Ladies and Gentlemen... We have a winner!!!!

The BabyBjorn is my new best friend!!!!

Aaron and a happy Camden in his Baby Bjorn!


For those of you who don't know what this magical goodness is... it's an over-priced carrier that for some is a waste of money because their baby hates it and for others (like ourselves) an amazing blessing that is worth every penny!

On Wednesday, Aaron came home for lunch, so I took him back to work and kept the car to go to Owasso (we still didn't have my SUV out of the icy mass yet) . Camden started to cry from the get-go and was still crying when we passed Skiatook (for those non-Bville folk, that is basically the halfway mark to Tulsa). I was going to give up and turn around, but then he finally fell asleep! I was thinking that I could maybe put his car seat in the stroller, and he could sleep through Target. First, I decided to push my luck and go through Starbuck's drive-thru before Target. Sure enough, he woke up and started crying as soon as I had ordered my coffee. The poor barista guy kept on staring at Camden and me through the window with this look that said, "Can't you just make him stop?"...which brings up an interesting point...
Camden and I get that look a lot from men when we are out in public. The former psych major in me believes that it is because most men (who believe they can fix anything) don't want to believe that you CANNOT control where and when a baby cries sometimes. A side note: I didn't say ALL men, so if a male is reading this and is in denial about his control issues... I wasn't talking about you, okay? Perhaps the "blue coat" guy from Albertson's was trying to control the situation by taking over with the groceries? Women, on the other hand, give me a pat on my shoulder, an encouraging word, or at least a sympathetic look when Camden is screaming at the top of his lungs... go figure. Don't get me wrong; I'm not male bashing... just observing...
Anyways, I had brought the Baby Bjorn to try out as a worst-case scenario. When I got to the Target parking lot, I assessed his screaming level and determined that it was, in fact, a worst-case scenario. While he is in his car seat screaming, I spend 15 minutes in the parking lot trying to figure out how to put that thing on correctly! Okay, really it was just three minutes, but we all know that one minute of baby screams in public is equivalent to five minutes, so it felt like 15 minutes!!!! I've used it before, but there are too many straps to figure out! I finally got it hooked on to me and prayed that Camden would calm down long enough to give the Bjorn a try. I hooked him into it, and... the tears stopped!!!!
I spent about 25 minutes browsing around Target drinking my decaf soy caramel macchiato in peace! I felt like a real person! He was also pretty popular with the ladies. Moms with their own rowdy kids would look over at my sweet smiling baby in envy, grandmas would come over and tell me how much they missed their own precious grand babies, and Camden would just coo and giggle back at them. He thought he was hot stuff! We walked down to TJ Maxx, and he lasted for another 10 minutes! He was getting pretty sleepy, so we left right away (why push my luck more?)

Camden and I are ready to face the outside world!

Before heading out, we decided to surprise dad by bringing him his favorite drink, a Vita-Boost Citrus Squeeze, from Jamba Juice (it's the little things that get us excited these days.) Of course, the giggles and coos faded into screams a mile into the drive back home, but that's okay. Since Wednesday, Aaron and I have gone back to Owasso in peace (thanks to the Baby Bjorn), and my mom and I went to the mall today in peace (thanks to the Baby Bjorn). Now, Jennifer, I might have to beg you to work on my poor aching back before this is all over, but it's worth it!!!!
I would like to give a shout out to Auntie, Uncle Chad, and Cousin Addi for loaning the Baby Bjorn to the McDonald household! Thank you!!!!!