Wow, 13 lbs - Week of Jan. 7th

This was a big week for Cameron. On Tuesday, Chris and Jane brought him to Spectrum for his first Progress Clinic. The Clinic is to chart the progress of premature infants cared for by Spectrum hospital. Cam was weighed and measured (13 lbs, 3 oz and 22 inches long!) and wasn't very happy about being undressed for the whole ordeal... Cam's parents didn't think he would be too agreeable with the doctor. However, Cameron had his own ideas. He proceeded to be a complete show-off! Cam's parents watched with pride as he smiled, cooed, and even tried to roll over. The doc told Chris and Jane that she gave their son an A+!!

The remainder of the week was spent working with Cameron on his new objectives- bat at toys in front of him, roll over from tummy to back in both directions, and be a generally happy baby.

Cameron's Grandma Mary Ellen discovered that he likes to watch the snow fall outside. She said he seemed to be fascinated by all of the snowflakes. Since this is a common event in Michigan, it's fairly safe to say he'll see a lot more!

Happy New Years! - Week of Dec. 31st

Welcome to 2008!! Chris, Jane & Cameron spent a quiet New Year's Eve together at home thinking up New Year's resolutions. Cameron's resolution is try his best to sleep through the night for his parents. Chris & Jane certainly hope this resolution comes true!! January 1st was spent watching the Michigan bowl game and yeah for the big win!! (We know Cam's godfather was very relieved!)

Cameron has a few new tricks in this first week of 2008. While laying on his tummy, he can roll over to his back. Cam's very cute when he performs this trick as he appears to look surprised every time it happens. Cameron is also smiling a lot more and is perfecting his "pouty" face when things aren't going his way!

Chris and Jane finally took down the Christmas tree. Cameron will miss the bright sparkling lights and ornaments, but Stella will miss her "tree fort" the most...

Chris, Jane & Cameron wish all of you the very best for 2008!!

Merry Christmas - Week of Dec. 24th

This was a very special Christmas for Chris and Jane as it was the first one celebrated with Cameron! Although the little guy wasn't quite aware of the reason for the season, his favorite part of the holiday was definitely staring at those Christmas tree lights.

On Christmas day, Cameron's grandparents, Mary Ellen and Bill, drove from Muskegon to spend the day with Chris, Jane & Cam. Cameron's favorite present was from his grandparents- a new play mat that is black, white, and red- all of the colors that Cameron can recognize at his young age. He really seems to enjoy looking at the patterns whether he's on his back or on his tummy.

Stella joined in the fun as well since she acquired a few more toys herself for Christmas. She has one in every room of the house so she's ready to play wherever she is.

Jane had saved up some vacation time from work and was on vacation from Dec. 20 - Jan. 1st. It was a very nice time for mother and son to hang out together all week.

The next big event was Sat. Dec. 29th when Chris, Jane & Cameron drove up north to attend their first big family outing- the Jellema Family Christmas party! Everyone was a little nervous about exposing Cameron to any sniffles, sickness, etc. so all of the extended family was very respectful of keeping their distance if they'd been in contact with anyone who'd been sick. What a wonderful time Cam had! He even saw Santa Claus for the first time!! Many of his cousins had only seen pictures of him or hadn't seen him since he'd been in the hospital- boy, were they surprised!! Needless to say, it was a big day and we were all pretty tuckered out...

Hope all of you had a wonderful Christmas holiday!!

Sleep On Buddy! - Week of Dec. 17th

It was quite a busy week for Cameron! He had his 4-month checkup at the doctor's office on Wednesday. Jane and Grandma Mary Ellen both took Cam for the occasion. The big boy weighed in at 12.5 lbs, 22.5 inches long. His doctor was very pleased with his growth! Unfortunately for Cameron, he had to have some immunization shots, but the nurse completed them very quickly and covered them with cute snoopy soccer band aids. Then, on Thursday, the home health nurse arrived for his RSV vaccine shot. He was such a trooper and Chris and Jane were very proud.

Cameron's latest achievement is his smile:) He's been smiling quite a bit.

On Saturday, Chris, Jane and Cam had a big evening. Steve & Andrea Ringler stopped over to babysit Cameron while Chris and Jane had a night out for dinner! It proved to be a perfect night for all. Not only did Chris and Jane have a scrumptious dinner and Cam got to know his extended family, but on this night, Cameron slept the most ever in his crib! Thanks so much to Steve & Andrea for this most wonderful Christmas present, in more ways than one!!

Sunday night continued the sleeping trend, so Cam may have reached a turning point. The doctor told Jane that Cameron should be sleeping at least 6 hours straight through each night based on his weight. Jane told the doctor that Cam didn't get the memo on that one. But, it looks like he just received it a little late. Whatever the case, Cameron's parents are most grateful.

Mom on Biz Trip - Week of Dec. 10th

It was a challenging week at the Weatherford household (at least the first half). Jane flew to Florida early Monday morning for a business conference. Luckily for Chris (and Cameron), Grandma Mary Ellen came into town to watch little Cam. It really wasn't as bad as Chris' nightmares would have lead him to believe. Jane was back by Wednesday to restore the much needed stability to the household....Cam was very happy to see her again.

Aunty Amanda stopped in to visit Cameron on Wednesday. She had not seen the little man since he was in the hospital. Cam has come a long way since those first days. She could not believe how big he was now.

Jane took a much needed vacation day on Thursday to make up some quality time with Cameron.

Cameron has been growing like a weed lately. He has been sleeping a lot longer now too. He still isn't sleeping through the night yet but hopefully this will change soon.

Ronda stopped by Sunday evening (right now matter fact) to try to get our family Christmas pictures. Cam isn't really cooperating but hopefully we can get some good pictures to send out to everyone.

(Thanks again to Mary Ellen for all your help this week. We couldn't have done it without you!)

Don't Go Mom! - Week of Dec. 3rd

It's been another busy week at the Weatherford household. Cameron seems to be changing every day.... except for his sleeping habits:)

This week, Cam had another visit from the Early On program. The program is designed to track his development progress, since he was born a little early. Shannon, his occupational therapist, views Cam's development as if he was born on his actual due date, Oct. 25th. So, according to Shannon, Cameron is only about 7 weeks old developmentally and well ahead of the game!

On Thursday, Cam had a visit from 'Big Sis' Lauren who relayed the exciting news about being accepted into Colorado State University. Congrats Lauren- Jane, Chris & Cam are so proud of you!!

Chris had a big weekend attending the Lions game on Sunday with Cam's godfather, Chris Alford and friends. It was a great game, except for that unfortunate score at the end. Cam's dad hopes to take his son to a game one day when they can watch the Lions win together. Hopefully, this isn't too much to wish for. While the boys were at the game, Cam had a visit from his godmother, Joanne. She brought over lunch for Jane and stayed to hang out with her godson.

Jane will be gone for 3 days next week for a business conference- it will be her first time far away from her boys. Thank goodness for Grandma Mary Ellen who will be staying with Cam and Chris. More to come next week...

Nocturnal Baby - Week of Nov. 26th

After careful consideration, Chris and Jane have decided that Cameron is nocturnal. He has been sleeping for about three hours at a time but when he does wake up he thinks he has to stay up for the rest of the night. His parents have hidden the books about owls, bats and possums but somehow he has still managed to learn their secrets.

This week, Cam's cousin Anne has begun watching him during the day while Jane works out of the house. Anne's parents, Aunt Joyce and Uncle Joe, are a little jealous knowing that Anne is watching his daily development.

Speaking of development, Cameron is getting much stronger. He has learned to push himself off of his parents' chest, thereby looking like he is going to perform a backflip. The trick is to catch him before he has a chance to nail this quadruple inverted backflip.

Cameron wants everyone to know it was his Grandma Mary Ellen's birthday this last Saturday, Dec. 1st. Happy birthday Grandma!

Thanksgiving - Week of Nov. 19th

Cameron celebrated his very first Thanksgiving this week with his Grandma Mary Ellen and Grandpa Bill. Although he didn't devour any turkey (directly), he joined in the festivities with his family. Cam and his Dad watched their first annual Thanksgiving Day Lions game.

Besides these milestones, Cameron also had his first RSV vaccine injection on Wednesday. (Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia among infants and children under 1 year of age.)
This is administered monthly by a nurse who visits Cam at his home so that he doesn't have to go out in the cold winter weather. So, before the injection, the nurse had to weigh him...the big boy weighed in at 10 lbs, 3 oz!! We are in double digits!!

Grandma Mary Ellen stayed with Cam and his parents Thursday and Friday night so that Chris and Jane could have dinner out and do some Christmas shopping. Poor Chris had never ventured out on Black Friday. Much to his surprise, Kohl's had a line at least a hundred people long (seriously!). Needless to say, Chris and Jane did not join in the lengthy process. Many thanks to Grandma again for taking such good care of her grandson.

On Sunday, Chris & Jane decorated the Christmas tree. Cameron is mesmerized by the lights and reflective ornaments and Stella thinks it is her new fort.
Let the festivities begin!!