The Destroying of the Cake

"Tradition!!! Tradition. Tradition!!" Like Tevya's family we also have many traditions when it comes birthdays, holidays, etc. My family always did Mickey Mouse pancakes for breakfast (check. Cami loved them!) and, for a first birthday, the baby gets to utterly destroy and eat the cake. Cami loves "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" so we got this little cake and put the Mickey Mouse sugar sticker on it. We had a birthday party with the Bryner family side on Saturday (pictures to come!) and on Monday night, Cami's actual birthday, we let her rip into the cake. Here's the reel:

 Getting off to a good start. Fingers into the frosting.

 Starting to think, "where have you been all my life, sweet sugar?"

 Can't seem to reach that yellow, sugary dot on her chin!

 Setting a steady pace..

 (at this point I cut out the back edge for Bryan and I to have some too, so she really didn't eat the Whole thing :)

 Oh, so NOW she uses a fork!!

 Drinking down some water to slow down the sugar jitters

 A job well done!!

Has it been a year already???

How is it that in ONE YEAR she can go from this...

 ...and this....

to this??

It's amazing how much little Cami has changed our lives for the better in this last year. I've learned:

1.That patience truly is a virtue and one that is mastered after 9 months of pregnancy and then 4 months of 3 hour sleep intervals.

2. How much help I receive from my Heavenly Father through constantly having a prayer in my heart...and my head...and ...a lot of other times in the day when I needed that added strength or just some plain, old comfort. My relationship with God has increased ten fold since Cami came into my life. And it's amazing how much more I still need to increase that relationship!!

3. How much love God truly has for his children. I was thinking this whole week about Cami and our last year together and ta scripture in 1 Nephi 11 just kept popping into my head. The angel asks Nephi, "knowest thou the condescension of God?" and Nephi answers, "I know that He loveth His children; Nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things."  I have felt like this a lot lately as I've remembered all of our time with Cami. I love her with all my heart (and then some), but yet I feel like I've just scratched the surface of understanding the love that God has for His children. I may not know the meaning of all of it, but I do know that God does love me and my family.

4. How many weaknesses I have (many!) and how many strengths that I never knew I had. It seems like a lot of things just kick into automatic when women become mothers. I've had so many instincts and strengths just pop up through the course of taking care of Cami. I have also learned that I still have so many things to work on. I have definitely felt a "refiner's fire" burning in my life this last year.

5. How to multi-task and also try to find balance in my life in all areas. It seems like the first few months were all Cami and then I added Bry back into the mix, and then I've thrown in a little "me" time lately. It is hard to figure out a balance of getting enough sleep, taking care of a husband and child, finding time to exercise (and even get ready for the day!), and still having time to read scriptures, do hobbies, and do all the errands for a home.  I haven't yet found a great schedule (I'm always open to suggestions :), but I feel like I'm doing a lot better at balancing my life.

6.Most of all, I've learned  how much I absolutely LOVE being a mom and hearing a little person call me "mahm" or "ma ma". It's the sweetest, most wonderful sound in the world! And being a mom is the biggest blessing (along with being married to Bry :) that I could have ever received.

I am so grateful for my Cami and this wonderful first year!!

Madison's Baptism and Partying with the Patricks

I can't believe Madison is 8 years old now. Madison Patrick was my very first niece and I remember going to the hospital to see her right after she was born in Salt Lake City. Madison has a very special place in my heart as the first niece. She has always been my little ray of sunshine.

For her birthday she wanted to spend the night at our house and play the Wii for Friday and then go swimming on Saturday and spend the night at grandma and grandpa Patrick's house. We partied all weekend here in Salt Lake.

The following week we went up to Rexburg ID for Madison's baptism on Saturday. She picked out this white dress the previous week. It made me cry to see how big she's getting and how much she's grown in the last 8 years! I just love this kid. (and I love all my other GREAT nieces and nephews too :)

Here are some pictures from her baptism:

Madison looking so pretty in her white dress just after her baptism

All the girls who attended

Maddy and Lexi

All the boys who attended

Right after the baptism

Bryan and I partied with the Patrick family for the past two weekends and I even made it up there one more weekend. (I just can't get enough :). I even was able to go to the elementary school and have lunch with Madison and Lexi (school lunch is still gross :). It was awesome seeing them the last three weekends.

Cami even got some driving time in :).



Cami at 11 Months

These pictures sum up a lot of the things that Cami and I do each day.

1. When we call her name in the car, she'll turn her head and look up at us like this in her car seat.

 2. We empty out the toy box each day. Here she is with Cousin Paisley checking out the toys and seeing which ones they want to get out of the box :)

 3. We make messes on our faces. She just finished off an Oreo here. That's one happy kid!

 4. Bryan and Cami play a series of games while she takes her nightly bath. She likes to hide behind the shower  curtain and peek up under and find Bryan.

 5. She crawls as fast as she can whenever I open the fridge or the dishwasher. She can go from crawling to standing without any problems now. We do this daily.

 6. We read lots of books to our Cami too. She has a few favorites but is always up for new books from the library. We read her 2 or 3 books each night before she goes to bed too.

 7. and when we're not reading her books, she will find one herself and just sit on the floor and flip through the pictures. Whenever she is quiet I can find her on the floor looking through a book :).

 8. And having Cami has made us sillier than we could've ever imagined. Bry took Cami's Cabbage Patch doll and created this! Scary, tall Cabbage Patch man!!

Cami is so much fun at 11 months. She is using her walker lately and taking steps with it (with our assistance in controlling the speed of the walker). She also says "maam" and "yeah" and "oh" all the time. She babbles constantly. We had a friend over with a 3 year old boy and I think he must have stolen a toy from her because the next thing I know Cami is crawling over to me babbling and complaining at how he took the toy and she was even turning and pointing in his direction.  She was trying to tel me about it. I can't wait for her to learn words and be able to understand what she's saying. She is so great!