A Year Ago Today...

Today's guest writer is mom.

I know the boys have plenty to write about as it has been two months, but I wanted to take a few minutes and reflect on a year of being a mom to two fantastic, cute, funny, challenging, smart, busy, loving, and too many other words to list here, boys.

CAMERON

Cameron seems to be an observant learner as I call it.  For many things (walking, talking, etc) he takes his time to figure them out but then does them well once he starts.  I remember thinking he wasn't saying as many words as he should have (he didn't say mama until he was 10 months old so maybe I was a bit biased and then I got worried when he didn't start using 2 word phrases until well after the "normal").  But since he started putting his words together, he hasn't stopped.  In fact, we are constantly amazed at some of the sentences he speaks and how well he uses words in their correct context.  He also knows the letters of the alphabet and can count to 10.  But he wouldn't start counting until he knew 1,2 & 3 and then he quickly learned 4-10.  Again that observant learner.  He also likes to have things explained to him and most of the time if he gets an explanation, he accepts it and moves on.

Cameron is still a pickier eater.  His favorite food is mac and cheese.  Fortunately he likes the homemade stuff as much as the stuff from the box.  He also will tolerate mom putting spinach in it (though he won't eat much of the spinach).  Fruit is another favorite, especially bananas, grapes, and berries.  However, there are very few fruits he won't eat.  Papaya is the only one I can think of at the moment considering he actually ate several pieces of cantaloupe today and for the first time didn't spit it out.  Steak is another favorite, especially with gorgonzola cheese on it, though he is much better about eating meat in general.  He will eat almost anything in a smoothie.  In fact, he asks me to buy kale everytime we are at Good Harvest Market and though he is not a huge fan of it on it's own (too spicy), he has no problem when I put it in smoothies.  Even if the smoothie is a green or brown color as a result.  My wish for Cameron's eating habits are more veggies, which is one reason we joined a CSA this summer, and less mess - one of his favorite "activities" is to spit out food or dump it on the floor when he is done eating.

Other current favorite activities include playing "chase" (running after or from mom or dad or even now Nate), puzzles, reading, playing with whatever toy Nate has, climbing Mount Pillow (a stack of all the pillows in our house), stacking toys between the fireplace and DVD case or behind the TV, playing outside, and watching cooking shows or Sesame Street.  He doesn't watch too much TV at home, but at my gym's child care it's almost all he does much to my chagrin.  Pretty ironic though - encouraging sedentary kids while their parents are exercising.

Sleeping is not Cameron's strength.  It's frustrating that from the day we brought him home, Nathan has slept better than Cameron.  In fact, Cameron is screaming right now because he woke up.  Right now he has a cold so last night and tonight he has been waking up multiple times.  In a "normal" week, he will wake up a couple times during 3 or 4 nights and then sleep through the night the other 3-4 nights.  Nate, on the other hand, wakes up during the night maybe once a month at most.  Cameron still takes an afternoon nap, but again only about 4 days out of the week.  It would be wonderful if he would sleep through the night regularly.  I rarely hear him so poor Greg bears the brunt of it.  But he is such a daddy's boy that the few times I do hear him, he usually asks for daddy anyway.

Becoming a big brother has really helped Cameron's social skills blossom.  He is very good for a 2 1/2 year old at taking turns, except with Nathan of course.  But at gymnastics class he waits for others to finish using the trampoline and checks to make sure it is his turn before getting on.  The one tactic that works well at home is setting the microwave timer to indicate his turn is up.  We use this to share the ride-on car the boys have.  When the timer goes off, not only will Cameron give Nate a turn, he will bring the car to Nate and proudly declare "Nate's turn".  Cameron loves to help.  He likes to feed Nate and "help" give Nate his bath.  He also is a great sous chef with pouring ingredients into pots and chopping onions (with a chopper, not a knife!) as two of his specialities.  He also enjoys being daddy's apprentice.  The other day Nate and I went upstairs to find Cameron putting screws in the holes and trying to screw them in while changing doorknobs with daddy.  He is also very good at changing batteries and will let you know when a toy needs new batteries.  Our little Mr. Fix-It.

I guess if I had to describe Cameron, some of the words I would use are full of expression (his facial expressions are priceless), active, inquisitive, mechanically inclined, talkative, daddy's boy, observant (he constantly points out EVERYTHING he sees while in the car - many things that I didn't see or hear myself), brave (he doesn't need much encouragement to try new activities and he doesn't flinch at the doctor or dentist), empathetic (he gets worried if Nate is not around and he is very good about saying sorry after hurting someone though I wish he would simply stop bopping his brother instead) and a cutie pie.

NATHAN

I don't think I have had my mid-life crisis yet, but everytime one of my kids turns 1, I do have a mini freak-out.  It's then that I realize my babies are growing up and as exciting as that is, there is a little bit of me that is saddened by how quickly it goes.  Especially the second time around.  But I also think I appreciated certain things more the second time around because I know how quickly it goes.  So how has that all impacted Nate?

First, I think all of Cameron's speech is rubbing off on Nathan.  He already has quite the vocabulary including mama, dada, doggy Jesse, bottle, bread, thank you (my favorite) and his newest "night night Nate" (that is what Cameron tells Nate at bedtime and Nate repeats it).

He is our healthy eater.  Nathan will eat almost anything and large quantities.  We should start weaning him off formula, but I can't find our sippy cups so right now he's still on 3-4 bottles a day (about 20-30 oz a day depending on the day) plus three full meals.  He weighs about 20 lbs and I have no idea how tall he is - he will get measured Friday at his one year check up.

As mentioned before, Nate is a superb sleeper at night.  However, he is awful at napping compared to Cameron at this age.  Nate has not been a consistent napper ever and has been only a one nap a day kid for probably the last 6 months.  Part of it is probably my fault.  I can't stay home all day so we run our errands and go to the gym in the mornings so Cameron can nap in the afternoon.  As a result, I think Nate never really had a fair chance to establish a nap routine.  I'm sure that is only one of many ways he gets the short stick as the second child.

Some of Nate's favorites include following his brother, being held, going for walks or car rides, playing at the gym with the sweet woman who watches infants, eating, playing with whatever toy Cameron has, playing with the TV remote, climbing and cruising the furniture.

Nathan is a very happy, easy-going kid.  Although he is a mama's boy and will sometimes have separation anxiety, once he warms up to you he will be your best friend.  People constantly comment on how smiley he is and how much he talks.  He is starting to exert his opinion more.  He still army crawls and will likely just start walking before he crawls "normal" with his belly off the ground.  In fact, he will walk behind the ride-on car at times, but isn't very interested in having you hold his hands and helping him walk.  Part of me can't wait until he can walk but part of me knows that will just be yet another reminder that my babies are growing up.  They are at such a fun age right now with all the learning that goes on, the brotherly interactions, and the innocence.

The words I would use to describe Nathan include smiley, mellow, persistent, mama's boy, talkative, curious, impatient (at meal times), and impulsive (he seems to just jump in rather than sit back and observe first).  It's so neat how similar yet how different our boys are. 

It has been such a blessing to watch Cameron and Nathan bond and really interact with each other these past few months.  One story that really emphasizes this for me happened about a week ago.  Cameron, in typical brother fashion, bopped Nathan on the head for no real reason.  Nate cried for just a bit and after we comforted him and he settled down, he immediately went back over by Cameron to play with him.  Unconditional brotherly love at its finest.


Cameron and Nathan - Daddy and I love you both very much and thank you for all the love and joy you have brought to our family.  And you both are very blessed to have such a loving, supportive extended family and friends to share all of your memories with.

White Linens and Candlelight (should have been posted 2/18)

So we have had quite the week.  Wednesday, mom took us to the Betty Brinn Children's Museum in downtown Milwaukee.  I (Cameron) had fun running off and scaring mom when she couldn't find me.  I also had fun in the sandbox, playing in a tunnel, and trying to build a birdhouse.  Nathan didn't get to do much but I think he still had fun watching me.  Then we picked up lunch at Beans and Barley and because of my insistence (I kept saying "mama's office"), we ate our lunch at mom's office.  She got me a cheese quesadilla and a fruit smoothie while she had a sweet potato and black bean burrito which I also ate some of.  Thursday we hung out with mom all day as daddy didn't get home until late so she took us to the gym in the evening where we got to play with the other kids.  Today might have just topped Wednesday and Thursday though.  First we met baby Emma Claire Ruethling.  Though we didn't get to hold her like mom, it was fun to see her.  Then after daddy got home from work, we went to dinner at a place with white linen tablecloths, candles, and stemmed glasses for water.  Pretty darn fancy.  It was Friday fish fry catered by Bartolotta's at the Boerner Botanical Gardens.  Phew - say that fast 10 times.  We both did really well.  I ate pizza and Nate had peas, carrots, pasta and cheese from home and then ate some of the rolls they served our table.  I really enjoyed the live music and on our way out, I went closer to the stage and waved at them and then clapped when they were done with their song.  What a fun night out as a family!

Updates to Our Updates

Remembering two months of "stuff" was harder than we thought it would be.  We forgot some other highlights so here they are:

CAMERON

I can count to 10, though I usually require a little prompting.  I also know the first few letters of the alphabet but can recognize almost all of the letters now.  I try to spell my name, both speaking and writing, but so far only will say C-A and my letters looks more like circles, lines and arcs, but at least I am trying.  Mom also helps me use scissors and glue.  I'm much better at pasting than I am cutting.  Art is one of my favorite activities as evidenced by our refrigerator.

NATHAN

The only highlight I forgot to include was my growth.  At my 9-month checkup I weighed in at 18lbs 2.5oz (10-25%) and was 28 1/4 inches long (50%).  I wear mostly 9 month clothes, though my short legs allow me to wear 6 month pants still.

So that wraps up our updates to our updates.

Love,
Cameron & Nathan

Holiday Fun & Winter Wonderlands

We know it's been a while, but we were too busy enjoying the holidays and then recovering from post-holiday colds.  Now that the craziness of it all has calmed down and we are on the mend, here is what we have been up to the past two months.

CAMERON

Well of course there was Christmas.  We had several celebrations.  Christmas Eve was at Great Grandma Kruepke's  house where I got to carry Baby Jesus in the traditional processional of grandkids and great-grandkids.  It was quite an honor.  Then on Christmas we opened some gifts at home before picking Grandpa Brian and Grandma Linda up at the airport.  Then we went to Great Grandma Theisen's where I got to play with several cousins and Polly the dog.  When we got home I got to open even more presents.  However, since Nate and I got all these neat gifts, we have been in each other's faces all the time fighting over who gets to play with what.  I will admit I am usually the one taking toys from Nathan, but he gets in my way a lot too.

We have our good moments too. For example, I am really good at making Nathan laugh, especially when he is in his highchair.  We also like to imitate each other's goofy noises.  And sometimes Nathan will crawl after me while I am running through the house.  Or sometimes I will crawl after him, but he's crawling too, not running.

The holidays were a lot of fun, but very tiring.  I haven't been a very good sleeper this past year as is, but I missed a lot of naps during the holidays and would wake up several times at night.  In fact I still do that.  I also don't like to nap everyday so often times mom will find me in my room reading books instead of napping.  The biggest problem with that is on days I don't nap, I tend to wake up during the middle of that night so mom and dad don't like that.



I enjoy the snow, though don't get to play in it too often.  But in December we had some good packing snow so mom and I went out and played in it and even built a snowman.  Then last night and today we had a huge blizzard so mom and I took advantage of it and played in the snow.  The first couple pictures are actually of a snow earlier this winter.  The last picture though is from today.  Notice how high the snow is compared to me.  The drifts were so high in some places they went over our fence.



January also brought an icky milestone.  I was sick for the first time one weekend.  Daddy was getting ready to take me upstairs for bathtime and so I was on his back when I made a gagging noise.  Fortunately for daddy he put me down just in time.  We still don't know why I got sick, but fortunately I was fine the rest of the night and haven't had an incident since.  Mom thinks it was something I ate which leads me to my next update.

I am still a picky eater except I do like shrimp, pork and nuts (especially almonds and peanuts) which surprises my parents given my pickiness.  I still love my fruit and cereal (my favorite is a bowl with a mix of Kashi, Kamut Puffs, Cheerios and Chex) though lately I have been requesting toast for breakfast with either cinnamon or honey.  Despite my pickiness, one of my favorite things to do is help mom or dad cook.  I like chopping onions (with an onion chopper, not a knife) and pouring ingredients into pans, but my favorite thing to do is smell all of the different foods, especially the spices.  In the kitchen I am also a very good helper when it comes to unloading the dishwasher.  I usually am responsible for putting the storage containers and lids away as well as measuring cups and spoons and cutting boards. 


My other new thing is lately I have been asking to eat everything (bugs, spider webs, poop, etc).  I'm just being silly when I ask, but I think mom is worried I will actually eat one of those things.  Mom is probably worried because lately I have been very good at getting into mischief.  Just today I got into mom's deodorant and put it on my face and drew on the kitchen table.  I also have a tendency to spill (or pour) water all over my books, the kitchen floor, or wherever else I can find a cup of water.  I also love putting my toys and cards where they don't belong, such as in the coat closet, inside the piano, down vents, and in laundry baskets.  Sometimes I get in trouble for my mischief, especially when it involves picking on my brother.  I try to tell mom and dad it's just part of being a 2-year old but I don't think they buy it.

To help channel some of my unbridled energy, mom enrolled me in a gymnastics class for toddlers.  So far I have used the balance beam and trampoline (where I like to do belly flops instead of landing on my feet), and have learned to do a pencil roll, and forward and backward rolls.  It's a lot of fun.

I guess all this curiosity has helped me really expand my vocabulary.  I have said some creative and silly things over the past couple months.  Examples include:
"Mama, put Nathan on the ground" when I want to play with Nathan but he is still eating his bottle.
"Talk to Grandma on the computer (which I pronounce "pewter")" referring to using Skype to talk to grandma.
"Dude"
"Love blankie"
"Smells like blueberries" referring to my diaper

So maybe the next time I see you, I will have something witty to say.


NATHAN

I sure enjoyed my first Christmas.  I got to see lots of family and play with lots of wrapping paper and bows.  I also met Santa Claus.

Christmas wasn't the only new experience for me since our last post.  I started to crawl in November and now I get into everything and put everything in my mouth.  It's my way of exploring.  In one day, mom fished out dog food, part of a Christmas card, and part of a chair out of my mouth.  I'm a quick one so it can be hard to keep up with me, especially when my brother is around to distract.

I also got my first tooth (bottom right if you are looking at me) the week before Christmas and a second one (bottom left) in January.  That's good because it helps me eat all of those finger foods that I can't get enough of.  Overall I am a good, but messy, eater.  If I am eating purees, I have to have a spoon in my hand or I will take the one being used to feed me.  My favorite food is green peas, but I also enjoy cheese, bread, carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken, Cheerios, and bananas (notice they are all finger foods).  However, I will eat pretty much anything put in front of me.  I have eaten all sorts of beans (cannellini, garbanzo, black, kidney, soy, green, etc).  I also have tried salmon, seaweed, turkey burgers, spinach, egg yolks, pumpkin, quinoa, asparagus, and an assortment of herbs and spices.

My sleeping habits are not quite as good as my eating habits.  I sleep through the night still (yeah!) but I am a very inconsistent napper.  For a while, I was taking an hour nap each morning but then mom worked really hard to get me to take an afternoon nap, usually in lieu of my morning nap.  But then I had a really bad cold for a week and a half and I started taking longer (2-4 hours) naps in the mid-morning.  We'll see if I stick with that pattern for a while.




One of my favorite things to do is stick my finger out like E.T. in hopes that whomever is near me will touch their finger with mine.  I also will wave hi or bye bye and my vocabulary is expanding.  I consistently say "mama" which is probably my favorite word much to my mom's delight.  I guess I am a bit of a mama's boy; I will often get cranky if she leaves my line of sight, but will usually cheer up pretty quickly.  I also say "dada", "hi", "bye", my own versions of Cameron (sounds similar to "Mama" as if I am saying Mamron which is how Cameron says his own name), bottle (sounds like "ba"), and doggy (sounds similar to "Dada").  And when I'm not talking, I'm making some sort of noise.  One of my favorites is a guttaral noise that sounds like I am clearing my throat.  I'm a happy guy who is usually very smiley (unless I have a cold) and loves to be around people.

So that's a recap of our past couple months.  Hope you all are staying warm this winter and GO PACK GO!!!

Love,
Cameron & Nathan

7:47 - It's Boeing Time

To hold you over until we get a chance to document all of our holiday fun, here is a story from mom.

One morning Cameron woke up around 6:40 and I wasn't quite ready to have both kids up while I was trying to get ready for work.  So I went into his room and told him, "It's not 7 yet honey.  You need to wait until the first number of your clock says 7."  Sure enough, at 7am on the dot I hear "momma, momma" and when I go in to get him, he points at the clock as if to say, "see mom, it's 7"

Here is another clock story.  Another morning I went in to get Cameron after he had slept in nicely.  When I got him, he said "airplane" and pointed to his clock.  I assumed he meant he heard an airplane, so I asked him if he heard an airplane. He said "no" and pointed to his clock again and said "airplane" again. It was 7:47.  At this point I can only assume he knows that 747 is a type of airplane, but not sure where he learned that one.  In my house growing up in Seattle, we would always say 7:47 is Boeing time.  I think we learned it from a radio host who would do it.  So those are my stories; I will turn it back to the boys for the next post.

More Pictures from October (and a Few from November)

It's tiring being a kid

Can I see?

What a pumpkin!

Good Buds

Better Buds

Best Buds

Happy (Nate) and Hungry (Cameron) with Grandma and Grandpa

Does this go with my suit?

Nah nah nah nah boo boo

Trick or Treat!

Nice Naughty Nice

Pictures from Green Meadows Farm

Per our previous post, here are pictures from our visit to Green Meadows Farm.  As you can see, I (Cameron) got to meet a lot of animals close up!  Even Nate had fun too.

Love,
Cameron & Nathan

Milking a Cow

Riding a Tractor

Feeding Sheep

We're Friends Now!

Words of Wisdom

Our New Pet

Being Gentle

Look Mom - This One Is Perfect