He’s also a wonderful little helper, and there aren’t many chores that he doesn’t want to at least try to help with. It takes a little longer to clear the table and load the dishwasher when he’s “helping”, but I know I should cherish the helpful attitude now, before it goes away when he gets closer to the teen years.

Cameron just turned three this week! He had a great, fun birthday party at home over the weekend, and on Monday, his birthday, we enjoyed a beautiful fall day before another snowstorm came in. We were able to get some of the leaves raked into piles, but it was much more fun to toss them up in the air.

Today we celebrated some warm(er) weather with one of our favorite family activities, time at the park. Our dog, Chloe, has put on about 17 pounds (!) this winter, so needs all the exercise she can get. And Cameron just loves to see everything and play on the playground.

We also made a big batch of sugar cookies, and frosted them a few days later. Cameron was a big help and contributed by putting the sprinkles on the iced cookies. Unfortunately we ran out of sprinkles pretty quickly, but had some colored sugar for the rest.

The best part about making Christmas cookies is getting to enjoy your creations, even if you do end up with a green mustache!

While we waited in line, Cameron was being so good, showing lots of interest in the snow and animals in Santa’s village, and other parents around me were impressed with how well-behaved he was. I got lots of comments on how cute he looked in his argyle sweater and what a good boy he was for staying right beside me. I had forgotten to bring the stroller so I had to rely on Cameron to stay close on his own. We wandered through Santa’s village, but when we got up to the cabin, inside which Santa was waiting to hear every child’s Christmas wish list, Cameron was much more interested in exploring the cabin than he was in sitting on Santa’s lap. The cabin had a fireplace with a big basket of pinecones in it, and I think that at that moment, a pinecone was all Cameron really wanted for Christmas. He couldn’t be convinced to go to Santa on his own, but I did get him up there long enough to snap a quick photo. Unfortunately, it was only Cameron’s belly you could see shaking like a bowl full of jelly. Santa didn’t seem too happy to hang out with Cameron either. Oh well, I’m still glad we captured the moment, and hopefully next year Cameron and Santa can become buddies!

The last weekend of October was exciting and fun for our family! Cameron turned TWO on October 31, and we started off the celebration with pizza, birthday cake, and presents. The eating of birthday cake was a little more civilized than last year, since Cameron actually preferred eating the cake with a fork. He still made quite a mess though! I loved the gorilla cake that we ordered, and the enraptured look on Cameron’s face when I brought out the cake with lit candles was priceless. I am still upset with myself that a camera wasn’t ready to capture it. Everyone enjoyed the birthday dinner!

Cameron really hit the jackpot with presents this year! He received a wonderful assortment of toys that all capture his interest including cars, music, dogs, and sports, and also received some much-needed new clothes and pajamas. He didn’t have much time to play with his new toys that night though, because it was time for trick-or-treating!

I think that Cameron’s first experience with trick-or-treating was the most fun I have ever had with the time-honored tradition. When we started out, Cameron was so excited to be out walking, especially after dark. He practically ran down the street, but when we asked him if he wanted to go up to a house to ring the doorbell and get some candy, he just shook his head no. Finally after passing about 4 or 5 houses, we got him to go up the steps and approach a house. Unfortunately, the occupants were out trick-or-treating themselves, so he didn’t get to ring the doorbell, but they had left a bowl of candy on the porch, and he was more than happy to help himself! Now that he had learned what he would get if he went up to the front door, he was very enthusiastic about going up to all the houses! We made it all the way down to the end of the block, hitting about 8 houses, and Cameron was very adamant that we get to all the houses on the other side of the street as well. However, about halfway back to our house, he grew too tired to walk on his own any longer, and he needed to be carried. When we finally got back home, he really wanted to keep going, but he was just too tired, resulting in tears. It was definitely a great experience overall. I got such joy out of seeing him happily learn what trick-or-treating was all about, and he was the hit of the block in his adorable gorilla costume. I look forward to many more Hallo-birthday-weens with my wonderful boy.

On Saturday we got an early start for Boo at the Zoo, Cameron’s first experience at the popular event, unless you count the time we went five days before he was born. We go to the zoo pretty often since we are members, but this was the first time that we would be bringing our very own gorilla! Cameron loves to read books about gorillas and imitate how they roar and beat their chests, so it seemed like an obvious choice for his Halloween costume. He wasn’t too thrilled about wearing it to a Halloween party we went to earlier this week, but he happily put it on for the zoo, with a tiny bribe of animal crackers.

Cameron is the most adorable gorilla I have ever seen, and I think many of the people at the zoo thought so too! The zoo has lots of trick-or-treat stations set up for Boo at the Zoo, and most of them had at least twelve kids waiting in line to collect their candy. However, Cameron didn’t have much experience with trick-or-treating, or candy either, so he mostly just enjoyed walking around and looking at his favorite animals–all the big ones–elephants, rhinoceroses, and of course gorillas.

As soon as Cameron spotted the carousel, he wanted a ride. Usually I ride with him, but this time Cameron had a special request to ride with Daddy. I think this may have been Andy’s first carousel ride as an adult!

With all the people in costumes and all the extra things to look at all over the zoo, Cameron was exhausted pretty quickly, but the day wasn’t over yet!

A few weeks ago, we went to the pumpkin patch to pick out several pumpkins. They have been decorating our porch but the time had come for pumpkin carving. Cameron wouldn’t stick his hand inside the pumpkin to feel the gooey pumpkin guts, and Andy wasn’t interested in drawing faces on the pumpkins or carving them, so it was all up to me, but I enjoyed carving them and we were all happy with how they turned out. Now we were officially ready for Halloween, which also happens to be the same day as Cameron’s birthday! October 31st was an even bigger day for us, and I will post all about it sometime in the next few days.

Sea World
Shamu!

Dolphin Blue Horizons

Cameron’s favorite part was the Bay of Play

Running through the “tidepool”

World-Famous San Diego Zoo

Legoland

Beaches

When we first arrived at his classroom, it was a bit chaotic since it was the first day for other kids too and several of them were having a hard time adjusting. As I looked around at the other kids who were crying because their parents were gone, I felt a tear or two well up in my own eyes. Was Cameron going to be as upset to be here? I had been really preparing him for the transition, telling him how much fun he would have and that I would always be back to take him home again. He had already met the teacher and seemed to like her. We just stood there for a few minutes, looking around, and I showed the teacher his blanky and star that help him fall asleep. Then I showed him the shelves of toys and he immediately grabbed a toy school bus and started driving it all over the table. Another boy, Brady, came up and got another car out and the two of them started racing the cars all over. Cameron gave me a quick kiss goodbye and then it was time for me to go. I was so glad that he seemed to be happy there, but I left in tears and cried all the way to work. I was so sad to leave my little boy.

When I came back to pick him up, they were outside on the playground and I got to watch him for a few minutes as he pushed another big car all over the yard, and didn’t let little Brady share with him. His daily report card said he didn’t nap for very long, which I suspected would happen, but that he really enjoyed playing outside and with the cars and trucks in the classroom. He also ate well for breakfast, lunch, and snack, as evidenced by all the ravioli sauce covering his clothes. The teachers said he seemed to really enjoy his first day of school!

This particular day was also Cameron’s 21 month birthday which means he is 1 3/4 years old! It’s starting to hit home that soon there will be a two year old running around our house. Hopefully they won’t be “terrible twos” but I can’t imagine they will because in general Cameron is a sweet angel, especially when he’s well-fed with animal crackers. Often he will go over to the kitchen pantry, start tugging at the doors, and signing want cracker please! Or he’ll take the box of Cheerios out, open it up, and grab a gigantic handful and stuff it in his mouth. It’s so cute that usually I can’t resist his pleas, even if dinnertime is coming up soon. Chloe also really enjoys it, because he usually drops some crackers or Cheerios on the floor and then she gets to clean them up. Love my sweet little boy!