Kaden is at camp this morning and I had the opportunity to just sit and rock Cam... something that I didn't get to do often with Kaden. Kaden was a much different baby than Cam! It's hard not to compare the two, even though I know I should try not to. I never said Kaden had colic... and I'm still not sure he did. But he just cried, and cried, and cried. He cried from the minute he woke up in the morning until the minute he went to sleep, starting at about 3 or 4 weeks old. Everyone told me it will get better at 12 weeks, "just wait till he's 12 weeks..." Well I waited. He turned 12 weeks and he was still crying. He turned 4 months and he was still crying. At 5 months old, something clicked and he became a happy little boy! Don't get me wrong, Kaden was never and will never be easy! He is high maintenance to a tee. He is as stubborn as can be and he's the most shy little boy I've ever met. But if I really sit and think about it (actually, I don't need to think that hard), he's me. I joke with Nic about it... I'm not quite sure how my wonderful husband puts up with 2 of us! However difficult those 5 months were, I wouldn't trade a second of them for a second with an easy baby. I feel like having a demanding baby meant that we sat with Kaden more, played with him more, and taught him more than we would have if he was easy. I feel like he learned to explore and communicate so quickly because of the attention he received. I fear that Cam will be "the second child" and it truly scares me because I never want him to feel that he is second in my eyes. I feel guilty when Kaden is demanding my attention and I have to put Cam on hold for a few minutes to help Kaden. But I feel guilty the other way around, too. Cam is not an easy baby either, but in comparison, Cam takes the cake. He went through a difficult few weeks where I think we were sleep-depriving him in order for him to sleep better at night. He was overly tired and cranky for a few weeks. He's now on the Babywise schedule of eat, play, sleep. Some days it works, some days it doesn't, but he's definitely a happier baby when he's awake. I can make him smile more than anyone (Kaden smiled mostly at Daddy... and shiny things like metal picture frames!) and that makes my heart melt. Cam is content to be held and likes when you "move it move it" and bounce, sway or rock him. At Kaden's 2 month appointment I remember the nurse asking me milestone questions, one of which was "does he calm down when you pick him up?" I knew what the answer SHOULD be... but the truth was... only sometimes. At Cam's appointment when the same questions was asked, undoubtedly the answer was yes. Cam's definitely a snuggle bug. He loves to be held along your forearm on his belly when no other position is working. He still loves to look around, especially looking up at what's high on the wall or a shelf. He started going in his jumparoo and seems to enjoy hanging out upright. His feet touch the floor already! We put Kaden in the jumparoo at the same age with 2 coffee table books stacked under him (and Kaden was never small by any means!)
I couldn't ask for a better big brother to Cam than Kaden. He loves that little boy so much, and Cam is going to grow up to be his biggest fan. Kaden loves to hug and kiss him and to lay next to him on the floor. He recently started teaching and explaining things to Cam which is unbelievable to me. We have a little caterpillar toy and on it is a knob with a dog, cat and duck. Kaden was teaching him which animal is which! And when they lay next to each other, Kaden points and things in the room and tells him what they are. Kaden is the most hilarious person I've met (well... maybe under the age of 25... Uncle Eric is pretty funny too) and he knows it. He has the most wonderful sense of humor and knows just how to crack me up. He has a great Australian accent: "big red cah" and has perfect timing in his jokes. Last night I was cleaning up after dinner, and when I finished I walked into the office to see what he was doing. He was sitting at the desk, keyboard tray out and hand on the mouse. When asked what he was doing he replied, "checkin' email!" I hope he knows how much I love him.
I truly truly cherish these boys; through all the struggles we've had and through all the laughter, my boys are everything to me (you're included in one of my boys too, Nic) :)
I love you all so so much.
Kaden didn't have his sunglasses and asked to use mine
Sweet Cam hanging out on the couch
