Daddy, Are Those Horses?

Cameron was walking by the TV where Dad was watching all of the day's football games... He saw the Denver Bronco's logo and asked his dad if the team was The Horses. Broncos, horses... Same thing in Cam's world.

We've had a weekend full of picnics... Or as Cam likes to call them: pick-a-nicks.

On our way to one of the picnics, we saw some neighbors who told us the kids around here are planning another Halloween party for the little ones in the neighborhood. So Cam was invited. He had to ask permission to go as Dash from The Incredibles: "Please I be Dash?" Randy says it's because Cam wants to be sure everyone is okay with his Halloween plans. (I really have to start looking for a red sweatsuit for that costume)

Anyway, we went to a nearby waterfountain to eat a snack... And then to a nearby garden where we stopped at many different locations to enjoy crackers and the leftover peanutbutter sandwhich from lunch. Today we enjoyed our backyard picnic with crackers and mosquitoes. Man, those bugs are mean.

Cam was talking to his Aunt Tisha about the new fence in his backyard -- And he told her it was a place for Jordan and he and the dogs to play. It was kind of cool to see Cam include Jordan in casual conversations.

Right now Cam is building cities out of blocks on the kitchen table... And everytime he finishes, he announces: "It's for you!!!" He tells me it's Jennifer City. Then he knocks it down and builds it again in a different way.

Stuff You Probably Didn't Want To Know

I just wanted to mention that this past few days Cam has battled an intestinal bug... And I'm only mentioning this because it's the first really gross health problem we've needed to deal with since we've been fully potty trained.

I know I constantly promise not to talk too much about potty stuff... But I'll just say this: The boy was so good about waking up in the middle of the night when he needed to go... Not a single accident in bed.

We're very proud. And really happy to have this health problem WITHOUT diapers. It's so much easier!

Hi Mommy!!

I had yoga class tonight so I didn't get to hang out with Cameron tonight. I talked to him on the phone and told him I would give him a hug in his bedroom when I get home. I guess that was a bad decision since the moment I opened the door into the house tonight, I heard him pop out of bed and run to the top of the stairs:

"Hi Mommy!"

He acted like we hadn't seen each other in a month. I got a huge hug. It was so sweet.

I talked him into going to the potty one more time and he asked me to carry him back to bed and give him scratches -- That's what I do when I wake him up in the middle of the night for an accident-proof potty visit. He doesn't have accidents in the morning if he has that middle-of-the-night pee break.

I gave him scratches and tucked him into bed... And then he attempted to stall his sleeping as long as he could -- Including if he could sleep in the bed with Mommy and Daddy... "You're bed is big!" Good argument kid. You're still not sleeping with us.

Toothbrush talk

Cameron's wanted to talk about toothbrushes a lot lately. Last weekend, we went to the store to buy items for health kits to help the many people who lost their homes along the Gulf Coast. Since then, he talks about people who have wet home... And their toothbrushes are dirty. I keep reminding him that's why we bought toothbrushes to help people who needed them.

Cam's even offered to let people move into our house, because it's dry. I think it's wonderful he wants to talk about the hurricane disaster and seems to understand some of the ways we can help.

He's a sweet guy.

Today he asked to write his name. He wanted paper and a pen to write. It's the first time I've ever seen him interested in focusing on writing. He was learning how to write the letter 'C' this week at school. He's getting good at it... But he's writing it the wrong way. It's cool to see him interested in that.

Oh, here's another story. Last night we shared a babysitter with a friend of ours. Her daughter got to stay here and play with Cam. They're good friends even though she's in Kindergarten and Cam's just starting pre-school. It's pretty cool. The babysitter put Cam to bed and he pulled his regular scams. But she was pretty sure he'd gone to bed when 2 hours later Cam tells her he can't read one of his books. She took him back upstairs to find a pile of books on the side of his bed. Apparently, he'd been going through a bunch of his books and "reading" them instead of sleeping. He's going to be a book sneaker just like his mom: I used to read books under my sheets with a flashlight and then pretend to be sleeping when my parents came into the room.

Working on our safety

So... Cameron is really pushing his limits and having a hard time controlling his temper. I talked to his teacher today and she says she's having the same problem. When Cam gets upset, he loses control of his temper and his extremities. He starts swinging in anger... Not thinking about what he's doing. We don't think he's hitting with purpose, he's hitting in anger without any premeditation. So his teachers are working on teaching Cameron ways to "keep his friends safe." Cameron became his teacher's "safe buddy." Cameron held her hand all through playground time while they worked on using their hands safely together. It's an interesting idea and I plan to use it at home as well.

So wish us luck. We're going through a challenging phase. And I think I know why. A week or two ago, I thought to myself abouut how great things have been with Cam when I compared the challenges we dealt with last year with all of his health problems. These challenges are different... I can understand why Cam is angry. Last year he was flipping out for no reason.

I have a couple of ideas why Cam is acting a little loopy. We've been so into the "big boy" transition. Here's just some of the things he's transitioned into in the last 6 months:
Big boy bed
Big boy underpants (okay that was about 9 months ago)
Pull-up free nights
Big boy chair in the kitchen (the toddler chair is gone to make room for a high chair)
Seat belts in the car (with a booster chair)
Pregnant mommy (and the belly is getting bigger)
Pre-school started two days ago

Heck, I even took the little toddler seat cover out of his bathroom... He balances on the toilet seat without it, so why keep it around.

It could be very possible that he's stressing out over all of these changes. I can totally understand that. I just have to figure out how to help him through this tough time.

Big day

Cameron started pre-school today. He was pretty excited and proud that he slept through the night dry... (I did wake him up in the middle of the night for a quick bathroom break).
So as we turned into school, Cam got really upset. He thought his new pre-school would be in a new building. But it was just in a new room. After I challenged Cam to a race to the front door of school, he gave up his anger and shock.

Instead of driving home like I normally do after dropping Cam off, I actually turned left and headed to work. I am officially a normal working person. Okay, probably not normal, but I started working a day shift today. 9 to 6... And I'm trilled. I actually got home in time to sit down for dinner with Randy and Cam. It was wonderful.

I got to give Cam a bath and put him to bed. Very cool.

I really missed you!

I got home tonight and Cam was pretty happy to see me... But he decided to go find his new transformer toy before he hugged me. Then I got monster hugs and kisses. Lots and lots of hugs and kisses.

I sat down to enjoy some dinner when Cam walked up to me and said: "Mommy, I really missed you."

Wow, that's sweet.

I gave him lots and lots more hugs and kisses for that.

We talked about how things are going and I put him to bed. When we wrapped up the prayer, Cam said: "Night, Dad." And he realized what he said and asked: "Are you Dad?" Of course I told him I wasn't. Then he asked: "Are you Jennifer Reeves?" I said yes... And I asked him: "But what do you call me?"

"Mommy"

At least he still remembers.

A REALLY big boy

Cameron decided to go to bed in his big boy underpants for the first time last night. We considered starting that this weekend, but Cam asked to do it last night. He's been getting out of bed often to go potty and Randy thought it was possible.

So at 2:30am this morning, Randy says Cameron walked up to the side of his bed. Cam asked if he could sleep with Daddy because his bed was wet. Bummer. So a late night change of sheets got Cam back in bed. I don't know if he returned to the pull ups for the second round of sheets.

I do know that Cam was ready to try again tonight. He's been dry every single day during naptime at school. I think he can do it. This has become Cam's personal crusade. We don't even have to push him on this issue anymore. Cam wants to master the art of being a really big boy.

I'm proud of him. I can't wait to return home from my work trip tomorrow and help Randy change sheets!

Rough night

Cameron has a long memory.
This morning I woke up at 6am to say good morning to the boy and Randy before they left for school and work (it's an hour earlier here in Canada). Cameron asked me where his big Buzz Lightyear doll was. I told him I didn't know (when actually we do know... It's hiding because Buzz has a hard time standing up and Cameron gets so frustrated, we hid the toy to keep us from going mad). I told Cam that maybe Dad would help him look for it after school.

And after school, Cam expected Dad would find it. He kept thinking about that ALL DAY.

So when he couldn't find Buzz, the rest of the night crumbled according to Randy. Cam didn't really calm down until 2/3rds through his prayer tonight.

That's rough.

Great traveller

Cam and the rest of the family went to Kentucky to visit family. It's so obvious that Cam is getting big enough to travel well. We didnt' even let him know we had the DVD player in the trunk as an emergency hush machine. When his Leapster ran out of batteries just 15 minutes into playing, he freaked, but he was pretty quickly convinced to read books. When I told him I couldn't read the books to him... He read those books to himself for a good hour. He colored and made up stories as he drew. He had toys talking to each other... He was making up games. It was awesome. Around dinner time, he made sure we knew he wanted "Old McDonald." (McDonald's for those of us who didn't know)

It was a relatively calm experience. Enjoyable even.

I guess that's why we're going to have another one... It will get dramatically more tricky with Jordan's appearance.

Please I sleep with...

So for some reason, Cameorn has suddenly discovered the joy of being naked. That's a little strange... Doesn't that happen earlier in life? Who knows.

Anyway... Recently, Cameron started asking to sleep without his pajamas on: "Please I sleep with my belly?"
So he sleeps with his Pull-Ups.

Tonight he tried to push it a little further and asked Randy: "Please I sleep with my butt?"
Daddy said no... Cam isn't ready for that just yet.

I'm walking around the newsroom giggling and saying: "Please I sleep with my butt?"

Cameron's baby thoughts

So since we know Cameron's new baby sister is on the way (notice the picture above)... Cameron has now decided that he has a brother baby in his belly. Last night he told me his name is "Baby Dad." Ah the brain of a 3 year old.

This morning, Cameron quietly crawled into bed with me after going to the bathroom (without flushing, he never flushes without encouragement) and announced to me very quietly: "Mommy, I went potty all by myself!" He was actually dry all night and earned another car... The first car in 3 days. We're very proud.

Her name is George

So we took Cam to the ultrasound today. He was interested for a little while, but started playing with a toy as the testing kept going on.

The big news is, Cameron is going to have a baby sister. He was okay with it... Not overly excited or anything, but he was cool with it.

On our way to school, I had Cameron practice the fact that has was going to have a sister and her name is Jordan. He practiced a few times and pronounced Jordan like "JOR-dan." I guess the JOR isn't really easy to pronounce. So we get into school and Cameron makes the big announcement: "I'm going to have a baby sister... And her name is George." I quickly corrected him to say Jordan.

Now that's funny.

We've done a silly thing

So, we're trying to encourage Cam to use the toilet when he needs to go at night. With the bribe of a hot wheels car, we've told him that if he's dry in the morning, he'll get that prize. Well, it's working... Except he's waking up a whole hour earlier. Yesterday it was 5:45am, today it was 5:20am. Today, I talked him into going back to sleep. That only lasted about 30 minutes. That wouldn't be a problem if he'd stay in his room and reed books and play. But he walked back and forth between his room and our room to tell me stupid things... Like how he had a dream about the Incredibles. No matter how many times I ask him to play on his own so Mommy can get some sleep, he just doesn't get it.

I'm tired.

Challenges of a 3 year old

So Cameron is in this non-stop whiny phase. We've been here before. I usually assume he's sick or over tired or something. It's just aggravating and tough to dig out once it starts. We know that time out doesn't work... But we want him to go away when he's so annoying. Yesterday I held him after time out, talked to him about how difficult it is to communicate through whines and cries. I was sure we worked past it and he started up again. Eventually, we started playing fireman and he got past it. And shockingly, a trip to the grocery store cleared up the problem. Most kids go nuts at the grocery store. My kid calms down. Mainly to get that promised cookie.

But hey, whatever works.

Cam got to go to his Uncle Barry's house this weekend. We went to the zoo along with the Overby's... Including Shelbe! He really likes her. And even though they're three years apart, they play really well. It was fun to watch and not have to hover over them. It's really nice to have Cam at an age where he can play and I don't have to worry every second if he'll kill himself. He did draw crayon on a glass table. That was bad, but he didn't do too much damage when we weren't looking.

The first LIE

Randy was on the phone while Cam ate dinner tonight. It wasn't his favorite: rotini pasta with sauce. He had eaten about two-thirds of his dinner... And he must have noticed Randy wasn't in the room anymore. He dumped his food in the trash can and put his plate back on the table.

Randy came back and Cameron played it off as if he had eaten all of his dinner. I guess Randy noticed the food in the trash can. So now Cam is in time out.

Wow. His first lie. Let the scamming begin.

All kinds of stories

There's all kinds of funny stories to tell about Cameron these days.

On the 24th, I took Cam to his first play. It was called: "5 Frogs and a Prince." Cameron was so engages and into the show. He loved the story. He'll tell you about how the prince was turned into a frog (his dad asked a fairy to save his son from drowning, so she turned him into a frog). He has a harder time discussing how the frog went back to becoming a prince (a princess kissed him). He keeps asking me if he can go back and see the 5 frogs and a prince again... He doesn't seem to understand that once a play is over, you can't see it again.

The next day (and the many days after that), Cameron has needed to talk to women carrying babies. He asks: "Did the baby come out of your belly?" She says yes... And at least a couple of time he's replied: "Oh yeah. I knew that."

This morning, Cameron told me he drank too much milk and he "hurt the baby in my belly." His stomach felt full... But he had to remind me of the baby. Yesterday, Cameron told me he had his baby sister in his belly and I had his baby brother in my belly.

Ahh. The mind of a three year old.

Belly Flop

It was beach day at Cam's school today. That means he got to put on his bathing suit and play in water. He loves that. He absolutely adores it. So when we were playing in the house this morning, I mentioned to him that it was beach day. Immediately, he decided he had to get to school. He started stripping to put on his bathing suit... But I made him keep the clothes on. He could change at school.

SO... After talking to Randy, the water play was a success. They had a sprinkler and it created a big puddle in his playground. That sounds fine and good... But that puddle was in the shredded up tires in the playground. That's okay... But Cameron and his friend thought it would be fun to jump from a piece of playgound equipment and bellyflop into the water. Not so smart. SO his teachers asked the boys to stop... But Cameron did it one more time in spite (that's his thing these days). When the teacher asked: "Cameron, doesn't that hurt?" Cam looked at her with a smile and said yes.

A tumble out of bed

So... We figured it would happen someday. Cameron fell out of bed around 11:45 last night. We were laying there in bed when we heard the bump. But there was no sound after that. I was waiting for Cam to start crying. We just waiting for a moment. No sound.
So we rushed to his room and found him standing there... About to get back into bed. He says: "I fell down." I made sure he was okay... He was just fine. He was happy. It was so strange.
We gave him hugs and kisses and said good night and he happily went back to sleep.
He ended up having a quick bathroom break before he really went back to sleep... But he was able to do that all by himself and just told us good night one more time. No problems after that.

Yeah. We finally get Cameron to a place in his life where he's reasonably self-sufficient and we mess things up and bring another one into the picture. We're silly, silly people.

By the way. On a totally different topic: Cameron can say the Pledge of Allegiance by heart and he likes to call eyebrows "eyegrows."

A McDonald's Disaster

While his parents are in Chicago... Cameron's Poppy and Grandma took the boy to McD's... Which sounds like fun for any kid who likes cheap little toys. But Cameron encountered THE PLAY AREA.

Sounds like fun right?

Not when Cameron got stuck at the top. There's a little bridge that is see-through and very wiggly. That's not so great for a relatively safe and worried three-year-old. Poppy had to climb up and help him out.

Poor Cam. Poor Poppy.

I bet everyone slept well last night.