Couch Cruising!

Today Cameron turned 11 months old. I still can't believe how quickly his first year is passing by. Next month, my little baby boy will be one year old. I can honestly say that this has been the best year of my entire life. Not only am I blessed to have the opportunity to stay at home with my little man, he has taught me many new things. I now have an extreme amount of patience, forgiveness and energy that I did not have before Cameron. Some nights we only get 5 hours of sleep, but now I am able to get up dancing and singing to start his day off right. He is such a joy to be around and I can't wait to see what the next couple months have in store. This month has been eventful! Cameron can pull himself up with no heistation and cruises around the living room holding onto the end tables and couches. He LOVES helping us "unload" the dishwasher! He pulls out the spoons and hands them to us (don't worry, knives and forks have been already removed). He can already say several words: Mama, Dada, Papa, Up, Puppy, Yum and as of yesterday, baby. Cammers is full of giggles and smiles all day long, which makes my life happy! He still loves to dance and wiggle. As of two weeks ago, he now waves bye bye and shakes his head "no" when he doesn't want something. Cam also lifts up his arms when I say, "Up please". This makes changing his clothes SO EASY! Cameron completely refuses pureed food now. He is eating strictly table food. This is extremely exciting for me because I love to cook! I had made several little baby meals for him and he seems to like almost everything (except meat). His current favorite meal/snack is cheese favored crackers dipped into cream cheese mixed with avocado. "YUMMMMM," he says! Cameron and I started to attend a baby story time group at the local library on Thursdays. For a half hour, the children's librarian reads a couple stories, blows bubbles, sings songs and dances. All the moms and babies join in. After the story time, all the moms and babies go into a playroom and let the little bambinos crawl around and play! He seems to like it and we now know we need to work on sharing! Poor guy always gets his toys snatched from him! Cameron recently attended his cousin Charlie's 1st birthday and had a great time! They are so cute together. Thanksgiving this year was different - first we had "dinner" at noon (Uncle Ty, Uncle Mike, Luke and Ryan went to Apple Cup this year together and had to leave early) and second it wasn't the same without my Gramps. I kept waiting for him to stomp down the hallway and say, "Jesses!!" I'm so glad I had the support of my family to help me through it. And of course sweet little Cam. After "Dinner," I stopped by Ryan's family's house for a bit. It was nice to see everyone. I can't wait to blog next month and tell everyone about Cameron's new adventures and talents! Next blog will be full of Christmas and birthday stories! Until next time, here are some new pictures of the Ham! Enjoy! The first 7 pictures were taken by Dawn Lucrisia-Johnson and the Santa hat pictures were taken by the famous Zon and Kate Duo. THANK YOU DAWN, ZON and KATE!!

Dance Like No One is looking!

Well, Cameron has made it to his 10 month mark! I can't believe I'm a mother of an almost walker! Cam has turned into an extremely funny little boy that loves to dance and copy people. With this beautiful weather that we were blessed with, we were able to go to the zoo quite a few times from the beginning of summer to the end of October. We also were able to take a ton of nice walks with Basil and Lola, go on the swings and to Ryan's softball games. On October 6th, Cameron had his first sleep over at Nonna and Papa's house (Without mama). Ryan and I attended our good friends' wedding (Fun time D and K!!) He did great but we couldn't help but to get him super early the next morning. WE MISSED HIM! Cammers loves to eat just like his family. I'm still making his pureed baby food, but now I am creating fun finger foods too. I steam sweet potatoes, carrots, peas and apples for him to munch on. He loves eating yogurt and crunchy wagon wheels. I would have to say his favorite table food meal is pasta with marinara sauce and cheese chunks. Ryan and I went to a baby sale a month ago and bought him a little ride along fire truck that plays music and flashs lights. He loves going around the house on it and looks so happy! As of two weeks ago, Cameron is now pulling himself to a standing position constantly - even in the crib. With this new found talent, he loves to dance to the Friday Night Lights theme song when he is against the couch. It is the funniest thing in the world! He knows he is cute when he is doing it and expects us to cheer him on. Also, Cameron is the proud new owner of two little teeth! The bottom two are officially in and sharp as razors! Last night was Halloween - Mr Bug was an owl. He was so adorable, I could barely handle it! We got him all dressed up and took him over to Grandma and Grandpa's house (Ryan's parents). They looked so thrilled to see little Cam all dressed up and ready to trick or treat. Next stop was Nonna and Papa's house. They too were beyond happy to see him! After a quick stop for food and a new diaper, we were off to trick or treat! Nonna and Papa bought Cammers a wagon the week before for trick or treating and he loved sitting in there with his candy bag! We visited a few houses (The Kaylors, Curtrights and the Parks) and then we went back to the house. Uncle Ryan and Aunt Heather were now there and Cameron lit up. Papa played his guitar and Cam danced for everyone. It was so cute!!!! Cameron didn't make it out of the neighborhood before falling asleep. I think he had a good time (didn't understand it all but was happy). This last month has been one of my favorites. Cameron is now very mobile and a lot of fun. He is easy to take places and is still an easy going baby, who loves everyone. I'm so proud of the little boy he has become and can never wait to show him off. I'm so upset that my Gramps wasn't around to see Cameron in his costume. I find myself daily begin to call him or email him with a funny story or for advise. I know that my Gramps would have loved this month of Cameron's life. To finish up the blog post, here are some pictures of the ham!