyway even if they aren’t her favorite.  My girl loves to eat, that’s for sure!

I could go on and on about how fun and special she is and about how much I love her.  But I’ll stop for now.  I think you get the picture. Happy 9 month birthday, baby girl!

If you were to open Camryn’s closet right now, you would find a good number of dresses.  Over the past 9 months, she’s aquired quite the little dress collection.  She’s got sundresses, jumpers, knit dresses, sweater dresses, smocked dresses, and more.  But she needed I wanted to get her a special Easter dress.  After much searching, I found the perfect one a few weeks ago.  When it arrived in the mail, I literally squealed with delight over the perfection of the springy color, the simpleness of the embroidered flowers, and the sweetness of the little scalloped edge.  When I tried it on her, I’ll admit that I felt a little giddy.  It seems so silly that I get this excited over girly clothes, but I really do love it.

Last night was a beautiful night, and since there is a good chance that our Easter Sunday will be rainy, I decided to take Camryn down to our neighborhood park for a photo shoot.  Unlike our backyard, our park has really nice landscaping.  (It’s good to know that our homeowners association dues are put to good use.)  I took about 150 pictures.  I would say at least 50 of them had some variation of this face, aka her “scrunchy nose face” (I just realized that when I say “scrunchy” in my head, I actually say “scwunchy” as if I were a little kid yet to learn my r sound.)

There were also a lot that were out of focus, or her eyes were closed, or she was turned around checking out what was behind her.  There were a few where instead of Camryn, I got Logan’s blurry legs as he scampered in between us.

She must be conscious that bathing suit season is just around the corner, so she worked on her downward facing dog yoga pose.

And she refined her sprinkler dance.  She knows it’s a skill that will take her far in life, and she must start working on it now.

There were also some really cute ones.  (I love how the flowers match her dress.  So perfect.)

And then, my favorite.  This next picture is probably one of my favorites of all time.  I guarantee you it will be enlarged and in a frame by next week.  It embodies everything that I love about having a baby girl.  I could hardly believe it when she struck this pose for a split second in between wobbles and scrunchy faces and gummy smiles and, not only that, I managed to capture it.  I showed it to Logan right away, and he declared it her Princess picture.

Sweet princess Camryn in all her Easter dress glory.  I love it.

Really, I just think this is going to be a great year. My first day of being 29 has been great so far.
–It’s a gorgeous 75 degrees outside right now.
–Camryn and Logan are both napping. That never happens, because, you know, Logan doesn’t really nap anymore. But since I have a hot birthday date with my husband tonight, and the kids are going to have a blast with their cousin’s house, I know it’s going to be a late night, and mean mommy made him lay down for a nap. He’ll thank me tonight. (And so will my sister-in-law.)
–I’ve had lots and lots of birthday wishes, which being the attention loving middle child that I am, I love.
–Connor got ready for school without any hubbub today.
–I met some friends at the gym for a Zumba class, during which I looked like a complete dork, but it was pretty fun and got my heart rate going and my thighs burning.
–I enjoyed some time at the park with playgroup. They brought me cupcakes. I love cupcakes.
And now I’m enjoying the total peace and quiet, except for the soothing sounds of Jack Johnson and the washing machine, and I’m blogging at my new table! Oh, how I love my new table!

And those are some beautiful flowers Derek gave me yesterday.

Now I’m off to scrap with some of Paper Trunk’s newest papers!

Happy Birthday to me!  I hope all of your Friday’s are as great as mine is today.

Oh, and thanks for all the comments on my video!  Another one will be coming soon…

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.

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!

On Sunday afternoon, the boys came up to the hospital to meet their baby sister. Their reactions were so them. Logan came in with a big grin on his face. With no hesitation at all, he climbed up on the bed and immediately wanted to touch every part of Camryn and hold her, and he had a million questions about her. The funniest part was when he asked to see her butt. First of all, butt is not a word we like for the boys to say, but anyway, he asked to see her butt. So Derek unwrapped her a little and showed her little diaper. But that wasn’t good enough for Logan. “No, daddy. I want to see her butt. Take her diaper off and turn her upside down. I want to touch her butt.” Um, what is that about?? It cracked us up!

Connor walked into the room and you could see on his face that he wasn’t too sure about this. In any new situation, Connor stands back and takes it all in. He just wants to look and process it all. He didn’t want want to hold her or touch her, he just wanted to look. But you could see how proud he was to be the biggest brother-it was really, really sweet.

Last night, Connor wanted to hold Camryn for the first time. He was so sweet, just staring at her little face, taking it all in. At bedtime last night, both boys wanted Cam to lay in bed with them. I love that the three of them are already starting their little sibling bond. There really is nothing like the relationship between brothers and sisters, and I cannot wait to see it with Connor, Logan, and Camryn.