Our 2011... Highlights and Video!

I know I say it every year, but it's hard to believe that another year has come and gone! This year was a great one for us.

- Colby continues to grow and amaze us every day with his witty nature and thinking ways. As a baby, he was very "analytical" and I still think that is still very much a part of his nature. He makes us laugh and smile every day. We often say, "Where did that come from?!"

- Jenna is now 2 and this was a big year for her! Toddler bed, no more soother, day surgery for tubes in her ears, first hair cut, and lots of talking are a few highlights! She is so sweet and we absolutely love her giant hugs and kisses!

- Gerry is still very busy and continues to be successful as Parts Manager at AR Williams in Edmonton. He curls Monday nights with his Mixed League and also took my dad's spot for several Thursday evenings as well in the Men's League. He is an amazing dad and I cherish each and every day with my great husband :)

- School is busy... always is. This school year, I am back to working full-time and am enjoying a great class! I am teaching grade 3 again this year and enjoy teaching at Forest Green School with a great staff. It is pretty crazy teaching full-time, but having great family and friends to enjoy a little bit of down time on the weekends is nice!

- The rest of our year consisted of trips to Grande Prairie to visit family, lots of camping trips, a trip to Maui with just Gerry and I, family trip to San Diego in the summer, my cousin, Michelle's wedding, swimming lessons, along with many other great experiences!

Enjoy a (very) brief look at our 2011 in pictures! It's so difficult to choose pictures when I have just a few to pick from ;)

Wishing you and your family a wonderful 2012 filled with love, happiness, and joy!

All the best from Gerry, Lesley, Colby and Jenna xoxo

The Best Place To Be Is Together

Two of the best things about having a family blog are that
1. It's another way to document events and development in our family, and
2. To communicate and share photos with extended family, especially those who do not live close or those who are not on Facebook.

On September 24, 2011, we had a Family Photo Session photographed by Jody Noel (Heart and Soul Photography). We had a lot of fun and were very happy with the results. I put together a little video of some of the photos!!

October.... Already?!

Wow! September has come and gone... uhm, hello October!?!

On the September long weekend, we celebrated the wedding of a beautiful couple, Michelle and Jason Villadsen! My cousin was a stunning bride and we couldn't be happier for the two of them! Congratulations!!



We took in the Sesame Street exhibit at the TWOSE and loved it! Jenna adores Elmo (but wasn't such a huge fan like Colby to meet him in person!) and we all enjoyed the activities in the exhibit!







Our little girl turned 2 on September 21st! Not sure how that happened or where the last two years have gone...... We had a great Polka Dot Party on Sept. 18th and celebrated with family and close friends. Thankfully, the weather cooperated and the kids enjoyed playing outside, doing a polka dot canvas craft, and enjoyed yummy cupcakes and cakepops after dinner :) Thank you again, to Auntie Kristy, for making Jenna's cupcakes and #2 cake! Jenna was absolutely spoiled by everyone and is loving her new toys. Thank you, everyone! We are blessed to have such fabulous people in our lives. Thank you to Grandma Cameron who came down to help celebrate too! So nice to have you at our house for a few days!! Love you all :)

As usual, in the life of a teacher, September was one of my busiest months. With a lot of work prepping the classroom, meeting my new class, completing plans and documents, coaching Running Club and attending weekly races, etc., I worked a lot of hours this month. Thank goodness for my amazing husband who helps out SO much!!! Now that September is over, hopefully life will calm down a bit. I have a great class this year and am enjoying the eager group of students I have!

The kids both began swimming lessons last weekend and are doing really well so far! Colby was having some confidence issues in the last session, so we were a bit worried about how things were going to go this time in his unparented class. Seems like a little break from the lessons and a few more months of growing has helped :) He loved it! And loves his teacher with "the crazy hair!" Jenna is in a parented session and is doing well too. Since her issues with ear infections, she hasn't been to lessons in a long time. Hopefully she continues to enjoy it and develop her confidence and skills :)

The long weekend ahead is looking like it's going to be a busy one for our family with a few visits from friends set up, our nephews', Landon and Jordan, birthday party, and hosting and cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Looking forward to a fun time :)

Have a great rest of the weekend, everyone! Happy Fall :)

The Cameron's

Summer Update

I say it every time I fall behind in blogging, but life is crazy! That's all I can say. I really want to make more time for blogging, but it is what it is!

We have had a really great summer so far (although I'm still waiting to see summer weather for more than a day or two at a time)! Some highlights have been:

- Being at home with the kids every day. Definitely one of the perks of being a teacher! I love waking up (after we all sleep in) and not rushing out the door to the dayhome, work, etc., and spending all day, every day with our two great kids! I tell ya, being a stay at home mom is definitely a pretty great life!

- Trip to San Diego, California. We had a fabulous five day trip to San Diego again this year from July 14-18. The kids traveled SO well, slept great, and enjoyed the activities. We're so thankful they did so great on the planes and even with the layovers and delays in the airports. They're travel troopers! We LOVED Sea World again and the look of excitement and sheer joy on the kids' faces (especially Colby) when we saw the Shamu Show was so worth it. Amazing hotel room at the same hotel we stayed at last time and great swimming before bed every night was a lot of fun. We really do love San Diego and want to go back again. I really do think I could handle living there... hmm.......

- Outside play, trips to parks, picnics, and dinners outside. Soaking up the sun and enjoying the outdoors is really what summer is all about! We have gone to numerous parks and enjoyed a great splash park in the city, as well as Cafe O'Play and Capital Ex on a rainy day. Colby enjoyed playing soccer in the spring and is still showing an interest in soccer as we play outside. He has also recently discovered baseball and loves playing catch with Mom and Dad! Looks super cute with his glove and actually has a pretty good throw!

- Camping and Quadding! Every year, camping gets even better as the kids get older. We decided to not camp as much as did last year, as we were gone nearly every weekend last summer. It has been great going out a few times and of course, the kids love playing at the beach, in lakes, and around the campsite. Last year, Jenna was not yet walking, so we're enjoying her being that much older this year and not worrying about her eating rocks, etc!!



- Colby also loved going fishing with his dad, Uncle Kyle, and Landon at Gull Lake. Sadly, they didn't catch anything, but it was definitely pretty cute to see! We are going to Carson Lake this weekend by Whitecourt, so maybe they'll try their luck again!











- Happy Anniversary. Gerry and I celebrated our 6th anniversary on July 30th. It was a very hot day at a family reunion, with weather just like on our wedding day. I am blessed to be married to such a great man who is also an amazing dad! Love you so much, Ger!

- Little bit o' landscaping. We had some decorative concrete curbing put in recently and are excited to do some landscaping around the yard, in addition to some house projects like re-finishing the deck and enclosing it to be a shed.

Next week the kids and I will be heading to Strathmore for a few days to visit a few great friends. Looking forward to seeing them and playing with the kids!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic summer and enjoying the outdoors in between the rainy days!!

Lesley

My Top "RE's" of Life

One more thing off of my Bucket List... Vacation in Hawaii!

We loved it so much that we want to go back again and take the kids next time!

Gerry and I enjoyed a wonderful 8 day vacation to Maui, Hawaii over Spring Break. It was an amazing experience and we did many great things on the island. I really enjoy learning about the culture of new places we visit, seeing the sights, and enjoying some rest and relaxation, too. I've had quite a busy year, even at a reduced FTE of 0.8, and was looking forward to a getaway to a beautiful place we'd never been before!

There are a few "RE's" that I was reminded of while we were away. I believe it is really important to:

1. RELAX - For those who really know me, I don't "relax" very easily. I recognize this and am trying to work on it :) Even while in Hawaii, we didn't relax as much as we should have. We had a really busy trip with several excursions and busy days. Mental note = next time, more beach time and come home more relaxed!

2. RECONNECT - We're busy. Everyone is busy. Trying to be the best at everything (mom, wife, teacher, friend) is difficult. Often, the connection we have with those we love can be put on the back burner. It was nice to spend time with just my wonderful husband and reconnect and talk, just the two of us.

3. REJUVENATE - One great by-product of taking time for oneself is rejuvenating. It is important to take some time, do things we love and enjoy, relax, and feel rested and re-inspired when we return.

4. REFOCUS - I believe that being able to do the above three (relax, reconnect, rejuvenate) allows us to refocus. Refocus energy into what is most important, know where our priorities are, do the best we can at everything we do, and enjoy doing it! I was ready to come home and despite a long red-eye flight home and a delay in connection flight, the best thing was coming home and holding our beautiful kids in my arms!! I have two passions in my life... my family and teaching kids. My goal? Do the very best I can at both.

While it was really hard to be away from the kids for so long (and yes, I shed some tears at least a few times!), we had some really great experiences. Some highlights of our great trip include:
- Humpback whale watching tour... breathtaking and simply amazing.
- Fleming Beach and playing in the ocean waves... so fun to laugh, play, and enjoy!
- Snorkeling at Molokini Crater... beautiful water, coral, fish, and turtle sightings!
- Road to Hana tour... long 11 hour day, but unbelievable scenery and learned a lot about culture and the island of Maui. Black sand beach, rainforest driving for 5 hours, stops along the way made it very memorable
- Sunset dinner cruise... great last night on Maui with my husband!
- Experiencing true Hawaiian culture at our first lu'au

Here is a link to some photos that we took (just a few of the 800+) that I took!

We are so thankful for our wonderful family members who took such great care of our kids while we were away. They loved having their own little holiday with their grandparents!! My mom and dad had the kids for the first half of the trip. Colby and Jenna enjoyed fun play time and sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's and playtime with their cousins, too. Gerry's mom came down for the second half of our time away and spent some great time with the kids. Thankfully, everyone back home decided not to tell me that Colby was sick one day (knowing that I would worry and want to come home right away)! They took care of everything and we are so blessed that our kids are so well-taken care of while we were away on a vacation!! (Too bad they didn't miss us at all!) Thank you again!! xoxo

So... not that I'm exactly one to give "advice", but my thoughts for today? Find time to Relax, Reconnect, Rejuvenate, and Refocus! It's good for the body, mind, and soul :)

Cameron Family Update!

Winter. Cold. Still. Yuck! We are SO ready for spring in our house! The nice thing about the mornings is that the sun is actually up when we are leaving for the day :) The downside... it is still consistently below -20 when we are getting in the car. I know I can't wait to see grass again and spend some time going for walks and playing outside!

I have to say, our kids are troopers! Getting out of the house at 7:30 every morning isn't easy, but I'm lucky our kids do well with it! They love going to the dayhome, which makes everything easier.

We have had a very busy month, although it seems like that is the theme of every blog post! Report cards is always a difficult time with longer working hours, less sleeping hours, and less family time. Nothing feels better than knowing you've done the best you can on a job and seeing the word "Submitted"! Gerry and I are getting excited for our trip to Hawaii and we leave in just over 2 weeks! I am worried about leaving the kids for 8 days, but know that this is something we need and deserve :) We're looking forward to going on a trip this summer with the kids and a big holiday when they're a bit older (and will remember!)

Colby is doing great! He keeps us entertained and always wondering, "How does he know that?" or "Where did he get that from?" He's a great big brother and one of my favourite moments of every day is seeing Colby and Jenna say goodnight and give hugs and kisses to each other! He's excited when Jenna wakes up in the morning and plays really well with her. I'm so happy that he has a great little friend who is slightly older than him at the dayhome. He and Hunter are very close and I'm glad that there's another boy around everyday :) Colby continues to enjoy playing outside, Thomas trains, cars, etc. Love you, buddy! :)

Jenna is almost 18 months old! Where does the time go?! I am convinced that she will be entering the terrible two's before she turns two! Jenna is already a strong-willed, independent little girl. She likes doing everything herself and only wants help after she's tried. Sounds like her Mom, maybe? Just a bit?! Jenna is a social little girl who enjoys playing with anyone and everyone. She loves playing with her older brother and is often his little "shadow". I love that her hair is finally growing in well and the little curls at the end! Man, she's cute, but I'm pretty biased too!! ;)

Enjoy the rest of your week, everyone! I'm going to really try to stay a bit more caught up with our family blog... right now I have three blogs and it's hard to keep up with it all! The late afternoons and evenings seem to disappear so quickly!!

xoxo
Lesley

Writing and Reading

I LOVE when our kids hit new milestones. Something truly special about growing up and doing new things. Here's a picture of a new thing Colby can do!

He is learning to write his name! I absolutely love this photo (and his big proud smile!) of his name on his MagnaDoodle. We will keep working on the "y" but I think he's doing pretty great for a 3 year old. Good job, buddy!! :)

Jenna LOVES reading! Music to Mom's ears, right?! ;) Yes, yes, as a teacher, I love seeing children of any age reading and enjoying it. We will often find Jenna sitting on her little Dora couch or just on the floor in her room beside her bookcase reading some of her favourites! Love it!!


One of the books I read while I was pregnant with Colby was called "Reading Magic" by Mem Fox. I love Mem Fox and was very fortunate to meet her (and get a few books signed) at Convention a couple of years ago. The book speaks to the importance of reading aloud to your children from the day they are born. As I taught Early Literacy in the past and enjoy teaching Language Arts at any grade, I realize the importance of reading readiness skills. The book suggested reading 3 books aloud per day, every day. I found it was quite manageable when I was at home on maternity leave, but now that I'm back at work, it's a bit more challenging! Thankfully, we still manage to fit it in! :)

Tough Little Jenna

Ever had an experience that you never want to experience again?

Yesterday was one of those experiences for me. Tuesday, February 8th was a tough day for our little Jenna, Mom, and Dad. Jenna has been suffering with concurrent ear infections for the past several months. She got her first infection on August 21, 2010 (when she turned 11 months old). From then, she has had 8 infections and been on 6 rounds of antibiotics.

Yuck. Hard on her little body, I know!

We were very fortunate to get in to see an ENT in Barrhead quickly on January 31st. I learned a lot about ear infections and what exactly was happening with her/lack of eardrum vibration/affecting hearing, etc. He suggested that she have day surgery and have tubes put in both ears. Of course, also believing this would be best for her, we agreed. According to his schedule, we were hoping that she might be in in about a month (beginning of March), but I received a call on Monday early afternoon indicating that they had a cancellation and he could do the surgery the next morning.

Wow. Next morning. Okay!

With little time to think about things, I booked a sub, stayed late doing sub plans, Gerry took the day off, planned for my mom to take Colby to the dayhome, and were out the door at 6:15 am yesterday morning headed back to Barrhead.

It was a rough morning. My biggest fear was how she would react to the anaesthetic, as I had heard the actual surgery procedure was very quick and "routine". I went into the OR with her and cried just as much as Jenna did while they used the gas to put her under. Once she was out, I returned to the waiting room. It was only about 20 minutes before I heard another cry of hers and it was over. Our doctor came out and said it was a success (although the right ear was particularly bad), but both eardrums cleaned out and both tubes were inserted. Thank goodness. As Jenna didn't go under very well, she had a hard time coming out of the anaesthetic. She cried and cried and cried for about 40 minutes until she truly began to "wake up". Poor thing. We felt completely helpless and I was worred that this was not "normal", to which our nurse reassured us it was. She was apparently rather "calm" but was just crying as she came out of the drugs.

Definitely not something I want to go through again, especially with our 16 month old. Poor thing, I felt so bad for her.

But... she's one tough cookie. Once she was awake, she was fine! Slept all the way home (probably was a good thing we had an hour drive home from Barrhead!), ate a big snack when we came home, and was happy to play for the rest of the day. She had another big 3 hour nap in the afternoon, but was completely back to normal by late afternoon. Whew! So good to see her bounce back so quickly! :)

Now we need to be very careful with baths, swimming, etc., but we'll deal with that! We're just happy that hopefully this will help her in the long run and not have to go to the doctor's office at least monthly for another ear infection! Good job, baby girl! xoxo

Mom's Weekend Away!

As sad as I was to leave, how guilty I felt, and how much I cried while leaving, I enjoyed a much-needed "girls weekend" two weeks ago! I went away for a weekend (Friday evening to Sunday afternoon) to a scrapbooking/crafting retreat at Rustic Ridge and Ranch. SUCH a wonderful weekend!!! Aaahhh, wonderfully delicious homecooked meals, hot tub, sauna, food and drinks, scrapbooking all weekend into the wee hours of the morning, and 8 lovely ladies to make it all GREAT! I finished 17 pages, which isn't as much as the last time I went on this retreat, but still, I'm quite happy with the progress of Jenna's album!

The kids had SO much fun at home with Daddy that weekend. Sadly, they weren't too overly excited to see me when I returned home early Sunday afternoon :( Sign of a good time with Dad nonetheless! It was very cold out, but they did venture to Ryan and Leanne's house for a playdate with their kids! I'm sure Gerry was pretty tuckered out after two busy days with the kids! Thank goodness for quiet evenings and good nights of sleep, right, Ger?!

I truly love scrapbooking and being creative, but it's so hard to do on a regular basis. Between working nearly full-time, enjoying my time with Colby and Jenna, housework, laundry, hanging out with my husband, and (hopefully) a little bit of exercise, there's no time left for crafting :( Thank goodness for monthly crop nights in our basement :) It's great to have good friends get together, bringing whatever they all want to work on, laughing, chatting, eating, and crafting for one night a month! With everyone's busy lives, it doesn't always work out that everyone can make it, but it's sure great to have a "date" with some great ladies once a month!

I think it's important to have some "me time" that Moms always seem to struggle to find. Life is all about balance and this is something I'm working on for myself. Balancing family, home life, work life, social life is very difficult. It's coming though... thank goodness for the wonderful people in my life to help keep me grounded, focused, and living my life to the fullest!! :)

xoxo
Lesley

Another First... Gotta Love Them!

One of my favourite parts of being a parent is experiencing "firsts" with our kids! Another first today for Colby was his first time on skates! Gerry took him last weekend and got him fitted for skates and a helmet. This morning, we went to the TRI and gave it a go!
He did really well standing up in his skates and was excited to get onto the ice. I was the photographer and Jenna wandered around eating her snacks :) It will take some time to get him more comfortable and having some more balance on his skates, but I'm sure that will come. Gerry of course wants him to try hockey when he's a bit older, so hopefully he'll be interested in that. If not, then he won't. No pressure, right? :) Below are a few photos from his first time out with Dad!
Good job, little buddy! Love you! (Although I think you're growing up a tad bit too fast for Mom!) xoxo

Our Top 25 of 2010

2010 has been another fabulous year... here are some highlights and our "top 25 of 2010"

25. Lesley returned to work after 1 year maternity leave and teaches Grade 3
24. Lesley completed first 10 km race - Rotary Run in September
23. Fencing our yard so the kids can play more safely... love the privacy!
22. Camping nearly every weekend in the summer... with a generator or power :) (way better than camping without!)
21. Learning to make donuts and popcorn over the fire and buying the equipment to make our own... yum!
20. Joining to Mac world with our new MacBook Pro laptop. LOVE it!

19. New vehicles - sold "White Lightning" and bought a 2003 Chevrolet 1500HD truck in April and a 2011 Volkswagon Jetta in November

18. First trip to Las Vegas in February to celebrate Gerry's 30th birthday

17. Celebrating Jenna's 1st birthday and Colby's 3rd birthday
16. Reading and fostering a love of reading in our kids

15. Cooked our first Christmas dinner... was delicious too!

14. Trip to Strathmore to visit friends

13. Almost bought a puppy... whew! Thank goodness we came to our senses!

12. Summer holidays with Daddy at home

11. Enjoying the excitement and pure joy of Christmas with family and friends

10. Continuing family traditions

9. Family movie nights on rainy camping nights

8. Building sandcastles and playing at parks

7. Kids' snuggles, hugs, and wide-open-mouth kisses

6. Being a kid everyday and playing... coloring, play doh, cars, dress-up, tobogganing, you name it!

5. Teaching Colby to ride a bike - he LOVES his bike!

4. Seeing Jenna crawl, walk, and talk for the first time

3. Watching Colby and Jenna grow into the beautiful, more-and-more independent kids they are everyday!

2. Love and time spent with family and friends

1. Capturing amazing memories in pictures!

We are so blessed to have had a wonderful 2010. Looking forward to a fantastic 2011! Wishing you a 2011 filled with joy, love, health and happiness!

Happy New Year, everyone!
Love,

Gerry, Lesley, Colby, and Jenna

A Merry Little 'Green' Christmas Letter

This year, I decided to save a few more trees and do a 'green' Christmas letter! At school, we've been using a great program to create videos from photos and text, so I thought I'd try it for this project of mine! I created an Animoto video of photos from the year 2010, which tells the story of our year with a few highlights!

Turn up the volume and Enjoy "Our 2010 in Pictures"!

Colby is 3!

I can remember December 7, 2010 as clearly today as if it were yesterday! I can't believe our little man is 3 years old already! Happy birthday, Colby!! You are an amazing little guy who brings so much laughter, love and joy to our lives everyday. Mommy and Daddy love you so much... but secretly wish we could slow down time to keep you little for longer!! Fingers crossed!!

Colby truly is a wonderful kid. I love his expressions and often wonder, "Where did that come from?" He had his 3 year check-up on Monday and is doing well, as usual. Colby is 40.5" tall (90%ile) and is 35.4 lbs (80%ile). The doctor said he's doing great developmentally, so we have no concerns! :) Colby is a great big brother and really looks out for Jenna and loves playing with her. I love hearing him say, "Jenna, come play Aquadoodle (or trains... or insert topic here) with me!" So great to hear and see them playing together!!

He absolutely LOVES Toy Story right now, so it's only natural that he chose to have a "Buzz Party". On Sunday afternoon, we had 36 family and friends at our house to celebrate Colby's birthday. It was a great afternoon/evening with playing downstairs, "Pin the Sheriff on Woody" game, pizza for supper, Buzz and Woody cake and a little man spoiled with gifts. Thank you, everyone for coming!! He is one lucky guy!

November News!

Well, winter is here! We didn't even get 'eased into' it this year either... nice temperatures one

day and then -15/-20 and snow the next!! Brrr......

We had a great Halloween this year. Colby had a lot of fun being a dragon and Jenna didn't mind her butterfly costume at all :) Seemed very fitting that she was a butterfly this year, as she was a caterpillar last year! Both kids love coloring, so we did a few pumpkin crafts for Halloween!

Sadly, sickness has hit our house... and hard too! I had a cold for about a week, which turned into a sinus infection.

Surprise, surprise! Jenna has had a cold now for about a week too, but I'm hoping it doesn't turn into yet another ear infection. Colby has been hit the hardest of us all though. Last Wednesday at the dayhome, he napped (which he never does anymor

e!). When we came home, all he wanted to do was lie on the couch and nearly fell asleep at the dinner table. By 5:30, he had a fever of 39.1 degrees, was pale as a ghost, and had bright red ears. :( Poor guy... I took him up to the Stony Hospital to get him checked out at the walk-in clinic. Turns out it was 'just a virus' that hit him hard and fast... no infection. So just need to wait it out. I stayed home on Thursday with the kids and Gerry stayed home on Friday because his fever was back on Friday morning. Poor little man... his nose is like a fountain and looks so sore! Hopefully it gets better very soon!!!

Some exciting things from November so far:

- Jenna is walking... everywhere!! She is rarely crawling anymore and seems to be enjoying exploring her world in a whole new way! :)

- Our niece, Kendra, turned 2! We enjoyed her party on the 14th at Jody and Mike's house. She sure enjoyed her Dora party and yummy cake!

- We have a new member of the Cameron Family!!! Reese Peyton Anne Cameron was born on November 19th at 11:38 pm to loving parents, Cal and Tracy Cameron, and siblings, Blake and Emerson. Congratulations!! Can't wait to meet her tomorrow!!!

- Colby can't wait for his 'Happy Birthday Party'. He LOVES Toy Story these days, so we are having a Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story Party! Should be lots of fun :) He knows when his

birthday is and is excited to have his party in two weeks!

- Gerry and I booked our trip for Spring Break... to HAWAII!!! We are very excited for a great getaway with just the two of us! We really contemplated taking the kids, but they are too young to remember and truly enjoy the experience right now. I'm sure we're going to love it, so we'll have to go back later when the kids are older and experience Hawaii again!

- I'm continuing to enjoy my 0.8 FTE at work and can see myself staying part-time for a couple more years....??? It doesn't free up a whole lot of time, but enough for me to stay on top of things and best of all, get home a bit earlier (and not go back to school in the evenings!)

Some news with the kids:

- Colby is doing great... still enjoying the dayhome and playing with other kids really well. He loves learning new things and can identify more letters and their sounds now. He loves to count everything too :) He counts in sequence to 13, but then skips to 18, 17, 19, etc. Colby is very interested in Christmas coming! We went to the (very cold!) Christmas light-up event in downtown Stony Plain this week and he enjoyed seeing the huge Christmas tree and all of the decorations being lit up. Everywhere we go, he wants to look for lights and points out houses that are lit up. He keeps bugging his dad as to when ours will get hung..... As we say every year,

should've done it before the snow came!!

- Jenna is doing really well too... I love this age and seeing her learn and explore things every day. It's a lot of fun to see her walking everywhere now. She was quite unbalanced for a few weeks, but has now taken off and has great balance. She is also able to understand and follow one or two step commands, which is neat. I will ask her to give something to Colby or put something in her toy box and she will :) She still loves saying 'Hi' and talking on anything that resembles a phone. Yes... she's very much like her mommy!

I look forward to what the next few months have in store for us. One of the best parts of the Christmas season for me is seeing the magic of Christmas through the eyes of a child. I absolutely love seeing their pure excitement and joy!

Big Changes...

I know, I know, I don't have any excuse for my weeks in between blog posts. Same old, same old... I'm a working mom who has little time to sit down except for at 11:00 pm when I'm crawling into bed after working all day, playing with kids, housework, and school work after the kids go to bed. :) Everyone does it, right?!!

Things are going really well in our house and I'm pleased that everyone is doing well... dayhome, routines with work, etc. The kids are doing really great at the dayhome and Colby has even begun napping there again. This has been huge for his behavior and has made for much pleasant evenings and bedtimes in our house! Colby loves going to Becky's house and it makes working so much easier when you know your kids love going to the babysitter's everyday. We are so thankful to have such a great dayhome provider who truly cares for our kids! He is learning so much and loves learning a new letter and sound each week, along with increasing his counting in sequence. He can sing the alphabet song and tell us the sound that some letters make. Good job, Colby!! Colby is enjoying his time at 'Sports School' on Saturday mornings, which is usually followed by some time at the great playgym at the TLC.

Jenna goes to Becky or Liam (her son) as soon as we walk in the door and her coat and shoes are off! She loves playing there and I think really has fun with Colby and the other little girl there. I absolutely LOVE this age... she is walking more and more (not all the time yet) and is very observant. She's into pointing at things... pointing at everything! I think she likes hearing the names of things around her. So cute! She waves hello and bye-bye, gives giant open-mouth kisses, and great snuggles and hugs!!! Jenna continues to love swimming lessons... she's our little fish!! Our weekly lessons on Saturday mornings are going really well and she has a lot of fun! We are doing really well with no bottles anymore. Yay, Jenna! Colby didn't have a bottle or formula after the day he turned 1, but Jenna was a bit later. She's just about 13 months and was having 1 bottle just at bedtime. But knock on wood, for the past three nights, she has gone to bed without it :) Both kids are sleeping great, so we're very lucky, especially without her last feeding right before bed.

I cherish every minute I get to be at home with the kids, especially because there aren't enough hours in a day! I have reduced my FTE at work from full-time to 0.8, so I'm done earlier every day. While I'm still staying at school and getting my planning and prep work done, I'm able to stay at home in the evenings and not go back to work! Yay!! :)

With my reduced time, I'm hoping there'll be a bit more couple time and 'me time'. Everything else always comes first, but I am working on trying to make more time for me, including working out and staying healthy. This is really important and something I believe every relationship needs. Gerry and I are trying to plan a tropical vacation for Spring Break, so we're having fun making travel plans for the end of March. Luckily, Gerry's mom offered a long time ago to come and stay with the kids. Colby and Jenna always enjoy spending time with Grandma Cameron :)

Last Sunday afternoon, we visited Gerry's Grandpa Alstad at the University Hospital. He was flown here by air ambulance with heart troubles. Thankfully, they are taking good care of him and doing tests to ensure there are no blockages, requiring surgery. They were talking about a pacemaker, so hopefully that fixes things and he'll be back to normal in no time. We had a great visit for about 2 hours with Grandpa, Grandma, and Auntie Cheryl. The kids always do really well seeing their Great Grandparents and Colby sure chatted with Grandma and Grandpa! It was nice to see them, despite the circumstances.

We are getting ready for Halloween and look forward to decorating this weekend. Now that Colby is a year older, I think he's more into it already. The kids have their costumes... now to figure out what I will be at school......

Enjoy the wonderful fall weather we've been having. I hear talk of snow, but hopefully it will stay away a bit longer!! Have a great weekend, everyone!

Love,

Gerry, Lesley, Colby and Jenna

Jenna is 1!!!

As you can tell from the length of time between each post, life in the Cameron house is a bit busy. Sadly, things like the blog don't get updated as often as I'd like when you're a full-time working mom. :( Anyway... our baby girl turned 1 this week!!! I know I always say this, but I truly can't believe it and how quickly time goes by. It feels like she should maybe be 6 or 7 months old! Time flies by so much quicker with two children. I think it's because we were so busy with activities and programs for Colby in the beginning that the first few months went by so fast.

Jenna is a healthy and very happy little girl. She had her 1 year check up and weighs 19 1/2 lbs. and is 28" long. She gained quite a lot of weight this past month (over 1 lb. compared to her typical 5 or 6 oz. as usual)! This puts her at the 50th percentile for weight and still just below the 25th percentile for height. So she's still on the shorter side, but nothing that the doctors are worried about. :) Jenna is close to walking and is taking a few steps at a time. She's up to about 5 or 6 now. She will often just stand independently, but then plop down and crawl. I think she realizes how much quicker it is to crawl than to walk! I'm sure one day she'll just go!! Jenna is usually a very content baby except for when she's tired, hungry, or wanting something you take away. She has a bit of a stubborn side of her... wonder where she gets that from?!? :) She's a great eater and has been eating everything we are eating at the table for a few months now. Jenna still has 2 bottles a day usually (sometimes only 1), but is on Homo milk now. It's so nice not making formula anymore! :) We love watching her grow, develop, reach milestones, and learn new things everyday! She's a very active baby who doesn't really sit still and just play with one thing for a while... we're always on the move!! All in all, we are so blessed to have a healthy baby girl who loves to have fun!

We celebrated Jenna's 1st birthday last weekend with a big party at our house. We had a house full! There were 39 people altogether, including us and all adults and children. Thank you to everyone who came to help us celebrate. It was especially great to see Gerry's mom and the Francis family travel from Grande Prairie to be here with us. We didn't know that Grandma Cameron was coming, so it was a wonderful surprise!! Carmen and her family usually stay with us when they come into town, so we had them overnight too, which is always nice. It was great to visit and catch up with them after the busy party ended. Jenna and Colby had many friends here to play with and thankfully, it wasn't raining or too cold, so we bundled up the kids and headed outside for some play time before dinner. To go with the theme of her party, this included a game of "Pin the Bee on the Flower". It was cute! Jenna was spoiled with a lot of great gifts including toys and adorable clothing! Thanks again, everyone!! Next was cake time! Jenna sure knew what to do with her cake!! Literally, she took fistfulls of cake and enjoyed it thoroughly... as it was everywhere!!!! I guess that's exactly what your first birthday cake is supposed to be like, right?! What a wonderful afternoon and evening of celebrating. We are thankful for such wonderful friends and family in our life who care deeply about our children. Love you all!! xoxo

Colby is still adjusting to the routine of dayhome everyday. He absolutely loves being there... so much that he often doesn't want to come home! This breaks Mom's heart to hear. We are also struggling with his no-napping schedule. Usually, he is SO tired and very grouchy from about 5:00 on until an early bedtime at 7:00 or 7:30 pm. Today, he had a nap before we headed to a birthday party and was absolutely great!!! He wasn't tired, grouchy, and played amazingly with all of the kids! The negative side? It took quite a while for him to fall asleep again at bedtime. What to do?!? It's so hard knowing what's best...... Every sleep book says something different and I know it completely depends on every child's individual scenario. Any thoughts or suggestions?? He is loving his parented program at the TLC that we call "Sports School". It is every Saturday morning and is a great time for him to engage in some sports activities with other children. We often play in the playgym for a bit afterwards, too! Also on Saturday mornings, Jenna just began her first session of swimming lessons. Below is a photo of her on her first day!

I am excited for next weekend's family photo shoot!! I won a gift certificate at an event I attended for a free session with a great photographer out of Spruce Grove. We are going to try to do it outside if the weather cooperates (would have been SO nice this weekend!!!), so we're crossing our fingers! Looking forward to seeing what she can do with our two busy kids who don't do well with photos...... I'm sure they'll do great and I can't wait to see their 1 and 3 year photos!

Have a great rest of your weekend, everyone!

xoxo

Gerry, Lesley, Colby and Jenna

Exciting Day!

Yesterday (September 7th) was an exciting day in our world! Jenna finally stood by herself for a period of time, while clapping too! So cute to see! She has been pretty reluctant to try taking steps, but she surprised us! She took two steps toward me after standing for a while!!! They were very wobbly and quick little steps, but still her first steps nonetheless! :) I was SO happy to see them (as I missed Colby's first steps that he took at the dayhome). Daddy was lucky enough to see them when he got home when she did it again. Yay, Jenna!! You'll be walking in no time!

Jenna's new moves... standing and clapping!

September is always crazy in the life of a teacher, but oh my goodness, it has been pretty crazy around here for a couple of weeks now. I must admit, I had a rough start to the school year as my first day with my grade 3 class didn't go well, but things are definitely improving. I have a class of 23 students (16 boys and only 7 girls!) that are very busy and keep me on my toes. In that mix, I have 7 students who are new to the school... and 2 of which are showing some interesting behaviors. I have support now in the classroom with a half-time EA, so I'm very lucky!! She's great and I love every minute she's around to help!! It is very busy teaching full-time and getting out the door in the morning with two kids. I don't know how my mom did it with 3!! I feel bad when I have to wake the kids up (most mornings) to go to Becky's. Colby is tired in the mornings, which breaks my heart. They're getting much better with the routine, so that makes it easier. On a positive note, they are still doing great at the dayhome! We're so lucky they adjusted so quickly (really only had about 2-3 days of crying in the morning) and are doing well everyday! See, I knew kids were resilient and would adapt... ours anyway! :) It's definitely a juggling act fitting everything in through the day. I try to work every recess, lunch hour, and optimize minutes before and after school so I can pick them up relatively early and get home to make supper, play, bath, and bedtime. Whew!! It's busy, but we're doing well, so I can't complain!

Colby has had a cough at nighttime for about a week and a half now. In the past two days, he has been coughing more throughout the day. Gerry took him into the doctor this afternoon and she said it's just a cough. No ear infections, lungs are clear, etc., so not even a cold. Hopefully it clears up soon... he's not getting enough rest when he wakes up coughing throughout the night!! Fingers crossed!

We had a great September long weekend! I really do wish every weekend was three days! :) Oddly enough, I didn't miss camping one bit. I think that's because we went so often throughout the entire summer that it was really nice to be home on one long weekend. On Saturday, we met Gerry's sister, Carmen, and the kids at WEM and did some shopping and went for lunch. It was great to see them and Colby always loves hanging out with the kids (especially Dylan!) Sunday I worked for a chunk of the day to try to get ahead for this week. I'm finding that if I plan for a week at a time, I haven't been going back to school in the evenings as much. Monday, we had a great family day! We went back to WEM and went to the Sea Lion show and Sea Life Caverns. It's been a while since we saw the show (Jenna was still sleeping in the sling), so both of them loved it! Jenna couldn't stop smiling and clapping and Colby couldn't take his eyes off of the show! Such a great time altogether! On Monday afternoon after Jenna's nap, we headed out to Jody's house for a family dinner. It was nice to have everyone together. :)

This is a busy time as we get ready to celebrate Jenna's 1st birthday soon! Next weekend is her party, so we're looking forward to seeing everyone here. Lots to do, but all worth it! :)

Here are some recent photos of the kids! Enjoy!


Colby LOVES riding his new bike!

11 1/2 months old!




They really do have a lot of fun together!

Have a great rest of your week!
Love,
The Cameron's

All great things must come to an end...

I had an amazing 14 months off work, but as the old saying goes, "All great things must come to an end". Today is my first day back at school after my maternity leave with Jenna. The start of a new school year begins with two PD Days before the students arrive on Wednesday morning. I truly have mixed feelings about returning to work... I wish we could afford for me to stay home with our kids full-time, but in reality, that's not an option right now financially. On the other hand, I really do love my job (but secretly wish it wasn't so much work!!) and enjoy it. I grew up with both parents working and I think it's important for our kids to be around other children too, so I know everything will work out fine. I'm sure the transition will be tough for the kids at first with the new dayhome, but if I learned anything from my first year of having Colby in dayhomes, kids are pretty resilient! They will adapt and do great at Becky's, I'm sure!! Fingers crossed for a good first week! :)

Gerry took Thursday and Friday off last week as holidays, which was SO nice!! I've been putting in quite a few hours at school in the evenings, but with him home on Thursday, I spent most of the day at work. The kids loved having Daddy at home! I'm so thankful for my wonderful husband who supports everything I do and puts the kids to bed when I'm at school or if I can't be home. Gerry, you're truly the best dad in the world and your kids ADORE you (just like I do!!) We had a fun weekend of playing, going swimming, and doing a bit of shopping! So good to have some family time before the craziness of fall hits. As I've mentioned before, I'm worried about balancing everything, but just keep reminding myself to be the best wife, mom, and teacher I can be, while still making some time for myself.

I achieved a personal goal yesterday that I'm SO excited about!! I finally ran 10 km!! I am racing in the 10k Rotary Run on September 12th in Stony Plain and wasn't feeling ready (truly... had fallen off my "running bandwagon") so needed to get serious again and had a great run late yesterday afternoon. Yay... such a great feeling. Just need to continue it and look forward to race day. My Goal = Finish! :)

We are in major transition mode with Jenna... she has switched over to Homo milk now, so no more making up formula for us! She loves milk and is doing really well with it. Also, we are trying to eliminate her bottles... so far, we have eliminated her naptime bottle, so we'll keep working on the others. One last transition... into one nap a day instead of two. She seems so young (much younger than Colby) to drop her morning nap, but if she sleeps in later in the morning, it just doesn't work. Hopefully we can figure out her schedule now with the new routine of going to the dayhome everyday. She's growing up way too quickly... planning Jenna's 1st birthday party has only reminded me of this! How can my baby girl be one already!?!

Colby is doing great on his bike... it's so cute (and yes, brings tears to Mommy's eyes watching him!) He loves riding his bike and is really good at stopping, starting, and walking his bike across a road. I think he really enjoyed having Gerry home at the end of last week and was needing some Daddy time! We are still working on his "behavior" and are all hoping this "phase" soon passes! It's very draining and I truly hope he is good at the dayhome for Becky. Kids are always better for others, right?! :)

Have a great week, everyone!
Lesley

End of August Already?!

No new puppy...
Yes, you read it right... we are no longer getting a puppy. We decided that right now is not the best time for our family. I am returning to work very soon and we don't have the time to commit to a puppy with having a very young family right now. Colby also didn't understand (or like the idea) that the puppy is going to grow up to be very big. He says he wants a "Teddy" puppy (Kristy and Kyle's small dog), not a big puppy. So, he's clearly not ready and I'm very happy with our decision to keep our family the way it is now. :) Maybe when our kids are a bit older we'll think about it again, but for right now, it's not the best thing for us.

Camping season is over for us...
After being away from home for 7 weekends in a row (from July to mid-August), we went on our last camping trip last weekend to Wabamun Lake Provincial Park. It was a good last weekend (other than the fact Jenna got a cold and Colby became ill too). We really love how close it is to Wabamun and it has great features like beautiful sites (we're partial to one loop in particular!), great playgrounds, and of course, our kids love the beach! We truly love camping and love going places as a family! However, 7 weekends away in a row might be a bit much for me! Mental note for next year! LOL! The kids have a great time outside and I love the activity, but it's a lot of work with little kids, especially with one being a baby!! All definitely worth it though... :)

End of maternity leave... already?!
I have been on maternity leave for 14 months, but still can't believe it's that time again! Sssshhhhh....... Back to School time! This year I am teaching grade three at Forest Green School. Part of me is looking forward to going back because I really do love my job. I just wish it wasn't so much work!! LOL! I have been going in several times working in my classroom and trying to get things set up again. It's a lot of work to "move in" again and set everything up from scratch. Hopefully I'll be in my room for many years and not have to do that again any time soon! It has made for some very busy evenings trying to go to school in addition to the normal evening housework and exercise stuff! The kids are going to a dayhome here in Stony Plain and I hope the transition from home to dayhome everyday goes okay. They've had a rocky start (with not going consistently as "trial runs"), so I think the first week back is going to be a bit of a shock. With numbers, they are unable to go until my first day of work, August 30th and I work 5 full days that first week. Hopefully once they are going everyday and we all get into a routine, they will be fine. It's just hard to have kids upset when you drop them off or aren't there with them... :(

September means birthday time!
Jenna is 11 months old today! I need to go weigh and measure her, so will update with that soon! With the arrival of September comes Jenna's 1st birthday! I keep asking myself, 'How is that even possible?!?' It seems like she's still our little baby, but everyday, I'm reminded of how she's too quickly becoming a little girl. She's changing so quickly and growing so much! Every milestone and new discovery is exciting, but reminds me of how she's growing up. She's not walking on her own yet, but is a very fast little crawler, cruises along furniture, and walks really well with her walkers. Maybe soon she'll be an independent walker. :) She absolutely LOVES playing with Colby! She chases after him and tries to keep up with what he's playing. I love it! We're looking forward to celebrating Jenna's first birthday with lots of family and close friends. She's a very happy little girl (unless she wants something or gets mad she can't have something... then you can hear her a mile away!) and is fun to play with! She loves Little People and playing with the kitchen downstairs. She's recently been playing at the train table too, which is really fun! How do they know to "drive" things so early?! Jenna is a very independent little girl. Perhaps she's just a wee bit stubborn like her mommy?! She hasn't been eating "baby food" for a couple of months now and enjoys feeding herself anything and everything we eat. But when she's hungry, she's hungry! She's a VERY good eater... often eats more than Colby does, which makes me continually wonder how she's now bigger than she is! Love you so much, baby girl!!

Mr. Colby
Colby has definitely hit a new stage... at least I hope it's just a "stage"!! He has been quite defiant and is quite enjoying the word "No" lately, or "No thanks" if he's feeling especially polite! LOL! Makes for some difficult days, but hopefully it won't last too long. I think Colby is quite enjoying having a very mobile (and quick) little sister! He laughs when she comes to play and calls her to come and check out some toys. I love that they get along well! He's doing well with potty training still, but we're having some pooping issues still. I hear this is difficult for a lot of kids, boys in particular, so hoping that gets better soon too! All in all, he's a very active little boy who loves playing outside or downstairs, and even just chilling on the couch with a movie or an episode of his favorite Diego. Oh, Diego, you don't know how much you're loved by one little boy!! :) He has already decided he wants a Diego happy birthday party when he turns 3! Colby is growing up too quickly too... our little man now rides his new bike SO well!! We got him a little two-wheeler with training wheels. At first, it was a bit difficult and takes some practice because it's so different from a tricycle. One day when we were camping last weekend, it just clicked! He is super fast and LOVES riding his bike. Makes me sad to see him growing up and learning new things so quickly, but at the same time, it's so wonderful to see kids do and discover new things. Good job, Colby!! Mommy and Daddy are very proud of you! Love you, little buddy!!

Yay... date night!
Yes, for the first time in a year, Gerry and I went on a date last night! :) So fun! We haven't been out since before Jenna was born, so it was definitely overdue! We went out for dinner at Original Joe's and then to Cirque de Soleil Alegria. It was a great show and a wonderful evening out! Thanks Ger... love you!! Thanks to Auntie Tracy who came to spend the evening with Colby and Jenna. They loved having her here!!

Well, I think summer is officially gone.... it's beginning to feel like fall WAY too early this year! :( Enjoy the last week of August, everyone. September is right around the corner.

Love and hugs,
Gerry, Lesley, Colby and Jenna

Sick Little Jenna... and our new puppy!

Sadly, our camping holiday this year is not going as planned. We did go to Cross Lake Provincial Park on this past August Long weekend with great friends, the Kluz Family. However, something was definitely up with Jenna. We thought she was teething (other middle bottom tooth just about to poke through) and we fought with a fever and very irritable little baby all weekend. Turns out, she has measles! :( Our nephew, Jordan, came down with the measles days before Jenna, so it all makes sense now. Her fever finally broke after three days when she woke up on Monday morning with spots all over. While she no longer has the fever, she is still a bit "off" and I'm hoping she back to normal very soon!! Poor baby girl... :(

It was a very eventful weekend! Had fun at the campground with great parks and Colby always enjoys playing with Brock and Braydi. The beach was great on Sunday afternoon and ended with a surprise!! We were walking back to our beach and found a family of puppies with their mama and the family they belong to. Several people were all around then and Colby asked to touch one! (Yes, our son who is petrified of most dogs!!) So I was cuddling one of the three week old puppies and Colby touched it, then asked to hold it!! Even more shocking. Then came the "I want one!!" Seriously?!? Yes, he was serious. So, I went back to the trailer to get Gerry (who was having an afternoon nap with Jenna) to come and check out these absolutely adorable puppies! All in all, we are getting a puppy!!! He is SO cute!! He's a black lab - shepherd cross puppy and we can pick him up in about 3 weeks. I keep thinking, "What are we doing?!" But it's great to see Colby so excited and of course, Gerry is so excited too! So... we're going to be dog owners!!??!! Should be interesting..... Still working on his name... will keep you posted!

Since Jenna was sick and not herself at all, we cancelled our reservations in Jasper for the week. It wasn't the best weekend camping with Jenna and we didn't want to put her through that for an entire week too. So we are enjoying a week with Daddy at home!! Lots of things to do around the house, little shopping/errand trips, and hanging out! Colby is loving the fact that Gerry is home during the day. Tomorrow, he's going to take Colby out to the farm to see the animals, tractors, and go for a quad ride or two. I'm sure he will love every minute!

Speaking of Colby, potty training is going great!! Well, "pee training" is going great. He's having no problems with going pee (when we tell him to... he doesn't tell us yet that he has to go), but going poop is another story. So frustrating, but hopefully soon he'll try to poop on the potty??!! Mom and Dad can't wait for that day to come!!

Have a great week everyone with the warm temperatures ahead! We are using our air conditioning all the time and LOVE it!! :)

Gerry, Lesley, Colby, Jenna (and new puppy!!)
xoxo