Christmas 2008

Cameron had a fun Christmas. Back in November, we drove down to Medina for their Lights on the Square celebration and stood in line to see Santa. Never before had he met Santa, but he was ready. We went in and he was quiet, but not afraid and answered Santa's questions. No crying, he just seemed to be in awe.

We saw Santa a second time one day at Crocker Park at Cam's insistence. This time, there was no line and he still had the same reaction, quiet but not afraid and in awe.

There was a lot of busy-ness leading up to Christmas. He and Mommy made a gingerbread house from scratch, we had shopping to do, cookies to make, a filling for a cavity (see pic with fat lip), a concert at Severance Hall, a birthday party at Pump It Up, Grandpa Bollin came to town and we took the commuter train to Public Square to see the lights. It was busy! (Also, somewhere in there, Jake and Maizey ate a whole box of unopened Pop-Tarts and about 40 iced gingerbread cookies that were in a sealed plastic container!)

On Christmas Eve, we went to Grandma Bollin's house for brunch and presents. Cameron had a lot of fun and was excited to receive a boy swim baby from Grandma and Len (he really swims!) and a digital camera from Uncle Kip and his family. We went to the family service at church on Christmas Eve and watched Cameron's cousin, Emily, sing with the children's choir and do her solo. That evening, Kip's family and Grandpa Bollin had dinner at our house. Cameron put out 2 cookies, a cup of milk and a couple of mini carrots for Santa and the reindeer and went to bed.

The next morning, we got up around 7:30 to see if Santa had come and sure enough, he had. He brought Cam a red and white kitchen, a dinosaur that walks and roars and a stocking full of goodies. He enjoyed all of these things as well as the other gifts he got from Mommy and Daddy and Grandpa. We spent the day playing with the new stuff, stopped by Grandma's to wish her and Len a Merry Christmas, and went to Kip and Cathy's house for a wonderful dinner.

On the 26th, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa DeWitt's house for Christmas cheer. Cameron had a fun time there with his cousin Morgan. Santa brought Morgan a trike with great big tires and Grandpa and Grandma got one just like hers for Cameron (what a coincidence, Grandpa must have connections with the North Pole!). He calls it his Monster Bike (it does look a bit like a trike on steroids) and rode it all over Grandma and Grandpa's house. He also got Morgan in on the fun and the two of them had a trike parade going from one room to the next. It was very cute! We had Cooking Thyme lasagna for lunch (yum!) and countless cookies.

On the 27th, we got together with cousins in Michigan and had a wonderful evening there. We saw more family on the 28th back in Cleveland and that concluded the Christmas celebrations. Phew!

As I was taking the tree down today, Cameron said, "Mommy, leave the tree up. I want to have Christmas again soon!"

3 Year Appointment

We took Cameron to the doctor today for his 3 year appointment. Dr. Carruthers was very impressed with all of the things he can do (which included making an X - something you'd expect from a 4 year old - and also buttoning his pants - with a button). He weighed 31.8 pounds and was 38.5 inches tall. That puts him in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. He's on track with where he's been all along in terms of growth. They gave him a flu shot and also pricked his finger to run a cholesterol test (standard stuff). He was not happy about either of those, but got through it. We were concerned about his left thumb because the nail looks a little worse for wear due to his thumb-sucking. Dr. Carruthers said that she's not concerned but did tell him that he needs to start limiting the thumb sucking to just when he's home. We'll keep our fingers crossed on that.

Cam also recently went to the dentist where he did very well. He cooperated and let them clean his teeth. The bad news is that he does have one cavity (a "hole" as they call it). We go to see a pediatric dentist for the filling next week. The ACT flouride rinse has become part of our routine and he's a little more agreeable to letting mommy and daddy help him brush.

Finally, Cam went with mommy to the eye doctor last week. He's been saying, "I want to go to the eye dentist", so while we still have the vision insurance, we thought we'd try it. He did really well and was given a clean optical bill of health.

Things he's been saying:

On the way home yesterday:

M: Cameron, what should we tell Dr. Carruthers that you're able to do?

C: I'm reading. I'm counting. I can drive a car... far away... in the dark.

Getting lunch with Grandma:

G: What would you like for lunch?

C: Food from Kazstan (Kazakhstan).

G: Like what?

C: Chicken nuggets.

Yesterday, walking around with his Radio Flyer cart full of stuff:

C: I taking these toys to the kids in Kazstan (Kazakhstan).

"packback" for backpack

"some else body" for somebody else

"somebody not" for nobody

On the explanation from mom that she and daddy had to go to visiting hours at a funeral home:

M: Somebody died and Mommy and Daddy need to go visit his family and make sure they're okay.

C: Did somebody run him over?

M: No, he was old and sometimes when people get really old their bodies stop working and they die.

C: Not me. My body not going to stop working.

C: Will you be my best friend, Mommy?
M: Sure. Will you be my best friend?
C: No, I Daddy's best friend.

M: That guy on the motorcycle isn't being safe. He's not wearing a helmet.
C: Some people do that.