happy.

How was everyones weekend? Mine was busy. I had a garage sale on Saturday morning and did pretty well. A couple of people in my neighborhood were having one and I'm always up for a garage sale so I decided to participate. I had dinner with some girlfriends on Saturday night then Sunday was just a typical Sunday.

So far our week has been pretty uneventful. Campbell went to MDO yesterday so I went to the pool to relax. I'm reading a really good book right now called The Antelope In The Living Room. It's by a blogger and I've read her other book, Sparkly Green Earrings, and it's one of my favorite books I've ever read. She's written a third book and I plan on reading it after I finish this one. If you're looking for a cute, hilarious, easy summer read, you must check out her books. They're so great and make me laugh out loud.

Campbell has been the sweetest, happiest little boy all week long. I realize it's only Tuesday but still. I'm assuming his teething is done (for now) and that horrid wonder week is finally over. We have one more of those to face before we're done for good, thank goodness. If you don't know what wonder weeks are, you can read about them HERE. It's crazy how accurate they've been for Campbell. So far the transition to one nap has been better this week too. Campbell took a 4 hour nap today which is definitely his new record. This little boy is growing!! I'm just so obsessed with this stage he's in right now and he does something daily that makes me laugh or smile.
I mentioned previously that he got a basketball goal. He has this big basket full of different types of balls. Yesterday he grabbed his basketball and walked over to his basketball goal to start playing with it. I thought it was pretty smart of him to grab the correct ball! He loves to roam around the house walking and he's currently very into laying in my bed and cuddling with me. I super love it.

Fifteen Months

Campbell is fifteen months old today! I wanted to do a little post about what my little peanut is up to at fifteen months old so I'll always be able to remember.

Campbell is always on the go. I don't know how he has so much energy. He is into everything and makes the biggest messes. Campbell walks everywhere he goes now. About 5% of the time I'll catch him crawling and I always just watch him with a nostalgic smile because I know I won't get to see him do that much longer and it makes me a little sad.

Campbell has 6 teeth now. His top, middle four all cut through within about 2 weeks of one another. It took them forever to come in and they looked like they were getting ready to rupture for months. When his birthday was approaching, I was checking his top gums daily because I just knew they were going to cut through and I wanted to make sure I put the correct amount of teeth on his one year chalkboard poster. Three months later and they finally broke through. I'm not even kidding when I say it took forever!! Speaking of teeth, Campbell is so awesome about letting me brush them every night. He opens his mouth wide and lets me scrub for as long as I want to. I really appreciate this about him.

Campbell wears anywhere from size 6-18 month clothes. Wide range! Just goes to show all brands run different and you shouldn't worry about sizes even when you're 15 months old!!! Everything from Gap is still size 6-12 months. His Jon Jon's are 6-9 months. Kickee Pants pajamas are 12-18 months. Freshly Picked Moccs are size 2.

Exactly one month ago Campbell weighed 19 pounds and 12 ounces (14%). He's slow to put on weight so I bet he's just a little over 20 pounds now. He feels so heavy these days! I'm glad he can stand and walk on his own because my arms get tired if I have to carry him for too long. We're going to the doctor for his 15 month check up on Wednesday so I'll know exactly what he weighs then.

Campbell discovered his shadow this week. His belly is so ticklish and this little piggy makes him grin SO big. Campbell loves touch and feel books. He loves stacking blocks, rings, etc onto stacking rings. He likes building tall towers of blocks then knocking them down. He has this little CD player that he got for Christmas that has suddenly become his new favorite toy. Campbell is still a good eater (and eats such large portions, it's crazy) but there are some foods that he won't eat now that he used to eat all the time. Blueberries are without a doubt his favorite food. And just a plain ol' slice of bread. He loves bread.

Campbell loves to clap for himself if he does something really awesome....which he feels like he does quite frequently. It cracks us up. He is still obsessed with Mickey and his Clubhouse. Campbell's new thing is to walk up to me with his mouth wide open to give me kisses. He does it all the time and I love it. He's still insanely attached to my hip and cries if anyone tries to take him from me. We've had a hard month with the transition to one nap. No other transition has been this difficult and I would give anything if he would give up and go back to two naps but he won't. There's been a lot of fussing in our house. I'm anxiously awaiting this little phase to be over with.

I know I say it all the time but my little peanut is just the sweetest. He is still a hard baby though. I thought we would be done with it by now but we aren't. It can be extremely exhausting but then he'll get so sweet and adorable on me so all is forgiven. One of these days I'll catch a break! Campbell continues to get more and more fun and I get excited over the smallest little things he does. I'm a proud Momma. I love my precious boy.

Nephew Visit

My nephew, Landon, and my Mom came up to NWA to stay with me for the weekend! I'm excited to have their company. Landon is ten years old (what?!) and I'm excited that he's up to hang out. This evening Landon and I went on a nature walk together. There's a beautiful nature trail in my neighborhood and I love walking through it. It's also a great backdrop for photos and a lot of the pictures we take are on the Hyde Park nature trail. Every time Landon comes to town I always like to get away and have some one on one time with him and our nature walk was the perfect summertime activity for us.

There's a lot of blackberries on the trail so we picked a couple (and ate them! Yum!!) while we were on our walk. We also saw a deer that darted out right in front of us. It totally scared me but I did think it was pretty cool.

Campbell is obsessed with Landon. He always has been. And Landon is so, so sweet to Campbell. Campbell had a blast playing with Landon and just giggled and giggled all day. Landon taught Campbell how to shoot hoops in his basketball goal (he got it for his birthday but I just pulled it out today) and I was so proud of Campbell because he was actually able to go up to the basketball goal and put the ball in. Campbell was proud too. He clapped for himself every time he made the basket.

On a totally different note, Madison doesn't really appreciate that I have to put her water and food bowl out of Campbell's reach. He love to splash in the water and I get tired of saying "DON'T TOUCH" all the time so this is the best solution. Madison doesn't agree. She's sitting in the spot where the food/water is supposed to go in protest.

Finally, my neighbor has a vegetable garden and grew this massive, largest zucchini that has ever existed and let me have it. Can you believe the size of this thing? It's insane!!!!! I'm going to have to get on Pinterest and search for zucchini recipes because I will eat this entire thing before it goes bad.

I'm glad my nephew is up for the weekend! I want him to come up again this summer and bring my niece along with him. Looking forward to making some memories and hearing some funny things come out of his mouth this weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Two To One

I had a terrible week last week. Campbell has cut four new teeth and we went through the dreaded wonder week. Talk about a bad combo. I thought I was going to lose my mind more than a dozen times. Plus, this merging to one nap game is no joke. I hate it. So three things were stacked against me which made for one horrible, no good, very bad week.

So far this week is off to a much better start. And suddenly this little fussy monster has turned into a lovable cuddle bug who, out of nowhere, requires being rocked to sleep. I haven't rocked Campbell to sleep since he was about 6 months old so this is a nice little change. I've tried to hold him and rock him in the past but he always wiggles in my arms and just wants to be put in his crib. Campbell sleeps with a pillow in his crib now and he LOVES it. He used to be all over his crib while he slept but now he keeps his head on his pillow all night long. I find it really adorable especially when he puts his arm under his pillow because that's exactly how I like to sleep!!!

This whole moving from two naps to one has really been quite the disaster. I just feel like we have no routine whatsoever and everyone in this family loves routine and predictability. I was such a major, huge fan of Babywise and Babywise Part Two so today I decided to head over to Barnes and Noble and get Toddlerwise. Apparently a major portion of the book is dedicated to moving from two naps to one which makes me feel better. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds it complicated. I'm hoping this book will help make this transition much more smoothly. So far it's a very bumpy road and I think Campbell is ready for me to figure out what to do.

Pool Fun

We took Campbell to the pool yesterday and he had so. much. fun. I knew this little boy was bound to be a water baby. We just had to convince him! The water is finally warm and Campbell sat on the pool steps while he splashed and played with his toys for about two hours. It was so fun to see him having so much fun!

We are lucky because we basically live next door to our neighborhood pool. It's pretty much in our backyard which is one of the reasons I'm able to visit it so often! Yesterday I had Scott grab Campbell's water table and bring it over so he could play with that too. It was a total win. Not only did Campbell enjoy it but all of the other kids came over to play with it too. I'm thinking about being an awesome neighbor and buying a water table to keep at the pool since it was such a hit for the littles.

aunt nikki (one of my closest friends and neighbors) in the background taking photos and videos on her phone. so proud of her baby. hehe :)

I'm hoping this wasn't a one time thing and that Campbell will enjoy the pool this much every time we go. We desperately need a fun way to change up our day to day and I can't think of a more perfect summertime activity. Plus Campbell has a lot of cute swimsuits that we need to get plenty of use out of. #importantthingsinlife

Wordless Wednesday

Naps & Hydrangeas

Campbell has a lot going on in his little life these days. He's gotten two new teeth this week, he's almost a full time walker, and he's dropped his two naps and moved to just one. The one nap is like, a major serious bummer for me. I tried as hard as I could to keep the two naps around as long as possible. I was hoping and wishing that he would be one of those two year olds that still took two naps a day....or that he would at least hold onto them until fall. Our lifestyle just fit so perfectly with that morning and afternoon nap. Now we're in the awkward stage of not needing two naps but one isn't quite sufficient either.
I like routine and structure. I like how predictable Campbell's nap schedule was before. Now we're just all over the place and I feel like our schedule is wacky. Sometimes Campbell is ready for a nap at 9:00 like normal but then I try to give him an afternoon nap and he won't take it. So he starts falling apart on me a solid 2 hours before bedtime. Sometimes he takes a nap around noon so we're pretty good for the rest of the day. I always feel pretty confident about how baby sleep schedules work but then I'm reminded that whenever Campbell changes his routine it leaves me scratching my head and takes me a few weeks before I get it all figured out again. I just need to pick a new nap time and stick to it. I guess I'm still holding out hope that he'll go back to two naps again!!
If I'm being perfectly honest, my biggest reason for loving the morning nap is because I am not a morning person. We're in our pajamas in this house until it's time to get ready for lunch. I would lay Campbell in his crib, then crawl back in bed and watch Kelly & Michael and The View. And I'd be lying to you if I said I never took a little nap myself sometimes because, why not? I guess my quiet mornings alone are forever and ever no longer in existence. Such a bummer.

I planted five hydrangea bushes on the side of my house right when we moved in, four years ago. Last year was the first year that they were really looking good. I've always heard it takes three years for a new plant or tree to really show off and I guess that's true. This year my hydrangeas are so amazing. They have blooms bigger than my head and it makes me do a little happy dance. I love cutting a few and bringing them into the house. It makes me appreciate them even more knowing I grew them myself!

Cousin Fun

We had a nice time in Little Rock. We had big plans to go to either the lake or the zoo but it rained on us all day on Saturday so we weren't able to get out and do much. I didn't care though. I've been so bored lately so it was nice to mix it up and have some change even if it meant sitting home and doing nothing.

Campbell was excited to go to his Pops and Gammas house. His cousin, Avery, came over to play and even though they've been around each other many times before, it's almost as if they were meeting each other for the first time. They were SO SWEET and super interested in one another.

We sat them in front of each other and Campbell talked Avery's head off. And he kept babbling the same thing to her so he was clearly telling her something and I wish so bad I knew what it was. She listened so closely to him and I'm pretty sure she was understanding what he had to say. Campbell would stroke her little face and it was so precious. One of my favorite things about Campbell is how gentle he is and he was so sweet and gentle with Avery. Avery couldn't take her eyes off Campbell. She thought he was pretty cool and Campbell loved being the older, big baby for once.

Campbell and Avery are just nine months apart so I know they will just have so much fun playing together one day. After watching them this weekend, we think Christmas is going to be pretty fun and special this year. I'm already looking forward to it!

As for little Avery, she is such a big girl now sitting up all by herself! Sweetest and quietest baby you'll ever meet. She's such a joy to be around. I'm so glad we were able to see her this weekend and I can't wait to get Avery and Campbell together again soon!!!

Headed South

Today we are headed to Little Rock for the weekend to spend some time with my family! I'm especially looking forward to going because I'm in the mood for a change from our normal routine. Campbell always has fun at his Pops and Gamma's house so I know he's excited!

I'm not sure what all we have planned for the weekend but even if we lay around and do nothing I'm cool with that! Maybe my parents will let Scott and I sneak away to go see Entourage. Scott and I loved the show and would really like to see the movie while it's in theaters.

I need to stay away from The Toggery while I'm in LR but you know that won't be possible. Little Rock offers a totally different baby clothing style than Northwest Arkansas. NWA is more hipster and Little Rock is very southern and classic. I love both styles equally! The Toggery is such a great baby boutique and I make it a point to visit it every single time I'm in Little Rock. Prayers for Scott's wallet.

Me Time

Ivy and Madison went to the beauty shop yesterday. They have a standing appointment every six weeks (can't slack on the beauty regime) and I decided the girls were in the mood for a new, summer look. After a little consultation, shorter ears and our regular trim is what we decided to go for.

You know, you can't win them all. The Cleopatra bob just isn't for everybody.

Campbell has had the opportunity to play with a couple of different friends play kitchens and he is always obsessed with the pots and pans. Obsessed. I decided to go to the store and get him some of his own and now he just walks around with his little pots and picks stuff up to put in it. Ivy tore apart one of her toys and Campbell went around the room gathering up the stuffing and putting it in his strainer. My little picker upper. So proud of him! He's clearly catching on to my OCD ways. I'm constantly going behind him and picking up his messes. Now, after he pulls all of his books off his bookshelf, he puts them back up. Warms my heart like you couldn't even possibly imagine. That's something to be proud of right there.

I'm happy to report that MDO has gone much better this week. Campbell cries when I dropped him off but I watch behind the little window and he calmed down both Monday and today within less than a minute. He's happily playing when I pick him up and they always tell me he's had a great day. While Campbell is at MDO I'm working on my tan and hanging out with my neighbor friends at the pool. It's something I've been planning on doing since last summer and the relaxation has been so nice. I've already read one book and am currently into another. It's good for Momma's to have some "me" time. The pool is my favorite kind.

Wordless Wednesday

Activities

We. Are. Bored. I go through funks where I feel like we have nothing to do and nowhere to go and it drives me crazy. I don't do good with the whole, sit around and do nothing thing. To top it off, Campbell is cutting teeth right now which means he's irritable and when that happens, my patience wears thin very quickly. Getting out and about keeps us both happy but seriously, there's only so many places you can go! It's a little too hot to just stroll around outside (my go-to activity) so I feel a little stuck.

Today we went to Chick Fil A for lunch then played in the play area for a little bit. It kept Campbell entertained for about 30 minutes before he decided he was over it. The play area will be a lot more fun when he's older and can climb around and do the slides. For now he's limited to what he can play with but hey, no complaints. I'll take anything these days.

We may attempt the splash park in downtown Bentonville tomorrow. I've never been but it seems fun. I don't know what Campbell will think about it. I guess we'll just have to give it a try to find out.

I get to see this every time I go to get Campbell after he wakes up. It's just about the sweetest if you ask me!

Madison still has her tennis ball.....

Halfway Fun Weekend

Hey-O! How was your weekend? Mine was halfway fun. On Friday night Scott and I got a night out on the town to celebrate a friends birthday. It's so rare for us to get away together which, honestly, is just fine by us. Don't get me wrong, we love a fun date night and appreciate them so much. But we also love to just be home in our comfy clothes, watching something good on the TV while we look at the monitor and laugh at the many different sleeping positions Campbell seems to put himself in.

For our Friday night outing we went to Levi's in downtown Rogers. I'd never been before and the food was awesome. The company was nice too--we have really great friends! After dinner we went to our friends house (also a neighbor) and hung out for a little bit. I came home a little early to relieve my MIL and let her go home. I threw on my pajamas, crawled in bed and watched Harry Potter until I fell asleep. Pretty great Friday night if you ask me!

On Saturday we attempted the pool but Campbell wasn't in the mood to be there for very long. We made it about an hour before he'd had enough. We packed up the gear, walked home, and stayed there the rest of the day. It was soooooo boring. I actually woke up not feeling so great so I ended up taking a three hour afternoon nap. I think I caught Campbell's stuffy/runny nose + overall just feeling yuck-ness. I'm starting to have a sneaky suspicion that every time Campbell gets sick, I'm going to get sick too. He's been sick twice so far and I've caught it both times. Sigh.

Campbell has been a little irritable thanks to him cutting a tooth. I checked last night and his lateral incisor has ruptured. That's only his 3rd tooth to break through! His bottom teeth came up in January so he is way overdue. I see three other teeth that are getting ready to break through pretty soon so I guess I get to deal with a fussy baby for the next few weeks. Always a good time.

I bought these little tennis balls for Madison a few weeks ago. I figured she'd have fun with them but I didn't anticipate her being over the top obsessed with these things. Like, annoyingly obsessed. She constantly has one in her mouth and is constantly asking us to throw it. Look, even Ivy is worn out by it.