More Precious than Gold

Apple Sorting

2012-01-30T21:37:00.000-08:00

This is a video I took today of Camden sorting some fake apples back and forth between a bowl and Max's bumbo seat. He usually just pulls stuff off of shelves and out of bags, but this was the first time I observed him putting something back in something else. I know it seems silly, but I love watching him learn more and more everyday. He's also been starting to communicate to tell me when he's hungry by sitting in front of the fridge and making noise. Haha! Whatever works I guess!

Park Day

2012-01-29T20:58:00.000-08:00

We went to the park Saturday to take photos of Max for his 6 month old birthday. They hadn't taken a family picture since he was little and we had to change that! It was a gorgeous day. It's the warmest January day I've experienced in a while (80 degrees).

Max and Katie

Andrew, Max, and Katie

Max and Camden...the cutest buddies!

Family photo

Jared and Camden :)

Camden's new thing is pointing at everything. He loved to point at the ducks and run towards the lake.

Family shot!

Camden in the swings! He was having such a great time even though it was 80 degrees and HOT!!

Camden passed out in the pram on a walk around the neighborhood because he had expended so much energy at the park. He even had cookie crumbs on his mouth from some snacks he had on the walk.

Below are two family shots from New Year's Day that I forgot to post. Camden had just had his second hair cut ever and he looked so old!!

Brients

McGregors

Photo Book

2012-01-24T09:26:00.001-08:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

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2012-01-17T15:30:00.000-08:00

The time has come! Camden is walking! He took 6 steps away from me when I wasn't looking Sunday and Saturday took a few more steps. Today he has attempted many more steps and even walked at the park today! He is becoming more confident on his own and independent. I'm such a proud momma. On another not as fun note, he has a HUGE molar coming in which seems to be quite painful. We are having a great time staying with our generous friends in LA while our place gets sorted out!

Christmas in Texas

2011-12-25T19:17:00.000-08:00

Here are a few shots from our time in Texas so far. They are mostly of Christmas Eve and Day, but a few others at the end from when we first got here.

Me and Catherine with our buddies, Mason and Camden (They really had a fun time playing together tonight).

Camden and soon to be Aunt Lauren having a fun play time at my parents house.

Uncle Andrew and Camden in their matching Chelsea jerseys. We got Andrew the shorts to go with his jersey for Christmas.

Me with Meme by the Christmas tree! It's so great to have her here with us this Christmas.

Papa Mac helping Camden get baby Jesus out today on the final day of the Advent calendar!

Me reading to my niece Carson on Christmas Eve

Camden and Carson in their matching cousin pj's that Aunt Jordan got them! So adorable!

Brient Family Christmas Eve before church service.

Buddy in his Christmas finery!!!! I can't even handle this picture!!

Grandma with the two babies on Christmas Eve. (4 months apart)

Cousin Clare and Camden (She was so great with Camden!).

Carson playing with the scarf I got Clare for Christmas.

Camden trying to scale the wall!

Buddy in his flying hat!!

We got to see Shannon and Rhodes a few days ago! It was so great to see them but we were sad to miss Reese.

A family pic before a night out. We enjoyed the sun the first few days we were here, but then the London fog and rain decided to follow us!

Me and my little one. I will be printing this one out when we get back to LA!

Grandmummy (my mom's mom) and Camden the first day she got to see him when we got back. He was having a great time playing with her and for a 91 year old had a surprising amount of energy to follow him around for an hour!

More pictures to come, I'm sure, so I figured I'd get a head start so I won't get behind!

Last Sunday in London

2011-12-18T08:05:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our last Sunday at Reality London. We will miss these friends probably more than they will ever know. Our time at Reality London was filled with amazing people who loved and encouraged us, and gave us so much knowledge and wisdom! We are so grateful to God that He blessed us with such amazing people in our lives for 20 months!!

Camden was loving all the attention!

Bye Lizzie and Chrissie!

Mark and Lizzie are on the left (Our pastor and wife). :( We will miss them so much!

Jo and I. There were many tears. It didn't hit me until the service was over that we were actually leaving...

The Dent's and The Brient's! We have each welcomed a baby in to our families since we met. :)

Their daughter Bella and Jared trying to copy her face. Hehe!

Ted and Sarah and us. One final fish and chips night at ours after church! More tears of course...

I know we will be reunited someday with these lovely people! May it be faster than we think!!

The Pink Buggy

2011-12-16T05:48:00.001-08:00

Camden is learning to walk with his Cousin Carson's pink buggy! Luckily my grandma got him a slightly more manly version for Christmas. :)

We are still a little jet lagged, but Camden is making the adjustment very well. The first morning he got up at 2 and 4, the second morning 4 and 6, and this morning 4 and 6:30. So gradually we will get back on schedule.

One week to go

2011-12-06T07:07:00.001-08:00

It's official...one week until we leave on a jet plane for Houston. Here are some shots I got of Camden the other day! He's growing so fast. He's pulling up and walking all around the furniture, but hasn't let go quite yet!

Contemplative stare out the window

Blurry but couldn't resist this face!!

Chewing on the beefeater

Advent

2011-11-29T01:11:00.001-08:00

I stumbled across this resource from The Village Church in Dallas thanks to a friend on facebook who posted it. It's a way to reflect during this season of Advent. There's a little write up about different topics every week and then questions to reflect on after.

I'm really looking forward to redirecting all of my anxiousness about the upcoming move in 2 weeks to focusing on celebrating the past Advent (coming/arrival in Latin) of Jesus as a baby, and look forward to the future (second Advent) arrival of Jesus!

http://www.thevillagechurch.net/mediafiles/advent-guide.pdf

What a better way to anxiously await an arrival to the states!

I also thought this is such a brilliant idea for an advent calendar. Unique and creative! I hope to make it next year when we are settled in our LA home.

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2011/11/our-simple-advent-calendar.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PassionateHomemaking+%28Passionate+Homemaking%29

Time

2011-11-22T01:50:00.001-08:00

Our time here in London is quickly flying by and way too fast for my taste! Have you ever felt like you are trying to be so intentional with your time but see it slipping away so fast right in front of your eyes? Time is a strange thing, isn't it? I've been thinking a lot about this phenomenon lately and haven't come to very many conclusions. I have realized that I can't be so concerned with the fact that I'm "running out of time" because it will just go faster and I won't actually have time to do what I want to do before I leave. Make any sense??

I have also been worrying way too much over canceling final bills, selling items on gumtree, shipping boxes, giving away stuff and the like instead of relaxing and trusting God that it will all get accomplished because He has given me the gift of organization (definitely to a fault in this case). I'm learning how to use my gift to help our family, but not let it take over to where it's becoming a hindrance to enjoying time with Jared and Camden, and also enjoying time spent alone and with friends.

I have anxiety about what life will be like for us as we transition back to the states because we have lived here for 19 months now and have immersed ourselves in the culture here.

I am wondering how the plane flight back to Texas will be with a 13 month old who is almost walking!

I worry about how Camden will adjust to being in someone else's house for a month, then another house in LA for a couple weeks until we find a flat there. Then he will have to adjust to our new home (which I am worried about finding!)!

I get stressed about seeing everyone in Texas over the holidays.

So there's everything out on "paper"! I'm working on releasing these things from my grip and handing them over to Jesus and allowing the Holy Spirit (the Helper) to help me gain a different view on these things.

John 16:7 (Jesus speaking before his death)
"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth; it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you."

Playtime!

2011-11-14T14:23:00.001-08:00

Camden had fun with his friend Isla at our house today trying to follow her around and figure out how she climbed up on the couch. They have both had growth spurts recently and are so big!! Camden doesn't have other kids in the house very often so he was VERY excited the whole time.

Guess what??

2011-11-09T06:40:00.000-08:00

I'll give you one guess...

We are moving back to the states in December! Yes, we have been thinking and praying about when we should move back for a good while, and we finally decided that it's time to pack up our lives here after 20 months and head back. Jared got a job offer from Sony a month or so ago and we decided to go for it. We are leaving London mid-December to spend the holidays with our families in Texas, then we will be moving to LA in January. It's such a bittersweet time for sure. We are so sad to end our time here. We have made so many great friends and really do love a lot about the city, but there have also been a lot of challenges, too. We are excited to be closer to family (ie the same country, cheaper flights, seeing them more often, etc.!) and will be reunited with many of our LA friends! Camden and I are looking forward to the sunshine and we are also excited about spending time in Texas for Christmas. Needless to say we have had a lot going on this last month as we literally have to shut everything down here. Moving out of the country, having a baby, and living in a different country is probably the hardest thing I have ever had to experience, but it has been a wild and crazy ride I wouldn't trade for anything!

More to come!

Camden's b day party

2011-11-07T02:03:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, we had Camden's proper birthday party at the nearby pub, The Queen's Head. He had 10 friends come to the party (Mostly adults, and his one little friend out here, Isla). She is so adorable and they always hold hands in their buggies when we hang out! I think he had a great time!

Camden blowing out his candle.

Yay for birthday! He can clap now and it is oh so cute.

The birthday cake I made. My first attempt at fondant. It was really fun to make!

Isla...so gorgeous! We met her and her mum, Laura on the green right outside the pub.

icing hands :)

thoroughly enjoying the cake!

the fam

birthday boy! Thanks Meme for the party decorations! They were a big hit!

Camden showing Isla his party trick....wah wah wah wah...Don't know if she's impressed or not!

Well, I can't believe my little boy is 1 year old! Sniff Sniff...but he is such a precious little one and we are amazed at all the blessings we have had this year through him and just how much more he can do every day! :) Can't wait for many more celebrations to come.

Camden is 1 year!!

2011-11-03T08:39:00.000-07:00

Here's a short video of Camden's first birthday pancake! He wanted to pull the whole plate closer soooo bad! He enjoyed his 1st birthday celebration immensely. At the end of the day, Jared and I shared a few tears in thinking about how much we have been through out here in London this first year of his life. It has definitely been the most difficult year of our lives so far, but also the best year of our lives! We can't wait to see what else God has in store for us and Camden in the many years to come! We love you soooooo much little buddy!!!! More than you will ever know (probably until you have kids of your own one day).

The Incredible Hulk

2011-11-01T04:06:00.000-07:00

Camden was the Incredible Hulk for Halloween! We kept trying to make him grunt at us and finally did. :)

Parents arriving any minute!

2011-10-27T03:04:00.000-07:00

Today my parents are arriving to celebrate Camden's first Halloween and more importantly Camden's first birthday on the 2nd of November and my birthday on the 7th! They should be here soon! The thing I hate about not having a car here is not being able to ever pick anyone up from the airport. I have to anxiously wait at my flat while they travel on the tube. If Camden wakes up from his nap, I might walk down to the tube station and "pick" them up there.

Let's hope there's not another suitcase mishap like in June when my mom came and I had to drag her 50 lb. suitcase for a mile back to my place bc the wheel broke! Haha! We are planning some fun outings while they are here! I'll make sure to take lots of pictures!

One of the most exciting things about today is that my good friend Joanna had her baby this morning! A healthy baby girl (Isabella-Rose). I can't wait to meet her and see Jo! Good timing that my parents are here so I can go visit them without Camden. :)

Tearing Paper

2011-10-25T03:21:00.001-07:00

Camden's Autumn Photo Shoot

2011-10-19T03:01:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from our walk Saturday. On Thursday I found a gorgeous street in South Kensington when I was wandering around with Camden and my friend Joanna. It's called Cale St. There were a bunch of jewelry shops, kids clothing stores, and even a cake decorating shop! I finally found one in London! :) It kicks Swoozies' you know what! I decided to take Jared back there on Saturday and we had a nice walk around the South Ken market, too. There were a bunch of autumn leaves at the park by our house, and we just couldn't pass up taking a few shots of Camden in the gorgeous sunlight! It has been absolutely gorgeous here this Autumn so far, but the cold weather is definitely starting to set in! It's been 50 or so during the day, but the bright sun is makes for a really great combo! Not having rain for the last few weeks has been epic!

This last one is from Hyde Park the other day when Camden and I had a picnic in the park!

Camden is also starting to pull up to standing on almost anything now! It's so great to see how fast he is learning. He also has started saying more words and is able to communicate with us a lot more. He said "ma" and put his hands together (the baby sign for more) this morning at breakfast. He also will say "ba ba" when he finds his Brown Bear book. I can't believe this little boy will 1 year old on November 2nd. This year has been so exciting and we can't wait to celebrate his life with our friends on November 5th for his birthday party! My parents are also coming out from October 26-November 5 which will be so fun for Camden to have them here for his birthday and right before mine. :)

Post Tea Time exercise

2011-10-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

Camden decided to do some post tea time work out by climbing the stairs tonight. He did it for the first time last week and has continued to get more stable. I spotted him up the rest of the steps and he made it all the way to the top tonight which was a huge accomplishment! He's growing up so fast!

He's also learning how to clap and it's super cute when we say "yay" and clap, he will do it back to us!

Milestones!

2011-10-12T02:18:00.000-07:00

So Sunday night Camden was sorting out a lot of things in his sleep:

1. 2 top teeth breaking through the gums.

2. learning how to pull up on the furniture without our help.

(Note to worried grandmas..Camden was not actually up in the night figuring this out...hehe).

These two things have been contributing to a lot of whining and a lot of frustration both for buddy and for his momma! I have definitely learned a lot more about what it looks like for me to be patient, truly patient, with a child who is learning so much and trying new things but just can't seem to get it quite yet. Also, the poor guy couldn't help that his teeth took so long to break through the gums. I could see them for 2 weeks right under the skin! These last few weeks have also taught me so much about our loving heavenly Father who guides us and helps us through difficult situations. Coming to understand my love for Camden even through these difficult times has helped me to understand God's love and faithfulness towards us even when we are struggling through life. Something that also stood out to me was that God never gets irritated or frustrated with us...rather He continues to teach and discipline us so we will be sanctified in His truth and understanding of who He is and who He has created us to be through His word (John 17:17...the entire passage of John 17 has helped me gain a greater understanding of who God, Son, and Spirit are recently through this time.) Read and enjoy the many wonderful truths that are so eloquently stated for us to live out and enjoy! "All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them." (John 17:10). "...That the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." (John 17:26). Jesus desires for God's love to be IN US. This is the same love that God has for his only Son, Jesus. Jesus also says that he is dwelling within us. This is so overwhelming when I think about the magnitude of God's love. He loves me as much as he loves his only son (which is more than the love I even have for my only son). Not only does God give us his love, but also his Son to dwell with us forever. :)

Thank you for letting me share my revelations with you!

Eye and Aquarium

2011-10-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday we went to the London Eye and Aquarium and had such a fun family day out! We had been wanting to take buddy to the aquarium for a while and we had wanted to do the London Eye since we moved here! It was a spectacular view of London!!

Camden had a great time and stood on the floor and was banging on the glass :)
Parliament and Big Ben in the distance
Southbank Centre lit up by the sun
Another pod above us

Buddy hugging his new shark toy from the Aquarium

Laugh attack!

2011-10-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

I love how Jared has always been able to get Camden going!!

Sent from my iPhone

Fingerpainting

2011-09-12T11:55:00.000-07:00

We had a fun day at the mall last week and I ler Camden have a little bit of his spaghetti on his tray at the end of the meal. He was tired of eating so just decided to finger paint instead!

Hyde Park Day

2011-09-04T01:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jared and I ventured out to Hyde Park for a walk because it was so incredibly beautiful! Our first day of summer this year, FINALLY, in September. It was pushing 80 degrees! Can you believe it! I know those of you in Texas are rolling your eyes at me right now, but we loved it! :) Camden turned 10 months old on the 2nd, and we wanted to get some shots of him. Thank goodness it was a gorgeous day to do just that.

Smiled and laughed soooo much when we were out on the blanket, but as soon as he had to go back in the pram there were some tears, unfortunately. He is becoming increasingly aware of where he is now and wether or not he wants to do something. Independence here we goooo!!!!

Can't get enough of those BLUE eyes!

This is the Royal Albert Hall with the Albert Memorial Statue in front of it that Queen Victoria erected in his honor. Absolutely gorgeous!

Grass exploration! And bark exploration! Haha!

Typical scowl below

This is Camden's latest trick! Grandmummy was trying to get him to do it when we were in Texas when he was 6 months old, but he finally got the hang of it when my friend Sarah showed him how the other day!

Some new things he is up to now are:

Only 2 feedings a day (morning and night from me and a bottle around 11 am). This has taken a huge burden off me to not feel so run down. I have had a lot of issues with keeping up with eating and drinking enough to make up for everything Camden needed. I already feel better!

Another answered prayer and huge measure of grace God has showered upon us is a full nights' sleep for about a month now! Camden had still been getting up between 5-6am since about 6 1/2 months old to eat his morning meal, then going back to sleep till 8. That was obviously a huge improvement on the waking 2 times a night for feedings, but this is pure bliss now! Actually going to sleep and not waking up until morning...although his morning is a lot earlier than 8 now! Haha!

He has also been crawling a lot more (still army style) and getting faster. He will stand up and hold on to stuff provided I still have a hand on him, but I think he is close to pulling up on furniture.

Still just 2 teeth, but I see the gums starting to splitting next to the bottom two so hopefully more soon!

:) Congratulations if you made it through this post!

This word is not That word

2011-08-29T02:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some more words to ponder...

Fancy=Like (I will definitely be keeping this word in my vocabulary! It's so proper!).

"Would you fancy a pudding?"

Pudding=Dessert

The health advisor told me to give Camden a "pudding" after his tea.

Tea=Dinner (some people call dinner, tea and others call afternoon tea, tea...gets a little confusing to me).

That's alright=You're welcome

You're welcome=thanks for not saying thank you, you idiot

This has confused me for a while and still throws me off! The other day I was waiting for a car to drive on to the main road before crossing the street with Camden, and he waved me on so I walked across. I didn't say anything to him and he shouted out the car "You're welcome!" I shouted back "I didn't ask you to stop"...oops...probably not the kindest response...

So I was chatting with my friend the other day and she was like, "I hate it when American's always say"you're welcome" (in an incredibly nasal voice I almost died laughing!"). I told her I hated when British people say "that's alright" super non chalant when you say thank you! haha!

What are your thoughts on the matter? Which do you think makes more sense??

Revelations and a cute boy!

2011-08-23T12:43:00.001-07:00

So Saturday was one of the best days I have had in a while! It all started with one of my friends telling me how she wrote down all of her desires and anxieties to help process how she wanted to spend her time day to day. I thought this was a much needed thing for me because I have not been feeling like myself lately, and needed to get everything out on paper that was floating around in my head. Between feeling lonely, frustrated, aimless, etc., I had a lot to work through with the Lord in some personal journal time. It was interesting to see everything on paper. All of my desires had to do with having "more time" for a number of different things. It was obvious for me that A. I finally have the mental space to think of things I want to do finally, and B. I need to budget the time I do have for the tings I want to do! Ok, so I haven't done my "time budget" yet, but I have talked to Jared about our weeknights and how we want to each take a "night out" for something we want to do. We also have nights planned that we work on stuff at the house instead of hanging out together. We also are planning one night a week for intentional hang out which includes topical discussion, bible study, or book study. Last week, Jared had band practice for his night out, and I never took mine, so I planned to go out on Saturday to get a pedicure with a gift certificate I had left over. I was walking down the high street after I got it done, and saw the cinema and Harry Potter was on the marquee. I still hadn't seen it, and knew it would probably be going out of theaters soon. It was really great, and I'm so glad I had 6 hours out and about by myself to think, enjoy the sun (yay! it was out Saturday!!), see a film, relax, and get refreshed! So all of this is leading up to showing you some photos that Jared took in the backyard when him and bubs were hanging out at the house.

;)

Camden in Camden!!

2011-08-21T13:30:00.003-07:00

We took Camden for a visit to Camden town a few weekends ago and I never posted the pictures. It was a fun day out for sure! :) We always do stuff as a family on the weekends, but for some reason this time just felt really special!

Had to get a CRAZY DONUT!!!

There is a canal that winds through London, and part of it is through Camden. It is so nice to walk along the water and relax!

Play Gym!

2011-08-20T14:39:00.000-07:00

The other day when I looked over, Camden had tunneled under his gym.

The Business Man

2011-08-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

I never posted this pic that Mike took while they were here visiting us. I love that Camden has a giant phone and is wearing his tie shirt. He looks very serious and is clearly on an important business call!!

On a side note, the business man is going in for an appointment at the paediatric opthamology unit at the hospital tomorrow bc his left eyelid has been droopy for a while. We are praying that everything is ok with his eye and that the doctors will know what to do to help him. It is tough being out here and wanting the best care possible and not knowing if you will always get that with NHS. I coud go on, but I will make a separate post about National Healthcare another time (Can't wait to share my insight with all of you after having lived here for a year and a half). We would appreciate your prayers tomorrow at 2 pm here!

Crawling

2011-08-01T11:13:00.000-07:00

I caught Camden on film today crawling! So far he will only do it to get to his wipes! Hence the double reward! Haha!

I was video chatting with my mom so that's why you can hear her in the background! She is challenging Mason to a crawling contest!

Happy Birthday Meme!

2011-08-01T02:59:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to give a shout out to my grandma, Meme on her birthday!

Camden wanted to say hi too:

Camden also started crawling on Saturday! It's so great bc he can get to toys now on his own! I will try to catch him in action soon!

This word is not That word

2011-07-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start a series of posts dealing with words and phrases that are different here in the UK...Words that I have adopted as my own, words I use while living here to be able to communicate, and others that I wish to never speak again! Haha! Well, I thought it would be fun to let you in on a few of them and for you to decided what you think as well. Maybe there are some you wish to adopt in your household?? (Oh and please make sure to say the UK words with a British accent...it makes a lot more sense).

"This word is not that word"

Nail Varnish (UK) = Nail Polish (US)

(no hard r's now ya'll)

To me, the term varnish has to do with making old wood look shiny...not painting a color on your nails. This is one word that I will not be adopting in my vocabulary even while I'm here bc all I can think of is that horrible smell!!

Serviette (UK) = Napkin (US)

This is a term that I like to say while I'm here bc it sounds fancy. I don't think I will be able to bring it back with me bc I think everyone will just think I'm pretentious.

Hoover (UK) = Vacuum (US)

This term is not just used if you have an actual Hoover brand...it is used for any type of vacuum. It also is used as a verb. I "Hoovered" yesterday...etc. I actually like the way this sounds better than vacuum, so I will probably bring it back with me until enough of my friends get on my case about it!

Let me know what you think :)

MAX!!!

2011-07-28T11:37:00.001-07:00

To our good friends Katie and Andrew in LA

Camden just wanted to say...

WELCOME TO THE WORLD MAX!!!

We are so sad that we can't be there to celebrate the birth of your first son, but are praying for you as you enjoy your first few moments, hours, days, etc. with little Max! I am having a good time reminiscing about Camden's birth and how much our lives have changed for the better!

Love,

Jared, Robin, and Camden

Bittersweet

2011-07-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

Today is very bittersweet...

I am glad that we are back from Paris and we are back in our day to day life, but it marks the end of our holiday for the summer and our guests coming in to town for a while. One thing I really love about living here is the amount of visitors we have had come to see us over the last year and 4 months. It has honestly been one of the things that keeps me going day to day out here. It can get very lonely without good friends and family close by, so to have people come visit us always means a lot. We do have some visitors on the dockett for fall, so I can look forward to that. In the mean time, it's just me and bub during the day! :) We have found a little library song time every Wednesday morning that we have met a few other mums at, and I am trying to think of a few other weekly things we can put on the calendar so I don't feel so directionless.

Camden is getting to be a ton of fun and all smiles these days which is a huge blessing as far as enjoying my days with him. He is not dealing with as much separation anxiety when I leave the room and he also is getting to be more mobile. He is very close to crawling and is just going backwards when he moves. It's really funny!

Here are some pictures from the Paris trip! I'll be dreaming of our next trip although it probably won't be a reality for a while! :)

Italy Trip

2011-07-12T11:23:00.001-07:00

So this trip post is incredibly overdue, but I haven't had time to sit down and catalogue it yet! I have an extremely active boy on my hands these days and I am sure it's just going to get even more difficult to find time to post in the coming months and years, but I love getting everything documented, so here goes!

A couple weeks ago, my brother, Andrew, and his fiance, Lauren, arrived at the doorstep of our flat! We were very excited to see both of them! Andrew came out last summer and he also got to meet Camden for the first time in April in Texas, but only got to spend a couple of days with us bc he was working in New Orleans. He was off from teaching for summer break, so he decided to come visit us! Camden loves his Uncle Andrew and all of the fun games they got to play together. Camden also was carried around by Uncle Andrew a good amount in Italy as well!

I have always wanted to go to Italy (my second highest desired holiday spot after Paris). I looked in my Best of Europe book by Rick Steve's, and he recommended the Cinque Terre as one of the top destinations. I had never heard of it, but it sounded awesome! A combination of hiking and swimming in the ocean! He had me sold! As I started planning, I realised how detailed this trip was going to be! So many different modes of transport and exact timings of trains, planes, and buses. I thought we would be ok since we had 4 adults and one baby. It turned out to be spectacular, but it was a lot of work getting there and getting around! We definitely appreciated the things we got to do and see more bc of all of our efforts to make it there!

We woke up at 4 am Sunday the 26th of June after not sleeping the night before bc our neighbors had a crazy loud party with ridiculously loud music!! We walked to the bus stop and realised we had forgotten to print out the bus tickets for the EasyBus to the airport. Jared ran back to the house like a champ! We didn't catch the city bus in time to take us to Marble Arch Station where the EasyBus picked up, so we had to hail a cab and flew down to Marble Arch. We literally made it on the EasyBus 1 min before they left. We then rode for an hour to Luton Airport outside the city and arrived to madness at the airport! So many people in line for security and we had to test so much of our baby food we brought! It was too heavy to leave in the checked luggage!! We made the mistake of having Lauren and Andrew run up ahead to the gate bc we didn't know if we would make it. The boarding pass said queue 2, so they assumed that it was gate 2 (bc in the states the gate is usually printed on the boarding pass). Not here! They wait until 20 minutes before boarding to release you to your gate and it flashes up on the monitor. Jared, Camden, and I ran to the gate we saw on the monitor, and saw they weren't in the queue to board!! Oh no!! Jared once again ran down the hallway to see where they were! They luckily had already started running back to us. We got in the queue just before the gate closed for boarding! We were all so relieved to be on the plane...And can I just say that Camden was a champ and just chilled in the pram the entire time while we were all running around like mad! And he had been up since 4 am, too!

So we flew in to Pisa and were going to see the leaning tower, etc. before we took the train to the Cinque Terre. We got a cab to the tower and the driver says, no trains....strike! What!??? How were we going to get to Riomaggiore?? This is an incredibly small town...we didn't have Camden's car seat so we couldn't rent a car, and at this point I really didn't care about seeing the leaning tower any more. But we did any way...

Classic Pisa pose...

Did I mention it was realllllly hot in Pisa?? So we are trying to figure out how to walk to the train station to get some more info about the strike and if we would be able to get out of Pisa later that night. We walked to the station and it was a ghost town (except for one other trio of Americans who were waiting for their train..). I kindly mentioned to them about the strike of which they had no clue, and then we proceeded to get across town to the other, larger station to see if there was anyone there with info. We waited for a bus to take us across town and I was drenched by this point in my black jeans (thank you 60 degree London). Camden was actually sweating, too! Crazy times.

After waiting for about 30 minutes in the desert we squeezed on the bus and the driver didn't stop to let anyone else on after us! We made it to Pisa Centrale Station and it was open! Could it be that there were a few trains leaving!?? Yes! There were!! We had to make it to Riomaggiore before their office closed at 5:00 pm, and there was a train leaving Pisa at 3:30! We bought tickets and ran to the platform...do you detect a theme to the day?? Yes, Running, a lot of running! Haha! We were on the train! But wait...we still had to change trains in La Spezia and buy tickets to Riomaggiore. We didn't know what time that train would be leaving or if we would make it by 5:00. We got off in La Spezia and Jared ran in to the ticket office. I noticed that there was a train leaving in 5 minutes to Riomaggiore!! Hurry, Jared, Hurry! Run, Jared, Run! We threw Camden and the luggage in the train and the doors closed! Made it by seconds once again! We were only 8 minutes away from our destination!

The doors opened in Riomaggiore and we were inside a tunnel (Just like Rick Steve's had said...thank you Rick!). I ran to get out of the 2 foot platform with the pram before the train started moving right next to us. Alas! There was the ocean! I have never seen anything that refreshing looking in my entire life! After 12 hours of traveling (only a 2 hour plane flight I might add)...we were finally there. So we ran up to the office and got our keys to our flat at 4:45 pm! So Thank you Jesus for allowing us to make every leg of the journey by just minutes, seconds, etc.

Arrival in Riomaggiore!!

The Cinque Terre was beautiful!! It was really fun to hike and jump in the water whenever you wanted too along the way! I would highly recommend this trip for anyone who likes to hike and be at the beach!

Here are some shots from the 5 towns:

Hike from Riomaggiore to Manarola
View in Manarola
Manarola
Beach on Day 2 in Monterosso al Mare. We layed out and swam and buddy played on the beach chair for 3 hours...
Then passed out after a brief crying sesh on the beach...
Then woke up for dinner on the patio of a restaurant overlooking the water.
Camden and Andrew chillin in the apartment
View from our apartment in Riomaggiore! The church up on the hill had a wedding the first night we were there, and the whole town proceeded down the main street by our window singing, etc. It was so beautiful! I love being able to experience the true culture of a town so far away from home.
Day 3: View of Vernazza harbour from the top of the Castello. We swam down in the harbour for a loooong time that day after climbing the Castle.
At the top of the Castello
View of Vernzza on the hiking path from Vernazza to Monterosso al Mare. We saw Mitchell from the show Modern Family which was so random!
Buddy was enjoying the boat ride a lot!
View of the Castello on the Boat from Vernazza back to Riomaggiore.

After 3 days in Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza, and Monterosso al Mare, we took the train to Florence and stayed there one night. It was very hot there, too, but it cooled off that evening and it was amazing! We paid waaaaayyyy too much money to see the David, but I still say it was worth it!!
We found a tiny 4 seater lunch spot in a back alley in Florence. The lady made us a specialised meal! Some amazing tapas style Italian treats!
The David....So magnificent
Giotto's Tower on the right...414 steps to the top (Andrew and I decided to take the climb). It was tiring, but soooo worth it when we got to the top!
The Duomo from the top of Giotto's Tower
Camden sweating in Florence
Andrew and Lauren in front on Pont Neuf. We took a lot of engagement pics of Lauren and Andrew and we aren't posting the ones they are going to use for their save the dates! I will post more from the photo shoot soon.
In front of Pont Neuf
Camden was excited to get back to London!
Waiting at the Train Station in Florence to go back to Pisa.

All in all an adventerous trip to say the least, but some really great memories! Hope you enjoyed hearing about our adventures!

Next up...Mike, Catherine, and Mason Haskew are coming this Thursday and we are going to Paris with them on Monday for the week! Can't wait till they arrive!!

Reappearing Daddy!

2011-07-09T13:52:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love when this little boy gets laughing!! He loves to play any sort of peek a boo and once he starts laughing he can't stop!

Father's Day

2011-06-20T02:49:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Sunday celebrating Jared's first Father's Day! Camden got his Daddy a big card and some new jeans. He picked them out himself, of course. Camden also made Dad a big breakfast of pancakes, eggs, and bacon. We went to meet up with some friends from church in the park before church and had a picnic...English style, of course! It rained then, the sun would come out, then repeat! We took cover under a tree during the rain part! Here are a few pictures from the day!

Note the "Best Dad Ever" button! So precious!

This is my favorite!

Camden and Lizzie

Camden really wanted Mark's wrap! He's very in to food right now!

Mum and boy :) Love that little one!

Talkie Talk

2011-06-17T14:33:00.000-07:00

Camden is changing soooooo fast!!!

Yesterday he started to babble a little bit and we caught it on film. Today he started saying bababababa too. :) He also rolled over yesterday and finally got his arm out of the way completely! He is getting faster at rolling and I definitely have to start putting the gate up each time I go downstairs and he is on the floor upstairs. I am slowly realising how my days are numbered in taking him out and about with me to cafes/restaurants/museums, etc. in the pram for so long! He's slowly getting on the move and I have a feeling this kid is going to be fast!!! He's such a wiggle worm now :)

2011-06-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun comparison pic of Camden in the rocking chair:

4 months old
7 1/2 months old :) A lot longer and less bald! Hahaha!

Nana Visits

2011-06-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

Nana has 2 more days with us in rainy London town and then she will ba back to face the 100 degree Texas heat. We will miss her a lot!! We have had fun going to Hampton Court Palace and a few places around London. She has helped me make baby food, stock up on groceries, and clean and cook! It has been wonderful! We are also excited that my brother and his fiance, Lauren, are going to be here in a week! We are going to Italy with them and can't wait! Oh ya, and I don't think I posted this, but now you know...my little bro is engaged! Time flies! I can't believe he's old enough to be getting married...even though he's only 16 months younger than me! Congratulations Lauren and Andrew!!!!

Here are a couple pics from the week with Nana

2011-06-16T04:27:00.000-07:00

I have figured out how to....

COUGH

Camden loves to do fake little coughs now. He's testing out his new trick a lot and smiles if we cough back!

Sent from my iPhone

French Riviera

2011-06-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

The French Riviera was definitely on my hit list before we leave the UK. For whatever reason, France had always been on my mind as a glamorous and beautiful place (Most likely bc of how it is portrayed in film). But nevertheless...I wanted to visit both! We went to Paris last summer, and are also going again in July with Mike and Catherine! We are so excited to get to take the babies to Paris! I am so glad Jared and I were able to take this holiday down to Nice and Monaco!

Have I told you how much I love this company's holiday policy?? If I haven't already...I will tell you again! Brilliant!! As you have probably noticed by the amount of pictures I post from different places, we have been so blessed to be able to travel and utilize the time in the UK to see different countries!

This trip was different than a lot of our others in the sense that we have a 7 month old on our hands now! Camden was so much different on the plane ride to Nice than he was just one month ago on the plane ride to Houston. He was squirmy, whiny, loud, etc...Not the ideal candidate for a plane ride...but we did make it to Nice! We forgot to bring the carrier with us and poor guy had to stay in the pram more than his fair share! We will never forget the carrier again! :) We got to know Camden a lot more on this trip and also how Jared and I relate to each other in this new stage of his development. Nice was gorgeous and we got to see a lot, but it was a definite learning and growing experience for us more than anything. :) On to the photos!!

Camden enjoying the Beau Rivage Bar and Grill overlooking the water the first day when the sun was out. Jared and I both got to stick our feet in the freezing cold water, but it was late afternoon by the time we checked in to the hotel and got to the beach so we didn't get too much time soaking in rays! Plus, now that we have a little bubba with us, beach holidays are limited to us being somewhere under an umbrella. And since we didn't have one with us, we had to sit at a restaurant, etc. so he wouldn't fry up! It's also not as fun to be in the ocean by yourself...so we didn't really get a lot of time on the beach tanning. Next time, we are going to bring other friends or family along to any beach holidays so we can take turns with bub and being in the water! You live and learn!!
We did have so much fun with him though! He is starting to stand up and hold on to chairs, tables, etc. (We always have a hand on him, but I am convinced this boy is going to skip crawling and just go straight to walking). His legs are so strong! But this is something I have known since I was about 30 weeks pregnant and he was kicking me like crazy for 8 weeks before he came out!
Don't jump, Jared!!!
I was convinced when we saw this sign of a risque lady called "La Trappa" that this was a strip club, but nope...it was a restaurant! The Italian influence was massive here...we might as well have been in Italy!
Gorgeous sunlight most of the time we were there with a couple mornings that were cloudy and rainy. I always forget how a lot of coastal towns have weather that fluctuates so much.
This is the most precious picture of my boys! :) I also realised on this trip that Camden's hat is too small. I bought it 2 months ago and his head is sooooo much bigger now!
The Ascenseur up to Castle Hill. An old Castle used to be up on the hill until Napoleon burned it down...way to go...
The clouds parted as we were heading up the hill for a beautiful view of Nice.
Vieux Nice (Old Town Nice)
Top of the lift
Happy Baby! He has such a big smile these days! It's funny to go back and watch old videos and see how much more expressive he is now.
This picture looks fake to me...It looks nicer in this picture than it did in person...seriously!
I'm going to submit this photo to Rick Steve's website! Haha! We are a little obsessed with Rick Steve's! We always try to find stuff before we look at the guidebook to beat Rick!
We took a day trip to Monaco (Another place films idolize)...Their produce was insanely good! Better than the UK and I thought the UK's was amazing!
Walkway up the hill to the Palais. A very looooooong walkway...but there was a beautiful view of the Grand Prix starting area and port along the way. We just missed the Grand Prix by one weekend and all of the tourists and hoopla that goes with that! It was almost like we had the place to ourselves...ok...almost...until the cruise ships let out at the casino.
A little out of order (The lift up to Castle hill)
The view from the Monaco Palais
Me and Buddy chilin at the Palais
Some cool house on the pathway down from the Palace.
At Le Bar at the Casino in Monaco...they wouldn't let C in even though he was sleeping, so we had to go to the outdoor area. The under 18 rule at the Casino was strictly enforced!
A chapel close to the Monaco palace
The Casino (Casino Royale supposedly took place here...which for those of you who know me, know it's one of my all time favorite movies)
Train station in Monaco. Very fancy...this whole town was fancy...their public toilets were as nice as a fancy hotel.
View from the Train to Monaco.
So Camden has a new obsession with drinking out of our water bottles. It is so cute and he really loves the water. He loved swimming in Texas, he loves his bath time, and go figure, he loves drinking water! He make the cutest "ahhh" noise after he takes a sip! It's like...gosh people, you finally hydrated me! I was sooooo thirsty!!!

Hope you enjoyed your trip to the French Riviera! I will definitely want to come back here someday and explore some of the other smaller town in between Nice and Monaco. :)

Chuckle Chuckle!

2011-06-06T06:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you stateside...a little chuckle for your morning!

6 month milestones

2011-05-24T01:33:00.000-07:00

Camden is his cute new shirt from Aunt Jordan and his boat shoes I found at NEXT to match Dad's! I can't believe I didn't know about this store! It's has really fun cheap and trendy kids' clothes. I digress from the post...

I haven't done a post on everything that Camden is learning and how much he has grown so I wanted to document it in a post so I can look back on it when he's older! :)

He's almost 7 months now! I can't believe how much he's physically grown in the last month. He's gone from 13 1/2 pounds at 5 months to 16 pounds 2 ounces at 6 1/2 months! I am not sure how long he is officially bc they won't do his length yet at the health visitor, but we measured him a couple weeks ago and he's roughly 26 inches. He is wearing 6-12 months shirts and his 4-6 month pants from H and M (Someone has a long torso like his momma). He's wearing size Medium Gdiapers and AIO BumGenius snapped on the second row and size 4 Pampers (the sizes are bigger here in the UK bc he is wearing size 3 still in the US. Can someone please explain to me the different size dummies (paci)?? Why would a child need a bigger one as he grows?? Mine aren't growing...or are they??Haha jkjk! I put the bigger dummy in his mouth and he started gagging! Haha..it was pretty hilarious, so we are sticking with 0-3 months size!

Eating: He's tried so many different foods so far. I am having fun making the baby food purees with the amazing steamer/blender all in one machine that my parents got me when they were here in March. It's super easy to make and freeze 2-3 weeks worth of food in just a couple hours. We still use Organix baby food jars when we are out and about and won't be able to take the homemade stuff with us, but it's a great brand that promises "no junk" added to the food. Camden is a huge fan of eating...but this is something we have known since birth! He's nursing 4-5 times during the day and is taking one night feeding (varies on the day...sometimes 1 am, sometimes 4-5 am). He's sleeping so much better since I have been eating a TON more food and also have been giving him his Rice cereal before bed. Like I said before...this boy eats and eats and he's still only in the 20th percentile! Up from the 10th though, so we are very excited about that! He was born at the 25th so the midwife said she is really happy with where he is at right now and doesn't want him to soar up the charts.

Here are some of the foods he's tried so far (1-2 tablespoons of fruit and vegetables at a time, 3 meals a day):

Rice Cereal mixed with breast milk (his favorite that he has at tea time every day) (1-2 tablespoons)

banana

pear

apple (not sure if this agreed with him...need to try it again bc that night he was up every 2-3 hours crying...)

carrot (loves)

sweet potato (loves!)

green beans (not a fan)

peas (not a fan)

zuchini (too runny when pureed)

squash

He is also really enjoying drinking water from a free flowing cup! He is quite good at it too! I of course have to hold the cup or water bottle or he will pour it all down his shirt and into his mouth and choke on it, but he loves it. He makes a little "ahh" noise after he has it...like "gees I've been so thirsty, mom" "why haven't you given me water before."

Sleep: He takes 3 naps a day (the first 2 are usually 1-2 hours and the last one is usually only 30 minutes...I'm thinking he will get rid of this 3rd nap in the near future). His total time napping each day is around 3 hours...sometimes more, sometimes less. He is a great pram napper which is so great since some days he has to spend a good amount of time in the pram while we are out and about shopping, etc. At night he eats his last meal around 6:45 and goes down for the night. He got rid of the second night feeding a few weeks ago which I am very thankful for! He still sometimes wakes up though and needs his dummy or blanket tucked around him. We are working on doing this less and it has been a lot better the last week or so. He is a constantly changing boy and there are good nights and bad nights. We know that this season is refining both me and Jared to live more by the Lord guiding us each day and each moment. To live by His strength and not our own. This is the first time in my life that I have really been able to experience that! It's really tough, but so amazing!

He is rolling over now from his back to tummy! Yay! But still has a hard time getting his head all the way up after he turns over. He loves to grab stuff with his feet now (see pic below) and he also rolls from side to side while holding toys in his hands or feet which is really cute! He also has developed his fine motor skills in his hands a lot more which is fun to see when he plays with the tags on his toys, etc. He loves sitting in his rainforest jumperoo that we got when we returned from Texas. He will bounce in there for atleast 30 minutes at a time!

As you can see above, his head control is getting so much better, and he can put his head up really high! He has started to be a "swimmer" as the photographer at JC Penny said when she was doing his 6 month portraits (Can't wait to post those when I get them in a couple weeks!). He will be on his tummy and his arms and legs just wiggle around. He is trying to move so bad and reach for stuff that is in front of him.

We love this little boy more than words can describe! These last 6 months have been with out a doubt the most challenging of our lives, but we wouldn't trade them for anything else! Another time I need to catalogue all of the trials and times God has provided for us here on the blog...but this is enough info for you all now! :)

Bournemouth

2011-05-23T11:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday Jared took the day off and we went to Bournemouth. This was so surprising to me that the coast of England was this much like LA! I loved it so much! I purchased a Groupon (which I am a little obsessed with right now) and we went with our pastor Mark and his wife Lizzie! It was such a relaxing time. We got to stroll along the water and enjoy some afternoon tea on the lawn of a fancy hotel.

This is seriously my favorite!

Mark and Camden loungin!
Naked baby on my bed at the hotel! So chubby!
This is the beautiful lawn we chilled on for like 2 hours! Doesn't that look inviting!
My hubby!

I'm formal but I like to party!
At the garden of a beautiful mansion art gallery.
Love you, Jared! Thanks for my mini holiday!
Buddy liked the surf board! Maybe he will be a little surfer when we get back to LA! He's got the thighs for it! :)

We have this week in London, and then we are heading off to Nice on Tuesday the 31st! I am so excited that summer is upon us...even though it's super windy and like 55 degrees outside still!! But, nevertheless, the sun is shining!!!

Texas Trip

2011-05-23T09:29:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Texas was so much fun! We had a lot of time with good friends and family. Camden was great on the flight there and back and we were very blessed to have a smooth journey! Here are a few shots from the two weeks!

Family Portrait on Easter! We all happened to be color co-ordinating!

It was so nice to sit outside on Easter and enjoy the sun. Carson kept trying to play with camden but he just wanted to play with the duck.
This is my favorite picture from Easter Sunday! you would never know we had only slept one night out of the previous 2...yay for jet lag! Which was considerably worse on the way back to London than on the way to Texas.
This picture is really special to us, too bc Dante, Andrew's dog passed away a week after we took this picture. I'm glad Camden got to meet Dante! He was such a great dog!
It was such a joy for my brother to meet Camden! He actually came to pick us up from the airport with his girlfriend Lauren. It was the first time I had seen her since high school and was so good to catch up with her and my bro!
Stefani happened to be in town for her mom's birthday and we are so glad the trips lined up together!
We got to go swimming a few times while we were in Texas, too. It was a lot of fun and Camden loved the water!
Grandpa Jim with both of his grandbabies. Carson and Camden :)
Camden got to meet his Cousin Rose. She is only a week older than him. They were playing nicely on the floor together when...Wait for it...
Rose was soooo mean! Hahahah! This cracked me up! I'm not sure if he was upset bc she got too close or bc she touched his arm?? She was not phased at all that he was crying. HAha!
This was the first time that my mom's mom, Grandmummy got to meet Camden. It is so amazing to see all the generations together!
Here's a precious pic of my cousin Jennifer and her three LO's. Rose, Emma, and Cooper
This is one of my favorite's of the two of us! I love him in his little muscle shirts!
We had such a great time at the shower that a few of my mom's friends threw for me, Katie, and Shannon. It was so classy! :)
Jess and C :)
Me and the next mum to be, Katie! Can't wait to meet Mr. Max!
Our pastor Tim from LA and his wife Tonya came down from Dallas for the BBQ and shower. It was so great to see them both and their kids!
We all got the same onesie from different people at the shower. It was so much fun seeing these girls!
My Meme (Dad's Mom) got to come down for a visit while we were in Texas. This was so happy to see her and for her to meet Camden. I hadn't seen her in 4 years and I was thrilled to hug her and catch up!

Spencer and Camden at the BBQ
Lauren and C....I think Camden met over 100 people in Texas. He is becoming quite the social butterfly!
Emily meets Camden!
Camden meeting his Godfather, Casey, for the first time!
Catherine hanging with Camden at the BBQ at Katie's parents house. It was so great to have all of our friends from the past in one place! It was also really weird to have a bunch of people from all different parts of our past together. I kept forgetting where I knew people from and if they knew each other.
Camden with his Uncle Mark (Jared's Sister's husband). Mark was making C laugh! :)
Mike and Catherine at the party Jared's parents threw for us
It was so great to see the newly married Nick and Kristin Likos since we didn't get to come to the wedding.
C got sooooo many new toys at both of the showers that were thrown for him!
Grandpa Jim with Camden
Stephanie McMath got to meet Camden too! Many, Many, people got to meet Camden! He really fancied Steph! She made him laugh a lot!
Camden and Great Grandmummy (my mom's mom). She was having such a great time with lil' C!
Some tummy time :)
Do you like how I strategically placed those leaves in the picture? Camden was having such a great time playing in the bucket of water. Plus this is the most hilarious face :)
Daddy and Buddy :)
My mom and I out in the backyard after Camden splashed in a bucket!
This is quite possibly the cutest picture I have ever seen. I know you aren't supposed to say your own kid is the cutest kid, but of course we know everyone thinks that, so I will just say it! Haha! C.U.T.E.S.T. Kid EVER!!!

Camden beats up an owl

2011-05-19T03:43:00.001-07:00

Baby Mozart

2011-05-12T03:10:00.000-07:00

One of the many great presents Camden received while we were in Texas was a Baby Mozart CD/DVD and book from Lauren Piccione! He loved listening to the CD and reading his book yesterday! There is most definitely a Texas post coming soon to the blog! We had a fabulous time and I can't wait to share pictures from the trip!

Not a video of Camden

2011-04-18T04:15:00.000-07:00

Hello there,

As you may have noticed, I have been mostly posting videos of my son, Camden! It is hard to sit down and write while there is a 5 1/2 month old baby looking at you and desiring your attention....not to mention wanting to catch a few zzz's every now and then while he is asleep :)

I just finished eating lunch, doing the dishes and tidying the house and he's still napping, so I decided to write a little update of our lives!

On Saturday we will board a plane to the great nation of Texas for 2 weeks to visit family and friends. We will arrive a year to the day since we left! Can you believe that! We definitely can't! So much has happened in the last year, and I am excited to share everything that we have learned and experienced with all our friends that we get to see...and also show off lil' C to everyone! (sidenote...I have given Camden a new nickname...lil' C...haha!)

I am not nervous about the actual flight bc Jesus has given me peace that He is going before me and already knows how the 10 hour flight will go. I am also thankful that I have a wonderful husband to help me hold and play with C on the flight. Another encouragement that God has given me is knowing that my good friend Kimberly survived the 12 hour flight from LA to London with a 3 1/2 month old and Amelia did really well. God definitely blessed them on both legs of the flight with really sweet flight attendants, people around them, and a calm baby! :) It's definitely an encouragement to me that I have had other friends fly with their babies as well (Shannon, Catherine, Jordan). Isn't it wonderful that God gives you people in your life that have already experienced things before you have to do them! It's just another evidence of the grace He gives in our lives.

We are really excited about seeing everyone, but I am also working on letting go of feeling overwhelmed by how many people we are planning to see while we are there. I just want to enjoy the time I do have with people and be intentional about it being quality time even though some of the visits will not be of great quantity.

I have to say I am most excited about seeing my Meme (Dad's mom). No offense to anyone else I am seeing, but I haven't seen her in 4 years! That's way too long. I know some of you may think this is normal for seeing relatives or grandparents, but I have a very special relationship with my Meme. She has been there for me my whole life and I talk to her either on the phone or on video chat (yes she is very tech savvy!) atleast every other day! I almost cry thinking of how excited I am to see her and for her to meet Camden! :) Camden always talks the most when we are video chatting Meme bc she actually talks to him! It's very cute...not to mention her amazing southern Alabamian (??) accent! I can't wait to see how C interacts with her in person!

One other thing I am interested in seeing is if we have any culture shock going back to the states. There are a lot of things here that were "shocking" when we moved here. Everything down to the electric outlets! What's scary is that we are now used to everything here, and have even...gasp...said the British have it right on some of the things! I will let you know!

We haven't driven a car in a year and only rode in a cab a handful of times here. This scares me a bit to get in the car and drive my son around...or worse yet...let Jared drive me and my son around! Haha! jk sweetie :)

Anyway, can't wait to post pics of us and C with all our friends. Love to you all and hope you are all well. We have so much to share from the past year if we haven't already shared with you, but in case we haven't, we have a lot of stories and encouragements from our lives in England!

The Jig

2011-04-16T02:21:00.001-07:00

So we finally thought it was time to bust out the over the door bouncer for Camden. He loves it! It took him a while to figure out what was going on, but he started moving his feet slowly and then really fast! Of course we had to put on some Irish music bc it looked like was doing a little jig!

The J

2011-04-12T07:20:00.000-07:00

Last week I was on video chat with my Meme and I was showing her the initial letters that I got for Camden's room (CJB). I pulled it out of the bag and Camden started laughing hysterically at the J. I missed most of the laughing, but got a little of it, and then he started his usual screaming at random stuff. He is getting quite loud these days which is funny and is still putting everything in sight in his mouth! My favourite is when he pulls the giant mirror on his play gym to his mouth. Like he thinks he could get that in his mouth! Haha!

Well, we only have 11 days until we fly out to Texas! We haven't been on American soil for a year exactly. We landed in the UK on 24 Apr, 2010, and we will arrive in Texas on 23 Apr, 2011. How weird is that! We didn't even realise that we were doing that! We can't wait! I better start packing soon to make sure we don't forget anything or overpack! Tips for flying with a baby?? Besides nursing during take off and landing??

Screaming!

2011-04-04T04:50:00.000-07:00

Camden has definitely found his voice! We are worried the neighbors think he is in trouble with all the screaming! We thought we had a quiet, silent type, but we might have a talker on our hands! Look out world!

Bubbles

2011-03-30T06:33:00.000-07:00

Camden has started trying to say syllables with his mouth closed! Very cute, but results in him just spitting everywhere due to the extra saliva!

Camden Eating Rice Cereal

2011-03-28T08:48:00.001-07:00

Laughing and Boating

2011-03-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today we got to go see the boat race of Oxford vs. Cambridge on the Thames. Buddy was even photographed for the paper bc he was super cute and there weren't too many other families there so the guy had to get a well rounded group of people (not just drunken frat boys)! Haha! We actually couldn't see too much of the actual boat race bc of how many people were there, but they had a giant screen to watch it on. They were going super fast down the river and a full course only took them about 15 min to complete. Oxford won! Not that we really cared! Haha!

Anyway, Here are a few shots from the day :)

Our friends Chris and Alicia

People wearing silly outfits

So excited for his first boat race!
View of Hammersmith bridge :)
Buddy this morning after he just woke up!

Camden was in a very cute mood when we got home and was just laughing a lot! Note the hands in the mouth...he is in the process of cutting his first tooth...I suspect bc I have been bit while he is eating and he has been in a lot of pain recently...poor guy! I have tried everything and it still is just a crummy time in a baby's life! But, this too shall pass! Pray for him to cut the tooth quickly bc he has had some more waking at night than his usual 1-2 times which always wears on a mummy and daddy! But, nevertheless, we will do anything for our little guy!

Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the weekend!

Spring Break with Nana and Papa Mac!

2011-03-21T02:05:00.001-07:00

Here are some photos from Spring Break (according to the spring break schedule in Texas). My mom had a week off from teaching at school and she decided to book her ticket to London. Well, my Dad couldn't stand my mom getting to come see Camden for a week by herself and he had to book a ticket, too! I can't tell you how incredibly blessed I am to have parents who want to come visit and support me so much when I live so far away! God has blessed me with the most amazing parents ever and I hope to be a great support and encouragement to Camden just as they have been for me.

Recently, I have realized how tough it has been to have a baby away from family and friends to help out. I think I was definitely running on the adrenaline of being a new mum and just taking everything on myself! Jared has been an amazing Dad and has helped with night feedings, cooking, cleaning, etc...but I haven't had too much "me" time in the past 4 1/2 months bc any free time we have I want to spend with Jared, not galavant about town alone! Haha!! After having our good friends Corey and Kimberly here and then my parents, I realized how much I need more support emotionally, spiritually, and physically...I can get all of this here except the physical support of getting a break from hanging out with Camden without having someone here to watch him...duh! So Jared and I have come up with a brilliant plan of having our friend Joanna watch Camden 3 hours a week and 2 date nights a month! I am so excited that we are investing in this much needed time for me and for the two of us! Thank you Jared for understanding how important this is for me! :)

So anyway, here are some pictures from Spring Break with my parents and this past weekend at the park with our friends Joanna and Dave Dent! Enjoy!

Checking out the Daffodils on a walk the first day my parents were here!
A day trip to Windsor Castle last Saturday. It was an incredible place!
The old moat
My Dad posing as a guard

Windsor entrance
This makes my heart happy! Eating at the crooked house tea room in Windsor!
Reunited after 3 1/2 months! Yay!
Love this one!
Nana got many many snuggles while she was here!
My favorite photo from the day at Regent's Park Saturday!
Can't believe this is a public, free park!

gorgeous weeping willows
classic cabby shot
Notice I am not wearing a wool coat!! Praise the Lord!! Spring is here!
Family photo
Mommy smiles :)
Jo and Camden! So cute!
Dave contemplating at the pond

Gorgeous Pathway
Jared and Camden outside Hammersmith Station waiting to go to Regent's Park!
Jared's Aunt Ginger, Uncle Paul, Cousin Vanessa and her husband Curtis were in town on a European tour, so we got to go to our favorite French cafe, La Duree for tea with them on Sunday. It was great to see them and are so happy they wanted to see us on their short 2 days here! They are such a precious family! :)
I can't believe how grown up he looks!
Standing! Haha!
This just kills me! Father and Son being silly!

Oxford Pics

2011-03-08T01:39:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures I forgot to upload from our trip to Oxford with the Eide's and various others from their visit out here. :) We can't believe we have friends who would spend 2 weeks of their vacation to come visit us in London (not to mention traveling with a 3 1/2 month old baby)! We are so blessed to know them and had such a great time! Here's to many more hang outs around the world!

Maracas!!

2011-03-08T01:04:00.000-08:00

This is Jared's dream...to make Camden a drummer...haha!

This week is pretty low key and we are super excited that my parents are coming in to town this weekend!! Camden can't wait to see Nana and Papa Mac!! :)

Camden giggles!

2011-02-27T12:26:00.000-08:00

Camden in the tube :)

2011-02-27T12:14:00.001-08:00

Wiggle!

2011-02-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

Fun day

2011-02-23T13:56:00.001-08:00

Today we went out on the town with the Eide's! We took the tube to East London and went to the Museum of London which was fascinating! I really want to go back sometime and spend more time reading everything. Next we went to St. Paul's Cathedral and went inside. It was breathtaking! Camden did so well looking at everything. After that we went to Paul patisserie. Here are a few photos of Camden eating pie! Just kidding....we didn't actually give him pie but he sure wanted some!

Bear Suit

2011-02-22T08:06:00.001-08:00

Here are some shots from the weekend...including Camden in his Bear Suit! It's finally not HUGE on him and actually fits now!

Camden meets Amelia

2011-02-19T01:22:00.001-08:00

Corey, Kimberly, and Amelia arrived Thursday afternoon!! We have had so much fun already and it has only been 2 days!! Yesterday we took the babies to Borough Market and we all had some very eclectic food and of course coffee! Here is Jared wearing Camden facing out in his carrier for the first time! He loved being able to see everything now that he can hold his head up better on his own.

Here's Kimberly in the rocker with the babies! I can't believe we are all together! It's so special!
Can't contain this baby cuteness!!

More pictures to come from the rest of the trip!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T13:55:00.001-08:00

It's been a while since I have posted bc we recently moved to a new flat and then last week Camden got a stomach bug!! Camden is feeling much better, but needless to say that we have done a lot of laundry this past week due to much barfed on clothing! Our new place has so much more light bc it isn't a basement flat and we also have much more space. God has totally provided for our family something that is in a great area and not too much more rent than we were paying.

This Saturday Jared was awesome and stayed at the house with Camden all day while I went out with my friends Joanna to the mall and to see The King's Speech. It was such an incredible film! It was so nice to get out to the movies.

Here are some pictures that Jared took while the girls were out and him and Dave hung with Camden!

Tug of War

2011-02-03T03:17:00.000-08:00

Dinosaurs and Bath Time

2011-02-01T10:26:00.001-08:00

Here are some pics of Camden in his cute Dinosaur outfit that Aunt Jordan got him and bath time...I may have put a little too much soap in and there were a LOT of bubbles, but he loved it!

The Lake District

2011-01-31T06:26:00.000-08:00

This weekend Jared, Camden, and I went to the Lake District for a little getaway weekend with some of our good friends from church. This was a gorgeous part of the country that I hadn't been to before. It is in the north west corner of England. It was so refreshing and relaxing...not to mention a great time getting to know all of our friends better. God has brought together an amazing group of people from so many different walks of life! Some of these peoples stories are absolutely unbelievable! A true testimony to God's grace in our lives and I don't deserve to know them, but I do! So kind, generous, and thoughtful! Everyone was so sweet to help out with Camden, too so I could have a bit of a break from holding and playing with him all the time! Here are a few shots from the weekend.

Camden sings

2011-01-25T06:57:00.000-08:00

We have been trying to get Camden to sing back to us recently, and we caught him laugh-singing! I think he is trying really hard to imitate us! :) He is 12 weeks old today and the LSU shirt is to show my bro that he likes his school! Geaux Tigers!!

Poppy

2011-01-20T03:23:00.000-08:00

As some of know, my grandfather (Dad's Dad...Poppy) passed away on my birthday (November 7, 2010), 5 days after Camden was born. I have been meaning to dedicate a post to him, but until now, it has been to hard to reflect on it. I wrote something for the funeral bc I was not able to attend, so I thought that would give you a glimpse of what an incredible man he was! :)

He always told me at church he wasn’t a good singer. He would say, “I still sing though because it says make a joyful noise to the Lord.”

He always made Andrew and I, “Poppy’s PB&J”. We always insisted he open his own restaurant. These are still the best PBJ’s I have ever had because they were made with so much love.

He had so much patience with me while teaching me how to play golf every summer. I loved being out on the course with him for hours on those hot summer days. He would take us to meet all his friends, and I remember how everyone knew him. He took the time to say hello to everyone. He was so kind.

I love playing games, and I knew that EVERYTIME I asked him to play checkers he would. That will always be our game.

Each time I called he would ask me, “How’s my favorite granddaughter”? I would say, “Poppy, I am your only granddaughter”, and he would tell me that didn’t matter.

I am so grateful to have had a grandfather who told me how special I was to him and one who made me feel so loved. Now I see how gracious and generous the Lord was in providing me with him for 25 years of my life. I brought life into this world as he was passing, and I know that his memory will live on through my son, Camden James, bearing his name and legacy into another generation. We love you Poppy, and thank the Lord for your life. I am at peace now as my son and I, join you and your sons in making a joyful noise to the Lord!

Hope you all enjoyed reading! Tell someone you love how much you love them today! Life is short and you never know how much time the Lord allows us with each other in this life! :)

Roll over...Roll over

2011-01-17T09:20:00.001-08:00

Camden enjoying some jazz and tummy time!

Camden has been rolling from his tummy to his back. You will have to trust me that we didn't push him and he was all the way on his tummy! I turned the camera on after he started to roll! And I promise it was warm in our flat and he was not cold! He was about to have a bath after play time bc he weed himself...oops!

He can lift his head sooo much higher while on his tummy now. Crazy that just 11 weeks ago he had absolutely no control over his head! So amazing how God created us to mature and learn so fast in the beginning! :)

In case you were wondering...the cute London blanket is courtesy of Stefani Wilkinson! We love it! It's so soft! :)

Also, Camden has been toggling back and forth between 1-2 night feedings. This has given mom a lot more rest! Thank you Jesus! :)

Fun Saturday!

2011-01-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures of our fun Saturday! The first are some I captured Saturday morning. I put Camden in bed with dad after I fed him to play while I made some pancakes and eggs for breakfast! I finally got to make a proper breakfast (even though Jared has made it for us a few times, I love to cook and have missed doing it all the time!). A few weeks ago when I put Camden in our bed he cried a lot (I think bc the mattress was different than his moses basket and was a bit too squishy!). BUT...this time he loved it and played with Dad for a looong time. Here are some amazing pics I captured of my boys!

We also went to meet up with some of Jared's coworkers for lunch at Jamie Oliver's Italian restaurant. It was delicious, Camden did great, and we had a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from lunch! We finally got some photos not in our flat. This was Camden's second meal out, and this was the first one with friends.

I think he was so overwhelmed with all the new sights and sounds (in a good way) that he never got upset! Jared and I even got to go to Starbucks and hang out after lunch. Camden was out and about from 1-6pm! I am taking him to get weighed tomorrow morning and can't wait to see how big he is! He is 10 weeks old tomorrow. I am loving watching all of his developments and he is letting me get a little more sleep at night! About 6-8 hours (not all in a row..I wish!)...but still, progress!

Some more pics!

2011-01-05T04:18:00.000-08:00

The ridiculous amount of pictures I post are mostly for my family who don't get to see little buddy often!

Hilarious Video

2011-01-04T12:47:00.000-08:00

Christmas Photos

2011-01-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Jared's parents were here which was really great! It was so nice not be alone on Christmas out here without any family close by! Jared and I got to go out to 2 movies and lunch one day and I got to go out to get a massage and my haircut! Bliss!!! :) We are so funny and just talked about little buddy the whole time we were out and I was missing him the entire time I was at my massage! It was still soooo nice to get out just the two of us though.

Camden is growing up so fast...I know I say that in like every post, but he is! He will be 9 weeks old on Tuesday and has to be over 11 lbs. by now. I am going to get his 2 month shots in a week and get him weighed too. Camden can now hold his head up high when you put him on his tummy, he can grab toys, fingers, and his latest favorite...hair! He also can track objects back and forth and he loves to smile at his mum and dad when we smile at him first! He is mimicking our other facial gestures more, too! He can roll from one side to the other now by curling his legs inward to get momentum! This kid just amazes us with all his new tricks every day! I will keep you all posted on his latest!

His little britches are up high like an old man! So cute! Hehe!

So Christmas was fun but I came down with tonsillitis on the 23rd and had a 101 fever for a few days...not fun! But I got antibiotics and was feeling much better by the 26th! Here are some fun shots from the holidays. Camden got a play mat with jungle friends hanging down from Grandma and Grandpa Brient. He loves it! He also got a lot of other fun toys!

White Christmas

2010-12-18T03:28:00.001-08:00

So there is another HUGE snowfall today! Yesterday it snowed about an inch, and today there is already 4 inches on the ground and it is still falling! Good thing I got to the store early this morning before it started! It's definitely making for a legit winter here...a true white Christmas this year. I hope it slows down before Monday morning so Jared's parents can fly in without delay!

Here is a video I took today of the snow!

Here are some more pictures I just couldn't resist posting and a video from our "play time" yesterday....Camden punching the pup!

December?

2010-12-14T02:33:00.000-08:00

How is it December already...and the 14th! It is funny how you lose track of the date when you are at home with a newborn!

It's been 2 weeks already since my last post. Camden has been a lot more fussy during the day...hence me not updating you all as much. It's crazy how much he changes every week. Not only in size and what he can do now (grabbing fingers, blankets, toys, etc., holding his head up off my shoulder for 4-5 seconds, and smiling!) but also in how he handles himself during the day and night. He has been sleeping for longer stretches at night (one 4 hour and one 3 31/2 if we are lucky!), but during the day we have been having to use a lot more calming and soothing techniques to get him to fall asleep for naps. He is still most alert during the morning after he wakes up from "night time." (sometime between 7-9) He has a good 20-30 min play time before he gets upset and needs to go back to sleep.

He is now 10 pounds!! (1 pound in 2 weeks people) so I think that is why we have to try so much harder to sooth him bc he is figuring our techniques out and can fight us now when we try to swaddle him! We thought he fought us in the beginning...oh no...does this mean he will be even stronger in 2 more weeks?? I think this may just continue to escalate through adolescence. Haha! We will see! He has also stretched out most of his feedings to every 3 hours (which is amazing when you look back to the beginning to every 1 1/2-2 hours). Crazy how fast you forget how far you've come and how much more sleep you are getting now...although you still always want more! It is so nice to get all this out on "paper" bc I think I don't give him the benefit of the doubt sometimes...ie...he is only 6 weeks into his life in this world and he isn't going to soothe himself or sleep through the night yet! hehe!

We also went on 2 big adventures this weekend. He had his first public feeding at Whole Foods this weekend which was a big deal for mom before hand, but not at all once we got the hang of it! We walked about 2 miles there and back and took a stroll to the Tweed Shop to exchange a jacket that Nana and Papa got him for Christmas. We also walked through Hyde Park. It was a beautiful day and we were out for over 4 hours. We got taco makings at Whole Foods for the next day which was delicious!

Sunday we decided to go to church which was an adventure. He did really well on the way there asleep in his pram, but after he ate at 7:30 (almost made it through the entire service) he got a little fussy (his evening fussy time) and we couldn't stay bc the heat wasn't on in the main room, only the room we had service in, so it was way to cold for one of us to stay out with him. It was good to see everyone for a bit at least! Not sure if I will try that again for a while. It is tough taking him out in the evening bc that is when he is most fussy. Maybe after the holidays!

Other than getting upset sometimes during the day, we just think he is the cutest little buddy that ever lived...and even then sometimes he has a cute cry face...although mama had to get some ear plugs to save her hearing! I would like to still be able to play my instrument and have some hearing left for that! Here are some of the new pictures we have taken recently. They include some of the first smiles on film!

Chillin' in my big boy chair! He loves to sit up and watch me get my lunch in the kitchen or hang out in the living room! He especially likes the sound of the hair dryer and the water noise of the shower! Puts him right to sleep (while they are on anyway...)
Pushing out a "big job" as Nana calls it!
Smile Smile
My favorite Camden face yet
Smile again! I seriously can't get enough of this!
Melts my heart! Chubby little buddy cheeks!

Staring down his friends! I think he is looking at Bryan...yes I named them...there is also Martin and Tony..eh eh Tony...
Is he rooting or upset? So hard to remember! We call this his karate outfit! Looks more silly in person!
Loves bath time!
So soothed! We always have a bath during the evening fussy hours!

Congratulations if you made it through this post! I will try and keep you updated more often...but there is no guarantee with this little dude!

Jared's parents get here in a week which I am really excited about! I can nap during the day when they are here! Wooohoo! I am also excited to see them and that they will be here with us for Christmas!

Side note...having a baby boy makes you see the Christmas story in a whole new way! It is amazing to think of what Mary and Joseph went through in the beginning! I don't believe the line "no crying he makes" from Away in a Manger, but that's just me! Jesus experienced everything we do on earth right!??

Snow and a 1 month old baby!

2010-12-02T02:42:00.000-08:00

So 2 things I can't believe!

1. Camden is already 4 weeks and 4 days old! He is sleeping very well at night. He has been sleeping 3 hours, then 2 1/2, then 2 at night. I am very thankful that he has his nights figured out and during the day he is really enjoying play time with his toys. Sometimes he doesn't want to nap during the day and cry instead, but I think he is just trying to figure out how to be awake during the day and not be upset! Today he did have 2 solid 2 hour naps and mom got a nap too! Hallelujah! At night he gets a little fussy between 9-12, but a little cuddle time with Dad always seems to help calm him down! Even if Dad is up for 2 hours trying to calm him down so mom can get some rest!! (Best Dad ever!) :)

2. It really snowed a couple of nights ago and stuck to the ground! And it is still snowing and still looks like this outside! The only downside to snow is that I don't want to take Camden outside...which means mommy doesn't get to go outside very much! It is like 25 degrees outside. Brrr! Colder than anywhere I have lived. But, tomorrow when Dad is home, I am going to escape for a bit and go on a mom adventure...maybe even build a snowman, even if it is only for an hour or two!

Camden's photo shoot with dad last Saturday...Here are some pictures:I didn't know one kid could have so many expressions! He is full of new ones every day! I also didn't know that I could love such a tiny person so much. He is truly a gift from God and we are so blessed to have him in our lives now! Now if it would just warm up a little bit so we can go for rides in the pram during the day!

3 weeks old

2010-11-24T02:22:00.000-08:00

Can't believe that Camden is already 3 weeks old! He is doing so much more than he was even a week ago. He has begun to stretch out himself on his play blanket and move his arms and legs when you play music or sing to him. He also loves looking at himself in the mirror as mommy sings his favorite song she made up... "who's that baby in the mirror"... it teaches scales in thirds and we sing it in all different keys! Yes we have to start him early on his musical training! Here are a few pics we have taken this week!

Camden and Mommy enjoying the new rocker Grandmummy bought us! Camden loves to rock!
Semi-staged photo bc we realised we didn't have one of the 3 of us since the birth!

Nana and Paw Paw (names still undecided) are here for Thanksgiving and we are having a great time! They just went out to pick up our Whole Foods pre made Thanksgiving! We are making green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole and pumpkin pie!

Nana made him sit up while he was sleeping off his milk coma! He looks like a little man!

I think Camden got Nana and Mommy's eyes!

So sweet in Paw Paw's arms!

I am trying to savor this week with all of the amazing help I have here and not think about what it will be like when they are gone! I will be able to manage, but it is just so nice having people around to give you a break to eat and take a shower! I will never take that for granted again!

Happy Thanksgiving early Everyone!

2010-11-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Don't have much to say. Just thought I'd share some more picks of our precious boy! We had an appointment at the midwife clinic today and he is officially jaundice free. They were also shocked to find that while most babies gain an average og 25 grams a day in the first few weeks, Camden was going at about 39g a day! This led to Daddy coining yet another nickname: "Beefcake Buddy". He is now at around 7 lbs, 9 oz... Still a pretty tiny little buddy.

His first ride in the pram, on his way to the clinic.

comfy in his baby Uggs. Thanks Aunt Katie!

Daddy posing with Camden

Sound asleep

Staring down the pup

Pictures from outside

2010-11-13T10:36:00.001-08:00

Here are a couple shots from my first outing with Camden. We walked down the street and couldn't find the sun so we came back inside...

Unreal

2010-11-13T05:21:00.000-08:00

So I finally have a moment to sit down and reflect on the past 11 days! I can't believe my actual due date was yesterday.

Side note...Everyone was over the due date on the contest, so no winner in that category, but Bri guessed the closest to his weight without going over...I am going to have to figure out a special prize for you to use in South Africa!...Also, they didn't take his length at the hospital, so we are just going to have to do that some other time!

I can't believe we have had this little guy in our lives for almost 2 weeks now. We finally feel like we are getting the hang of the sleep 2-3 hours at a time thing, although it is still very odd to me to sleep during the day. His day time when he sleeps less at a time is around 11 am-11 pm, then during his "night" he sleeps more like 3 hours at a time (which is a huge blessing for mommy and daddy!)
God has shown us sooooo much grace through difficult situations since the onset of labour on Sun, October 31st at 1:30 am! There are way too many stories to even get in to on this blog, so you will just have to ask me the next time you see me. I don't think everyone wants all of the details! Hahaha!

I have today and Sunday with Jared here, and then he goes back to work Monday. Me and baby Camden are going to miss him so much. The really cool thing though is my mom gets here Wednesday, and my Dad Friday. This is the trip they had scheduled for Thanksgiving assuming baby boy might not even be here yet! Oops! Well, now they will get to see him a little older!

Today we had our first walk down the street. I can't believe I hadn't left the house in a week. It went by so fast! We are still trying to get him some sun, although it is not cooperating very well here in London, because he is a bit jaundice still. It is getting better, so any thoughts and prayers we would really appreciate! It will be a relief when it is completely gone.

Hope everyone is having a great November so far and I will post more pictures soon!

Camden James Brient has arrived!

2010-11-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hello World,

This is Jared guest posting again as Robin is busy feeding our sweet little boy. Thought I'd add some pics here to cover all our bases on getting the word out with proof of his arrival.

Camden James Brient

- Born on the 2nd of November 2010 at 5:13pm (GMT)

- Weighed in at a perfect 3.115 Kg (or for those stateside, 6.8673995 lbs)

- Came with curly red hair that has since turned light brown/blonde

- Robin pushed him out with the assistance of suctioning from a doctor which is the cause of the swollen/squished tuft of hair/skin on the top of his head giving him a ready made yam-aka. The doctors said it should heal completely withing 2-3 days.

- He was mimicking my facial gestures (sticking his tongue out) within 5-10 minutes of being born!

-He was cooing along with Robin's mom when she was humming to him

-The cutest baby I have ever seen...

All in all, a gifted child to be sure! We are ecstatic to say the least, and are so thankful for Jesus pulling us through each difficult part of the birth process. We can't wait for you all to meet him!

Fresh baby!

Baby and Mum

Yawwwwn

1 day old!

2 days old!

We really do appreciate all the emails and facebook messages from everyone saying how beautiful he is. We are inclined to agree. We are still adjusting to our new home life and hope to catch up with everyone soon.

-J

Contest

2010-10-27T03:07:00.000-07:00

It is time for the first contest I have ever had on my blog!

As most of you know, I will be 38 weeks pregnant this Friday! Time is flying!

We are going to play guess when Robin will have the baby, baby's weight, and length. The person closest without going over (Price is Right stlye) will win a prize!

Things you might want to keep in mind...
My due date is Nov. 12th
There is a full moon on Nov. 6th
This is my first baby, duh!
He is in the head down position, but has been for 8 weeks now
I walk a lot
I was almost 2 weeks overdue when I was born

Please post a comment with your guess! Include baby's weight in kg and length in cm, bc that's how they measure here!

Can't wait to read everyone's guesses! If you want to include any explanations on why you guessed a certain way, that would be fun! :)

Weekend in the country

2010-10-15T04:51:00.001-07:00

So Here are some pics from our weekend in the countryside with Jared's parents. It was an adventure to drive in the English countryside on the opposite side of the road with a manual transmission, but my 35 1/2 week belly made it...bumps and all. I think the little guy was frustrated with me, but when we got back to London he chilled out!

Had to go see Stonehenge on the way out! Very cool...dreary morning though!

35 1/2 week belly! All of the sudden I had a growth spurt last week and gained 3 inches around! Hope this boy isn't too big when he comes out!

Trying to pretend I don't have a huge belly! Haha!

Cool graveyard in the church by the bed and breakfast.

This is my favorite photo Jared took the entire trip. I think it should be on a postcard. Note the spire which is 2 1/2 feet off from being straight!

After the Evensong service at Sailsbury Cathedral.

Belly in Bath Circus!

Jared's parents on a bench in Bath Circus.

Church in Bath

Jared and I outside a gorgeous park in Bath.

Outside of Wells Cathedral. This was my favorite one of the trip! Not to mention it was gorgeous outside the last two days of the trip!

Jared's mom walking down the corridor in the cathedral

Entrance to the Bishop's House next to Wells Cathedral. I want a moat around my house!

Very cool car outside Wells Cathedral.

Prom pose outside the bed and breakfast (I can barely feel Jared's hand on my stomach! That's how hard my belly is!). The Cricketfield House in Salisbury is a great place to stay if you ever find yourself stranded in the English countryside!

Jared strolling in the park in Salisbury. I took this one, but Jared really got a lot of use out of his camera on the trip and has already learned a lot about it in a short period of time!

There are Autumn trees here!!!

Our last stop was Castle Combe. Unfortunately there was not a castle there, but it was probably the oldest, most quaint town I have ever seen!
The little church in Castle Combe. This was a very unique trip because we got to see some parts of the countryside that we would not normally have been able to see without a car. Overall a very fun trip...even if I was uncomfortable for a bit!

On another note, I only have 4 weeks until my due date! I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. I am thankful for grocery delivery, but I am really bad at taking it easy sometimes because in my mind I am not 39 inches around!

I got accepted to the birth center, which was a relief, and we are going to a short class on their procedures in a week. I do feel prepared to give birth, though, which is something that I was always reaaalllly afraid of...I think because our culture doesn't like to talk about what really happens (and any portrayal of it in TV or film is very inaccurate). I could get on a soapbox here, but I won't! Jared is also really excited about being my coach, too! (We have been reading a lot about the Bradley method).

Jared and I are just relishing in the last moments of being a duo, but can't wait to be a trio! We have been so blessed already just through the pregnancy and know that God has so much more in store for us to learn and grow through as we learn how to love and support another person in our lives. We have everything that we need for our baby boy and are so grateful for the generosity of friends and family who have contributed!

Be watching soon for a birthday guessing contest!

visitors

2010-10-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Jared's parents arrive in London to spend a week with us! I am all done cleaning, running errands, and doing other to-do list items, so I feel much more relaxed than I did a few days ago/hours ago! Haha!

Being pregnant makes it much harder to get things done quickly, so I have had to pace myself. I am really tired today because I didn't sleep very well last night, so hopefully tonight will be a more restful nights' sleep. You just take simple things like bending over for granted when you don't have a huge belly in front of you!

We are going to the countryside Saturday through Monday and staying in Salisbury and hopefully making it to Bath Sunday. Jared has Friday and Monday off, so I am really excited to spend some quality time with him since we haven't had a holiday since before he was on long hours. I hope to have some time to read one of my books ("The Interpretation of Murder" by Jed Rubenfeld). It is really good so far, but I keep filling my days with things that have to get done, and not having time to read it!

Also, I am 35 weeks on Friday (only 5 weeks until the due date!) and the boy is getting super strong! Sometimes I can't believe how hard he is kicking me under my ribs....fun right!

Concert update

2010-10-02T02:16:00.000-07:00

Great show, although you could tell that the London fans only knew the most popular hits from the radio. During all the rest of the songs everyone was just chatting it up with their friends. I think that is why they turn the volume up so loud at shows in the states. To drown out dumb people who are louder than the music being played! It was still a really great time, though! They played a nice mix of songs from all the albums.

When we first got there, a lady who worked at the venue saw I was preg and offered me a seat in the disabled section. I told her I was good, but probably would come back half way through the concert or something. Well, I only lasted 3 songs bc the standing area filled up and it was hot and steamy from all the smelly people. It was also a little overwhelming with the music, people walking by, etc. Sooo...I left Jared by his lonesome bc he wasn't allowed to come sit with me, and I went to grab my chair! He was a sweetheart though and told me he would come pick me up from the "nursery" after the show! Haha!

It was so nice to enjoy the concert from the side where I didn't have a ton of people bumping in to me, etc. I have noticed I have a lot more personal space issues regarding people bumping my bump these days. It is just not cool. "Mind the bump" I need to make a t-shirt!

Anyway, if they didn't have those chairs off to the side, we probably would have had to leave the concert due to me not being able to stand...so I know Jared was grateful!

I am going to make Jared take some more belly photos today so hopefully I can get some more posted. There isn't too much longer to take them!

MGMT tonight

2010-10-01T02:44:00.000-07:00

If you don't know MGMT, you should!

Jared and I bought tickets to this concert almost 4 months ago and it is finally here!

Another update...I only have 6 weeks until my due date! It is so crazy that the little monster is almost here with us! It seems like we were just looking at the picture of him as a little bean flailing his arms and legs at us 25 weeks ago!

He is having a lot of fun sitting on my bladder these days, so it always feels like I need to go to the toilet...fun times! But, we are just rounding up the last few essentials that we need before his arrival! Hopefully he will behave at the concert tonight so I don't miss too much of it!

Baby Shower

2010-09-27T02:07:00.001-07:00

My sweet friends from church decided to throw me a baby shower this weekend!! I really was blessed by the whole thing! I am still amazed that these girls would put so much work into this when they have only known me since we arrived 5 months ago. It is so nice to have family away from family who are willing to go all out for someone they haven't known for very long!

Here I am with my 33 1/2 week belly! We had a guess the size of Robin's belly game where each person had to cut a string the length they thought I was around. Some people were a little ambitious! Maybe if I was having septuplets?? I guess I have a little over 6 weeks to go still...we will see!

Classic books! "Where the Wild Things Are" and "The Hungry Caterpillar"...complete with finger puppet!

Lizzie explaining the baby food game. Some of the flavors were chicken and wild rice, butternut squash and root veggie, and pear and banana...kind of gross! Especially the chicken one!

Me and Chrissie

Susie, me, and Jo

Me and Lizzie

Beautiful Fall Baby Shower Table!

Here is a shot of the AMAZING food they prepared!

Thanks again guys for a wonderful time! You will never know how much this meant to me!

Completed Projects

2010-09-24T05:20:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to post a couple of pictures of projects I have recently completed. I had a lot of fun making them!The stuffed owl and elephant were by far the most work, but I think they came out cute!

Also made a daddy and baby matching beanie! :)

I am almost done with my blanket, so I will be posting that soon!

Also a birthday shout out to Katie Feistel! Love you!

Cool Front

2010-09-15T05:22:00.000-07:00

As we call it in Texas, a "cool front" has made its way to London! It is currently 60 degrees and sunny. A perfect fall day! I think I will go for a walk as to not miss out on this glorious day! Do wish I had a car at this point because walking long distances is getting tougher for me.

I have officially accepted that summer has come and gone (all 2 weeks of 85 degree weather we had here). BUT, that means that we are entering in to the fall season...yes my friends, the season that my little boy will be born in! I really can't believe it. We only have 8 weeks from Friday until the due date and are so excited about meeting him we can't stand it!

I am almost done with all the books I set out to read and almost done with the 2 stuffed toys (an owl and an elephant) and blanket I am making for him. I will post pictures soon when I get them done.

I am trying to cherish these last couple months of being by myself during the day. That will not be the case for many many years...a very bizarre feeling indeed.

I will post more belly pics soon if Jared will take some this weekend (It is getting quite large!)! Hope everyone has a great day!

R

Carnival

2010-08-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jared and I decided to check out the Notting Hill Carnival. We heard that it was supposed to be one of the biggest events in the city every year. We also heard it was more fun than Mardi Gras. Online the website boasts great costumes and Calypso music with live steel pan, etc. We headed out around 12:00, and when we arrived, we greeted a mass of humanity walking towards the parade route. We heard loud Caribbean music, and figured we were heading in the right direction. As soon as we walked up to the parade route, we saw this...

A few people in t-shirts on a truck with massive speakers blasting music. They were just sitting there. A few people were in the streets dancing and way too many people had purchased whistles and horns and were blowing them non-stop. The only thing that saved the day was the food. We had some jerk chicken and roasted corn, and also had a coconut water. It was pretty

good, and we were glad we went to see what all the hype was about, but next year, if we are here, we will be skipping it. Here are a few photos that Jared took while we were there (one of the main reasons we went was for Jared to test out his new camera outside!)

First Pic

2010-08-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

Here is the first picture from Jared's new camera! It documents the wonderful breakfast that we have been enjoying for almost 3 years now! I never thought I would be one of those people who had certain foods they ate for years. I just like more variety than that ya know? But, this is so tasty that neither Jared or I have gotten sick of it yet! Only time will tell!

Homemade granola, non-fat plain or greek yogurt, and strawberries (or other fruit)

It looks so much better in the picture than in real life! Haha!

Jared's long overdue birthday present

2010-08-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

So we finally received Jared's birthday present in the mail today! I took forever, but I am hoping it will be totally worth it! I got him the Canon 500 D/Rebel T1i camera with lens kit. We are really excited to have a nice camera to take pictures of the little munchkin as well as England and any other countries we may visit before returning to the states. Jared and I both have a desire to actually learn how to use it, and not just leave it on auto mode, so hopefully I will be posting some pics soon! Sorry J that it took sooo long to get here. Blame it on Hong Kong!

Wedding

2010-08-22T02:52:00.000-07:00

Last night we got to play in a wedding for some very new friends of ours out here, Jo and Dave Dent (I got to play flute, Jared on cajon, and our friend Lizzie played guitar and sang). It is amazing to see how God has allowed us such close friends in such a short amount of time! The first time I met Jo, she was so sweet and has been ever since. Dave is hilarious but also extremely down to earth. Their wedding was an incredible testimony of how God transforms 2 people over their individual lifetimes through His grace and redemption, and amazing parents and friends, and then they meet and have such an incredible relationship.

Here are a couple pictures from the wedding!

Me and the beautiful bride!

The groom!

Congrats again you guys! Can't wait to have dinner with you at our flat when you get back from your honeymoon!

Baby/Beauty/Cosmetic Products

2010-08-19T05:10:00.001-07:00

Before we moved to London (Jan 2010), I had replaced a lot of our beauty and cleaning products for healthier/greener alternatives (along with food products, drugs, etc.). When we moved here, the stores did not carry many of the products I was used to buying, so unfortunately, I reverted back to my old ways as far as beauty products go (food, too). I was able to find different alternatives in the store here for cleaning products with the "Ecover" brand (which was nice!), but am just now getting settled enough to think about replacing some of the food/beauty products we have purchased (especially with thinking of the baby boy coming and how it even effects him now).

I subscribe to some blogs that offer safe alternatives to beauty/cosmetic products, and I started thinking of the products I would need to purchase for the baby boy! Would I use the ever so popular Johnson and Johnson that most assume is the best product for babies (tear free, etc.)? I decided to go to the following website which lists products with a rating category (0-10) based on their toxicity level.

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

I was surprised to find that Johnson and Johnson scored a 4. The website is very helpful because it brakes all the ingredients down to describe what specifically makes the product toxic. There is not an FDA standard for beauty products yet, but they are working on the campaign for safe cosmetics here (if you want to learn more):

http://www.safecosmetics.org/index

It is good to be aware of how many beauty/cosmetic products we lather on each day as women, and men (especially on our skin...it's an organ too!).

I have tried my fare share of organic/safe/green products that did not do the job, but I don't want to give up too easily! There are a lot of options out there and the cosmetics database is a wonderful resource to help find out more about products that are and aren't on the shelves of Target (for all of you state side) or Tesco in my case!

Now why, do you ask, am I making these changes. I know I was a skeptic for a long time that all of these changes don't really make a difference (not to mention cost more money). After taking the time to research different chemicals in my products that I had around the house, I was surprised at how many toxic chemicals I put on my body that contain carcinogens, cause neurotoxicity, organ toxicity, are irritating to my skin, are harmful to workers who package the products, or are harmful to the environment. I have also found many resources to make my own cleaning/beauty products (even baby products) to cut costs. Here is a blog which helped me out a lot with the search!

Simple Organic (they have links to a lot more categories besides beauty)

http://simpleorganic.net/green-gorgeous-my-homemade-beauty-routine/

Much love to you all in creating a safer environment for you and your family to live in! Hope these resources are helpful, and let me know of any products that you find that you like!

Texas Embassy

2010-08-16T05:31:00.000-07:00

Friday night, Jared and I went out with our friends Mark and Lizzie to The Texas Embassy Cantina to celebrate Jared's 27th birthday! Mark is the pastor of our church out here and Lizzie is his wife. They have been a huge encouragement and blessing to us and have become our good friends out here in a short period of time! They are both amazing people with great stories and we love hanging out!

Things the Texas Embassy did well:
1. Decor - very Mexican/Texan/Cantina/BBQ joint rolled all in to one (reminded me of Texas...a little bit!)2. Margarita (so Jared tells me) was pretty good3. Onions on the fajitas were very good and they actually came out on a skillet and the tortillas came in a tortilla holder (not a dim sum basket like the last place we tried
4. Fajita meat actually had grill marks on it and was strips of chicken instead of breast tenders

Downsides:
1. Russian waitress...fail
2. Tortillas were not home made but they weren't bad either3. Salsa tasted like tomatoes with Oregano...not sure why they thought that spice would be authentic to Mexican food

Overall, a very fun time! Here are a couple pictures from the evening!We may return to this place if we are really craving a "Texan Experience," however, I think I may try my hand at making some more authentic tortillas and fajitas than I can buy here in London!

New projects

2010-08-13T05:46:00.000-07:00

If you couldn't tell from the lack of posts recently, we are done traveling for a bit. It was really fun, but I think we are both glad to be back in a routine of some sort!

I wanted to share with you all what I have been up to this past week, and some projects I am interested in starting! Disclaimer: most relate to having a baby since that will be happening around 13 weeks from now (CRAZY!!!!!)

Prenatal Yoga: did it once and it has relieved a lot of pressure off my sciatic nerve and lower back!

Lots of books to read to help me learn about all things baby (trying to jot down a few main points from each book to help me remember what I learned!):

Baby Wise

The Baby Sleep Book

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth

The Female Brain

The Bradley Method

Shepherding a Child's Heart

Getting my boys' dresser stocked with the essentials. Making a list of what we will need! Any suggestions!?? So far I have bought many essentials...if you count a baby boy cardigan and vest to match Jared's!?

I am interested in making some modern embroidered crafts and toys. I am going to the library today to see if they have any books to help me get started. I want to make some stuffed birds and owls for toys (I know a few people who are pregnant right now so hopefully they will be fun gifts!). I also want to try my hand at embroidering a design on a canvas bag or blanket.

On a side note, we had a great time celebrating Jared's 27th birthday yesterday, and are going out tonight to the Texas Embassy Cantina (Mexican Food!) to celebrate! I will let you know how the food fares!

Robin

Peak District/Derbyshire

2010-08-04T09:15:00.000-07:00

Jared and I went with my parents this past weekend to the Peak District and Derbyshire...more specifically Matlock, Matlock Bath, Chatsworth House, and Bakewell. The train ride out there was beautiful. Much more greenery and flat rolling hills than on the way to Scotland. All of the towns were cute and small. Not much to do in each town, so you had to take the bus to the different towns. In Edensor we saw Chatsworth House where the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire live and also Mr. Darcy's house from the movie "Pride and Prejudice". Our bed and breakfast was very cute and we had the full English breakfast there just like we had in Scotland. Hope you enjoy some of the photos below from the trip!

Entering Chatsworth House
Chapel in Chatsworth House
An awesome stone foot statue
Vestel Virgin statue
Library in the Chatsworth House
Garden at Chatsworth
Free Range Chickens on the grounds

Me and Dad
View of Chatsworth from the back
Dad walking by the rocks!
Pan!

bridge to Chatsworth
View from our bed and breakfast in Matlock (Riber Castle in the background)
Don't know what this is but it was cool
Jubilee bridge in Matlock Bath
Mom and I by the river in Matlock Bath
From the top of the Heights of Abraham (Cable Cars)
All four of us!
View from the cable cars
Amazing views from the cable cars!
We went in to the caves which was very cool (literally as cold as a fridge!), but we were glad to see the light at the end!
View of the train station at Matlock Bath. We unfortunately missed the train we were supposed to be on due to human error...a little me and a little of East Midlans trains...so we got home a little later than expected. All in all, a great 2 day weekend trip!