On to level TWO!

I am thrilled to announce that after taking swimming for six months, Cam has moved out of level one! We celebrated with ice cream we were so proud. He starts level two in a couple of weeks. Randy says Cam is really starting to get comfortable with the water. He even jumped into the deep end yesterday!! Woo hoo!! I guess going to class twice a week is actually making a difference.

Scamming and swimming

Cam has been taking a swim class twice a week these last few weeks. I'm happy to say that this week is the first time he's started taking little risks in the pool and MAN is he proud. He has another class tonight, I'll let you know how tonight's class goes.

Last night we had a babysitter while Randy and I went to an outdoor concert. Cam did a new scam: doddle and after you're in bed, sneak down and spook the babysitter... and run back upstairs. By the time she got up to him in his room, Cam was sitting in his bed grinning. Stinker.

He also scammed his way into watching an episode of Power Rangers... which is a bit too violent for my tastes. But Cam couldn't stop talking about it. Obviously, he's at a phase where he'll tell you EVERYTHING.

Look what God made!

A couple of days ago, Randy was driving Cam home from the pool when he noticed how the sun was setting and making a wonderful set of colors in the sky. Cam yelled out: "Look what God made!" When he got home, he ran in to tell me all about it as well. Very sweet kid moment. He's been asking me about God a lot lately. I told him that God was in his heart. So one day he was eating and he asked if when he swallowed his food if it was going to his heart so he could feed God. I told him his food goes to his tummy, but love goes to his heart and help feed God. He's a bit confused about that. But we'll just keep going to church and hopefully he'll start piecing things together in his own way.

A couple of funny things

So, the kids in Cam's class are already talking about Kindergarten... And it's still a year away! He asked me a couple of days ago if he will have to go to a new school for Kindergarten. I said yes. Then he asked me if we'd had to move our house. I said no. Then he asked if I was going to have to work a different job. Once again, I said no. Kindergarten is obviously this vague anomoly that no one is quite sure about. And boy is Can focused on this fact already.

Yesterday I was driving when Cam asked if I had both hands on the wheel. I did. We were stopped at a light, so I turned around and said: "I have both hands on the wheel. Do you know how to drive?" Cam says no... And then tells me to turn because the left turn light had turned green. Ah, that kid.

What a day!

Cam had a super fun day. He woke up kind of early... but played for a while so Mommy and Daddy could sleep longer. Then we went to the local kid pool -- an outdoor wading pool with slides and spraying water. Cam had a ton of fun. We also stopped by a nearby jungle gym.

After he took a nap (and Mommy took one too), we met up with his friend Camryn and her family to see the new Cars movie!!! HOORAY. Cam has been talking about this movie for almost a year. He's been looking forward to June for the last few months just because he knew Cars was coming out this month. He is so funny. He had a blast. It was a really wonderful movie and I think it was worth the wait.

After the movie, Cam got to play with Camryn. And even though it rained, the two of them hit the new treehouse/swing set. They had so much fun... Especially after Camryn discovered that if you slide down our very wet slide, you can also slide down the mud in the grass. She was covered in mud, Cam was covered in mud. They had a quick bath before they could have dinner -- that's how messy they were.

Anyway. They had a blast. Randy and I were thrilled to have friends over. It's really amazing when we actually do something social. It isn't hard to do. But for some reason, it just doesn't happen enough.

Honesty is the best policy

Cam's teacher told me an interesting story yesterday. When he was playing in the playground at school, his teacher told him to stop throwing the pieces of tires that cover the play area. She said that if he did it again, he'd have to sit next to her for a while in time out. Ten minutes later, Cam came up to her and said: "Ms. Carole, I threw the black stuff again. I have to sit next to you." She was very proud of him for telling the truth -- Since she never saw him throw the black stuff.

Go Cam!

Success... Except for Daddy's Back

Cameron and his Dad actually did sleep in the treehouse. At one point in the middle of the night, Cam said he was cold and crawled into Randy's sleeping bag. He actually fell back asleep. In the morning, Randy and Cam were getting up when Cam noticed a pool of drool on Randy's sleeping pad (the thin buffer between himself and the hard wood floor of the treehouse). Cam actually apologized for drooling. Very cute.

The funniest thing happened the next night. I had to get up in the middle of the night to feed the baby. I ended up falling asleep in the bed in Jordan's room... But around 4 in the morning I woke up to find Cam sleeping next to me. I asked him what he was doing and he said he wanted to sleep next to me... He has never done that before. Any other time he's cuddled up with a parent in bed, he just made that an opportunity to talk. The camp out showed Cam how cool it is to cuddle. Very cute.

But I made him go back to bed. There's no way he would have gotten a good night's sleep if he stayed with me. He ended up sleeping until 8am. That's really late for him.

Asleep in a tree

Right now, Cameron is trying to fall asleep in his tree house. It's a camping under the stars night for he and Randy. Daddy is already conked out. Cam has come inside two times to go to the bathroom. I told him that if he needs to come in again, he'll have to go to bed in his bedroom.

We'll see how it all goes. The grandparents are sleeping in the bedrooms that fit two people. Randy and Cam are outside and I'm sleeping in Jordan's room just in case Cam needs to come in and sleep in his bed.

A New Tree House!!

Cameron is the luckiest boy in town. His Daddy and Poppy built this! It's a tree house swing-set! There's a slide, a ladder and a swing on each side: One for Cam and one for Jordan. Under the cool platform that's built around a tree in our backyard -- A sandbox! Cameron arrived home from school to find it ready for him! And he LOVED it!

He said it's cool, cool, cool and he even said it's "perfect." Of course we were so excited to see him so excited.

I snapped a bunch of pictures and even a little video on my phone... Since that's what was in my hand when we got out of the car after a long day at school/work. He was thrilled. He played right before dinner and then went back out to play before bed. He rolled balls down the slide, he played catch with me up on the tree house and down with Daddy on the ground. He sat on his swing, he rode the swing like a super hero... He was so busy and happy. Right before he had to go in for bed, Cameron told me that when Jordan gets bigger, she can swing on his swing. What a great sharer.

Another busy week

I've noticed I'm just not posting as much as usual these days. Now that I'm also teaching a class along with my normal work load and Jordan's many appointments, blogging is getting a little less attention. Heck, I haven't updated my Flickr site in a couple of weeks!

Anyway. Cam had a busy week... It ended with a field trip to a local honey farm. He got a chance to make a beeswax candle. We burned it today as we at a yummy grilled meal that Daddy made. Cam was very excited to burn the candle as part of a "special" dinner. We grilled Cam up a corn on the cob... But once again, he wouldn't risk eating that yummy treat. He also won't eat pizza. Or drink juice. He turned down a juice box yesterday when we were all at a friend's house for an informal party.

This morning, Cam threw a minor fit when I told him he couldn't watch a show. He had to play outside. The good news: Once he was outside, he wanted to stay outside for most of the day -- even if it was hot and sticky. I took him to the hardware story, the local farmer's market and even to the grocery store. He was good most of the time. We played hide and seek... And baseball and other silly games outside through the day. Heck. We even got him to clean up his disaster of toys in the basement. We can see some of the floor!

So overall. I'd say we're doing okay in the Cam department here. We're still working on the emotional outbursts. But most of the time, we can get him breathing and calming himself down.

Elmo, Cookie Monster and Boogie Time

Cam had a great weekend. He had a chance to eat lunch with Cookie Monster and Rosita from Sesame Street. He also had a chance to see Elmo's Coloring Book -- A very cool big arena show full of pre-school songs and dance and colors and a lot of commercialism at every turn. When we got to the event, Cam had a chance to walk in holding Cookie Monster's hand. It was very sweet. At the end of the show when everyone was about to live happily every after and singing a final song, Cam boogies in the silliest and sweetest and uncoordinated way. I wish I had a video camera at the time. I only got a picture of the moment.

We also had a lot of fun going on a walk while Cam rode his bike. He's really getting good at balancing on that bike. It's awesome to watch him gain more and more confidence. We also went to church. He threw a fit during a prayer. But during the children's church portion, Jordan kept grabbing at Cam's back and rubbing on his face. He looked over at her, smiles and said: "She knows how to tickle!" It was awesome.

He got a ball!

Cam and I went to see the Cards in the new Busch Stadium. I won't go into a ton of details, but I gassed Cam up with a crazy amount of sugar, we giggled, we cheered an dhe asked if we were going home often But in the endm he told he had the greatest time EVER! That's because I scored a game ball from an outfielder for Cam. He was so excited, he slept with the ball that night.

One other funny story, before he went to bed that night, he told me he couldn't go to bed yet, he "had to play Jim Edmonds." Then he proceeded to roll the ball on the floor and say: "Get the ball Jim Edmonds!! Okay! I got it!"

Very funny.

It's my birthday and Cam can cry if he wants to.

Yeah. So Cam was thrilled it was my birthday today. In the middle of almost every bite of breakfast, he looked up at me and said: "Happy Birthday Mommy." It was kind of strange. Anyway. When I went to school later in the day, a couple of teachers asked me if it was my birthday. Apparently Cam was telling everyone he saw about it.

So when Randy and I picked him up from school, Cam was really, really excited. He asked if we were going to my birthday party. He just assumed we were going to make the same big deal about my birthday like we do for him. I would have loved it. But that wasn't in the works. So when I told Cam we weren't having a party, he was disappointed. Then he asked if we were having birthday cake. And I told him were weren't. That's when he lost it. He wanted to eat Mommy's birthday cake. And he just kept crying and crying. Once I finally got him to calm down about that issue, he wanted to get dinner from Burger King. I didn't think he needed that kind of food, especially after the fit he had just thrown. So I knew if I just flat out told him "no," he'd throw a fit again. So I just decided to not drive by the restaurant. The moment I drove by the exit that would have taken us to the Burger Kind, Cam lost it. He actually knew which exit goes to Burger King. My son has a better map of the Columbia area in his head than half of our reporters.

I can't say the tantrums made this a good birthday. Randy did end up getting me a birthday cake. I think Cam was more excited about it than I was. Cam asked Randy if he made the cake. Randy said yes (even though it came from a grocery store). Then Cam asked if Randy went to work, went home to bake the cake, then returned to work and then picked Cam up from school. He had to understand how Randy could have even been able to bake that cake for Mommy. Funny kid. He had to logically figure out how Randy could have baked my cake... And still gone to work.

Hey Am-Bruce!

My friend Ambrose is driving across the country. We were lucky enough to have him stay the night here last night. He's spending this year as a clown for a travling Cirque de Soleil show... and he is as funny as I remember he was back at Syracuse University. Cameron LOVED him... Even though he kept forgetting to call Ambrose the right name. He kept saying: Am-Bruce. So here's the basic conversation that had me rolling on the floor everytime Cam would try to get Ambrose's attention:

Cam: Hey Am-Bruce!

Ambrose: It's Ambrose

Cam: Hey Am-BROH-SS!

Ambrose: Gimme five! (hand slap)

Cam: Ha ha ha! Hey Am-BROH-SS!!

Ambrose: You said it right! Gimme five! (hand slap)

Cam: Noooo! Hey Am-BROH-SS!!!

Ambrose: Yeah buddy! Give me five! (hand slap)

Cam was so flustered that Ambrose wouldn't just say: What? And Cam couldn't figure how to get out of the cycle of high fives. I was on the floor laughing so hard watching Cam's confused face.

Cam went to school before Ambrose was up and ready to go this morning. Cam kept wanting to wake him. He was so thrilled to have a "new friend." Ambrose actually stopped by Cam's classroom to say goodbye when I dropped Jordan off for her school day. You should have seen Cam's face light up when he saw my tall, skinny, large-haired friend walk into this room full of short 4-year-olds.

Busy day

Cam's Grandma and Poppy surprised him with a visit yesterday. They got to play with him today -- in between his busy day. First, he had to wake his grandparents up and play with them. I am grateful for the extra sleep. Then he had swim lessons. Right after that, he had to eat lunch and get a nap before his next event. Of course, he fell asleep 10 minutes before I had to wake him up to get dressed to the The Jungle Book on stage at a location on campus.

Cam was not well rested.

So we get to the show. He saw a few people he knew and we met up with Shanley and her Mom. They were engaged and ready when the show started... But it was acted by a bunch of kids who worked really hard... But the pacing was pretty slow. Keeping 4 year olds engaged when they can barely hear the action through the cries and whines of children was not easy. But Cam LOVED the experience after he got to talk to a few of the actors on the stage after the show.

We ran around together on campus for a little while and I got him a scoop of ice cream. He showed all kinds of reasons why he hadn't slept enough, but we had fun.

Dad and Mom got to go out to eat tonight. We even went to a movie. It was nice. I have no idea how night time when with the grandparents, but I do know that everyone is asleep since we got home.

Good sharing

Cam hopped into the car with Randy this morning on their way to the dentist's office. Cam asked Randy if my "old car" was his "new car." Randy said yes -- since he's driving my car now that we have the mini-van. Cam said: "Mom is such a great sharer!"

What a sweetie.

Funny things

So... Cam continues to say funny things.

Last week as we drove up to the TV station, he said: "The tower is hurting the sky!" If you haven't seen the station, the transmission tower is right next to the building -- and yes, it is very tall.

Yesterday morning, Cam told Randy: "Mommy has pointy legs." Randy asked him what he meant and Cam said: "Sometimes, when I wear shorts, her legs feel pointy." Meaning, I haven't shaved enough for my son's liking.

I'm starting to figure out the trend

So Cameron has been a huge challenge lately and I'm trying to figure out how to put a stop to it. He's a smart kid. And my theory behind the smart thing is we can communicate our way out of this annoying funk. But talking him through his insanity during a tantrum is impossible. So the only way is to catch him before he spins out of control... And I don't always have the energy to put a stop to it.

So then I have to figure out why he's doing this. Here's my theory -- He thinks he's always gotten what he wanted. It's not true. But for some reason, he thinks the tantrum system will work. So I created a system where he has to earn TV time. If he throws a tantrum, he doesn't get TV time. That worked for a while, but he doesn't seem to care anymore. So I have to find a new way to encourage him to be good. You know; I don't even care if he isn't good as long as he doesn't continue this defying authority and screaming junk. I keep hearing 4 years old is a preview into the teenage years. If that is true, we're going to have ugly teenage years.

Meatballs

He threw a tantrum for an hour and a half over meatballs. He didn't like them... Even though he hadn't even tried them. He wanted meatballs you find in spagetti-ohs. I was a mean Mommy. He stuck his tongue out. He screamed and ranted. He was in time out, he was almost going to have to go to bed at 5:45 in the evening. I actually walked out of the house and into the garage just to restrain myself.

He's sleeping now. I pray he will get enough rest so we can have a better day tomorrow.

12 hours wasn't enough

So... Yesterday we went to church and Earth Day because Cam was acting much more human. But even though he had 12 hours of sleep, he was MOODY. This picture tells it all.

In church, I had to take him out of the sanctuary to get him to calm down. At Earth Day, he decided to pout for a while after throwing a tantrum.

Good news. After his nap, he only threw a MONSTER tantrum. It was so bad, I took him outside to let him scream it out in the fresh air. That fresh air eventually did what I wanted it to do... Get him to want to play. We drew with chalk, made up fantastic stories under a tree and ran around in the grass. He considered taking his shirt off, but he told me he didn't want anyone to laugh at him. How he became modest and concerned about what people think about him, I'll never know. But from there on, he was a sweetheart. And he continued it through today. Thank goodness.