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!