Thinking back to the summer of 2006 today.

Gotcha Day #3 and the Rest of 2009

We went to Saugatuck, MI for our third Gotcha Day and a mini-vacation at the end of July. We stayed in a condo right in the thick of things (thank you, Ann!) and had a great time. The weather was a little cool and rainy, but that was okay. We took a tour of the Kalamazoo River and Lake Michigan on the Star of Saugatuck, a great big boat with a paddle wheel. The sunset on the lake was beautiful.

The next day, we spent time at the Express Yourself Art Barn where we each painted our own pottery. Cam made a fire truck and everything was ready the next day. It was a really cool place with lots of creative things to make, not just pottery.

On "Gotcha Day" we stopped in Holland, MI to check out the delftware and tulip bulbs on our way up to Michigan's Adventure amusement and water park just north of Muskegon. We had a lot of fun splashing around in the kid pool that had a pirate ship, a water jungle gym type structure and 2 slides. Cameron also liked the wave pool a lot. After our water fun, we got dressed and Cam rode on some of the kid rides before we headed back to Saugatuck for the night.

Our friends, the Holups, came up to visit while we were there and we all went to Oval Beach on Saturday (see video montage). The wind was really blowing and the waves were enormous. We only lasted about 90 minutes, but managed to eat our picnic lunch and Cam and Brent had fun at the very edge of the beach/water.

We enjoyed walking around town and checking out all of the artsy shops and eating ice cream. There was a playground right behind the condo and Cam had a great time playing there. Cameron also got to go on the chain ferry across the river - and they let him have a turn cranking it. All in all, it was a great trip.

Cameron has also been quite the party-goer of late. He's been to 2 handfuls of birthday parties for friends from school since June. He especially liked having his face painted as Batman at one of the parties.

We went to an Indians game on Sept. 11 to watch Cameron's Uncle Kip throw out a ceremonial first pitch. We were in the upper deck, which gave Grandma the willies, but he did very well for a game that went all the way to 12 innings. The fireworks after the Star Spangled Banner freaked him out a bit (not unlike his mother in that regard), but otherwise, he had fun.

Cam's been busy going to Nature Nuts on Mondays at the Lake Erie Nature and Science Center where he learns about a new plant or animal each week. He has really enjoyed his time there. He's also been taking swim lessons all fall and is swimming on his own! He's no Michael Phelps yet, but we're getting there.

One of Buffy's cousins got married in September and we travelled to the Ann Arbor, MI area for the event. We stayed with a friend of Buffy's from high school and Cam had a lot of fun playing with her new puppy. He did very well at the wedding and made lots of drawings for family and the waitstaff at the reception. He even signed his name to one of the masterpieces that went to our cousin!

Cameron was Batman for Halloween this year and had lots of opportunities to wear his costume. Between school, the Cleveland Botanical Garden's "Bootanical Bash", a couple of parties and the actual day, the Batman outfit got quite the workout. Olivia, Landon and Aunt Sue accompanied us at the Bootanical Bash this year. The kids played games and had fun walking around the Hershey Children's Garden trick or treating.
They strummed the guitar and got to play a song with the musician from the Beck Center (this was Cameron's favorite part of the whole night). Everyone really enjoyed the clown that did the balloon twisting and made some pretty impressive things. There was a 45 minute wait for their turns, but they were entertained the whole time and there wasn't a single complaint. Olivia got a balloon dog, Landon got a balloon zombie that fit on his head and Cam got a balloon bow and arrow. Before we headed home, we checked out the folk band that was playing and Cameron and Landon enjoyed dancing. Cam kept asking girls to dance, but without too much success, though a girl dressed as a bumblebee did dance for a short bit with him. Give it 10 years.

We had 7 of Cameron's friends from school at the house for his birthday party. They played, ate cake, opened presents, worked really hard at getting a soccer ball pinata to spill its contents and then played in the leaves in front of our neighbors' house. A good time was had by all. The friend party was followed by his family party that night. He didn't even want cake by the time the family party rolled around!

On Nov. 10, we went to DisneyWorld with Buffy's mom to celebrate Cam's and Buffy's birthdays. The first day, we went to the Magic Kingdom.
Sensory overload is a good way to describe his experience there. The background music was kind of loud and he wasn't up for doing any rides that were loud or dark. He didn't care for the fireworks that went off during one of Mickey's shows at the castle either. We seemed to spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out what rides he would go on or standing in line to find out that he didn't want to ride. It was a bit overwhelming for him.

The next day (Thursday), we were met with a coldfront, but went to Epcot and had a pretty good day. Cameron enjoyed the learning games available at Innoventions and liked the shows in the World part of the park. We had lunch at the pub in the UK and had dinner at a hibachi steak house in Japan. Cam said that he thought we should get a cooktop similar to the hibachi and set it up at our house. "Maybe you can get the recipes, too, Mom." We did manage to get him to ride Test Track and the Nemo Adventure. He was okay with Test Track, though he didn't like it that much and he had a fit on the Nemo ride (again, dark and loud). He cried all through the Nemo ride and begged to get off (though there was no way to get off, so we couldn't help, unfortunately).

Friday, Nov. 13th was Cam's 4th birthday. We started off with breakfast at Chef Mickey's at the Contemporary Resort (at 7:15 a.m.!!). They had a huge buffet and Cameron got to meet Mickey, Minnie, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto. They all came to our table and he got their autographs, pictures and a hug. They also gave him a cupcake and we sang "Happy Birthday" to all of the people there to celebrate. Later that day, we made our way to the Animal Kingdom. Cameron had fun at the park. That evening, one of Buffy's friends from college came and whisked them away from WDW (thank you, David and Jen!) for a quiet dinner at his house with his family. It was great to catch up and Cam had fun playing with 2 of his kids and their toys.

By Saturday, we were all worn out and decided to forgo the parks. We played at the playground, checked out the other parts of the All Star Movies Resort where we stayed and swam in both pools.
It was just the break we needed. We headed over to Downtown Disney late in the afternoon for dinner and shopping. Cameron and Brent built his very own Argentinosaurus at the T-Rex store (he named him Batman). He also built a Lego car and raced it at the Lego store.

All in all, 4 might have been a bit young for him at Disney. We'll try again in a few years.

At his 4 year appointment he weighed 35 lbs. (50th percentile) and was 41.5 inches tall (75th percentile). Everything seems to be on track developmentally. He has had both his regular flu shot and both H1N1 flu shots this fall and now associates the doctor's office with getting a shot. :(

Things were busy around the holidays. We got to spend time with our cousins, the Brunts, just before Thanksgiving. We spent Thanksgiving at Kip and Cathy's house and then had a whirlwind of events at Christmas.
Santa came and brought Cameron a stocking full of things as well as a Lightning McQueen big kid bike and a guitar. He's been saying for months that he was getting a guitar. Santa must have been listening. Our Christmas whirlwind included lots of family and friends. One of Cam's highlights was having 4 of his friends from school over for a playdate. Everybody got along well and the house was trashed, but they had a great time!

We spent New Years Eve with our friends the Holups and the Okobens and rang in the new year for the kids at 8:00. They were all excited to count down and rattle their noisemakers at "midnight". Cameron wanted everyone to hide as we were counting down - maybe he got it confused with Hide and Seek?

Wishing you all health, wealth and happiness in 2010!!


Jesse, Julian, Jesse's sister, Cameron and Mackenzie at Julian and Mackenzie's birthday party in August.














Yes, he picks out his own clothes on occasion!





















On the breakwater at Edgewater Park Labor Day weekend for the Cleveland Airshow.

Surge of Kazakh nationalism.

Weather

Driving home from school today:
C: Mommy, I want to camp out tonight in a tent.
M: Oh. I think it's going to rain, maybe not tonight.
C: Do you have your iPod (meaning iPhone)?
M: Yes, why?
C: I want to check the weather. Just turn it on, I can find it.
(I hand Cam the iPhone. He finds the Weather App.)
C: It's going to be sunny today and tomorrow. And it's nighttime in Karaganda right now.

Saturday, while Buffy was pulling his shirt over his head (it was sticking a little):
C: Ow! You're pulling my drumsticks off!

Big Kid

He's a big kid now, just ask him! Cameron's been doing well the first half of this year. He did have a couple of bouts with strep, but other than that, has been fairly healthy. He took a basketball class at the Y and then a baseball class. The kid is way more coordinated than his mom, that's for sure. He recently took a swim class (without Mom or Dad in the pool) twice a week in Rocky River (the town, not the body of water). He's so close to swimming on his own! He had a great time with it - there was a smile on his face the whole time he was in the pool.

He's also become quite interested in reading lately. He knows most of his letters and numbers (1-10) by sight and is pointing out letters and numbers that he sees as we read. He completed the Lakewood Library summer reading program and was the recipient of a $20 gift card to Borders (his name was picked randomly).

Other things we've been up to since the last update:

• We visited the Cleveland Children's Museum on MLK Day. They had a great big indoor sand box and he had a lot of fun digging and building.

• He and Buffy had an "adventure day" on President's Day and went to the Natural History Museum and went "ice skating" in Wade Oval. It was "ice skating" because they didn't have ice. They were using some kind of teflon that was supposed to work with skates. Buffy, who knows how to skate, had a heck of a time and Cameron had it even rougher. The upside to the rink is that warmer weather doesn't pose a threat, but the downside is the actual skating.

• We had one trip to the ER. He put a kernel of hard corn in his ear one day at school. He mentioned it to Brent in passing when he picked him up. Turns out they had been using corn in the sensory table that day and Cam thought it would be interesting to put a kernel in his ear! So, off to the ER they went. After an hour, attempts by 2 doctors and 2 popsicles, his ear was free and clear.

• We attended the Easter egg hunt at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens back in April. It was a little chilly, but he had fun looking for eggs "at my garden". He had his face painted like a bunny and gave the Easter Bunny a big hug and said "Thank you".

• He and Brent went to Lake Farm Park with an LECPTA group this spring and had fun checking out all of the baby animals, riding a pony and playing at their playground. Cameron is definitely excited about going back some day.


• We drove over to see our friends in Indiana over Memorial Day weekend. We stopped in Perrysburg on the way and spent the night with Buffy's Aunt Sue. When we got to IN, we spent time at the Potawatomi Zoo and also went up to the beach at New Buffalo, MI on Lake Michigan. Cameron and Elizabeth had a lot of fun digging a great big hole in the sand.

• Cameron had a great time at "Meet the Trucks" and was also very excited about everyone who came to his dad's family birthday party, including his cousin Morgan.

• Brent put a new roof and siding on the garage in June. Cam was a big helper and insisted on getting ready to work which included a baseball hat, sunglasses and his kid gardening gloves.


• On the 4th of July, we took him to the Lakewood parade and later in the day went to the fireworks in Lorain with some friends. It was his first fireworks display and he did really well. He had a great time and was asleep in the car within 5 minutes.

• Cam went to his first baseball game to watch the Lake Erie Crushers (minor league). He liked the bouncy stuff that they had to entertain the kids and announced to us after about 1 inning that he was ready to go.

We plan to go to Saugatuck, MI for Cam's "Gotcha Day" at the end of July and are hoping to take a bigger family trip around birthday time in November. We don't want to jinx it, so 'nough said for now.

Things Cam's been saying:

"DISGUSTING!" - to just about anything and everything he doesn't like.

"You're an eyeball." and "You're a coconut." - usually said when he's teasing.

C: Why do you have to go to work Daddy?

D: So that I can make money and buy you toys.

C: I don't want toys, I want you to stay here and play with me.

C: My voice is gonna be like Daddy's soon.

M: You mean it's going to get lower?

C: Yes, it's starting now.

Going past St. James Catholic Church in Lakewood (which is absolutely huge and has oxidized copper doors):

C: Mommy, those doors are made of money!

Telling him about a new cat (whose name is Beef O'Brady) that our friends recently got:
C: We can eat him?

Often as we drive down the street, we ask him to point out the US flags he sees. Yesterday, he saw a POW-MIA flag and said:
C: That's the flag for the missing people.
(No idea where he got that - maybe he remembers from the 4th of July parade)

Out of the blue:
C: Daddy and me are thinking about going to DisneyWorld.


Sledding in JanuaryDriving Grandpa DeWitt's school bus with Morgan.

Riding a camel at the Cleveland Zoo.
At swim lessons.

Snow