Cam In Motion - Week of Jan. 16th

Motion: The action or process of moving or of changing place or position; movement.
Cameron's mobility is a bit different from others, but he loves to be in motion. A rolling stool provides an activity to spin around and around.
Some kids dread going to the store or running errands. For Cam, it provides an opportunity to sit up tall in a cart while checking out all the items. Cam thought it was quite funny when his Dad had him try on some classy shades.

By far, the best cart ride in town is at Home Depot. In the modified race car, Cam attempts to control both steering wheels while Chris scouts out some required tool. This is a favorite outing for father and son.

Jane prefers taking Cameron to the mall where he can ride on the trucks. Looks like Cam was questioning why this character was so close!

With the weather a bit chillier these days, it seemed appropriate to pull a picture from summertime depicting one of the best ways to exercise motion.

Who doesn't enjoy swinging in the warm breeze?

School Spirit Week - Week of Jan. 9th

Cam's got spirit, how about you? At Wellerwood School, students and teachers were asked to optionally participate in Winter Spirit Week...Monday= Pajama Day.
This was, by far, Cameron's favorite spirit day. Who doesn't want to stay in jammies all day? Of course, he did pick out his newest Elmo jams to wear, given by Grandma on Christmas day.

Tuesday= Crazy Hair/Mismatch Day. Cam wore a plaid shirt and camouflage pants and most days, his hair is already crazy!

Wednesday= Hat Day and Cam wondered why Elmo didn't have to wear a hat as well.
Thursday= wear your favorite color which, for our handsome boy is red.

Cam's collection of Elmo's has grown over the past couple of years. It seemed quite silly to hang out in a basket with his red buddies, but Cam had a great time showing them one of his favorite Sesame Street books.

In light of spirit week..."Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm....." Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello 2012! - Week of Jan. 2nd

On the second day of the New Year, the snow fell and blanketed our Michigan yard. Cameron finally had an opportunity to try out his new sled. Friend and neighbor, Emma, was happy to assist. She couldn't decide which was more effective- pulling the sled or pushing it from behind.
The pair had a great time as Emma created an imaginary story in which she and Cam were trying to hide from "the bad guys." Even though the snow didn't stick around for more then a couple of days, it certainly served its purposed of providing some winter fun.

Back indoors, new track and train cars arrived later in the week providing additional engineering for father and son. Chris cleverly placed Cam's chair over the track, creating a big tunnel for the train to traverse. Stella, the cat, however, was not nearly as enthralled with the process. Cam thought it was quite cool to see each train car disappear underneath him and reappear on the other side!

It was a good week and on a personal note, Chris and Jane made a commitment/resolution to continue a healthy lifestyle of exercise and good eating. Although Cam certainly doesn't need to watch his calories, his parents do!!
People are so worried about what they eat between Christmas and the New Year, but they really should be worried about what they eat between the New Year and Christmas. ~Author Unknown

More Holiday Celebrations! - Week of Dec. 26th

Rounding out 2011 and Cameron's social calendar were a few more family outings.
Cam hung out with his Cornell boy cousins for a pizza night and had some male bonding time over trucks, monster bowling and stories.

Later in the week, Jane and Cam traveled northward to see more cousins and Cam's grandparents.
Cameron was pretty excited when cousin Steffanie gave him a really big talking Elmo for a Christmas present! It is almost as big as Cam himself.

Santa made an appearance up north and it appeared that Cameron may have been the most excited cousin to see him- and the only one to accept a seat on Santa's lap!

'Auntie' Amanda and 'Uncle' Mark sent along some Christmas presents to open right before the new year. The Weatherford family had to model their new duds in the hopes that U of M has a successful run at the Sugar Bowl!

As we welcomed 2012, Chris and Jane send a special thanks to Cam-sitter Lisa for providing Cam's parents with a relaxing evening with friends.
To all of our blog followers- family and friends, we thank you for your continued support of this weekly offering...

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day." - Edith Lovejoy Pierce

Merry Christmas! - Week of Dec. 19th

With the holiday week here, Cameron's list of things to do certainly piled up...
First on the list was a trip to the mall to see Santa. Shirley Temple once said: "I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph." Well, that definitely didn't happen to Cam, but he was more than happy to sit on Santa's lap, especially when he had his buddy, Emma, to smile at!

Christmas came a little early when Cam's nanny, Katherine, showed up one morning with gifts for the entire family! Cam had lots of fun opening his new Elmo books and movie. Jane and Chris were so surprised by the beautiful picture frame Katherine gave them filled with awesome pics of their son. The frame was promptly hung up in Cam's room where he can see it every day.

The holiday week continued with a visit from Grandma, Steffanie and Craig filled with a tasty lunch at Bagger Dave's and some last-minute wrapping. Friday evening included dinner at the Flegel's new home in Caledonia with a surprise Christmas gift for Cam- a new remote controlled car!

On Christmas Eve, the family attended church service at 4pm with their good friends and neighbors, the Raisch's. The remainder of the evening was spent with special neighbors we are so thankful to call close friends as well.

Christmas Day was full of surprises for Cam- a new sled that was fun to sit on in the living room...until we have snow! A pop-up playtent, books, clothes, cd's, movies, and a small train set.
Jane surprised Chris & Cam with matching shirts that say "Weatherford's Garage" since the two of them have taken to completing many projects together.

This year we feel so blessed to have old and new friends, cousins, and relatives in our daily lives. Even though not all of our family members can be together for Christmas, we hold them all close in our hearts.
"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." ~ Peg Bracken

Family Christmas Card - Week of Dec. 12th

Just one week away from Christmas and the Weatherford household has been filled with festive activities...
Grandma brought her famous holiday cut-out cookies, all ready to decorate. Since Cameron recently had a bit of experience with this at his social outings, he was excited to tackle the task.
Here is his five-step process for cookie decorating.
Step 1. Be certain that two types of frosting are available. Preference is vanilla and chocolate.
Step 2. Do not attempt to put all decorative sprinkles on the cookie itself. This is what a large work area is for.
Step 3. If some of the frosting happens to make it to your mouth instead of the cookie, that's ok. Grandmas don't mind this at all.
Step 4. Be sure to thoroughly taste-test your cookie. Note that this may require multiple bites.
Step 5. Share your cookie creations with everyone you love!!

After completing his 5-step process, Cam, Chris and Jane headed over for a playdate with Liam and his mom and dad. The boys tried to convince their parents that the single passenger car was, in fact, available as a two-seater!
What a fun evening for everyone...

Just a week before Christmas and Cameron's delinquent parents finally finished creating their 2011 holiday card.
Check your mailbox soon!!

5x7 Folded Card

View the entire collection of cards.

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