My sweet baby Noah

I'm baaaaaaaaack.  Actually I am probably not.  It's hard to stay committed to keeping my blog up, so I am making no promises.  But I did want to write an entry for my sweet baby boy.  Noah Parker Gary was born October 22.  I am extremely excited to have a Halloween baby and will probably have Halloween birthday parties until he is old enough to tell me to stop.  He was 7 lbs, 11 oz, 19" long and born with a full head of black hair.  He had to be monitored for his first few hours so Bert got to spend that time with him while I impatiently waited in my room.  I was so happy when he was finally wheeled in and I got to hold him.  We stayed in the hospital for four nights and Camryn stayed with Jan and came and visited us every day.  We came home and had to get adjusted to having a baby in the house again.  For the first few weeks he was a major fussy butt and I was afraid he might have colic.   Between the fussiness and lack of sleep tensions ran a little high, and then it stopped.  He has turned into a smiley happy giggly baby who rarely cries except for food or if he gets tired.

He is definitely a little sweetie and I am all over him.  I'm surprised he doesn't have a dent in in his cheeks with all of the kisses he gets from Bert and I.  He loves his bouncer chair and his swing and taking baths.  Camryn has been great with him, she helps make bottles, passes me diapers and wipes and brings him stuffed animals to try and soothe him if he is getting fussy.

I feel so blessed to have my little family.  Everyone is healthy and happy and I really couldn't ask for anything more.  I can only hope that 2013 is as wonderful for us as 2012 has been.

Birthday Party Weekend

So the birthday party weekend is over and things are starting to go back to "normal". Grandma Lori, Grandpa Frank and Uncle Jay came in from my side of the family as well as Grandma Jennine and cousins Callighan and Tristian from Bert's side. We all had a great time, mostly just hanging out and enjoying each other's company. The party went very well, and it looked like everyone had a nice time. We rented out the clubhouse to have more space and I'm so glad we did or it would have been really packed in our house. I kept the decorations pretty minimal with some balloons and a banner that I made with all of Camryn's monthly photos, showing her grow from months one through eleven. I also had a playroom with some of Camryn's toys and a poster that Nicole designed for me that "Camryn's World" instead of "Elmo's World" which came out awesome! Camryn had a good time playing with her friends and she looked so cute in her special birthday tutu. We had pizza for lunch and cupcakes for dessert. We sang Happy Birthday and gave Camryn her smash cake, but she just poked at it and licked the icing off her finger. I wasn't disappointed because we didn't have the luxury of throwing her into a bathtub. I'm convinced the girl doesn't like cake, that was the fourth time I offered her some, I know this because we've been to three other birthday parties recently, and she has turned down the cake each time. Crazy!

Tomorrow is Friday and our plan is to have no plans and relax. Saturday I'm going on a girl's night out with Heather and a bunch of other girls. It's been a while and long overdue.

In new Camryn news she is now walking nearly 100% of the time. She will still crawl if she really needs to get to something in a hurry, but she likes walking back and forth and bringing me things from her kitchen. She is very smart. When I tell her "I love you" she starts blowing me kisses, she brushes her hair and her teeth and wipes down her own highchair tray. I'm one very proud mom of a one year old girl!

**Almost forgot to mention, we took Camryn for her 12 month dr appt, she is doing great! 20lbs 10oz (37%) and 30 1/4" tall (79%). She is also on whole milk and totally off bottles! What a big girl!

Bert and Camryn with the Boys.

Playing with Tristian.

These were so delicious.

The birthday girl with her friends.

Lalalala Camryn's World!

Hanging out with Uncle Jay - who spoils her rotten!

Weekend Trip to the Lowcountry

We are back from our incredible family trip to Charleston/Isle of Palms and are already planning when we can either go back for another visit or stay there forever! We stayed on Isle of Palms which is this ritzy beach community in a resort called Wild Dunes. It had everything ranging from condos up to multi million dollar mansions. They had tons of pools, tennis, golf, restaurants, a spa, bike rentals, a pavilion with live music, a private beach, you name it! I honestly didn't even care about going into Charleston once I got into the resort. The first day we got in and got groceries and got settled into our condo. We went out to dinner to a restaurant called The Boathouse and had lots of yummy seafood and Camryn got lots of attention in her (well actually Emersen's) #1 onesie, and they brought her out a nice bowl of whipped cream for her birthday, since it's her favorite! Then we went back to the condo and put the birthday girl to bed and listened to some music over some cocktails on the patio.

On Saturday we got up and went to the beach! Camryn liked the sand and the ocean. She sat on the edge of the blanket and scooped the sand into her pail. We also went for a walk along the water and got a few seashells. After a while we decided to go to the pool and relax there. Then Camryn took a long nap and Bert watched football while I stayed at the pool! When she woke up we drove into Charleston, went to the straw market, walked around some other shops and went to dinner at a restaurant called Hyman's per Calvin's recommendation. We went early but by the time we left there was a line down the block! Very yummy and Camryn flirted with the manager and got a free scoop of ice cream!

Sunday we went back into Charleston and went to all of the historic sites. Next time I'd like to do this on a carriage ride so someone could tell us more about the history of the area, but we got to see a battle site and some beautiful homes. After that we got in some more pool time and went to Morgan Creek Grill for dinner. This was my favorite restaurant, they had live music and really good food.

Monday we decided to get up and hit the road. Unfortunately we hit really bad traffic and Camryn was really whiny in the car for some reason. She just couldn't get settled down. I felt bad for her and also bad for us! We survived the ride, and all in all had a really great trip. Now it's time for family to come into town to celebrate Camryn's birthday this weekend. Should be a really fun time!

Birthday Girl!

Playing in the sand.

Smiling after a great seafood dinner!

Beautiful view of the marina from the condo.

First Steps that we actually got to video!

Vegan food for the Soul

I have so much to write about I don't even know where to start! August has really flown by and while it's still so hot, the mornings and nights are getting cooler, so I know Summer is winding down. This past weekend we had aunt Rebecca and her boyfriend Chris here for a visit. We kept really busy by going tubing down the "Hooch", going to the aquarium, doing the coke tour, dining out and eating in! One day Chris and Rebecca were in charge of dinner and they made soy tacos and they were honestly really good. We also ate at a vegan soulfood restaurant. Not bad....seriously! Jan watched Camryn while we went tubing but Camryn came along to everything else and was really good and I think she really enjoyed herself! The weekend went by too fast, and I think we were all sad to see it end!

This coming weekend we are taking it easy because next weekend is out big trip to Charleston! let me just say, I need it! I can't wait to relax for a couple of days....Ahhhh! The weekend after that is Camryn's first birthday party! We are having in the clubhouse of our subdivision just to have a little extra space. We've got lots of family coming into town so it should be great! I also decided that Camryn and I are taking our first girls trip together. Bert is going out of town for a weekend in October so Camryn and I are going to drive down to Tallahassee and see our buddies. So I can pretty safely say that this next month is going to be fun, but busy!

Little Camryn is really starting to look more like a toddler than a baby. She is not quite walking but she takes 4 or 5 steps at a time. Her balance is getting better she stands without holding on, clapping her hands. I gave her her first mini haircut, just trimmed her bangs, but I think it made her look more like a big girl! She raises her hands in the air when we say "touchdown"! She has her real laugh and a fake laugh that I think she uses when she just wants to appease us! She's a really good, easy baby, but she can throw a nice little tantrum every so often.

Cooking in her very own kitchen (thanks grandma Lori!)

Playing with Aunt Rebecca

Peek a boo!

Summer Lovin'

I'm loving these lazy summer days, but not really loving the extreme heat lately. Fortunately we have an awesome pool and have been taking advantage of it lately. Lucky little Camryn probably goes to the pool three or four times a week and she loves it! She especially loves the kiddie pool because she is the perfect height to stand in her float and have her feet touch the bottom so she can run around and chase the other kids. She likes the big pool too, I push her around and she chews on her pool toys.

Speaking of chewing on things, our little beaver was starting to gnaw the finish off of her crib, so we bought this crazy railing cover contraption and it is hideous but at least it will protect the crib. The crib converts into a full size bed and I'm sure she wouldn't like it in 15 years to have to see chomp marks all over her footboard!

We've been giving Camryn more and more table food, but she still has a lot of babyfood too. We gave her refried beans at a mexican restaurant a couple of weekends ago, and she loved them! We had tacos a couple of nights last week and I bought beans as a side and she loved them so much! After about ten bites we switched to something else because I was scared that she would get a stomachache! She also loves banana pieces. She and I split a banana almost every day!

She definitely wants to walk and walks around the house holding our fingers or her baby walker, but she's very cautious and isn't ready to let go quite yet. She still falls over a good bit! I am always calling her "little drunk lady" because she'll be standing against the couch and tip over out of nowhere, or she'll just start hiccuping or giggling out of the blue.

As far as the rest of the Gary household, we are all doing well. Work for me has been good the last few months, and I'm so glad to be at home with the baby. Even though it can have it's stressful moments, I wouldn't want it any other way! Bert is good, loving his job, enjoying his break from school until next semester, and taking a much needed guys night tonight. Miller is learning how to navigate over the maze of baby gates, and becoming more daring when it comes to Camryn, I'll even catch him rubbing up against her for some love, maybe they will be best friends after all.

Stayin' on Bentley Way

It's been so hard to keep up with my blog lately. I have had a busy couple of months with work, Bert has a lot going on with school and the baby is literally all over the place. The main reason I'm keeping this blog is to help me remember Camryn's milestones, because she changes so quickly, it can all be a big blur. It's also nice to share our goings-on with friends and family, although I'm not sure if anyone really reads it anymore.

We had a great Fourth of July weekend, went to a couple of fun BBQ's and enjoyed some pool time. Camryn absolutely loves the pool, and Bert and I are like a couple of kids in there taking our turns on the water slide. I also found out that a bunch of stay at home moms meet at the pool weekly to have playdates, so I went the last two times to see if I could make any friends in the neighborhood with babies Camryn's age. The moms are nice enough (but I think they are a little predjudiced about working moms), so we'll see...

In other news we decided to take our house off the market. There are too many foreclosures in this neighborhood, that no one wants to pay what we were asking for our house, which is less than we paid for it. We are gonna stay here for a while, and hopefully will be able to get something bigger in a few years.

In Camryn news, she has now learned how to climb the stairs! She's fast too! Also she can stand without holding on to anything for a few seconds. She also nods her head yes, especially if you do it along with her. So I'll say "Camryn do you love mommy? Yes?" Nod. "Camryn do you love to poop? Yes?" Nod. It's funny because she looks so serious about it.

In not good Camryn news, we had our first trip to the ER Sunday night. Camryn didn't eat much solid food for two days, threw up three times and had a fever that wouldn't go down with Tylenol. She looked pretty miserable so we decided to take her in. In hindsight we probably could have waited and took her to the pediatrician the following morning, but we were pretty panicked. Fortunately we were in and out of the ER in the all time record time of 1 hr and 15 minutes. Camryn is back to her old self now.

That's about all that's going on in our home. We booked a weekend getaway for our anniversary to Charleston. Camryn is coming with us and we actually leave on her birthday, so we'll definitely order a dessert that night at dinner and give Camryn a little to smash, and I'm sure the waiter will just love us! I can't wait, we are going to have so much fun!

July 4th outfit, on July 3rd!

Pool time!

I'll take a dozen eggs, some frozen waffles, and a baby!