My Boy at the Lakehouse . . . Finally!

Cameron talks about the Lake House all the time.

When can I go? How much longer? I wish I was there.

Grandpa promised a boy's week as soon as school was out. A couple days after his graduation I said good-bye to him

But his first stop wasn't the Lake House.

He hopped rides on his way to Fond du Lac.

First he caught a ride to Milwaukee with my sister and family. They went to the Children's Museum where he got to lay on a bed of nails and touch a sting ray. He spent the day happily with his cousins.

Then he hitched a ride with my brother-in-laws parents and brother's family the rest of the way to Fond du Lac. Since he spent the day with them, he had no problem jumping into their car . . . from what I hear, he slept most of the way.

He was dropped off at my parents house where he got to ride (actually drive) Grandpa's tractor, go to Culver's with Grandma, and take a bath in their huge garden tub.

Grandpa S had to work on Monday, but as soon as he got out of work he picked Cameron up.

Of course, there was no leaving town before stopping in to see Grandma S. I was actually worried for her that they would be so excited to get to the Lakehouse, they wouldn't have waited around to see her. They finished packing up and said good-bye and off they went.

We all were talking about the fact that there was no way to tell who was more excited . . . Cameron or Grandpa :)

I received a phone call that night that they made it safely and that it was dark out, so they were going to start the fun first thing in the morning.

Then, just after 6am the next morning, we were receiving texts that they were out on the dock, watching the sunrise! The fun had begun :)

Grandpa told him to make a list of all the things he wanted to do that week, so a couple days before the trip I wrote as Cameron listed.

He definitely knew what he wanted and it consisted mainly of Macaroni and Cheese, fishing and no naps : )

Then on the back of the paper he wanted to write a letter to Grandpa himself) which Audrey helped him spell.

It says "Can we read together", but she wrote it all in lower case letters, which he always converts to uppercase letters and mixed up the "d" to a "b".

Looks like he had so much fun!!!

Here are some of my favorites : )

Grandpa said that he was "reading" his Bass magazines and showing him the big lures that they need to be using to catch the BIG fish. Cameron used a big lure and snag it in the weeds and broke his line. But give the boy a few years and he'll have it all figured out. He keeps telling me about his 14 inch Bass!!!

And from the looks of it, Grandpa got him to put his own worm on the hook!

So, from what I hear, there wasn't a lot of napping going on . . . but he was definitely worn out by the end of every night.

I want to thank Grandpa SO MUCH for sharing these photos with me. I can tell by the smile on his face that he had the best of times, I only wish there was a picture of the two of you together.

So I'll have to add some oldies but goodies : )

Cameron has grown up making regular visits to the Lakehouse since only weeks after he was born. The older he gets, the more often he wants to make the trip.

I was a little worried that I was going to lose him to the Lakehouse, but he returned home and as I was tucking him into bed for the night I said, "I'm happy that you are home" and he replied, "It's good to be home mom."

Thank you Grandpa!!!

(I'm sure he talked your ear off all week, I hope it isn't too quiet without him)

My Little Man

I put my Cameron to bed tonight and said "Goodnight my 3 year old little man" and he replied "Goodnight my 10 year old mommie" :)

I can't believe the next time I see him, he will officially be 4 years old.

He has a little special place in my heart (as all my children do), but he is the one I spend most of my time with. If I favor talking about him and posting pictures of him, it's because he is the one that is always at my side. My buddy.

When he came into my life, I thought he was going to always be my baby. The one that I would treat like a little prince for his whole life. Then out of nowhere, he became the middle child.

I still choose to treat him like my little prince :)

I love his imagination, young humor and charm . . . he oozes every one of them.

I look forward to his smiles and get upset by his tears and watch for his understanding and glow with his accomplishments.

I look forward to watching him grow into a man.

Even if it breaks my heart.

I love you, my little man, my Cameron

Cameron is Learning :)

I've had my concerns about Cameron.

He hasn't seem to be interested in learning the basics: colors, letters, numbers . . . until recently.

Everyone has told me . . . it's just a boy-thing.

He never sat still, so it was nearly impossible to try and "teach" him anything. Reading a book to him was no fun, because he always seemed to be bouncing off the walls. So not interested at all.

The colors have almost been mastered. Pink, purple, white, gray and brown are still hit and miss. At least he's not calling brown - chocolate anymore, lol.

He didn't believe me that the alphabet had to be said in order. "I'm doing it!" as he sang "a,b,c,d,h,t,l,z,x,c,m,i,o,z" . . . I figured that at least he was getting some of the letters. It's starting to get better.

And he can say his numbers pretty well, probably the easiest for him. But visually, he doesn't know them. (Except, of course, 1 and 2 because of the Wii remote . . . same for A and B)

I have him in a Park District 3 year old program. It has done wonders with him. They assure me that he is doing great. "Love his personality" "He's a leader", which I hope doesn't mean bossy, because that's what it typically is around here.

I'm sure part of it is also his age. He'll be 4 in a couple of months . . . maybe he's just ready now.

In the last couple of weeks, he has his favorite books that I read to him over and over. Then this week he told me he was going to read to me. (I asked him if I could taped it, not knowing what he was going to do, because he has such a great imagination.)

This is how he did . . . have I said recently how much I love this kid!!!

As a parent, I'm just happy for the confirmation that he is finally listening :) - - - and that isn't a Kool Aid mustache, he scrapes his teeth on his upper lip, sign that he needs chapstick

Also he is finally sharing with us some of the things that he is learning in school. We are hearing his friends names and stories of his day.

This is our new favorite from him. He's showing Grandma & Grandpa :) I love how animated he is!

As a parent, I just want the best for my children and for them to be the best they can be . . . but I'm learning that sometimes it just has to happen when they are ready . . . patience.

Instead of a Bedtime Story

Yes, he has brain-washed our 3 older children . . . 2 left to go :)

They all picked Duke to win in the Final game . . . well, I don't know about Cam, LOL!!!