All Our Bags Are Packed...

Up Close and Personal

The average high in Seattle this weekend is 68 degrees. The average low is 52 degrees... and I'm pretty excited about it. The McD family is packin' up and headin' out, with sweaters in hand (or at least packed in our carry-on.) Aaron and I first went to Seattle while we were in college and fell in love with the city. When we heard our beloved Cowboys were going play their first game of the season in Seattle, we took it as a sign that we needed to be a part of the sea of orange, eat great Clam chowder, and enjoy some beautiful weather.

A number of people have asked if Camden will be joining us in the Northwest, and the answer is "No way!!!" The Little Man will be vay-caying with family while we're gone. I love my Little Man, and I will miss him more than I can almost bare, but there's no way I would take a toddler on vacation. The point of a vacation is to relax, sleep, hang out, eat at restaurants... basically all the things that you can't do with a Little Man around. It's good for us to have these small separations, even though I miss him like crazy when I'm not around him. It's also good for Aaron and I to spend some quality time together and nurture that whole marriage thing we got goin'.

Gracie will not be making the trip either.
This picture describes her perfectly. Camden is just everywhere,
but she just kind of deals with it and goes around his things. Such a sweetheart!

When we went to New York last year, it was my first time to leave the Little Man, and I freaked out a little bit. I had all of these fears and "what-ifs" running through my head for the whole month prior to the trip. A few years ago, I developed a slight fear in flying, which is crazy because I've loved getting on planes since I was the Little Man's age. Now I grip the arm rests and close my eyes during take-off and landing, praying the whole time. Plus once you have a kid, there is a lot more at stake if something happens to you... and that adds a lot of pressure. The New York trip ended up turning great, everybody was fine, and Camden still remembered who I was when we got home.

I'm happy to say I haven't freaked out nearly as much this year. I have a few fears (and the plane ride will always be a major one), but things have gone very smoothly. My mom called a few days ago and was like,
"Okay, what's he eating these days? How many naps does he get now?" I happily replied, "Don't worry, mom. I'm already creating Volume Two of Camden's Guidebook!" She quite possible rolled her eyes at this point, but I know she was silently relieved that he would come with written directions once again. When we went to New York, I wrote Camden's Guidebook, Volume One.

Here was my explanation for Camden's Guidebook Volume One
(taken out of the Camden's Mommy archives)
"The schedule kind of turned into a little Camden Guidebook... yes, a guidebook. I went a little out of control with the instructions, I'll admit. I had this mental picture of me strolling down 5th Ave on my way to H&M, and suddenly I realize I forgot to tell them something "important" (like where I keep his bath towel) but I am aware that I am being ridiculous, so I won't call, but then I'll stress about it and ruin my H&M experience. I decided to choose my battles and leave detailed instructions on how to take care of little man, if only for my own sanity. Yes... there was even Clip Art involved... BUT I purposely did not create a title page... I thought that would be crossing the line."

Mock me if you will, but I never did have an "Oh No, I forgot to tell them" moment, and I happened to enjoy my stop at H&M immensely. (Did I mention that an H&M just opened up this month in Seattle?!? Super excited!) Anyway, I decided to create a Volume Two because there will be several different family members helping out with the Little Man this week, and this a good way to have it all down on paper and be assured that I didn't forget to tell someone something. It comes complete with a contact page, schedule pages, "How-To" pages and yes, even clip art will make an appearance again. I DID hold myself back from including a 'translation' page even though the Little Man can get pretty angry when people don't understand that 'sippy' is 'DEE!' Regardless, he is going to have a fabulous time with everyone, and I won't worry thanks to the Guidebook.

Now on to the Camden updates because he has been one BUSY little man!

I believe this is the first official picture of Camden giving a fake smile. Boo!

Over the last several days, we have made MAJOR headway on Camden's bedtime and nighttime. We have a new rule now: If Camden stays in his bed, I will leave the door open; If he gets out of his bed to come find me, I will shut the door. I told him about our new rule, and he said "Kay!" Since then, there have been times when he stays in his bed, talks for awhile, and then goes to sleep, and there have also been times where he comes out, I put him back in his bed, and then shut the door. He cries out for a few seconds and then goes to sleep. It's awesome!!!

We also have had another major breakthrough this weekend!

We were playing in the yard on Sunday evening, and I let him run around without his diaper on. After awhile, I asked Camden, "Honey, can you pee-pee for mommy?" He looked down and gazed in wonder as he pee-pee'd on demand for the first time. When it was bedtime, I placed him on the toilet and asked him, "Camden, Can you show mommy how you can pee-pee?" ...and right there Ladies and Gentlemen, the Little Man pee-pee'd in the potty for the first time. Afterward he giggled, did a few dinosaur stomps, and flushed the toilet waving bye-bye. Yesterday I took him to the 'potty' about six or seven times, and he pee-pee'd every time. I never asked him if he needed to go, I just took him. He still had wet diapers, so it's not like he was holding it or anything. Tonight he got excited and asked to go on the potty several times and he pee-pee'd. I think he's still too young to even think about potty training because he's not even two yet, so I'm a little confused about what to do with his new talent. I wasn't in a hurry because I was planning on implementing 'Operation: Adorable Little Boy Boxer Briefs' sometime in the Spring. Hmmm... Help? Anyone?

Mom! Don't take pictures! This is embarrassing!