Halloween with our little Princess

Millie enjoyed Halloween as a princess this year. Camden was supposed to be a frog (get it?, princess and the frog), but he was resting during the peak Halloween hours. Anyways, Mia, Millie's grandmother, made her precious costume.



And, here she is with her cousins.

Trick or Treating was a hit, too! She was running from house to house saying "treat" for an hour and a half! All that candy, just for mommy! Thanks Millie!

Our pumpkin unveiled...

Sunday we carved our pumpkins. Correction: Matt and Millie carved their pumpkin while I am still undecided about what I want to carve on mine. Any ideas?

Before (clean)

After (covered! Bath before lunch!)
Matt chose this design because Millie loves the moon and stars.

Pumpkins!

We ventured off to the pumpkin patch twice on this rainy Saturday. The first attempt was one hilarious blooper after another. Millie's been battling a runny nose lately. She choked on phlegm (we think) and barfed all over herself in the car seat. We were totally unprepared- no water, no change of clothes, go figure. So instead of the pumpkin patch, we headed for the Chick-fil-a drive thru for water and bite to eat. While Matt placed our order, I jumped out of the van, jogged my way to the local Kmart, and booked it to the pharmacy for a thermometer (which we were lacking at home) just in case Millie was really sick. She's not sick and like we all do, she felt much better afterwards.

Next was naptime, so we chilled out at home and promised to try again later. Once we got there Millie went C.R.A.Z.Y! We could hardly keep track of her as she was running everywhere trying to take home all the pumpkins. We told her if she could carry it, we would take it home. One thing's for sure, she was very tenacious no matter how big the pumpkin. We ended up with 5 pumpkins and 2 mum planters.

We couldn't even keep Millie still enough for a photo, so here are the best we got...

Little Momma

So what has Millie been up to these days, you ask?

She's into everything and that's what makes her so much fun! Seriously! This morning she opened up her bottom dresser drawer (the one containing all the randomness I don't know what to do with). She got out her floaty bathing suit, bigger sized shoes, and her Santa hat. I put them all on her per her request and we took lots of fun pictures together. She would get even more motivated for more pictures after seeing herself in the mirror. She is learning to laugh at herself and loves to make you laugh. She's Mother Hen to her babies too. She burps, rocks and strolls them all around the house. Here's a picture of her trying to pacify one of her babies.

Can you believe Camden's 7 weeks old today? I can't!

Lots of epiphany moments have occurred lately.
1. Camden is an eater! I feel like a walking milk cow. He's eating every 2 hours during the day and will go a 5-hour stretch at night. I've decided that I don't think he's getting a full feeding each time for one reason or another. My biggest clue was that he's not content after he eats and he won't latch anymore. He's been taking a bottle from everyone else, so this morning after I nursed him, I gave him a couple more ounces of breastmilk in a bottle, and he was happy as a clam. While I'm figuring him out, I'm going to try to pump every 2 hours to keep my supply up. I'll use the bottle with daytime feedings and nurse him through the night starting today. (This may be to much information, but this is MY journal :). For those moms who have done this, tips/advice are welcome! I'm excited about this plan selfishly because Cam's not the cleanest eater and I'm excited about smelling like my old self again and not sour milk :).

2. Camden is a tummy sleeper. I feel like I'm breaking every rule I set for Millie with this little one. I have no worries about him on his tummy. We've got the video monitor on him while he sleeps and he is constantly moving his head from one side to the other so I know he's got that skill. He's seems to be more jumpy on his back and startles himself awake too often.

3. Millie's got a box fan on full blast in her room. This blocks out any and all noises from the outside. The fan will remain in her room until Camden is in a good sleep pattern and wakes up happy. Right now, he screams "I'm hungry!!!!!!" at first peep, and I'm not all about having two unhappy babies awake simultaneously. Some have told me that Millie would sleep through his cries but at times, that's not the case.

4. Camden doesn't sleep during walks in the stroller. This may change. With Millie, it was almost guarenteed she'd get some snooze time in while strolling through the neighborhood but Camden would rather see the world instead of the back of his eyelids.

5. I can do this. 'Nuf said.

5 weeks with Camden

Tomorrow Camden turns 5 weeks old. We will be on the road on our way to Tampa, FL for my sister's wedding next weekend and making a pit stop in Jacksonville for my cousin's wedding this weekend. So I figured I better get this update in before the craziness of the next 10 days ensues.

It was around this time that I discovered the Baby Bjorn magic for Millie. Well, for Camden, the magic happens in his car seat. He likes to sleep sitting up. We've wedged his crib and brought out the vibrating infant seat. I rotate car seat, crib, infant seat, and sometimes the boppy during his daytime naps. At night, he's strictly in the car seat. This boy is almost sleeping through the night! For the last 3 nights, he'll go to bed between 7 and 9pm, wake at 1:30am for a feeding and then again at 5:30am. Millie's been getting up a little earlier than usual- around 7am- but it's perfect because Cam won't wake again until 8am. That way, I get Millie set with a little b-fast and Blues Clues all before Cam's next feeding. It's a lovely cycle which I pray will continue or improve :).

Another interesting fact about Camden is that he enjoys his tummy time and often falls asleep there. Being the paranoid mama about SIDS, I move him on his back to sleep. I'm sure all you old-school mommies are reading this thinking my babies slept on their tummies and they're just fine, and even some moms I know do it now... I'm just too nervous to keep him that way.

And, maybe it's because this my second time, but I really feel like I know him better than I knew Millie at 5 weeks old. I remember when Millie was 4 weeks old- it was the breaking point for me. My dad and family were in town. Millie wouldn't stop crying and I couldn't figure out why. I even had to step outside to cry and breathe. Family, you remember. We took her to the dr and they prescribed some reflux meds which I refused to give her. Just changed my diet and eventually all was well. But, with Cam, it's different. I go through all the basic needs (hungry, gassy, sleepy, etc) and voila, he's all better. He even falls asleep easier. No bouncing, singing, crazy hold needed. As long as his needs are met, he's fast asleep. For example, a minute ago I took these pictures, I took a minute to upload them, and then I look back and there he his fast asleep. Such a sweetheart.














As for Millie and her crazy self, I'm uploading a video on youtube this afternoon of her spinning herself dizzy over and over again. She's quite the entertainer. Today she brought my Camden's pacifier. He was unhappy during a diaper change (pretty typical). Here's an attempt to get a sibling photo. We have yet to be successful at that. Millie is just won't sit still.
Speaking of sitting still, the biggest news about Millie this week is SHE WENT POOP IN THE POTTY! She'll tell us when she has to go "poopee" so one night last week, Matt sat her on the her potty chair and she went! I could hardly believe it. Looks like potty training will be in her near future. Maybe during the Christmas holiday when both Matt and I can tend to her. Right now, I just feel much too overwhelmed with two babies to do it on my own.

Ok enough talk... here are more photos from the last two weeks: