4 Christmases

Merry Belated Christmas!

Jaxon and Camren are lucky enough to have 4 sets of Grandparents that wanted to spoil and love on for Christmas. Unfortunately none of you live near us...so Justin and I packed the Tahoe to the gills with presents, kids, kid stuff and dogs and hit the road! (btw..."road trips" are not as spontaneous or dare I say fun when you've got 2 little ones! Those guys need a lotta stuff!!)

We started off our week long Christmas tour in the Bay area at Papa Bob and Nana's house. Saturday night Jaxon, Camren, Justin and I got fancied up to make an appearance at the company Christmas Party. Jax and Cam were such a hit that I am pretty sure no one even knew Justin and I were there! ;-) But it was a Great opportunity to get our first (yes first) official Family of Four picture!

Look hard...Camren's there somewhere under the bow!

Brand new cousins...Wyatt and Camren had partied themselves right out!

Sunday night was our first Christmas of the year (sounds funny doesn't it?) and it was a Simmons' Christmas! Jaxon became quite the pro at opening gifts...any gift...his or not! Hearing his "OH WOW!" and watching his feet stomp in excitement was an experience unlike any other. I was so enthralled by my son that I totally forgot to open any of the rest of the gifts we'd been given. Camren conked out for the present portion of the evening this year but watching Jax gave me a sneak peak at where my girl will be this time next year!

The Simmons' Clan

Our next stop on our Tour de Christmas was Thursday night in Merced at my Mom's house for her annual Christmas get-together. This year family, friends, and good neighbors were in attendance. It was nice to catch up with family we haven't seen in a while. Jaxon was running around all crazy like with his cousin Elijah and buddies Garrett and Gannon for most of the night and Camren (again) slept in various arms around the room. I didn't realize that I would enjoy watching other's love my children as much as I do...but I did.

Jax, Aunt B and Daddy snacking on appetizers under the table. He thought this was AWESOME.

Our annual family picture, which took a break from being a pic in our pj's to give Santa Hats a try...next year back to pj's, right Mom?? ;-)

G-ma and her grandbabies...Elijah, Jaxon, Camren and Lillian

Next stop?? Plainsburg for Christmas Eve with my Dad and Kristi. The night was full of traditions- Christmas Story on the tv, gravy, biscuits and hashbrowns for dinner, stockings and gifts. This year Kristi shared one of her families traditions with us and made (forgive me!) Pleter(?)=Swedish pancakes with berry jams. It was pretty yummy and I enjoyed them much more than mince meat pie! (sorry dad!) In that past we have also decorated a stocking but this year with the kiddos running on empty, the stockings were put on hold. We're thinking Christmas in July party this year!

Grandpa Doc and the boys doing stockings

Woah...Tractors!! And these were seriously the most difficult tractors to get out of the packaging...it took knives, fire, saws, the jaws-of-life...it was tough stuff!

My intention was to spend Christmas morning at the Fire Station with Justin and our children. Unfortunately, between my memory (forgetting Cam's meds in Merced) and the weather (awful fog) we decided it best for Jax, Cam and I to stay in Merced. We missed our Daddy dearly but were able to skype with him through out the day. So instead we started our morning at G-ma's house with stockings on Aunt B's bed! (no one sleeps in when the Simmons' are around!)

Jaxon getting into his stocking

Camren and her stocking

The last of our Christmases came on Monday with a visit from Gramz and Bob-o. It was so nice to have part of the Christmas celebration take place in our own house! True to form Camren slept through most of the visit but did get some good snuggle time with Gramz while Jax napped. Jaxon had a blast playing with his new stuff and by this time was an old pro at tearing through the gift wrap and diving right in!

Jaxon and Gramz getting their creative flow going.

Showing off his gift wrap destruction skills

Jax loves his new ride...it's the first thing he goes to every morning!

So here we are about to ring in the New Year and are feeling, no more than feeling, knowing that we are infinitely blessed with friends and family. Thank you for being a part of that!

Miss Camren turns 2 months old!

Can't turn 2 months without a picture in the Red Chair

2 months have gone by in such a blur! The past month has been one of the most challenging. This little peanut (and she is still very little...only 10lbs 3oz!) has been through the ringer. Since birth Camren has been enjoying a diet of milk (mommy and formula)--on second thought--no she hasn't enjoyed it at all, which is where the challenges have come from! Long story short, in the past 2 months Camren had become more and more difficult to feed and we saw a change in her personality from a happy baby to one who was in pain and crying--a lot! We'd been told that it was my diet, the taste of formula, its her temperament etc. But we knew different! This past week we went to her pediatricians--again and were demanding answers. (there are 3 at our practice...this was the only one we hadn't seen yet.) Dr. Mary instantly agreed that we have issues (including little to no weight gain). We sat down and worked out a plan of action. The end result is that Camren is now on a specialty formula for babies with soy/milk intolerance. If she continues with her previous symptoms our next step is to try Reflux medications. Since Friday we have seen a huge change. She is no longer crying from pain/discomfort/hunger. Camren Grace is the happy cooing baby we knew her to be. And while we still struggle from time to time (now it's probably a bottle aversion...and no wonder! That guy's been hurting her for the past 6 weeks!) our household is much more calm and enjoyable! We go back to the pediatrician's Tuesday for a weight check and to ensure this is the best course of action. Keep your fingers crossed and prayers coming that this is the answer we've been looking for!

Working on her CHEESE for G-ma

Sweet Girl...HAPPY *gasp* after a full tummy!

Jax and Cam playing on the mat...he loves her nose!

***Just a little MSPI info for those interested***

MSPI (milk/soy protein intolerance) is the intolerance or allergy to the proteins in soy or milk. Of the children that have an intolerance or allergy to one, 50% of those will have issue with both. A large majority of these infants go on to have zero issues with either as toddlers/adults. We will more than likely be taking the road to solids very slow as an intolerance to one food can lead to others. As of right now we are not sure which of the two (or both) Camren's struggling with, but she doesn't seem to have a severe case. At some point in time we will introduce a soy-based formula to help determine the level and cause of her intolerance...but I'm not rushing it! MSPI in infants can be genetically linked to parents/family members who have an allergy or lactose intolerance. MSPI and reflux often go hand in hand so it will not be surprising if she ends up needing the hypoallergenic formula and reflux meds.

Christmas Parade with Daddy

Last night Justin was working at a station in the near by (30min) community of Kerman. Every year this small little town has a Christmas parade that the Fire Department participates in. Jax and I were lucky enough that 1. Justin was driving the truck and his Captain agreed to let us ride along AND 2.G-ma was in town visiting and was willing to stay home with Camren! So with all of the cards falling easily into place, Jax and I bundled up (so not needed), loaded up and took off for Kerman!

Now we all know by now that this boy loves 2 things more than most...Fire Trucks and his Daddy. And for both of them to happen at the same time just about put this kid into shock! He was literally vibrating in my lap as the fire truck roared to life. I could see his smile from behind his head, his cheeks were so cheesy!

Jax cheesin' it up. He loves the head sets and was caught chewing on the mic a couple of times...ooopps..Sorry Captain!

Jax and I. This is the first time that I have ridden with Justin while he's been on shift. (the rig at the ranch doesn't count!) So this was a treat for both of us!

My Firemen...yes Jax is wearing a turn out coat!

This little Ham had a blast hanging out the window and waving (sometimes yelling!) at the people along the parade route! I'm not sure which was more amusing, watching Jax wave or the very confused/envious looks on the faces of the children waving back! ;-)

There is NO doubt that Jaxon is a Daddy's boy!

Leaves, Leaves and yes...more leaves!

The wonderful shade trees in our front yard have finally changed color (my favorite time of year!!) and are now decorating our front yard. Jaxon was introduced to the great fun of playing in the leaves by his Gma and Aunt B this year. He absolutely loves to run around in the yard, scooping up handfuls of leaves and counting 1-2-3! before tossing them up in the air. As soon as those leaves hit the air, Jax begins to shake his head and use his hands to make sure all of the leaves get out of his hair! It's really too funny to watch and it's another great avenue to let this kiddo exhaust some energy. On the downside, between the kid and the dogs I figure there are almost as many of those beautiful leaves Inside my house as Outside! Go figure!

Birthday Cupcakes with Aunt B

Jax' Aunt B came to visit for her birthday. Before B arrived Jax and I made cupcakes to celebrate! He is really getting into the cooking and baking and as you can see has the taste test down to a science! ;-)

Aunt B teaching Jax how to frost his first cupcake!

Cupcake Cheers!!

Christmas Card attempt

Sadly...our great friend and AMAZING photographer Sarah has decided to hang up her camera professionally for awhile. This meant that we would not be getting our Christmas photo shoot! Optimistically, Justin and I thought that we would be able to capture some photos worth the holiday greeting card...silly, silly us!

Jax laughing at this sister crying...

Camren letting us know exactly what she thinks of our photo shoot!

Santa Jax decided raking leaves is much better than taking pictures.

As long as he eats...

Typical of all toddlers, Jax has developed a definite sense of likes and dislikes and has realized (much to my dismay) that he can voice (loudly) those preferences. And while he exercises this new found voice of his all dang day long, it is during meal times that he shares his opinion loudest. Ok Ok...so this is just a nice way of saying the kid is picky! I understand that bananas, grapes, chicken nuggets and grilled cheese are yummy...but when that's ALL he eats?? Anyhow...during a visit to brand new cousin Wyatt, Jax was introduced to food on a stick (thank you Edible Arrangements). So we, in all our parenting wisdom, have taken the novelty of eating things off of a stick and used it to our advantage! Since offering things skewered Jax has eaten fruit, veggies, fish, chicken and cheese! We do reserve the sticks for special meal times but so far if it comes on a stick Jax is eating it! And if we add a little dip, or deeiiipp as Jax likes to call it, on the side we have one happy eating toddler! ;-)