Most days, Cami is all smiles...

She has daddy wrapped around her little finger...

Daddy & Brock: Look what we found at the park today! Can we keep him?

Last year, just one week shy of finding out that we were pregnant, I started the Couch to 5k running program at the gym. And then those two magic lines appeared on the home pregnancy test and I have not exercised since, due in large part to doctor's orders. Tragically, it shows. *jiggle, jiggle*

While shopping for baby gear, I intentionally omitted a stroller because I knew that a jogger would best serve my resolve to run and get my gelatinous, post-partum self into shape. I spent months researching joggers and comparison shopping before deciding on the Schwinn Turismo (and not just because it matches Camryn's car seat--that's just a bonus!). So, I ordered it online and waited impatiently for the big brown truck to arrive. 

As rotten luck would have it, we must have been the last house on the UPS route that day, because our new jogger arrived late one evening. Unfortunately, no sooner had Clarke assembled our new jogger, when Mother Nature unleashed her wicked sense of humor upon the valley.

Snow. Rain. Wind. And COLDness.

Brrrrrrr!

 

FINALLY, after weeks of waiting for some semblance of decent weather, 

we were able to take Big Red for a test drive.

It was Camryn's first walk!

She was less than thrilled...

In truth, she barely tolerated it!

Big Red, like any quality jogger, is enormous and cumbersome to pack around (it only fits in the trunk of my car if I take off the two back wheels-which seriously takes less than 5 seconds); but it's gorgeously, spectacularly red and easy to maneuver! Cami's car seat fits inside snugly, which, more than likely, contributes to her strong dislike of the new "ride." That girl HATES her car seat with the passion of a thousand burning suns!!

Weather and car seat aversions aside, the plan for this spring is to go gallivanting about the countryside with Big Red and my kiddos, soaking up sunshine and fresh air and farming endorphins. Perhaps, if I'm very disciplined, I'll even shed some poundage and get a tan in the process. 

With an adoring and protective, big brother like Brock, Cami will never have to worry about some miscreant breaking her heart and getting away with it.

And that makes this momma proud. 

When the clock reads 9:00 pm at my house, you will find a soundly sleeping, six year old, precariously spread out on his blue and orange Boise State sheets and a 2-month old baby, swaddled tightly and madly sucking on a pacifier while snoozing in her crib.

And when the clock reads 9:00 pm, you find Clarke and myself, each occupying one of the family room couches, zombified as the tv screen flickers before us; at best one of us is still awake to catch the end of whatever show we started watching as soon as the kiddos were tucked in.

This is because at 9:00 pm, Clarke and I collapse in exhaustion, having completed, nay, survived, another parental marathon of work, school, cooking, cleaning, appointments, errands, football practice and keeping up with one energetic little boy and one high maintenance baby girl.

One afternoon, UPS delivered an enormous box filled with more baby gear to entertain Camryn. Brock tossed aside Cami's new toys and commandeered the box for himself. He also commandeered my laptop. I found him with a with a bowl of pretzels while watching Phinaes and Ferb, courtesy of Netflix...

Clarke decided to take Brock to the scout Klondike Camp in Cascade, ID. This meant one thing: Brock needed a sub-zero sleeping bag and where better to look than Cabellas?

We took our kids to see Oma (great grandma See) so that Oma could meet Camryn for the first time.

Sadly, Oma struggles with her memory and has trouble recognizing even her family. Nevertheless, it was important to us  that she meet her newest great granddaughter. Even though she clearly had no idea who we were, she kept telling us how much she loved us. I can't imagine how lonely it must be to not recognize the world or the people around you. I'm really glad that we have these pictures; a piece of family history. We hope to visit her again soon.

There is no question who rules the roost at our house. Clarke works hard to get a smile out of Miss Camryn, who sits quite queenly on our bed.

And in her benevolence towards the family serfs, namely Clarke and myself, she graciously bestowed upon us a slight grin.