I Survived Sunday School! -Week of Sept. 21st

With fall in the air and seasonal changes right around the corner, Cameron experienced a few changes himself this week....

On Monday, Cam dined with his Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Tracy at Charley's Crab for the first time! They celebrated Aunt Tracy's birthday and Cam seriously thinks that someone should have a birthday every week so that he can have tasty cake!

Another first is Cam's brand new walker/pacer that he is having lots of fun with! Cam loves being able to walk up and down the driveway by himself. In his electric lime ride, he looks pretty cool cruising around. Cameron has even walked up to the top of our hill where there is a cul-de-sac, so those legs are getting plenty of exercise. Many thanks to Julie for providing Cam's new wheels! (pics next week:)

After a busy week, Saturday was playtime as Cam had some fun on the exercise ball. And on Sunday, the entire family attended Cascade Fellowship church with their neighbors, Ken & Mickey. Chris and Jane thought that Cameron would be ok in the casual atmosphere, but after a few minutes, he became a little antsy. Chris took Cam up to the nursery to "check out the kids" in the 0-23 month room. And then, Chris came back to church without Cameron! And the big boy stayed in the nursery for the entire time, and according to the caretakers, had fun! When Jane & Chris went to gather up their boy, he was quite content, but then he saw his parents and was a tad upset. Luckily, there was a little girl close to his age who took it upon herself to comfort him- how sweet! The family plans to go regularly, especially since Cam had such a great nursery experience. After church, the family had lunch at one of their favorite spots, Sundance. Cameron enjoyed a tasty grilled cheese and the boy slept for almost 3 hours Sunday afternoon!

Swinging in the Park- Week of Sept 14th

Cameron seemed to have a busier social calendar than his parents this week! Besides working and playing with his favorite Anne and Grandma, he also had a visit to Ken-o-Sha Preschool! When he does attend preschool, this is where he'll go, so it was good for Chris and Jane to have a quick tour of the place with Cam- many thanks to Julie for showing us around!

The big boy was able to spend 2 days with his Grandma this week and had lots of fun.

Jane took some time away from work on Friday afternoon to spend some quality time with Cam and Grandma at Ada Park!

The weather has been so nice and Cameron really like the swings.

One of his favorite things to do is "blow people away" by blowing through his teeth as he's smiling and giggling. From his swing, he kept "blowing" on Grandma and Jane. Grandma also took him on

the slide.

The weekend included lots of outdoor time for Cam and a date night for Chris & Jane on Friday (thanks Andrea & Zach!) eve to catch dinner and a movie.

A perfect end to the week was having pizza night with our great neighbors- the Raisch family. With 4 girls in their family, Cam can't give enough smiles or blow enough kisses...Chris & Jane already know he's quite the little flirt!

Singing in the Rain- Week of Sept. 7th

It was another week filled with new experiences for Cameron... the warm weather mixed with warm rain falling added up to a fun soak for Chris and Cam!

They were both laughing the entire time.

Cameron had his first taste of chocolate milk and wonders why in the world his parents waited so long to introduce him to the tasty beverage!

Cam did a great job using a straw all by himself- way to go!

The biggest thrill of the week was watching Chris complete his summer-long project of building a new deck complete with a "new-used" hot tub. Cameron spent some time these past couple of months watching his Dad plan, design, and piece together this wooden masterpiece! Nice work!!

To celebrate the completion, the family had a few friends over for a barbeque on Saturday.

Many thanks to Joanne & Will, Adam, Jen, Hannah, Katie & Thomas, Rodney, Shannon, and Alexis for bringing extra treats and sharing in the beautiful weather weekend.

As you can see from the "kids" pic, Cam was a little worn out by the end of the day, but had a great time!

A very special congrats to Chris for designing and completing our amazing deck that we will all enjoy for many years to come!

Labor Day Weekend- Week of Aug. 31st

Labor Day weekend always feels like we're saying goodbye to summer, but the weather certainly seemed like mid-summer at the lake!

The beautiful weekend included some fun beach time for Cameron. He finally had a chance to test out his big, huge Tonka truck in the sand! His cousins, Mike, Kevin and Eric gave him the colossal toy, which he can actually sit in. When Jane was much younger, she and all of her cousins played with Tonka trucks on the beach too. However, they were much smaller and made with metal, complete with sharp edges. Tonka's definitely made some great improvements.

Aunt Joyce had fun playing in the sand with Cam as well. He was showing her how tasty the sand was and how easy it is to rinse off your hands when you have a big bucket of water. Many thanks to "Auntie" Jo for giving Cam the big bucket full of beach toys for his birthday!

Sunday included a special first birthday party for Cameron's buddy and Jane's godson, Will.

Will's Mom, Joanne, made the most delicious homemade cupcakes with homemade frosting. Cam absolutely loved them, as did everyone. Cam and his Dad had some Dr. Suess time at Will's party.

What day would be complete without some horsing around?

"Rocket Booster" is another fun game that Cameron and Chris play.

It is comprised of Cam's Dad boosting up in the air at any given moment.

The element of surprise seems to be what he likes best.

Hope everyone had a fun, relaxing holiday weekend!

Bubble Machine - Week of Aug. 24th

One of Cameron's bday presents from his parents was a bubble machine... Cam just loves bubbles and his Dad does too.

Cameron is always working on sitting and building up his core muscles.

The cozy coupe that the Ringlers gave him for his birthday certainly helps him out.

He can either sit on it or stand behind it. Chris and Jane try to make sure that he practices sitting on and moving at least once a day.

Cam and Jane went up to the cottage on Friday and came back Saturday- even with the rainy weather, it was still fun for Cam to play with Grandma, Grandpa and his aunt, uncle and cousins. Chris had a little bit of time to work on the back deck.

After all of Cameron's hard work, he loves to have his special playtime with his Dad. As you can see, one of Cam's favorite activities is "monkey swing."

After all of Jane's hard work, Chris loves to surprise her with flowers! Have a great week everyone!!

2nd Birthday - Week of Aug. 17th

Happy 2nd Birthday to Cameron on Monday! Grandma ordered the coolest cake with real matchbox racecars. The cake was incredibly yummy and Cam had fun with his cousins, aunts and uncles.

The big boy received some awesome birthday gifts... the Schulze family gave him a "digger" which Cameron promptly decided he wasn't too keen on sharing... he definitely scooped it up when Annie tried to take a closer peek.

Also, some of his favorite cousins- Mike/Kevin and Eric gave him a HUGE Tonka dump truck that will be lots of fun on the beach. It is literally almost as big as Cameron.

More cousins- the lovely Haroldson family gave Cam some great new books and the Trucks one is read the most! Grandma and Grandpa picked out a Little People airplane set, since Cam loves to travel on the plane as well as more new books.

Cameron's second family, the Ringlers dropped off the cozy coupe- a ride-on scooter that doubles as a walker! And Mom & Dad had him open some new puzzles, books and bubbles.

As shown, the birthday boy had a little cake all to himself that he quite happily dug into with both hands!

How sweet that he even gave his Dad a little taste. After all of that fun, Cameron had a great time getting all clean in the bathtub, especially with all that frosting all over his face!

Surprisingly enough, Cam was pretty wide awake that evening and didn't go to sleep until almost 11pm- can you say... a little bit too much sugar?! But, since his birthday is only once a year, it's well worth it!

Big Trucks - Week of Aug. 10th

Vacation week at the cottage was fabulous! The weather could not have been more beautiful and almost every day was a beach day for Cameron...

Annie was working with him on swimming strokes during a very calm Lake Michigan day. The water was so warm and Cam loved splashing in the lake.

Cam's cousin James, whose birthday is only day after his, took the time to try to demonstrate some strokes for Cameron.

Since all of the cousins were at the lake, there was an early birthday celebration for Cameron and James. One of Cam's presents was a very cool "digger" which he definitely wanted to keep all to himself!

The week included a special wedding for Erica & Tony. Jane used to babysit Erica. Annie stayed back at the cottage to babysit Cameron- thanks so much Anne!

And many thanks to Grandma & Grandpa for having the family all week. Even though Cam had a few early mornings, they still continued to smile and give their grandson lots of kisses!

Swing in Park - Week of Aug. 3rd

*Posting early this week due to vacation at the cottage starting on Sat. & Chris & Jane's 6-yr wedding anniversary: 8-9...*

We certainly know Cameron's growing, because this week he made it into a 4W shoe size! He's gotten such a good work out with his shoes on the driveway in his walker, it was time to invest in a new pair. He definitely seems to like them and everyone loves those velcro straps!

Friday night was a big event for Cam attending the family company picnic for Chris' workplace, FTC&H.

Even though it wasn't perfect weather, the Grand Rapids Public Park was the perfect setting. Cameron munched on a hot dog and watermelon. Of course, there was some delicious dessert that Cam tried as well.

The griffin mascot was there to greet all of the kids and although Cam wasn't too sure of the winged guy, he didn't shy away.

By far the most fun he had was on the swing set being pushed by his Dad. He stayed in the swing for quite awhile laughing almost the entire time.

The gator rocker was a fun time with his Mom and if it weren't for some raindrops, they would've stayed and played even longer.

The family is headed to the lake for some much-needed vacation days including lots of beach time! Have a great week everyone:)