8 Months!

Wow! That might need to be the only thing I need to say. Today Camden is 8 months old. This means only 4 short months until he turns one and only 4 months until Steph and Howie's wedding.

Camden must have known it was a special day for him...he decided to sleep in (meaning I got to sleep in...thank you!) We had a nice little play date this morning followed by a doctor's appointment for his eczema.

Not so fun, but nothing a little topical ointment wont treat, at least we hope. We got to go to Safeway to fill the prescription, and boy was Camden a HAM! He was flirting with any lady that would make eye contact with him and he made sure to grab the attention of those ladies that didn't. Of course I am a little biased, but, what's not to love!

These past 8 months have been filled with doctor's appointments, sleepless nights, trial and error, and of course, Google. It's been an amazing adventure so far with such a cool dude. I think we have a keeper.

If you're curious to what has been going on with me (but who really is because this is supposed to be about Camden, right??) I started my new job. I am working as a Personal Trainer for Excellence in Fitness. It may be too soon to say but I'm pretty sure I'm in love with this job.

I've also started eating healthier. Since February 1st I've been eating what I call "clean". I've been eating fruit, veggies, protein and drinking water and black coffee. The first few days I'm pretty sure I was going through sugar withdrawal. I was used to having Splenda multiple times a day and putting Nutella on anything that it sounded appetizing on. Now, it's been a full 8 days and I feel full and great. I even made it through our Super Bowl party without being ridiculous. Pizza, wings, potato salad, buffalo chicken dip, and chicken salad sandwiches...not this guy...I ate my food before hand and I stuck with the veggies and humus.

As for the rest of my New Years Resolutions...I made it about 6 days in January without drinking. Whoopsie. So beer is my vice. Sue me :) AND I'm still working on that whole "technology" thing. Stupid 'Words with Friends' is not helping. One of these days I'll be able to quit cold turkey...but for now I'm still working on cutting back. One resolution I have mastered is smiling more. I've got an amazing husband, an awesome job, and a kickass son....what's not to smile about?

Aunt Stephies and Standing...oh my!

Big month for Camden! His two bottom teeth are coming in :-D One you can see and feel, the other one is only at the surface. I call them his Aunt Stephies because my sister, who is a grown adult, still has her bottom two baby teeth. You would never know it unless you asked her to show them to you. (but don't, because in case she doesn't read this I don't want her to know I'm talking about her) The funny part is that both Jeremy and I referred to Camden's upcoming teeth as his "Aunt Stephies" without knowing the other said it. I tried to get some pictures below for proof but Camden wasn't being very cooperative. Say "Ahh"

 

In addition to getting those chompers, Camden is learning to pull himself up and stand on his own...what a big boy! Enjoy :)

Time Flies

I've been meaning to update my blog now for the past week or so. I really don't know where the time has gone!

Christmas feels like forever ago but we had a good one! Camden got a high chair from Mimi and Poppy and right now he looks so tiny in his big boy chair. Within the past week he has learned to eat those puff things all by himself.

We had a great New Years in the Outer Banks. There were about 20 of us all together. Camden had a good time, minus the sleeping at night. He was in the room with us and in his pack and play...not a good combo. There were nights of screaming bloody murder...and that was just from Jeremy. But now that we are back home, he has settled back into his normal sleeping routine.

As a quick recap of our 6 day vacation, we got to watch the sunrise, Camden played in the sand and he even got to dip his toes in the ocean.

We even went to the Wright Brothers' Memorial. It was such a beautiful day for a photo op. In fact, the weather the whole time we were down there was wonderful!

If you were to ask Camden if he had a good time...I think he would say..."BAH, BAH, BAH...PFFFT"

Happy 2012!

This morning, the first day of 2012, I got to watch the sun rise over the Atlantic with my favorite little man in my lap. On the way home from OBX we saw a rainbow as we were crossing the Bay Bridge. These simple pleasures really make me stop and think, "Life is good...God is good"

2011 was a great year! I started 2011 in Pittsburgh to watch the Winter Classic. January 1, 2011 was also the day that I felt Camden kick for the first time <3 Jeremy and I got to go to The Masters Practice round, Amber came back to MD, I made a big job change pre-baby, Status : Fail followed by the more recent, Status : Pass, half marathon, new job as a Personal Trainer, and of course the birth of my little monkey.

I'm sure there are many other great things that I was blessed to have experienced in 2011, but these are just a few that stick out in my mind. I do believe that life is really what you make of it, and I am ready for a fabulous 2012.

While I don't think I've made resolutions the past couple of years, I do think they are important. There's always something to improve, always something to work on. Maybe making "resolutions" are cliche, but I'm doing it anyway, dammit. So here's my list....

1) Focus on health - including eating better and exercising more (I'm sure this is on 95% of peoples' resolutions lists) I'm lucky enough to have nutritional information and exercise equipment at my disposal at work, I just need to make sure I take advantage of it.

2) Stop drinking for the month of January - I figured, in addition to eating better and working out more, cutting out the booze would be extremely beneficial to my overall health. And, to be honest, I became a little bit of a lush at the end of 2011....that's what vacation does to me, people...it's always 5 o'clock somewhere!

3) Cut back on technology - Jeremy and I are addicted to our phones, they are always in our hands. I say he's on his phone more than I am, and he says the opposite. Either way, we both rely on our phones waaay too much and I am going to take a few steps back. I didn't have 24/7 access to my phone while we were on vacation and it was glorious. By cutting back, I will now be able to spend more time doing things that people did 10 years ago before there were such things as smart phones and 4G....like reading actual books and giving my child and husband uninterrupted play and cuddle time. Of course I say this as I am updating my blog and getting ready to post it to my Facebook and Twitter while playing games of Words with Friends on my Droid. Sigh.

I suggest making a resolution or resolutions. Don't want to be cliche? Make a list of things you want to accomplish or ways that you can improve yourself. Hell, write down, "Smile more" on a piece of paper...everyone can benefit from that. 

Blog posts from Christmas and our vacation will follow shortly. Because it is January 1st I wanted to post only about the new year.....so here's to 2012, (raising my glass of water) I'm ready to rock it out!

STATUS : PASS

For all of those waiting on the edge of their seats for this update...I PASSED the ACE Personal Training Exam today. This is the one I FAILED earlier this year. Womp womp. I probably wouldn't have been able to do it without the help of my Aunt Wendy and Nicole who also took the Exam today and passed :) We all had taken the training class at AACC which prepared us to take the test today ...there were late nights and early mornings filled with studying, donuts, and bottle after bottle of wine. And even though it is over...my brain is still on information overload. 

I came home after my test to see my little man cheering me on...looks like he's already practicing his weird mommy faces.

And my big man came home with flowers <3 Jeremy and Camden are the best.

This past weekend we went to our friends' house for their annual Christmas party. Camden got to play with all of his friends and mommy and daddy got to play with theirs :)

At this Christmas party we always play the White Elephant gift exchange and every year Jeremy and I try to give funnier gifts than the year before. This year we made out with the gifts that we got to go home with. I ended up with an "I am TPAIN" record-able microphone and Jeremy got a big bottle of tequila. HELLO DATE NIGHT.

We have done some updating in the house to Jeremy's man cave....now it's a man/boy cave. Camden has a nice place to play and Jeremy can still watch Camden from his sports bar. Now we will have room for whatever new toys Camden will get for Christmas.

Speaking of, we are finishing up getting the house ready for Christmas. 6 days...EEK!!!! Our stockings have been hung by the chimney with Jeremy's care and tonight was gift wrapping night.

Jeremy and I have decided this year to not really give each other gifts. There's nothing at this point we NEED, and honestly, this little guy is the best gift ever...what more could we want? 

Happy 6 Months!!

Camden turned the big 6 months last Thursday! Today we went for the 6 month check up.

He obviously wasn't a big fan of the shots....THREE needles this time :(....but he still did great. He even found his new favorite thing...the paper on the table. Christmas time is going to be fun!

Nothing really new to report with Camden...except that he has learned to scream....for no reason. He must get that from his mom. Someone has to be loud and the center of attention...I totally understand. AND if that's the worst thing he's going to do now, I'll take it.

We had a nice weekend with friends. Camden had his first sleepover with his friend David who is 7 months. Trying to teach Camden to share is going to be fun. He wanted every single toy that David had and had no problem taking them from him. Oh boy....!

I have finally finished up my personal training class at the college. If I did my calculations correctly, I got an A in the class. Whoop whoop! Aunt Wendy, Nicole and I have all signed up to take the national ACE exam on the 19th...next Monday. EEK. This is the test that actually matters, the one that I received a (STATUS : FAIL) on the first time I took it. Good news is that I already feel so much more prepared than before :) Keeping my fingers crossed.

TAG

We've been playing a not-so-fun game of Tag in the Floyd household. This game of Tag is also known as "pass the cold." Right now everyone seems to be getting over it, but if we're going to continue to play, it looks like I would be next one to be IT. Womp Womp. It probably doesn't help that I am still constantly eating Camdens' hands, or kissing his cheeks, or licking his head. I don't know how to keep my mouth to myself when this baby is around!

Even though Camden is sick, you would never know, unless you hear him cough or if you get stuck sucking out his nose. Yes, you heard me right. He is still extremely playful and he sleeps great through the night....he handles a cold better than Jeremy and I do!

Peek-a-boo Camden, we seee you!!

He is also my little errand buddy. If you get him after a nap and a feeding, he is pleasant to take everywhere. No one likes a cranky baby and everyone loves Camden. No matter where we go, we always get caught up because we end up chatting with someone new. Old ladies love him! It must be that toothless smile they're after.

We have put up all of our decorations for Christmas....and although it doesn't feel like Christmas time, it's beginning to look a lot like it in our house!

Mimi gave Camden a special ornament that is his that he can look forward to putting on the tree each year. We helped him get the tradition started :)

Mommy and Daddy got their own special ornaments this year too!

Ta-da!