To infinity

Cam and I have been talking about infinity a lot. About a month ago I told him about how infinity means a number that never stops. He was really confused, but the more we talked about it, the more he understood.

So now our big thing is to say: "I love you to infinity."

It's very sweet. But now at bedtime he'll say "I love you to infinity." Then I counter with the same. Then he says "I love you to one hundred." And he expects me to say the same... even though infinity is more and he's just downgraded his love of me by infinity. But apparently 100 still has its merits in Cam's world.

BTW - His last t-ball game went WAY better. Not a lot of crying. Barely any. Fortunately one of the other parents made Cam the team "leader." And with that responsibility, Cam took on the job to not cry, cheer on his team and pay attention. It helped him a lot.

Oh... One other number thing. Recently I was working on something in the yard when Cam was begging to go inside for something. I told him to count to one hundred thinking that would take a while.

I was wrong.

He sped through the numbers and hit 100 and expected me to drop everything at that very moment.

I'm trying 200 next time.

Cross your fingers

Tomorrow is another "big day." That's what Cam calls each of his t-ball game days. I'm asking you to cross your fingers because Cam hasn't gone through a game without at least one major emotional breakdown. He thinks he has to catch EVERY ball. He doesn't get this whole team concept. I don't expect him to. But man does he beat himself up.

On Wednesday's game, he either had an emotional breakdown or went the complete opposite way and played with dirt instead.

So just keep your fingers crossed.

Play ball!

Fielding the ball
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

We had a very busy day... Cameron got to play in his first t-ball game. It was opening day in his league. So not only did his team play against the Reds, his team had pictures and a bar-b-que.

He had a huge cheering section while his dad coached: Mommy, Jordan, Grandma, Poppy, Uncle Barry and even Beth! Very exciting. Maybe too exciting for our boy. He wanted to be in the infield... He wanted to be in the outfield. He wanted to catch the ball... He missed the ball... He hit the ball!! He got to run the bases.

There was one kid on the other team that looked 10 years old. He was a hearty player. He was probably six. Dang.

It was great to hang out with other parents with kids close to Cam's age. We're all dealing with similar behavioral stuff. Cam's are a bit more pronounced... I think having his Dad running the team has a bit to do with it.

Who knows.

I do know that the boy books are open and I'm delving into better understanding the basics of boy emotional development. Hopefully that will help. Maybe it won't. I'll try anything at this point.

The big game!

Silly face
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Tomorrow's the big day! Cameron's first t-ball game is tomorrow. His planned Tuesday game was rained out! What a big deal. It's such a big deal that his Grandma and Poppy, Uncle Barry and Beth are even coming. Very exciting. The little league is also having a big bar-b-que event as well. It should be fun and interesting to see the little league community. It's our first year and this goes on for seven years!

I'm hoping Cam really likes it and wants to stick with it. Randy is really into the coaching experience. I also think it's very cool that we get to meet a whole new batch of people.

Tomorrow is a big day on the photo site I belong to. It's called 24 hours of Flickr. I'm hoping to document the day. I was actually scheduled to speak on a panel tomorrow, but canceled so I could enjoy the big t-ball event. I'll certainly put together a much more enjoyable photo set at the baseball game!

Hmmm. Interesting strategy.

I came home prepared to do battle over dinner. I was ready because I wanted to cook up one of my favorite meals: Sea scallops sauteed with shallots and portobello mushrooms and risotto. I was in the mood to eat a real dinner on a work night... Even if it meant the baby was going to bed late.

I was almost done cooking when my parents called. I was almost fully done cooking when Cam started whining about the food. I immediately told him to stop whining. I wouldn't have another night of whining over food or he could go to bed. Moments later as I was spooning food out, Cam arrives in the kitchen in his pajamas telling me good night. Oh really? Okay. He came down once after that to say good night to Dad when he got home from work. But that was it. He went to bed. Even though I told him he'd have scallops for breakfast. Going to bed won't get him away from eating dinner. But this is an interesting development.

I need to consult the "raising a boy" books

I've mentioned before how Cam has been strangely weepy lately. It's exhausting because I don't know the right way to put a stop to it. But things got out of hand this evening. I went to pick him up from school and he immediately started whining about how he wanted to stay at school and it wasn't fair. Then he wouldn't help clean up. Then he got disrespectful to me and the teacher. I wasn't happy. So he cried and cried as we got into the car and most of the way home. Then he whined that he wanted to listen to music. I just quietly drove home because I didn't want to get mad while I drove. No music. As I pulled into the garage he says: "I didn't get to listen to High School Musical.... d****it!"

He used a bad word. It took him 5 years, one month and one day to use a bad word and I'm so sad.

I stopped the car, turned around and looked at him with my death-ray eyes. He started screaming. All out screaming. He started yelling "I didn't know!" "I didn't know!" I threatened the end of favorite toys if he ever used a word like that again and sent him to his room.

Things didn't get better. Dinner was miserable and he'll be eating his broccoli at breakfast tomorrow morning. He ended up going to bed straight from the whiny dinner table to bed. It was all kicking and screaming and disrespect. I won't have it.

I think I need to pull the books I started reading a couple of years ago and really read them. I feel like we're at a turning point developmentally and in how I react to his outbursts. I don't want to put an end to Cam's emotional displays, I just want them to appear for good reason.

Learning respect

I had to take Cameron out of church for the first time... You'd think I would have had to do that when he was a baby. Nope. I had to do it when he was 5. He was being disrespectful and wouldn't sit in the pew. So I took him out, found a pew in a nearby room and we practiced. For 30 minutes he practiced sitting properly. He had a hard time learning that lesson.

I'm trying soooo hard to be patient.

We've moved into this stage where anytime Cam is told to do something on any negative level, he starts to cry. If he doesn't get anything he wants, he starts to cry. If he gets upset over anything, he instantly cries. I'm trying to help him direct his energy... I'm trying to not call him a cry baby... I'm trying to talk to him logically about how there are consequences to his actions. Crying won't stop those consequences. I wish I could help him. Obviously this is a developmental issue that he needs to work on himself. But I also will keep guiding him and helping him see the logic in walking away from the constant crying. But it's going to be up to him.

Signs I have calmed down as a mother

No your eyes are not deceiving you. I let the boy go out and get his haircut by riding in the convertible. Yes. I said he'd never ride in it until he was 12. I guess 5 is okay. No highway driving or anything like that.

We're about to head home... I'll write more when we get there.

Kindergarten-ho!

Yesterday was a big day. We finally got to go to Cam's "home school" to fill out the paper work, make sure he's properly immunized and check out how the school works. It turns out the immunization stuff got me a little stressed -- the possibility of not having all of the right shots got me nervous. But we're good.

We've been struggling with what is the right place for kindergarten. Cam's learning style is different and I want an environment that fosters his growth, not stymies it because he's very active and wiggly while learning. I've talked to a local magnet school a couple of times and had emailed the principal at our local school. When I got to registration, he had made sure the vice principal tracked us down so he could meet with us. That was very kind. He spent time with us in his office talking about what his school can do for us. He's been more mindful of boy needs in the learning process since he became principal of the school. He's been there 3 years. I know the school pretty well from volunteering there for 2 and a half years so I've heard a lot about him from the teachers. It's been mostly positive. Right after all the paperwork and learning about summer school for kindergarten (how cool!), we got a tour with a really cool 5th grader. I saw parts of the school I hadn't seen before, but on the whole I felt really comfortable there because of all of my volunteer time.

Immediately after we spent almost 2 hours are our local school, we had a sit down meeting with the principal and a teacher from the magnet school. I'll be honest, I'm not sure I got the same positive vibe from the meeting. But I'm still a bit torn over which school is the right school for Cam's needs. We might put our names into the hat for the kindergarten lottery... If we get in that doesn't meet we have to put Cam into that school. So we have some more time to think about this. I'm trying to not be crazy about elementary school. Honest I'm not.

Family time

Fun pose
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Cameron had a blast this past weekend hanging out at my cousin Mike's house. He has a son who turns 6 next month and a daughter who is turning 5 next month as well (or 4. Dang I can't keep that straight). Anyway, it is so cool to see how Cam loved playing with Will and Amanda. They have a younger brother Henry who I loved playing with. He and Jordan will have fun playing together someday soon.

So I actually go to see my Aunt and Uncle and all three of their sons at the same time. Unfortunately all this fun and excitement was for Mike. He's an emergency room doctor in the military and is headed to Afghanistan to help with a hospital on a base. He could use all of your prayers. He leaves May first.

On another side note, it appears that Cameron may be allergic to grass. He and Randy rolled down a grassy hill... And now Cam's arms are broken out into a red rash. I can't seem to get rid of it. He doesn't seem to mind it though.

Oh, one other thing and I'd love some input. Cam has taken to sleeping under a quilt and his pillow. He says it keeps him safe. Well, I went in to kiss him tonight. When I dug him out of the pillow/quilt combo, he was a ball of sweat from head to toe. I have to get the quilt off him, but he was upset and felt unsafe. I have to figure out an alternate to this heavy quilt. He's going to be stinky and gross and need an early morning bath. Which is reason for me to get to bed.

How sweet

I'm out of town in Vegas for a conference. Cam called me while I was in a conference session and left a voicemail on my cellphone saying:

"Hi Mommy. I love you forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever! Night!"

Damn that makes my heart melt. I played it again and again tonight.

Party guy

1. Birthday guy, 2. The crazy crowd, 3. Dodgeball sillies, 4. The cake!!

Man did we have fun at Cam's birthday party. My goal was to have fun and I think we really did it. It was cold outside and I was worried the kids would feel too cold to stay outside. So I bought board games and crayons to keep them busy inside. It turned out that it can be cold outside... But if the sun is shining, the kids will play nomatter what. I bought bouncy balls for each kid to shoot hoops in the back yard. Instead, the party turned into a battle of dodge ball: Grown ups versus the kids. It was awesome.

As the craziness was winding down, Cam walks up to me and asks if it's cake time. The party boy asks.. The party boy gets. The cake was yummy. Even the parents had fun. It was a blast. I'm so happy the kids had fun, I had fun.

Why don't I sound stressed about it? I bought a ton of food from the grocery store and I was lucky enough to have two students come by to help. They are wonderful, fantastic and so dang sweet. They actually helped shoot video! So I could savor the moment, juggle other details. Randy took pictures. It was wonderful. Thanks Matt and Nikki!

Cam had fun. He told me that his favorite part was the dodge ball and getting a Transformer. His awesome friend Camryn actually brought him back a High School Musical baseball hat and a wall hanging. It's so cool. He's wearing the hat all around the house. The wall hanging is right over his bed.

To add to the silliness, the Easter bunny arrived the next day with gifts of new Disney underwear and a Little Einsteins toy. Sugar, sugar and more sugar. Cam was begging for sugar for hours. It was kind of silly. But I figured Halloween and Easter are two days where you're allowed to go nutty with the chocolate.

Birthday and Easter fun and games

Oh my gosh. So much happened this weekend and I have to go to bed. The pictures are all uploaded on our Flickr page. Many stories are to come. I promise.

Funny moment today: "Mom, the Easter bunny is pretend right?" I just smiled. He's already figuring this stuff out. But not enough to require fewer gifts next year.

Marriage talk

Today is Randy and my 9 year wedding anniversary. I'm proud and happy of this day. We were married on 4/4 at 4:00. I thought that was cool. I'm glad we didn't wait to get married on 4/4/04. It was actually 1998.

So I went downtown and picked up one of my favorite dinners to surprise Randy. I had to take the kids to get it without him knowing. So I started talking to Cam about our anniversary.

I told him how his Dad and I were celebrating the day we got married. Cam thought Randy and I were actually going to GET married. So then I framed our anniversary like it was the birthday of our wedding. Cam understood that. Then he asked:

"Did you dance at your wedding?"

"Yes"

"Did you kiss?"

"Yes"

"On the lips? Like you're married?"

"Yes and yes."

Happy birthday buddy

Happy birthday buddy
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Almost exactly 5 years ago I woke up with a jolt and knew my boy was going to be an April Fool's baby. It was no joke. It was awesome. I had expected Cam to arrive in the world early... Just like every other baby in the last 2 generations of women. So when he was four days late, it was like it was the end of the world.

Cam's arrival was amazing. No drugs, a little scary pushing (the boy's head is big, very big). But the high I felt when I held this sweet child armed with the knowledge that I brought him into the world... My gosh, it was incredible.

I'm still just as proud to be Cameron's mom. I'm working on my patience. He says he's working on his listening skills. But either way, he's an incredible little guy. He's the best big brother. He's a caring friend to everyone he knows. And boy does he love birthdays. (I wonder where he gets that from.)

Happy birthday Cam. Enjoy the celebrations we have planned for you this week. Since the big family party was a day early, we're going to take him to Meet The Robinsons on his actual birthday. Cupcakes are planned at school on Monday. Then his big High School Musical birthday party is planned next Saturday. I can only hope we have a sunny day for that one. Oh the things we do for our kids.

He's worth it.

It's because he's a big brother

My boy is big. So big. Today he went out and kept working on his pedaling skills with his dad. Then he buckled himself in with the seat belt all by himself. I talked to him on the phone as I was about to drive home and I exclaimed how I was really impressed with how big he's getting. He told me "because I'm a big brother!"

Almost 15 months into the big brother thing and he's still proud about that. That just made my heart glow with pride.

Success!

After discussing pedaling the bike over the weekend, Randy was able to get Cam to really give it a try. They packed his bike into the car and took it to a nearby parking lot. And he finally did it: pedaled up and down the lot. He was so proud that when I got home, we all packed up and drove over to watch him bike up and down the parking lot again.

I'm thrilled! He's proud. He wasn't even traumatized after falling off the bike a couple of times. I'm proud. Then he even showed Jordan how to use the bike. It was very cute. It's so great to see him try to expand his boundaries and trying harder without just quitting before he even tried.

I'll be honest. I think I know why. We've made a conscious decision to change the way we praise Cam. I found an article called How Not to Talk to Your Kids; The inverse power of praise in February's New York Magazine. We're making a conscious effort to praise Cam for his hard work and focus on learning. I really think it's making a difference. Randy doesn't think it's possible to know that our praise change is the reason why Cam is willing to work harder and not crack sooner when he takes on new tasks. But I have to think that it's helping.

New responsibility

Because my boy is SO into books and reading words, he got his own library card today! So he is now responsible for his books -- with a special book bag and a pocket for his library card. We also talked to the librarian about how to find books that will help him read. I'm pretty excited and he was thrilled to take a pile of new books home.

He had the big task of cleaning up his book-covered bedroom. Of course one of the library books ended up in his book shelf. Hopefully that won't happen again!!

Cam plans to take his library card to show-and-tell at school on Tuesday.

Great day

The day didn't start well... With the pea incident. But overall, it was great. We got up, battled over peas and then played outside while Jordan took a little nap. Chalk drawing is a big activity at the house lately. Today Cam drew a pink Darth Vader with a white torso that was throwing pink fire. I drew a rainbow that had Cam and his friend Camryn standing under it. I gave Cam a smile which he exclaimed looked like he had lipstick on. Picky picky picky.

After lunch and a nap for both kids (and mommy), we headed out to a nearby water fountain. Cam likes to run around it. Then I got this awesome idea that we should get ice cream cones and then walk to a nearby garden. There was this place nearby that sold ice cream and snacks... But when we walked in there, things looked different from the last time I was there almost 2 years ago: No ice cream. Yup. The place didn't sell ice cream and snacks, just snacks. Luckily, there was a grocery store nearby and I bought a box of little ice cream cones... To make it even more exciting, it was supposed to be Incredibles ice cream cones. So we took our box of ice cream cones to the garden, gobbled it down with quite a mess. And we just played outside. It was awesome. Cam got to have even more fun when we saw a friend from school there. They ran around while his friend's mom and I stressed about elementary school plans. It really is more stressful than I expected.

After the big garden/ice cream fun, Cam rotated between running in the back yard and coloring a race track on multiple pieces of paper while I prepared dinner. Yes, I had vegetables in our meal: Chicken burritos with hidden mushrooms and red and green peppers amongst the cheese and chicken. The hiding never works. And after a number of dramatic attempts, Cam ate a tiny bit of red pepper. It included very dramatic gagging. But he didn't want to eat it at breakfast tomorrow, so at least he tried a new vegetable. By the way, the mom of Cam's school friend told me how she gets a report about lunch every day including how Cam ate one pea or one bean. That's how dramatic my boy has become about vegetables. Even the other kids need to talk about it at home.

I got the girl off to bed, then Cam and I played "basketball" in the backyard, talked to neighbors, got him in the bath (after much protest), read him a book and got him into bed. I asked him to clean up some of the billion books that cover his bedroom floor before waking me up in the morning. Hopefully that plea works. His room really is a disaster zone.

Anyway. The great weather gave us a chance to chat with many neighbors. We got to hang out for HOURS outside... And the boy seemed happy most of the day. It was nice.

One other thing, after saying his prayers tonight, Cam asked me why he prays for himself... Ever since he could say a prayer, he has always ended it: "And God bless Cameron Lee Reeves, Amen." I never encouraged or started this -- it was his creation. I told him that I didn't know why, it was his thing. So he announced that he won't do that ever again. If that's the case, I'm kind of sad. It was very cute.

Update

He ended up eating one pea before breakfast. And that required a lot of drama. He's already asked if we'll have vegetables at dinner tonight. Of course I said yes.

Again?

I'm heading into a long weekend of family fun... And our dinner tonight was miserable. Cameron decided that he would return to the crying over vegetables tactic.

I turned the tables onto him.

He just wouldn't eat his peas and he just couldn't handle the fact that his sister had earned a yummy roll, milk and a Thin Mint. So he thought he could get that stuff by crying. So I let him choose: eat the peas now or eat them for breakfast? That made him cry more.

The peas are waiting for him when he comes down for that morning.

The morning will be interesting. Very interesting.

He's a star

I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with the rapidly changing world of Cam. First thing's first. He did a fantastic job in his show, "Curious George and the Puppies." I didn't get a lot of good shots, but when I have time, I'll download the video and post it online. By the way. Cam is in the top left hand corner of the picture. He had a grey and white doggie costume. I guess he could have been a wolf if he wanted.

It was very cute since I hadn't seen Cam in two days. So when I walked into the auditorium, Cam yelled hi and started waving his dog tail. Very cute. It was obvious he wasn't nervous, just excited. His class did a little dance. Then they performed the show. It was hard to hear some of the kids, they whispered. So it was hard for Cam to hear some of his cues. You could hear his director say: "Cameron!" to remind him to say his line. He crawled along the flood while he said: "He even saw a snake!" He climbed up on top of a chair to say: "One puppy climbed on top of a cage to watch the other puppies get into mischief." Very cute stuff.

After the show, the kids posed as a group (note the picture above). After that, Cam ran into the crowd of picture taking parents to hug Jordan who had come with me to take pictures. He was SO sweet. I don't know why. Maybe it was the 2 days away from him. But he looked so old, so grown up. I can't believe how he is maturing rapidly in front of my eyes. Maybe it's how we're growing his hair out. Maybe it's because he's going to Kindergarten soon. Maybe it's because he's reading up a storm these days. I don't know. But I'm already nostalgic for my little boy!

Cam and I had fun visiting the children's museum while we were hanging out in basketball bonanza world at his uncle's. Cam was fantastic allowing Jordan to play and patiently waiting from area to area so Jordan could enjoy fun too. He even helped her get down the little baby slide by herself! It was plain darling to watch him love her.

But a strange thing happened this morning. He woke up feeling icky. But Randy took him to school... and Cam promptly threw up in the car. YUCK. For the first time ever, Randy had to deal with the really messy mess. I went to a conference. By the time I got home, Cam was feeling better. We read some books together, we cuddled, he got a bath. Life seems back to normal again. I am really stunned by the simplicity of it all. Other than the periodic emotional outburst, Cam is just growing and working so hard to learn every minute of the day. He and I work on basic math because he wants to play with numbers. We read everything... He's sounding things out. He's making up stories. He's writing words with the magnets on the fridge. It's stunning to watch his brain grow by the minute. It's shocking to see how fast he's maturing. And best of all, I'm so proud of how caring he is of his sister. He's SO much nicer than I ever was to my brother (sorry Jon). I'm touched by his kindness and love. You should have seen him hug every kid her knew when we left his show on Saturday. He truly enjoyed his new friends.

Next big event: Cam's birthday. His High School Musical invitations showed up in the mail today. We're going to try to get them ready to go before everyone leaves town for Spring Break. The big party day is about two and a half weeks away! His birthday is a week and a half away!

WOAH. I'm going to have a FIVE YEAR OLD! I'm getting old.

Big day

Cam is with his dad watching basketball... So I went to a coach's meeting for his little league T-ball. I picked up the roster and signed up the team for practice time. So I start going through the list of names... And who is on the roster? Cam's best guy friend Eric!! I'm so excited.

So I call Cam and he drops the phone and yells and screams to tell everyone how excited he is that his friend, Eric from school is going to play on his team. I was so excited I even called Eric's Mom... Who told Eric. Eric jumped out of bed and jumped up and down with excitement. He's even excited that Randy is the coach. Very fun stuff.

Isn't is awesome how easy it is to be excited as a kid. So cool.

Growing up

I remember last year when I looked at the kids who were in the 4-5 year old preschool class and I thought... How do they look SO much older? I looked at Cam today and realized he is one of those older-looking kids now. It's like something happened to him in the last few weeks.

He's so grown up. He's reading like gangbusters these days. I went in to hear him read to me today. The kids in class thought I was there to read to him. We switched the tables around. Cam figured out how to read a book called "Ten Timid Ghosts." He only needed help on a few words. It makes me so darn proud... Especially since I haven't pushed Cam in any way to read. This was his effort. He works on words every day because he wants to. Some nights he reads to me, some nights I read to him. Most days we find time to do a little of both. After Cam does something really well, like read a new word or hit the softball really far off his tee, he closes his hands, squeezes his eyes shut and yells: "YES!" I love that he's proud of his effort as much as I am.

Ah. A warm and fuzzy posting. I haven't been able to do enough these with Cam lately.

Risky guy

So Cam's taking a few more risks on his "balancing bike." It's a bike that doesn't have any pedals to help him learn how to balance first. He got a real bike for Christmas, but he hasn't been convinced that learning how to pedal is the way to go.

Anyway. My mom visited this weekend and caught this moment of Cam riding his bike. Notice how she got all freaked out and I cheered:


If you can't see it, go here.

New hope

For the last almost two years, getting Cameron to eat healthy has been a struggle. This past year, he took to crying about vegetables on his plate. This week, things started to change.

It all started when someone in his class convinced him to eat "two halves of a pea." Yup. He ate a pea. One. And it took two swallows to finish it. But he started saying how much he LOVES vegetables. So the attitude was changing. So at dinner, he'd eat one, maybe two for dessert. But then I talked him into eating five so he could watch a show on TV.

It was amazing.

But what was extra funny was watching him eat those peas. He didn't really eat them. He swallowed them like pills. One at a time, drinking A LOT of water. But you know what? I think it gives us new hope in the vegetable world.

I have to say as a former vegetarian, it's killed me watching my boy who won't even eat corn or a simple bean... Let alone the extra yummy stuff that I can splurge on (like asparagus and artichokes).

Returning outside

Drawing in the setting sun
Originally uploaded by Jen.

Yesterday was cool, but the sun just screamed: "Come out and play!" So we did. We went for a walk through the breezy wind earlier in the day. Late in the afternoon, the sun told me that we had to come and enjoy its light one more time before it set.

So Cam, Jordan and I went out to draw on the driveway. I love playing with chalk. It was the first time Cameron was totally into drawing his own stuff. He drew his own hopscotch, a basketball hoop, basketball player and a scoreboard. Then we drew many, many characters from Sesame Street. I'm kind of good at making fuzzy monster heads, Cam did the bodies and Oscar the Grouch.

The funny thing was when we went outside, Cam had be asking to watch a movie. I looked over at him while we drew and I said: "Aren't you glad we didn't watch a movie?" He agreed and said we should draw on the driveway every weekend.

I like that idea a lot.

Oh yuck

Cam woke up at 5:30 this morning throwing up... It kept happening every 15 minutes or so until 7:00. I was getting over my own stomach bug, so we spent the day working on feeling better. By late afternoon, Cam was very normal. I think it's because I got him to take two naps.

I let him watch a lot of TV. So much that he spent a lot of the day telling me how much he loves me and how I'm a really nice Mom.

But the moment I have to mention is after I put him back to bed after his first throwing up bout. He knew I was painfully ill the night before. I tucked him into the bed and he looks up at me and asks me if I'm feeling better. Here's this little guy who just threw up and he's concerned about me. That made me feel very lucky. I was feeling better enough to care for him and I'm grateful for that.

Cam's stuff

Cam has a new thing he's doing. He found a pad of post-it notes. So he takes his pencil and labels things in the basement: Cam's TV, Cam's desk, Cam's couch, Cam's shelf, Cam's door, Cam's books. He writes some of them by himself. Others he asks how to spell it. There are yellow tags all over the place.

I think it's awesome.

It wasn't that long ago when I couldn't get him to write to save my life. It's awesome.

Cam has also been really excited about using his scissors. But today he took it too far and I'm going to have to restrict his scissor use. He sliced his jacket. I think he was testing the power of his scissors... And he was surprised to discover that scissors will cut things that aren't paper. So surprised that he SCREAMED and SCREAMED in his room. When he emerged (I was in the bathroom with Jordan who had enjoyed a HILARIOUS bath full of giggles and splashes) he apologized to me. I hugged him, asked him if he learned a lesson... And now I'm going to need to go to a fabric store to find an iron-on patch.

Growing up

Cam got a chance to go to a gymnastics class today... And although he cried a little at the beginning, he branched out and seemed to have actual fun! He even climbed across the balance beam and climbed along the parallel bars. Of course he also got to run around and jump. It was pretty great.

Afterwards, both kids and I got to go get ice cream with Cam's best friend and her family. I love hanging out with other families... It makes me feel good to be around other people who are in the same kid world. When I work around so many students, I sometimes don't feel like I can chat a lot about my world the same way. Don't doubt that my poor students have to listen to me talk about the kids all the time. But they can't say: "Well, I totally understand because my kid did/does the same thing."

Valentines Love

Valentines Love for Cameron
Originally uploaded by Jen.

Cam woke up at 6am this morning because he was so darn excited about Valentine's Day. I gave him my homemade Valentine, baked biscuits for breakfast and had doughnuts with him (and Jordan) at school. Every single thing set him into crying fits early in the day -- A standard sign that he's overwhelmed with his expectations for the moment. By the time I got to school this afternoon for the school party, he seemed okay.

He also officially made it through 5 straight dinners without crying about vegetables or any other silly thing. Hooray. So now he has a chance to watch the original Charlotte's Web animated movie. That was his reward. He's thrilled and I'm just hoping he's quit this crying habit at the dinner table.

I'm exhausted. The combination of early rising 4 (almost 5) year old and a cranky baby has exhausted me.

He will hate me for this

Cameron has been really into High School Musical... I've mentioned this before. But now I have proof:



If you can't see it, go to here.

He will hate me for posting this someday.

Family time

Cam had a great weekend with his grandparents in town. He also made it through another theater class. Randy picked him up this week. Apparently Cam was in time out two times this week... There's a kid who keeps egging him on. The teacher asked Randy the funniest thing: "Do you know any way to help him focus for longer periods of time?" Ha. Right.

Cam and Jordan are being sillier with each other lately. Cam does anything he can to make her smile. He was sitting next to her at breakfast this morning as Jordan kept patting him on the arm and giggling. Cam joined in on the happiness. It was great. Simple pleasures of siblings.

Story I almost forgot to post from last Sunday. We were watching the Superbowl while Cam was eating a hamburger. He looks up to me and says: "Jesus' body is in this bread." It was communion Sunday. I wasn't quite sure how to respond to that one.

HSM Drama

So tonight we decided to try Cam's new obsession with High School Musical to get him to eat vegetables. Randy announced to me earlier today that he had to put a stop to our constant High School Musical music listening because he keeps catching himself humming to the music. And he wants it to stop.

I think he figured out how to make it stop. Tonight we tried to encourage Cameron to stop crying at dinner. I decided to offer him the chance to earn the Charlotte's Web DVD (the original movie) if he could go 5 straight dinners without crying. Every night he's decided to cry over vegetable eating. He cries if I spoon the vegetables on his plate. He cries if he's told he has to eat a vegetable or he will miss ice cream or cookie opportunities. He cries. He cries. He cries. It's annoying. So we put this new carrot (ha, get it? carrot? it's a vegetable!!) in front of him. He was ready. I spooned vegetables on his plate and he didn't cry. We discussed him eating the peas and carrots. He didn't cry. But then Cam asked if I would turn on High School Musical. That's when Randy said: "Only if you eat one pea and one carrot." That set off a MASSIVE crying jag. He had to go to his room and cry. Then he came back and told me that I couldn't listen to the music unless he can. I told him that wasn't how it worked.... And the crying just kept going. He was still crying when I needed to put Jordan to bed. But I decided Cam was going first. And he cried and cried and cried. He cried so much that he lost his chance to say his prayer and get a nighttime lullaby from Mommy (which includes back scratches). He was a disaster.

Jordan eventually got to go to bed. Cameron eventually went to bed too. But it just wasn't much fun.

Hopefully tomorrow he'll try harder. I kind of want to listen to High School Musical again with him. It's too fun to watch him dance around in the kitchen.

Dramatic day

Good news... Cameron was only sent to time out once during theater class today -- and it was during the dance portion of the day. He felt very proud for knowing some of his lines ahead of the class. Hopefully we'll be able to stick with theater through the big show day in March. Of course I just realized that Cam's big show is on a 4 day Reeves holiday weekend: The first weekend of March Madness. So Daddy's going to have to come back home for the morning to see the performance before we all trek to STL and hang at Uncle Barry's house for the fun.

Everything would have worked out just fine except an ice storm delayed the start of theater class. Bummer.

So after Cam had a dramatic morning and a nap, we spent the afternoon playing. The highlight of the night: I downloaded the High School Musical soundtrack from iTunes. We sang the music until Jordan needed to go to bed. When I came down to play a little more, he was just chanting one of the songs. Randy was just rolling his eyes. I've dragged Cam into my love of Disney silliness. I just can't stop. For some reason, Cam and I both love HSM. It's catchy music. And it captures the true silliness of what it's like to be in a high school musical. I've been there, done that. So I'm having a ball.

Added fun point

Cam had a good afternoon with his uncle... But the big moment was when his Dad was offered the chance to coach Cam's T-ball team this year. Of course he said yes. And since Randy had a chance to choose a name for the team, he chose the Cardinals. Cam's very excited to play for the Cardinals AND have his dad as the coach.

What is going on?

I don't know what is going on with the boy. We struggled with his rebellion to us. It drove us nuts. He got better at home, but now he's really doing poorly at school. He had notes sent home two days in a row. Today was the kicker. He got to go to his first theater class today. I was excited. He was excited. We talked about listening to the teacher and treating his new friends with respect. He was ready. I dropped him off and I was confident he was going to do a great job. I mean, Cameron is everything about drama, right?

Not yet.

I get there and he's crying in the corner with the teacher. Apparently Cam had been put into time out twice in the hour and a half he was there. He was fooling around with a new friend when it happened the first time. The second time he was sitting in a "duck, duck, goose" circle and kept poking at a new friend. He was told to stop multiple times, but he didn't until he was put into time out again.

It's like anytime he's told to do anything, he won't do it unless he is threatened, spoken to loudly or is given a consequence. I realize this is a normal problem with kids, but it seems like Cam's is magnified. And for him to blow his first day at theater class just bums me out. He is perfect for theater. He could really use the energy release. And his teacher tells me that if Cam continues this way, he won't get to be a part of the performance. We told Cam if he continues this way, he won't get to return to class. Now I understand how parents feel when they invest into something and then their kid walks away from it.

So Cam is on notice. He has to clean up the act or he isn't even going to get to prove himself in class next Saturday. I took him up for his nap with no complaints. We'll see what happens in the next week. But I'll tell you, I'm exhausted from the emotional relase. I'm so disappointed. I'm not sure why I'm so deeply disappointed. Cam is 4 years old. I can't expect him to be perfect. But I guess I expected him to love this class. And I guess I was wrong. Heck, the teacher said anytime she asked Cam to try something, he immediately said: "I can't." It's just strange. And I can't be inside Cam's head to really know what's going on. But I'll say, I'm exhausted. And I'm not even halfway through with this weekend.

We had so much fun

Cam's BIG snowman
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

I bundled up into the snow with Cam and we built an AWESOME snowman. Of course Cam named him Frosty. We used the gumballs from our tree for his eyes, a carrot for a nose and raisins for a mouth. Cam picked out the twigs for his arms. I found an old hiking hat... But Cam decided it looked like Frosty was just coming home from T-ball practice.

We had snowball fights, snow angels... We just laid on the ground and looked up at the sky just like we used to when Cam was younger. It was sweet and fun. We had a lot of fun. And of course, after we played outside, I cooked up some yummy hot chocolate. A perfect end to a chilly, fun time. It's the kind of stuff that I want to hold onto forever. When I knew this snow was sticky, I was giddy knowing we were going to be able to build a snowman. We haven't built one together since he was almost 2 years old! That was 3 years ago! This was really Cam's first real snowman. His last one was as tall as he was! What fun.

Cam went back out for a while in the afternoon... He was army crawling all over the yard making what he called a "track." It was his own "masterpiece." He kills me.

Next week is the official start of Cam's theater class. I think he's going to LOVE it.

Big news (a little delayed)

I should have posted this immediately, but last Friday I was in Jordan's room putting her to bed, talking to her grandparents on the phone and chatting with Cameron... So I asked Cam to read Jordan a book before bed. So he pulls out her Hop On Pop book and goes at it.

HE READ ALL OF IT!

And he didn't just read it elementary school style, the boy read with emotion! He read the exclamation points with a flourish! He questioned every sentence that ended with a question mark! He needed very little help... Mostly with 'W' words. But some of the words he grasped were AMAZING. I was so proud and it was awesome that my parents got to hear it too.

Other than that, Cam had a ball with an ice storm that moved through this weekend and throughout the week. The first morning after the storm, he went outside thinking there was snow on the ground and said: "This has a hard cover on it!" He still enjoyed sliding around and playing with his slippery and slidey slide that was covered with ice. It was cool. But the next day, he looked at me and said: "I am NOT going out there." Ever since then, before we go outside, he says: "I can't be in the cold. I just can't."

Drama.

Speaking of drama. Our theatrical boy is starting a theater class on Saturday. I can't wait. I haven't even told him yet. He's going to get to learn how to act and put together a little play about Curious George. And he LOVES Curious George. I'm excited and I'm hoping this may be a way to put some of his DRAMA.

What the heck

I can't figure out the boy. He's been very rough to his friends at school. He's been getting in trouble a lot. Today he had a hard time and kept hitting many people. It's not the first day. He's having all these social challenges. Then he goes and reads an entire book over the weekend: "Hop on Pop." Then he starts teaching me Italian words and sings Jordan an Italian song to make her happy. He's clearly learning a lot at school... But his social interactions still stink. He's back to his disrespect after at least a week of doing really well at home. It's like we make baby steps forward and fall back again.

What was that all about?

I was at a church meeting this evening when Cam and his Dad had a sad conversation. Cam announced: "Dudley and Bubba are going to die someday." (If you don't know, those are our dogs) Cameron then announced that both dogs would go to doggie heaven and then told his Dad that he had to kiss them before that happened. So he kissed the dogs.

I have NO idea where that came from.

Figuring it out

I think we're finally figuring out how to help Cam calm down. he's really good at doing things with motivation. So I figured out a new way to use our reward board in the kitchen. It was first used to help Cam earn TV time. Now it's just assumed that he has to get dressed, hold no tantrums and eat his dinner to earn TV time. So I added a new reward board to get him to Disney. But it didn't work really well. When we got back from our Florida trip, Cam told me he wanted to earn a trip to somewhere... So we decided on a place called Bonkers: It's a life-sized hamster run for kids. It's a loud place, but kids can really get some energy out there. I created a board where he had to earn smiley faces: 5 for being respectful, 5 for flushing (it's a skill he just hasn't picked up) and 5 for cleaning up. He was able to put that off in time for a trip to Bonkers today. And the greatest thing has come from this week. He's truly motivated. He starts into a rude or disrespectful behavior and he stops because he doesn't want to lose a smile. Even after the Bonkers trip, he flushed the toilet. He apologized for being rude. I think we may have broke through the bad attidude. And the basement is still clean. It helps that his Poppy built a massive toy bin to keep the kids' toys. The sad thing is it's full. It's very full.

I can only hope.

Cam has brought back the old afraid to be alone issue. I'm not sure why. He's also having some trouble being nice to his friends at school after his time away. His teacher says he's playing really well by himself, but when you add another person into the mix, Cam just can't share or be friendly. Hopefully he'll get over that soon.

"This was my very best day!"

That's what Cam told his Grandma as he left the Magic Kingdom today. He was SO happy and excited to be there. He woke up at 5:00am to get there and he lasted until 9pm to enjoy a bunch of rides and other experiences that would blow any 4 year old's mind. I just have to type a couple of moments before they get lost. I promise many wonderful pictures are to come.

1. "Mom, Buzz Lightyear ROCKS!" - Told to me right after Cam got to meet Buzz in person in Tomorrowland
2. "But I don't know where I'm going" - Told to his dad after he was asked why he didn't take the steering wheel on the race car in the race car speedway ride.
3. "The Buzz Lightyear ride is fantastic!" - Announced after leaving the Buzz Lightyear ride for the second time in the day.
4. "I don't want Zurg to think I'm Buzz Lightyear!" - On why he removed his new Buzz Lightyear gear from his arm before going on the Buzz Lightyear ride.
5. "I'm having a really good time." - As we walked through the park.
6. "Stop dancing Mom, there isn't any music."
7. "I have to write Santa a letter to thank him for letting me come to Disney World!" - Announced as we walked towards another ride near the end of our day.

I'll try to remember some others. But I just have to say that my idea of taking Cam to Disney for a day was a success. Cam had very few breakdowns, Jordan was a star (and we got to celebrate her brithday a day early) and Cam is EXHAUSTED. We can only hope he can make it through our big drive home. (Wish us luck)

Why is it so hard?

Cam had such a fantastic day with us today until the end. He woke up with cuddles, he got to hang out with a babysitter... And during that time he even shared some of his breakfast with Jordan! He went to the mall with Jordan and I and he was helpful and sweet. Not to mention, he finally got a pair of Crocs... He's wanted a pair for quite a while. I think I passed on my love of shoes to him. I let him get a pair of yellow shoes. He really wanted them and I am happy to let him figure out his own sense of style... Although I think he picked up his love for the color yellow thanks to the soon-leaving-the-Wiggles lead singer, Greg.

Anyway. After shopping and a visit at the newsroom, he took a nap. It was a solid nap because he woke up all sweaty and groggy, but a bit whiny. But he helped me with a nativity scene craft -- we made a nativity scene out of foam cut out pieces. He helped me make cookies (the pre-made kind). But then dinner came. I made lasagna (the frozen kind) and veggies. Jordan and I gobbled it up. Cam decided lasagna is worth throwing a HUGE fit over. It was silly and I sent him to his room. But he dragged it out so long that he was finally eating while I was putting Jordan to bed. In the end, he only really ate 4 pieces. It was so exhausting and silly. I don't know what he thinks he's going to accomplish with insanity like that.

We are doing something cool... When we went shopping, I bought him a copy of Charlotte's Web. I told him that we'll read that book together before he can go see the new version of the book in the movie theaters. So we've read 4 chapters so far and he's so excited. The last thing he told me before going to bed (on try number three) was how he can't wait to read more about Charlotte. He also says he likes spiders now... We'll see when he comes face to face with a real one.

One other Cam moment. While we were in the mall, he noticed a movie poster hanging from the rafters. He said: "Mom, look: Eragon." I look up and it was right. I don't even know what Eragon is, but my boy read it and I'm guessing her pronounced it properly. I asked him how he knew about it, he shrugged, "I don't know. I read it." How did he read it? He's really figuring it out! It's incredible. His reading knowledge is growing so rapidly. What fun!

He was on FIRE

Cameron and Jordan were in a Nutcracker performance tonight and Cameron was AMAZING. This picture only tells a portion of the story. I have video, but I'm too tired to try and edit that. Let's just say Cam shook his booty, jumped up and down with all of his might and I could tell he was having a BALL. It made me proud and happy.

After the show, we got to hang out with Cam's best friend and her family. It was SO nice to hang out with other "grown ups." I'm around so many people who are involved in the news business or the higher journalism education business... It's so wonderful to have friends who don't have anything to do with that. It's important. That may be one of the wonderful blessings about kids. They help you expand your world... One friend at a time.

Happy Holidays

Cameron is so into the holidays. He randomly just starts wishing people "Happy Holidays!" Fun stuff.

So I haven't updated Cam's world in quite a while. The day after our first evening of snow play, we got hit with a massive snow storm. I worked a lot and Cam played A LOT in the snow. I think today may be our last day of snow. I expect a minor break down when he realizes it's gone.

But on the upside, we have Christmas lights up inside and outside the house. Cameron is officially on Jordan patrol when it comes to the ornaments. It was so funny to hear him scolding Jordan about how ornaments are "decorations." That is exactly how I told him why he couldn't touch certain things when he was young.

There are so many things going on with Cam... too many to write. But the strangest issue we had this past week was over Cam's tongue. Yeah. That's right. His tongue. At some point on Tuesday night, he bit his tongue. He complained about it at a normal level at dinner time that night. I mentioned just as a side comment that if he ate vegetables, it might heal faster. By the next morning, he was obsessed. That tongue HURT and it was the end of the world. He kept picking, poking and obsessing... whining and crying. By the time I picked him up from school that Wednesday, every teacher was asking me if I told him his lack of vegetables caused his tongue to hurt. He was telling everyone: "My tongue hurts because I don't eat vegetables." Ugh. After calling the doctor's office and a couple of popsicles, I think he'll be fine. It's exhausting when something so little blows up into something crazy!!! But that's my boy. Drama. I really have to get him into a theater program.

Snow!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's taken us almost a year to finally use Cameron's (and Jordan's) very special snow sled! SO even though it was dark outside when we came home today, Cam and I went outside to play. He had a BALL and didn't want to come in for dinner. He demanded to go back out after dinner even though we said it was way too cold. About a minute later he came in and told his day: "You were right, it is cold out there."

I was so excited about the snow that Randy and I went to the store before picking up the kids to buy Cam a new pair of snow boots and snow socks. Very exciting stuff. So he was ready to go out and use them the moment we got home. Cam was so sad when he went to bed when he found out tomorrow wasn't a "family day." I promised him that he could play in the morning and Daddy would pick him up early from school so he can play in the afternoon. That seemed to ease his concerns.

I'm as excited about the snow as he is!!! It's been so long!

Tasmanian Devil

That's exactly what Cameron is when he loses control. Last night was probably the worst yet. He didn't want to go to bed and started being disrespectful to everyone... Even his grandparents. When his Grandma walked out of the bedroom before reading Cam a book because he was not respectful, all hell broke loose. I took over the bed time process and it was ugly. Think about The Exorcist. It was very similar. I won't go into the details... But Cam expected his grandparents to save him. And when he realized that wasn't going to happen, we were finally able to make ground on calming down.

When Cam woke up this morning, he apologized to his Grandma... Unprovoked. I know there's a wonderful kid underneath the insanity. I just pray for the strength to help get past the insanity.

Corny cornbread moment

I caught this moment between Randy and Cam as they were preparing Thanksgiving bread for our big newsroom feast.



I'm happy to say this is video proof that we're moving out of his insane anger mode and into a more loving, sweet mode. (Can I hear an amen?)

Tall socks and Santa

Santa and Cam
Originally uploaded by NerdyMom.

Cam got to see Santa over the weekiend. He was happy to tell the jolly guy about all the toys he wants... Including the Cars movie, a talking car from that movie and a Dino Mountain toy. We researched the dino toy and found out it's really good at breaking right after you build it, so we know that Santa will not want to buy that for Cam -- the boy who freaks out every time a toy collapses to the floor.

Anyway... funny story this morning. He was putting on tall white socks and announced: I have super hero boots on! Maybe you had to be there. But it made Randy and I laugh.

The beast needs taming

In the last week, Cam's tantrums and disrespect kicked into an even higher gear. It's bad enough that Randy and I were snipping at each other. No fun. None at all. So I'm trying to step away from Cam's craziness and try to look at life with his perspective.

Mommy is caring for Jordan all the time. Jordan is doing all kinds of cute things and everyone wants to talk about her and look at her. I want that kind of attention.

So... I'm trying to let him know that I understand. I've been the older sibling. I know that when you're older, you just don't attract the same kind of attention that babies do. It's hard to accept.

Tonight, Cam lost it over something... Lord knows what. But then he just started throwing around disrespectful words, screaming, pounding and begging me to do whatever is opposite what I just did or didn't do. It is mind-bending exhausting. Tonight I had Cam screaming and Jordan so hungry that every time I walked away from her high chair, she screamed. I'm trying to just let Cam break down away from me so I don't let him get me mad. Anger won't help. I need patience. I need new ways to help him calm himself. I need Cam to get the heck out of this new phase.

Some cool developments: He's learning Italian at school and teaching me new words every week. And he's taken up the game of Memory. He's kicking our butts. He has a very clear memory and he LOVES winning. The cool thing about playing Memory is he doesn't cheat. He just plays. And if I win, he congratulates me and we play again. It's a sign that there's a maturing kid in there... somewhere.

Worst part about a sick day

Cam and I are sitting in the basement taking it easy... he's eating a bit more and we'll see how he tolerates it. But here's the worst part about a sick day: Commercials.

Everytime something new and cool shows up: "Mom! Get that for me!" "Mom I want that!!" "I know! I'll ask Santa for that!" "Mom, get that for my birthday!"

He must be feeling better.

I never knew I'd be happy about that

So I was at school feeding the baby when Cam's teacher walks in to tell me that Cam had a fever. Poor buddy. So I went to the lobby to find him crying. He just felt crummy. I carried him to the car and he was so sad and icky feeling. I was about to go home when I realized that all of my work stuff was still at work... I could keep working at home if I had my computer. So I quickly drove to work to grab the computer. The moment we got there I realized Cam was going to throw up... The big question was when. So I ran in, grabbed the computer and yelled to Randy to let him know his son was about to spew.

I ran back to the van and he had just started throwing up. Poor buddy. I tried to clean him up a little and clean the van a little and we headed home. Cam started commenting about how great he felt. But it wasn't just a few minutes later when he started looking bad. Really bad. So I pulled over to try and help him. Then I realized, I was just prolonging the obvious. He was going to throw up again in the van... Nothing I can do. SO I ran into the van and drove home as quickly as I could. Poor buddy threw up again. I just tried to tell him he was going to be okay. But here's the killer moment. I was making sure he was okay when he said: "I'm sorry Mommy."

You're sorry? Poor baby. I made sure he knew I wasn't mad, there was nothing he could have done. I just wanted to hug his soggy, stinky little body.

And what was going on in my mind the whole time? I'm lucky to be dealing with my throwing up baby. After going to the funeral of a 17 year old yesterday, everything I do with my children is a gift. Even throwing up. I tried to hold onto that perspective during the van clean up as Cameron took a nap.

First basketball game

I tried to get pictures... But Daddy forgot he had the camera. Anyway. Yesterday Cam and his Dad went to the boy's first college basketball game. From Dad's report, Cam had a great time eating the food, playing with the seats and watching about half of the game. They stayed until the Tigers hit 100 points. It was a pretty big blowout.

When Cam came home he told me that the Tigers ate the bad guys. I'm not sure what that means. Very strange.

Today I tried to have fun with the kids while Dad took a bunch of students to Kansas City. Instead, most of the day was spent with Cameron complaining, whining or being sent to his room. I'm pretty bummed about it. I'll be honest, a cloud of sadness is hanging over me while I try to ingest the death of our general manager's teenage daughter. I'm deeply sad for him and want to just hold my kids close. Then Cam continued to be rebellious and disrespectful throughout the day. I'm lucky to even have a bad day with my child. But it was extra exhausting today.

A good moment that I hope I'll keep in my mind for a long time: Cam was showing Jordan how to play with a drum when Jordan just scootched into Cam and they ended up having a cuddle hug. Cam wrapped his Buzz Lightyear arms around her and gave her a squeeze. It was so sweet. (And yes, Cam wore the costume for most of the day)

Halloween isn't over!

Cam isn't ready to let go of the Halloween excitement. Last night when I put him to bed, he told me: "Halloween isn't over. Tomorrow is Halloween two." I think he's seen too many sequels.

I decided arguing with him wouldn't be worth it, especially when he needed to go to bed. So I just moved on... But he woke up this morning telling me how Halloween isn't over. I explained that it's November now. Cam decided "that isn't fair!" He was unhappy that the candy wasn't sitting around for breakfast and he was very unhappy that he couldn't wear his costume to school. I actually had to peel him out of it right before he left because he just HAD to sneak up to his room and wear it a little.

Ahhhh. The let down after Halloween can be so rough.

Getting ready for Halloween

I bought Cam's outfit for tomorrow about two months ago... But I didn't pull it out for Cam to enjoy until tonight. It fits great, he's thrilled about it... And he looks really cute. Honestly, he almost looks just like his Buzz Lightyear toy.

Since I returned from Houston, Cam has been incredibly obstinate. He had some major breakdowns while we were in Kentucky visiting our friends. In between having fun with our friends, he was challenging our authority and having a rough time with the lack of napping. It's obviously hard to be the youngest amongst bigger kids. He so desperately wants to be bigger than he is. It's hard. It's also hard keeping my cool around him. I just take a big breath and try my best.

I'm really happy to be home and I'm ready to watch Cam get WAY too sugared up. Tonight, a "phantom ghost" appeared at our front step. A friend and her Dad dropped off a bag of treats and a story about a phantom ghost who appeared. It was very cool. And Cam was thrilled.

Having fun

Cam got to go to his second homecoming parade this morning... And he had a blast eating candy and sugar and waving at people and playing with his friend Camryn. When we first got to our float, he was very, very upset because Camryn wasn't there... So I was relieved when her family arrived.

So I dragged Cam and Jordan out to eat with some friends and alumni last night. Cam was wonderful... Enjoying the conversations (with a lot of talk about Buzz Lightyear) and running around having fun on campus.

He also said a really funny thing yesterday: I told him I was going to dress up like a Mommy for Halloween. He said, "you already wear that costume!" Really? Interesting. So I asked him what I should dress up like. He told me: "Princess Layer." But what he really meant was Princess Lea -- From Star Wars. How he knows about Star Wars, I'll never know since he hasn't seen it yet and he certainly isn't old enough to watch it.

Although -- I seem to remember dressing up like Princess Lea when I was little and I sure as heck hadn't seen the movie since I was too young. Silly pop culture... Kids figure it out without truly participating in the event.

He was "on" when she was "off"

Cam and Jordan had their first pro photo shoot together today. It didn't go incredibly well since Jordan was upset at the beginning... But that's when Cameron was awesome. He smiled, he had fun. But by the time Jordan finally warmed up to the experience, Cam was tired and wanted to go and get some food. It was EXHAUSTING.

Did I mention how tall Cam is getting? It just seems to obvious lately. I just felt like mentioning it again.

Tonight, Cam's prayer was very general. He started with praying for God, all kids, all parents, all baseball players (go Cards by the way) and all the people in the world... And God bless Cameron Lee Reeves. Amen.

Wow. I think he prayed for EVERYONE.

Doing pretty well

Cam was upset with me because he isn't on a T-ball team yet. It's hard to explain that he has to wait until nexxt year when the season starts. He is so in love with baseball, it's awesome to watch his excitement about the game on so many levels. From the Cardinals (by knowing almost all of the players' names) to practicing in the backyard (he hit a line drive into Randy's chest yesterday).

Today I was looking at him sitting at the kitchen table and he looked to huge. He was upset about Jordan getting bigger than him because she eats vegetables and he doesn't. It will be really hard for this tiny little girl to ever beat him on size... but I'll do anything to try to get him to open his mind to healthy food. Anyway. He's huge. He's skinny. And he's so 4 and a half going on 15.

We have a big Christmas picture shoot tomorrow. Wish me luck. I just want ONE nice photo of both kids at the same time. One. Is that too much to ask for?

Busy week... Loopy boy

I went to Cam's big field trip to the pumpkin patch this week. You may remember how earlier in the week, Cam was thrilled how I was going to join him on this trip. I was kind of excited too. I didn't get to go on this trip with Cam last year. So I'm not quite sure why Cam was so miserable during the majority of the trip. He complained, whined and got really snotty. Most of the time he was saying: "I hate pumpkins. I hate hay rides. I want my Daddy." Wow. Okay. He threw a couple of tantrums. It wasn't fun. And honestly, in between the jerky stuff, I think he did have fun. But it was a bummer for me. He and I have fun all the time. But the pumpkin patch trip just wasn't working for us.

Cam is back into a very rebellious mode. But this time, he's rebellious in a more subtle way. I ask him to do something and he whispers "no, I don't WANT do" (the want is the dominant word). He doddles on purpose... Even when it's something he wants or needs to do. I sat him down and asked him why he's disrespectful. I asked him if he's mad at Mommy and Daddy. I can't figure it out. I do know it's exhausting. We had another morning of him fighting the toy pick-up process. Lots of crying. Lots of screaming. Honestly, he really does cry more than Jordan.

I think my skepticism about Cam has grown since Randy and I discovered how our son is more conniving than we realized. One of our babysitters has been watching Cam's friend Camryn. She told the babysitter that she and Cam have talked about ways to get out of going to bed. Cam apparently told her all his ways. Really? So that doddling stuff isn't just a doddling attempt... It's a planned out attempt to delay bed time. So what else is a scheme? I'm wondering this every time he pulls some type of attitude if it's a scheme. So I tested that theory yesterday. Cam and I had a bit of a blow-out at bedtime the night before. I announced to him that he wouldn't get his Friday McDonald's dinner. (Honestly, we don't go every week... but this week he had earned it until that point) So when I picked him up on Friday from school, he tried to throw a FIT in the van. I called him out on it. And about 5 to 10 minutes later, it was over. I broke him. It was a scheme to try and break me. It didn't work.

Jordan has a cold, so she slept most of the day. So Cam and I got to play and be silly outside. We ran around and giggles on the swingset for quite a while. I pushed Cam on the swing, he pushed me... We kept taking turns. It was very silly. After Jordan's longest nap of the day, I took both kids shopping for a little bit (I had a coupon that I didn't want to lose -- it was going to to run out tomorrow). We bumped into one of Cam's friends in a store... So when I got to finish up, Cam went with his friend to play on the mall playground. So that was cool. I found a sweater for the big Cam/Jordan Christmas photo shoot that I have planned next week. It's just at Sears, but I've never taken Jordan to a studio (other than the school version from last week). I've wanted to get both kids in front of a camera together. So we'll see how it goes. I have a sweet outfit for Jordan and I think I have a coordinating outfit for Cam. We can only hope for the best.

Let's try that again

This morning was nutty. I was scrambling to get Cam out in his big deal dress-up outfit for picture day, pack his swimming clothes because Tuesday is swim lesson day and make sure his check was filled out for his pictures. So I put the picture check and form into his swim lesson bag so nothing got lost.

I send Cam off to school with Dad.

Dad calls me when they got to school saying that Cam will either go to swim lessons or get his picture taken. So obviously I picked the pictures. I was unhappy with that choice, so I called to check if there was any way I could get Cam's picture taken early so he could go swim. But they couldn't do that. Oh well.

Fast forward to the end of the day: I grab Cam's unused swim suit bag and find the photo check and order form still in the bag. It turns out Cam never had his picture taken because no one thought to look through his stuff for his picture order form. I got Cam's hair cut and outfit for him to stand in a group photo... that's all. He should have just gone to swimming. But if he'd done that, they would have found his dang order form. So he'll have to bring the sweater and shirt to school tomorrow... so I can get the picture I wanted. But we'll have to scurry -- he has a school field trip, so the picture will have to happen before we leave.

I'm so annoyed. Not happy one bit that the teacher or any of the staff members didn't question that Cam wasn't getting his own personal photo. Especially after the fuss I made about swim lessons.

Big deal haircut

So... I had to do it. We weren't going to drag Poppy into town just to cut Cam's hair, so I took him to a haircut place for the first time ever. Yeah. He's 4 and a half. So Cam, Jordan and I went to a place that does haircuts in a sports environment. ESPN is on the TV. There are TV sets all over the place and there are lockers instead of shelves. Stuff like that. Cam thought it was very cool. And it really did make him feel comfortable during the haircut. Honestly, I think he just liked looking at himself in the mirror and watching TV at the same time. Since I'm a crazy Mommy, I had the woman who cut Cam's hair consult with Poppy to make sure she did it close to Poppy's style. (That's right, I had her talk to him on my cellphone) The cut ended up being pretty good -- Not like Poppy's fine work, but Cam was proud.

He was so proud that Randy tells me that Cam freaked out after his bath tonight -- his hair was wet and he cried that Randy had "broke his new haircut." Poor kid. He calmed down once his hair was dry and back to its previous look.

So why the big deal? Tomorrow is picture day! I even ran to Target to find a new sweater for the picture -- I checked Cam's drawers and ALL of his sweaters were too small. Bad planning on my part!

So here's a sweet side moment of the day: I stopped by Cam's classroom today on my way out from feeding Jordan (who fell asleep in my arms for a good 20 or 30 minutes by the way). His teacher told me Cam was telling everyone how I was going to his class field trip on Wednesday. Really? Okay. So I told folks at work that I wouldn't be attending a meeting... Made sure I would be at the field trip. So this evening before dinner, I told Cam I'd be at his field trip. He was so excited, he ran to me and gave me a HUGE hug. Now all I can hope is the rainy weather will stay away long enough for us all to enjoy the pumpkin patch and hay ride! Either way. Just getting Cam's reaction was worth it.

Fall fun

Cam and I played outside in the leaves after a grocery store visit... Here's the funny part. He ran into the pile of leaves and asked me to get the camera. That's how I have programmed my child. So, I took a few pictures. The best part was once I got the pictures done. Cam and I had a leaf war... And I think he won. I found a leaf in my hair 30 or 40 minutes later during dinner.

The fun wasn't over just because the sun went down early. I turned on some Disney music and we just danced and danced. Jordan was eating dinner in the high chair and she giggled and watched us. At some point, I told Cam to pretend we were all merpeople like the Little Mermaid. We all waved our arms in the air like we were swimming -- Jordan included. Cam kept dancing and dancing and eventually we pulled Jordan into the dancing. Then Cam pulled Daddy into the kitchen to watch us. I swear, even Jordan was performing. It was classic. Both kids obviously love to boogie.

Super excited

Super excited
Originally uploaded by Jen Reeves.

Cam was really excited in this picture... But you know, today was pretty exciting for him as well. Maybe not as dramatic as this moment when he was at a party over the weekend.

Anyway. Cam had a fun day. At school, he was really good and he showed me an amazing picture he drew! It told a story -- the first picture I've ever seen him do that had ACTION. He had a monster with planets in the sky and he wrote CAMERON across the bottom of the page. He really is growing up. Then, after school, I took him with Jordan and I to the newsroom. Along the way, I told him I loved him. HIs response: "I know!" (funny guy) He got to play on nickjr.com on a newsroom computer -- which he LOVES. Then we went home and found "Uncle" Gary visiting. So the boys all went out (along with Miss Jordan) and played baseball and "tossed" the football around. (Cam's version of tossing is really just dropping and chasing after the ball) After all of that good stuff: I made pancakes for dinner. Heaven.

I gave him a back scratch after his prayers tonight. The last thing he told me before he went to sleep: "You did a really good job."

Pause that

We live in a Tivo world... And Cameron has never known it any different. I think we got Tivo the year before he was born. So tonight I was reading him a book when Bubba scratched on the door to come in. So Cam jumped out of bed to let Bubba in... And told me to "Pause the book."

yikes.

Another story that I've told a few people but didn't write down. Cam is getting over a cold. It hasn't been bad enough to stay home. But it's annoying to him. (And I'm tired of telling him to constantly blow his nose) Anyway... I went into his classroom on Monday to say hi. His teacher told me that the first thing Cam did was walk into the room and tell her that her felt "ucky." But then Cam corrected her: "No I didn't. I said "I feel ICKY." With an "I." Ih, Ih (making the sound of an I)." I couldn't believe he was being such a smart-butt. His growing knowledge with language is going to rapidly get him in trouble!!

So funny

Almost every time Cam opens his mouth, he makes me laugh. I can't always laugh in his face... But I giggle inside.

Tonight he decided he would spell M-I-Z-Z-O-U on the fridge in honor of his time at the football game this past weekend. He didn't seem to be that happen when we were there, but man... It's the only thing he wants to talk about. It was great.

I just had to post the picture online before I headed off to bed. I didn't want to forget about this one.

Oh... And you know how I said Cam was throwing fewer tantrums? He threw one off and on all evening because he wanted to go somewhere for an ice cream cone. And we have a rule in this house -- if you cry for it, you don't get it. So he just kept digging himself deeper and deeper into the no-ice-cream hole. He gave it up and had apple sauce after a chicken burrito dinner.

Growing so fast

Cameron is a big kid. Everything he does these days seems to be so grown up. And he loves to brag about it to me. "Mommy, aren't you so proud of me that I can read?" "Mommy, aren't you so proud of me that I can hit the baseball?" And he continues to love the heck out of his sister... Cooing to her, giving her sweet hugs. "Mommy, when Jordan gets bigger, I'm going to give her HUGE hugs."

It's awesome.

Cam's temper tantrums have toned down. His teacher at school says he isn't having the big outbursts anymore. He even puts himself in the "safe area" when he feels angry. How grown up.

This morning he did a sweet thing. He woke up early because Daddy needed to get out of the house early. As he was putting on his Tiger socks, he told me he had to wear them, because he was going to play "the Tigers" at school. He got to go to the football game this past weekend and now he's been playing pretend football with his friends. Those socks were important.

Chips

Okay. So this week, Cameron's education seems to be clicking in. He finally started writing words... going beyond his standard C-A-M. He started writing MOM and DAD and CAMERON and all kinds of other words. It's so wonderful. I'm as proud as a mom can be.

Tonight was the clincher. We were sitting in a restaurant and he looked up at a poster on the wall. He points at it and says: "That says chips!" We spent the rest of the time reading and learning about all the words on the walls. Very fun. And I'm VERY proud.

His Grandma and Poppy are here today. They're taking the fun car back with them for a while. Cam got to play inside the car a little... And he noticed for the first time that there's a Cam plate in the front of the car. He LOVED it. So we got him to pose with the car. He still hasn't been allowed to go for a ride in it yet. I'm crazy... But just want him to be safe.

Family day fun

It was a really great day today. Actually, the morning started off rough. I tried to talk Cam into not waking me up until 8am by tempting him with pancakes for breakfast. So when he woke me up at 6:44, I gave him one more chance... Go to your room and play until 8am and then I'll make pancakes. By 7:00am all he could do was whine and cry. And after he woke up the baby, had a HUGE cry over the fact that he didn't get those pancakes... our day was great. We were outside most of the day playing baseball and t-ball. Cam is picking up a pretty mean swing!

To add to the day's excitement, I bought him a real t-ball tee. He had a toy one... so this one changes height, has a ball attached to the "home plate" with a long elastic string, 1st, 2nd and 3rd plates... and a net that he can use to practice his throwing skills. He LOVES it. By the end of the day, he was hitting the ball into the fence. Cam is also not incredibly modest. As I was putting Jordan to bed, I mentioned to him that he's an awesome big brother. And he replied: "And an awesome hitter! And catcher! And thrower!" We'll work on modesty later.

Speaking of Jordan. Cam just dotes over her. She got a new exersaucer today and he just loved showing her what it could do and playing with it with her. He tries to cheer her up (she's really, really clingy to me and not afraid to cry if I'm not close enough to her liking). He sings to her. He hugs and kisses her. Overall, he is still very gentle. He did try to pose with her outside and gave her a hug -- and the hug was a little too rough for her. He kissed and cooed to her to help her cheer up. He calls her "sweetie" and "cutie." I know this will change when she is mobile. But I just LOVE it right now. His only issue with Jordan is the amount of time it takes for me to feed her. He will HOUND me asking me if she's done eating every 30 seconds. It drives me batty since everytime he talks while I feed Jordan, she stops eating to look at Cam and smile at him. So his hounding actually makes the feeding process take TWICE as long than if he would just wait patiently. Love him. You just have to love him.

Tonight we played with his dinosaurs... Until my dinosaur mommy was eaten by a t-rex and Cam had the baby dinosaur standing over the mommy going "Mommy! Wake up! Wake up mommy!" It was very sad. So I switched to Legos. Cam built a lion all by himself a couple of nights ago... and it's AWESOME... He did such a good job that I created a few more lions like his design. Then I made an alligator, giraffe and a sheep. It was a fun way to end the night.

Oh one other funny thing Cam said. I was reading an article about Grand Rapids in the New York Times website. I mentioned the article to Randy when Cam says: "Grand Rapids? That's where you get babies!" And I agreed. That is where we "got" Cam.

200th Blog About Cam!

200 different postings about Cam. Fun stuff. Well, Cam has been really busy lately. We took another fast trip to St. Louis. He got to play with Shelbe and even go to another Cardinal's game. This time, he was really good and got to be friends with a girl who was sitting in the same section named Kate. I'd guess she was around 9 years old. The two of them got along really well... As you can see in the picture. Cam also got ANOTHER MLB ball from a Pirates player. Lucky boy. When Cam came home that night, he looked so grown up in his baseball hat. He told me: "Mommy, the Cardinals losed the game! The Pittsburgh Pirates winned the game. I'm so sad." He wasn't that sad. I think he was tired and was just looking for a reason for a Mommy hug.

Cam and Shelbe played so well again during this visit. For a little girl who is three whole years older, she really is willing to hang out with Cam and teach him everything she knows... Including her Game Boy. Of course, Cam wants one. I told him he'll have to wait until he gets older. For now, he gets to play with his super-cool Leapster toy. We also went to the Magic House again... And Cam had a ball. Only this time he was a little hoggy with some of the play areas. I realize it's the age, but I had a hard time getting him to share. I did get him a kid's membership so he can go as often as he wants.

We got back home late last night, Cam passed out in the last 30 minutes of the drive. So now I'm struggling to get him to take a nap to help make up for some of the lost sleep. I could use a little bit of that sleep myself (but I think that's been the case ever since Cam was born -- possibly before!).

Cam, Jordan and I had a really nice picnic outside at our nearby gardens for lunch today. It was a perfect day. Cool, blue skies and the bugs left us alone. Even Jordan joined in by eating some little snacks. Cam and I played "I Spy" for a while. It was just so pleasant. It was a nice moment of calm in this crazy non-stop life.