Happy Thanksgiving!

On Wednesday night, we took Cameron out to see the balloon inflation for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The staging area is only a few blocks south of us and circles the National History Museum. It was a bit of a mad house, and Cameron wasn't all that interested...but we had fun nonetheless.

Daddy and Cameron escaping from the Energizer Bunny.

A quick pic amidst the mob of two happy parents and one sleepy Mini.

On Thursday we had a quiet Thanksgiving Day at home. We watched the parade on TV and spent half of the day in our pj's. For Thanksgiving dinner the Mini had some of Mommy and Daddy's turkey and sweet potatoes. Mmmm!

The t-shirt, courtesy of Aunt Kelly, says it all...Little Turkey!

Mmmm...turkey!

And finally, you know that commercial with the giggling baby that says "laughter will add 8 years to your life"? Well, consider this our efforts to help you all live a little longer. Enjoy!

Everyone's favorite monkey!

We took Cameron to the Fall Festival at church on Sunday, which may be his only chance to wear his truly fantastic (if I do say so myself) Halloween costume. Though he didn't win the costume contest (rigged!), we thought he took first prize!

Getting his Crawl on....

So Cameron has mastered his army crawl - and is especially motivated to crawl when there is a something with buttons in sight. Here's a video of him crawling across the room on his blanket to grab his favority toy - Mommy's Blackberry. He's sporting his Little Pumpkin outfit his Aunt Kelly got him. Enjoy.

7 months old!

Here are some pictures we took in the park over Labor Day weekend. Hard to believe our little guy is already 7 months old!

Beach baby!

We celebrated Kevin's graduation from grad school with a trip to South Texas to Kevin's parents new beach house. Cameron loved getting to play in the pool and down at the beach. He's getting more talkative all the time - here are some examples!

Cameron's new swimsuit - are we excited or what?!?

All decked out in his gear with Mommy and Daddy at the beach on Mustang Island.

Mmmm...food!

We started feeding Cameron food this week, with mixed results. On Wednesday, we broke out the rice cereal...the undisputed favorite first food recommended by doctors and every book on the market. We mixed it up with some formula, which Cameron is very familiar with, and went to town! The first day he was a little unsure of the texture and flavor. Day 2 was even more unhappy, and by his mid-morning feeding on Day 3 he was crying and pushing back in his chair trying to get as far away as possible from the offending food!



So, on Friday (which as Day 3 of the "Rice Cereal Debacle"), after thrashing around and crying because clearly Mommy was trying to torture him with this mushy nastiness, Daddy picks him up, comforts him, and says, "Why don't we try some carrots?" Fine. So, Mommy pops open the jar of carrots, spoons some into the Little Mini's frowny mouth and...bliss! You would have thought the heavens opened up and angels began singing, doves descending, harps playing. This kiddo LOVES him some carrots. So Mommy sneakily mixes his rice cereal with his carrots, and he has been pounding them down for 2 days now!

This was just a cutey cute picture of my two favorite men that I had to include. Our little Chunky Monkey has (unofficially) weighed in at 20 lbs! Kevin lovingly calls him the Michelin baby. He's mostly smiley and happy, though we've had some cranky days recently. We think there might be some teeth on the horizon. Fun times!

Video from a few weeks ago...

Baby Dedication

This morning we had Cameron's Baby Dedication at church. It was really a precious event. All the parents introduced their little ones to the church. The one of our pastors, Nelson, read aloud the commitment we were all making -- to pray for our child, to raise him up to know the Lord, to have him involved with church, etc. Then he read a commitment aloud that the church body was making to support us as parents, to pray for our babies, and to serve as their church family. We received a small New Testament and a certificate, and will be getting a DVD of the service. Our friends Brian & Jen served as official photographer and videographer for the event. Here are a few of the pics.

Here's the Clem family during the dedication. (Yes, if you're wondering, I did cut all my hair off!)

We are introducing Cameron to our church.

A quiet moment to pray over our little guy.

Mini & Mommy post-dedication.

Though we didn't get one of Daddy & Mini at church, we snapped this one once we got home!

Who is so big?

Here's a video of the little man. More pictures coming soon!

Littlest Laker Fan & Mommy's Little Helper

Here are a few recent pictures. The first two were taken on a lazy Saturday morning last weekend. Cameron and Daddy were cuddled up in bed clearly entertaining each other. Daddy may not be much of a morning person, but Cameron certainly is!



Last night was Game 1 of the NBA finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. As most of you know, Kevin is a die-hard Laker fan...and since Cameron wants to grow up to be just like Daddy, he cheers for those Lakers, too. Kevin actually went to the game in Boston last night our dear friend Aaron. Cameron wanted to go to, but unfortunately the game was starting well after his bedtime. So he had to settle for showing his team spirit during the day. Go Lakers!

Without a doubt, laundry is my most hated household chore. For the first 4 years we lived here we didn't have laundry facilities in our building, so we had it sent out. I would drop off our dirty laundry one day, and pick it up clean, dry and folded the next day! Talk about heaven! Now that we do have washers and dryers in our building, I am back to the laundry drudgery. Then again, how can I hate it that much when I have such an adorable little helper??

4 Months Old

Cameron turned 4 months old last Friday. Can you believe it? Well, maybe you can...but we certainly can't. We look back at pics of him when he first popped out, and can't believe it's the same little guy. He's like a whole new person now that his little personality is coming out. He is very laid back and super smiley. For instance, tonight as we were swaddling him up for bed, he was giving us these huge grins! This was despite the fact that he hadn't slept in 3.5 hours and was completely exhausted. Kevin picked him up, carried him in the nursery, and he was completely out in 2 minutes flat. Such a funny baby!

Happy Mother's Day!

It is my very first Mother's Day...and it is quite strange that a holiday that has always celebrated my mom and grandmothers now includes me. This day holds even greater importance to me now that I have the beginning glimpse of what being a mom entails. As I told my mom this week, no matter how many times I have expressed my love and appreciation of her, I now know that it was never enough. I also have greater admiration for all of my friends who are moms...whether several times over, or with their very first. Dearest friends and fellow mommies, you are all quite simply amazing.

We snuck out to the park this afternoon between naps. It was a little chilly and windy, so Cameron wasn't in much of a smiley mood. But at least we got our first Mother's Day documented.

3 Months Old!

It's hard to believe, but little Cameron is already 3 months old! He has settled into a good sleeping pattern and we are getting caught up on our sleep as well. More and more of his personality emerges everyday, which makes for exciting times for Mommy and Daddy. Here are some recent pictures of the little guy.

It's Showtime!

The Little Laker fan getting his smile on! Go Lakers!!!