job hunting SUCKS.

I recently stated that moving was the bane of my existence. I take it back. Job hunting beats it by a mile. I called my friend Jo to complain about how much I hate job hunting. I hate the process. I hate the research. I hate the effort it takes to write cover letters and tailor your resume. I hate networking and asking people for favors (it's all about who you know!). I hate the waiting and negotiating.

Jo says I seem to have a lot of hate in my heart. ;)

Ugh. I've worked at three companies in my career. I've done the job search thing before and it always takes me awhile to find the perfect gig. Some call back, some don't. Some interviews I blow, others I rock. But no matter what, it's a stressful process and I thoroughly dislike it.

And now with a baby, job hunting is even harder. On top of finding the perfect job -- something I'm interested in and qualified for, I also need to consider a job that allows me to see my son and spend time with him. Traffic in Hawaii doesn't help matters either. All the good jobs are downtown and traffic from where I live to town is insane. So, I have to make sacrifices. But I also know me. If I'm going to be away from Camden for 10 hours a day, the gig better be worth it. So, finding the right job is 10 times harder than just finding a JOB.

Sigh. And the search continues. I have a few good leads at the moment but nothing concrete yet. My wonderful friend, Courtney, has been doing all she can to help me and I LOVE HER for it! Thanks, Court!

Everyone keep their fingers crossed that something great will materialize soon. In the meantime, I'm trying my best to enjoy every moment at home with Camden. Cause at some point, that will be a distant memory. :(

the evil television.

Having worked at an early learning organization and reading all these parenting books, the infamous "they" recommend that kids do not watch television until the age of 2. And before having Camden, I was all over it.

Well OF COURSE I don't want my baby watching tv! It'll melt their brain cells! Babies need one-on-one interaction!

While all of this may be true (esp the interaction part), I've come to learn that the whole tv-watching thing is a total gray area.

Some experts will tell you adamantly that TV is a definitely no-no. Forbidden!

Well, my take on it is this. I try my darnedest to make sure Cam watches as little TV as possible. I never plop him down and let him watch a full half hour of Sid the Science Kid or Sesame Street. But the morning after he, for whatever reason, decides to wake up at 1am and 4am, 10 minutes of Elmo so mommy can lie on the couch in peace is a necessity.

I definitely feel guilty when I turn on PBS Kids. And even when he is 2, I still don't want him watching a lot of TV. But if I'm reading to, interacting with and playing with Cam the other hours of the day, some quality time with Sid really doesn't seem so bad.

i love mango! i hate bananas. i love bananas! i hate mango.

Camden's eating continues to evolve. He's moved on to more finger foods with favorites like Graduate puffs (that i call "stars"), baby mum mums and his number one fave, cheerios!

His latest thing is also finally holding his bottle! I've been trying to get him to do this for months but he wasn't interested in it. He'd turn it upside down, examine the bottle and for the life of him, could not figure out how to tilt it upwards to make the milk come down. But just this past week, it somehow clicked for him and now he gets mad if you try to hold the bottle for him. Independence. I like it!

In terms of finger foods, I've been trying different fruits and veggies on him (with the occasional piece of chicken and breads). He likes pear but I think when I tried to give it to him he hadn't quite mastered chewing and swallowing yet so he struggled with it. The other week, he was in LOVE with mango and ate piece after piece. But then I tried giving it to him again a few days later and he wasn't having any of it. Bananas were on his dislike list for ages. Even pureed he hated it. But yesterday I tried giving him pieces to eat and he devoured them! Same thing this morning. Bananas in, mango out.

"They" say kids go through phases of liking and disliking foods. And that you should just keep offering a variety of things. Uh, what am I a ready-to-order chef? Right now it's okay because he's only picking at a few finger foods. Plus, he's being introduced to new tastes so I get that he hasn't quite figured out what he likes and doesn't like. But as he gets older, I don't think I can handle cooking him a "special" meal. You eat what i give you, kid. And if you don't like it? Well, tough luck. Will I force you to eat brussel sprouts? No. But if you can tolerate it, you're eating it. Mommy's lazy.

What I will have to figure out is how long I'm going to feed him organic foods. And what foods will remain organic and what I will be more laxed about. Cause ideally he should eat what we eat. But then that means I'm cooking organic for the entire family and that will get expensive!!

Anyone out there has words of wisdom on the matter? If so, please share. :)

and now, for some cute pics with no other purpose than that.

he's like a sponge, i tell you. a sponge.

Cam's growing so fast and learning new things at what seems like a more rapid pace. I keep telling Brian we have to start being careful about what we say and do in front of him cause you never know what he's paying attention to!


Like my phone, for example. I guess he sees me talking on it all the time so now when he plays with my phone, he'll put it to his ear like he's talking to someone.



Of course, I think it's cute. But it also makes me wonder...what else is he picking up? Only time will tell.

happy belated 10-month day!

My first month day in my new house! Same couch though. YAY!

high chair hilarity

Idk why, but Camden LOVES to perform in his highchair. I'll be feeding him and he'll bust out all his tricks, one after the other. I indulge him because keeping him entertained makes feeding time a more pleasant experience for mommy. If not, this kid will squirm around, clamp his mouth shut and if he wasn't strapped in, he'd probably try to jump out of his chair. Boys.

Anyway, he's done some really cute things over the last few weeks! Check it out.

Stick out your tongue!




Now, click your tongue. He randomly started doing this in his car seat one day. We used to do it and show him cause he liked the sound. But I really haven't done it in months and then all of a sudden...this!




Dada Dada Dada. ALL DAY LONG.




Wipe, wipe! This one is just from today. It cracked me up cause you just never know what your kid is absorbing. After every meal, I wipe Camden's tray down before taking him out. Usually when I'm feeding him, he grabs the wash cloth but up until today he'd just play with it, throw it on the ground, put it in his mouth. But this morning, he starting wiping the tray with it just like mommy! hahaha! My little helper.




And then...the best for last! I heart this video.

i have internet again! woohoo!!

It's been awhile, I know. That's what happens when you don't have internet access for 3 weeks. I swear, I almost didn't make it through. So what's been going on? Well...

• We've moved into our new house! We like it a lot. Good space for Cam and it's nice to have our own place. The grandparents are close by, so that's good. Only downside is it's noisy in our neighborhood! But all in all, we're happy.
  
• I'm in the process of looking for a job! New house = Need money. So, I'm starting the hunt. If anyone knows of a good communications/pr/marketing opening, CALL ME.
• I made this blog private cause I decided my little man doesn't need to be broadcast to strangers. So, if people you know (friends, family, etc) that used to be able to see the blog can't now but want to, let me know and I'll add them :)

But most importantly, what's new with Camden?

• He's talking more and more. It's so cute.
• He's getting MUCH more vocal about what he wants and doesn't want. (let the whining begin)
• He has a few new tricks -- sticking out his tongue, clicking his tongue, doing "swish swish" and "chatter chatter" to Wheels on the Bus, trying to say the word "fan."

Videos and new pics coming soon!