Bye Bye Creme' - We will miss you!

Today was Cameron's last day at Creme' de la Creme'. I have to tell you I am really sad! I will so miss the teachers there and I know Cam will too.

We really thought long and hard on how to handle Cameron's "behavior" situation. We now know it was a phase that he has gotten over but when it first started we talked to TONS of friends and family and his pediatrician about the situation. Cameron is such a sweet child that it was weird to see him "act out" when he couldn't get his way. Instead of him just asking for a toy from a friend, he would just TAKE the toy he wanted! We heard time and time again, "this is just a phase, he will get over it". Dr. Pitts did say however that sometimes these phases are triggered by over stimulation from pre-schools. He suggested that we look into other alternatives for Cameron to see if this could help. He also provided (plenty) of articles/journals to read on how the "type" of pre-school can help/hinder a child from a behavioral standpoint. After reviewing the readings we thought that changing his program could help him. So the search was on! We originally planned to hire a part time nanny to work with him 1:1 and then the other days he could go to a pre-school program to get the social interaction. But after more conversations with folks who had done this as well as talking to Dr. Pitts it was recommended that this may not be the best fit because while 1:1 time is good not having that social interaction that he was used to may backfire on us. The way they explained it was it would be like he is going backwards in his social interaction (which is what we were trying to work on) vs. forwards. Had he started with a nanny and then moved to a part time pre-school would have been okay but going the opposite way didn't make sense.

So we didn't know what to do! Well let me tell you how good God is and how he works in mysterious ways! When we first moved here we were trying to find a place for him to go. Because Jante' is from the area we knew we wanted him to go to Lakeview Academy when he reached school age. So I reached out to the director at Lakewiew to find out where most of the kids that attend there go to pre-school. She shared a few places and one of them was Winnford Academy. Because Winnford is less than 10 minutes from the house I contacted them. But besides the fact that I would need to get another job to have him attend, of course there were NO openings. Well wouldn't you know it something told me to contact them (that would be the Lord) just to see and when I did the director told me they have ONE opening coming but there was a wait list. She told me to not be discouraged because since it was the middle of the school year I may have a good chance of getting in. And low and behold 3 days later she was calling back to let us know we got it!

We're excited for several reasons but the main reasons are 1. The program is different than Creme' so hopefully the things that may have been "over stimulating" from Cameron at Creme' will be better at Winnford. 2. Most of the kids in our community go there and now he will have an opportunity to be around kids from his same neighborhood. We are really excited about this because it is similar to how Jante' and I grew up. Kids from the same neighborhood going to the same schools starting really young. This way they grow up together. Lastly, it is so close! This means more time with him in the evenings. I have to say honestly there is nothing more disappointing than to be away from him for 9 hours during the day and then have to pick him up, sit in traffic and only have a couple of hours with him at night.

He will transition over the next 2 weeks and be there full time starting the week after his 2nd birthday. I will keep you posted on the transition!

We will SO miss Ms. Thina and Ms. Jackie. Here is Cameron saying his goodbye's to his friends!

Rainy Sunday

It was a VERY rainy Sunday so we had to figure out where we could take Cameron for an afternoon outing. So where can a kid (and adults) have fun inside when it's pouring outside???????? Dave and Busters it is! This place is always a blast. Once again, Cameron enjoyed himself and didn't want to leave. Actually his daddy wanted to play basketball so much that he didn't want to leave either. I had to DRAG both of them out of there.

The Braselton Library

Cameron loves to read but I have to ask, have you seen the price of kids book lately? Woo, it's out of control. I can't just keep buying books every week! Many parents felt my pain and according to an article in Parernting magazine, parents of toddlers spend up to $250/year on books. So to help us out in this tough economy the article suggested get a library card instead! What a great idea! I hate to admit it but I have not been to the library in a number of years and can't remember the last time I owned a library card. I don't want this to be the case for Cameron so we took a trip to the local library.

We had a good time getting tour of the library and finding out there are so many things to do there. From story time with the kids to book fairs were you can buy used books for a little as 50 cents (that's more like it). And you can check out as many as 20 books at a time - we stuck with 3 (lol).

Cameron spent the majority of the time playing with the toys. He didn't actually open a book until we got to the car.

"Terrible Two's" Update

Well I tell you, who ever said don't worry about what's going on right now with your child because the next "phase" is right around the corner was 100% RIGHT! For almost 3 weeks we worried about Cameron going through the early Terrible Two (biting, scratching, etc his friends)and here we are a month later and he has COMPLETELY over that phase! Really he is back to that sweet, happy, active little boy that we knew before that "phase" started. Let me tell you - we are happy to have him back! LOL!

Happy Birthday Daddy

To celebrate Jante's 36th birthday we had a family get together at his mom's house. Even though it was Jante's birthday, Cameron stole the show. Dancing and signing almost all day! He did take a break however to ride in a box like it was a car (kids are amazed by the simplist things). Here are a few shots from the day.

Somebody's been eating some cake

Fun time in the sliding box

Watching Daddy eat cake

Nana and Daddy

Daddy's cake

Pics of the Week

Cameron getting his "Jam" on while brushing his teeth before school! Too cute!

Jammin'

Break time

Always Helping

Cameron is adamite about helping around the house. Rather it's cleaning up a spill on the floor, closing the blinds or raking the leaves outside he wants to help. In fact he gets upset when he can't. So when Nana needed to move a small plant table to her porch he HAD to help! Here is our sweet baby being a good little helper for Nana.

Blood Pressure Rising!

Part of our nightly routine is to do a little dancing and play a few games before our nighttime book and bed. For the past week for some reason Cameron wants to do his dancing in the mirror - where he can see himself. I told Jante' I think Cameron may be a bit conceited! LOL! Tonight he wanted to make mommy's blood pressure rise by pretending he would step off the edge of the counter (after looking in the mirror). Here are 2 videos, one of him pushing his limits and making me nervous and the other of him being really silly with the "going in circles" game.

Happy St. Patty's Day!!!!!!!!!

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day after school Cameron, Prince and I took a stroll looking for 4 Leaf Clovers (for some good luck). We looked and looked and looked but to no avail no 4 leaf clovers! In fact we couldn't find ANY clovers none the less a 4 leaf one! But we did not fret - we returned to the house for a little coloring and a St. Patty's cupcake. Let's just say, letting Cameron eat a cupcake on his own.........bad idea. He ended up giving Prince 90% of the cake but in the meantime he had a great time playing in the messy icing!

Yum Yum

A mess!

Sunday Stroll

Because the weather was GREAT today we decided to take Cameron on a stroll through the neighborhood and to the neighborhood park after church. Because he loves being outside it was very difficult to get him off the playground! We finally convinced him to head back to the house for a "treat" - of course he was happy to. At home he had his 1st popsicle! As you can see he enjoyed it. At least until he tried to bite it - at that point he had to pass it along to his daddy. LOL!

Big Boy

We purchased his potty about 3 months ago and started explaining to him what is was for and "trying" to show him how to use it. It's funny because each night before bath time I put him on the potty to try and encourage him to go. We have a routine, he sits and then we count to 10 (and then mommy counts from 11-100 for him) but nothing happens. Then I put him in the tub and what happens...........he pees! And then laughs! It's hilarious. Well this week he finally started telling me he had to "pott-pott" and would actually sit and pott-pott! I am so proud of my baby! Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of diapers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Additionally this is the first week Cameron has started to drink out of a real cup and not a sippy cup. He will still use a sippy cup in the car but at school and at home no more sippy cup! He is doing pretty good with it. Sometimes he drinks too fast and the milk (or juice) will spill on him but overall he is doing a great job. My baby is a Big Boy! Here is a shot of him using his cup. Note, that is apple sauce on his shirt, not milk. He was holding the cup too close to his face so he got ALL of his milk that night - LOL!

Our baby is growing up so fast! This week marks 2 huge milestones for Cameron. 1. Cameron's potty training and 2. Cameron drinking from a Big Boy Cup.

Pic of the Week

Cameron loves to help around the house. Today I asked him to help me wash and dry the clothes and he was happy to help. As we were putting the clothes in the dryer I realized I didn't have my dryer sheets near by. After finding them I called for Cameron (because he was being too quite) and he did not respond. Because I thought he was behind me when I went to the storage to find more dryer sheets I had no idea he was actually still in the laundry room. After looking around the house and calling his name for about 3 minutes I started to hear him laugh. The laughs were coming from the laundry room. I walked in and this is what I found......................

Pic of the Week

Please don't tell my husband about this picture! It's not the best shot (he kept moving when he saw me laughing) but I HAD to post it. If you can't tell, it's Cameron trying on my shoes! Let's just say this is NOT something a father would want to see his son doing! LOL!

Reading Across Braselton

Today was national Read Across America day (in celebration of Dr. Seuss' birthday) and we took full advantage of it. We didn't get to read across America but we did read across our home. I know I have shared this before but Cameron LOVES to read - or try to anyway. He has many favorite books and so you never know what he will feel like reading each night before bed. Tonight he decided to read Mickey (Mouse) and Monkey Joe a few Dr. Seuss books and one of the biggest books he has. It was quite entertaining. Happy Reading!

Wow, this is a pretty big book mommy

Mickey and Monkey Joe paying close attention

Cameron is REALLY into this page

A Better Week

So there are no pictures for this post but I wanted to give you all a quick update on Mr. Cameron and his behavior from last week.

Jante' and I had another parent/teacher conference with Ms. Brooke to understand more about how Cameron is "acting out" at school. Overall the meeting went really well. Basically it all boils down to Cameron gets upset when he doesn't get his way and he bites or scratches or whatever to get what he wants! Not really want a parent wants to hear but it is what it is.......reality. One of the things she says his that Cameron doesn't "use his words" to get what he wants. It's weird because he is literally a little chatter box at home (over the past month we have been amazed at how many new words he has - more than we expected). She helped us to understand that some kids are just like that, they talk at home - around family members but when they get in a group setting of their peers they are not as vocal.

We have a "fix" in the works. We will continue to work with him on controlling his emotions and using his new big boy words to tell his "friends" what he wants vs. just taking it from them! I will keep you posted on his progress.