Family Friday: Jan 4

17 Weeks Old

On New Year's Day, we went to across the backyard to our neighbor's house for brunch.  They had a real Hawaiian Christmas tree in their house!  It is technically a Norfolk Island Pine and is characterized by symmetrical branches in rings that are evenly spaced on the trunk.  They are beautiful and unique looking trees but the branches are quite flimsy so you need lightweight ornaments.  Many islanders just buy the average evergreens that are shipped here from the mainland.

Cameron only went to the neighbors to say hi and to show off her snazzy outfit and then she went home for a nap.  She slept in her swing in the kitchen and I rigged up a "baby monitor" using my iPhone, the iPad, and FaceTime - that was Johnnie's idea.  Genius, right?!  With Cam sleeping and the monitor on, I went back across the yard (only about a 40 foot distance) to enjoy some food and company on my neighbor's back porch.  It was a lovely relaxing way to enjoy the start of the new year.

When Cameron woke up and started to cry, we heard it on my iPhone.  But it turns out that I didn't need that monitor set up with Dulce in the house!  As soon as Cam started crying, Dulce came bursting into the backyard and started barking loudly at us.  She knew where I was and she was letting me know that Cameron was awake and crying!  What an amazing dog :)

In the early evening, we often walk Dulce over to the dog park behind our house.  Dulce actually doesn't care to stay very long at the park but it's a good chance for all of us to get some fresh air and delay Cameron's fussy time.

Thankfully fussy time has gotten shorter and we've been able to establish a nightly routine.  Fussiness begins around 6:30 and I simply do what I can to keep her from screaming.  At 7:15 Cameron gets a bath and dressed for bed.  At 7:45 she eats one last time and then she's in bed before 8:30.  It's so nice having some quiet time to myself before I head to bed as well.

Cameron seems to constantly have fingers or a fist in her mouth but I'm starting to see more and more thumb sucking and usually with her right hand.

Here is a short little video of Cameron grabbing and pulling on the plastic rings hanging from her play mat.  I guarantee she would have them in her mouth if they would reach!  She doesn't seem too sure of what I'm doing hovering above her :)

The photo on the left below is from an iPhone app called KitCam that I stumbled upon this week.  It has a ton of really cool features for taking and editing photos and video.  Cameron really resembles a baby Johnnie, don't you think?

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"Childhood is the most beautiful of all life's seasons."

~Author Unknown

Happy New Year 2012-13!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!  Happy New Year!  Cameron was asleep by 8:30 so Mr. Glass-O-Champagne and I watched the ball drop on a web video and then I went to bed shortly after midnight.

Last year, we suited up for New Year's Eve 2012 in South Korea.  January was spent doing last minute shopping, packing, and saying goodbye to friends.  Johnnie flew his final flight in the A-10 fighter jet, finishing with over 2,000 flight hours!  When he landed, I climbed up to give him a kiss and then he climbed down and got sprayed with water and champagne :)

At the end of January, we packed up our things and moved from South Korea to Hawaii.  I was 5 weeks pregnant with Cameron, so this was technically her first plane ride!

Dulce had to spend 35 days in Animal Quarantine when we first arrived on the island.  We visited her as often as we could.

We lived in a hotel for two months when we first arrived, waiting for a house to come available.

In March we announced that we were pregnant!

In April we finally were assigned a house on base and moved in.

In May, Johnnie's family arrived for a visit and we all took a trip to the Big Island.  I never blogged about this trip but I will eventually because it was so beautiful and we saw so much!

Johnnie arranged for my best friend to visit in June while he was away!  We toured the Arizona Memorial, went to a luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center, went to the beach, and went hiking.  I will be blogging about some of those things eventually as well.

At the end of June I traveled to Pennsylvania to visit family (who threw me a surprise baby shower!) and then we went to New York (where Johnnie joined us) for a cousin's wedding.

July 17th was Dulce's 3rd birthday and she celebrated with a cake and a martini ;)

In July, my parents arrived with two of my nieces and a nephew for a visit.  This was an action packed trip touring all of the memorials and Ford Island, going to some beaches, riding a submarine, going to Waikiki, touring the island, seeing the Dole Pineapple Plantation, going to a luau, and going shopping.  I will definitely be blogging about some of these adventures eventually as well.

I recorded my growing belly each week with the Family Friday blog posts from March to September.

At the end of August, my amazing neighbors threw me a Tea Party themed baby shower and Johnnie and I took our own maternity photos with a tripod and self timer.  All of this was just in time...

On Sept 7, I was unexpectedly induced 3 weeks early due to high blood pressure.  Johnnie was away on a trip and miraculously arrived in time for our daughter, Cameron Cecelia, to be born on Sept 8.

Johnnie's sister and parents arrived in October for a long visit and were here for Cameron's baptism and for Halloween.

Cameron was baptized on October 21.

At the end of October, Johnnie deployed.  We miss him every minute of every day.

In December, my mother arrived for a visit and was here for my 35th birthday on 12/12/12.

Cameron is growing fast and is becoming such a sweet and personable little individual.  So far we've had her first Halloween, first Thanksgiving, first Christmas, and now first New Year's!

When Johnnie and I were dating, the number 13 came up often.  We even ended up getting married on the 13th of December and Cameron was 5 lb 13 oz when she was born.  The number 13 has always brought us good luck thus far so I have a feeling that 2013 is going to be an amazing year for us.  I hope that this new year brings you all many blessings, bountiful opportunities, and exciting adventures!

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"May you have love that never ends,

lots of money, and lots of friends.

Health be yours, whatever you do,

and may God send many blessings to you!"

~Irish Blessing

Family Friday: Dec 28

16 Weeks Old

This week was Cameron's first Christmas... and hopefully the only one without her daddy here.  I put the "good" Christmas Eve photos on our Christmas blog post so I thought I'd share a few of the outtakes here.  Most of the photos from that evening looked like these ones.  Thank goodness for digital cameras with big memory cards :)

Johnnie's parents were recently both in Guatemala and sent us this Guatemalan baby sling for Christmas.  Cameron loves it!  It allows her to sit in front of me and look around which seems to calm her down when she's fussy and sometimes puts her to sleep.  Similar slings called "Maya Wraps" are available on Amazon and mayawrap.com (they're cheaper on Amazon) and I've also seen some DIY baby sling pins on Pinterest.

Last weekend Cameron started sleeping 9 to 10 hours straight every night!  That is the best Christmas present she could've given me :)  More often now, she's starting to wake up smiling in the mornings and after naps.  She smiles a lot throughout the day... melts my heart every time and almost makes up for the times when she's really fussy.

I thought the drooling was bad last week... I think it's gotten worse.  There is constant drool always coming from her mouth and her shirts are always soaked.  I do change her shirt often though the drool doesn't seem to bother her!

The President and his family arrived last weekend to spend Christmas here in Hawaii.  Air Force One was parked about a thousand feet from our house all week so we saw it every time we went anywhere.  The President was elsewhere on the island so we didn't get to see him before he left.  Maybe next year.

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"In the eyes of children we find the joy of Christmas. In their hearts we find its meaning.”

~Leland Thomas

Christmas 2012

Mele Kalikimaka!  (That's Hawaiian for Merry Christmas)  We hope everyone had a great Christmas this year!  It honestly didn't feel much like Christmas for us this year without Johnnie and without snow but we still enjoyed the holiday.  Next year we'll decorate and get a bigger tree :)

On Christmas Eve we joined a group of neighbor friends for a delicious feast and then we cuddled on the couch in our Christmas jammies.  I set up my camera on my tripod and used a camera remote control to take some photos.  I literally took about 50 photos to get the three below.  I'm amazed that I actually got one with Cameron and Dulce both looking at the Camera!

There are a ton of apps (and many are free) that allow you to add Christmas elements to your photos or even allow you to "take a photo" of Santa in your house!  I used a free app called iCaughtSanta to create the one of Dulce and Santa napping together in our living room!

The first thing that Cameron and I did on Christmas morning was video chat with Johnnie!  Because of the time difference, his Christmas day was ending and he was going to bed while our day was just beginning.  I am so thankful that we have the technology available to keep us connected while he's deployed and that we were able to "spend time" with him on this special day!

Johnnie went to a midnight mass service on Christmas Eve and had a festive lunch on Christmas Day.  The chow hall was decorated and there were a lot of cookies and cakes!

Cameron and I Skyped with my family and Johnnie's, went to church, and then gathered with friends for dinner.  It was a lovely Hawaiian Christmas day :)

We do a photo Christmas card every year and this year's card is my favorite thus far!  I had purchased a Groupon deal for a company called Pear Tree Greetings which I used for the cards.  I am so impressed with the print quality and color that I'll mostly likely be using this company again next year.  The ribbon on the card is super cute but made the cards require extra postage.  Luckily I had also purchased a LivingSocial deal for Snapfish where I could order custom postage!

Cutest stamps ever :)

*******

"Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day 

That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway

Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright 

The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night

Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you!"

~ Robert Alex Anderson