Feeling Blessed

Since we ended up with 4 snow/ice days, I thought I would bless the blogging world with an extra post for the week. I know - two posts in one week! That must be some kind of a record for me! First of all, on the topic of being snowed in, I would love to share how blessed I felt this week to be stuck inside with my two favorite gents, Neal and Camden. We played, laughed, caught up on dvr (until the bulb in our tv died today :( ), cooked delicious meals (so glad our freezer/pantry were well stocked, and went on a journey (more on that later). I felt like this was a mini-vacation. I had no responsibilities, no where to be (even if I did have somewhere to be, there was no way I could leave to get there), and plenty of time. I will admit that I spent an unhealthy amount of time on facebook, but I also did some cleaning and spent the majority of my time holding my sweet baby boy. I feel like this semester will be much easier now that I had this extra bit of time. I couldn't help thinking how blessed we were as we sat in our warm, comfy pj's in our warm, comfy home while enjoying many a hot meal and tv marathons. I know that there were others in our part of the world who weren't quite as lucky. Sometimes I get caught up in worrying about the little things in life, and it was a week like this one that reminded me of how much I have to be thankful for and how little I actually have to complain about.

Now, on to the story of our journey! Neal and I knew that we had a four month check-up scheduled for Camden on Thursday afternoon, and while it was still pretty nasty outside (the temps were pretty much staying in the teens and twenties for most of the week and that kept everything covered in a thick sheet of ice), we thought we might be able to get out to take him there. Neal tried scraping/shoveling the driveway. No such luck - it was too solid and too frozen. We thought about trying to slide our car out of the driveway and cautiously driving the one mile to our pediatrician's office (her office is in our neighborhood - so convenient!), but Neal did not want to leave either of our vehicles parked on the street, because we had seen too many cars sliding all over the street outside of our house. It would have been way too easy for someone to hit us (especially since we are on the curve of two streets). So, the next logical plan was to bundle up and walk to the doctor's office. Since we were eager to get out of the house and take care of this appointment (we knew it would be hard to get a new one with all of the other cancellations that would be trying to reschedule later on), we put on our warmest clothes, strapped Camden onto Neal in the infant carrier (Neal was more sure-footed than me), and set out on our trek to the pediatrician's.

We actually did quite well. We made it in less than half an hour. No one slipped and fell, and they did not think we were too crazy for walking to the appointment. I felt so proud of what we accomplished, but I was dreading walking back. At the doctor's, we found out that Camden weighs 15 pounds, 2 ounces (65-70th percentile), is 26.5 inches long (95th percentile), and his head is 43 centimeters around (60-65th percentile). He also had to eat (twice) while we were there, and the nurse acted like I should have been embarrassed for her to see me feeding him when I thought that all medical personnel were usually pretty professional about that, but maybe she is just not that type. ;) Anyway, I think that our little boy is figuring out what happens at the doctor's office, because he only cried and screamed when we would lay him down on the exam table. Otherwise, he was happy to be there. Oh, by the way, he usually gets his shots when he lays down on the table. He screamed through all of the vaccinations (two shots and one he had to drink) and when the doctor layed him on the table to check out his reflexes. I thought it was really sweet of her to sing to him, but he was not buying it.

So, after our appointment was over, we bundled up and began our journey home. However, we did not go ten steps before someone pulled over and begged to give us a ride home. We only hesitated about the fact that we did not have a carseat before we gave up and hopped in. I was secretly praying that someone would stop and offer us a ride. It turns out this family lives on the street behind us, and they are often out with their little girl, Harper, and their dogs. Hopefully, we will run into them when it is warmer outside. After that, Neal and I were exhausted and we rested while Camden took a nap.

Today, we finally ventured out and took care of grocery shopping, even though we would have made it (it is embarrassing how much food we keep in our house) without a trip to the store, it was nice to stock up on new provisions. The grocery store was pretty crowded, but I didn't mind too much, because I felt like it had been too long since we had been out in the world. And, we picked up pizza from Papa John's! We had been craving this treat, so it was nice to be able to get out to get it!

Now, we will enjoy the rest of the weekend, watching non-HD TV, but we should feel blessed that we have extra TV's to use while our nice one is on the fritz. By the way, Neal ordered a new bulb, but we will have to wait to see when it will be available as they are on nationwide back order. We also have plans to pig out on our favorite junk foods while watching the Superbowl tomorrow night. The first year that we were married we moved to Fort Worth right before the Superbowl and we didn't know anyone yet, so we had our own party - just the two of us. However, we cooked enough appetizers and junk food for a huge party. We had so much fun - and way too many leftovers, but we still bring up that memory. So, we decided to recreate that tomorrow night, but this time it will be considerably downsized. We were each allowed to choose one appetizer and one dessert. We also agreed on one dip that we have both been craving (guacamole!)! I can't wait to snuggle with my guys some more.

And, I leave you with a photo montage of more Camden After Bath Hair :)

Profile shot with a side grin
Another profile shot

Preach it, baby C!

I love those baby blues! Enjoy the rest of your weekend! I know, I will. ;)