How can it be a whole six years?

I've been running around getting ready for Cameron's big sixth birthday. I'm so excited for him and I hope he enjoys the day. I bought his big balloon bouquet. I have a cake cooling in the kitchen. I have yummy doughnuts for breakfast and plans to bring cupcakes to school in the morning. Cameron has been counting down the days for a month.

Six years ago I was begging him to come out... Although I didn't know he was a boy or a girl, I desperately wanted him to arrive. So April fools or not - The baby I was so sure would be a girl came out a beautiful, large headed and sweet little boy. It's been an amazing six years of parenting, amazement and exhaustion.

The week-long celebration will continue on Saturday with a big party full of kids running around. Hopefully the rain will stop so we can play in the backyard!

That's snot funny

Mr. Cam is full of snot. He's not very good at blowing his nose. Actually, he's terrible at it. So terrible that he's thrown up phlegm the last two mornings in a row. So we focused hard on blowing his nose and drinking a lot of liquids. I'm trying to think out that icky stuff so he doesn't feel as icky.

No fever. No big complaints. The thing that stinks is every time Cam starts running around or gets worked up, he starts coughing. Poor kid. Hopefully we'll beat this down soon. I wouldn't call this a fun spring break.

Happy Easter!

Cameron had a pretty good Easter... He really enjoyed new crayons and markers. He loves his new sun glasses and little bunny. The Easter bunny has given Cam a bunny every year... The bunnies aren't as expensive as they used to be. Luckily the Easter bunny figured out that it's the thought that counts.

We had an egg hunt after church. I decided against doing it outside after it started FLURRYING! That's so wrong. I shouldn't see snow on an Easter morning. The kids had fun and ate too much sugar. A wonderful day to reflect and eat yummy food.

Morning hike

Cam and I had a really nice morning. First, he let us sleep in by keeping busy and continuing to destroy his messy room. Second, he and I let Daddy and Jordan sleep while we drove out to a nearby trail for a hike. I'm not sure what the distance is, but it's pretty substantial. We talked, we listened to natural music (animal noises (crickets and frogs) and the wind blowing and the birds chirping) and ran around enjoying the slow arrival of Spring. We had a really nice time. When we got home we were refreshed, happy and ready for more fun.

The whole family went to see Horton Hears a Who! It was wonderful. We all giggled a lot and as usual, Cam was VERY focused on the movie. Now he and Jordan are napping before we run off for a book buying session thanks to Grandma and Grandpa's Easter gift cards! A fun day for all.

Spring Break

It's Cameron's first spring break... I hate to say this, but there's nothing exciting planned. He gets to go to work with me for the week. BUT, I got the idea that we're going to shoot a video together. I'm going to let him shoot video and then we're going to edit it together.

I just have to decide if we want to edit it on iMovie or Avid NewsCutter. I figure he could figure out iMovie... But I'm not sure I want him using my computer. Avid is probably a little advanced for him, but I'm okay with introducing the concepts to him now. I would really love it if he knew how to edit on Avid and can help video approve our college students before he turns 10. That would be awesome.

Anyway, I have to work this week, but I'll look for ways to take Cam away for a couple of hours here and there. He'll have fun (I hope).

I am starting to figure it out

My boy is desperate for more one-on-one time. He has been extra emotional and highly defiant.

It is a combination:
1. I need some more alone time with my boy.
2. I need to accept the fact that he is sensitive. He is emotional. It is just that way and I need to accept it.

Classic neighborhood day

I had to get Cam away from the Wii this morning, but once he was out, he decided to invite a neighborhood kid over to play. This kid is such a sweetie and the two boys got along really well. This friend is more than a year younger than Cam but that didn't seem to matter at all. It was nice to see Cam play with a neighbor nicely. There's another kid nearby who just doesn't mix well with Cam. It was good to see that Cam can play with a neighbor without someone breaking out into high level anger.

Cam ended up playing with the other kid for a short time this afternoon as well. It was short enough to prevent a lot of screaming.

But all in all, it was a classic neighborhood day. You have to push to get our neighborhood to flow socially. We live on a rolling hill street. There's enough privacy in our yards that you can seclude yourself in the backyard and not seek out friends. So you really need to get out and say hello to encourage social stuff. I'm not comfortable letting Cam wander around in the neighborhood on his own yet. I know that's crazy, but I'm like that.

By the way. The out of control protests at dinner continue. Tonight's freak out was over corn on the cob. At some point, I told Cam he was going to eat it when he yelled: "No I ain't!"

No I ain't?

Woah. That's not going to work under my roof.

By the way. While Cam was freaking out, Jordan was eating her corn and declaring: "I eat it. I like it."

Warm and happy

It was so warm out that we got to go on a hike today! Cameron was a trooper and walked to a cool playground and back to the car with minimal complaint. It was clear that he had an amazing amount of energy cooped up inside him. I swear he ran more than walked for most of the walk.

He also got to bring out the baseballs and bat... And he has a lot more force than last year. He also seemed to have more focus. It could be a very interesting t-ball season when it starts in April. Cam also worked on his basketball skills. If things get warm enough, we're going to start working on riding bikes again. One of our neighbors mentioned how they were thinking about selling their bike attachment that lets your kid pedal, but it's attached to your bike. I should have bought one of those a long time ago... But I think this is the right opportunity. Cam can use it as the step towards really riding a bike and then Jordan can follow.

A warm day really helped improve the mood here. The air has been so cold and uncomfortable, it's been tough to stay sane. I know Cam's had a hard time lately. Getting sick and having a lot of days off from school -- it's great to get out and run.