Cameron's First Christmas

What a WONDERFUL day. Just like any new parents we kept hearing from everyone "I know Cameron is going to get a TON of stuff for Christmas". We tried to be cognizant of the fact that he would not really understand or even remember anything about this Christmas so we tried not to go overboard with buying him a ton of stuff. While we did get more than we probably should have (we couldn't help it) I think we did better than most new parents. And even though we spent quite a bit of money on him for toys (most of them being educational ones) and clothes he did just as we expected, paid more attention to the paper than the actual gift. That's okay, it was cute to watch. BTW, to all of you who thought of us this Holiday with cards and gifts, we say "Thank You" from the bottom of our hearts!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we were SO excited about starting the "Glenn Family Christmas Tradition". I put things in motion by purchasing our new Christmas pajamas. Of course Mommy and Daddy had to get regular pajamas (no Christmas designs for us) but I found Cameron the cutest little Christmas pajama set and he was as handsome as ever in it. Then on Christmas Eve after dinner out with friends we headed back home for our Christmas story. We got all dressed up in our new pajamas and read the Christmas story from the bible. While we knew he wouldn't understand this year we plan to do this every Christmas. Our main reason for this is so that we can expose Cameron to the TRUE meaning of Christmas. As the tradition continues, he will be able to understand the reason behind all the excitement over Christmas as well as why we do things like give gifts on this wonderful holiday. We were supposed to read the story and then open one gift each before bed but in true Cameron fashion he feel asleep before the story was over. We were not disappointed at all, it was truly special starting this family tradition. We will see if next year brings about different results.

Cam Turns 8 Months!

This week Cameron turned 8 months old. I honestly can't believe it. He has become such a BIG boy. As you have seen over the past few months he is growing and growing, getting bigger and longer each day. If I had to guess I would say he is probably about 19 (solid) pounds right now. While we don't have another doctor's appointment until his 9 month check up I am pretty sure I am close in guessing his weight. ( I can tell by how tired my arms are when I carry him - LOL).

Development Track I know every baby is different in their development but I can't help but compare Cameron to the other little boys in his class. I have to say he is ahead of his classmates when it comes to his fine motor skills and his vocal skills. He is much more vocal than others in his class (sometimes not in a good way). He does this thing now where he will just start to scream at the top of his lungs. It is not a crying scream but a laughing one but it is SO loud it is ridiculous! It sounds like he is trying to hit a Mariah Carey note or something. Too funny. His favorite word to say is da-da. Yes da-da. I have not heard ma-ma yet but I know its coming soon.

The Teeth Cameron's bottom two teeth came in right before he turned 6 months old. He really didn't know what to do with them when they were fully in. When I would put the spoon in his mouth he would try to chew on it because he was not use to them being there. Now he has one top tooth coming in. You can see it starting to poke out and when you put your finger in his mouth you can feel it. It's going to be funny to see him so young with top and bottom teeth! Then again, you never know. It may take months for those top ones to finally come in.

Crawling - NOT One area in which Cameron is not ahead of the rest of his classmates is with crawling. Again, I know all babies are different and some babies don't crawl at all but because Cameron is on his belly most of the time I thought he would be crawling by now. Don't get me wrong, he can get anywhere he wants to go but not from crawling - from either scooting or rolling over to get there (see video). Jante' and I say it every day - he is going to be a handful when he starts to crawling and walking. Just watching him trying to get from point A to point B he is so determined. If he is sitting in your arms and he sees something he wants, you would think he was 100 lbs because he uses his strength to maneuver to where he wants to go. We will see how much longer it takes for little man to start to crawl!

O Christmas Tree

I can't believe it but it is time to put up the Christmas tree already. I originally planned not to put up a tree (because we were going to be in Atlanta on Christmas Day) but once we decided not to go to Atlanta until the 26th, I could not resist putting up the tree. Plus this was a great way to get in the Christmas spirit. And of course the rest of the family tried to help. It took longer than I'd planned but we finally got it done. (Or should I say, I got it done, as you can see Cameron and Jante' took more breaks than they did work).

God's Creations!

One of the new "Glenn Family" traditions we will implement for Christmas is reading and sharing the true meaning of Christmas with Cameron. We will get dressed up in our new Christmas PJ's and read the Christmas story from the bible and then explain to him why we celebrate this great holiday. We think it is very important to teach him early the real meaning of Christmas and all the wonderful things that God has done for our family. Some great friends of ours (Keiya and Kevin Myles) invited us to the Creation Museum and we knew this would be another way to show Cameron the great works of the Lord. The Creation Museum is a museum dedicated to bringing the pages of the bible to life. We had a great time walking through the stories from the bible and really seeing first hand the miracles God preformed. Trust me, we know that right now Cameron doesn't understand many of the things that's going on but as Proverbs 22:6 says, "Train a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

For Cameron's first Thanksgiving we drove to Georgia to visit family. We were planning on having Thanksgiving in Cincinnati but changed our minds when we realized we REALLY wanted to be back in the south for the holiday. Because Cameron has been on the go since he was a few weeks old (meaning riding in the car constantly) he did wonderfully on the drive down. When we drive we try to leave in the evenings so that he can sleep the majority of the way. This time was no different, he slept like a champ! While in Atlanta Cameron got a chance to see Auntie Tiffy as well as many family members that he has not seen since the 4th of July. We had dinner at Mommy Mary's house and my family drove over from Alabama. Unfortunately Cameron couldn't have any of the good food we had but it didn't matter because he enjoyed being spoiled to death. Cameron spent the majority of the time in someones arms (as you can see from the pics). I told him next year he will be able to eat like a big boy and join mommy and daddy for the ham and turkey!

Lazy Days

With Day Light Savings Time being in effect, it is getting dark extremely early (like 5:30). This calls for some lazy times. This past week we took the time to just relax and not do anything. It was interesting because we are so used to being on the go (Cameron is too) that sitting around watching movies and ordering dinner in was some family time well needed. We will be leaving headed to Georgia for Thanksgiving tomorrow so no big activities this past weekend. Here are a few pics of Cameron over the past few days. I look at these pictures in amazement that he is getting so big so quickly! I am cherishing these times because I know we will never get them back.

The Belly is Proof Enough

I have been trying to get caught up on my scrapbooking but in order to do that sometimes I let Cameron join me in my craft room. In order to get anything done I have to give him something to do so that he can entertain himself. In this video I asked Cameron to help me crop but all he wanted to do was eat the paper. As you can tell from the video he does not need to add anything else to his diet. That belly is proof enough that he is not missing a meal. Yes my baby's belly is big but that's okay he is solid! I tell him all the time he is preparing to be a football player. That way mommy and daddy won't have to work so hard later in life. LOL!

Night Time Ritual

Jante' is a GREAT father. He really does help me out each and every day with Cameron. While I know this is his responsibility as a father I can tell you he goes the extra mile in pulling his weight. Like most parents we have a nightly routine. I normally give Cameron his bath (really my favorite thing to do each day) and Jante' will feed him and put him to sleep. After he is asleep Jante' prepares to put Cameron in his bed but not before doing this crazy little dance - see video. Its funny because I can do the same routine as Jante' and Cameron will just look at me like I am crazy. It's only when he is in Daddy's arms that he is relaxed and will fall right asleep. (Thank goodness Jante' is traveling less).

The Drool Paid Off

Cameron has been drooling for the past 2 1/2 months. From morning to night we are constantly wiping his mouth because the drool is so heavy. Everyone said, "Oh he's drooling that means his teeth are coming in". Day after day I would look in his mouth and see no teeth. But I started to believe folks when I realized he wanted to put everything in his mouth (I guess rubbing stuff against his gums made them feel better). Well the other night I put my finger in his mouth and I felt something! I looked and low and behold to my surprise there was a tooth! All the drooling has finally paid off. I had to get it on camera. In the video he his tongue is in the way but you can still see his one little tooth......too cute!

Lashes to Die For

As Cameron starts to get older his features are really coming out. As many of you have said he really looks more and more like Jante' every day (except for my big pretty eyes). As he gets older I have started to realize he has some of the prettiest eye lashes ever! Jante' says "pretty" is not a word I should use when referring to his son but I can't help it. They are truly lashes most women would kill to have. I tell him all the time folks pay good money to get lashes like that and now they have prescription medication to help lashes grow. He doesn't ever have to worry about spending his money on those drugs. I tried to get a good shot of his lashes - this is the best I could do.

A Sunday Afternoon at the Park

I know I have mentioned this several times before but if you are not familiar with the weather in Cincinnati you probably wouldn't know this but it can change at the drop of a dime. As an example, the weather this weekend was gorgeous! Yes, the first weekend in November and temperatures were in the high 60's low 70's. So of course we had to take advantage of it - and headed to the park. Cameron loves the outdoors so he enjoyed this adventure. You never know, this may not be the last time we enjoy great weather this year! We will see....

Happy Halloween!!!

This week was filled with exciting firsts. For any of you that know me you know that I am "Miss Involvement" - probably too involved. Once we got pregnant I immediately said I could not wait until Cameron was old enough for me to get involved with his school and the activities there. Well this week I got my chance! Creme' had their annual fall festival and I was a host. I was like a kid in a candy store. The kids were hilarious in there costumes. I saw a ton of princesses and action figure heros with muscles (have you ever seen a 4 year old with muscles like a wrestler - HILARIOUS!) And then there was the cutest caterpillar that you could have EVER seen (that would be Cam)! We laughed, we ate and we laughed some more. While this was my first time volunteering there I can promise it will not be my last. I told Cam I WILL be the president of the PTA one day - believe it!

Are Those My Toes?

I realized last week that Cameron has discovered his toes. One day when we were on our way to school I got ready to take him out of his car seat and his socks were soak and wet! He didn't have on any shoes but I still could not understand how his socks got soaked. That's when it dawned on me......he was mighty quite back there. It was because his feet were in his mouth! It's funny because there is a pose in yoga called the "happy baby" pose. It's basically you on your back with your feet very close to your face and your index fingers are wrapped around your big toes. I now understand where the name of the pose comes from. This is the exact position Cameron has been in a lot lately. Here he is playing with his toes while watching "Your Baby Can Read".

The Silent Treatment

Cameron loves "running his mouth" like his mommy. However he gets in these little moods when he doesn't want to say anything. I think its because I am in his face constantly with either the digital or video camera. In this video we were trying to get him to say hello to nana and paw-paw. No go. He was looking at us like we were crazy.

Huge Milestone!!

Cameron celebrated a huge milestone this week - he is now 6 months old!!!! I can hardly believe it. The time has gone by so fast and each day Mr. Glenn is coming into his own personality. He wakes up laughing and all throughout the day he is laughing and smiling. I asked him if I was funny looking to him because sometimes he will just look at me and burst out laughing. We had our 6 month doctor's visit and he weighed in at 17 lbs and 27 inches long! Dr. Cook was amazed at how long he has gotten in just 2 months. He was in the 50th percentile for both his weight and length this time. I questioned the doctor about his weigh because I could not believe he was just in the 50th percentile, I just knew he was over weight. She explained that he is right on target because had he been born at about 8 1/2 lbs (the average weight for a full term baby boy) he would have been approx. 17 lbs (double his weight) at 6 months. Cameron was only 6 lbs 4 oz when he was born but he has made up for being under weight at birth (LOL!) I was so proud of him because once again he did extremely well with his shots. He let out one little scream and then started looking around a laughing at all of us hovering over him. To celebrate this milestone I made him a Brownie Trifle. You will notice he didn't waste any time trying to put his hand in the dessert to grab some whipped cream (don't worry, my baby will not be on Maury Povich - he didn't eat any). We also started our first Glenn Family Tradition at the pumpkin patch. We had a great time! Oddly enough the weather was perfect for us to spend time there taking pictures and watching Cameron stare at the animals and pumpkins.

When Mom's Away

This weekend was the first time I was away from Cameron for more than one night. Me, Vivan, Renna and Faye (my aunts) went to Chicago for a Girls Weekend Getaway. We had a WONDERFUL time but I have to admit I was missing my boo boo. I was a little nervous because Jante' would be by himself and have both Cameron and Prince ALL weekend. I don't know why I second guessed him because he did a fantastic job! Let him tell it he is a "Pro" at this! I told him now that I know he can take care of both Cameron and Prince without a hitch, I will start to leave them together more often. (Don't believe that - I couldn't be away from my baby that long! LOL)

Faye and Cameron before we leave for Chicago

Daddy snapping pics of Cam for Mommy

Practice Time

Cameron is almost 6 months old and we have been trying to help him work on his core stomach muscles. He practices tummy time every day at school but we try to give him some time at home to work on muscle development as well. He is actually doing pretty good. I tell him all the time he is advanced. In this video I am trying to get him to reach for his toy. He starts off dazing at Prince but he finally gets it.

Visit from Auntie Dimp and Uncle Trav

This weekend Dimples and Travis came to visit Mr. Cameron. We had a great time and as always Dimples was putting on a show for us. Even though Cameron is always really good, he was on his VERY BEST behavior this weekend. He and I talked about this before Dimples and Travis arrived. We wanted to make sure Dimples saw all the joys of having a baby. I am really proud of her, she held him, sang to him and pretty much did everything except change his diaper (and trust me this is a big deal)! Here are a few pics of us from the weekend.

More Greens?

Since Cameron turned 4 months we have been incorporating solids into his diet. We started with the cereal (see previous blog updates) and now we are adding fruits and veggies. As the doctor recommended, we started with the green veggies - once we determine that there are no allergies, we will transition to the orange ones and then the yellow's. So far the greens are going really well (as expected since you see he is not missing a meal). Just like his mommy he loves green beans. In these pictures I am starting the peas. As you can see, at first he was looking at me like "What you talking 'bout Willis, I have to eat peas now?" However just like the green beans in the end he loved them too and was begging for more!

Hey Nana, Hey Paw Paw

Each day I encourage Cameron to start "talking". Of course he does the babbling and cooing on a regular basis but I don't think it's ever too early to get him talking. Obviously he is not talking yet but its fun to try. LOL! In this video I am trying to get him to say "Hey" to Nana and Paw Paw.

Kings Island

The weather has been wonderful in Cincinnati lately so we figured we better enjoy it because it WILL end very soon. Saturday we took advantage of the great weather and visited Kings Island. As you may or may not know, Jante' and I are not big "riders" so getting on kiddy rides with Cameron is right up our alley. While we didn't do the ride thing this time we know next time we take Cam to the park we will be able to ride with him. This time we enjoyed the food and weather. We were also able to take some pictures with the fun characters of the park and Cameron got to see Daddy pretend he was LeBron James.

To Drink or Not To Drink

Jante' and I have been trying to teach Cameron how to drink from his sippy cup. Because he is almost 5 months old we figured he needs to learn how to hold his cup and bottle on his own. Watching him has been hilarious! It's funny because he gets so frustrated when he is not able to put the tip of the cup in his mouth. At some point he will just throw the cup down out of frustration. We have been trying to teach him to be patient (obviously he doesn't understand what that means) but we are working on it. Here he is trying it again. We haven't put anything in the cup yet because we want to make sure he has it down pat. I think he is almost there........

The Christening

For Labor Day weekend we went to Alabama to visit the family and to have Cameron christened. We had a WONDERFUL time. It is always good to see family and friends but this time was particularly special because Cameron is now officially a child of God. When he gets older he will have to accept Christ into his life on his own but we felt it was important to dedicate him now and raise him in the church to learn the ways of the Lord. Jante' shared with Cameron that he wanted this to be the "beginning" of his life and what better place to start than at church! Everyone was so amazed at how good Cameron was during the service and the actual dedication. All he did was look at Pastor Jones and smile. He didn't even flinch when the water was poured over his head. I told them he wasn't hungry or sleepy so looking around and being nosey is the standard M.O. LOL!