7 months.... better late than never.

Our big boy is 7 months, well almost 8 by the time this working mom got the blog updated, but better late than never, right?    He is 18 1/2 lbs and he is getting more and more mobile.    He doesn't "crawl" in the normal sense, he gets up on one knee, one foot and both hands almost in a tripod position and then somehow moves from point A to point B as you can see in the photos above.   He's still as smiley as always and generally very happy!  He now has 7 teeth.  4 on the bottom and 3 on the top.  The top three were brutal for our sleep in the Law house but now that they've poped through Kam is sleeping through the night.  Knock on wood that this continues but for the last week we have put him down at 7pm and he sleeps until 6:30am.   It's pretty amazing.    Kam is also starting to babble.   We're pretty sure he said "dada" in the tub the other night but he was not really aware of what he was saying.  None the less here's an adorable picture of kam and his 'dada' :-)

This month Grandma Suzi and Grandpa Grumpy came to visit.   We did learn that Grandpa Grumpy is not a fair name because this tough guy just melts when he has Kamden in his arms.   Kam feels the same way as you can see!  He never sleeps in anyone one elses arms so Grandpa must have the magic touch!

Kam loved all the extra attention from his grandparents and they were pretty much in heaven as well.  They couldn't believe how much he had changed in just the few short weeks since they had seen him last. 

Grandma and Grandpa with "wild boy II"     

Ken's nickname as a baby was "wild boy" and we have starting calling Kam that now too since he is so active!

We've been working on teaching Kam how to wave.  I looks like he is waving in this picture above but I'm pretty sure it's just a fluke.  He is getting close as he will put his arm up and sometimes moves his fingers back and forth in a waving motion but he doesn't do it consistently. 

Kam also continues to eat like a champ.  He loves to feed himself.  He likes cut up bananas, pears, avocados, and sweet potatoes.  He makes a real mess when he's eating but he thoroughly enjoys it as you can see from the video below

His new move this month is the downward dog.    He gets into this pose from the sitting 'tripod' position mentioned above and then lunges forward.   It's pretty hilarious to watch but it's the perfect yoga position! 

Kam is also ventured into pulling himself up... on to EVERYTHING.    It is very scary for us as he is super active and he has no fear - a very scary combination - hence the name "wild boy"   He loves to pull himself up on the coffee table, the tub during bath time, his crib and even the wall or mirror on his closet.   Really anything he can get the slightest bit of leverage on.  He really amazes me sometimes - sneaky little bugger. 

Since Kam can sit up and pull up so easily it makes nap time very interesting when he does not want to nap.   More often than not he sits or stands up screaming, and protesting his nap and then will chuck his paci out of the crib and cry and cry.   He finally exhausts himself so much that he eventually falls asleep in a sitting position.  Here's a picture of him on the monitor just hunched over and sleeping - using his bumper as pillow.   I decided to put the bumpers on that Grandma Suzi made because he is so active in his crib I thought he could use a little extra padding :-)  

 

Kam also loves to blow raspberries and especially enjoys blowing them in the tub.  I think this video is hilarious! 

This month Kamden is making his first catalog appearance.  When he was 4 months old  I brought him into work for a baby photo shoot for our company Personal Creations.   His images are being used in the Father's Day catalog that is going out later this month.  Kam is both F and G in the image below.  Look how tiny he was!  Such a cute little model!  

Again we've been having a lot of super warm weather so Kam has really been enjoying his pool time.  We drag down this cute little inflatable pool and he will sit and play for hours.    Happy water baby like his momma. 

Love this picture where it looks like he's saying "where are all the hot chicks, mom?"

Kam even loves getting in the big pool.  Here is a video I captured of Kam and Ken swimming this weekend.

We've also been able to take Kam out to eat more and more.  Sunday we took him to Beamont's for a Sunday Funday with friends and he was really into the live music they had there.   Friday night we stopped by our local Italian joint and enjoyed a nice glass of wine and a meal outside.  Kam got to sit in his first high chair at a restaurant.  What a big boy!   

Kam thinks he doesn't need to crawl and instead would like to jump straight to walking.   He pulls himself up lets go and stands on his own for a few seconds at a time.  It's terrifying to Ken and I but Kam is thrilled.  I know we are totally going to be in for it once he figures out this walking thing.  There is only one word to describe him.   WILD.

OUR WILD BOY

As I mentioned, Ken's nickname as a baby was "wild boy"  Ken's mom sent over this video of Kenny when he was 3 at the park.   All I can say is "OH MY!"  If Kam is half as crazy as Ken was here we are in for a lot of tense moments!  hahaha

The original WILD BOY

As a final note I have opened a email address for Kamden.  How modern of me, right?  Or maybe you think I'm just crazy :-)    I wanted to make sure I snagged the email address kamdenlaw@yahoo.com before someone else.  Also I thought it might be fun to email him from time to time and then let him read them when he's older.    Feel free to send him emails and "drop him a line" from time to time yourself.  

Until next time.... xoxo

6 month update

  Our big boy is now 17 lbs 11 oz and 28 inches!   Where does the time go?!

New foods Kam has tried this month: apples, carrots, pears, apricots and sweet potato puffs.   Kamden is a  great eater - he opens wide and 'chews' even when he doesn't need to.  It's so cute check out the video below.   With new baby food comes new solid poops.   GROSS!!   We're also attempting a sippy cup although he doesn't quite get it just yet.    Kam can also hold his own bottle now.  He's even getting cocky and holding it with one hand!  What a show off!













This month Kamden has also gotten his 3rd and 4th tooth!  All 4 of Kam's teeth are on the bottom.  He's still drooling and ton and putting anything he can into his mouth.  He's got a quick grab so we have to be careful to watch what he picks up because it always inevitably ends up in his mouth!   He's also discovered his own ears and his "boy parts" and loves to tugs on them all the time.   It really must be  instilled in them at birth - I really don't their fascination with their balls.


We've had some warm weather in March here so Kamden had his first pool day.  He loves being outside.  The water was alittle chilly still (even though it's heated) but I think once it warms up a bit he will REALLY love it.









We're getting lots of laughing these days and Kamden especially thinks its hilarious when daddy 'scares' him.   We caught it on video today!

Kamden's favorite toys at the moment are his ball popper his standing play table and his singing  elephant.  Here he is 'standing' at the table

Our big boy can stand if he's leaning against something although he is getting brave and hanging on one handed.  He also sits by himself very well for long periods of time.  This is a picture of Kam sitting like a big boy in a hoodie I bought for johnny when he was a baby it makes my heart melt to see my little guy in it now.














A few weeks ago we dropped Kam's mattress down preemptively since he really had been moving around alot in there lately.   Good thing we did as Al, our Nanny, saw him sit up in his crib the other day when she put him down for a nap!   Ken and I still haven't seen it for ourselves yet but sure we will any day now!


Kamden is so well tempered most of the time and its easy to take him out and about.   Here are a few of my favorite shots from some of our fun outings this month

We gave Kamden his first 'big kid' bath in a real tub.  He LOVED it.  I read this trick on Pinterest - to use a laundry basket to help them sit up and keep their toys close.   It worked wonderfully.  He really enjoyed playing and splashing - he didn't even mind getting water in his face.   Ken and I both were a little sad that he's outgrowing his blue kitchen sink tub but with a smile like this it's hard to be sad for too long!

Last week we traveled back to Chicago for the 2nd time to celebrate my 30th birthday.   Kamden was a trooper- he did great on both flights.  He was a bit more squirmy than last trip but still very well behaved.   He had his first night in a hotel - he did great and he also stayed one night with Grandma Suzi and Grandpa  Kevin where he got his first "horsey" (a jumper that looks like a horse).   I actually don't have many pictures of Kamden from that trip - the Grandmas took most of the photos of him so I will have to upload those in my next update.   While we were home he began to 'babble'  he mostly says 'B's' but he just speaks gibber gabber in general.    When we came back from Illinois Al and Kam made Ken and I two special art projects - a birthday cupcake for me and an easter bunny for Ken.  How cute are these?

Today is Easter Sunday so off to church we go.  Will post pictures of Kam in his cute Easter outfit in my next update but Happy Easter to you all!

Love - Kate, Ken and Kamden

5 month update - lots of firsts

YUP - COUNT THOSE FINGERS.. FIVE!!

HAHAHA I'M 5 MONTHS OLD TODAY!

We've had alot of changes over the last month.  It seems like everyday Kamden is learning something new!  Ken and I are getting the biggest kick out of watching him change daily and literally grow up right before our eyes.  He still is a truly happy baby - always smiling and laughing.  He's a true joy to be around.

FOOD:  

This month Kamden started showing a ton of interest in our food, watching us eat and then he would try and grab our food and put it in his mouth so we decided to start Kamden on solid foods.  We started with a little rice cereal in his bottle before bed (hoping that would help him sleep through the night - boy were we wrong - more on that later).  Then we tried avocado.  Kam was thrilled with his avocado. Since then we've also tried oatmeal, sweet potatoes, squash, and bananas.  We've been trying to make our own baby food - so far so good but we'll see how long we have time for that!  Sweet potatoes are definitely Kam's fav!   Here are a few photos from our adventures in solid food.    Oh and one bad thing about Kam eating big kid food is his big kid poops!   I sure do miss those breastfeed diapers.  These new ones STINK and make me literally GAG.  haha

 

VISITORS
Grandma Kathy came out for a week at the end of January.   She came to help out for a few days while Ken had to travel out of town on business. We had a great time and she couldn't believe how much Kamden had changed since Christmas.   While she was here we took Kam on his first trip to the zoo.  Although he was too little to know what exactly was going on, he seemed to appreciate the pretty scenery.    I wore him in a carrier most of the day and he was very alert and interested in his surroundings.   Grandma Kathy bought us zoo passes so I have a feeling we will be there alot more now!     We also took a trip to the beach one day while Grandma was here and enjoyed a trip to the Little Italy farmers market followed by lunch at the Prado in Balboa park.  Kam is such a good little traveler was well behaved on all of our trips!

Our Cool SoCal Kid at the zoo

Here are a few snap shots from our adventures while Grandma visited:

in front of the zebras - my favorite at the zoo!

KAM LUNCHING AT THE PRADO.

Kam also had his first play date with his friend Immi.     Immi is my co-worker Nikki and her husband Adam's baby.  She was born in November and is only 10 weeks old.  She's teenie tiny compared to Kam but that didn't stop Kam from loving on her and pulling on her thick hair.

How cute are these two:

SLEEP
Around Christmas time our good little sleeper left the house.  Kam has been doing well at night but between the time change and then teething Kamden's sleep schedule had been all across the boards.  After a while we realized he was just waking up at habit - and now that I'm back at work I couldn't afford to be up every 3 hours.    We decided to attempt sleep training/night weening and boy did it work!   It only took 3 nights and Kam has been sleeping like a champ ever since!  Mom and I started it while  Ken was out of town.   A glass of wine to calm my nerves before bed and a couple of set of ear plugs and we were on our way.   We used a modified 'Cry it out' approach where we would let him cry for one minute and then go in and give him his passie and pat him for a minute and then walk out.    If he continued to cry then we wait to go back in after 3 minutes and do the same thing,  pat and passie for one minute and leave.   Each time we walked  out we would increase the waiting time by two minutes, so  5 mins, 7 mins, etc.   The first night it took about an hour get him to go back to sleep on his own.    The second night it only took about 20/25 minutes but he was up 2 different times.  Mom and I would alternate going in but it was so nice to have reenforcement!  By night 3 when Ken returned home Kam only woke up once and when right back down on his own.  By night 4 he was sleeping through the night!   He's been sleeping from 7pm to 4:30 or 5 every night since.   I feed him at 5 and then put him back down until 7:00 most days.   It makes for a much happier, well rested mommy and daddy!  We will see what happens when he starts teething starts up again but fingers crossed it won't throw us for too much of a loop.

A HAPPY BABY AFTER A FULL NIGHTS SLEEP

Another "sleep" development in the past month is the way Kamden likes to move all over in his crib.  We will put him in the crib with his head facing one way and then when we wake up his head will be on the other side of the crib.  He also has decided he likes to sleep sideways in his cribs most nights.    I watched him on the monitor one night to see how he moves around so much and I was impressed by his technique.   First he kicks his feet over so he can roll onto his side then he pushes off the bars on the crib until he twists 90 degrees in the other direction!      Today I was watching him on the monitor while he was trying to fall asleep for his nap and he actually flipped over from his back to him stomach.   He was really proud of himself so I went in and snapped this photo of him.  Now every time we put him down for bed or a nap he flips at least once before falling asleep  What an active sleeper we have!

WHAT YOU MEAN I'M SUPPOSED TO BE NAPPING MOMMY?

LAUGH
Ken's been obsessed with getting Kam to belly laugh and finally this weekend he got a big ol' belly laugh out of Kam.  He was jumping in his jumperoo (which he still loves) and Ken was trying to surprise him by saying boo.  Kam let out a big belly laugh and thought it was too funny.    I was in the shower so Ken grabbed his phone to capture the moment.  Thanks goodness he did because it was pretty darn cute.  We've heard him laugh a few times since but are looking forward to hearing it much more!

Video fo Kam laughing

SIT, PLAY, SWIM
Kam now sits up on his own for extended periods of time without toppling over.   I have a video of it but for some reason it won't upload.  I'll have to try it again later and if I can get it attached I'll send out the update.    He's not super stable but he can sit for a few minutes or so and play with his toys.  He's especially intrigued by his new ball popper toy.  He watches the balls very intently and tries to grab for them as the pop up.     Kamden also had his first ride in a swing at the park today.  Al put in him a swing and he of course loved it.  He really thinks he's a big boy in this swing   Kam also attended his first super bowl party  check out this picture of him relaxing in his football jersey!

 

We had a 80 degree sunny day today so we decided to take Kamden for his first swim.   He seemed to not mind being in the water but even though the pool was heated I think he was still a little cold.  He didn't really cry but he didn't "love" it either.  I think he'll really enjoy it more this summer when he is a bit bigger and the water is even warmer.  Mommy and Daddy were just happy to get out in the sun!

We can't wait to see what the next month brings for us and our ever changing big boy!