Ring in the New Year!

Happy New Year! I had a wonderful holiday season and hope you did too. I got lots of fun new clothes and toys including a train, books, magnadoodle, puppy calendar, play video camera and a new playmat with all the letters of the alphabet that covers half my room. There were so many more fun things too I can't remember them all right now. But I have definitely been busy playing with everything these past few weeks.

Did I mention I never slow down? Mom and dad have a zone defense to keep up with me; one of them takes half the house and the other covers the other half of the house. When just one of them is around, there's a lot of chasing after me because I do not ever sit still. Except to read my books.

Other highlights of the holiday season include spending lots of time with daddy as he was home for two weeks. Mommy worked a few days, but I did get to hang out with her too. Mom and dad took me out on New Year's Eve to our friend Jared's house. I prepared for the big night by taking a 3 1/2 hour nap (much longer than my 45 minute naps that I have been taking lately). I got to meet Jared's dog Chester. He is the same size as my dog, but a lot more active. He was very good about not knocking me over with his powerful tail so we got along great. Speaking of dogs, I also got to make friends with Great Grandma Theisen's dog Polly. She is about the same size as me and a lot of fun to chase under tables and all around Great Grandma's house.

So what's new in 2010 for me? I am really into imitating and exploring and helping out. Here are some examples: - When I see a helicopter, I twirl my finger (like the rotor blades)
- I make siren sounds when I see a fire engine
- I pound my chest or other people's chest when I see a gorilla

- I now use a fork to eat because that's what mommy and daddy use to eat. I'm also very good at using my spoon to feed myself my cereal and other foods

- I have a large cardboard box I use as a fort

- When mommy threw my pajamas into my laundry basket and missed, I put them in the basket as soon as she finished changing me

- Sometimes when I want my diaper changed or when I am asked if I need my diaper changed, I will take a diaper out of my diaper bag and then if given a clean diaper, I will put the clean diaper back in the bag to replace the one I took out

- When it is time for Jesse to come in from outside, I get his towel and give it to mommy or daddy so they can wipe his paws clean of all the snow

I am such a little helper, but mommy says she is not naive and isn't counting on all of this help right away when my baby sister/brother is born. Maybe I will have to prove her wrong and be extra helpful once baby is here.

I am still not sure how I feel about being a big brother, but I sure enjoy kissing and tapping mama's belly because that is where baby is. I am still learning how to share and how not to hit when I don't get my way. Also, I am not looking forward to no longer being the center of attention. Fortunately I am pretty good at playing by myself for a little while. In fact, when mommy picked me up at child care after her water aerobics class last week, I was busy playing with the kitchen set all by myself. At least I will have my lovey (my blankie - really cloth diapers that were used as burp cloths when I was younger) for comfort if mommy and daddy are busy with the new baby.

Earlier this month I also helped celebrate my cousin Caroline's 1st birthday. She let me open most of her gifts for her so that was very sweet of her. I also helped her test out her new toys to make sure they worked okay. It was fun hanging out with my cousin, especially now that we are both old enough to play with lots of different toys. We still don't really play together, just side-by-side.

My other big change in 2010 is I am getting more teeth, probably my molars. Last week there were a few nights where I woke up several times in pain. Although I make the sign for "owie", I am not always able to show mom and dad where it hurts so they are assuming it's my molars trying to cut through. I also had a fever from Wednesday through yesterday (Saturday). The doctor said everything looked fine so we don't know for sure if the fever is related to teething or possibly something else. I have a rash on my belly that mom and dad just noticed tonight so depending on what it looks like tomorrow, I might have to go back in to make sure it's not measles (ed. note - don't think it's measles but it might be Roseola, a common and relatively harmless virus in kids under 2). We're all hoping it's just teeth, but my teeth seem to take forever to come in once they start so it could be a while before I go back to "normal".

That's about all from here. I can't wait until the weather gets warm again so I can play outside and go to the park.

Love,

Cameron