Cam turned one this past Sunday, October 6th! We still can’t get over it!

For Cam’s birthday we thought it would be great to keep it simple and do something we know he loves. We went hiking of course… but not one of our usual local hikes, Cam has now officially “hiked” his first 4,000 footer in the white mountains, Mount Liberty. It was rainy at home but as we drove up north it remained overcast most of the day leaving us to the beautiful foliage and an 8 mile adventure. Cam did great, myself and Eric is another story! I haven’t done a 4,000 footer since I was pregnant! And Eric had quite the heavy pack, he swears Cam must weigh in around 50 pounds now a days! Here’s some pictures from his birthday.

Present time! Rusty helped him rip off the wrapping paper!

Looking cute as usual, even in his Super Cam Man PJs.

All bundled up and hydrating with mom’s camel bak before we started our big hike.

Rusty leading the way…

Keeping an eye on things over Eric’s shoulder…

Snack break!

We made it to the summit, not much of a view but well worth the journey.

Cam climbed in the driver’s seat, told us to rest up, he’d drive home.

And to end the great day, a cake smash! He was a little hesitant at first…

But then dug right in…

Literally…

The happy birthday boy

It’s been a busy couple of months, with a couple weddings of close friends, to enjoying the beautiful fall weather, we feel like we go nonstop. And with Cam on the move, crawling faster than the speed of light, walking holding onto anything and everything and taking steps on his own here and there, and just today figuring out how to stack objects so he can use them to climb over things such as safety gates, we see ourselves stopping no time soon! And we love every minute of it. There are days we just lie on the floor and belly laugh watching Cam do the funniest things.

You never know what child proofing a home means until you have a child. Cam has found things in our house that we never knew existed. One thing we needed to address was the cat’s litter box, and we therefore had to install a cat door… Cam still thinks this is a special toy to play with daily.

Cam looking for the Cat!

And eating… never knew what messy was… Thankfully Rusty eats most anything and has probably gained a couple pounds since Cam started eating solids, but when we don’t have Rusty with us is when we really notice the messes.

Nectarines definitely taste better if you smear them all over your face.

Here’s a couple pictures from our friends weddings of Cam all dressed up. He had the honor of being a ring bearer in my best friends wedding. That day he fought sleep and decided he would not nap before the 4pm ceremony, myself and Eric were sure Cam would scream or else sleep going down the aisle… but he ended up being a ham, gazing up at the crowd, maybe even winking at the cute flower girls on the way.

Cam holding the ring box and getting pulled down the aisle by Eric.

Sitting on Eric’s lap paying attention to the photographers… I mean ceremony…

Me and Cam ready for our friends wedding that Eric was a groomsmen in.

Here’s a couple other cute ones I just had to include… Enjoy!

Cool chair at Mountain Top Inn, cool kid getting ready to go hiking in his cool shirt that says “Let’s go hiking”

His formal “One year old” shoot with Dad!

Cam has been making big changes over the past month or so, he’s getting to be so much fun and is developing such a personality. He is getting good at using his hands, and wants to feed himself all the time, even if what he grabs isn’t food… He’s getting strong too, loves bouncing and trying to stand, is sitting up great, and is on the verge of crawling. He now has three teeth with a fourth on the way!

Chewing on his rattle

Practicing crawling

Cam excited the Bruins are in the Cup

Trying to crawl on his 8 month b-day

Our town has an annual Memorial Day parade, we’ve never been, but thought it would be fun to bring Cam this year. Since we don’t sleep in anymore we were up in plenty of time to get ready and make it downtown well before the parade started. Cam had fun playing in the grass and watching the parade go by. Afterward they did a few patriotic songs that he also enjoyed.

Watching the parade

After the parade we headed home to visit Rusty and then grab the boat for our first trip out this year. It was nice to be back on the water after a long winter, Cam had fun too. His life jacket keeps him from moving much, but as long as we are driving he seems fine in it.

First trip in the boat

Standing up watching the water

This weekend was Father’s Day, my first. It was a bittersweet one, I’m excited to be a father and to be able to celebrate, but its also the first Father’s Day without my father here to celebrate. Because of that, I wanted to keep it low key. I didn’t want to go out and celebrate, seeing everyone else out with their fathers.

Ally was determined to make it a special day for me, which ended up being a whole weekend. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL so we loaded up the boat and hit the water again. We spent a couple of hours out on the lake, had lunch and floated around. Best of all, with all the recent heavy rain they put a speed restriction on the lake so there weren’t many boats and no waves! Perfect for us just floating out there.

Boating!!

Cam driving the boat

Today we packed our lunch and went for a hike up Mt. Watatic, my fathers favorite mountain. We went the less traveled back way which passes by a monumental stone that is engraved with the names of those who contributed to protect the mountain from development, Dad and my names are on it.

Hiking the mountain

Our stone

Cam pulling on Ally’s shoestrings

Relaxing on the summit

Happy Fathers Day

At the end of the day, I’m happy with my first Father’s day, its was perfect, for me, which is what Father’s Day is supposed to be. I got to be celebrated and treated like a king, while also honoring my own father.

Dad and Rusty on the summit of Mt. Watatic

Happy fathers day Dad.

We can’t believe that our baby is 6 months old. It seems like we were just taking that first scary car ride home. The past month has seen lots of firsts for Cam. We left him at home with his grandmothers for 10 days while we went to Hawaii to celebrate Ally’s 30th, it was sad leaving him and we missed him throughout the whole trip but it was nice to get away for a bit and be able to sleep in some. When we came home we found he had a tooth! He now has his two bottom front teeth, and it looks like there are a few more that could surface any day now.

Cam showing off his teeth on his 6 month birthday

He has been using his hands much more and grabbing at everything, we figured this would be a good time to introduce real food into his diet. Since me and Ally love guacamole – and all things Mexican – we thought avocado would be a fun first food. He didn’t love it but also didn’t spit it out, a good start! We’ve tried a few other things and have had varying levels of success, but we are at least getting him used to the taste and texture of different foods.

Trying some avocado for the first time

Trying to feed himself

We traveled to Grandma’s house for the annual St. Patrick’s day shin-dig where Camron got to meet his newest cousin, Cian, born February 15th.

Cam with his cousins Sydney, Lilly, Erin, and Cian. Grandma too.

We stayed local for Easter, hiked Mt. Wachusett, but since we hadn’t seen Ally’s dad in a while we went to visit the Saturday before and brought Cam to the beach for the first time. Just like mom, he loved it. At least he loved watching Rusty run around and crashing into the water.

Ally and Cam enjoying the sun

Cam’s really been enjoying bath time, he loves splashing his arms and legs in the water so we though it would be fun to put him in the tub rather than the kitchen sink. Ally loaded up the tub with toys and filled it with water. Cam loved it! Tried grabbing for all the toys floating by and loved his new found freedom to stretch out. He’s getting so big….

First time in the tub

Other than that we’ve just been enjoying our time with him, Rusty loves having him around and always keeps an eye on him.

Cam and Rusty snuggling, notice Cam’s shirt 😉

Well winter is in full swing now, December 21st marked the official start, and thankfully the world didn’t end, for all you Mayan believers.

Lots of firsts for Camron, we celebrated his first Christmas this week, he got lots of goodies and was a true blessing to our whole family this year. He was up early Christmas morning eager to open his gifts and see what Santa had brought.

Camron’s First Christmas

Today was Cam’s first snow storm. We spent most of the day watching the snow fall from the warmth inside, but he got to go out plowing with Dad for a bit, then we built a snowman. Rusty got to help too, he loves the snow!

Camron and Rusty posing with Mr. Frosty

Rusty trying to reposition Frosty’s arm

There will be lots more fun this winter, me and Ally got Cam outfitted with lots of good cold-weather gear so we can keep hiking and playing in the snow all winter long.

With the welcoming of Camron home we are updating his website a bit. A new name, you can now go to www.camrondarlington.com  to get directly here. Don’t worry though, www.babydarlington.com will still lead you to here also.

A bit of an update: We went to the doctors for the first time – driving is still scary – he checked out A-OK. We’ve had lots of visitors and are thankful for all the food everyone is bringing, its been a big help. Momma and Dada are getting used to late night feedings and sleepless nights.

Yesterday we went on our first family walk. It was a chilly evening so we made sure to bundle Camron up good to keep him warm. Rusty had to keep turning around and checking on us all to make sure everyone was still following.

It’s been a great adventure so far, everyday is getting a bit easier as we figure him out and he figures us out.

Here are a few pics of Cam settling into his new home.

Cam playing with his Boppy

Getting dressed for a day out

Cam’s first walk