Summer fun!!

We've had some great times these past few weeks!!  Here are some highlights:

- The kids and I spent a fun-filled day with the Stony Plain Cameron's (minus Gerry!)!  It started out with a visit to Cafe O'Play, followed by lunch at Wendy's and ending with Capital Ex!  We had a wonderful time, lots of fun and laughs!!  The kids were so well-behaved, even though the girls missed nap time ;)  It was nice to spend some time with them and hopefully we'll squeeze in another "date" before September!

- A day trip to Battleford, Saskatchewan to surprise my Grandma Kelley with an 80th birthday party at the Legion!!!  It was a nice gathering!  We seen a lot of relatives who we haven't seen in years - cousins, aunts, uncles, etc.  Great to catch up with everyone and so nice to see my Grandma enjoying herself!  She's a hard worker (still working at 80!!) and I worry she doesn't take much down time, so it was great for her to have some fun and visit :) 

- A visit to the Strathcona Farmer's Market!  It was full of wonderful vendors - we could have spent a fortune, but only walked away with fresh baked oatmeal raisin cookies, pesto, and perogies!!  Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm ... 

- A visit to United Cycle!  We needed to get Blake's skates repaired and sized and check the fit of some of his hockey equipment.  And the boys were (both) extremely excited to pick out matching Flyers hats!!!

- Many trips to local parks!  One of our favorites is the CD park.  They have recently renovated this park and it is SO awesome!  The kids love the spray park, but also have fun on all the playground equipment :)
- Dinner with Cal's Mom and his Grandparents.  Grandma and Grandpa Alstad hadn't met Reese yet, so it was nice to introduce them to her!!  We had a nice dinner and visit, it was great to catch up :) 

- An overnight stay at the Krywiak cabin at Skeleton Lake.  And I use the term "cabin" loosely ... it's more a house then a cabin, very nice with all the modern day conveniences!!  The weather wasn't the greatest, but at least it didn't rain!  The kids had fun playing in the bouncy house, swinging and we visited the public beach and park.  The boys took a quick fishing trip Sunday morning, but didn't catch anything.  Reese was averse to sleeping, which always stresses me out for some silly reason :S  But at least they all slept in!!  We're looking forward to spending some more time out there next year with the Parenteau's :)

- Blake started his hockey camp this Monday.  It is 45 min. and focuses mostly on skating and basic hockey skills!  Blake's has improved greatly from his first time on the ice (less then a year ago) and continues to enjoy himself!!  He's shuffling along a little faster this year, but he seemed to have this idea in his head that because he took skating lessons this Spring and is older now that he would step on the ice and fly!!! 

- Reese had her 9 month check up today!  She is doing great and is now 20 lbs (75th %tile), 27.5" (50th %tile) and her head circumference is in the 50th %tile as well :)  She's a strong, healthy little girl!  She is still rolling all over the place and can really get going fast!  She tries to get up onto her knees to crawl, but hasn't figured out crawling quite yet.  She loves standing and tries to pull herself up when you're holding onto her hands - once she stands up she grins and grins and is so happy to be standing!!  She has a good appetite and loves finger foods!  She prefers soft veggies and fruits to pureed, but still eats a lot of pureed when we're on the go!!  She has 7 teeth (all 7 came through within 1 month) with an 8th that has popped out and today is back in!   

We're doing some work around home this weekend (need to hang pictures and shelves in the house, paint our deck, build a sandbox under the play set, and fix our trailer!  Not sure we'll get all of that done?!) and hopefully visit the St. Albert Farmer's Market.

Next week we don't have too many plans.  On Saturday Reese and I are flying to Saskatoon for my cousin Aaron's wedding.  I wish we could all go, but I am looking forward to seeing my relatives again and hopefully relaxing a little more then usual, being I'll only have 1 child under my care ;)  I'm sure Cal and the other 2 kidlets will also have a nice weekend!  

We hope you are all having a fantastic summer!!!  ttyl :)

Tracy 

Great Weekend!

We've had a fun weekend!  Saturday we headed to Spruce Grove to watch our nephew Dylan play ball.  It was a close game, but they won!  Today they played in the final and came out victorious ... Provincial Champs!!  I'm guessing the team must be on cloud 9!  Watching Dylan play ball, brought Cal and I back to our ball playing days as kids!!  I hope our kids will want to play ball in the summers :)  I loved playing and miss it still!!  Nothing like stealing home plate ;)  The kids had fun watching their cousin play ball and Em also enjoyed sitting and keeping score with Auntie Carmen!  From the game we came back to Edmonton, to a 35th birthday party.  Cal's friend and co-worker Norah, invited us to a party that her and her best friend were co-hosting.  We weren't sure what to expect as there were numerous games planned, but we all had a blast!!!  There were quite a few people there (I'd say around 50, with 15 to 20 of those being kids!) and I knew no one and Cal only knew Norah, but everyone was so friendly!  They were a really great group of people!  The kids enjoyed a reptile show ... tarantula (I know, not a reptile!), scorpion, 3 snakes, bearded dragon, gecko's, all of which Blake thought were pretty cool!  Emerson's attention wavered and she left the show 1/2 way through to play in another room!  After the reptile show there was the Highland games and the kids played in a bouncy house!  It was a really fun afternoon and I'm glad I finally met Norah, her husband Matt and their son Tylor! 

Sunday morning the girls were up super early (product of missing nap time on Saturday :S ).  Reese went for a nap at 6:30 am and it was just Em and I until Blake got up at 8 (he seems to be able to sleep in after a busy day/later night, thank goodness!!).  Although I was totally exhausted, I really enjoyed that hour and a half with Em!  We read books, talked and cuddled on the couch.  It was nice to have time just with her, I can't remember the last time that happened.  She was so cute and sweet and I loved hearing her opinions on the previous day's events and her memories of the cabin :)  When Blake and Cal got up, I packed a lunch and Cal headed to the park with Blake and Em to play and have a picnic lunch!  They had a great time and the merry-go-round was the big hit this time!!  After Em got up from her afternoon nap, she and I headed out for some more girl time!!  We did some shopping :)  Then my Mom and Dad came over with groceries for supper!!  The seafood linguini and strawberry shortcake was delish!  I wish I would have captured Emerson's reaction to hearing that we were having strawberry shortcake for desert ... it was priceless and had us ALL laughing so hard!!!!  I know she was thinking of Strawberry Shortcake from the cartoon :)  It was SO funny!!  And then her reaction to the spray whipping cream was almost as priceless!!

Blake had a fantastic time last week at his Jitter Bugs camp!  On Friday we went early to play in the playgym before picking him up and saw him swimming in the pool.  He had the biggest grin on his face, doggie paddling around!  It was so great to see!!!  I love seeing my kids having fun and enjoying themselves, makes me the happiest Mom in the world :)

This week I'm hoping to take a trip to the zoo and a spray park.  Crossing our fingers that today's weather holds up! 

Hope you all had a great weekend too :)

xoxo Tracy

Growing like weeds!!!

I've been thinking a lot lately about how fast time is going (actually I think about this a lot, which is not always a good thing)!  I feel like I have to make the absolute most of my time with Blake, because in 1 year we'll be preparing for his first day of kindergarten and my week days with him will be coming to an end :S  I was thinking last night that next summer Reese will most likely not be taking a morning nap, which will be nice for Blake's last few months before Kindergarten begins!!

Blake has definitely sprouted up again these past few months!  In June he was still wearing his size 4 jeans, although they were starting to look more like clam diggers then full length jeans!  Lately he's been wearing shorts or sweats every day, but today he went to put jeans on and the size 4 jeans were way too short!!!  Sometimes when we peak in on the kids before we go to bed, we are amazed at how big they look in their beds ... they grow so fast and time just flies!!  Blake is in a YMCA summer camp this week, called Jitter Bugs.  It's from 9 to noon and he is having a blast!  Yesterday they went swimming, which he was very excited about!  There were 3 different camps he could have attended, 1 was an all day camp and the other was 9 to 2.  Maybe next year he'll try one of the others!  He's having so much fun, that we've registered him for another week at the end of August :) 

Emerson would love to stay with Blake at camp, but you have to be 3!  I promised her she could try a camp next summer if she wants, which I'm pretty sure she'll be up for!!  Today the girls and I met friends at a play gym, which was really nice!  Nice to hang out with just the girls once in a while :)  Emerson is enjoying summer and loves being outside as much as Blake!  She LOVES to swing!  The higher the better!  She can swing for a very long time ... as long as someone is there to push her!  For the most part, Blake and Emerson play SO well together, which we are very grateful for!  I absolutely adore listening to them when they are playing and hearing their conversations :)  Especially about their "jobs!"  Blake builds houses still and takes Em to her job (via train), which is at Costco!  Too funny, love their imaginations!!

Reese is growing up so fast and changing everyday!  She now has 3 teeth on the bottom and 3 very close to breaking through on the top.  She is a good little eater (3 meals a day now) and particularly enjoys fruit!!  She also enjoys feeding herself and tonight had some soft peas!  I adore watching her pick up cheerio's, peas, etc ... such an amazing sight to see a child learn the coordination involved in getting a cheerio to their mouth :)  Reese has started talking more, vs. screaming!!!  The screaming was quite cute and funny (although ear piercing at times!!) but the new consonant and vowel sounds are adorable too!  She is very interactive and when I repeat the sounds to her she is quick to "talk" back!!!  She is rolling all over the place to get what she wants, but hasn't gotten up on all fours yet.  Maybe we should show her!  She also enjoys "standing" with our assistance.  She is a pretty content little girl and spends quite a lot of time rolling around or sitting and playing by herself and with Blake and Em.  There is no shortage of love between those 2 and their baby sister!!!  Reese is definitely well loved!  Reese started waving while we were at the cabin and I sometimes see her waving her fingers and staring at her hand!!!  She also gives me kisses now, which I adore!  I say, "Kiss?" and make lip smacking noises and if she wants to give me a kiss, she leans in with a wide open mouth :) 

I hope everyone is having a great summer!  The mosquito's are keeping us inside a little bit more then we'd like to be, but I have noticed they seem to be getting less and less these past few days! 

Take care, talk to you again soon!

Luv Tracy

Reese's Baptism

Today (July 17th) Reese was baptised at Pilgrim United Church in Edmonton. It was a very nice service and a wonderful day. Church began at 11 am and the Baptism was at the end of the service. We always get a bit nervous towards the end of the service, as the kids usually start getting tired of sitting!!  Blake was unbelievable ... he sat so still and quiet for most of the service.  My Dad asked me if I'd read him the riot act, but all I asked him to do was to be quiet and listen!  And he was actually listening and paying attention :)  Afterwards he told us we should come more often, which made me feel guilty because we really don't go often enough!!  Emerson did good too!  She wondered around between us, Grandma and Grandpa D and Grandpa Bruce, but kept pretty quiet!  They've hired 2 new Sunday school staff, who start in September so I promised Blake and Em we'd make a better effort to attend Church!  Reese did great too!  She gave a little squeak during the ceremony and Rev. Wasyk apologized for the cold water ;)  We were given the Baptismal Candle and everyone who attended church today signed an "I witnessed your Baptism" sheet for us to have as a keepsake. After church everyone came back to our house for lunch.  We missed a few of our family and friends as everyone is busy with summer activities and weddings, but thank everyone who came and those who sent well wishes and gifts :) 

XOXOX
Tracy

Summer Vacation 2011

We're back!  We had a great time in the land of the living skies!!!  We left on Wednesday June 29th.  Our first stop was in North Battleford, where we met my Grandma Kelley for lunch at the McDonald's Play Place!  We had a nice visit and the kids burned some pent up energy ;)  Reese was too excited and curious about her surroundings to eat much, so we stopped again in Saskatoon at the Canadian Tire.  Cal, Blake and Emerson went into the store and came out with new fishing rods for the kids and some fishing tackle!  They were both very excited about their new fishing gear!!  Our next stop was in Tisdale at my Grandma and Grandpa's house for supper.  And then we were on to Marean Lake Resort and the Smith cabin :)  I love going to the cabin and reminiscing about the times we spent there when we were young and making new memories to cherish!

Mom and Dad joined us on Friday (July 1st) and Lindsay and Jeremy joined us on Sunday (July 3rd).  We spent much of our time on the beach, playing at the parks, mini golfing, swimming off the end of our dock, relaxing on the party island, playing in front of the cabin, reading, going for walks (which almost always ended in ice cream!!), fishing, visiting with friends and family who came for the day and relaxing!  Cal, Dad and Jeremy left early one morning for a fishing trip to Tobin Lake, near Nipawin.  They were on the lake for 12 hours!!!  The fishing wasn't as good this year (due to above average rainfalls) but they had a great time and ended up bringing home enough fish for a delicious fish bake!!!  Jeremy cooks up the best fish I've ever tasted!  The kids had a blast and did not want to leave!  We were blessed with very good weather.  It was in the upper 20's and into the 30's quite a few days.  Blake discovered the doggie paddle and had so much fun paddling around on his own!  Emerson confirmed she has no fear of the water by running out into the lake up to her chin with no life jacket on!!  It was nice for everyone to meet Reese and see Blake and Emerson and for us to catch up with everyone else too!  You really realize how seldom you see each other when the last time most of my relatives saw Emerson she was only 5 months old and is now 2 and 1/2!!  Time flies, there's no doubt! 

We also celebrated my grandparents 60th wedding anniversary while in Saskatchewan.  We had a small celebration at my grandparents house in Tisdale on Saturday July 9th.  Almost our entire family was there (minus 1 cousin who was recovering from a surgery)!  The younger kids (ours and my cousins!) had lots of fun running around and playing and the adults had a great time catching up and visiting.  My grandparents were very happy to see everyone together and I teared up when my Grandma said to me, "I just can't believe all this is because of me!"  I can't imagine that feeling, but one day I hope to experience it!  My grandparents are truly an inspiration - 60 years of marriage, love and devoting themselves to each other and their family.  They are always there for all their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and have always been.  The love they share with each other and their family is unconditional.  I am so proud to call them Grandma and Grandpa and feel so fortunate to by their granddaughter :)  And I don't think anyone has a cooler Grandma then me - she emails, FB's and even used the work IPad in a sentence ... !!!! 

The trip home was pretty uneventful.  Overall the kids travel very well!  Thankgoodness, considering the length of the trip we had!  We came home to a mess, but on the bright side we also came home to a freshly painted home!!  The paint job looks fantastic, we're very happy with it!  We're not putting up any pictures or anything on the walls quite yet.  The mess has been cleaned up for the most part, so tonight we'll move onto the unpacking.  Unfortunately our new washing machine is on the fritz ... what luck!!!!  The repair man came today, ordered a few parts and will be back on Friday.  The good thing is the kids have so many clothes I don't think they'd run out for weeks!  Cal and I however need to do our laundry :S  It better be fixed on Friday! 

Next up - I'm going to the Kenny Chesney concert on Saturday with Linds and Mom and Sunday is Reese's Baptism.  And next week Blake is in a YMCA summer camp in the morning's!

Apparently we had a lot of rain while we were away and the mosquito's are thick ... here's hoping the weather smartens up and the mosquito's fly away ;)

Have a great week everyone!

xoxo
The Cameron's

Hi!!

Ack!!  Where does the time go?!  We're so crazy busy around here ... but it's all good :)  I like to make time to keep our blog up to date, as I've heard from a lot of people they enjoy reading it and it really serves as a "diary" for our family :)  I always think about how cool it will be to look back on one day, for Cal and I, as well as for the kids!!

So after my last post there was more to our exciting day!!  I was putting Reese to bed and Cal came in to say goodnight, I passed her to him, he picked her up and we heard a crack in her arm.  Just the way her arm was positioned, caused what we now know is called a "Nurse Maids Elbow."  She wasn't using her right arm and was quite upset and crying a lot after we heard the crack.  Just the sound of her cry had me thinking something was wrong, other then being tired.  I called Health Link and the nurse I talked to didn't ask my name, phone number, child's name, etc. (all the usual questions) she told me to take her to the nearest emergency room as soon as I got off the phone with her.  I didn't think she needed to be quite so panicky, but I complied and took Reese to the NE Health Centre.  They took us in immediately and x-rayed her arm (which was very painful for poor Reese :( )  I felt that the x-ray techs were judging me for being so calm and not balling my head off, but that's just not me!  I'm typically pretty calm during an emergency, it's later the tears/break down might come ;)  There isn't a radiologist on staff during the night at NE, but the 3 doctors who read the x-ray and talked with me all concluded that there was likely a break in the growth plate area of Reese's R arm, near the elbow.  Apparently on young children and babies, the growth plate area does not show up on a x-ray.  So they casted her arm from her shoulder to her finger tips and asked us to come back in the morning, for another x-ray and so the radiologist would be there to read the x-rays.  I decided to take her to the Stollery instead (why not go with the best, right?) and I am so glad I did!!  Once again we got in very quickly and it didn't take long for the Pediatrician we saw to determine Reese had a pulled ligament in her right arm.  The ligament that was pulled typically circles the head of the radius, but in the case of a "Nurse Maid's Elbow" the ligament is pulled and gets caught up on the radius instead of circling it.  It takes a quick procedure, called a reduction to "snap" it back into place.  Some of the reason's the Dr. knew it was a ligament pull vs. a break was because her arm was not swollen and she did not appear to be in any pain when the Dr. moved the arm slightly.  If there was even a small break in any bone in the arm, she would have been in extreme discomfort at the slightest movement of her arm.  Instead, she was only in pain when her arm was suppinated (palm faced up.)  The reduction was very painful, but within 10 to 15 minutes she was calm and back to normal!!  Using her arm with full range of motion, reaching for toys, etc!!!  It was quite amazing to see and we are SO glad our baby girl is okay and doesn't need to be in a cast for weeks or seeing an orthopedic surgeon! 

The next day Reese woke up with her 2 bottom teeth poking through!!  She's been teething like crazy and now has two sharp little teeth to show for all her work ;) 

We've had a busy weekend!  Starting with Friday, actually!  Reese and I dropped Heidi off at the groomer's Friday morning and then headed to a Cameron's Closet meet.  We left the meet early to meet Cal, Blake and Emerson at the YMCA Preschool wind-up party.  The Y sure knows how to plan and throw a great party :)  The kid's had so much fun partaking in the carnival games, jumping in the bouncy house, enjoying a yummy pot luck lunch and learning about penguins with Doug and her (yes, her!!) trainer from WEM!!  We will miss our preschool friends this summer and those moving on to Kindergarten next year.  Blake went to school with a great group this year and I've really enjoyed visiting with a lot of the Mom's!  We're hoping to keep in touch and meet a few times this summer for playdates :)  Blake will be back next year for his 2nd year of Preschool and we're hoping to get Emerson in on Tues and Thurs morning's as well when she turns 3 in February!

Friday night Blake had his last Floaters lesson of this session.  He has improved so much since Bobbers and is becoming more independent in his front and back floats!  Not to mention his bobs and jumping into the water!!  We attribute much of this to his awesome instructor!  She was great! 

Emerson had her last Bubblers lesson of this session on Saturday morning.  Emerson continues to LOVE the water :)  We're taking a break from swimming lessons for the summer, but will resume in the fall!!

We picked up our new microwave Saturday and Cal took the kids to a new park near our house, where they had a blast playing games with some of the other children who were there!!  Apparently Blake had a few girls chasing him ;)  I met with Travis, "the painter" again and finalized our color choices and what prep work we should do for him!  I'm SO excited to come home to a freshly painted house when we return from vacation!!!!

Sunday my Dad and Cal were busy installing our microwave above our stove and stacking our washer and dryer.  Mom and Lindsay came over for a visit too :)  It was a great weekend and we got a lot checked off our to do list!!!  Always a nice feeling :)  Now we're on to packing for the cabin.  A daunting task, but also very exciting, as it means VACATION TIME IS NEAR!!!!  Blake and Emerson are super excited for our trip to the cabin!  They can't stop talking about it!!  We're also excited of course :)  Cal's a bit apprehensive to leave his new job at this time, but the vacay time was booked before the career change!!!  And he short changes himself ... I'm pretty sure he has a good grasp on his new position, as he's a quick learner and has been working very hard to get up to speed before the current person hands everything over!

I might blog from the cabin, we'll see!  If not, we'll talk to you in a few weeks!  Please pray to the sun Gods for us :)  Have a great week everyone!!

xoxo
The Cameron's

Today

Today Blake has came down with a stomach bug a.k.a. virus a.k.a "The Flu!"  Poor guy is so tough though and doesn't feel sorry for himself at all.  I just love this about him :)  We were on our way to Beaner's this morning and I looked in my rear view mirror and he looked like he was going to puke.  I quickly pulled over on 97 st. but by the time I pulled over he had already gotten sick :(  I felt so bad for him, he was covered from head to toe.  He asked, "What are we going to do Mom?"  I told him we'd go home and go to Beaner's another day.  At which point Emerson started crying because she really likes Beaner's and of course doesn't understand why we can't go.  Blake cheerfully says, "It's okay Mom.  I'm okay now, lets clean me up and go to Beaner's.  Em wants a sucker!!"  What a guy, so sweet, putting his sister first even though he's covered from head to toe in puke!!!  His glass half full outlook makes my heart swell with pride :) 

Now poor Emerson was really upset, but after a lengthy discussion and explanation of why we can't go to Beaner's today she is okay.  Oh and a treat from Mac's, because I picked up Gatorade for Blake!!  She even put aside some cheezies for Blake, for when he's feeling better!  And she brought him his blankie and teddy and had the cutest sympathetic look on her face :)  Too sweet!  Love seeing expressions of love between her and Blake :)

And then there's Ms. Reese!!  She's getting braver and braver by the day!  Once she figures out crawling she is going to be t-r-o-u-b-l-e ... she's started diving for whatever she wants!!  She'll be sitting up playing on the floor and will dive for a toy in front of her!!  Or if we're holding her and she sees something she wants, she doesn't hesitate to just throw her body forwards towards it!!!  It's hard to handle sometimes!!

I really hope Emerson, Reese and Cal don't catch this bug that Blake and I have had.  But if they have to catch it, I pray it's quickly and only lasts 24 hours, as mine did.  We're leaving this week for vacation at the Smith family cabin and we have A LOT to do to prepare before we can leave!!  Think about how packed our mini van is going to be?!  lol!  And we have to do a lot around the house to be ready for the painters that are coming in to paint the house while we're gone.  Oy!

ttyl

Tracy