DeWitts in Kaz: December and a little bit of January

December was a fairly quiet month for Cameron until the holidays hit and then we were go-go-go. Mom and Dad had a heck of a time keeping up with trying to get Christmas gifts purchased (and then wrapped) and putting the tree up, but they managed to do it (though the tree is STILL up). Cameron gave his grandparents a hand-print trivet and a calendar with bunches of pictures to remind them of him. He was not at all happy about making the trivets - painting his hands just was not on his to-do list that day. Even so, they turned out pretty well. We spent much of Christmas with family and close friends and were very busy the last week of the year. Cam even had his first official play-date with the sons of 2 of Buffy's co-workers. Good times!

Unfortunately, Grandma DeWitt was admitted to the hospital mid-December and spent Christmas at the OSU Medical Center. We went to visit her there and Cameron held up pretty well considering the circumstances and the fact that it was a day trip (2+ hours to Columbus each way). On a brighter note, she was discharged on Jan. 5 and is recovering at a facility closer to home.

Also in the health arena, we managed to get through the month without an ear infection and Cam had ear tubes put in just before Christmas. He did fine with the surgery and was a little off the rest of the morning due to the anesthesia. However, after a good nap, he was back to his usual self and ready to take on the world. The hardest part of the whole thing (at least for Mom and Dad) was handing him over to the nurse to take back to the OR.

Jake-dog had surgery the day after Christmas to remove a couple of cysts. It was quite a challenge to keep the cone-head dog (he had to wear the cone or he'd be constantly licking) away from the kid and the kid away from the dog's open wounds. However, we managed and Jake is on the mend.

Cam continues to walk and as his confidence increases, his arms are slowly dropping. He started out with them over his head when he first walked and then they dropped to a Frankenstein pose. He's not quite to the point of having them at his side, but he does like to pick things up and walk with them. Doesn't matter what they are or how heavy (like a ceramic dog dish!), if he can pick it up, he takes it with him. Another tooth emerged on the bottom during December and so far in January, it looks like he's getting molars on top and the other bottom tooth is coming in. That makes 10 teeth in all! Cam has also been showing off his silverware skills. He really likes using a spoon and he's mastering the fork as well. Most of the time he gets it to his mouth without any problems. That's not to say that squash and other assorted bits of goo haven't flown across the dining room, but all in all, our white area rug is still white. He also likes to drink from a cup (not a sippy cup, a cup cup). Though Mom and Dad aren't to the point where they're willing to let that go unassisted. Within the last few days he has started pointing out his nose and the noses of others. He also likes to do some of the hand motions to "The Wheels on the Bus".

Last weekend, he had his first real haircut at a barber. Grandma B. and Len took him and he did very well - no tears whatsoever. The people at the shop were saying that with the cut he looked more grown up and could be mistaken for Putin.

Cam will be moving up to a new class at school this month. It's still considered an infant room, but they spend more time doing structured activities and we should be getting some creative art as well. We visit the Adoption Health Service people at University Hospitals tomorrow for a quarterly check-up. We'll continue to do that for the next year. They evaluate where he is developmentally and help us out with any child-rearing and adopted child-rearing questions we might have.

That's the latest from here. Happy 2007 to all!

Cam borrowing Russell's Batman mask.