Where's Elmo? - Week of Jan. 30th

Some you may remember the famous "Where's Waldo?" books and games. The goal of finding Waldo in a sea of people or things required an "I Spy" type of skill.

A similar challenge is held in the Weatherford household every evening.
At bedtime, Cameron has to find where Elmo is hiding.

As you can imagine, we find Elmo hiding everywhere...he's been known to hang out in bathtub, behind curtains, under covers, even up on the ceiling!

One night, Elmo was perched on top of the bathroom door. When Cam went on his search and pushed open the door, who came crashing down?

Cam giggles in anticipation of the Elmo search...while looking in each area he answers yes or no if he sees Elmo. Of course, when he does finally find Elmo, he practically squeals!

The video below doesn't begin to depict how loud and vocal he's been at times...enjoy.

Missing Mom - Week of Jan. 23rd

Jane embarked on a two-day business trip this week to Florida (no need to be jealous- all meetings) leaving Cameron to fill in at her home workstation.
He clearly knows how to use the mouse and keyboard- we just have to work on his email response skills...

Even though Cam missed his Mom, he still had some big laughs with nanny, Katherine. To some this scene may seem frightening, but Cam doesn't mind a big Elmo suddenly appearing behind him.

Jane did return in time to witness the big snowfall. Nearly six inches fell to the ground on Sunday, coating the roads and blanketing the neighborhood.

Cam and his parents trekked through the snow in the afternoon and ventured into the park at the top of their street. The sled was a nice ride for Cameron and pushing and pulling it was a great workout for his parents!

"Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us or we find it not."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

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.