While the Parents are Away, Cam Plays - Week of Jan. 10th

Lisa is Cameron's new nanny and Cam definitely likes spending time with his daily caregiver. She helps the big boy off the bus every day, reads lots of books and enjoys working on his developmental goals. And of course, there's usually a dose of laughter too!

This weekend, Chris & Jane headed out of town to spend a weekend in Vegas celebrating their friend's birthday. Their lucky son was able to hang out with Grandma & Grandpa all weekend. Coco and Jo were so sweet to visit with Cam on Saturday and one may wonder who entertained whom more...

Cameron definitely likes to entertain himself by opening cupboards and drawers and exploring the contents, as shown here.

When Chris & Jane arrived home Sunday night, Cam greeted them with huge smiles and lots of hugs! They just might have let their sweet boy have a few extra m&m's for dessert. Many thanks to Grandma & Grandpa for taking such great care or their grandson all weekend long!

Spectacular Sledding - Week of Jan. 3rd

Living in Michigan does have its advantages, even in the winter. This weekend, the fun began with a visit from Cameron's buddy, Will and his godmother, Jo.

After the boys were all bundled up, they ventured out in the sunshine across the street to sled with the neighbors. Cam and Will weren't too sure about going down the hill solo as they checked out the safety of their sleds.

In addition to the small hill, the Raisch's backyard also features a very large ice rink that is lots of fun to pull the sleds around on.

After some time sledding and sliding on the rink the boys had some indoor playtime as well.

Anna & Emma Raisch had fun entertaining the boys and the kids all feasted on pizza for lunch.

After lunch, Cam and Will continued to play with a train set and cars, their favorite toys.

The boys were definitely worn out after their big day.

Cameron is so fortunate to have such a great buddy like Will and the best neighbors ever!

Family Party and 2011 - Week of Dec. 27th

Cameron concluded his present opening of 2010 at the Jellema family Christmas party. Some of the Aunts, Uncles and cousins were in attendance. Santa Claus made an appearance and all of the little kids received presents from Santa.
Cam, Chris, and Jane sported their new "Lake Michigan...Unsalted" shirts at the party.
Cousin Steffanie played with Cam and admired his new Elmo pajamas.

One of Camerons' favorite playmates is his neighbor, Emma. She likes to hang out with Cam is like a big sister to him.

As we close 2010 and say hello to 2011,
We’d like to thank a few that have been blog followers since 2007!
Grandma patiently waits for the weekly Cam updates, and needs a copy of every pic to talk about her grandson who’s so great!
Cam’s Godmother, Jo, checks every week, while sitting at her work desk with tea,
And always sends a sweet email about Cam’s news and how it fills her with glee.
Julie, Cam’s follower in more ways than one,
Keeps a close eye on the boy and will be there to see him run.
Coco and Annie, special cousins who constantly cheer,
Read every week and see Cam persevere.
Aunt Mary and Marcy always have encouraging comments to share…
And there are far too many others to name here, we’re acutely aware.
Please know that without all of you reading each week,
It would be difficult to create every update and make it unique!!
MANY THANKS TO YOU ALL:) Happy New Year!

Cam's Christmas Celebrations - Week of Dec. 20th

The Weatherford Christmas celebration week began on Wednesday when Jane & Cameron ventured to Holland to celebrate the holiday with 'Auntie' Jo and Will. It was such a special evening spent together, while Cam & Will played cars and trucks.

Christmas Eve, was spent with our neighbors and good friends, the Raisch family. We all attended a late afternoon church service. Cameron loved all of the music. Afterwards, everyone dined on delicious homemade soup. Cam played with the Raisch girls and watched them open their traditional Christmas Eve gift of pajamas.

Christmas Day marked Cam's fourth Christmas! And what an exciting day he had! Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Tracy all arrived to share in the festivities. Cameron kept pace with all of the present opening and had quite a few favorites! Grandma and Grandpa had a Sesame Street book printed with Cam's name all throughout the pages. An Elmo camera from Aunt Tracy was also one of the highlights. After all of the gifts and a little rest, the family sat down for a delicious dinner followed by Grandma's delicious homemade cookies. Cam was one happy, exhausted boy by the end of the day!!

The celebrations continued on Sunday when Chris, Jane and Cameron ventured over to spend time with their cousins and Aunt Mary and Uncle Ray. Cam really liked playing cars with cousin Harry and Aunt Mary joined in the fun as well.

More Christmas memories were added to the family collection, along with some special Weatherford football shirts that Chris had made to commemorate this holiday season.

Christmas Pics & Cookies - Week of Dec. 13th

In anticipation of upcoming family gatherings, Grandma and Cameron were busy decorating cookies this week. Cam enjoyed spreading the frosting, adding the sprinkles and other candy to create some delicious treats.

This was the last week of school before Christmas break, and Cam had a fun time opening presents from his bus drivers- what a nice surprise! A beautiful homemade ornament with Cameron's school picture traveled home with him on Friday and was quickly added to the tree.

The family Christmas card was finally created and finished online. A couple of pictures shown here didn't make it onto the card, but depict one of our holiday favorites this year- our Santa Train excursion with Jo & Will.

A preview of our holiday card is shown above. It's hard to believe Christmas is only a week away!!

Winterfest! - Week of Dec. 6th

Cameron's school provides a great place for learning and development. And once a year, it is turned into a winter festival! On Tuesday evening, Chris, Jane and cousin Coco, accompanied Cam to his first official Winterfest at school.

Every room was set up with a different activity. A game room sported a bean bag toss, a treat room displayed graham crackers with popsicle sticks to spread frosting and top with sprinkles. In Cameron's classroom, his regular teacher, Sara, demonstrated how to create ornaments and picture frames. Cam made his first offering for the family Christmas tree, a snowman which he proudly displayed. A personalized picture frame was also decorated to be filled with a picture of Santa and the big boy. It's easy to see that Cam truly enjoys spending time with his teacher, Sara.
After a photo op with Santa, the family headed home and someone didn't have any trouble getting to sleep.

The snowy weekend presented an opportunity to dig out the red sled. After being sufficiently bundled up for the frigid outing, Chris and Cam headed out into the wintry weather for some sledding fun! Cam loved racing up and down the hill, giggling and laughing the entire way. Even though it couldn't have been much colder, when Chris asked his son if he was ready to go inside and get warm, he distinctly answered, "no!" Looks like Cameron is a true Michigander!

Swimming Lessons - Week of Nov. 29th

Michigan experienced some snowfall this week and the white stuff kept falling on Wednesday, the day of Grandma's birthday. As a special treat, Grandma accompanied Cameron and Jane to a swimming group with some of Cam's classmates.
The pool was toasty warm and all the kids enjoyed playing together in the water and making some new friends.

Activities continued by exercising the mind with outings to the library to refresh reading options and log some computer time. Cam definitely enjoyed moving that mouse around.
The tire swing at therapy provided balance practice and a few giggles.

On a weekly basis, Sarah hangs out with Cameron at least one evening and continues different forms of exercise.

Besides stretching and strengthening, they also play with Mr. Potato Head, listen and dance to music, and sometimes partake in a fun photo shoot!

Thanksgiving & Santa Train! - Week of Nov. 22nd

Turkey time took the family north to Lake Michigan to celebrate Thanksgiving with family and friends. Aunt Joyce & Uncle Joe hosted everyone and the crowd had so much food to feast upon including two deep-fried turkeys as well as an oven-roasted one.

Everyone was certainly giving thanks for Grandma's good health, so the family decided she should receive an early present.

The extra special occasion included surprising Grandma with a new piano keyboard for her birthday and Christmas!

Cameron enjoyed looking at all of the ornaments on Grandma and Grandpa's tree and even had a little photo shoot.

After all of that excitement, the fun didn't end. Chris, Jane, and Cam met 'Auntie' Jo and her son, Will at the Santa Train in Coopersville on Saturday. The train travels from Coopersville to Marne and one of its passengers is Santa Claus, along with his elves.

The boys both received a toy car from Santa as well as a candy cane, which Cam thought was quite delicious.

It was apparent that both boys would recommend the Santa Train to others, especially if the trip, like theirs, includes a lunch stop at McDonald's immediately following the train ride!