Gobble, Gobble! - Week of Nov. 19th

As the Turkey Day neared, Katherine and Cameron were busy making Thanksgiving cards for the family.  Cam's nanny certainly is creative using Cam's handprint to make these cute turkeys!


Our Thanksgiving tradition is to ride north to Cam's grandparents home on Lake Michigan.  This year, the Michigan weather fooled us all by providing a 60 degree day complete with sunshine!   However, the big lake still whips the wind around so it didn't quite feel like 60 degrees on the deck...

Cousin Annie & Cam sharing a joke

After taking some holiday photos, we all went over to Aunt Joyce and Uncle Joe's to join more cousins to celebrate.  As a family, we feel so grateful to be surrounded by so many who support and love Cam so much.  Here is his list...(with a little help from his parents) of
Cam's Top 10 Thankful Things:
1. Family (Dad, Mom, Oma, Opa- all aunts, uncles, and cousins.. including Coco's dogs)
2. Friends (Katherine, Emma, Auntie Jo, Will, friends at school) and ALL of you reading this blog!
3. Caregivers & Teachers (Miss Lisa, Miss Ann, Miss Kathy, Miss Liz, Miss Felicia)
4. Crackers
5. Chocolate
6. Culver's, Moe's and McDonald's (my favorite fine dining establishments)
7. Curious George, Blue's Clues, Berenstain Bears (this order changes daily)
8. Books
9. Going to the store
10. Giggles & Laughter- every day

As a group, we put a dent into our turkey day dinner which consisted of 3 turkeys, 17 potatoes (mashed), green bean casserole, creamed corn, cranberry sauce, cornbread, two kinds of stuffing and gravy...followed by pie choices- pumpkin, sweet potato, pecan and even a cheesecake!

Guess we all should've made a couple of laps down to the beach like Chris and Cam to work off all of that food!

Listening Ears - Week of Nov. 12th

"When people talk, listen completely.  Most people never listen."   ~ Ernest Hemingway

"Be a good listener.  Your ears will never get you in trouble." ~Frank Tyger






Cameron looks forward to every school day.  He has an opportunity to see his friends, work on activities and enjoy playtime.  Chris and Jane are always proud of their son and seeing his "listening ears" used at school certainly does make a parent smile!




Sometimes, Cam even has some homework to do such as this gluing and creative project that he completed at his house and brought back to school.



There are some interests Cameron has, though, that don't involve schoolwork...
One of those is decorating cookies!

Grandma ("Oma") brought the ingredients to make homemade frosting and Cam was very eager to help.  He was very careful to first put the yummy green concoction on top of the cookie before adding the delicious sprinkles.


As everyone knows, the art of decorating requires very careful taste-testing and Cam is one kid who never passes up a tasting opportunity!

My First Marathon - Week of Nov. 5th

Some folks say you have to walk before you run... but not in all cases.

Katherine & Cam preparing for "race day"

Downtown GR.1K Race

This weekend, Cameron took part in his first marathon, a .1K Race!

Yes, .1K is about 120 yards, a little longer than a football field.  Cam's nanny, Katherine, told us all about the race and her personal connection.  Katherine volunteers at a muscular dystrophy camp every summer.  The GR .1K race is a charity event to help in the battle to end Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.  It was an unseasonably warm day and Cam wanted to bring out the Commander Cam shuttle one last time! 

Chris and Jane took turns running with Cam and there was even a hydration station for those folks that just needed to stop for a drink of water!  It was such a fun family event and one we hope to participate in every year.

The weekend also brings extra time to hang out with good friends.  Our buddies and neighbors spent Sunday afternoon and evening with us.  Cam taught Emma and Sarah how to play one of his favorite games on the ipad called "Giggle Ghosts"- you have to tap on a ghost to make it giggle as it floats by on the screen.

Living in Michigan, you become accustomed to the changing weather patterns.  In one week, we experienced a 70 degree day as well as a 40 degree day.  But either way, it always brings a smile to your face to see the sunshine on a crisp, fall day!

Blast Off to Halloween! - Week of Oct. 29th

Cameron's parents don't recall ever going "Trunk-or-Treating" during October when they were growing up.  So, it was exciting for the entire family to attend their first Trunk or Treat outing at a local church.  If you haven't been exposed to one of these events, it's when several families get together in the church parking lot, park their cars, and cleverly decorate their trunks.  They pass out candy to kids who have the advantage of collecting Halloween treats in a safe, confined area, and in a short amount of time.

Cam and his buddy, Will, made their way around to each trunk. A big thanks to Auntie Jo and Will for trying out this new event.

Chris completely outdid himself this Halloween by creating the Space Shuttle CamMobile, piloted by Commander Cam!  The shuttle was built and painted by Chris and Cam.  When Jane wondered why there was some black paint on the front of the space module, Chris explained that it was from "re-entry."  The space suit, identification card and space fabric were Jane's contribution.  Cameron's ID card read: "Commander Cam" - Official Space Commander of  CamMobile Missions & AfterParty.

October 31st, although gloomy outside, ended up being such a bright afternoon and evening!
FTCH, where Cameron's Dad works, has trick or treating festivities in the warm, dry office every year!  Cam showed off his shuttle to many oohs and ahhhs by adults and kids. 

While Cam enjoyed collecting treats inside, he couldn't wait to see his buddies and go trick-or-treating outside.  Emma and her sisters as well as other neighborhood kids all banded together to go door to door.  In the evening, the space shuttle lights nicely led the way!  The backside rocket boosters were a pretty cool effect lit up too. 

Cam's buddy, Emma, stayed with him the entire time, asking the other kids to wait...mostly because Jane had to chat with all the neighbors!

The race down the empty street was one of the highlights for Cam with Emma on one side and Chris on the other.  Even with the downhill fun, the treats all stayed intact.  Cameron held onto his Halloween bucket very tightly this year and made certain that each piece of candy stayed inside.

Being the sweet boy he is, though, Cam still let his parents pick out a few of their own favorites from his big pile of treats!

Lost in the Leaves - Week of Oct. 22nd

With a burst of warm weather this week, it was time to take advantage of every bit of extended sunshine!
A bike ride was an essential "to-do" and the boys ventured out in shorts, feeling the warm breezes during their route.

In the evenings, Chris has been hard at work (with his engineering partner) to finish Cameron's Halloween "costume" for this year.  Painting was required and Dad's helper was anxious to test out the rollers.

Living in Michigan, we've been accustomed to raking up leaves, but it seems with a bigger backyard, the number of leaves has grown exponentially.  We are very fortunate to still have our awesome neighbors and luckily, one of Cam's favorite buddies, Emma, was available to help rake/play in the leaves!  As the pile of leaves kept growing and growing, it was tough to keep track of everyone.  At one point, Emma hid in the pile of leaves while the rest of us had our backs turned.  When Cam went looking for Emma, he was "digging" through the leaves and she jumped up behind him!!

As the afternoon wore on, the crispness of fall was evident once again.  After all of the work and play, Emma and Cam decided to relax and watch a show together.  What a perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon!

"Speaking" of Activity - Week of Oct. 15th

Every Friday afternoon, Cameron doesn't go to school, but in a way, school comes to him!
Cam's speech therapist at Wellerwood School, Miss Felicia, visits every week for a home session.
Learning new words is combined with activities and games, like bowling.  
Miss Felicia is helping Cam use his breath support to project his voice.  Now, when he sees her at school, he always says "Hi" and "Bye" very loudly!  Obviously, she's been a great speech teacher and even though she makes Cam work hard, he truly adores her.

Weekend activities included a visit to cousin August to celebrate his 1st birthday!  Cameron picked out his cousin's gift , a mini electric guitar, and actually chose it over an Elmo cell phone.  The boys also had some fun playing with the new toys August received as presents.


Since Chris always gets creative with train track design, he and Cameron think up new areas for the engineering to expand into.
The best part of this setup put Cam right in the middle of the action!

After a busy couple of days, what better activity than relaxing in front of the fire.  It was time to kick back and watch some football...
or listen to it while snoring, whichever may be your preference!

University Technology - Week of Oct. 8th

Modern medicine, for all its advances, knows less than 10 percent of what your body knows instinctively.
~Deepak Chopra

Many of you are aware that Cameron is already "working for a living" by assisting a local university professor, "Miss Lisa" with physical therapy graduate classes.  Miss Lisa also works with Cam on a regular basis and she wanted him to see the NeuroCom room where advanced technology is used to study movement.

The NeuroCom room at Grand Valley State measures and records a person's movements on a computer screen.  The screen shows an image that tracks a person's moves.  The computer screen guy became known as "The Cam Man" during our session.  Miss Lisa was quite impressed with Cam's ability to understand how to make the Cam Man move and stop on the screen.  This can help a person understand where they are spatially.

After sitting on the bench, it was time for Cam to try out a parachute-like outfit that allowed him to stand suspended and move around more freely.  Although he is still a little too young for the screen to capture his movements while in the strapped suit, he definitely enjoyed the experience.

We are incredibly grateful to Miss Lisa for spending time with Cam and teaching her students and others the importance of the potential in every person.  Her positive attitude is infectious and we're very thankful Cameron has the opportunity to be connected with such a gifted person.

After a tough work week, what could be better than a treat at our local homemade frozen yogurt place, Spoonlickers?  Even on a rainy day, it's still the best dessert around.  You pick out the toppings along with your favorite frozen yogurt.  There are over 25 things to choose from...Cam's recommendation?  Anything (and everything) with chocolate!

Star Student - Week of Oct. 1st

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.
~Albert Camus

We are most fortunate to live in a state where the four seasons are definitive and purposeful.

 

While our family went on a drive to Home Depot over the weekend, we snapped this pic while in the car never thinking the image would capture how beautiful the colors were...

Another picture-perfect photo (thanks to Katherine!) was captured this week of our "Star Student"- Mr. Cameron Jackson!

 

Each week, the students in Cam's class are given a different job or task to be in charge of for the duration of their time in school.  One student is given the honor of being "star student" and this week, Cam was chosen.  He was beyond excited about this opportunity.  He picked out his favorite photos to bring into class and the teachers helped him put them up on the board.  Cameron also was asked to chose one item for show-and-tell...a big note was sent home indicating it could not be a live animal or food, so we decided not to send Stella the cat.  Cam brought his saxoflute- an instrument that is a cross between a saxophone and a flute.  He can make very loud sounds with it and his classmates loved it!

With the weather turning a bit cooler and the rain falling, it seems that it's still a bit impossible for Cameron's mood to be affected.  Even in the chilly wet climate, Cam sports his smile proudly!