Swinging in the Sunshine - Week of Oct. 11th

Although fall has arrived in Michigan as depicted by the vibrant colors, the weather is still holding in a warm, sunny pattern. Long stroller rides and school filled Cameron's week and the weekend continued to bring sunshine!

On Saturday, the family trekked north to visit Grandma and Grandpa, aunts and uncle, and cousins. Chris & Jane were busy cleaning up the beach and Annie stopped over for a special visit with Cam. Cameron could barely contain his excitement! It's been quite awhile since he's seen one of his favorite people. The beautiful Lake Michigan sunset faded much too quickly.

Cameron's smile certainly didn't fade away with that sunset...

Sunday brought a visit from Auntie Jo, Cam's godmother, and her son, Will. The boys had a great time swinging at the park and both took turns heading down the slide with their moms. It's easy to see that the two toddlers enjoy each other's company.

Jane & Jo are contemplating creating a book series entitled..."The Godbrother Adventures of Cam & Will"...since Jane is Will's godmother and Jo is Cam's. Shown here, the boys appear to be figuring out where their next adventure will be...

Trolley Ride & Cousin's Birthday - Week of Oct. 4th

Cameron's first official school pictures were taken on Thursday! School pics have definitely changed since an online catalog now allows for the choice between 50 different backgrounds! Stay tuned for the school pic in a later blog.
For the big game on Saturday, Cameron sported a jersey from his 'Auntie' Bobbi and 'Unc' Keith. Cam is keeping a watchful eye on the game while petting Stella...

By far, the highlight of Cam's week was celebrating his cousin's 4th birthday. Cameron's cousin, Harry, had quite the day by providing a trolley ride for all his party guests. The trolley left Harry's home near Easttown and traveled all around downtown Grand Rapids past many of the art prize exhibits and through John Ball Park zoo. The final stop was Harry's favorite restaurant- Jonny B'z for hot dogs! The food was delicious, enjoyed by all, and the homemade cupcakes were very yummy indeed. Many thanks to the Cornell family for all of the treats:)

It's easy to see that Cam looks up to his cousin, Harry, and was so excited to be invited to his awesome birthday party!

Art in Motion - Week of Sept 27th

Art is subjective and different types of art appeal to different people. In honor of our local art prize contest (http://www.artprize.org/) here in Grand Rapids, Chris and Jane attempted some "artistic" photos this week.

Cameron likes to ride on his rocking zebra, which some may think is a horse until you look closely. The zebra makes plenty of noise and plays some fun songs as well.

Each week, Cam attends occupational therapy where he is learning and practicing different activities pertaining to daily living. Usually, at the end of each session, there is a little bit of time to play on some of the unique exercise aids.

It's easy to see that Cam definitely loves having his picture taken. Shown here with some "artsy" shades, he seems to be contemplating the art of eating....

Allison & Kristin- Week of Sept. 20th

Two new people are spending time with Cameron on a regular basis. Kristin is Cam's nanny, spending every afternoon with him after he gets off the school bus. He's always happy to see her and it's easy to see she enjoys working with him. In addition to playing, and taking walks, one of Kristin's favorite activities with Cam is reading books and working on sitting with his legs crossed.

Helping Cam meet his goals is Allison, his physical therapist. Allison sees him every Monday evening. She works on many different things every week and Cameron strives to meet each challenge. Even though some tasks are difficult for Cam, he usually finds a bright spot.

Seems that as quickly as Cam himself continues to grow, his hair has to keep up the same schedule. Chris and Jane have lost track of the number of haircuts, but they do know that Mandy has provided every one of them. Cameron enjoys visiting his friend at Design 1 and as shown here, seems to be admiring the haircut of a very handsome boy!

My Grandma - Week of Sept 13th

Our family received some very happy health news about Cameron's Grandma Mary Ellen this week!

Cam adores seeing his Grandma on a weekly basis. She has taught him so many musical things- playing the piano, ringing bells, and practicing conducting.

Cam loves hearing his Grandma sing songs and read books. She can always make him laugh and giggle!

Besides all of the playtime and walks, Cam & Grandma play plenty of learning games too. She is constantly encouraging him to say new words and understand new concepts.

We cannot thank Grandma enough for being such an integral part of our lives and bringing such joy to Cam's life and that's why this week's blog is dedicated to her!!

We love you Grandma!! xoxoxo

1st Week of School - Week of Sept. 6th

Cameron had a couple of extra sleep-in days this week since his school didn't start until Thursday. He certainly was excited to head back to his favorite activity. Cam still rides the bus and happily waves goodbye to his parents- quite a change from the first two weeks in April!

Across the street, the Raisch girls headed back to school as well...Megan and Emma ran over before Cam's bus arrived to share in some picture-taking fun!

Emma just started kindergarten this year and Megan started 3rd grade. Cam's favorite playmate away from school is Emma- she oftens comes over to play with her buddy and Cameron thinks she is quite the comedienne because she sure does make him laugh!

Some of our faithful bloggers may have noticed that this week's entry was very tardy...Jane and Cam's godmother, Joanne, took a girl's trip to NYC and stayed with our cousins, the Haroldson's. Chris and Cameron had a boys' weekend all to themselves! Jane and Jo had an amazing time and came back to a very cool sidewalk chalk welcome home from the Raisch girls- for those of you that know the NYC skyline, you should be able to pick out the Empire State building and the Statue of Liberty. Many thanks to Chris for his solo parenting over the weekend!!

Grandma's Visit & Buddy Birthday- Week of Aug. 30th

This week, Cam and his parents were fortunate enough to have Grandma as a houseguest for 3 days! Cameron couldn't imagine a better beginning to the end of August...

Grandma & Cam liked the new red beach wagon that Jane found on clearance. The big boy decided it was more fun if he was riding in it versus his toys.

Our annual neighborhood picnic was held this week and many neighbors from our street joined in for a great potluck and delicious homemade ice cream. Neighbor friends, the Raisch family, also invited us to a pool party where the girls had lots of fun splashing with Chris and Cam.

The weekend brought more fun including a very special birthday party with Cam's buddy and Jane's godson, Will. Lots of kids and adults enjoyed helping Will celebrate his 2nd birthday! Cameron especially liked the comfy chair in Will's room and playing with all the kids. Cam plans to have lots of playdates this year.

Labor Day weekend was spent up at the cottage with Grandma and Grandpa. The sunshine warmed the beach enough to head out for some time playing in the sand.

Lake Michigan has certainly cooled down, so the family was thankful they did quite a bit of swimming the past few months. Every year, the holiday weekend signifies the end of summer, but Cameron thinks everyone should still wear shades!

Beach Buddies & Nannies - Week of Aug. 23rd

What happens when two best friends both have boys? Well, naturally, the boys become best friends too! Cameron had an awesome visit with his best bud, Will and his wonderful godmother, Joanne. The boys played on the beach, in the water, and definitely enjoyed a few snacks together and did a great job sharing them.

Cam and Will also played on Cam's new kid laptop and some of the grown-ups were convinced the boys were trying to figure out how to access their parent's email accounts.

This week was bittersweet for Cam as he said goodbye to his summer nanny, Nikki. We know that she will stop by and see Cameron during the school year, but she had to return to her science students in junior high. Cam loved his playtime and long walks with Nikki and we all can't thank her enough for the excellent care she provided!

Cam is also lucky enough to spend time some evenings with Sarah. She's a PT student and besides playing with Cameron, also works on stretching and other physical therapy exercises. Fortunately, Sarah will continue to Cam-sit in the evenings.

One more week of summer break before the big boy heads back to school...hope you're all soaking up this beautiful Michigan summer as much as Cam is!