Cam Jackson Waite

Born December 29th at 2:19 in the afternoon to us, his parents, to 2 very excited older brothers, Brody & Ryder, and also to a very unsure older brother, Nash.

Cam could be called the 'runt' of our 'litter' considering he came out the smallest. Measuring 20 and 1/4 inches long and an even 8 lbs that makes him more than an inch and a whole pound less than any of his brothers were at birth.

We feel so very blessed to have welcomed this new and healthy baby into our lives!

Independence Day 2014

What better way to 'announce' a happy FOURTH of July?

Brody goes to School

Is anybody in as much denial as I am that the time has arrived for our Mr. Brody Jay to be going to real live school? I seriously cannot believe it. We've talked about it for weeks, and here he is a whole 3 days into his first year as a student.

A few days before school started we had the chance to go to an open house where Brody got to meet his teacher and see his classroom. He couldn't have been anymore thrilled than he was. I kinda wanted to just drag my feet along and prolong this time for as long as possible. I just was so not ready!!!

After the meet and greet of sorts we had just a few days to get any last minute things done. Not only did Trevor run through a whole long list of do's and dont's at school he also gave Brody a father's blessing. If you aren't a member of the Mormon church, that's just a special blessing any Mormon man holding the priesthood can give. We have special blessings for things like baptism, but we can also receive a blessing if we are ill or have big events coming up in our life. This blessing was just one of many I hope Brody will receive each year before starting school. I didn't ever have a blessing of this sort growing up and did just fine, but I find such comfort in knowing my kids will grow up having them. I think it teaches so much more than I could even explain...

But, moving on... That night Brody chose his clothes for his first day and laid them out. He went to bed happy as a clam and ready for what the next day would bring! I was not as fortunate. I tossed and turned. I got up multiple times. I just could not sleep. I had first day butterflies, and I wasn't the one going to school!

I took the traditional first day photos, and in my anxiety even spelled kindergarten wrong. That's how bad my nerves were. Brody? Not scared. Not nervous. Just READY! 

Trevor met us at the school so he could be there to walk Brody in. He was one of the first kids in class. I held the tears back as my big boy settled in. I could feel the familiar burn behind my eyes and in my throat as I held the flood gates back. Trevor kept saying "it's only half day kindergarten. Just a few hours." I knew he was right, it's just.... That day was the beginning of something totally new. Our life, will never be the same. We will always have kids in school for years and years to come. School signifies huge change to my life as a stay at home mom. Sure, yes, I have one less at home, but that is not a consolation prize for me. Brody is about to have a whole life of his own, so to speak. He will make choices and friends without me there to guide him. He will be learning and growing each day and I will not be there to watch every moment of it. It's not just that I am  losing control of what goes on, it's that I'm trusting others that don't love him like I do to help him. It's beyond weird that Brody will be doing his own Brody things separate from us. I know I just have to rely that the teachings he has at home will help him when he is away.

As he cheerily waved us away and we walked out of the school my tears freely began to fall. I was embarrassed for anyone to see me this emotional, even Trevor. I got the other 2 boys in the car, said goodbye to trev, and REALLY began crying. Lucky for me, my comic relief was in the car and said to me, "that's not even a real cry mom." Oh, excuse me if my crying doesn't live up to your standards, Ryder! It did lighten me up though. I explained to Ry that it's just really hard for me to watch all of them grow up. Ry told me he 'wont grow up' and I asked, "you promise?" before driving away.

My good friend, holly, is as much of an emotional puddle as me so we met up and drowned our sorrows in pancakes after we dropped our cute kindergarteners off. It was probably the best decision of the day. It was good to have a kindred spirit with me, and we killed some time before picking up the kids!

I may have driven by during Brody's recess, and shortly after school was over! Once again I got teary-eyed just seeing my big kid come out of class all grins. He had a great day! I asked how it was and he said, "I didn't get in trouble at all!" I guess he really listened to his dad... As we walked out past the office he pointed over his shoulder and told me, "I didn't even get sent in there!"  I would be shocked if he ever got sent there, especially on his first day, but it was good to hear.

All in all, it was a great day for Brody. Really, a great few days so far. I'm coping and surviving, but it is so much easier to do because he makes it easy. 

Now, he just wants to convince me to let him ride the bus because the "bus is just really fun..." We will see. Baby steps here people. Baby steps.

Lost Tooth

Brody informed us quite sometime ago that he had a tooth that was loose, and was so excited about it! Every family member was informed of this tooth, from grandpa and grandma's, to aunts and uncles. The tooth wasn't really ready to come out and it stayed loose and in his mouth for a long time. Until last night that is....

We had a healthy dinner of hotdogs,corn-on-the-cob, and Jell-O salad(can you tell how ready we are for BBQ-ing season?), but I noticed that Brody was eating funny. Every bite he took was from the side, instead of the front. I asked him why and he had said his mouth hurt because of the tooth. I wiggled it and was surprised at how close it was to coming out. Trevor then felt it and told Brody how easily he could pull it out. Wrong thing to say. Brody became extremely nervous. On the verge of tears, nervous. Trevor and I assured him that it wouldn't hurt, but if it did it would only last for a second. Still not a chance is going to let us pull it out. Trevor told him "just take a bite of your corn that will make it come out." Brody went back to the table and said, "okay but it still might hurt a little bit.." We were fairly convinced that he wouldn't actually do it. Next thing we know he's saying, "I did it, I did it!" We hurry over to him and sure enough there's a hole in his mouth, but note tooth to be found. Trevor thought Brody had swallowed the tooth. I did a quick scan of the corn and found the tooth disguised amongst the kernels. Talk about an exciting new thing for Brody!

Trevor ushered Brody to the bathroom so he could climb on the counter and get a look for himself at his new hole-y grin. There was a bit of bleeding so we had to stop that before pictures could be taken. I got a few on my phone, but sometime between those pics and getting out my 'real' camera the tooth was lost! We searched high and low and could not find it. We came to the conclusion that it probably fell down the drain. Nothing like losing a tooth out of one's head to then turn around and promptly lose it down a drain.

Brody wasn't the least discouraged (he was still on the tooth losing high), and especially not when I said maybe we could leave the tooth fairy a note. I wrote one out explaining the circumstances, Brody signed the bottom, and we sealed it up in an old jewelry bag of mine and put it under the pillow.

I woke up today expecting to hear excited little voices telling me of the spoils the toothfairy left. So not the case. I went to make Nash a bottle and walked passed a very somber 5 1/2 year old laying on the couch. Brody soon followed me in stating very seriously (and with tears nearly in his eyes), "I have some bad news. The toothfairy didn't come!" I was like, "whhhaaat? Are you sure? Was your note in the bag still there?" Apparently, Brody forgot about that so he went back to check. Lo-and-behold a grinning boy came back holding a bag with quarters! Brody said the bag was in the back of the bed by the pillow. I'm sure the toothfairy put the money in a more noticeable place, but the tossing and turning of a little boy during his sleep, caused it to move some. However, Brody thinks the toothfairy was up to some trickery! He told me with that new one-less-tooth grin on his face, "that toothfairy is a STINKER!" 

You're probably right, Brody boy.