One whole week

So I made it through my first entire week back to work. It was a pretty laid back week but I am finding it hard to buckle down. I have to pump twice a day and I go feed Cameron at lunch. It seems like the day is over so quickly that I feel like I run out of time to be productive. I'm still trying to find a rhythm that works.

Cameron had another great week at school. She continued to play dress up with the hankerchiefs and she did another art project. She painted a yellow squirrel that was hung above the classroom table. There are two new boys in her class closer to her age. AJ is just 5 days older than Cameron and Kaishu is a month older. I still thinks she likes having the older kids around because she learns so much from them. She is insisting on sitting up. If we put her on her back she lifts her head and shoulders off the floor and will roll over if we don't pick her up. Its really impressive. We are now putting her in her lounger and letting her play with her baby gym sitting up like she does in class. I'm thrilled at the progress she is making.



On Friday Jeff took Cameron to take her 3 month portraits. We were really late taking this months pictures since we skipped the weekend she started school because she scratched her face. Although she is technically 3.5 months I'm glad we waited. The pictures turned out incredible. Jeff is able to get Cameron to stick out her tongue on command, so we ended up with some great personality shots. All the pictures were so cute we found it really difficult to not buy them all. We did end up with 11 out of the 30. Check out our favorites in the Monthly Portraits photo album linked on the right.

For the rest of the weekend we just hung out. Sonya and David came over and treated us to a terrific BBQ. Sonya even made a dessert that I could eat (since Cameron won't let me have dairy, chocolate, peanut butter, strawberries...). She made these great coconut cupcakes. Don't tell my trainer, but I had two.


Big news on the diet side of things.... My weight is now below 150 (my first visit to the doctor at 8 weeks pregnant I was 155lbs). I'm worried about being back at work because the food is incredible but I'm trying hard to stick to my diet. Cameron is really helping me out by being so picky about what I eat. Its great because I don't mind not having chocolate when Cameron is so healthy and perfect.

Mom goes back to work...

I returned to work on the 14th. I have to admit to being nervouse about going back but everything was great. All of my coworkers were very nice and I got a new project that I'm very excited about.

Cameron made it through her second week of school where she tried painting again and this time things went very smooth. Clothes stayed on and she made a new leaf for the classroom Fall tree. She also got to do yoga on Thursday and I joined her since it was at the same time that I went to feed her for lunch. It was all going well until we did the quick drop which caused all the milk to come back up. I will no longer feed her immediately before yoga.

Daddy also made a visit to school this week. Jeff joined the class for music on Friday. Cameron loved having daddy there and laughed and giggled the whole time. She even wore her new red skirt for the occasion.


What we have noticed since starting daycare is that Cameron plays much more than before. She reaches for the toys and loves it when you sing the songs from music class. We are going to try and learn them all because seeing her smile and giggle when you sing is such a treat. I'm not worried about Cameron at all now that I have returned to work. I know she is in a good place and having a good time.

What's a hike?

So this weekend we watched Mikey so Elisabeth and Chip could spend some alone time together. Mikey was so excited to finally get to have a sleep over at our house and even more excited to find out that we were going to go on a hike. Of course that was before he knew what a hike was.



It started out great. Everyone was excited, even Cameron who was determined to stay awake the whole time. PJ was even more excited when he discovered that this trail followed a stream that created several pools, all of which he had to test. The unfortunate part was there was poison oak everywhere. We showed Mikey how to avoid it, but he kept forgetting.



Part of the trail became impossible to avoid the poison oak so we decided instead of doing the loop, we would head to the summit (a side hike). This is where Mikey learned that hiking is not all fun. He hated doing the summit and complained the whole time but when he got to the top he actually did feel like he accomplished something. Then he figured out he now had to hike back...



Cameron also enjoyed making it to the summit and celebrated by presenting Daddy with a super messy diaper. Thank goodness there was a table at the top so we had something to change her on. She seemed very happy with the hike and didn't sleep until we got back to the car.

As we drove home, everyone fell asleep. The rest of the weekend we spent just lounging.

Cameron goes to school.....

So I go back to work next week and decided to start Cameron at school ahead of time in case the transition was too difficult. I have to say, she took to it like a fish to water. The first day was a little shaky because she was so tired, too excited to take anything more than a catnap, but the rest of the week she was terrific.


She had no problems taking the bottle from her new teachers and she absolutely loves the buggy rides. Cameron is actually going to be the only girl in the class. Three girls have graduated to the mobile-infant classroom and will complete the transition this month. The teachers are all so nice, and really try and keep the babies stimulated. I stayed and watched how they organized the classroom and was very impressed.

On Cameron's first day the teachers reported that she hated painting and that she just screamed and screamed as soon as her hand went through the paint. At first I was concerned because she really likes the art museum. Then I saw a picture of the activity and informed the teachers it wasn't painting she didn't like.... Cameron was naked. The teachers didn't want to mess up her clothes so they stripped her down to her diaper for paint-time. Cameron will allow you to take off her clothes and then she will give you about 3 minutes to put her in warm water or under a warm blanket. The cold paint didn't have a chance. We are going to get her a smock to wear instead. I'm sure we will be getting lots of art from her.


Baby Yoga was cancelled this week (yes they have a yoga class on Thursdays), but I was able to visit during their Friday music class. I was unsure about what to expect, but this was the cutest thing I ever saw. Cameron was fascinated by the guitar and even though she was really tired, she really enjoyed the music and watching all of the other babies sing and clap. I think she is really going to like Fridays.


It was a great week for Cameron. I think she is very stimulated by her new classroom, the other babies, and her great great teachers. Besides the buggy rides, the teachers report she loves to just sit in the baby recliner and watch all the other kids. She is also playing lots of games and has discovered that mirrors are very fun. I have no concerns about her when I start back to work. I can't believe how lucky we are to have gotten her into this class.

A Day at the Beach

Today we decided to go to the beach. Its our last holiday weekend before Cameron starts daycare and I go back to work. This was Cameron's first trip to the beach. We drove down to Carmel and started the day with a picnic on the beach. While we all ate PJ dug himself a hole under a tree.


Cameron seemed to enjoy the sound of the water and just hung out in her stroller listening. She seemed mesmerized for a bit and had this funny look on her face.

After lunch we took the stroller down the beach and let PJ off leash to enjoy the water. Luckily we brought a ball this time, so he fetched the ball and went body surfing in the water. PJ tried to play with the other dogs but they were all smaller than him and weren't interested. He hung out with Cameron and Jeff for a little while.

Finally PJ stole a stick from another dog and spent the rest of the time trying to kill the stick. I threw it into the ocean a few more times so he could get good and tired for the ride home.

It was a very busy weekend for Carmel. There was a boat race that we could watch from shore and a golf tournament we could watch if we turned around. A few golfers hit the balls down on the beach, but luckily PJ wasn't interested in that type of ball.

Cameron fell asleep during the walk on the beach and slept for most of the visit. I fed her and then we headed back. Again Cameron was really good in the car until the last 30 minutes. Our trip ended with a screaming baby and a sick dog. PJ had drank too much salt water and decided to get rid of it during the ride home.

It should be a good night...