Who is this big kid?

At some point since school started, Cameron started calming down. Not all the time, but he's mellowing. Maybe I'm learning to react to Cam differently. Maybe he's maturing. Maybe it's both. Either way, there's a happier understanding between Cam and I and the rest of the family. He's not reacting adversely to everything at home and his teacher says she's seeing improvements as well. It's very exciting.

I'm also seeing funny things happen as Cam grows up. Case in point: I bought Cam a pair of Buzz Lightyear khaki pants. I thought they were really cool. Um. Apparently they aren't cool. They're for babies... Even though I still have to roll the bottom of the pants so they fit him. And there's no way he's going to wear them again. Wah.

What is Cam into? Star Wars, soccer, football, baseball, Batman, High School Musical (HSM3 is out on the 24th... OMG we're so excited. No really. We are.), Spongebob Squarepants, Danny Phantom. He still tolerates Little Einsteins for the sake of his sister. He's interested in being his sister's third parent (no matter what his two parents say). He tells me little snippets of what life is like at school. Did you know there are first grade bullies (there are two)? Did you know some of the girls don't like to play with boys anymore? He likes math and social studies. Someday Cam wants to travel the world to research. What will he research? He just says he's going to research the places he travels because he plans to be a scientist. I love it.

It's out!

I mustered all the courage I could and smiled as I pulled out Cam's first tooth. He giggled and bounced around the house, hitting every mirror he could find to look at the hole in his teeth. We rushed to put that tiny tooth under his pillow for the ill-conceived Tooth Fairy's visit tonight.

It was a pretty exciting morning! Now I have to look around the house for some quarters.

**UPDATE** I found the quarters AND Cam came home with another wiggly tooth! He is so excited about this new sign that he's getting big. Now, just wish me luck as I try to sneak in and plop those quarters under his pillow.

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.