Easter Weekend

The Nguyen's hit the road again this past weekend taking the little man back to Iowa for Easter weekend. We left shortly after work on Thursday evening for Kim's hometown of Holstein so that Grandma and Grandpa Sindt could spend a little extra time with Camden. Camden did great on the drive down, barely making a peep. And when he did stir, his mommy plugged him up with his nook.

It was nice to see Grandma and Grandpa Sindt. As always, they spoil our little man. On top of that it was nice to have some night time relief. The grandparents were very willing to take the late night shifts with Camden. It was especially helpful because Camden doesn't sleep well on the road and in unfamiliar places. We had a heck of a time getting him to sleep in his pack and play. He was awake every few hours.

The kid is quite remarkable in that he can have a rough night, by our standards, but then be happy and playful and giddy the whole day through. Camden is rolling back and forth, sitting up strongly, laughing, giggling, and just being a generally happy baby.

On Saturday, we drove across the state to Iowa Falls to meet up with Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tony and visit with some more relatives. This was also Camden's first opportunity to meet Great Grandma Daleske. So we stopped in and saw her for a bit before Camden started to make signs of needing a nap.

Later that evening, we met up with some more extended family for dinner. We got a chance to see Kim's cousin Kandace, her fiancee Mike, her parents Kevin and Jane, and her grandpa Carrol. Kandace and Mike are expecting their first child in June, Addison Marie. We're very excited for them as they prepare for a busy year which is capped off with their wedding in late September.

The weekend ended with Easter service on Sunday morning. Camden sat quietly throughout the service except for the one time when he farted. It wasn't that loud, but loud enough for the girl in front of to turn and look at me. I pointed at Camden and said, "It was him!" Kim busted out laughing uncontrollably. During a couple of the songs he squealed cheerfully as if he was singing along with the congregation. It was really cute.

The drive home was uneventful. He slept during the entire 3 hour drive. It was a fun weekend that flew by. We look forward to getting Camden back into his normal sleep schedule. He's already adjusting back. Last night he went to bed at about 730pm. He woke up a couple times before midnight, but then slept till 530am. Tonight he went to bed around 7pm. Let's hope he has another good night's rest :)

Editor's Note: Daddy got a new camera this weekend and took over 350 pictures, over 650 MB worth. So there's an influx of pictures to Camden's online album. If you're EXTREMELY bored, check them out. Somehow, in all the pictures taken, there isn't one of both Grandma and Grandpa together with Camden. I'm sure that problem will be rectified during their next visit.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Eating Habits

In the past couple of weeks we've introduced a few more solid foods to Camden's diet. In addition to rice cereal, Camden's added (pureed) sweet potatoes, squash, peas, green beans, pears, and prunes. In that order. We were advised by many to start with veggies first because he'll love the natural sugar in the fruit for sure. He's had no problems with either the vegetables or fruit. He usually gets a couple of ounces of fruits or veggies with his rice for his evening meal. We're still giving him the stupidly expensive Enfamil with Nutramigen, too (thanks to Tracy L. for the coupons!).

Camden's been sleeping a lot better in the past couple of weeks since we got back from Dayton. Upon returning we started the process of ferberizing him made popular by the book Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child. I kept calling it Febreezing him, but apparently that's a different technique and I won't be covering that in this post. Anyway, the technique entails letting him cry it out a little more and having a more structured routine around sleeping. So far so good.

He goes down much easier but still gets up about once a night, sometimes twice. We'll feed him or change his diaper or both and he generally goes back to sleep pretty well. There have been a couple times where he's slept from 630pm-7pm until 5am-6am. That's been great!

Daycare has been great too. Here's a picture of Camden with his girlfriend, Paulina. Paulina is 3 days younger than Camden. The kids get to take rides in a 4-seat push buggy and the teachers put Camden and Paulina next to each other. One day, they strolled in the buggy hand in hand. Word is teachers from the other classrooms got wind of this and were poking their heads out of their classrooms to get a peek. It sounds like this might be getting serious. I think it's time that we meet Paulina's parents.

Some Pictures To Get You Caught Up

It may seem like it from the pictures, but it's not always happy around here.

Learning to explore new parts of the activity gym.

Close up with Mommy.

When toys aren't available, fingers are a good sucking substitute.

Mommy can never get enough kisses.

Camden is holding his head up really well.

Camden loves acting like an airplane.

Nap time for the boys.

How big is Camden? THIS BIG!

Camden and Gina (Kim's little from Big Brothers Big Sisters).

Giggle, Laugh, Play!

"Show me pouty! Yes! Yes! Yes!"

Saving some peas for later.