Thursday, April 30, 2009

Co-Sleeping

In honor of National Poetry Month (squeezing this post in on the last day of April!) I thought I would share this poem that I found on the Mothering website (http://mothering.com/). I'm not usually a very poetic person, I leave that stuff to my sister (check out her blog at: http://www.bottomland.typepad.com/), but I loved this poem and felt like I should share it. Having Camden in our bed with us is not something that Scott and I had planned on doing before he was born. We bought a Co-Sleeper, which is a sidecar that attaches to our bed, for Camden to sleep in, but from very early on he had difficulty sleeping on his own. We welcomed his little body into our bed and immediately fell in love with the idea of sharing this space with him. He snuggled close to us, felt warmth and comfort and slept soundly in our little "nook." Waking up to your child's beautiful face each morning and sharing that snuggle time might be the most incredible thing in the world. When he turned seven months we felt like things were getting a little tight in our queen sized bed. Camden wasn't sleeping as soundly and neither were Scott and I. We worked hard, and continue to work, on getting him comfortable in his own crib in his own room! He sleeps pretty well in between feedings, but still nurses throughout the night. He still comes into bed with us on particularly rough nights and we are amazed at how our presence calms him right down. I'm not gonna lie, nighttime parenting is challenging and exhausting and he is not a very good sleeper, which makes all of us pretty sleep deprived, but I keep reminding myself that being a mommy doesn't end at 7:00pm when he goes to bed. Although the transition to his crib wasn't an easy one, I wouldn't trade our co-sleeping months for anything.

Happy National Poetry Month! (Here are the words, but I can't find the title and author! oops!)

Having you sleep with me
is a little like having you back in my womb.
You turn and the skin of my blanket rises and billows.
You stretch and your heel kicks my hip bone,
your miniature elbow pries into my ribs.
I couldn't sleep then either, too hard to move a muscle or change
position.

But back then I couldn't turn and look at you in the dark,
discerning the miniscule mountain range of your profile against

pale dawn creeping in at the window.
I couldn't inhale the holy incense of a very small human—
mostly clean with dried yogurt and Vicks around the edges.
I couldn't feel your tiny arms reaching desperately for me in the
shadows,
stretching around my neck and relaxing in relief.

I feel sorry for the me before I knew you.
I feel sad for myself years from now when you are grown.
But in this now, with a sigh echoing your own,
I lie awake and content in this humble embrace
encompassing the whole world.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

What a Big Boy!

Camden has officially moved out of his infant carseat and into the seat that he'll be in for the next few years! He now sits up much straighter and can see out the window better. I will definitely miss using the travel system and clicking his carseat in and out of the car and his stroller, but I think we'll get used to the new seat in time. Camden is always SO GOOD in the car (which is such a blessing), and we're hoping that he'll continue to enjoy the ride despite a slight change in environment.
Doesn't he look like such a big boy?!?!?!

Thursday, April 16, 2009

All In A Day's Work!

Camden and I just have so much fun together! I feel so incredibly blessed to be home with him and not have to put him in daycare! We have really been enjoying this spring - the weather is getting warmer (finally!) and Scott has the season off of coaching so we have been having lots of afternoon adventures together. Although we work very hard at our job in a boarding school, we are so lucky to be able to eat lunch together everyday and often have some down time as a family in between classes and other commitments.

We had such a blast together on Tuesday! Here are some pictures from our day!

We recently bought Camden a little baby swing and he loves it! So cute!

Walking around the yard with Mama...

Daddy loves his little boy!

In the jogging stroller on the Rail Trail!

After going for a long walk (well, I walked and Scott ran) we stopped by the barn on campus to check in on the sheep! Camden was fascinated.

The sheep were getting sheared the next day, so they looked a little funny...

In the Barn...

A little lamb was born just a week ago and was SO cute!

Looking at the baby lamb...

It was a pretty wonderful day of "work" for us!

Monday, April 6, 2009

So Many Babies!!!

Camden is just the luckiest little guy. He is #3 in a line of 7 babies born this year at our school! He has a built-in friendship group and these little buddies already have so much fun rolling around and drooling on eachother. Yesterday we went to a baby shower for Baby #7 (due in a couple weeks) and Camden had a great time sitting around with the other babies!
Jordan (October), Isaac (September), Camden (August) and Linden (June)...

The three muskateers (Isaac is 5 weeks younger and Linden is six weeks older than Camden)...

Indira gets lots of attention as she's the only girl on campus...and although she's the oldest, most of the boys have passed her in size!

It'll be so fun to watch these little ones grow up together!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Signs of Spring


It is finally starting to feel like spring around here! The sun was shining so beautifully today and the temperatures leveled off around 50 degrees (balmy for New Hampshire)! Camden had such a fun time exploring our little yard with my parents and me. He is so interested in all the sights and sounds that surround him and I just know we're going to have so much fun watching him discover his world over these next few months. Enjoy these adorable pictures!





Sunday, March 22, 2009

Back in Action...

After two wonderful weeks of vacation, the kids returned to campus tonight. Scott and I enjoyed the peace and quite of an empty dorm, took many long walks in the spring sunshine and had fun just being home together. Here are a few pictures from our vacation!








Although it's a little tough getting used to having the students back on campus, the good news is that summer is just around the corner! Spring term always flies by and is actually a pretty fun time to be working at a boarding school. As the weather warms up and the snow starts to melt, everyone just naturally seems to be in a happy mood! Scott isn't coaching this spring, so we'll be able to go on runs and long walks together in the afternoons, watch baseball and lacrosse games and enjoy our adorable little boy! I have to say, we have a pretty good life! Thank you God!

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Living the Dream...

This is a little "Blog-Out" (instead of shout-out...I'm not sure which of my friends coined this phrase...Barb? Jill? Jaq?) to two of my good friends from college are living the dream! They are incredibly talented singer/songwriters who have formed their own band called Jill and Kate, (check them out on itunes!). Their music is incredible and always puts a smile on my face when I listen to their songs.
With Katie, Jill and Meghan at graduation...

While they continue to work on their own music, they are also part of Kelly Clarkson's band and travel the country and the world singing backup (and playing guitar - yeah Jill!). Just in the last few weeks they traveled to the Bahamas, hopped around Europe visiting cities like London, Amsterdam and Vienna, flew back to the states and appeared on Good Morning America, American Idol and Live with Regis and Kelly all in a matter of a few days! Sometimes I look at their life and wish that I had the same opportunities. They are seeing the world, meeting famous people, and truly living their dream of performing and being successful musicians. It's awesome to see how far these friends have come, and I'm not gonna lie, it brings excitement to my quiet little life when I get to watch them on television and cheer for them from my couch.


After seeing them perform on American Idol this week, I was thinking about how awesome God is. Jill and Katie are having the time of their lives and are really doing what I believe God created them to do! And although their life is incredible and I have fun hearing their stories and watching their success, I know that God has different plans for me. As quiet as my little life is, I'm so blessed with my wonderful husband, my beautiful child, and our life at our school. I love that when I wake up and open the shades in the morning, I'm looking at the beautiful mountain that I first climbed when I was three years old. I love that I can almost see the roof of my parents' house that I grew up in down in the village from our yard. I love that we have thousands of acres of woods out our back door and that we literally (and I'm not even exaggerating) saw 15-20 deer surrounding our house last night. I love that my sister and her family live on a farm just 10 minutes away. I love that Camden is going to grow up in a town where people leave their cars unlocked and know most of their neighbors by name. And I love that although my life is so different from Jill and Kate's, we are all "living the dream" in our own way and can maintain a friendship despite our different lives! I'm so proud of what they have accomplished and I'm so thankful that they bring some excitement into my little world, and at the same time I'm so proud of my own life and where God has brought me and my little family.


"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose."

Now how's that for a Blog-out!?!?! :)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

on my own...


So, this week felt like a big week! Camden is turning seven months old on Monday...it's AMAZING how quickly time flies. He is such a little man these days! He loves to walk around holding our hands, he sits up and plays with toys by himself and is developing quite a little personality. He is such a joy to be around, and I'm realizing that I have hardly spent any time away from him in the last seven months (well, 15 months including pregnancy!). This winter I tutored some kids for an hour four days a week during the academic day here on campus, but other than that Camden has been in my arms, or by my side, for most of his life! On Thursday of this past week I went to the first day of a new series as part of a Women's Bible Study at our "new" Church. We started going to GCC last spring and have really enjoyed meeting new people, getting involved in a weekly cell group and getting settled into our new church home. I am really excited to be part of this Bible Study. Having a baby in the house makes personal time and quiet times few and far between. I felt a little sad leaving Camden behind with Scott as I drove the 35 minutes down to our church, but I must admit that I came home feeling refreshed and excited...and SO happy to hug my little one. I'm not sure if it's pitiful, or wonderful, that this 3.5 hour trip was the most time I've spent away from my little guy. I feel so blessed that I am able to stay home with him. He brings such incredible joy to my life, and I honestly felt like something major was missing when I was at church. I know it will get easier to leave him as he gets older, but for now, I know it is a good thing for me to do something on my own. Even though it's hard to drive away alone, it's good for me (spiritually and emotionally) and it's good for Scott to have some alone time with his son. Who would have thought you could love someone so much?!??!?!

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day today! No Saturday morning classes meant that Scott and I were both home all morning together! We had a big breakfast of blueberry pancakes and bacon and enjoyed a nice quite day with Camden.

Camden even made Daddy a Valentine's Day card!

He loves chewing on his fingers!

Scott made fun of me all day because I actually took the time to make a Valentine's Day card for myself "from" Camden! I think it's cute!

How could this smile not brighten my day?!?!

Scott was very sad that he didn't have the opportunity to get off campus in the last couple days to buy me flowers, so he brought Camden downstairs early this morning and let me sleep for an extra hour (an amazing gift!) and made these beautiful roses! :) Pretty darn cute if you ask me.

My two Valentines! No flowers or jewelry could compare to these two precious gifts in my life. (Although I am excited for my upcoming massage that Scott got me!)

Hope you all had special days as well!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Recent Favorite Photos!

Here are some photos from the last month or so that I just can't help but share! Our little man is the best thing that ever happened to us! Hard to believe he'll be six months old tomorrow! Time is flying by! Enjoy!

With Daddy...


Mama's little boy...




Sitting up all by himself!!!

Wearing his new sweater, knit with love by Great-Grandma Sylvia!









We are just so thankful for our beautiful, happy, healthy baby boy and can't wait to see what the next six months hold for us!
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