And goodbye to 2011 ... thanks for the memories :)
- Welcome Reese party! Being born in mid-November and the 3rd child, we weren't sure when to have a shower or get together for Reese. We didn't really think we should have a shower, as we already had everything we needed but wanted to have a gathering to celebrate her birth and give people a chance to meet her :) Hence, the "Welcome Reese party!" It was a cold, snowy, stormy, day but thankfully we had family and friends who braved the less then desirable weather and road conditions to come celebrate our baby girl with us! Thank you so much to everyone who joined us and to my Mom and sister for the delicious food and beautiful decore!!
- Emerson's 2nd birthday (February 16th) and party!! Emerson loves her gymnastics class, so we thought the gymnastics club was a great place to host her 2nd birthday party! She had a blast and all the kids loved the floor time with a gymnastics Coach :) I have a feeling we'll be returning for her 3rd birthday party! Emerson, in your short 2 years with us you have taught us so much and have showered us with so much love. You are Daddy's little girl, Mommy's princess and an absolutely amazing big AND little sister!! The gentle and caring ways you show us are such a blessing and melt my heart. We love you so much sweetie and can't wait to share and experience 2012 with you!
- Blake's 4th birthday (May 5th) and party!! Blake chose to host his birthday party at Jumpy Things this year! The kids had a lot of fun, bouncing to their hearts content in the huge bouncy castle!! Of course, he wants to return for his 5th birthday party this year, but we'll see if we can persuade him to try something new ;) We can not believe you are already 4 years old Blake and will soon be entering kindergarten. I truly believe there is a reason you are our first born, God knew what he was doing. You are such a great big brother to your 2 sisters and a beyond amazing son. You have such a huge heart and often put others before yourself. We witness this in everything you do - on the playground, at preschool, and often at home. 2012 will be a very exciting year for you and we can not wait to share it with you!!
- A Day Out With Thomas! This is the 2nd year we went to Heritage Park in Calgary for this event! This year the whole family attended. It was a great time and the kids travelled really well (we went to Calgary and back in 1 day!!). The event is SO well put together, with numerous activities for the kids to do. Of course, the highlight is seeing Thomas and taking a ride on the rails!! We met Lindsey, Andrew and Parker there and had a lot of fun taking everything in. Can't wait for this year's event :)
- Summer vacation at the Smith cabin! We had a great time at the cabin this summer! Sharing the majority of the time and some fabulous weather with my parents and Linds and Jer :) Blake became so much more confident in the water during this trip and all the kids loved playing at the beach and swimming!! Cal, Jeremy and I took the kids on their first fishing trip and even Reese enjoyed the boat ride! We wrapped the trip up, celebrating my grandparents anniversary in Tisdale, visiting with our Smith family. It was a great time :)
- Celebrating my Grandma Kelley's 80th birthday in Battleford, SK! At the beginning of August we made a quick day trip to Battleford to surprise my Grandma for her 80th birthday! She was so surprised to see us and had a great time visiting with family and friends who dropped in through out the afternoon to wish her a happy birthday!! Once again, the kids travelled well and had a great time running around with their cousins. I enjoyed catching up with family on my Mom's side, some of whom I hadn't seen in years.
- Dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Alstad and Bev! We had a very nice (but short!) visit at the end of August when we met for dinner in Stony Plain. We're really looking forward to a trip to Grande Prairie at the end of January and spending some time with the Alstad family :)
- Celebrating Thanksgiving in Fort McMurray at Lindsay and Jeremy's new home! I wish I was able to visit Fort McMurray more often, but was really glad we were all able to get up there for Thanksgiving!! Their new home is gorgeous and more then large enough to accommodate our clan ;) The kids had fun and we had a delicious dinner and caught up with my cousin Melissa and her family too!!
- Reese's 1st birthday (November 19th) and party!! We had a small party at our home, which we greatly enjoyed and hopefully our guest's did too! Reese, you have brought so much joy to our family! You are a smiley, energetic, courageous, often independent, adventurous little girl, who keeps us on our toes and showers us with hugs and cuddles! When you walk up to us and lean in for a hug, my heart melts! Especially when I see you hugging Blake or Em :) We can't believe that at the end of 2012 you will be 2?! It is going to be a very busy year for you Reese, learning new things and growing too!! We can't wait to experience it all with you :)
- Lots of time spent with our family! I feel as though we have had a lot of time together, much of it at and around home. These are special times, different from trips away from home, the time spent at work and school, at arena's and gymnastics. We treasure this time together and the memories that are made in these more "simple" moments - cuddling up in our bed in the early mornings (often short lived, but priceless minutes none the less ;) ), making brunch with Dad, baking cookies with Mom, helping Mom with Cameron's Closet, working in the yard, reading books, playing Lego, playing trains, doing puzzles, cuddling on the couch to watch a favorite show, the list could go on! We try to soak this all in and remember our babies in every moment, they grow up so fast :)
2011 has been good to our family and we thank our lucky stars each and every day for our health and happiness. The year has also had it's trying times but as we reflect on 2011, we know we are truly blessed and do not take a minute for granted.
We pray for our family and yours, that 2012 will bring a new year full of many great memories, the best of health, the best of friends and family, lots of laughs, good times and much love!!
We are working on setting some personal and family resolutions that we hope will help guide us this year. We had a quick discussion with Blake and Emerson about New Year's resolutions and had a good laugh at Blake's resolution to work more!!! He told us that he has taken 100's of hours off ... we told him he should not worry about working at his young age and after some discussion he decided his job would be to take care of his guys (a.k.a. his teddy bears)!!
Happy New Year everyone :)
Love The Cameron's
