11 Months Old!

My Sweet Girl~

11 Months old... you are getting so big sweet Camden! Well, we are no longer nursing :( :) Mommy has mixed feelings about that. On one hand, I feel so free not having to be with you or having to be home at a certain time of day to make sure you get fed. But, on the other hand it makes me really sad to be done nursing you because it means this year has gone by SO quickly, and you may very well be my last baby to nurse. You are doing great with the bottles and I still try to make it our quiet, snuggle time. You are still doing the same for your meals but we have been trying some solid food with you and you are loving it. You had some grilled chicken the other night and ate it up! You shared some strawberry shortcake with mommy and you were very excited with every bite. You are starting to do well with solids, but you aren't very good at feeding them to yourself yet.
We have been doing bath time in the upstairs tub for the past few weeks and it is so much more fun for you! It is easier for mommy to lean over your tub and you love to splash and play. Bath time is definitely one of your favorite times of day. You have taken a bath with Drew a couple times now and you have a lot of fun doing that. You are still taking 2 (sometimes 3) naps a day and going to bed around 7 and sleeping till around 7.
You are scooting backwards, but that is about all the progress on the crawling front. Mommy is making sure she give you lots of tummy time on the floor, and you are scooting your bum way high in the air! Not really getting far though. You finally got your first tooth this week! Your bottom left tooth! We were starting to wonder if you had any teeth in there!
Mommy thinks you have said 'mama' a couple times but it hasn't been in a week or so, so maybe it was just some babbling, I could have sworn you said it twice though!
Everywhere we go, everyone says you look just like your daddy. I do think it is true, but I do see some resemblance to my baby photos. Grammy was just here to visit and she said that she thought you looked a lot like mommy as a baby. You are just like daddy though, you are calm and relaxed and happy most of the time.
We are in full swing planning your first birthday party and can't believe you have blessed our lives for almost a year now.

I love you Camden Reese.
love, mommy

Second Day...

Friday morning was a sad one at our house. When I got Drew up we started talking about how it was a school day. He didn't say anything at first but then quickly let me know that "I don't want to go to school, I want to stay home" and he had tears welling in his eyes. I tried to convince him that he was going to have a great day, I would be there to pick him up in time for lunch, etc. He just kept repeating the same phrase and had tears rolling down his cheeks. Not crying, not screaming, just the break-your-heart sweet tears of sadness. I almost started crying with him and told him he could just stay home. Instead, I distracted him with the trash truck on our street, and we quickly got his shoes on so he could run out to see it. The whole way to school he looked very sad, I was fighting back my own tears just looking at the sweet boy's face. We got there and he didn't want to go in, he made me carry him (along with his sister, 2 teacher gift bags and his backpack). We got to his room, we put up his backpack. I spent a few minutes saying goodbye and Mrs. J took him. He was already done crying by the time I left the door, his teacher had distracted him with the new stickers she had for them that day. I went to the hallway and started crying myself. (today was harder for both of us I think!). There is a teacher's aide that floats between the classrooms (I can't believe I don't know her name yet) who ALWAYS fills me in on Drew's day and makes me feel so good about leaving him. She stood at the classroom windows with me and helped me to see where he was before I left.
Camden and I left for our errands for the day, and we were back to get Drew in plenty of time to watch him through the windows for a few minutes before dismissal. The aide and Mrs. H told me he had a great day and there were no more tears after I left in the morning. Mrs. J said he is such a sweet boy, and that he had a great day. She told me to bring him to school this week in big boy underwear. I don't think we are going to though. We have tried a little more this weekend with no interest in the potty on Drew's part, and I think he needs more time to adjust to school before having to worry about wetting his pants there. When Mrs. J called Drew to the door, he came running with a smile and a hug for me, that was exactly what this mama needed! Then, as promised, we went to Chick Fil' A for lunch and Drew was extra excited when he got a blue balloon and a chick fil a cow!

here are some random, recent pics of the big boy...

Late night treat with mommy

summertime pool fun

just being a goofball at home!

First Day of School

first day of school

Drew had his first day of Mother's Day Out (AKA: school) today and he did great!

I was anxious last night and had some tears about leaving my baby for the first time...literally, we have only left him with family or our good friends. Not church, not daycare, not a babysitter, nothing...so this was a big day for both of us.
This morning I had butterflies in my stomach all the way there. We did breakfast like normal this morning, Will stayed home with Camden so I could focus on just Drew. We got there and walked in and got to Drew's classroom and he did not want to walk in, he told me he wanted me to stay. I told him I would stay for a few minutes and we went to find his cubby and put all his belongings up. We looked at a couple puzzles together and when one of his teachers was ready to take him from me, we parted ways. He screamed, and I quickly walked out. I cried as soon as I got into the hallway! I was able to peek in the classroom windows right after dropping him though and he was playing on the floor with a train and doing ok. We had a parent meeting across the hall and I peeked in after that was over, and he was sitting at the table doing a craft with Mrs. J and the other kids I felt good about leaving, he was doing well :)
The house was awfully quiet without him here, but I felt ok about it. The time did go quickly before I had to be back to get him.
I was the first parent there and was able to talk to the teacher's aide in the hallway for several minutes and she assured me that Drew had a good day. I guess he saw a parent walking down the stairs while they were out on the playground, and then was upset because he thought all the parents should be there and his was not :( She said it lasted a couple minutes and after that he really did have a good day. As Mrs. H was bringing the kids' backpacks/lunchboxes out to the hall she told me Drew had a great day. The aide and Mrs. H told me the note I placed in Drew's lunchbox was a big hit. They said it was in his hand all through lunch and it was still in his lunchbox when I got home. Who knew a little note (that he couldn't read by himself) would mean so much to him. Now, I will save that note forever (after it dries out from his water spilling on it!).
When I picked him up, Mrs. J told me he was great, such a big helper, had a great day, and even went pee pee on the potty! :) He looked exhausted and ready to go home, I almost thought he was going to cry when he saw me. He was concerned about making sure we had his lunchbox and then he gave Mrs. J a hug goodbye and got a stamp on his hand for the day (which he wanted to wash off as soon as we got home).
We talked all the way home and had the rest of snack when we got home and cuddled before heading up for nap. He told me that R in his class cried all day (which is true...poor guy), told me that Mrs. J read books, he got to play with the toys, went potty, etc. I think he had a good first day and will probably take a really long, much needed nap!

way to go Drew!
xoxo
Mommy!