Mumff, Grumble, Snarff

Camden has been rather fussy at night, needing to be pat-pat-patted several times during the night.  Which has been a trifle annoying, but not nearly so much as last night's incident.  I don't suppose the whole night would have been a bust, if we had known what to do.  So Camden cried and Dan went to check on him.  Turns out he (Camden, not Dan) had saturated his diaper and then some and was uncomfortable.  Unfortunately, after rectifying the situation, Camden had no interest in sleeping.  Not in his crib.  Not in Dan's arms (which is my favorite way to fall asleep).  Not with me holding him.  Not on the couch snuggling with me.  He snoozed a bit with Dan, but it didn't last.  I think we both just kept thinking, surely he will fall asleep faster if we are holding him, than if he screams in his room for a while.  But we should have just let him cry it out at 2:30 instead of at 4 and again at 5:30.  Ah, well.

I just don't get it!  How could he not have wanted to sleep again?  Nope, he just wanted to explore and play and wiggle and kick and poke my face.  How could he have so much energy when I felt like a gritty-eyed zombie?

So, yeah, I have low expectations of today.  All three of us had a lousy night and Sundays are always harder cause church is during Camden's regular naptime.  Of course, he won't sleep at church because it is too interesting - not that he actually seems to listen at all.  Fortunately, I got him to take an early nap!!!  So there is hope for a non-psychotic resolution to the day.

Homeowner Joys

So, we've had four lovely years in our home.  And I do love our house!  But apparently, it is upset that we wanted to get rid of it and is having a bit of revenge.

This may well be called the tale of the oblivious.  Since I try not to notice frustrating things, it took a while for us to figure out there was something wrong with our house.  But it steadily got worse - cracks in the walls expanding and appearing by just about every door frame, doors sticking and not shutting, and then we noticed we have a floating wall - Dan can put his hand under it.  Well, we figured no one would want to buy our house with it looking like that.  We sucked it up and called a structural engineer to give us a valid opinion on the extent of the damage.  The engineer indicated there is a probability of a leak beneath our slab foundation and we would need (what we think is) significant piering to support our beleaguered foundation.  *sigh*

So we had a plumber come out and test our freshwater and drainage systems to see if we had a leak.  Which we do.  Er, did.  Then he had to come back to find the leak, which was pretty small and slow, so it took a while to locate the leak, but the plumber sure had some nifty tools!  As it turns out, our drainage runs uphill, so apparently the pipes were pretty nasty.  The plumber expressed surprise that our system has never backed up.  So it's nice to have that all cleaned up!

So Thursday we had another plumber come out and fix the leak.  Camden was pretty fascinated with the process and wanted to spend the whole time watching the man work.

Camden was exceedingly startled when the jackhammering began, which vibrated the floor all through the house and was quite loud.

The plumber jackhammered a bit and then used a hammer and chisel to bust up most of the concrete.  He sucked up the chunks with his super-hero shop vac.  It took about thirty minutes to look like this.

Then he dug out the dirt below.  It was tricky to find the pipe, so he actually had to expand his original hole to the left.  He used a long metal piece to poke through the dirt, trying to find the pipe.  

Yay!  He found it!  Took about two hours and a call or two to the original plumber.  The joint is cracked along the lip and you can see the joint slipped.

So he cut out the bad part.  (And no using any water right now!)

And he put in a spanking new part with a more flexible joint piece that should be able to accommodate some movement within the earth. 

Then refill the hole with the excavated dirt.

The re-cement the hole.  And we are all done!   

So now the leak is all fixed.  We got bids from a couple companies about doing the piering.  Apparently this is a super busy summer for them, so we won't be able to get that fixed until probably October.  *sigh*  I think Camden and I will go visit someone while the piers are put in.  Something about multiple holes in the floor, huge equipment everywhere, well...  I think it'd be better/safer to be away!  Then I can come home and have everything all better.  

Splash Pad Fun

The other day we went to this fabulous splash park with my friend Michelle and her little boy, who is one day older than Camden.

 Camden is starting to get a little braver and actually get wet.

It was a great morning!  It's always a successful time when Camden falls asleep quick and naps for a while! 

Reunions are the best!

So the second week in August, my family joined with our far-flung counterparts in one extremely large gathering in the foothills of Mount St Helen's in Washington state.  Ahhhhhh, it was amazing!!!   First off, the  weather was a marvelous contrast to our over 100 degree temperatures at home.  Plus, there was some unbelievable scenery.  You just can't go wrong with a volcano close by!

Here is the view from the Hilltop House, where we enjoyed several delicious meals and had some seriously great entertainment.

I love that I am part of a classy family (even though I would at all say that I am classy).  For our entertainment night, we had so many clever performers singing, dancing, playing piano, violin, and more.  It was really enjoyable. 

Camden was in awe of the alphorns played by Aunt Susie and Uncle Steve.  They vibrated the floor and  definitely made music never before heard by my boy.

 Here is my Grandma Marion and cousin Katherine.  Grandma is largely responsible for making our reunions possible.  I am so glad she was able to meet Camden, even if he was less than thrilled at the opportunity.  And I'm extra glad that we have such a remarkable person, someone I really admire, as our matriarch.  

There were oodles of fantastic and fun people everywhere!  It's really remarkable how everyone I'm related to is great and so enjoyable to be with.  And their kids are well-behaved and funny!

Here is the group that hiked Ape Caves Monday morning - a real LAVA TUBE!   Just about half of our total group.

The Minute-to-Win-It Games - little David stares in awe as Russ and Lisa face off!

 Did I also mention we got to hike up Lava Canyon?  Okay, basically, anything to do with lava is pretty darn cool.  So, to peruse a geologically fascinating, beautifully scenic walk with some of my favorite people ever?  Well, it was pure bliss!  

Don't worry, I made sure to point out to Camden all the remarkable geologically interesting stuff I saw. 

Parts of the river looked like a sweet water ride, but there were plenty of signs warning that hikers wouldn't enjoy falling in the water, unless they wanted to be dead. 

Isabelle, Rhed, Winfield, Silas, Sarah
Here are some fellow hikers.  I love Sarah's outfit (on the far right). 

This suspension bridge was a real adventure.  It was high and it rocked and, looking down between the slats, you could see very far below you.

Here is what the bridge crossed over.  I had Camden in the pack - I wanted to be sure to have both hands free.  Figured bad mom of year award would be mine if I dropped him over the edge on accident.  Of course, maybe I qualify for paranoid mom instead.  :)

Camden loved walking the paths around the lodge.  Certainly the greenery is quite different from our house.  The forest is so amazing there.  

 Camden learned how to climb up the ladder to the play structure there.  At first, he would wait for us to sit him on his bottom to slide down, but then he learned a better way.

The only trouble was when I got distracted for a minute and he climbed up and slid down without me noticing or being there to catch him.  Not so surprisingly, Camden didn't enjoy the face plant into wood mulch.  I felt terrible, too.

But it was a fantastic week.  The whole experience was great, but felt a little ADD.  I'd start talking with one of my cousins, trying to catch up, then Camden would need something and I'd go to him.  When I finished, I'd start chatting with someone else, but then again, Camden would need me.  So, I had lots of five and ten minute chats with lots of people, but few in depth discussions with family members.  But I love my family and it was so enjoyable to spend time with them, especially the ones I rarely get to see!

15 Months

This has been a super busy summer for Camden, with lots of growing up and new experiences.  He's totally toddler now, not very baby-ish anymore.  

He had his 15-month checkup and here are the stats:

Weight:  21lbs 9 oz,  13%

Height:  31.5 inches, 63%

Head circumference:  47.75cm,  67%

Camden really hates getting his head measured.  He gave the nurse reproachful looks and pulled out his super pathetic-angry face whenever she got too close.  Which was kind of convenient, I guess, because he was already at piercing pitch before he ever got his vaccinations.  I think he hated being held down more than the shots.  Poor kid.

Camden has had some busy times this last month.... he's a little bit of developmental highlights!  I already shared lots of what we did with our family.

Here's a great example of his unhappy self.  Camden throws great tantrums now - throws himself on the floor, rolls around, crying and wailing.  I think it's pretty funny mostly, but it's really frustrating when he does it at the store because I won't let him throw pickle jars or let him bite on every loaf of bread he can grab (which is more than you'd think- he's FAST).  

Camden has become more obsessed with the phone.  Now he will hand the phone to me so I can talk on it.  He'll actually say his version of hello too (a nice rising diphthong).  Lots of other things make great phones too - the remote, some crumpled up paper, etc.

He's starting to say more words - he used to just know dog and bird and dad and mom and ball and balloon. But now he says please and shoes and car and cat and cow and all sorts of things.  Seems like he says new words every day or so.  Today he started saying "uh-oh" if his binky fell out or if he knocked something over.

He grew a mustache!!  Okay, it looked better before he realized it was tasty.  Camden has discovered the joy of licking the spatula after the brownies go in the oven.  Yeah, he learned a couple things from his cousins that I might not have broached on my own.  :)

Camden LOVES slides.  And he was very handy at climbing up, getting to sitting position and zipping down.  At least, he did great, until I started taking pictures.  Then he developed some balance issues and fell down the back of the slide as often as he went down the front.  Interestingly, it didn't stop the slide from being very attractive and fun.  

Notice some of his cousins in the background.  Thanks to so much time with family and young kids, Camden has learned how to play with other kids.  Although, he does think it involves a good amount of pushing as well as playing.  :)

My boy has gotten more proficient with silverware.  You can see from the evidence on the bib that he doesn't have a 100% success rate on delivery, but I'm so impressed there is actually food in his mouth by the time the spoon makes the trip.  Hooray for a little more independence!!  

Check out this sweet vehicle and accompanying cute girl!  I swear this boy had better ugly up before middle school or we are doomed!!  :)

Camden got to have his first horseback ride.  He really rode with me, but he adored this moment of independence.  I have no idea what the horse behind is doing.  

Another super fun month with Camden.  My life consists of story time at the library, meeting friends at the splash parks, a play date here and there, and Camden just trying to figure everything out.  I love it!  I love my boy!

A Grand Park

Yesterday we all went to a fantastic park!  Here Isabelle, Marian, Callie (and you can't see Joshy) are enjoying this remarkable part of the playground.  I guess it's the new version of a merry-go-round. 

Then Marian decided it would be so much more fun to ride on top, and everyone else agreed. 

Delaney liked the individual-sized one better.

There was also this amazing climbing structure.  It was rather tall.  Isabelle could climb to the top in two-seconds flat and totally beat Joshy and Marian in a race. 

Kristy and Miri resting from their exertions.

 Camden love, love, loved!!! the slide.  He rode down with me first and then he went by himself.  I held his hands halfway down and he slid the rest of the way.  He obviously enjoyed it, even when he zipped off the end and thunked on the mulch.

Rylee, Camden, and Emily liked swinging on the steps up to the play structure.  Almost as good as the swings.

 And here is just a darn cute picture of Zachary, one of my newest nephews!



In case you forgot what he looks like

 I apologize in advance....  The internet is pretty slow, so I had to resize the photos to pathetically low resolution in order to get them to upload.  However, I know that your life cannot possibly be happy without a reminder of how cute and entertaining my child is. 

Pilfering from Aunt Kristy's kitchen cupboard (try saying that 10 times fast).

Camden was sooooo excited to spend some time outdoors in a completely new place.  Notice both hands are flapped back - he thinks that will help him walk faster.  

Isabelle and Marian sharing their favorite chickens with Camden, who was a bit more hesitant to bond with the odd clucking creatures than the girls were.

Camden was delighted to watch me make cookies.... even more so when he discovered the spatula just sitting there, which of course, required closer inspection. 

A whole lot of family!

 Early in the afternoon on Sunday, Camden and I began a trip to my parent's house, to join the gathering of some siblings and offspring.  I  keep forgetting to actually use my camera, so here is skewed recital of events.  Apparently, I don't take pictures of the older kids or adults.  Stink!  I'll do better.

  Here is Camden, five minutes into the journey.

There are so many fun things to do at Grandma & Grandpa's house. 

Emma, enjoying the swing.

 Doesn't she look like a beautiful old-time girl?

Rylee and Charlotte.  Don't be deceived into thinking they are happily playing together.  Charlotte is oblivious and unaware of the imminent danger.  Rylee bites.  The most adorable silent bully you've ever seen.

Classic Delaney.  Just enjoying the horse tire swing.

Camden just wants to be a little bit bigger and get in the tree house all by himself.  Eek.

Monday was Emma's birthday, now 3 years old.  She wasn't the happiest birthday girl for the pictures, probably because she was falling asleep on the horse swing (and about to fall off) when Kera called her in for cake.   

Camden and Charlotte enthusiastically play with Little People.  Okay, maybe Charlotte wasn't as enthusiastic as Camden.

All this excitement - new people, new place, new stuff -- gets a little exhausting.  Poor kid!