Is this REALLY Camping?

The A, B and Baby C family loves camping. With Brandyn and I both growing up less than an hour from the Sierra mountains... and with both of our many years in Scouting... I think it in our blood. And it seems we've passed that love onto Andrew too... only... we all had a few different ideas.

Brandyn's idea of camping: pack minimal supplies in a large back pack... sleeping bag... a minimal amount of food... no tent or matches needed.

My idea of camping: a tent... a near by bathroom (with showers)... an iPod or boom box... deck of card/dice... good food... and a packed cooler full of beer!

Andrew's idea of camping: two diaper bags, 10 onesies, 4 pairs of pajamas, two baby carriers, a container of formula, a white noise machine, a baby monitor... a variety of toys... and a pack n' play.

How did we combine all our ideas... at Lair of the Bear! (Believe it or not... you don't have to be a Cal Berkeley Alum to attend!). The camp is what Brandyn calls... luxury camping... and what I call... perfect. They have preset tents/cabin... clean bathrooms with showers... a "mess hall" with three meals a day (prepared and cleaned up after by someone else!)... games (pin pong, shuffle board, tennis, etc)... activities (including pottery, tie-dye, lanyards, etc.)... and a great/entertaining campfire (complete with the Cal Fight Song!).

We went courtesy of my parents and were accompanied by my brother and his family! We all had a great time! Especially Andrew - who just loves being outside, watching the trees and the chipmunks!

I'm Andrew's Mommy...

Why is it that when a woman has a baby... all of a sudden... her name disappears and its all about the baby! Before I had one of my own... I thought this loss of identity thing was ridiculous!!!

And now... I have to admit - I'm guilty!!! About a month ago... I introduced myself as "Andrew's Mommy" (and cringed as I heard the words coming out of my mouth). And about a week and a half ago we were camping (more on that later)... it was a family camp - with loads of other kiddos - babies included. I met a nice women about my age, with a little girl about Andrew's age, and we chatted for a little bit. Our conversations went something like this...

"Oh, what a cute little girl. How old is she?"
"What's her name?"
"How's she doing/sleeping at camp?"
"Nice talking to you."

No, I did NOT ask her name. No, I did NOT ask where she lived. No, I did NOT ask if SHE was having fun camping, etc., etc., etc. Did I think that she had nothing else to talk about besides her baby? Or have I forgotten how to talk about anything else besides... BABIES!

Further evidence to support my below theory that I am obsessed with everything Mommy. Time to find a new hobby!!

Mommy is my new hobby...

I've found a new hobby... and its everything... MOMMY. Seriously, I'm obsessed. I find myself running around soaking up ANYTHING and EVERYTHING I can find on being a mom. While I'm still working on keeping the ME in my life... I've found a new hobby to add to that list.

Last three books I read:
- Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay
- It Sucked and Then I Cried
- I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids (Currently Reading)

Last movie I watched:
- How to Photograph Your Baby

Last three podcasts I listened to:
- Manic Mommies
- New Moms, New Babies
- Pregtastic

Whooooo's gonna get CHOPPED!!

The other night... Brandyn and I were watching a Food Network Marathon of "Chopped." The show invites 3 chefs to prepare "surprise" ingredients... and "chop" one person each round until at the end of four rounds there's one winner! Anyway, the SHOW is not the point of my post. We were watching TV and playing with Andrew. I turned to Brandyn and said "I wonder who's gonna get chopped?" and I motioned an ax sign with my "chopping" hand slamming down into other hand. Out of now where... Andrew started laughing hysterically, which of course, made Brandyn and I laugh hysterically too!! This game continued to entertain us for at least the next 20 min!! (We caught the "end" of the fun on video. The video is a *little* long... I'm still working on my editing skills!!).



Unfortunately... my attempt to recreate this game on the following days... did not garner the same response! Guess you had to "be there"!

How to Photograph Your Baby

Some people have heard me go on and on about the various podcasts that I LOVE to listen to on my commute to work. One of my favorites is "New Moms, New Babies" (a spin off of my other favorite, Pregtastic). A recent episode of New Moms, New Babies featured guest photographer Nick Kelsh. Nick, a famous baby and family photographer, gave lots of easy tips for armatures on how to take great pictures of your baby - without a fancy camera... or being a professional. At the end of the episode, there was a contest, to win a copy of Nick's DVD "How to photograph your baby." I entered... and I WON!! One week later... THIS arrived in the mail!!

The DVD really provides all kinds of great tips from... get closer to the baby... to turn off your flash... to change the ISO setting (sounds confusing... its not, trust me!!)

So... using Nick's tips... I set out this afternoon to get a few pictures of Andrew!

CLOSE.




























FROM A DIFFERENT ANGLE






















And a few of my favorites.

What do you think???

(P.S. Let me know if you wanna borrow the DVD... not ONLY was it VERY informative... but it was funny to boot!).

Family Vacation - Seattle

Last week we went on a trip to Seattle. It was a pretty big deal (a little stressful) for us to pack all Andrew's gear and board the plane with a 5 month old, but it was well worth it. We planned... we prepped... we packed his whole dresser up... and the trip was a success. Here are a few pictures from our adventure.

Andrew on the plane. (He road as a lap baby!).


"The Family" at Pike's Market. My mom and dad were with us on the trip. We stayed in West Seattle at a condo of their good friends Sharon and Larry. It was a BEAUTIFUL little condo... walking distance to great restaurants (and a bakery) and the grocery store (and a liquor store).


The Seattle Music Experience (museum).
First Starbucks... of course we had to stop there.

The Seattle Space Needle.

And there was lots of "down" time back at the condo, where Nana and Papa kept Andrew well entertained.

Please do not disturb.

This is how I spend two 30 min "sessions" during each of my days at the office. I put up my sign, close my door, and... pump.

I'm not really sure what I expected of myself when I first committed to breastfeeding. I kept my expectations low... aiming to make it through the first two weeks, then through my maternity leave, then until Andrew went to day care... and I'm still here.

I can say that I'm proud of myself and how long I've "lasted" so far. So, very, many times through out it all I was ready to stop.

When he was first born - feeding took an hour, with about an hour (maaaaybe 2) in between feedings. Then an hour went down to 45 min and then that went down to 30 min... luckily, now he's down to about 20 min... 6-8 times a day (2-3 hours a day, if you're counting!).

While I love, love, love spending that time with Andrew... breastfeeding has always felt to me more of a chore, than a choice. I'd rather be playing with him... and cooing at him... interacting with him... than feeding him.

I'm starting the "weaning" process this week. It is strange to say that as Brandyn and I were discussing this last night... I was sad. Why? Why was I crying at the thought of giving up something I have felt so negative about since the beginning?

Its very hard to even process my feelings about breastfeeding, let alone type them out. I guess my thoughts are this.

While Andrew grew in my belly for nine months... *I* was responsible for growing him... keeping him healthy... giving him nutrients. I took care of myself... I watched my diet... I stopped drinking caffeine... I stopped drinking alcohol... ALL for him. When he was born... I was so proud of myself. Proud and relieved to see how big, beautiful and well developed he was. All my hard work paid off.

Once we was born... Andrew was no longer 100% my responsibility... his care was in both my and Brandyn's hands. I got my body back, but I gave up a little... control.

But feeding him... keeping him healthy... "growing" him... that was still *my* responsibility. I took care of myself... I watched my diet... I cut out pepperoni.... I stopped drinking caffeine... I limited my alcohol... ALL for him. When Andrew grew... and gained weight... I was proud of myself. All my hard work paid off.

Now... as I think about weaning... think about taking some of *myself* back (ahhh... caffeinated coffee and pepperoni pizza - here I come!!)... I realize this is a choice I'm making (not being forced to make)... it sorta feels like I'm giving up control over Andrew's growth and development... its sorta feels selfish.

I guess I can associate these same feelings with the ones that I had when I went back to work... went I send Andrew to day care... and how I assume I'll feel all along the way through parenting... loss of control. (I can't imagine the break down I'll have when he goes off to college!!).