Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Christmas 2011

We had a really nice Christmas in Raleigh with everyone.  I think it was one of those events where there were so many people, pets, and chaos, that I have very few "good" pictures.  Here are a few...

Getting ready for Christmas Eve church

A kiss from Grammy
 Christmas Eve church with Ella and Aunt Colleen
After Santa came!
 Opening presents...






Discovery Place Kids

Mom and Ella came to Charlotte to babysit for us while we went to volunteer at Christmas Village Toy Store.  The following day, we went to Discovery Place Kids before Mom and Ella headed back to Raleigh.  We had been with Cameron when he was about 4 months old, but now that he can walk, I think he had a lot more fun. 

Checking out a Fire Engine

 Ella, shopping at the grocery store...and yes, that outfit was Ella's own creation!
 Checking out X-Rays at the Dr's office
 Grammy, helping Ella across the balance beam
 Ella and Cameron had a great time in the pretend restaurant.  Ella "pretended" with all the various activities, while Cameron must have opened and closed the fake microwave one hundred times.
 Cameron, actually trying to drink out of a glass!
 Ella, checking out the underwater room
 Posing after a fun day!

Grandmom and Granddad babysitting

A few weeks ago, Grandmom and Granddad watched Cameron while we went to our small group meeting.  After some playing, Cameron was very sleepy and fell asleep right on Grandmom's lap!  He woke up sweet and happy and still went right down for bed a little while later. 

Look at those sweaty little curls!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

1st Birthday!

I cannot even believe it, but my little man is officially a year old!  It's just incredible how much he has grown and changed over the last year.  It makes me sad how he looks less and less like a baby, and more and more like a little boy.  At the same time, each new chapter brings new challenges and new experiences.  Cameron is so interactive now and SO funny!  He loves to laugh and be silly, and loves his own jokes!  He plays peek-a-boo, snuggles and lays his head down on the pets, and has the best time running around and yelling happily at the top of his lungs.  Cameron says "dog", "cat", and "da-da".  He points to everything and says "ta?"  (I think he's asking, "What's that?")  Every time he gets out of a car or goes outside, one arm shoots strait up in the air and he looks up at the sun, as if saying, "What a glorious day!"  He's so silly.  He shows his tummy a lot, loves to splash like a wild man in the tub, and gets upset when it's time to get out.  Cam loves to flip light switches and squeals with delight when he sees a ceiling fan.  He certainly has his moments and his opinions grow by the minute, but Cameron is generally a very happy little man. 

We just celebrated his 1st birthday with a little family party at the house.  We were so happy that all the family drove in to celebrate Cameron's big day! 




 
 Cameron's smash-cake

Delicious Mickey Mouse ice cream cake
 Mom and I slaved for an entire day making these gorgeous shortbread Mickeys!
 Playing a "Cameron" game
 Cam enjoying his fire truck from Aunt Kelly
 with Grandmom and Grandad
 Playing with Uncle Chris
 While he enjoyed being sung to, at first Cameron had NO interest in his cake at all.  He just picked up globs of icing and threw them in anger.  How dare we offer him a delicious cake for his birthday!


 After several attempts, he finally ate some cake and allowed us our photo opportunity!  As Granddad said, we were thrilled to have a picture of Cam's "first time eating cake, shirtless."
 Playing with Aunt Melissa
 Mamaw's birthday is right after Cameron's, so she opened her present from us...what could be better than pics of Cameron.  :)
 An attempt at a pic of Ella, Cammy, and Grampy G.
 Reading a story with Aunt Colleen and Ella
 Cam's first time sleeping with a blanket in his crib!  What a milestone!
 Grampy got Cameron a ball pit for his birthday.  Our 2 static-y-haired friends had a ton of fun!

Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Linda

Uncle Jimmy and Aunt Linda stopped by SC on their way to visit Michelle in Georgia.  I was so glad we had the opportunity to see them and spend some time together.  Cameron loved meeting his great Aunt and Uncle!

1 year portraits and visiting Santa

We took Cameron for his 1year portraits, and unfortunately, they did not go as well as they did 6 months ago.  Cameron is now at the age where he's very aware and does not like being put down (and posed) by himself with strangers.  We got a few good pictures of us as a family, but as soon as it was time for Cam's solo photos, he was not interested at all!  That said, we only got a few shots...but they're pretty cute!




 After Cam's portraits, we saw that Santa was at the mall and there was literally no wait at all, so we figured we'd stop for a visit.  Cameron sat on Santa's lap and was very good.  He wasn't afraid, but also didn't love Santa either.  He just kind of sat with no reaction, but I'm glad he tolerated the experience!