Thanksgiving 2011

Grandma Beyer came to visit for a week in the middle of November. I was in Grand Rapids at a
conference, so she took the Mega Bus to Cleveland to help Carrie with the
girls. Then my folks were both out here again last week for Thanksgiving. Steve
and Krista hosted the dinner with her family and ours. They did a really nice
job preparing a very fancy pants dinner. Unfortunately, Mady had gotten sick
that day, so Carrie stayed back with the girls. There was plenty of leftovers
to bring home to them, but hopefully we'll all be together for the meal next
year.

On Saturday, we had a big Beyer family gathering which was a lot of fun.
Cami got to meet most of my relatives for the first time. Mady and I were busy
cheering the Wolverines on as the beat OSU for the first time in seven years.
Someone slipped Cami into an OSU cheerleader outfit while I wasn't looking, which made her a littel cranky. All in all, it was an awesome holiday weekend and it was wonderful to be able to spend so much time with family.

2 months old

It has been a while since our last update. We have decided to get by without a computer in our apartment for the time being, but we will try stay on top of the blogging.

Cameron turned 2 months on 11/17. She has nearly doubled in weight since her birth. At her two month check up she was 11lbs 10 oz. She eats really well and sleeps really well. She is also a pretty regurlar napper, so it has been pretty easy to get her on a routine for the day. Most days, Carrie, Mady, and Cami have an outting or activity in the morning. I come home for lunch as often as possible. The girls (all three of them) nap together in the afternoon. We have a little bit of play time before and after dinner, then we have the bedtime routine. If we stick to the routine, we usually have a pretty good day. We are getting more smiles and happy coos out of Cami now, which is really fun. By 5 weeks the smiles were a pretty daily occurance.

Mady is also continuing to adjust to her new role. She really loves being a big sister. In fact, she usually insists that we address her as "big sister" and will tell people that is her name. She has been prone to little bouts of jealousy, particularly when it comes to having pictures taken. She really has no patience for pictures that aren't of her. She also insists that her teddy bear is her other little sister and that we should treat it as such. All in all, she is a very helpful big sister. She especially likes to assist with diaper changes. Mady is in charge of putting the used diaper in the can.

Too Cute for Words

Halloween!

This was our first "real" trick or treat experience with our kids (Last year we took Mady to the mall). Aunt Krista invited us out to her place for Halloween to go trick or treating in her neighborhood. She also made us a wonderful dinner and baked up some spooky cupcakes, which we used to celebrate Grandma Linda's birthday. Mady had been looking forward to this for a long time (thought I still don't know if she or Aunt Krista was more excited about it).

Mady decided to be a pirate this year, and Carrie had a matching costume. We found a cute pea-pod outfit for Cami, so I decided to be a farmer to match her. I didn't put too much thought into my costume. I figured jeans and a flannel would suffice. At one house some lady asked where my costume was, and I explained that I was a farmer, and she replied, "well, the important thing is that you are out with your kids." Thanks a lot.

Cami stayed back at the homefront and helped Grandma and Grandpa pass out candy while Mady took Aunt Krista, Mommy, and me trick or treating. She had a great haul. We even had to come back once to unload the basket to make room for more candy.

I have a newfound appreciation for Halloween now that I am on the receiving end of Mommy-Daddy candy tax!

Baptism

On October 30th, we had Cameron baptized at Royal Redeemer Lutheran Church. It took us a while to find a church that felt like a good fit in the area. This one is a thirty minute drive, but we think it will be well worth it. The baptism was only our third visit to the church, so it felt a little strange to be standing in front of a crowd of strangers to have our daughter baptized, but hopefully they won't fee like strangers for much longer. Cami's Grandmothers are her God-Parents.

The timing worked well because it was right at the end of my mom's month long visit to Clevland. My dad drove out for the weekend. Carrie's parents came up from Kansas to stay for a week. They also brought a trailer full of our things that they had been storing for us for the last eight years. This was Lee's first time meeting his newest Granddaughter, so it was very nice to have some time with them. My grandparents and several of my aunts and uncles were able to join us, as well as my brother and his wife. Afterwards we went out for brunch at a local restaurant where we were able to get a private room. It was a very nice day.