Week of firsts

We've now been home for a week and my, oh my, have we accomplished a lot!  Jared, the kids and I are learning a lot about Baby Cameron and I think she's learning things from us, too.

 

She's learned that she loves sleeping on my chest.  And really, it's hard to begrudge her this, since it just doesn't get any sweeter than looking at this face.

We gave Cameron her first bath at home on Sunday.  Not a fan yet, but she's getting there.  By the end of the week she didn't holler nearly as much!

"On second thought, maybe I do like being clean and sweet smelling!"

She's got to spend a little time getting to know her Gigi.  We've learned that if Gigi wants to hold her, it's much easier when the big kids are at school.  Otherwise, it's a fight for my mom to get her for 5 minutes!

Two beauties!

Cameron loves napping in the Mamaroo...

but told us that she's not quite ready for the activity mat.  Those toys are just too far away!

By Monday, it was time for our angel baby to have her first check-up at Dr. Betty's office.



"What?!  I've already gained 4 oz!  Say it ain't so!"

I guess she was so distraught that her bladder got a tad bit overactive.  Pee went everywhere!  Sorry, Dr. Betty.

She's learned that she has a really, really great Big Sister.  Every time Lila goes to hold her, she says, "Oh, my sweet precious baby.  Come here my sweet child!"  And Cameron really responds well to her.  It's one of the cutest things I've ever seen.

They've learned that it's so fun to have a sister!

We have been so blessed by lots of friends who have spoiled us rotten with dinners and gifts.  Our next door neighbor, Miss Gay, came over on Tuesday with dinner for us and presents for the baby.  She also made us dinner before Cameron was born and even made Jackson a special coffee cake because she knew how much he liked it.  Best Neighbor Ever.

Cameron has also been learning about the top athletes in the world, thanks to her sports savvy big brother.  She listened intently as he read her many facts about the sports world.

Our first milestone--1 week old!

We learned that Cameron loves relaxing in Lila's bed.  Ha!  She laid there for 20 minutes the other morning while I bathed Lila and got her ready for the day.  We thought she fit in quite well with Princess Aurora and Belle:)

Being a week old is such hard work!  It was 9:30 am she was already tired.  Time for her first nap.  Lila really wanted it to be in her big girl bed, but we settled on the bouncer instead.

On Wednesday night, Lindsey, Chloe and Carter came over for a visit and brought us Papa Murphy's pizza for dinner.  I really enjoyed visiting with her and the kids had a ball playing together.

Chloe was so sweet with Cameron, too.

The kids loved getting to make their own pizzas--such a fun idea.  Thanks, Long Family!

On Thursday morning, Hayley came over to see us and got to hold Cameron again.  She helped us pick out what we were going to wear for our upcoming photo shoot--quite a big deal!  I must have tried on 15 shirts, but I think we finally found someting flattering:)  Thanks, girl.

Cami also got another visit from her sweet cousin.  They hung out for a while and Cameron got to hear all about how cool gymnastics class was since Maddie started doing that again.

On Friday, we had two more visitors during lunchtime--Tara and Sandy came over with the cutest outfits and headbands for Cameron!  I can't wait for her to model them.  That night, Amy brought over dinner for us.  We dined on Hamburger Stew, cornbread and brownies.  And my kids cleaned their plates, too!  It was really delicious and much appreciated.  Thanks, Amy, Amanda and Julianna!

Saturday morning we had our family photo shoot and this little one WOULD NOT go to sleep for anything!  We had to wait her out and finally she gave in, but only for about 45 minutes.  Needless to say, by the afternoon, she was pooped.  We took our first stroll around the neighborhood with big sister and she slept the whole time.  Thanks, Hayley for the precious black and white chevron dress!  She was the best lookin' kid in a stroller today!

Two sweet rides.

And finally, tonight, my good friend Emily brought us dinner and another beautiful outfit for Cameron.  She made us lasagna, salad, garlic bread and her amazing chocolate chip cookies and it was all a huge hit with everyone. 

I really do have the best friends that anyone could hope for.  I sure hope that all of you know how much I appreciate you.  I am a pretty lucky gal, no doubt about it.  Love y'all!

Hooray! It's Homecoming Day!

The day had come.  It was time to finally get ourselves back to Murphy!  After three days and nights with practically no sleep, I finally relented and sent her to the nursery around midnight.  I slept for three glorious, uninterrupted hours, and woke up when they brought her in at 3am.  They said that she was mad when she got to the nursery, but fell right asleep and stayed that way.  In all the bright lights, too--amazing!  After I fed her, she went right back to sleep in her bassinet and didn't wake up again until about 6:30.  I felt like a new person.  After eating again, she fell back asleep on me and I just got to stare at this little angel that morning.  Lucky.  I am so very, very lucky that I get to be her mama.  What a way to start the day!

 

The sweetest cheeks EVER.



Her daddy got in some good snuggles, too.  We both just took it easy and got ready at our own pace.  The nursing staff was awesome and told us not to worry about a thing--we could leave before or after lunch.  So I showered, we packed up our things and then just chilled for a bit.  We started looking at pics on our phones and came across this one that Jared had taken a few hours after she was born.

She's a Longhorn from Day 1!  I love this picture for that reason and because we have one of Jackson in the hospital doing the exact same thing.  I think it's in their genes, folks!

A little while later, Gigi arrived to help us move out of room 514.   She and Cameron discussed her wardrobe options and debated which headband she should go with.

After a few minutes of deliberation,

they settled on this adorable white outfit with light pink trim. I'd had it monogrammed with her initials on the front and found a lace headband to match.  Good choice, ladies!

After that, we got ready to hit the road.

First, Daddy and Gigi took all of our beautiful flowers out to the car.

Then, we strapped the little girly into her carseat.  She fussed for just a second and then realized that being snuggled into a minky dot blanket isn't really so bad at all!

I got her an equally soft blanket that my cousin had given us and wrapped her up.  Snug as a bug in a rug.  She also had the soft little doggy that Maddie had given her to keep her company on the ride home.

After a good snooze all the way home, we were greeted by Memaw and Lila, who were both very happy to see her.

Happiness in it's purest form.  Her real baby was finally home and in her arms!

A little bit later, Daddy and Jackson got home from school.  He got a few cuddles in before he fell asleep, too.  Big Sister had also given out and was asleep on the couch...

which meant that Big Brother had her all to himself.  They watched Sports Center for a while together...

before she told him that she was ready to try out her bouncer.  And she loved it!  She stayed asleep in it for a really long time.  Her cousin had come over to see her and waited patiently for hours for her to wake up.  Finally, we just had to take matters into our own hands.

I'm not sure she ever woke up, but Madison really loved getting to hold her:)

That night we dined together as a family of 5 for the first time.  Cameron was our centerpiece!  Of course, we had to turn her around half way through the meal, so that she could face Jackson.  Wouldn't want anyone getting more attention or anything!  And I must say, the meal was fantastic.  Memaw had been cooking a roast all day.  It had the best gravy on it with carrots mixed in, too.  She also made mashed potatoes, since she knows the kids won't eat the ones in the crock pot, and had green beans and salad for us, too.  What a feast!

They had also picked up this cute cookie cake for us, so we had it for dessert. 
Welcome Home, Cami!

 

After dinner, we were honored to have Aunt Maria over to meet her neice for the first time.  Unfortunately, Maria was out of town because of a family emergency when Cameron was born, but she came over as soon as she got back.  It was the perfect way to end the night.  This little girl is so very loved by lots of people. 

Lots of sleep during the day--think she slept that night?  NOT A CHANCE!  But we survived and have more pictures from this week to prove it.  Stay tuned:)

Day 2 for Cameron Nicole

Sweet baby Cami's second day began bright and early.  She didn't really feel like sleeping so much during the night, so we were all pretty worn out that morning.  I finally went to sleep around 5am and got to sleep until about 7 or so, and remember, we got absolutely no sleep the night before either.  This mama was TIRED! 

But it's hard to be anything but grateful when I get to wake up next to this adorable little girl.

I had intended to take a shower before Kim and Henry arrived around 9am, but alas, I just couldn't do it.  They were so sweet and brought us two huge sticky buns for breakfast and didn't blink an eye at my unkempt self.  How awesome is that?!

A little while after they left, Cami and I got a very special visitor.  Meme came to see us!

She got some good snuggle time in with her newest great granddaughter, while I finally threw myself in the shower.  And oh my, it felt nice!

Gigi assured Cameron that I would be back momentarily and there was no need to fret.  Sweet girl missed her mama, I guess:)

A little while after Meme and Gigi went home, Hayley got to the hospital to meet our little bundle of joy.  She brought Cami the sassiest little black fur boots and a wine glass for me that says "Keep Calm and Pour Some Wine."  Ha!  Love it.  She knows me well.

While Hayley was still visiting with us, the nurse came in to do Cameron's hearing test.  It's so cool--they hook up these sensors all on her head.  Then the sensors measure her brain activity while the hearing test is being conducted.  She slept right through her first major test and still got an A!  Way to go, little girl.

As if we weren't already feeling great enough, the flowers started arriving around noon.  By the end of the day we had 5 gorgeous bouquets of flowers, a beautiful white plant, "It's a Girl!" balloons and a door hanger decorated with Cami's birth info, a huge teddy bear, and other baby items.  Our room was so pretty and we definitely felt the love.  Thank you, Cousin Shelly, Gigi, Daddo, Daddo's work and Jenny!

After taking a MUCH needed nap that afternoon, we were refreshed and ready for our next round of visitors.  Maddie and Gigi got there first.  It was really cool because Cameron and Maddie got to spend some good, quality cousin time together.

 

A little while later, Big Brother and Big Sister got there with Memaw and Poppi.  This time, it was J's turn to hold his baby sister first.  And he did great! 

He's getting to be an old pro at this.  He does have experience with little sisters, after all!  Three years ago he was doing the exact same thing:)

 

And Lila will tell you that she's been practicing with her baby dolls a lot, as well as with Baby Samantha.  Thanks, Emily, for letting her practice on your real baby!  Looks like it paid off--she's a natural.

My heart, right here.  I could not possibly love these three any more than I do.  They are my world.  And that's all I can say right now, because I'll make myself cry otherwise!

A little after the big kids left to go home for the night, Boom Pa arrived to visit us.  He hung out with Cameron for a little while and then offered to go pick up dinner for us.  For all of Presby Dallas' awesome perks, food is not one of them!  We were so thankful that the Cheesecake Factory was just down the street and we enjoyed our enormous salads immensely.

While we were eating dinner, Jenny arrived to see us, too!  She held Cami while we ate and then stayed long after Jared and my dad went home.  (No worries, Jared just went home to get the carseat and take a shower, and was back by 10:30!)  Jenny and I just hung out for a few hours and chatted the night away.  It was such a calm way to end the day and one I'll remember for years to come. 

Stay tuned for Day 3.  Think we got to sleep yet?