Christmas Vacation!

Our Christmas holidays are nearing an end :(  Cal has had this week off and I am very thankful!!  The kids have been under the weather the entire time.  Poor Blake has had the brunt of it with an ear infection, throat infection and today was diagnosed with pneumonia.  Blake is such a trooper when he is sick.  He doesn't complain at all, just like when he was younger and had back to back ear infections for almost 8 months straight - not one complaint of pain!  Granted, his behaviour has been a bit off some days!!  Today on the way to the pediatrician's office I told him that he had to tell me if there was anything bothering him, because otherwise the Dr. won't know and wouldn't be able to treat him properly.  He told me his head hurt ... all the time.  I almost cried :(  He's been spiking a fever off and on for a week now, but today was fever free.  Thank goodness!  Yesterday seemed to be the worst, with chills and feeling really cold off and on, followed by a fever.  But he's on 2 antibiotics now, one that the odd walk-in clinic Dr. prescribed for his ear infection and one our pediatrician prescribed for the pneumonia (both will hit the throat infection!).  Emerson had a fever at the beginning of the week and some diarrhea but has been fine for a few days now and Reese was also feverish for a few days, but seems to be fine now!  Em still has a nasty sounding cough and we're hoping that goes away very soon!!

Other then the above illnesses, we have had a great stay-cation.  Because Blake and Emerson were not feeling well on Christmas Eve, we were going to fore-go the Christmas Eve Church service we usually attend, but Blake and Em insisted we go!  They really look forward to the children's nativity scene on Christmas Eve!  We were glad we went, as our shepperd and angel were so cute and really enjoyed themselves!  Reese spent the majority of the service walking around the back of the Church and snacking - quite a change from playing baby Jesus last year!!

Christmas morning the kids all slept in, which was a nice present for Cal and I!!  We opened our gifts here and took our time playing with our new toys and getting ready to head to my Mom and Dad's in Stony Plain for Christmas with my parents and Lindsay and Jeremy.  When we got to Stony we opened our gifts and stockings (Santa visits our house and Grandma and Grandpa's house!!).  Later in the afternoon our family and my Mom and Dad went skating at Dog Rump Creek.  This was Emerson's 1st time on skates and she did AMAZING!!!  We could not believe it!  She was so pleased with herself and later that night when I asked her what her favorite part of the day was, she replied, "Skating all by myself, without any help!"  (I think she took about 3 steps on her own ;) )  Our little skating trip was the highlight of my Christmas Day, everyone so happy and enjoying the great outdoors and feeling so proud of our little skaters :)  Afterwards we enjoyed a delicious dinner and had a nice visit with my Aunt and Uncle before heading home later that evening.  It was a great Christmas Day! 

On Boxing Day Cal and I took in the home opener in the 2011 World Juniors - Canada vs. Finland.  Canada was by far the favorites and won the game handily!  It was so much fun, even though the score wasn't close!  Being in that environment, with thousands of fans cheering on Team Canada and then belting out the national anthem (before and after the game!) was an awesome experience!! 

On the 27th we visited the Stony Plain Cameron's.  The kids had fun playing games and checking out Colby and Jenna's new toys!  Lesley made a delicious lunch, which reminds me I still need to get the recipe!!  We also enjoyed opening gifts from Grande Prairie!  We're so thankful to have some of our Cameron family close-by :) 

Cal and Blake went to the USA vs CZE game today and had a great time!  Apparently it was a very good hockey game, which the Czech's won!!  Blake enjoyed the whole experience, from the LRT ride, to the game, to the popcorn and juice Cal bought him ;)  He also told Cal he could skate faster then those guys!  And he described the periods as games and told me that after the first game he got popcorn and juice and then there was another game and another game!!!  The only other hockey games he's been to are Cal's when he was not even 2 years old and an Initiation 2 game where they don't clean the ice between periods, so I can see why he thought there were 3 games!!  We're really looking forward to seeing his reaction in February, when Cal takes him to an Oilers game.  Their seats are in row 2 and on the side of the ice that the Oilers warm up in, so he'll be seeing them close up!

Tomorrow we are looking forward to a visit from our dear friends the Hrdlicka's!  And depending on how our kids are feeling, we may take in some New Year's Eve celebrations!! 

Talk to you next year ... (I'm so funny ;) )

xoxo

Cal, Tracy, Blake, Emerson and Reese

2011 Christmas Letter and Photo

Hello to all our friends and family!

We hope 2011 has been kind to you and yours …
2011 has been the busiest year of our lives!! We seem to say that every year, but this one has definitely gone by the quickest!! Here is a little bit of what has been keeping us busy:
Blake turned 4 on May 5th. He continues to be mistaken for a 5 year old and sometimes even a 6 year old! He is very tall for his age, not a trait he picked up from Cal or I, but somewhere further down the line! Blake is our deep thinker … he is a planner and not in the least impulsive! He is very routine, right down to where his teddy bears sleep at night and the words he says at bed time! Blake also has an amazing memory. For example, last month we went to West Edmonton Mall. When we came out, I had no idea where we were parked. Blake said, “We are parked in between the F and the G Mom.” And sure enough we were! I asked him how he knew that and he said, “I looked when we got out the van.” Of course, we think he is a very smart boy ;) Blake is enjoying his preschool class, swimming lessons, initiation 1 hockey and skating lessons. He has a blast in all these activities and has been passing his swimming lessons with flying colors, moving up to Gliders this fall. Much of his swimming lesson is in the deep end of the pool now and he’s even learning how to dive! He also loves hockey and skating and continues to improve every week! Blake’s favorite hockey player is Taylor Hall and he loves watching Don Cherry on Hockey Night in Canada! We are excited to take him to a few World Junior Championship games at the end of December and hopefully an Oilers game in the New Year! Blake will be starting Kindergarten in the fall of 2012. We’ve had a hard time deciding which school and program to put him in (sometimes too many choices is not a good thing!!) but have decided to enroll him in a Catholic, French Immersion program. He is looking forward to “big kid school” and is excited to take the yellow bus!!
Emerson will be 3 in February and is a busy little girl! She is a lot of fun, very cuddly at times and very imaginative! We love hearing the stories she comes up with! She can tell quite the tale! But she also keeps us on our toes and challenges us with her feisty little attitude!!! She’s definitely not passive ;)  She has embraced her role as a big sister and loves her little “Reesey.” She is very helpful and enjoys assisting with everything to do with Reese!! We are very lucky Blake and Emerson get along quite well and are the best of buds most days. I think Emerson will be a bit lost when Blake starts Kindergarten! Emerson has a lot of fun attending “Come Play With Me” with Reese and I while Blake is in school. She loves her “teacher” and to her, this is her school time! We dance, sing, enjoy story and craft time! She knows every tune and all the actions to go with them!! Emerson also has a blast at her swimming lessons and gymnastics classes. Cal and I often wonder what types of sports Emerson will pursue in the future or be successful in, as she loves to do her “gymnastics” moves around the house (a.k.a. on the coffee table, the couch, the stairs, etc.!!). I worry about the furniture, but see Olympic rings in her future … totally joking ;) We hope to enroll Em in some sort of music/dance/art class in the New Year, as this is an area she really loves and would like to explore. 2012 will be a big year for Em – she will begin Preschool when she turns 3 and will also be in un-parented lessons! It is hard to believe our little girl is growing up so fast.
We can not believe how fast Reese’s 1st year has passed!! Reese turned 1 on November 19th. She is our earliest walker and is so proud of herself as she tottles around!!! Of course Blake and Emerson are her biggest fans, cheering her on every day and always lending a helping hand! Reese is also quite the chatterbox, chattering away all day and holding conversations with us all! We do recognize a few of her words and she comprehends quite a bit of our conversations. Reese enjoys reading books, attempting to do puzzles, playing with dolls and spends a lot of time chasing her older brother and sister around the house ;) She is also a very independent little girl and we predict Reese will be giving Emerson a run for her money in the “feistiness” department … she certainly has a mind of her own and isn’t afraid to voice her “opinion!!” Blake will have his hands full with his 2 sisters ;) Reese also has a lot of fun at “Come Play With Me”, she “sings” and dances her little heart out. And like her siblings, Reese loves the water and is going to begin parented swimming lessons in the spring!

Cal is doing great! He is keeping busy at work and has changed roles within TELUS. He is now working in inside plant in charge of DC power for Edmonton and north. He has a large area of AB to cover, which means some overnight stays every now and then. He continues to work 4, 10 hour days which works really well for all of us. Blake and Em love when he is able to take them to school! In his spare time (chuckle, chuckle … really not much of that these days!) he continues to run and still aspires to complete a full marathon. For the 2nd year, Cal is coaching Blake’s hockey team. He is enjoying seeing all the players improve and most of all having fun! We are all itching to get started on a backyard rink, but our weather has not been cooperating! Emerson hopes to skate as well, so we shall see how that goes! She will not only have Cal and I coaching her, but Blake I’m sure will be a wealth of knowledge ;)
I am doing great as well! Keeping very busy with our 3 munchkins and all their activities! I must say going from having 2 kids under 4 to 3 under 4 felt more like going from 2 to 6!!! I think the year has gone by so fast, because we have been so busy!! But I do love being home with the kids and spending so much time with them and I could not imagine our family any other way! Some days I do understand where the term “domestic engineer” comes from, as I try to organize and juggle a million different things at one time!!! There is never a dull moment and never a shortage of work to be done! To add to the workload, I began a new venture earlier this year!! People who know me well, know how much I LOVE to dress our little cuties up and after discovering the online consignment world, I opened an online consignment business of my own! It is run through Facebook. I have really enjoyed this new business, albeit the late nights!! If you are on Facebook, please check out my page … just search for “Cameron’s Closet”! Cameron’s Closet takes up much of my spare time, but I have also really enjoyed taking in a few Oilers games with Cal and friends (we split season tickets with a few friends) and date nights with my other Mom friends!! In the New Year I have to work on scheduling some me time and taking care of myself, I have to admit I have not been good at that this year!! I have been saying for awhile now that I want to try Zumba … so I better get at it ;)
We stuck fairly close to home this summer, enjoying our local attractions, but did do some travelling in AB and SK. Our travels in AB included taking our annual trip to “A Day Out With Thomas” in Calgary in May and spending a long (rainy!) weekend at Ol’ MacDonald’s Farm! We were in SK at the Smith family cabin at Marean Lake Resort for 2 weeks in July. The sun was hot and the insects minimal, which paved the way for a great time!! I love it there and the kids had a blast and are always asking to go back or saying, “When we go to the cabin again …!!” At the end of our vacation time in SK, we celebrated my grandparent’s (my Dad’s parents) 60th wedding anniversary and had a great time catching up with all my cousins, aunts and uncles while celebrating a fantastic couple! In August we took a quick day trip to Battleford, SK to celebrate my Grandma Kelley’s (my Mom’s Mom) 80th birthday. My Mom and her siblings threw a surprise party and once again we had a great time catching up with many relatives whom we don’t see often enough! We were also very lucky to see Grandma and Grandpa Alstad (Cal’s Mom’s parents) this summer, as they were down this way! It is so nice to see our grandparent’s, but also for the kids to see them as well, as they are very blessed to have so many wonderful grandparents and great grandparent’s in their lives! At the end of August Reese and I took a quick flight to Saskatoon to attend my cousin’s wedding, which was a great time! And to end our out of town travels this year, we all headed up to Fort McMurray to spend the Thanksgiving long weekend at my sister’s new house! One thing we have found funny and enjoyed at the same time, is that amongst all these travels this summer/fall the kids feel like world travelers and we haven’t even left AB and SK?!  Oh to be a kid again … while I lust after a European vacation, all they want is to go back to SK!!!
We are truly blessed and very thankful for the many blessings in our lives. We hope this letter finds you in good health and surrounded by loved ones at this special time of year.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a fabulous 2012!

Tracy, Cal, Blake, Emerson and Reese Cameron

Random Thoughts ...

Another year, another Santa picture with an upset child!!  When Blake was 7 months old he did not cry on Santa's lap (2007), 2008 Blake was crying, 2009 Emerson was crying, 2010 Cal and I joined in the picture so Emerson would not cry, 2011 Reese is crying!!  We predict tears from Reese in 2012, but after that ... smooth sailing!  Then we'll look back on these Santa photo's and get teary eyed ourselves ... :)

Blake opened a Hot Wheels track at our Mom's Group gift exchange last Sunday.  He loves it SO much, in fact he was heard saying, "This is the BEST Christmas present ever!!"  We were downstairs playing and I suggested to Blake that we give his Fisher Price garage (which is HUGE) away to someone who doesn't have many toys, in order to make room for more Hot Wheels track.  He put one hand on top of the garage, the other on his hip, furrowed his brow and said, "Well Mom, that WOULD be ideal.  (long pause as he looks up and thinks things through!!)  but I do really love this garage and especially the cars that go with it.  If we gave away the garage it would make sense to give away the cars too and I want to keep the cars."

I gave Emerson a rubber-like bracelet that we got with our World Junior ticket package.  I was taking her to the potty not 5 min. after I gave her the bracelet and she tells me she bought this pretty bracelet from Mom's website (didn't know she even knew what a website was?!?) for 20 bucks!!!

We started a Christmas tradition in 2009 of choosing a Gift of Hope from Plan Canada from each family member.  This year as we're picking out our gifts, Blake decided on the classroom essentials package.  I asked him why he chose that gift and he said, "Well, because I really like school and I think those kids would like it too!"

I try not too do too much Cameron's Closet work (other then online occasionally) through out the day because it takes me twice as long and I want to spend the majority of my time with my kids, the reason I am home!!  But last Wednesday I was short on time and had to pick orders and boy oh boy was my little helper Emerson ever helpful!!!!  lol!  She had to inspect each piece of clothing, hold it up, flip it over, etc, etc and fold it herself!  If I tried to sneak something into a bag, she'd say, "Mom, can I see that little onesie??"  lol!!!!  So I'd have to pull it out, pass it to her, let her do her thing, and put it back!  She's so cute with the whole consignment business, she knows that every person has a "slip" and asks where does this bag go, etc, etc!  But she's been upping her prices ... she used to say everything was 5 bucks now everything seems to be 20 bucks or 40 bucks!!!!  Talk about inflation ;)

We have another blanket lover on our hands here ... Miss Reese!  She loves her blankie and if she see's it she says, "Bankie, bankie, bankie!!!"  And sometimes (when she's tired, cranky, etc.) she'll wander around saying bankie, bankie ;)



So, so sweet :)



I often wonder what Blake, Emerson and Reese's sibling relationships will be like as the get older.  I always hope that they will be great friends, and so far I think they are!  Emerson misses Blake when he is at preschool, so much so that when we pick him up they often give each other a huge hug right outside the classroom door :)  It is so sweet and the other parents are always remarking at how cute it is!!!  Emerson must be the biggest hugger out of the 3, because her and Reese are also very "huggy!!!"  It's cute to see them hugging, Reese leans into her, like in the picture :) 




Reese really enjoys the Come Play With Me program we go to, especially the music portion of the class.   She likes to stand up and dance!  She wiggles her bum and hips and even tries to do the hand actions.  She really likes "Elephants have wrinkles" and when we sing "Zoom, zoom, zoom" she starts getting excited when everyone starts counting down to blast off!!  She turns towards me to get ready for "Blast off!"

Our Elf on the Shelf made an appearance on December 12th.  The kids didn't see him until the morning of the 13th.  He has created quite the excitement!!!  We read his story as soon as the book was spotted on our coffee table and then the hunt was on to find him!  Emerson was the first to spot him.  Here is where he spent his first night in our house ...  Immediately Blake wanted to name him Picks and Emerson wanted to name him Rudolph, so his name is now Picks Rudolph!  I was actually very surprised at their name choices!  I thought they would come up with Elf or Santa or Blake or Emerson!  We know Blake is a little bit skeptical of the whole story and magic, etc!!  Here are a few of the things he has said, "I will know he's real if he turns his head when I walk into the room.  I will know he's real if he is in a different spot when I get up tomorrow.  He's just a toy.  How come he doesn't eat all day?  He looks at the same thing all the time.  Maybe if I touch him, I will get all the magic?  Does everyone have an elf to talk to Santa?"  Our sensible boy :)  Love him and his enquiring mind!! 

We took our 3rd annual Candy Cane Lane sleigh ride on Sunday night!  This was the warmest year yet and we had a lot of fun!  The kids enjoyed the ride and we were surprised at how well Reese did!  We were on the sleigh for approx. 45 minutes.  The lights were nice, nothing spectacular, but nice to see most of the houses lit up!!  We also got to show the kids the "Christmas house" on 97th and 144th!!  Now that is amazing!!!! 


Magic show!!

 Friday was the YMCA's preschool Christmas party.  It was wonderfully organized this year, with an "Around the World" theme.  There were numerous stations for the kids to visit, each featuring a different country.  At each station they got their passports stamped and did a craft!  We learned that in Germany on Christmas morning the first person to find the big pickle in the Christmas tree gets an extra gift!!!  Each child had a chance to visit with Santa and a magician did a magic show.  He was fantastic!!  Checkout Brian Lehr for your next event, I will be! 

Blake is getting to be such a great skater!!  We went to watch hockey today and I could not believe how well he was doing!  Very fast and handling the puck too!!!  All the while, with a huge grin on his face ;)  The girls and I went with my parents to watch a few weeks ago and even since then he has improved!  We're so proud of him and really glad he is enjoying himself! 

Poor Cal has another kidney stone :(  He is an experienced kidney stone survivor (this is his 5th) and has yet to go to the hospital this time around ... but I did have a Dr.'s appointment with our family Dr. on Thursday evening and she was nice enough to prescribe him a painkiller to help manage the pain.  So far he's doing fine, hopefully it has either broken up and passed or it is small and will pass on its own soon!  He's only ever had to have 1 extraction and it is not pleasant, so we don't want that to happen again!!

I've had a sore throat for a few days now, it hurts but that's about it!  No cough, running nose, etc.  Hopefully it leaves me soon ... it's making me a bit grumpy ;)

On our agenda for the days leading up to Christmas Day, is baking and decorating sugar cookies, building our gingerbread house, making Christmas chocolates and attempting to clear up a ton of Cameron's Closet "stuff!!!!"  I would really like to have at least 1 week off!!

Every night at bedtime I ask Blake and Emerson if they've had a good day.  So far they always say yes!!  Then I ask them what their favorite part of the day was.  It is a lot of fun to hear their responses :)  Tonight Blake said hockey and playing with Daddy and Emerson said eating her candy cane :s  In case you don't know, Em has a huge sweet tooth!!!!

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend!!

xo
T

Extra, extra read all about it ...

We have a walker!!!  Miss Reese is now a pro ;)  Just a few days after her 1st birthday she started taking more then a few steps at a time and is now walking everywhere!!  Last week she decided to try running ... but her little legs didn't keep up with what she had in mind!  She's getting faster though and is so darn cute with her wide stance :)  She is our earliest walker and we're so very proud of her!  And by the look on her face, she is very proud of herself!  And Blake and Emerson are definitely proud of their little sister!  If we are not in the room they have to tell us right away if Reese is walking - "Mom, Reese is walking!  She just stood up, she's walking to the book shelf."  "Mom, Reese is walking to the coffee table!"  We get a play-by-play of every step Reese takes :)  I still can't believe she is 1 and walking.  Seems like yesterday, she was my tiny baby girl ... Love ya Reese!  We're happy you have joined the rest of the family, up on 2 feet and hope you enjoy your new view!!! 

xoxo

Oh sweet Emerson

I just have to tell/document this cute story:

Cal and Emerson picked Blake up from preschool this morning and then went to WEM Christmas shopping for the most important person in the house ... moi!!!  (snicker, snicker)

I was in Reese's room attempting to put her down for a nap (she's very congested, feverish, etc. today ... booo!!) and when I came downstairs Emerson looked at me and said in a cute whispery voice, "We bought your birthday present today Mom!!"  She also had a huge grin on her face and her gorgeous eyes were WIDE open!  I said, "Ohhhh, I can't wait to open it!!  But is it my birthday present or a Christmas present?"  Too which she said, "Oh yeah, Christmas.  It's a _____! (I won't tell you what it is, might as well let someone be surprised ;) )"  Cal said, "Emerson, what did I say?"  She then said, "Oh yeah, zip and throw away the key!"  (she then zipped her lips and pretended to throw away the key!)

Then later in the afternoon as we were decorating our Christmas tree, she is standing beside me and looks up at me with the most innocent look on her face and asks me, "When are you going to wear your ____ Mom?"  Oh my gosh, it was so adorable :)  She's so excited to give me my gift! 

xo
T

I'm 1!!

Hi everyone!

On Saturday I turned 1! My Mom and Dad say the time has gone by wayyyy too fast and my first year went even faster then Blake and Em's!! But I've had a great first year, learning something new every day :)

On Saturday morning I got to open my gifts from Mom, Dad, Blake and Emerson.  Then we went to watch Blake's hockey with Grandma, Grandpa and Auntie Lindsay.  In the afternoon Auntie came over for a visit and we played!  After supper that night I had my very first cupcake :)  It was so yummy!! 

Then on Sunday, I had a very fun birthday party at our house!  We had some of our family and a few friends over. I had a cute #1 birthday cake, that Mom and Auntie Lindsay made me!! I wasn't too sure about digging into the cake but enjoyed a few bites!

I had my one year pediatrician appointment on Wednesday (Nov 16th) and I weighed in at 23 lbs and measured 28 1/2" long!  I'm in the 75%tile for weight, 30th for height and 50th for head circumference!!  I have 8 teeth and Mom and Dad say I'm a pretty good eater :)

I love walking around the coffee table, walls, couches, play table, and pushing my car around!  The most steps I've taken is 4 and I'm a little monkey ;)  I like to climb things!!  It's so much fun!!!  I'm not too crazy about hanging onto other people's hands and walking, but Mom and Dad think I'll be walking before Christmas.  I'm not sure yet?!  I'm a very fast crawler, and that seems like the easiest way to get places right now!!  I love clapping my hands, waving hi and bye, blowing kisses and dancing to my favourite music. And I am quite the chatterbox!  Mom can decipher quite a few of my words: Dad, Mom, More, Ta-Ta, This, Jazz, Dora, Blankie and All Done.  Everyone seems to love it when I talk!!!  I chatter away a lot :)  I have a fun little personality, one of the things I do that makes everyone laugh is my "fake" laugh ... when I hear other people laughing I like to get a laugh in too!!!  Or anther thing that seems to make people chuckle is when I'm thirsty and I clear my throat!   

I've had lots of fun going to Come Play With Me with Mom and Emerson while Blake is at Preschool.  I love to sing and dance :)  I love the water and am going to start swimming lessons in the New Year!  Some of the other things I enjoy doing are reading books, especially touch and feel books and standing and playing at my play table, the coffee table, the couch or pretty much anywhere there is something for me to hang onto and play with! I also love dolls!!  But I probably spend the most time watching my sister and brother run around the house, they're just so entertaining!!!

In August I took my first airplane ride to Saskatoon for a wedding!  Just Mom and I went and we had a nice little trip!  I also had my first camping trip this summer and we can't wait to get out camping next summer!! 

But I should go I'm getting pretty hungry, it must be supper time ;)

Hugs and Kisses,

Reese


PS: Mom is going to proof read this for me. I hope she doesn't change too much!!

Happy 1st Birthday Reese!!

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet baby Reese!!  We love you so, so much - beyond words. 

It amazes us how well Blake and Emerson accepted you into their lives and have loved you to pieces since the first minute they met you!!  They adore you and love playing with you and taking care of you.  They are always watching out for you and are certainly a lot of help most days!!  You seem to be mesmerized by them a lot of the time and enjoy watching their crazy games and jumping around and love to crawl as fast as you can after them as they run laps around the coffee table :)  We know you will all have your arguments now and then but we hope you can continue to grow up best of friends!
Reese, you have such a loving nature!!  We adore your hugs and kisses (even when they are mouth wide open, tongue sticking out!) and of course I feel like a million bucks when you reach for me, I pick you up and you nuzzle into me ... I love those moments so much!  Even better is when Blake and Emerson see you giving me a hug and rush over to join you :)  I love how excited you get when you see your Dad and hearing you say, "Da!  Da!!"  melts my hear!  As with your sister and brother on the eve of their 1st birthday, last night when I put you to bed, I shed a few tears.  Both happy and a little bit sad.
Your first year has gone by remarkably fast, fastest year of our lives thus far!  But it has also been an amazing journey, we have all grown and learned so much from each other and we can't wait to experience your second year with you :)

All our love,

Mom, Dad, Blake and Emerson

3 days ...

Until Reese's 1st birthday!! 

Today she had her 1 year pediatrician appointment.  She is healthy, happy and adorable ;)  Reese now weighs 23 lbs (75th %tile), is 28 1/2" long (30th %tile) and her head circumference is in the 50 %tile!

She was very happy for Dr. Radisic until the last 5 minutes!  We brought up a couple of concerns, her disinterest in milk and waking up at night.  She eats yogurt and cheese and enjoys it, but doesn't care for milk (yet).  So we will keep trying it and hopefully she'll start enjoying it more!  We've cut back on the kid's milk consumption quite a bit after talking to the naturopath (who is totally against cow's milk consumption!!) and realizing that according to the Canada Food Guide they really only need a small amount of milk and milk products in their day and they eat a lot of yogurt!  So I'm not too worried about Reese's milk consumption, but definitely would like her to enjoy a cup of milk now and then.  As for the night waking that has begun, as suspected I think it is a separation anxiety thing :S  Hopefully she'll get back to no night time wakings sooner then later!!  We're home for awhile now, with no over night trips planned, which will help!

We had Emerson's ears checked to make sure the amoxicillin worked and her ear infection is gone, which it is.  The nurse also weighed her and she weighs 30 lbs now!!  I guess all that intake is going somewhere ;) 

We're looking forward to spending the day together on Saturday and celebrating Reese's 1sth birthday with friends and family on Sunday!!

Talk again soon,

Tracy

The times they are a changin' ...

I am panicking a little as I write this ... our baby girl will be 1 in 11 days.  I c-a-n NOT b-e-l-i-e-v-e it.  Honest to goodness, how can 1 year pass so quickly??  On the bright side it takes my mind of the fact that my birthday is in 6 days and I am OLD!!! 

Reese has taken a few steps the past 2 days!!  Her new favorite trick is to stand all by herself with a huge grin on her face :)  She loves to stand up, let go and then look at you with the proudest look you've ever seen!!!!  It's pretty stinkin' cute :)  We love to applaud her and she soaks it up!  My Dad tricked her into taking a step yesterday and since then she's taken a few.  Mostly unintentionally or thinking that she is close enough to hold something.  She loves to walk behind her princess ride-a-long car or use anything that will slide across the floor as a push toy! 

Not sure if I blogged about this last time or not, but that 8th tooth is FINALLY completely through.  I can not believe how hard she had to teeth for that sucker to break through.  UGH!  Hopefully the rest will be easy ... not likely, but we can always hope! 

Reese is eating pretty much everything we are and has an enormous appetite (surprise, surprise!)!  The only food we don't give her is the spicier foods we cook, i.e. the taco salad we had tonight.  But she loves pretty much everything, she had 2 lasagna cupcakes last night ... we are really going to have to increase the amount of supper we make!  I guess we should be thankful we have good eaters who are not picky. 

Last week I tried to transition Reese to 1 afternoon nap per day.  So far, so good.  She gets pretty tired around 11 am and I have had to put her down earlier a few days, but for the most part she's switched to 1 afternoon nap!  This is a lot earlier then Blake and Emerson, Blake dropped his morning nap at 18 months and Emerson was around 15 months.  I'm not sure if I've pushed this on Reese to early or not, but she seems to be doing fine??  All kids are different, right?! 

Reese has also began to imitate people.  Our favorite is when she does a "fake laugh" ... if we're laughing around her she'll start up, copying us with what is obviously a fake laugh.  SO funny!!  She also has started clearing her throat or doing a fake cough when she sees me bringing her, her water cup!  As if to say, "Oh thanks Mom, I'm parched!"  So, so funny!!! 

I like to say Reese is like a bulldog in  a china shop!  Not much stops her, she crawls right on over pretty much anything and anyone she thinks is in her way!  In our family room we prop a gate up across the stairs, it's not locked in place, and she likes to get a finger in the tiny little gap there is, pull the gate back, quickly crawl out of the way and zoom up the stairs!!!  She's so fast on the stairs, it is scary!  I can't wait until she can crawl safely down! 

Emerson is also changing up her sleep routine!  She's not napped more then napped in the past 7 days.  We think she's ready to completely drop her afternoon nap.  We're a bit hesitant to stop her naps all together, as it is nearly impossible to reintegrate the nap once it's gone!!  A few days she has been pretty tired in the afternoon, but we've noticed that when she doesn't have her nap she goes to sleep quicker and easier at night and she sleeps in a tiny bit longer!  Soooo ... we're thinking it's time to say, "Hasta la vista" to Em's afternoon nap ;) 

Em finished her session of Bubbler's swimming lessons last weekend.  We've decided to not put her in lessons again until she is 3.  The parented lessons are pretty boring for her at this point in time!  She's been doing parented lessons since she was 1 and they really don't change much!  I think she'll advance pretty quick from Bubblers to Floaters once she is 3, she has no fear and loves the water! 

She's still in gymnastics and will move to un-parented when she's 3.  Cal and I are wondering what Emerson's future holds for her, in relation to the sports she might pursue!!!  She is a total monkey and spends much of the day doing her gymnastics on the coffee table, couch, Cal's lazy-boy, her bed, etc.  She loves to climb, jump, swing, skip, dance and roll!!!  Sometimes I feel like I'm audience to a constant talent show with Blake and Em performing all day long ... "Watch this Mom!"  "Mom, look what I can do!"  "I can do that too Blake!"  "Look at us Mom!!"  It's fun, but sometimes I'm a bit concerned about the furniture ;) 

Emerson is miss chatty and has become quite the story teller.  It is hilarious actually!  She comes up with some pretty good tales!  The best part is her facial expressions!  If you've ever witnessed one of her stories, you know what I mean.  Unfortunately she won't let me capture one of these events on video, but maybe one day!  Some of her favorite sayings are, "Cool!" and "Holy smokes!!"  Holy smokes is one of my favorites, she can't quite pronounce smokes correctly and the way she says it is adorable!

Emerson is quite enthralled with Auntie Lindsay's baby ... the other day when I got off the phone with Lindsay, Em asked who I was talking to.  I said, "Auntie Lindsay" and she asked, "What's Auntie's baby doing?"  LOL!!!  I said, "He's in Auntie's tummy, growing and getting ready to be born!"  She said, "How's he eating?"  I thought, oh brother ... but tried to explain as best as I could!  Which lead to needing to see every one's belly buttons ;)

Blake started his new session of swimming lessons last Friday.  He is in Gliders now and spent 95% of the lesson in the deep end of the pool!!  He is doing awesome, we're so proud of his swimming skills and confidence in the water!  Now if only we could figure out his aversion to getting water in his eyes in the bath tub ... odd ... how can someone be a complete fish in the pool, do 10 bobs in a row but hate getting water in his eyes when his parents are washing his hair?!  Maybe his swim instructor should come over for bath time ;) 

Blake's Initiation hockey is going great, every week he seems to be moving faster!  And his learn to skate program on Monday's is really helping too!  He tends to revert to pushing with only one foot, but he's working on it.  Today we all went to his skating lesson and both Cal and I were surprised at how well he was skating backwards!  Crazy how much he has learned and improved since the beginning of last season. 

I've had the privilege of volunteering in Blake's preschool class a couple of times and I can't wait until the next time!  His teacher this year is extremely good and he has learned so much.  Not only printing and letter sounds, but every week they have a theme and he has come home talking about his community, personal hygiene, manners, the 4 seasons and the changes with each season, the months of the year, what a hero is to him, safety around home, etc, etc.  Really great planning and activities this year!  I thought last year was good, but it doesn't hold a candle to this year!  Hopefully this staff will continue for a few years and the girls will have the same teachers!

Blake is growing and growing and growing ... everywhere we go people think he's 5 or 6.  He's quite tall for his age!  He eats a lot and is sleeping 13 to 14 hours a night!  I guess that is why he's growing ... eat, sleep, grow!!!

Cal assembled the new bunk beds on Saturday.  The instructions sucked, but he got it done!  They look awesome and the kids are in love with them.  Every night Em has said, "And we get to sleep in our new bunk beds!!!"  The first night in the bunks, it took awhile to settle them down.  Mostly because Emerson kept crawling up to Blake's bunk!!!!  One time I went in there and she was right on top of him, apparently trying to wrestle.  What a turkey!  We really enjoy their conversations at night time and have a good chuckle when we hear Em ask Blake what he wants to talk about.  His answer is usually that he wants to talk about sleeping or he says, "Nothing.  I'm going to sleep Em."  But occasionally he'll be game for a pre-bedtime convo and they'll talk about Halloween costumes, Christmas, school, etc.  Although they have their share of arguments and fights, they're best of buds most of the time :)  Right now their plan is for Reese to move into their room when she's old enough!  We shall see.

Well, I better get some shut eye.  There is not enough hours in the day to do everything that needs to be done around the house, let alone the things I want to do!  But I enjoy documenting our day to day activities and funny stories so staying up a bit later to write the Blog is worth the heavy eye lids and the still untidy house :)  I know I'll be glad I kept this up one day and I'm sure the rest of the family will be too!  Night, night!  Enjoy the rest of your week!

xoxo
Tracy

A Spookin' Good Time!

We enjoyed all of the Halloween festivities this year!!  From Blake's Preschool party, our New Mom's Group party, carving pumpkins, trick-or-treating, and the simple act of plugging in our Halloween blow up lawn decoration every day - we loved every minute!! 

Mom's Group Halloween Party!!

Blake suggested back in July that he and Emerson dress up at Halloween as Jake and Izzy from his favorite show Jake and the Neverland Pirates and it only made sense that Reese would be Scully (a parrot on the show!)!  Emerson and Blake have been so excited about these costumes! 

Izzy, Skully & Jake

After much Internet research, Cal finally found some guidelines on how to make costumes from Jake and the Neverland Pirates.  My Mom and I took Blake and Em shopping a few weeks ago and bought all the necessary materials to make a Jake and Izzy costume (only had to visit 5 stores!) and I found a parrot costume at Toys R Us.  Thanks to my Mom's sewing skills, we had 2 AMAZING Jake and Izzy costumes!!!  They looked pretty much exactly like the real deal!  And let me tell you, Blake is one very specific little boy ... it took him a good chunk of time and much deliberation to decide on the right grey fabric for his belt!!!!  We would have known, had anything not been exactly like Jake or Izzy!!

The cutest parrot EVER!!!

This was Reese's 1st Halloween and she did so well!  She sat back and relaxed in her stroller, posed for photo's and smiled away :)  It was as though she was enjoying her parrot costume!

Blake has already decided he wants to be a Police Man next year (because at this moment in time that is what he wants to be when he grows up!) and Emerson says she wants to be a ballerina for Halloween next year!  We shall see ... I have a feeling they might change their minds a few hundred times before Halloween 2012!!!  My Mom, Cal and I are kind of hoping that whatever they do choose, will involve a little imagination and work on our parts, as we really enjoyed seeing the fruits of our labour this year :)

We hope you had all had wonderful Halloween too!!

xoxo
The Cameron's     

Happy Retirement Dad!!

After over 31 years of service, today is "officially" my Dad's last day of work with the Government of AB! 

We had a great time celebrating his retirement and his 55th birthday at a party my parents hosted on Saturday evening.  There were many of Dad's closest friends in attendance and I had a lot of fun visiting with people who I haven't seen in many years!!  I think Dad had a great time too ... and was maybe feeling it the next day?! 

He has started his consultant business, DWS Consulting and will hopefully enjoy this new chapter in his life.

Love ya Dad, wishing you all the best with your new business :)

xoxo

Kids Really Do Say the Darnest Things :)

Blake: One of my teachers wasn't there today.  She hasn't been there in a little while.
Mom: Maybe she got a new job.
Blake: Why?
Mom: Sometimes people change jobs.
Blake: Why?
Mom: Well maybe they found a job closer to their home or a job that pays more money.
Blake: I think Dad should stay at Telus.
Mom: I think he will Blake.
Blake: Yeah, cause he works with Brad and he likes working with Brad.
Mom: *laughs* Yes I think he does Blake!

Dad: We're having fish and chips for supper.
Emerson: Fish?  Like Uncle Jeremy has?
Blake: Yeah, I like that fish!
Mom: Well it's kind of the same ...

Emerson: I'm going to be a dancer!
Dad: As long as you aren't dancing on poles ...
Emerson: What?
Mom: CAL!

Reese:

Reese exploring!

Reese is walking along furniture, toys etc!  She's been doing this for a few weeks now.  She also loves to clap and dance :)  She loves music!!!  It's hard to believe she is almost 1 :S  We've started planning her 1st birthday party!  Unbelievable.  She's also starting to let go of things, stand for a second and then fall!!  I have a feeling she'll be walking within the next 2 months or so!  She seems a bit more daring then Blake and Em were?!  Reese still only has 7 teeth ... in July the 7 teeth broke through within approx. 5 weeks.  There was an 8th that I thought was through and wasn't and now lots near the surface, but nothing through.  She chews on her fingers, hands and forearms - poor girl!  I hope the rest of her teeth start breaking through soon.  Reese is talking a lot too!  Some of the words I recognize are, "Mom, Dad, Bye, Jazz, and Dora!"  Yes ... Dora.  I'm not sure I should be happy that my almost 1 yr old recognizes the infamous Dora already?!  I suppose it's inevitable, being as her older sister is a Dora nut ;)  Reese really listens to me now and intently watches me as if trying to absorb everything I'm saying to her ... I LOVE it!  She waves hi and bye all the time, all it takes is someones to say, "Bye!" and she starts waving!!  Reese is my little cuddle bug, she gives me the biggest hugs and kisses!  All I have to say is, "Hugs and kisses?"  Although her kisses are a bit sloppy ;)  She is very content to play by herself, walking and crawling around the family room.  Some days I think she could explore for hours!!   

Emerson:

Caught a good pic of Em :)

Emerson has just gone through a growth spurt!  Her size 2 pants are all capri's ;)  Good thing I love to shop!!!  We thought she was moving out of the "terrible two's", she had a few really mellow weeks, maybe even months!!  But they're back :S  Time outs work pretty good, although they are spent with her screaming and crying for the most part!  They do calm her down ... and allow me to calm down too!!!  Thankfully she's a gem most of the time, but the odd times can be tough, as I'm sure most parents can attest to!   Emerson and Blake have been into dress up for a long time now, but lately all Em wants to be is a princess or a ballerina!  She twirls all around in her dress up dresses and tutu's and loves wearing her princess high heel shoes!  I'm amazed at how well she can walk, dance and twirl in those shoes!!  She LOVES to dance!!  I'd love to take her to a class called Blossoming Ballerina's that my friend takes her daughter to, but the times don't work out for us this session.  Hopefully next session!!

Blake:

Blake's list for Fort Mac!!

Blake is moving on up from Floaters to Gliders in his swimming lessons!  We're so proud of him :)  On Thursday I volunteered in Blake's classroom.  I had a blast and really enjoyed myself!  Blake got to be the weather man, which consists of deciding what the weather is like outside and placing the appropriate felt piece on the calendar.  But the class has to agree with him!  It was so cute to see him pull out a cloud and show it to the classroom with a shy little grin on his face!!  Blake also asked a few questions during show and share!  I had a hard time not breaking out in laughter some of the time, as the kids were all so cute and often funny (even when they weren't listening to Miss Kara!!!)!  One little girl is especially "spirited" and after talking to the teachers, they said they even have a hard time not giggling at her antics!!!!  I'd love to volunteer every week in the classroom, but I'm going to volunteer again during the Halloween Party and Cal might take a turn in November :)  Blake's hockey season is in full swing!  He's loving it and today came home all excited because Cal was the head Coach today (vs. Assistant!)!  Which means they got to bring home all the pylons and some other equipment!

We had a great Thanksgiving long weekend in Fort McMurray!  Jeremy and Lindsay's new house is gorgeous and had more then enough room for the Cameron/Smith invasion ;)  The kids travelled well and slept good for the most part!  It was nice to see my cousin Melissa and her family for dinner on Sunday night.  The kids played awesome together, most especially Blake and Ryder!!  Next time we go up I think we'll have to have Ryder over for a longer play date!!  Thanks to Linds and Jer for hosting Thanksgiving this year and for the delicious dinner :)

I'm so excited to go to the Oiler's game with Cal tonight!!  We haven't been on a date since November 2010!  Thank you to Christa for babysitting, we hope the kids stay sleeping for you ;) 

Hope everyone is having a fabulous weekend!!!

xoxo
The Cameron's

4 more Sneak Peak's!!

Karyn from IsaBelle's Photography posted a few more "sneak peak" photo's to her FB page today!!  I have to say, I am pleasantly surprised and quite impressed :)  She will be giving us approximately 50 pictures on our disc, so I'm really excited to see the rest!!!

We couldn't get these kids to sit still, but look at the JOY on their faces :)

1 word: a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e

They love each other :)

My heart, soul & life ...

Fabulous Fall!

Sneak peak of Fall photo's!

This is my favorite time of the year!!  I love the crispness in the air and the beautiful colors!  I've always wanted to have fall family photo's done, but we usually do photo's around the time of our kid's birthdays and we don't have any September babies!  Our favorite photographer Rose was in town doing photo sessions a few weeks ago but I passed on the opportunity because I thought we'd get photos done for Reese's 1st birthday in November ... then I regretted my decision :S  So this week I quickly found a photographer to take photo's of us this weekend and searched out outfits for the family.  Blake and Em were very excited to be outside running around and Reese was busy chewing on her hand ... BUT Karyn did take a lot of photo's and there were some cute moments, so hopefully she caught at least a few good shots :)   I'll be sure to post more when we get them back!!

We've had a great few weeks in our house!  Cal enjoyed his first Oiler's game of the season, taking in a preseason game.  We are sharing season tickets this year with 2 other people, so look forward to attending a few games!!  I actually can't wait for the first game we're going to together on October 20th, as we have not had a date night since before Reese was born!!!  

Blake had his 2nd dentist visit a few weeks ago and returned last week to have sealants put on 4 of his bottom molars.  He was a superstar at the dentist's :)  Dr. Bergt didn't have to freeze his mouth and we were in and out in 22 minutes, even though she'd scheduled Blake in for 1 hr!!  They were so impressed with how well he sat and cooperated!  No complaints, no crying, nothing ... such a good patient!  He has extremely deep grooves in his teeth (more so then normal according to the dentist) and so will be prone to cavities his entire life, unfortunately.  But he loves to brush and floss, so we'll keep on that and hopefully avoid fillings ;)  While at the dentist with Blake, I also scheduled Emerson's 1st visit for March 2012 on kid's day!!

Taking a break at the zoo :)

We had a super fun time at the Edmonton zoo on Sunday the 25th!  It was "free day" in Edmonton (free admission to numerous attractions and fitness facilities in the city) and the kids wanted to take Dad to the zoo!!  It was very busy, but with all the space the zoo has it wasn't overwhelming or hard to get around.  Blake and Em LOVE Lucy the elephant and were soaking up every bit of information during the "getting to know Lucy" session we attended :)  We're going to look into a family pass next summer, as I love taking the kids there to run and explore.  Blake really enjoys looking at the maps of where the animals are from and hearing about what they eat and I'm sure Emerson will be into those facts too next year!!

Cal was in Fort McMurray on Monday night for work, which was very strange for me!  I have been away from Cal overnight in the past few years, but not the reverse!!  Cal always puts Blake and Emerson to bed, so we had to call him to sing their songs they sing every night!  It was really sweet, hearing everyone singing over the phone :)  He will be doing a bit of travelling now with his new job and is also away this Monday and Tuesday night, so I'm sure we'll be calling him again to sing the bedtime songs!

We had a great time on Saturday at Emma's 2nd birthday party, which Jess and Robb hosted at Dynamyx Gymnastic's Club.  Blake and Em and even Reese enjoyed the floor activities and of course the dinner and cake afterwards!  It was really nice to visit with my Uncle Clifford and Auntie Cheryl, who we spent a lot of time with when we lived in St. Paul, but don't get to see very often now.  Emma enjoyed her party too and is so stinkin' cute, she has a great little personality :)  

I am SO excited for our upcoming visit to Lindsay and Jeremy's house in Fort McMurray this weekend!!  I can't wait to see their new house, but mostly can't wait to spend time with my family and see Linds' baby bump ;)  It will be really nice to go to them for once, as they are always coming to us!  

Our visit to Fort Mac will be followed by Cal's week off!!  Yippee!!!!  It will be a busy week though, we have a lot to accomplish around home!  But will be nice to have him home and I'm sure we'll squeeze in some fun ;)

Take care everyone, talk to you again soon!

xoxo The Cameron's

  

Happy 10 month Birthday Reese :)

Yes, Reese is 10 months old today!!  I know with every child I say I can't believe how fast time is going by but it continues to speed up.  SLOW DOWN ... please?!  I don't know how Reese is 10 months old already.  I mean, really ... where in the world does the time go???

Reese is growing and changing fast and is so much fun!!  She loves to move and is crawling all over the place and just started pulling herself up to standing on her play table and on Heidi's toy bin!!  The couch and coffee table seem to high for her to pull herself up on!  She seems to know where we don't want her to go and as soon as an opportunity presents itself, she heads for those areas (i.e. the bathroom/laundry room, the stairs to the basement!!).  As soon as I say, "Reeeese!!" she crawls faster!  lol!  She still has 7 teeth, with an 8th near breaking through (it's been near for a long time!!).  She loves food (surprise, surprise!) and really enjoys feeding herself.  She's eating a lot of what we eat now, just chopped up really small.  She loves drinking her water from a straw cup, but also loves spitting water out and making a mess!!!!  I find it really neat that she already recognizes Heidi, Jazz, Dad, Mom, Blake, Emerson, her teddy and her blankie.  When I ask her, "Where's Heidi?"  She scans the room and looks right at her!  Same with the other people/items!  It's so amazing how much a child learns in 10 short months.  And so rewarding to be a part of as a parent :)  Blake and Emerson love her to death and are still really good with her!  They are always watching out for her, making sure she isn't putting anything too small in her mouth.  We're definitely lucky she hasn't choked on anything yet ... to date she's been found with dice, small Lego, and a penny in her mouth :S  Reese is really enjoying our Come Play With Me program and loves music and books!! Just yesterday we moved her into a big kid carseat.  She could technically still be in the bucket seat, but it's way to heavy to carry around!!  She seemed smitten with her new car seat yesterday!  We love her big grins :)  And sometimes if we're lucky when we ask for hugs and kisses, she gives up a big mouth wide open kiss!!  

Blake and Emerson both started swimming and dove right back into lessons ;)  Blake's swimming really improved this summer!  Grandpa taught him how to doggie paddle at the cabin and he picked that right up again during his first lesson!!  Emerson's having fun too, but is ready to move on to unparented lessons.  But she'll have to wait until she's 3 for those!!  Em also started gymnastics on Wednesday.  She loves it and is most especially fond of the "stork stance" and choosing her outfit for her class ;)  Blake started hockey on Saturday and had a blast!  I woke Reese up from her morning nap so the girls and I could catch the last 1/2 hr of his practice!

We had fun on Sunday afternoon celebrating our niece Jenna's 2nd birthday at a polka-dot themed party :)  Grandma Bev was down for the party too, so it was nice to visit and catch up with her! 

Fall is definitely in the air!  Hoodie and sweater season is upon us - my 2 favorite pieces of clothing ;)

Have a great week everyone!!

Tracy

She's really movin' now!!

Reese is not only rolling but crawling at the speed of light ;)  Well not quite, but she's crawling faster and a lot more then she was 2 weeks ago!!  She also is "walking" when she's standing and being supported under her armpits and she's trying to walk along the couch and coffee table too!  And she's learned how to sit up from crawling!  A couple of weeks ago she could sit up from laying on the ground, by holding onto something with one hand and pushing on the ground with the other, but now she sits up without holding onto anything!!  Every morning when I go into her room to get her out of her crib, she's sitting up!  She gives me the biggest smiles, I love it :)  She tries to pull herself up on everything she can hold onto and has bumped her head more times then I can count :S  Way more then Blake and Emerson!!  She's a lot busier then they were at this age!  It's amazing how fast she's growing and changing!  I also taught her the signs for "more" and for "all done!"  And it seems like she actually gets them, which is amazing to me?!  I showed her all done a few times and now when I say it she tries to copy me and do the sign!  I never taught Blake or Em signs when they were this young, but when they were over 1 one of the library programs we attended taught signs so I remember a lot of them and just for fun thought I'd show Reese a few!!

Cousins!

The last few weeks of August and the beginning of September has been busy!  We had our niece Jenna and nephew Colby for a sleepover on September long weekend.  It was lots of fun and they were SO well-behaved!!  We really enjoyed spending time with them :)  We also attended Berlyn's 2nd birthday party that weekend.  There was a great group of kids there and we all had a lot of fun!  Blake and Emerson had a blast in the bouncy houses!!  And to top the weekend off, we met Carmen and family (- Kourtney) for dinner.  It was nice to see everyone :)

1st day of Preschool (year 2) - September 6, 2011

Blake started his 2nd year of Preschool on Tuesday, September 6th.  We registered him in Fun Factory at the CD YMCA again.  It's a great program and so convenient for us, because we take Emerson and Reese to a parented program (Come Play With Me) across the hall from Blake's classroom!  It was an entirely new scene for Blake this year, only 1 returning friend from last year and all new teachers!!  Although, Mrs. Steele (a volunteer) did return on Tuesday mornings and Miss Kara ran the summer day camp programs this year, so Blake recognized her as well.  Emerson had a blast at Come Play With Me and Reese did too!!!  Reese crawled around, "talking" and playing! 

On Wednesday we had a fun playdate with my cousin Jessica and her daughter Emma and look forward to more "dates" with them!!!

Enjoying the zoo!

Today the kids and I made an impromptu trip to the Valley Zoo.  The past 2 summers we've visited the zoo numerous times, but hadn't made it there this summer.  There are a lot of renovations happening, but the kids still had a blast!  Emerson had a close encounter with the tiger - he was right on the glass behind her!  Scared the life out of her (& Blake)!!!  It was SO funny, I wish I'd had my camera out at that time!!!  Every time we go to the zoo, the kids wish Cal was there!  They're always saying, "I wish Dad could see Lucy!"  "We should show Dad the monkeys!" etc, etc, etc.  So hopefully we'll make it there on Free Zoo Day (September 25th)!  Free admission for all, can't beat it!!!

Swimming lessons start today (Blake) and tomorrow (Emerson) and Blake's hockey starts on September 17th.  Both of our little fish are looking forward to their lessons and Blake is super excited for hockey ;)  Emerson is also VERY excited to start gymnastics on Wednesday and to attend Emma's Dynamyx birthday party on October 1st!! 

Cal had his annual Telus golf tournament yesterday afternoon/evening.  He had a great time and brought me home a pair of Oakley sunglasses!!  All the golfers received a pair!  And apparently the door prizes were amazing, last year he won an iPod touch, but he didn't win anything this year.  Cal doesn't get out golfing much anymore, but I'm sure it's a hobby he'll take up again one day ;)

Our weather has been absolutely gorgeous this week!  We've had fun in the backyard, playing in the sprinkler and keeping cool in the shade!!   

Hope you're able to enjoy some of this sun, have a great weekend :)

Love The Cameron's

PS:  I forgot to mention that Emerson is doing so great on the potty!!  At home and out and about!  She takes herself and doesn't even need reminding!  Very few accidents too!  We're so proud of her!!  Way to go Em :)

So much going on!!

Reese:

a.k.a. Reesey, Goose, Goosester, Blueberry, Baby!!  Reese turned 9 months old on August 19th.  9 MONTHS?!?  Oy!!  Her 1st year is flying by. I am not sure where I got Goose from, but that is my favorite nickname for Reese a.t.m. Emerson refers to her most often as "baby!"  Reese continues to be a very fast roller!  She gets from one end of a room to the other extremely fast via rolling!!  She still doesn't get too far with crawling - gets up on her hands and knees, crawls a "step" or 2, collapses and rolls!!!  But her new favorite thing to do is what I call a bear walk position - up on her toes and hands on the floor in front of her!  She loves doing this "downward dog" type pose!!  Makes her smile ;)  She also loves to stand!!  Reese has a rough few days last week.  She came down with a high fever and was extremely unhappy for 2 days and not very happy for a 3rd day!  We were off to Saskatoon last weekend for my cousin Aaron's wedding and she fell ill on Tuesday night.  Wednesday wasn't too bad, but Wednesday night and Thursday all day were terrible!  So I took her to the E.R.  She had no other symptoms so they did an in and out catheter to see if she had a urinary tract infection, but she didn't.  Dr. said it was a virus.  Dang viruses!!!  She was not nursing, not eating solids, crying, fussing, not sleeping ... it was terrible!!  By Friday night she was almost back to her normal self and so we left for the airport early Saturday morning.  We had a wonderful time in Saskatoon, visiting with a lot of my "Smith" family.  Reese travelled well, thank goodness and was back to her normal self!

Emerson:

Emerson is pretty much potty trained!!  She has been going to the potty off and on for the past few weeks and this week started using the potty exclusively.  She's had a few accidents, mostly #2's, but has really impressed us with how quickly she picked up on using the potty!  We new that potty training Emerson would not be the same experience as we had with Blake.  She had to decide how and when to do it and she pretty much did just that and virtually trained herself!  Which I suppose is not really training at all, but maybe more appropriately called potty learning.  Blake has been one of her biggest cheer leaders, which I think has helped a lot :)  We've taken her out 2 days in a row now, yesterday she had an accident while out so today I put a Pull-Up on her, but she used the washroom while out :)  We're so proud of her!!!  The whole process has been a lot less work this time around!  We were going to have her potty party on Sunday evening, but post poned it to this Sunday evening at my parent's new lake lot!  Emerson is SO into clothes and is of course really into all her new underwear ;)  She's always been a girly girl, but it's getting more and more as she gets older.  She picks her clothes and changes her outfit a gazillion times a day!  It's like an ongoing fashion show around here :)  It is so cute to see her pick up a piece of clothing, hold it up and say, "Awwww ... cute!"  Or sometimes she'll look at something, put it down and tell me to sell it!!  Too funny!!! 

Blake:

Blake's doing great!  He's still our little ball of energy, enjoying summer and all the activities that come with it :)  He loves to play every sport you can think of and still loves his truck's and trains!!  He had a blast at his Jitter Bug's camp in July and is in another session this week.  He was pretty excited to see Adam, his preschool buddy this week at the YMCA.  It was cute to see them chatting and catching up!!!  Blake is very proud of Emerson's potty accomplishments and all of Reese's new accomplishments!  He's very excited to go camping and quadding with Grandma and Grandpa D this weekend!! 

So as I said above, Reese took her first airplane ride this weekend.  She did great!  I was worried about her ears, but we had no issues.  We enjoyed visiting with family in Saskatoon!  While Reese and I were in SK, Cal, Blake and Emerson were having a fun weekend in E-Town!!!  Saturday they went to the Canadian Derby at Northlands (an annual outing for the Cameron family!) and had a great time par-taking in the race day activities.  Sunday they went to a local park with Berlyn and then after naptime, they went to the Parenteau's for a pool party/BBQ!  They had a busy weekend and were tuckered out by Sunday night!! 

September is fast approaching and with it comes a new set of fall and winter activities.  Blake's taking a skating lesson on Monday's starting in October and Initiation 1 hockey will start sometime in September (Saturdays).  Preschool starts the week after September long weekend (Tuesdays and Thursday mornings) and so do swimming lessons on Friday afternoons.  Emerson starts gymnastics (Wednesday afternoons) and swimming lessons (Saturday mornings) starting the week after September long weekend.  Em's also really looking forward to Come Play With Me (during Blake's preschool class) and seeing Ms. Christine again!!  Reese will be joining us at Come Play With Me and I'm really looking forward to seeing her reaction to the group this year, as she is older and LOVES singing and music!!  She loves playing with our LeapFrog fridge toys that sings and smiles and tries to clap her hands when I sing and clap to the music!  I think she'll really enjoy Come Play With Me!!

Looking at the list of activities above worries me a tad!!!!  I already feel overwhelmingly busy and we don't have any of that on our plates yet?!  I better get better organized!  And get to bed earlier ...  

Enjoy the last few weeks of August everyone!  Hopefully our weather will continue to be nice and our September will be kind to us as well :)

xoxo Tracy