goodbye

Kids are supposed to have whole milk until age two.  The ‘experts’ say they are supposed to transition from bottle to cup at age one and of course, drink the whole milk in the cup.  I know this because I had this.  Once.  Connor went from bottle to cup when I transitioned him from formula to milk.  Age one.  No problem.  Emily and Camryn wanted nothing to do with milk in a cup.  So…since I wasn’t so ‘by the book’ with the second and third, I kept the bottle around until age two.  Yes I did.  I feel like I should be stating my name and standing up at a twelve step Parents’ Anonymous meeting. 

So, since Camryn turned two this month, this is goodbye.  Bottles, you have served me well.  You have held a special place in my life for the last three years and five months.  We’ve laughed, we’ve cried.  Mouths, floors, diaper bags, toy bins, minivan floors, strollers and car seats…you have seen it all.  You’ve helped calm my children and helped fill their bellies.  I will miss cleaning you and your bottle parts daily and I will miss seeing you in the bottle rack on the side of the sink.  And bottle warmer, I can’t forget you.  We’ve been through good times and bad.  Late nights, around the clock feedings, early mornings.  And you’ve worked like a charm through it all.  Your job is now done.  Enjoy your rest.

;)

birthday number two

Camryn turned two years old on August 8th.  I swear the day she turned two she went from baby to preschooler in a matter of minutes.  She starts each day with a smile.  She plays, talks and laughs all day.  She will play anything her big brother and sister are playing but will also sit by herself and quietly look through books.  She can also be rough-around-the-edges…physically tough and man can she make some mean faces.  She loves her blankie, my chapstick and lollipops.  We are so fortunate that she was given to us and we thank God for her everyday.

We celebrated her birthday with a party at home.  Camryn wanted a “batman party” so that’s what she got.  It was a beautiful summer day spent with family and friends and the kids had a blast on the waterslide.  Pics are below…

 

It’s amazing how this 7 pound, completely dependent infant turned into a 32 pound, fiercely independent funny little girl in just two short years.  It was the fastest two years of my life. 

the highlights of our week

Practicing picture-taking skills on the cats

Toe touches at the first soccer practice for the fall season

Walks on the path at the park

Goofy faces

Beating mom at air hockey

bowling night part two

After I posted “bowling night” I was uploading recent videos from my camera and realized that I had taken two while bowling, one of Emily and one of Camryn.

In Emily’s video, note the little dance at the end. In Camryn’s video, note her surprise that quickly turns to disgust (I know the face well) that her second ball left the rack on it’s own. After the ball was gone she said, “get another one” and then pointed to the ball down the lane and said, “not that one”.

bowling night

Last Friday night we went bowling with Aunt Sherry, Christian and Carter.  First we met at Friendly’s, which was an experience with two adults and five kids in a booth.  We were definitely outnumbered and barely made it out alive.

Above is a picture of almost all of the kids.  Camryn wouldn’t go for it.  She’s why I almost didn’t make it out alive from Friendly’s and her refusals continued at the bowling alley.  Once the bowling started though, she was back to her fun self.

 

Emily, Carter and Camryn had to use the metal rack to get the ball down the lane while Connor and Christian were strong enough to bowl the old-fashioned way.  Aunt Sherry bowled well…as for me, let’s just say that I would have benefited from the metal rack.  It was embarrassing, especially when these four guys waiting for their league decided to sit at our lane with some beers and watch the entertainment.  One of them even said they were learning some techniques from us.  I was afraid to ask them what they meant.

Above…Camryn and Connor serious and intense about their bowling.  Below…Emily not so much.

Connor, being competitive about everything, wanted badly to win so he kept checking the score.  He was not winning.  He was good about it though, although I think it helped that the 10th frame scores were not finalized because our hour was up.  We all had a great time though and the kids are already asking to go again.

ocean city

My dad and stepmom rented a house last week in OC so I took the kids down Thursday and came back Friday night. Since Harrah's Chester was getting ready to open their table games this past Sunday, that meant that there was no way Carl could take any vacation days to come with us. Today he is actually working his 7th day in a row and it's been very long hours each night. We missed him in OC but the kids really enjoyed themselves.

Highlights from our two days:

The rides.  Wonderland Pier is awesome although I really think they need to go to a band system because using the tickets gets old.  Connor and Emily loved the Caterpillar roller coaster.  Since there is only one of me, I sat with Emily and enlisted Aunt Amy to ride with Connor.  He gave her very clear instructions on exactly how she should place her arm around him for his safety.  Camryn loved the cars that whip you around the turns and the carousel.  I couldn't talk Connor into riding the flume with me. He said he'll do it next year.

The sleeping over.  We all slept in the same room.  It took the kids about an hour to settle down because they were so excited to be sleeping in a new place and in the same room.  They kept laughing and talking to each other.  It was a room with twin beds so Connor took one, Emily took the other, I put a pack n' play in the middle of them for Camryn and I slept in a sleeping bag on the floor. We went to bed late and woke up earlier than usual.

The beach.  Connor couldn't wait to build a sandcastle, although I don't think he was as excited 10 minutes into it when he realized that building one with mom was nothing like building one with dad. I don't think I met his expectations.

He abandoned me pretty quickly to go sit with Grandpop down by the water.

Emily wanted nothing to do with the ocean. She wouldn't even stand on the wet sand that was further up from where the water actually reached. 

Camryn loved the ocean.  She wanted to stand by herself and got knocked down a few times.  She kept saying, “Don’t hold me” and “Don’t help me”.  Miss independent.

camryn’s personality in four pictures