Friday, May 20, 2011

Blake Smith

There is a reason God gave us Blake as our 1st born ... he was meant to be a big brother :)  He is such an amazing brother to his sister's, it brings tears to my eyes some days!  Don't get me wrong, he is a "normal" 4 yr old boy in that he does fight with his siblings, but the majority of the time he is so patient, kind and gentle with them :) 

He is very tolerant with Emerson!  She knows how to get under his skin and push his buttons, but he takes a lot of it in stride ;)  He also plays very well with her and goes out of his way to make sure she is involved in whatever he is playing!  He involves her in his games and watches over her at the play gym!!  It is very sweet and I think Emerson is going to be very lucky to have him, as she is now, as the years go on and they reach the school years.

Blake also loves Reese so much, it is just adorable!  When Reese was born, his preschool teacher would tell me after almost every class how he talked about his new baby sister everyday :)  How cute is that :)  He HAS to say goodnight to Reese before her naps and bedtime.  No matter where he is in the house, I make sure to let him say goodnight and give her a hug and kiss or he is very upset!  I'm not sure what he'll think of having 2 younger sisters as the years go by, but I know he will always be looking out for them and for that I am extremely grateful!

Blake has learned so much this year at preschool, but he never really imparts to us what his day has involved.  We often find out in little things he says or does when we ask, "Where'd you learn that??"  and he'll say, "At school."  Just last week we were driving to the south side and he asked me, "Where does the Earth end?" I asked him what he knew about the Earth and he said, "Lots, we learned at school."  I'm glad he's absorbing everything from preschool, but hope he won't be bored next year, as he has 1 more full year before he can start Kindergarten! 

Blake is really enjoying his new swimming lessons.  Cal says they work the kids pretty hard!  It is more intense than the 1st level of unparented lessons were, but Blake is doing awesome!!!  He told us today that he wants to move up to Gliders!  We'll see at the end of this session if he's ready for that!  Blake's also talking about playing hockey again.  He's already getting excited and so we've registered him in a hockey camp.  It is in August and runs for 5 mornings.  Hopefully he'll enjoy himself!  He's also going to a YMCA summer camp in July, which runs for 5 mornings!   

I find Blake to be a very gentle, kind soul.  He seems so innocent and vulnerable to me at times, but I have seen him stand up for himself and for that I am glad :)  He is so positive and is always looking at the bright side!  Sometimes he'll want to do something and I'll say, "I'm sorry bud, maybe tomorrow or maybe on the weekend."  He'll think about it for a moment and then say, "Oh yeah Mom, that's okay.  We can .... when Dad's home or on Saturday or before supper, etc, etc." and go off happily to do something else :)

We love you so much Blake, you bring big smiles to our faces every day and we are so glad you are you!  Don't ever change buddy, the world needs more people with your positivity and glass 1/2 full outlook on life :)

xoxo

Emerson Marie

Our strong-willed, adorable, smart, hilarious, fun loving Emerson is too cute for words some days!!!  She is such a little Mommy with her dolls, or babies as she calls them.  She copies everything I do with Reese!  On Monday in the pediatrician's waiting room she took my nursing cover out of my purse and proceeded to nurse her baby!  She even switched sides and burped her baby :)  As a mother who has nursed 3 babies, I find it pretty friggen' cute!!!!  My Mom jokes that she is going to be a lactation consultant when she grows up ... lol!!!  Although right now she tells us she works at Costco!  She walks around the house saying she's going to work!  The first time she did it, we asked her where she works and she came up with Costco!  We asked her what she did at work and she said she makes monies and drinks coffee!!!!  Ha, ha, ha!  Oh and whenever we ask her when she works, she says 3 o'clock! 

Em can be such a sweetheart and a few weeks ago we were sitting on the couch and she turned to me, took my cheeks in her hands and said, "You're so cute!"  I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes!!  She just grinned at me :)  She also loves to say, "Awwww!"  We'll be driving and she'll see a puppy and say, "I see a puppy!  Awwww ... !!"  She also awww's over babies and other "cute" things!!  Such a girly thing to do ;)  We thought she might be a bit of a girly girly, as she loves to dress herself in what she calls her "fancy clothes" but at the same time she LOVES playing outside in the yard and digging in the sand!!

Emerson says the most hilarious things, but her newest saying had us in stitches the first time we hear it, "Sounds like a plan?"  It is so cute, but she used it a few too many times on Blake tonight while they were coloring and we were talking to them about bed time!!!  Finally he screamed at the top of his lungs, "YES EM!!!  IT SOUNDS LIKE A PLAN EM!!!!!"  Of course being the good little sister that she is and seeing that she was getting under his skin, she continued on ;)  Cal and I were laughing pretty hard!  We didn't interfere, we find that sometimes it's best to let those two figure things out themselves!  Learn a few conflict management skills perhaps?!  For the most part, they play very well together!

Emerson is still enjoying her swimming lessons and has another full year before she can move on to unparented lessons.  I think she'd be ready sooner, but they don't allow them to do unparented lessons until they are 3.  The same goes with preschool!  She is dieing to join Blake in his preschool class, but won't be able to until she's 3!  Emerson is taking a break from gymnastics for the summer, but is missing it already!  All day today she was doing her "moves" around the house - her favorite is the stork stance ;)  We'll register her in gymnastics for September!! 

We love you so much Emerson :)  You challenge us daily, but you bring us more joy and laughter then you can imagine!  Don't ever change, your perseverance, stubbornness and huge heart will serve you well in the future years!

xoxo

I'm 6 months old already!!!

Hi everyone!

Yesterday I turned 6 months old! My Mom and Dad say the time has gone by very, very fast!! They feel like I was just born yesterday!

I'm getting good at sitting up by myself now and can't use the Bumbo anymore because I just push myself out!  I love my Jumperoo and Jolly Jumper and my family thinks I am very active, as compared to Blake and Em ;)  I don't even mind tummy time but I do like to roll from my tummy to back.  I haven't tried rolling the other way yet!

Apparently, I'm becoming quite the talker. Actually, Mom calls me a screecher!!!!  I have to be loud sometimes to be heard in this busy house :)  I've been teething for awhile now, but so far no teeth have popped through.  Mom's always trying to give me toys to teeth on, but I prefer my own hand - after all it is always there! 

I tried rice cereal for the first time this week. I really liked it!! I get to try oat cereal next week and hopefully lots of other yummy food that Mom makes me :)

I love Blake and Emerson very much, they make me laugh!!  They seem to love me very much too and are always giving me hugs and kisses!  I'm pretty lucky to have such a great big brother and a great big sister :) 

Every week I go to a program called "Come Play With Me."  It is at the YMCA and Mom, Emerson and I go when Blake is in preschool.  I am starting to enjoy it more and more every week!  I love watching everyone singing during circle time and last week I joined in!!  I may not know the words, but I can sing  my own tune!

I have my 6 month immunizations on June 2nd. We're not looking forward to that appointment - they hurt :( At my 6 month pediatrician appointment this week I was 16 lbs 11 oz and 26" long, which is the 75th %ile for both weight and height.  I had a slow start, but I am gaining weight fast now!!!

I can't wait for my 1st camping trip, which is coming up in June!  Blake and Em are excited too, we're going to their favorite place - Ol McDonald's!!

Well, I hope you enjoyed my little update! Enjoy your summer :) Love to you all!


XOXO

Reese (a.k.a. Reesey, Reesey-Gooey, Reesey-Blueberry - all nicknames my brother and sister have blessed me with!!)

Monday, May 16, 2011

E.N.T., Birthday Party and Dr. visit's!

Blake had his E.N.T. appointment at the U of A on Monday May 9th.  I thought we would be getting a date for a surgery to remove at least 1 of the 2 extra sinuses, but thankfully they do not need to be removed (yet)!  They have never been infected or bothered Blake in any way, so until they get infected we will just leave them alone.  We did not go to the E.N.T. to discuss Blake's ear infections, but he did ask about his ear infection hx and was a bit concerned over the amount of ear infections Blake has had since turning 1.  Although he was glad to hear that he has never had 1 in the summer months and that the the frequency of infections drastically decreased after he stopped going to a dayhome.  He had back to back ear infections from the minute he started going to a dayhome when he was 1 until he stopped going to the dayhome at age 19 months.  They did not all require antibiotics (some were viral infections) and I don't remember 1 keeping him down or bothering him in any way, other then the runny nose that started them all!  Between between ages 2 and 3 he only had 2 or 3 (once again none that I remember bothering him greatly), but between age 3 and 4 he's had 4 and 2 of these have caused quite a bit of pain and the last one was apparently an extremely bad double ear infection.  The E.N.T. said kids will usually grow out of ear infections at around age 7, so we have a few years to go!  Hopefully this winter he won't have too many!  We have to follow up with the E.N.T. in December, as he wants to continue to monitor his sinuses as well as the # of ear infections, if any that he is getting.  He also had a hearing test while we were there and I am happy to report that his hearing is excellent!  So all those times he made us wonder if he had hearing troubles, he was just ignoring us ... go figure ;)  I took the 3 kids to the appt. by myself and I have to say a huge THANK YOU to all 3 for behaving so well :)  2 different people commented on how well behaved they were.  Definitely made my day!!

Sunday afternoon we hosted Blake's 4th birthday party for family and friends at the Jump Zone.  We had a great time bouncing, sliding, breaking the pinata, enjoying dinner and cake and visiting!!  Blake loved the fireman theme he chose and thought it was pretty cool that all the kids were able to bring home their own fire chief hat :)  A huge thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us and spoil Blake!  We loved having you all and Blake is enjoying playing with his new gifts!
Today we had pediatrician appt's for Reese's 6 month check up and Blake's 4 year check up.  My Mom came with us, which was really nice of her :)  Reese and Blake are both healthy and growing like weeds!!  Reese weighed in at 16 lbs 11 oz and measured 26 " long, both 75th %tile for her age!!!  Her head was in the 60th %tile.  Quite a change from our 2 month old baby who was not putting on weight!!!  Blake weighed in at 43 lbs and measured 43".  His growing has certainly slowed down, but he is still in the 90th %tile for his age for both weight and height! 

And today Reese had her 1st taste of rice cereal!  She was definitely ready and gobbled quite a bit ... she loved it!  So we'll add that into our daily schedule, which some days might be a challenge!!!  I think the cereal may have given her a bit of an upset tummy though, as she's passing really stinky gas tonight and having trouble falling asleep :(  Hopefully her little tummy will adjust soon!  I can't believe she is old enough to start solids :(  I'm loving watching her grow, learn and change, but find it hard to believe she's almost 6 months old already.  All I can think is, "My baby!!!!"  That's something she will have to live with for the rest of her life, although they are all my babies, she is the "baby" of the family and I'm sure will often be reminded of that!

Emerson did not have a Dr. appt. today, but enjoyed the trip and reaped the rewards of the post Dr. visit sucker!!!  She was so cute in the waiting room - she got my nursing cover out of my purse and proceeded to put it on and "feed" her baby ;)  She's such a little Mommy!!  I can't wait to remind her of these times when she's a teenager ... !  Emerson is also giving us trouble tonight :(  She can certainly be stubborn and hard to handle at times!!!  Not so easy for Cal and I to deal with, but on the bright side I don't think we'll ever have to worry about her being pushed around in life ... she's the boss!!!!

Hope you are all doing well, enjoying the weather when the wind is not howling and keeping the mosquito's at bay!

Take care,

Tracy

Thursday, May 5, 2011

A letter to Blake

Four years ago today our baby boy was born.


Blake at 12 days old
I remember when I first held you Blake; my heart was overwhelmed with love and each day it grows.  I love our little daily exchanges of love, whether it is a quick squeeze on your way into your preschool classroom or a big bear hug at home (your hugs are getting tighter and stronger as you get older!)  or even a running hug that almost knocks me over!  I also love the affection you show towards Emerson and Reese.  You are an amazing big brother.

Your Dad and I have been honoured to watch you grow from a helpless infant, to a child who wears your heart of gold on your sleeve.

Our life with you has been an adventure, and I must say I look forward to seeing what each new day brings. I know that it will always end with a smile and a kiss. Each day we see you growing tall and strong and we are so proud of you.  You are a good person, with a good soul and a wonderful child; if only you wouldn’t grow up so fast.

Happy Birthday to our son Blake.  Thank you for all of the joy you have brought into our lives; we would not be the same without you. Thank you for all of the lessons that you have taught us. Thank you for all of the laughter and creativity you've brought into our world and most of all, thank you for being you - don't ever stop.

Blake - 4 years old at our Preschool Mother's Day Tea
Sending you a lifetime and ever after of hugs, kisses and tickles (you're so ticklish ... ;)

Mom and Dad

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Hear No, See No, Speak No ...

Emerson, Blake and Reese ... Emerson pretends not to hear us, Blake couldn't find a boulder in a hay stack and Reese is our quiet little one!!!  Okay, this might be a bit of an exaggeration, but there is some truth to it :)  I can't wait until they're old enough to do a hear no, see, no, speak no photo!!!  Have you seen one before?!  It's going to be SO cute!!!! 

Blake is really enjoying the warmer weather!  He and Cal spent the afternoon outside doing yard work, with a quick trip to Canadian Tire and a side stop at Tim Hortons!  Blake was pretty excited to tell me about the yogurt and berries he had with Dad :)  It's nice for Cal to spend time with just his boy.  I think the "guy" time is great for Blake, considering he's surrounded by women most of his time!!!  One of Blake's more recent "games" is telling secrets.  It's a lot of fun and very cute to hear his little secrets every day!  Blake had his last Bobbers swimming lesson on Friday and begins Floaters this Friday.  We all went to watch his lesson this past Friday and I was very proud of him!  He is getting more and more confident in the water and has a ball, it's great to see!  He's proud as punch to be moving on to the next level in swimming lessons :)  Today while the girls were napping I asked Blake if he had fun at the birthday party last night (our friends son Marc's 5th birthday).  He said he did and I told him that I was glad he had fun and thanked him for being a good boy and going to sleep well when we came home late from the party and sleeping in this morning.  I told him it makes Mom happy to hear he enjoyed himself and it also makes me happy and proud when he behaves so well.  I asked him what made him happy, to which he replied, "Reese!"  without a seconds hesitation.  How sweet is that?!

Emerson is also loving our warmer weather and spending more time outside.  We have to figure out if she can ride a bike or a tricycle or not though, because she sure wants to!!  The old tricycle we have is too big for her.  Hopefully we'll get to Toys R Us tomorrow to test drive some bikes :)  She is also very happy to take her baby for walks outside in her new stroller that Grandma and Grandpa brought back from the States!!  And she loves going down our backyard slide on her belly ;)  Emerson's imagination is growing everyday and her story telling is growing along with her imagination!!  We love hearing all her little stories - she started this one yesterday - she tells us she is going to work tomorrow and making monies and drinking coffee!!  LOL!!  I asked her where she's working and she told me Costco.  She tells us these stories in a very, very serious and quieter then normal (for her) voice, usually while pacing the family room and looking up at us through her long lashes!!!  I really have to try and get this on video, it is priceless and really adorable!!!!

Our little Reese is doing great!  She's so happy and sweet :)  She loves her exersaucer and Jolly Jumper!  We haven't pulled out the Jumperoo yet, but I'm sure she'll like that as well!  Reese rolls from her tummy to her back now and actually seems to enjoy tummy time, which is great to see!!  She kicks her legs like crazy, while on her tummy :)  She is sleeping good, but still not caving in to an early bedtime ;)  She gets really tired around 5 pm (I've tried to keep her up to go to bed a bit later, but it's so hard on her!), so I put her down and she usually wakes up around 7, eats and goes to bed at 8(ish).  She nurses once at night, sometimes twice, but usually once and gets up around 7, 7:30.  Can't complain about that!  I think in a few months she won't need that 5 o'clock sleep and will be able to stay up until 6 or 6:30 and that will hopefully be her bedtime, like Blake and Em!  I can't get out too much in the evenings, but I'm not complaining as it was my choice to nurse her and not give her a bottle!!  If I wanted to go out bad enough, I would have started her on a bottle, right?!  She's already almost 6 months old, which is so hard to believe.  Soon enough I'll be "free" if I want to be in the evening and my baby won't be a baby anymore :(  We bought her first rice cereal this week and are hoping to try it with her in the next few days!  We know she is definitely interested in food, as she watches intently while we're eating!!

Cal has switched to taking his E.D.O's (earned days off) on Thursday's so he can take Blake and Emerson to the YMCA and I can stay home with Reese.  Reese naps at 8:30 and 12:30 (approx.) and especially loves her morning naps, so with this change she can have her morning nap on Tuesdays!  I really notice a difference in her when she misses her morning nap, she's much less smiley and seems tired all day, even if she gets the afternoon nap.

This week is a big week for our household!  Our little boy turns 4 on Thursday!!!  Unbelievable.  Thursday is also a Mother's Day Tea at preschool!  I can't wait :)  Blake tells me there are lots of surprises for me on Thursday!!  Saturday, the 5 of us are off to Calgary for "A Day Out With Thomas!!"  Can't wait for a road trip and to see the excitement on Blake and Em's faces :)  Blake is excited to watch at DVD on the van t.v.!!  We don't use it often, so it is a novelty!!!  I'm also looking forward to visiting with one of my BFF's and her family and seeing her prego belly, as they will be joining us in Calgary!  Gerry, Lesley and kids were originally coming as well, but are staying home to pack for their trip to Mexico!!  And of course, Mother's Day on Sunday!  Hopefully my Mom, sister and I will fit in some "girl" time on Sunday and the rest of the day will be spent with my munchkins and hubby :)

Hope your are having a fantastic weekend! 

xoxo Tracy

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter everyone!!  We hope you've had a great Easter long weekend and have had the opportunity to spend some good quality time with your families :)  Our weekend has been wonderful so far!!

Saturday we headed to Prairie Gardens and Greenhouses for their annual Easter Festival, where we met the "Stony Plain Cameron's" for a fun-filled day!!  Emerson was thrown off her game by the tractor/trailer ride from the parking lot to the "farm", but got over that fairly quickly ;)  The kids had a lot of fun doing a little egg hunt, navigating through a bale maze, visiting the petting zoo, doing some Easter themed crafts and taking in a puppet show!  It was a bit windy, but overall good weather for spending a few hours outside!  Reese was a gem, which seems to be her usual :)  As we were driving away, all 3 kids fell asleep, so we took a little detour down a few country roads and checked out some subdivisions west of the city.  Then swung by Mt. Fugi to pick up supper!!  Oh and early Saturday morning I had a facial at Body Polish ... what a great day :)

Easter Sunday the kids woke up to their basket of goodies from the Easter bunny!  Blake was SO excited to see the Easter bunny had left him a Peyton Manning toy!!  Emerson polished off nearly a bag of mini eggs before we even knew she was in them ... definitely her Mom's girl ;)  Reese enjoyed shaking her new rattle and we got a cute pic of our little bunnies:

I attempted to get a nice family picture of the 5 of us "dressed up" before we left for Church, but that didn't happen and we were a few minutes late for Church!!  Blake and Emerson had fun at Sunday school - they did an egg hunt and colored Easter pictures.  Later this afternoon our friends Eric, Christa and Berlyn came over for a visit and dinner.  Christa brought her homemade perogies ... they were delicious!!!  Yum, yum, yum ... thanks Christa :)  We had another fun day and the kids were all tuckered out at bedtime!!

My parents are back from their vacation and are coming over for the day tomorrow.  Blake and Em are excited to see them and to see what the Stony Plain Easter bunny may have brought them ... !!  Hopefully it will be another warm day tomorrow and we can play outside.  Blake was so happy that the snow had melted enough to get his bike out of the shed this week!  Emerson tries to ride an old tricycle we have, but can't quite reach the peddles!  We were going to buy her a coup car for her birthday, but I think we're going to look at one of those trikes you can push or pedal.  We'll get her to try one at Toys R Us and see what she thinks!!

Happy Easter from our family to yours :)

xoxo The Cameron's