My little baby is THREE

And this happened three months ago. I'm just getting around to posting about it. Mom of the year over here, folks! Or maybe I could just say I've been so busy being a great mom I had no time to write a blog post about his birthday. Hmm... ;)

We decided last Christmas what Aiden's birthday theme would be. And then crossed our fingers and hoped he would like it by the time August rolled around! We found some super-fabulous deals on Thomas the Train collections (thanks to my friend over at Western Wake Wallet Savers - great site for you local folks to check out!). Aiden's Christmas was already taken care of, so we got a bunch of train sets to put aside for his birthday.

Happy Birthday, Camden!

 Camden turned 12 on June 28th...

My big, beautiful baby boy. This was taken by a family member while I was still in recovery, before even I got to hold him.

Just for fun... That's where that 11lb baby boy was hiding!

12 years ago, my biggest dream was made reality. I became a mother. The two of us have been through so very much together. My life would not be what it is today without him. Every single day, I am thankful that God trusted me to care for this little guy that is all too quickly becoming a young man.

He's always had those big, beautiful eyes...

My precious baby, who hasn't been a baby for quite a while now.

Here are pics from his birthday party. Lucky kid had a party that lasted nearly two days...

Camden's Birthday

We had a cookout Friday night, where he invited his three closest friends and their families. Boys were invited for a sleepover, and then we swam all day Saturday. It was a lot of fun! One of my favorite parts was when Camden opened his gift from me and Ryan. We couldn't give him the actual gift because it's a destination and won't take place until September, so we gave him a note with the information. After quickly reading it, his response was, "I don't get it..." It took him a few minutes, but he figured it out and was very, very excited.

Camden and Ryan are going to a Packer's game in September!

My baby boy today, at his birthday party.

It blows my mind how quickly children grow up.

TWO Years Old!

Aiden's big 2nd birthday bash was all about the Cat in the Hat and Dr. Seuss. Ryan and I agreed we would consider it all to be a success if we didn't end it in the ER, like we did last year. So, based on that, it was successful; even aside from that it went off without a hitch. We had a blast, and everything went just great!

Instead of a long post, simply enjoy the pictures. :)

2010 August - Aiden's Birthday

Happy Birthday, Camden!

This has been a big birthday for us this year. It's one more year older, yes, but this is also the year Camden goes from being a little boy in elementary school to a big kid in middle school! I think I've been a bit in denial about it... But it's happening, regardless. Camden turned *11* on Monday, June 28th (he was also born on a Monday).

This year, Camden had a birthday party at home, and his short list of friends to have over for a cookout and cake somehow kept growing. By Saturday, we had 11 10/11-year-olds in our small living room. At one point there were more people, but this is what it was at most of the afternoon. Man, boys are wild. And LOUD. The girls kept trying to escape to either inside or the patio, whichever place the boys were NOT, saying they were looking for quiet. A couple boys stayed for a sleep-over, and I think we learned to keep that limited to one at a time for a while. Ha.

So....let's see. This year, Camden has continued to play soccer. His team won the soccer championship and had an undefeated season, the only team in any of the leagues for the town to be undefeated. they were pretty proud of that. Camden has been taking guitar lessons and is getting pretty good, though he isn't really a fan of practicing. He loves living in our new house and having lots of friends that live nearby - and living off a cul-de-sac where he can play soccer and football with all the boys nearby. (There are a lot of boys, but hardly any girls! Not that I'm complaining...) He's all about sports, and I've discovered that he would be happy to wear a white undershirt and basketball shorts every single day. He's still very big on reading, which is awesome. He's always been an advanced reader, so he likes carting big, huge novels around - series are always a hit, and he'll read things over and over. Legos - do they ever go out of style? He loves getting big sets of them, but then he makes them once and doesn't want to take them apart! (We've had to create a limit so that his room doesn't get taken over...)

Camden's really gotten better with his food pickiness lately. Not that he's overly picky, but there's plenty that he didn't like a year or two ago and now will eat happily. He always has to try something, even if he claims he hates it, and after so many tries, he usually ends up liking it. With each food this occurs, he'll proclaim "you were right again!" Ha. He will tell you that his mom is very smart - and that I'm usually right about things. Not when he's mad at me about something, but otherwise, this is the case. ;) Examples about foods he recently did not like and will now eat without complaining are....beans, rice, salad, a dish I make that mostly includes beef and lentils, broccoli, and some others I'm not remembering at the moment. He admits he can't really argue when I make him eat some of the foods he doesn't like since he knows what the outcome will eventually be (though he does try to argue anyway sometimes).

He's getting a bit of an attitude lately...the attitude where he thinks he can talk back or just not follow through and there shouldn't be a problem with that. The attitude where he knows something isn't allowed but we're not looking, so what's wrong with what he did? We've had to become zero-tolerance about this kind of thing, and I think that makes a difference. Give him an inch... Right? He needs that immediate consequence, we've learned. Thankfully it's not every day, and most of the time he is quite pleasant. But I'm sure my mother is thinking, Oh you just wait. Do you remember what you were like as a teenager? What goes around comes around, honey... Right, mom? (That does worry me. I'll be honest!)

Camden is soooo very excited about middle school. I don't think he's nervous at all! He knows there will be more work and less tolerating inappropriate behavior, but he also is excited about many of the other things he will get to do. He's signed up to be in band to play the clarinet. First choice was the sax, but his hands are too small for now, so he'll start with the clarinet. He's looking forward to trying out for the soccer team in 7th grade, and until then, he'll play baseball and soccer outside of school on other teams. He's also quite excited about having lockers at school; I think just about all of the 5th graders are! It seems to be a huge deal. The school is a brand new one that was just finished in the last couple months. It's right next to the elementary school (and high school) and is right next to our neighborhood, which is nice b/c he just walks. He just got a new bike for his birthday (thanks to all the grandparents that sent money to go toward it), so he's looking forward to riding his bike to school now. He's been in a year-round school for the past year, and the new middle school is also year-round. I think he likes that schedule (I know the rest of us do), especially having long breaks throughout the year instead of just one big one in the summer. He's always bored before it's time for school to start back with the long break, and a few weeks at a time seems to be just right.

We went to Camden's 5th grade graduation ceremony today. I always thought those were a little silly... They're not graduating really until they're graduating from high school! But now that we're here, it's not quite as silly as I always thought. I did tear up some, especially when they played Canon in D during the processional, and then the kids all sang "Heal the World." Seriously, I think they were TRYING to make the moms cry! My baby boy is growing up. Some days I just can't deny it. I'm a bit nervous about some aspects of middle school, too. I know what kind of stuff happens there - good and bad. Yikes. He's also getting at an age where it's time for me to let go more, let him make his own decisions (and mistakes), etc. Yikes again...mostly because it can be hard to do that when you know it will sometimes result in them making poor choices or getting hurt. One thing that helps, as I'm learning to back off and let go some, is that other trustworthy adults are entering into Camden's life as he is now in the middle school group at church. Another thing he is super excited about. And I'm thankful to know there will be other good influences in his life (even if they give them poptarts and other junk food sometimes) and another reason for him to be exited about going to church and learning about and growing in God.

I asked Camden what his favorite part of the last year was...his answer was simply the soccer tournament. That was pretty exciting for him! I think in comparison, the rest of the year just didn't match up! I think he's also just really looking forward to some of the things ABOUT to happen when he starts middle school in a few weeks!

Like I said, this has been an emotional birthday for me, mostly because it happens right as he's about to enter middle school and there are all these reminders that he is getting older and I'm having to let go more and more. But it's been a good birthday, nonetheless. We didn't get to go to Kentucky and have the big party we usually have (which is mostly just an excuse to get a bunch of our family and close friends together, since we see them so little), but it was also kind of nice to have a relaxed time (other than that wild birthday party night!!) and just be here together, just our little family.

And I'll leave with a little birthday picture. Since this has been a big year, where he's obviously growing up, I'm including his BIRTH day picture. Because no matter how old he is, he is always, always my baby.

My baby boy, Camden Lee. Born Monday June 28th, 1999 at 12:13pm, coming in at a whopping 11lbs, 21 1/2 inches - by far, the *biggest* blessing I've ever received. ;) The picture was taken in the hospital; Christening gown was made by my mother (and had to be altered b/c he was too big to button it on the arms or neck!). He was literally twice the size as the other babies in the hospital when he was born!

Happy 11th birthday!!

Go here for pics from the month, including birthday party pics, school presentation and school play pics, as well as pics from the 5th grade graduation.

Busy Few Days

We had a busy few days recently. Lots going on! Fun stuff...but busy. :)

I took the boys to one of Camden's favorite museums on Earth Day last week. We took it slow and didn't rush through anything - and didn't worry if we missed seeing something, either. It was a nice change. Don't you hate going to the zoo or somewhere that has SO much to see and then feeling like you rushed the entire time just so you could see it all?? What's the point? (If you really think about it...) We realized we would much rather miss some stuff and really get to enjoy what we DID see. We had a great time! Aiden loved just about everything, too. He didn't nap, which I was prepared for, but he did really well...and did fall asleep while walking in the parking lot to the car at the end of the day! Of course.

The only bad part of the day was the hives that mysteriously showed up on his cheek during lunch. I brought our lunches from home and we used a roll-up placemat that we take everywhere (love this thing!), so he didn't eat anything he shouldn't have. When he was out of the stroller walking, we made sure he didn't touch any plants, etc. (There's a huge outdoor component to the museum - it really is an awesome museum with TONS to do!) The hives were on his cheek close to his ear, and we couldn't figure out where they might have come from. We even talked to someone at the museum... Hives are kind of new to me still, so we wanted to check to make sure it wasn't a bug bite or something from a plant he may have touched. They confirmed it looked like hives and even went as far as to give the whole family a free pass another day (which I totally did not expect). We're still not sure what it's from, and they ended up spreading down to his chin over the next hour. They never seemed to bother him at all - just me and Camden! And then they went away... It's still a mystery!

Pictures...

Museum of Life & Science - Earth Day 2010

When I asked Camden what his most/least favorite parts of the day were... Favorite: Two butterflies landed on him in the conservatory. Least favorite: Aiden's hives. Aside from the hives, it was a GREAT day, though. Aiden slept in the car on the way home, and we stopped to say hi to Daddy, since we passed his office going home. We quickly realized that was a mistake. Ryan opened the car door, realized Aiden was asleep and we weren't getting out, and closed the door. It woke Aiden up, and he screamed the next 30 minutes it took to get home. That part wasn't so much fun for any of us.

Then Saturday, Ryan threw me a 30th Birthday cookout with some friends. He bought way too much food, and we didn't get many pictures b/c we were so busy talking with everyone. It was a lot of fun, though. :) We don't normally do much for our own birthdays, but he decided to do a little something extra since it was the big 3-0. The rain held off until just after the cookout, too, which was really nice.

Pictures... (Ok, this album has ALL the April pictures, not just ones from the cookout.)

2010 April

Sunday... Aiden went to the nursery at church for the very first time. He did really well. That's because Mommy stayed in there, though. ;) He's very attached right now and has a difficult time being away from me, so we're trying to transition him as easily as possible. I just signed up to be the extra helper for that service, and I tried to stay out of his way as much as possible. Every now and then, he would realize I wasn't right next to him and would start turning around, looking at all sides of himself, saying "Mommy...? Mommy...?" in the most pitiful voice possible - until I reassured him I was right there. But for the most part he was fine. We've put off doing this for a few reasons...mostly b/c of how easily he gets sick (and being around more kids in this kind of setting might increase some colds at first, especially if we did it during cold/flu season) and also b/c of his food allergies/intolerances. They sit very closely together when having snack, so we do worry about him getting the snacks served, even though we always bring his snack (wherever we go!). He can't have any of the things they have on the snack menu. So, next week, Ryan will go in with Aiden and stay as the volunteer. If that goes well, Ryan will attempt to drop Aiden off in there the week after...leaving him while we both try to sit through the service, sans baby. We'll see how it goes!

So, after church, Aiden ended up falling asleep on the way home (we went to the 9am service, and the drive home is about half an hour). We thought we would let him take a short nap and put him in bed...he miraculously slept a total of three hours! This is UNHEARD of (he did wake up extra early, as in around 4am or so, but even when that happens...a three-hour nap never happens!). After the long nap, we headed back to Cary (close to church, actually) to go strawberry picking!! They're in season here and they are soooo super sweet. There are also TONS, so it took us no time to get four full buckets. It was a lot of fun. I think even Ryan had to admit it wasn't so bad. ;) Aiden and I went back yesterday with some friends and got a bit more, too! I have a feeling we'll be back a couple more times before the season is over. Our freezer will be FULL of strawberries to last us until next season!

Pictures of the strawberry pickin'...

Strawberry Picking! Spring 2010

Enjoy all the pictures!

Playing Catch Up...

Yeah, it's been a while. We have good excuses. Don't we always??

After Aiden got that nasty stomach bug, he passed it onto me. How would I not get it when he threw up all over me about 20 times? All over meaning sometimes...it went into my shirt. You wanted that visual didn't you? He had it worse the one day, but he continued to throw up at least once each day for the next few days. It took a while for him to recover and go back to eating normally, probably for fear he would keep throwing it all back up. Poor guy. :(

Then it was Easter and we had family in for that next week. Ryan's mom came to visit, which is always fun. Aiden had a blast with her especially and would ask for her when he was supposed to be going to sleep or doing other things he might not have wanted to be doing. I think he knew she might rescue him... ;) When she left for home, she took Camden, who is now visiting with his dad for the week. And since, Aiden and I have been running like crazy doing all the things we couldn't do while sick or entertaining company. So, we've been a tad busy.

Easter... We went back to our "home" church, where the service was actually held at an amphitheater in town instead of the actual church. (Another post for another time, but we've been back and forth about what church to attend, as we have moved farther away from our old church, and for other reasons. But we keep finding ourselves drawn back to it... More later. I hope. If I get time. For the many posts I keep wanting to put up...) Anyway, the service was HUGE, and it was incredible to see so many there celebrating together. I haven't heard the final count, but there were thousands. Back home, Aiden got a new Bible and a puzzle with animals. He adores both. He carries his Bible everywhere he can, saying "Bi-bi" and "Jeeees" (Bible and Jesus). Camden got some new books, too, one being his first daily devotional, and a t-shirt. We try to keep the Easter baskets full of things that represent what the holiday means to us. True...the puzzle might not seem to fit...but there were animals on the Arc, right? ;) And wait...no mention of candy?? Yep. No candy this year. Nobody noticed, either. Camden didn't ask or seem to care or even realize it was missing. He also got the new Toby Mac cd from MaMaw, and he was too thrilled about that to care for candy anyway, even if there had been some!

We have eaten out a couple times over the last week. (Eating out isn't a common occurrence for various reasons. Money. Food allergies....) We discovered that P.F. Chang's has an awesome gluten-free menu. And after ordering but before being served, we also discovered that all of their meats are marinated with eggs the night before, meaning Aiden couldn't have anything with meat, meaning that the only thing on the g-free menu he could eat was veggie stir-fry. He did not seem to care and loved it! Another discovery...their chocolate cake is probably THE best chocolate cake ever. Then last night we went to The Melting Pot for my birthday (well, mine and Ryan's, since we're just a week apart). Don't tell Camden!! He might not be so happy to find out we went without him... They also have a ton of gluten-free options and have a good menu telling you what you cannot eat. Only one meat has egg in the marinade, but it wasn't even one they had with the Big Night Out this time around. We had to make few substitutions so that Aiden could eat...leaving out the pot-stickers and getting extra chicken. And we almost forgot there was beer as a base with the Fiesta Cheese (the one we almost always get), so we just subbed with white wine, and it was fine. No chips or bread for the little guy, only two of the sauces (one of which he just loved with everything)...and for dessert he was stuck with fruit. But he was just fine with all of that. He ate fairly well!! And I'm very pleased that more places are getting on board with gluten-free menus and are actually aware of what all it involves!

Aiden turned 20-months-old. I'll get to that post next. Soon, I hope.

And today...today I turn 30. Most of all, it's just another day. It's not such a big deal that I am the big 3-0...but it just sounds strange to say I'm that age. It's like I am officially an "adult" now, even though I've been an adult for quite a while. I mean, I do have a husband, two children (one of which is about to turn 11!), a house, etc, etc, etc... But for some reason, being 30 seems to make it official. Not sure if that makes any sense.

Last night, after getting Aiden to bed, Ryan and I turned on Friends. We have the entire series on DVD and watch it every now and then. We start from the beginning and watch through to the end. And then do it all over again. So, last night, the next show for us to watch just happened to be "The one where they all turn 30." No kidding. Pretty funny, in a way. Some of them were talking about what they had or hadn't accomplished by this time. In a way, I've accomplished a heck of a lot. A bachelor's degree, a master's degree, I'm married, I have two kids...that's a lot. But I do feel that there is a ton that I haven't accomplished. I still don't have a career or know what I want to be "when I grow up." And here I suddenly am "grown up." I often go through the day just getting through the day...running errands, taking care of the kids, making dinner...and sometimes wonder what I'm not doing that I should. Is there something more profound I should be doing, too? Thanks Friends, right. (No, I wonder this all the time. With or without Friends to throw it in my face.)

Aiden has made the day so nice and easy...waking at 5am and refusing to go back to sleep. Taking over two hours, with plenty of yelling at me, before he would finally go to sleep for naptime. And the day is not over!! What more should I expect, right? He doesn't know it's mommy's birthday! ;) And now I'm going to go outside and do some yard work. BUT tonight...there will be cake. After our yummy and very filling (too filling) meal last night, we made a stop by P.F. Chang's and grabbed some of that chocolate cake to eat tonight. I'm still deciding if I'm going to share....

PS - Pics of everything in the April album online:

2010 April

Why Aiden will never eat cake again

Ok, that's not quite right, but we hope to soon find out what he should possibly never eat again. Here's the story...

Aiden was having a great time at his birthday party. Lots of friends showed up to play, and then it was time for CAKE! Aiden had a big blue smash cake that ended up having a very thick layer of icing. After having the time of his life rubbing icing all over his face, Aiden had a terrible reaction to it. We saw that his face was red when Ryan wiped it off, but after we got him upstairs to really clean up in the tub (b/c that kid got the stuff EVERYWHERE), it was much worse and he ended up with hives ALL over his face, neck, part of his back and chest, and part of his arms - basically everywhere any amount of icing touched. It looked bad enough that we rushed off to the Emergency Room with no hesitation. Camden was very scared when he saw Aiden - he immediately started bawling and was extremely worried.

This was NOTHING compared to how red he got soon after this.
His entire face, neck, some of his chest, and some of his arms were bright, bright red and COVERED in hives.

Aiden seemed to be breathing ok and wasn't fussy, but he looked terrible and was rubbing his face a lot...and he was coughing a bit. Anyone that has visited an ER knows it takes longer than it should to see someone, so by the time we saw the first nurse, the redness was almost gone - and by the time we got to see the doctor (over two hours later), it was even more almost gone, which was good on one hand, but we also wanted them to SEE the reaction. We didn't have a camera with us, so the only pictures we have are ones we took on the drive to the ER with the camera phone and were able to show those to the dr (we like to have photographic records of all of these kind of reactions, etc...). We don't have anything fancy like an iphone, just a regular flip phone, so the pics aren't the best but did what they needed to do. Aiden did rub his face a little while the doctor was with us, so some of the redness came back. They gave him half a dose of benadryl. His throat and ears looked fine, which is a good sign. My mother has severe food allergies (to just about everything you can be allergic to), and her reactions are respiratory, so we were concerned about that with Aiden, even though he seemed to be breathing just fine - good to have those things checked out.

We also talked with the lady that baked Aiden's smash cake at a local bakery, and she told us what ingredients were in the icing. We're thinking it was either a reaction to the food coloring or the soybean oil - most likely the coloring. We have a check-up scheduled on Tuesday already, so we'll be speaking with the doctor and perhaps be on our way to an allergist soon to possibly go through some testing (hopefully for just these things and not a whole lot of other testing at this time...we'll see, though). We want to do whatever it takes to make sure we find some answers so we know what to do from this point on, of course. We've had a few scares when it comes to Aiden and his skin, so we're not taking it too lightly, and food allergies aren't anything to scoff at, either. He IS doing well right now, though. :) And we're very glad we've been feeding him natural, whole (organic when possible) foods up to this point! I wonder how many babies show up to ERs and Urgent Care centers on their first birthdays from reactions similar to this? I would not be surprised if it happened more than we thought, really. I know Aiden never got any sugar or anything artificial up to this point...

The culprit...

After Aiden's dr appt on Tuesday, I will postwhat happened, if anything significant does happen. Hopefully we'll get some answers soon so we can decide what our next steps are. We keep hearing that first reactions are the mildest and the ones following get worse with each occurrence, so we definitely do not want something like this to happen again. This was bad enough!

On a positive note, the party was a lot of fun and we were so happy to share the day with so many of our friends. (Unfortunately some showed up after we left and we really missed seeing them!) We are VERY thankful for Ryan's dad and step-mom that were visiting with us. They took over while we rushed off. They stepped up in such a big way, and I don't know what we would have done with out them. THANK YOU Gary and Susan!!!

We did manage to get a few pictures. Here are the ones from the party...

2009 August - Aiden's FIRST Birthday (NC Party)

And here are August pics so far...Not too many, but there are a few from his actual birthday, where we went out to eat and Aiden got a little tiny cupcake - and some waiters from The Cheesecake Factory sang to him. :)

2009 August

If some of you out there took some pictures at the party, could you email them to us so we can have copies? Since we were busy with all that party-throwing business, we didn't get as many as I normally would. ;) Thanks! Email is daisyryan.adkins(at)gmail(dot)com.

Needless to say, this was a birthday we will NEVER forget! And maybe the most expensive birthday party we have thrown in quite a while, too (thanks to that ER bill)... We did notice that Aiden has had big skin issues come up around both birthdays so far - his tushie troubles when he was born (and the big stuff with that happened around day two) and then this on his first birthday (two days later....hmmmm....). Let's hope this isn't some sort of trend.

My Baby Turns ONE

Sometime in the next few days or next week, I will post with pictures and updates on Aiden and his FIRST BIRTHDAY, which was yesterday, August 6th. We have a big birthday bash happening tomorrow, and we celebrated yesterday with dinner out with the family and MaMaw Sharon. Aiden enjoyed some yummy veggies at the Cheesecake Factory - and then went to town with a little cupcake. We handed over one of those "two-bite" cupcakes, which was plenty big enough to him. He picked it up like he knew what he was doing and just ate every last bit of it. THEN our waiter and a couple others came by to sing to him and give him some ice cream (with a TON of whip cream, which we quickly spooned off). I think he really enjoyed himself!

And yes, in case you're wondering, I did shed a tear or two. I woke up and told my little baby "Happy Birthday" and couldn't help recalling how wonderful it was to meet him one year ago. That day is still so fresh in my mind.

If you haven't read Aiden's birth story....

• Aiden's introduction (just a quick intro and slideshow of pics) - Click HERE
• And his birth story - Click HERE - The cons are listed before the pros. I wanted to end the post on a positive note. :)

More pictures coming soon!!

Happy Birthday, Camden!

Hard to believe that I am now the mother of a TEN-year-old. But I am, as of this past Sunday. It's not just that I don't feel like I'm old enough to have a ten-year-old, but it also just doesn't seem like it was really ten years ago that he was born.

I don't have Camden's birth story posted on blogger since there probably wasn't any such thing at the time. I didn't even have an email account until after he was born... So, I'll give a quick run-down of the day he entered this world.

Pregnant with my baby boy. I was around 8 months pregnant here - see how big that belly was?! (And I am standing straight, too.)

Camden was actually born on his birthday, but he almost arrived much sooner. We knew we were expecting a large baby, and the doctor kept telling me he would induce labor early... first it was a month, then moved to three weeks early, then two, then one... I actually went in for the induction the night before the due date. Sunday was my Papaw's funeral a couple hours away, and we drove straight from that to the hospital.

The prepping for the induction sent me into labor in the middle of the night, so I never went through the actual induction. I went into labor so quickly that I couldn't get medication, and that turned out to be horrible because I had back labor from Camden being backwards (and those of you that have experienced that know how painful it really is!!). They did try to give me some morphine, but it never kicked in before I was rushed out for an emergency c-section because the baby was too large to deliver naturally. I was pushing for over two and a half hours (not in labor for that long - PUSHING for that long) - with a room full of people watching. I went in thinking I wanted my husband and my mom in with me and NOBODY else, but once you're in that situation, you don't really care one iota! So Alan (my husband at the time) and my mom were there...along with my mother-in-law and my best friend, Patsy. (I think this was great birth control for her!) They finally realized this baby's head was just not fitting through, and without much of a warning, I was wheeled out to surgery. That was pretty scary because we had never discussed the possibility of a c-section (though you would think we would have, knowing the baby was on the large size...nobody expected this large, though!).

I don't remember much at all from the surgery other than holding onto the nurse in front of me as the spinal was done. (Not a big fan of needles, especially large ones in my spine.) And then there was all the throwing up during the delivery. The ENTIRE time. Me throwing up. (We now know I have a reaction to narcotics...such as morphine that was given earlier and is also in the spinal...) I remember the doctor asking to try to stop for a moment while he made the incision. And then when he tried to pull Camden's head out, it was so big he had to push him back in and cut another inch to fit him through. The scar even showed this (until I got my new one from baby number two). I don't remember much else, though. I know they showed Camden to me for just a split second, but that was it. Everything was such a blur and moving so quickly - a drawback to having an emergency c-section. Then I didn't get to see Camden for such a long time because it took extra long for the numbness from the spinal to wear off with me.

Camden came out weighing the surprising weight of...10 lbs 15.2 oz (less than 1 oz away from being 11 lbs) and was 21.5 inches long. He was born Monday, June 28th at 12:13pm. Best day of my life.

There were two other babies in the hospital at the same time as him - both of them were under 5lbs! No worry about a mix-up there!

For the next couple days, I continued to throw up constantly (actually, by then I was dry-heaving, which is not a lot of fun when you just had your stomach cut open). I remember how terrible I felt and how painful it was. But I also remember that every single thing was worth it because I had the MOST perfect baby ever. Camden was absolutely beautiful. We all said he was born with a tan because he had such dark skin. And though he was large, he was not fat at all - just looked like your typical three-month-old! And everything between us came naturally. He went straight to nursing with no problems, even though we didn't see each other for a couple hours after he was born. He did spit up a bunch, even in his sleep, so I kept him in his bassinet right by my side when we slept - I trusted myself more than having him in the nursery. I don't remember anything being difficult about having him, except for the physical pain I was going through. Everything else was smooth sailing, it seemed.

Camden in the Christening gown my mother made (we had to leave it unbuttoned in the arms and back because he was so big!)

Camden's hospital photo

One year old!

Ten years later...it's not always smooth sailing, but I am so grateful for the decade that I have been given with Camden. He is such a joy to me, and I love him more than life itself. The two of us have been through an incredible amount together, more than he understands at this point. But I think it has made us so extremely close. Do you know that he will still hug and kiss me in public?? Ever since he got on the bus that first day of Kindergarten, I have been expecting him to tell me to stop because he doesn't want to be embarrassed. But he never has (yet).

We haven't had Camden's big birthday celebration yet. We'll be having one when we visit family in KY in a couple weeks - a joint celebration for his and Aiden's birthdays. (If you'll be in the area, please join us!!) And we'll have a party with some of his friends when he is back home (he's currently visiting his dad in KY). The downside of having a summer birthday is being able to have everyone around to celebrate with you - we already attempted one party here, but so many people were out of town that we are waiting longer. Camden did get his gift from us, though - a basketball goal for the driveway. We had it in the garage covered up (still in the box) and made him go and find it himself. It should have been easy as it was the new thing that suddenly appeared and was under a blue tarp, but he still was a little confused until he got some help. ;) Then we spent the night before his birthday playing Wii video games and eating big homemade banana splits (cakes will come soon).

Looking for his gift...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MY BABY BOY. I love you!

Happy Birthday, Aiden!!!

Baby Aiden Joseph is here!!

The c-section went really well. They gave mom a bunch of meds for nausea (so I didn't vomit during the entire procedure like I did with my first), and that made all the difference! I was nervous about getting the spinal, but there were some AWESOME nurses, anesthesiologists, and doctors working with me, and they helped so much! We even got to do the surgery earlier than planned, which was great, too! It meant we got to meet our new baby that much sooner!

Aiden was born at 10:39am. He weighed in at only 8lbs, 11oz (we expected at least 9lbs, and compared to Camden being 11, this is small!) and measured 20in. long. We were surprised to see a head full of dark hair!! He wanted to nurse right away and took right to it - a pro from the start! He nursed as soon as we got into the recovery room (directly after the surgery was finished) and then went to have his first bath, have his glucose tested (which they do if the baby is over a certain weight - and he was fine each time they checked), etc. Other than that, he's been sleeping away!

Mom has been experiencing the expected pain after the c-section. But I'm not complaining TOO much since I remember how horrible it was to have this pain on top of the day FULL of throwing up when Camden was born. (Not a good mix with surgery in the abdominal region...) I'm taking some "good" meds, am not feeling much difference with them, but am keeping things in perspective. I did get a perfect baby out of this, after all. What's some pain, right? ;)

Camden has been so excited to meet his new brother. He waited anxiously for him to wake up so he could finally hold him! Daddy got to change Aiden's first diaper, which was, of course, dirty - and as he put on the new diaper, he peed into it - so he got to change it again! Aiden looks a lot like Ryan. I knew it ever since we saw the first ultrasound - Aiden has daddy's lips! :) We also think he has Ryan's toes and fingers. And we think he might have mommy's dark skin, but we're still waiting to be sure. He definitely has my dark hair, though!

Here are some of Aiden's first pictures. You can click on the slideshow to view them in the album if you prefer.



We'll give more updates later! Thank you for all the prayers and good thoughts. We are so very thankful for such a perfect baby boy!!!