Christmas Parties for Cam - Week of Dec. 5th

As the holidays draw near, the calendar begins to seem a bit crowded with events. This week was one of the busiest yet for Cam!

Two holiday parties happened to land on the same day- First stop was Winterfest at Cam's school where Coco joined in the fun. There were different areas set up for arts and crafts, face painting, dance movement, and Cameron's favorite, cookie decorating.
A wooden frame was ready for embellishment in the arts and crafts room. The 4x6 was reserved for the picture that Cam would be in with Santa.
Frosting the Christmas cookies proved challenging in the sense that not much of the frosting made it on the cookies!!
After a few snapshots with Santa, the family was off to Mary Free Bed for the second holiday event.

At MFB, Cam saw life size characters in costume- a reindeer, penguin, lion, etc. He received a toy from Santa all wrapped up and did great on Santa's lap. Best of all for Cameron, MFB also had a cookie decorating room! Once again, the frosting had a tough time making it to the cookie because Cam decided it was much too delicious to keep from tasting immediately.
On Friday, Cameron had some playtime with cousin, Steffanie and was very happy to see her.

Cam's buddy Will and Auntie Jo came over to celebrate Christmas on Saturday. After playtime with cars, present exchange and some delicious dinner, the boys and the moms headed out to drive the kids through the Fifth Third Ballpark Nite Lights exhibit. It was debatable who enjoyed the light display most! Such a fun evening, making us so thankful to be able to spend time with Jo & Will.

The holidays also bring out the best in our other family member, Stella the cat. "Hiding" under the tree is one of her favorite activities. She has no idea how I snapped this picture since she believes she's completely camouflaged underneath it.

Lights! Camera! - Week of Nov. 28th

At the Weatherford household, decorating for the holidays is a family activity. Each member has a task...Chris is in charge of setting up the tree and Jane & Cameron have the privilege of placing the ornaments on every branch. As an added bonus this year, cousin Libby was an expert ornament-er as well!

Then, the heavy duty work of placing the outdoor lights is tackled by Cam's Dad. This year, the display can actually be seen at the beginning of the street and is easily the brightest home on the block!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday this week (shhh, we're not allowed to say how old she is, but she looks amazing!) and Cam was excited to show her his favorite items on the tree.
The weekend brought Cam's buddies and neighborhood friends over to play some video games. Cameron had to be right in the middle of action, and certainly never minds being surrounded by the girls.

Christmas gift suggestions: to your enemy, forgiveness. To an opponent, tolerance. To a friend, your heart. To a customer, service. To all, charity. To every child, a good example. To yourself, respect. ~Oren Arnold

Gobble, Gobble - Week of Nov. 21st

When the week of Thanksgiving arrives, Cameron will experience two traditions- spending time on Lake Michigan with his grandparents, a few cousins, aunts and uncles as well as eating delicious food for what seems like an entire day.

On Thursday, the family ventured over to the Schulze cottage where Chris and Cam kept busy with Thomas the Train shown here with a birds-eye view.
The extended family feasted on 3 turkeys! Two were deep-fried along with the third, ever popular oven-baked.

Every side dish was present for the Thanksgiving dinner and it seems like each person just has to have that second helping on this holiday. Dessert was Cam's favorite- his Grandma's homemade apple pie and pumpkin pie were in the front row, with a delicious chocolate cream pie as a new entry this year. Since everyone was quite stuffed, a restful sleep was had by all.

Even though summer and Halloween have passed, Cameron still had one last ride in the Cam-mobile and even experienced a little off-roading!

This was the first Thanksgiving holiday spent with cousin Libby and we are so happy she was able to stay with our family for the entire weekend!

On a day dedicated to giving thanks, we know there is much to be thankful for....those of you reading this blog hold a very special place in our hearts. For Cam's grandparents, we are beyond thankful for all that you do and all that you are to your amazing grandson.

To our Cam: we love who you are, your infectious smile and laughter, your sweet nature and snugs. We are so proud of the boy that you are and all of the wonderful things yet to come!

As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

Parents Take Leave - Week of Nov. 14th

Cameron worked on staying healthy this week, fighting a cold and runny nose. He knew that Grandma & Grandpa were going to stay with him over the weekend, so he had big plans!
While Chris & Jane had their own playtime in Ann Arbor with 'Auntie' Amanda and Mark, Cam's grandparents took him to Robinette's where he had a tasty doughnut treat and looked around the gift shop. Unfortunately for Grandma, Cameron really likes doughnuts, so she only had one little bite, while her grandson happily ate the rest. Cam had a busy Sunday going to church with his grandparents and then out to brunch.
Sunday afternoon, when Chris and Jane arrived home, their big boy was ready to help clean up the leaves. Cam didn't seem to mind being surrounded by the mountain even as it became taller than he was!
Chris highly recommends raking leaves onto a tarp and Cam highly recommends riding on the tarp!
We cannot thank Grandma & Grandpa enough for staying with Cameron while his parents attended the winning U of M game in Ann Arbor.

What children need most are the essentials that grandparents provide in abundance. They give unconditional love, kindness, patience, humor, comfort, lessons in life. And, most importantly, cookies. ~Rudolph Giuliani

Elmo Live! - Week of Nov. 7th

Do you remember when you saw your first concert? Were you 10, 12, 15 years of age? Cameron attended his inaugural live production on Saturday- "Elmo Makes Music" at the Van Andel Arena!!
Grandma and Coco accompanied Chris, Jane and Cam downtown for the late morning show on Saturday.
No one was quite certain how Cam would react...would the atmosphere be too loud? Does a huge live Elmo make sense? All apprehension was put to rest when the family saw Cam's reaction seeing his favorite Sesame Street characters come to life on stage.
As one of Elmo's biggest fans, Cam stayed very engaged through the entire show, even though the red furry character with the funny voice wasn't in every scene.
The 90 minute show had a 15-minute intermission, during which the marketing folks were busy bringing out balloons and treats for sale. Chris captured a big Elmo balloon for Cam, which turned out to be almost as big as the boy himself.
After dining downtown for lunch, the family headed home with one extremely happy boy!

Sunday was another winner for Cameron. After attending church, his friend and neighbor, Emma came over to play. That evening, Chris, Jane and Cam had dinner with another buddy, Liam, and his parents- Matt and Betsy. The boys are pictured here showing off their personal pizzas that they helped create for their dinner. The boys had fun playing with Liam's fire truck and play workbench. It was an awesome evening with great friends!
To quote Elmo's official Philosophy: give love and you shall receive love
We couldn't agree more with the red furry monster !!

Happy Halloween! - Week of Oct. 31st

Even though Halloween landed on a school night, there were plenty of little kids and big kids to share in the fun! Cam Racing went through a few modifications including working headlights and more flame duct tape (because it just looks cool!).

Another addition to the spooky eve included a pumpkin water fountain, expertly designed by Cameron's Dad and neighbor Steve. The green water launched from the top pumpkin to the lower one and recirculated back and forth. Quite impressive! It was difficult to determine who enjoyed it more- the creators or the spectators... Please click on the attached link to see the fountain in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCRTEq2U0I4

Trick or treating festivities enticed Auntie Jo and Will to Cameron's house. Cam was so excited to have his buddy Will by his side to trek up and down the street. Cam's cousins Coco and Libby with their friends, Carter and Ryan completed Cameron's entourage! Chris and Jane wore hats with letters labeled "Cam's Pit Crew."

Will and Cam had "races" down the street and giggled and pointed at each other the entire time! Luckily for Cam, Will brought him candy from the houses where the race car wouldn't travel. He politely handed each Halloween treat over without even thinking of pocketing it himself.

After the treating, Will and Cam needed to sample their hard-earned candy. Jane tried to give Cameron some m&m's from the chocolate they passed out, but Cam only wanted to pick something from his very own Halloween bucket. Many thanks to Jo and Will and Coco, Libby, Carter, and Ryan for spending the evening with us!

Even though Halloween only lasted one night, the Cam Racing vehicle still had some extended use when Katherine took Cam out for a spin during the week!

Hope everyone had an awesome Halloween and check out another addition to Chris' hidden talents, the use of dry ice inside of a pumpkin...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynY7dMRkncI

Pumpkins & Cool Cars - Week of Oct. 24th

Do you remember the first time you saw something transform? Like the Bat-Mobile into a Bat-Speedboat or Clark Kent into Superman?

Just as impressive, Cameron's Dad took his summer creation, Cam-Mobile and with some fabrication, turned it into a super race car for Halloween!
The collaborative idea was hatched in September when Chris and Jane started pondering what Cameron might want to be for trick-or-treating. Cam always has fun riding in his beach dune buggy, so why not figure out a way to use it for the October festivities?
By adding some wood along the outside, a little paint, checker-flag cloth and some duct tape with flames (who knew?), Cam Racing was a reality.
On Friday, Chris, Jane, Cam and Grandma ventured over to Chris' work, FTC&H where kids can walk around to each desk and collect some candy.
As a surprise treat, a co-worker, Mike A., left a "talking" Elmo next to a bag of M&M's with a sign around his neck that read "Cameron, can I go home with you?" Needless to say, it was Cam's favorite stop and a big bonus to have a buddy ride next to him!
Big Thanks to Mike!!

The company pumpkin shown here can be added to the list of Chris' many skills! Not only can he build a Cam-Mobile and transform it into a Race Car, but he also has a hidden talent of being an expert pumpkin-carver!!

Fall Photo Shoot - Week of Oct. 17th

In an effort to hang on to our beautiful fall weather and retain all of the vibrant colors, our nanny Katherine, took Cameron on his very own photo shoot.
It was difficult to choose a handful of pictures from the one hundred plus that were taken because Cam is a pretty photogenic kid!

When the forecast cooperates Katherine and Cam take a nature walk in the park at the top of our hill. There are trails through the wooded areas and plenty of places to stop and play in the leaves that are much too quickly falling to the ground.
Accompanying them during their stroll is none other than Cam's buddy, Elmo. Typically, Cam likes to have a snack on the journey which means Elmo gets one as well. A keen observer may note that Elmo's mouth is definitely full of cheerios.

This week, Cameron had his first trip to ER after a viral infection got the best of him. It was a long afternoon/evening, but we knew Cam was fine when he started asking for Elmo and friend, Emma. He also gave his sweet nurse that winning smile as he was leaving the hospital.

By the weekend, it was time to enjoy the outdoors again so Jane and Cam met up with cousins Coco and Libby in Grand Haven for a stroll along the boardwalk and some tasty milkshakes!

Many thanks to Katherine for her adorable photos and extra hugs to Grandma for staying with us at the hospital.

For our Cam, this quote makes us think of you: "If I had a star for every time you made me smile, I would be holding the night sky in my hand."