On the Road Again

We have been busy boys!  We left for Atlanta July 29th.  That was Nathan's first plane ride and he did pretty good.  I (Cameron) love airplanes so I was fascinated with being on one.  For about 20 minutes.  Then I got a bit antsy, but still did good.  It was a late night though as we didn't get to Grandma and Grandpa's until almost midnight.  Although it was hot, we still had a lot of fun.  My favorite part was running through the fountains in the city square of a nearby city.  I also got to swim in a kiddie pool grandma had set up, crawl through tunnels into a tent, and play with a bunch of mom's old trucks.  Dad went home on Sunday, but mom, Nathan and I stayed until Tuesday.  Then on Wednesday, we all (grandma and grandpa too as they were both in Milwaukee) went to Brookfield's National Night Out where I got to sit in a police car, look inside an ambulance, and see all the hoses and knobs on a fire truck.  It was really neat.

But our busy travels didn't end there.  On Friday August 6, we flew to Seattle via Denver, took a shuttle van to a hotel in Bellevue where we picked up our rental car, drove to Aunt Kali's in the next town over, ate a quick dinner and then drove 2 1/2 hours to Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Heimbigner's house.  Whew what a long day!  I got to sleep in a hide-a-bed which is the first time I slept in a bed off the ground.  Dad put pillows around me so I wouldn't fall out.  Nathan slept in the bathroom.  (Editor's note - my grandparents have a large carpeted bathroom that fits the pack-n-play very nicely and it is attached to the bedroom Greg & I were in so it works well.  It's not as odd as it sounds!)

Here are some of the highlights of our trip out west:
- Cameron swimming in a zero depth pool at the Ritzville Park
- Cameron going down slides on his own for the first time

- Nathan meeting many of his extended family
- Both boys playing with cousins Kyle, Lauren, and Tyler
- Fresh, delectable, juicy, can't be beat Washington peaches
- Peacocks at the Maryhill Museum
- Lots of windshield time throughout eastern and southern Washington (driving from Moses Lake to Hood River - there were some roads where we wouldn't see another car for several miles)
- Wine, wine, and more wine (okay so this was a highlight for mom and dad, not Cameron and Nathan)
- Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum (see photo gallery in a separate entry): we saw the Spruce Goose and it was HUGE; there were also lots of helicopters, and even some NASA craft in addition to all of the airplanes.  Heaven for Cameron!
- Only 2 meltdowns due to lack of sleep; both were in restaurants
- Cameron sleeping in queen size beds while in our hotels in Oregon.  Lots of pillows surrounding him to keep him from falling out!
- All 4 of us sharing a room for most of the trip and yet everybody slept fairly well
- Taking a ferry across the Willamette River- Gorgeous weather: No rain and lots of sunshine!  In fact, Seattle was setting records while we were there.  It was 98 one day.  Kali and Tom don't have A/C so we used lots of fan and a portable (and loud, but effective) cooling system to keep comfortable.
- Watching Cameron call for Harley
- Nathan pooing all over his Uncle Tom while Uncle Tom and Grandpa Brian watched the boys so Kristi, Grandma Linda, and Kali could go to a spa (Greg was already back in WI at this point)
- Grandpa Brian changing his first diapers since becoming a grandpa; we think he felt sorry for Tom after Nathan pooed on him and cut him some slack by offering to change the diapers
- Running through the water at a water fountain park on one of the hottest days in Seattle
- Cameron flossing for the first time (and Aunt Kali will be proud - he loves it and has done it every night since)
- Making friends on the airplane ride home: Cameron was sitting next to two boys (maybe ages 6 and 10?).  At one point, he had two Incredible Hulk figures, an Iron Man figure, King Kong, a Transformer and two stuffed animals on his tray thanks to this two kids.  They entertained Cameron quite a bit and were great at sharing their toys!
- Coming home and seeing Jesse and daddy again and sleeping in our own beds (Greg only stayed in Seattle through the 13th; Kristi and the boys stayed through August 18th - had to get home before Cameron turned 2 so we didn't have to pay for his ticket!)

CAMERON

Can you believe that I am now 2???  I had a fun Sesame Street party with lots of friends (hence the family picture above with all of us in Elmo shirts).  Though I was not in the greatest mood at the beginning, I eventually cheered up and played with Ben, Abby and Eli.  Mom made me a banana split cake (graham cracker crust, strawberry ice cream, bananas, cool whip and chocolate chips) to go with the pasta bar.



My vocabulary continues to grow.  Some of my favorite new words include:
- battery (when a toy isn't working, I say "battery" in hopes that mom or dad will fix it aka replace the battery)
- thank you and bless you
- rain (also used when it gets dark since I associate darkness w/ rain)
- bus, truck and crane
- guy (for my Lego motorcycle driver)
- play
- home
- gas
- stinky (used when pointing at the garbage, somebody's socks or feet)
- messy (used especially when Nathan's eating)
- ring (for Jesse's toy ring)
- and everybody's favorite - NO!  I started using this word on my birthday

I still wake up most nights screaming.  Once in a while I fall back asleep on my own, but often I want mom or dad to come comfort me and get me water.  Hopefully I will grow out of this phase soon.

I continue to be a decent eater.  While we were at Taste of Madison yesterday, I had mac and cheese, jerk chicken (wasn't as big of a fan of it this year as I was last year), mango shrimp, opor ayam (an Indonesian dish of chicken, potato, bamboo, and lemon grass in a coconut broth), chicken peanut stew with injera (an Ethiopian flatbread) and a strawberry-pineapple-coconut smoothie. 



NATHAN

I think mommy and daddy's favorite news about me this month is I now giggle.  I don't do it very often (usually requires tickling - I have yet to really laugh at goofy faces) and half the time it's a half-laugh/half-cry thing.  But it sure makes mom and dad happy to hear my cute little laugh!

I still haven't rolled over yet, but I sure am trying.  I do enjoy being on my tummy more now, especially if Cameron, Jesse, mommy, daddy, or a fun toy are in front of me.  I am also enjoying the jumperoo (thank you Buries for letting me use it!) and the exersaucer.  But my favorite thing of all is to simply be held and watch everybody around me.

Mommy started me on solids last Saturday afternoon.  Because I am so fascinated with watching other people eat, mommy was not surprised at how quickly I opened my mouth when I saw the spoonful of cereal coming at me.  However, most of it came right back out and I refused more cereal after about 4 bites.  One day I "ate" my whole bowl (most of it ended up on my bib or on mommy) but lately I have not been very interested in cereal.  It could be because I have my first cold or maybe I'm just not as big into solids as Cameron was.


Also, because I am using the high chair, Cameron has moved to his travel chair.  I think that upset him at first (he tried to push the high chair over while I was in it; fortunately for me mom was right there and stopped him and he's not quite strong enough anyway), Actually, I think he was more upset that I was using "his" bowl, but now he's ok about me eating in the high chair.  Yesterday morning he actually pointed to the high chair and said "Nate" since he knows that's where I sit.  I feel bad that I keep taking all of my brother's things (toys, attention, clothes, etc), but it's sure nice of him to share.

Finally, my baptism was held on August 22nd (see photo gallery in a separate entry).  I sure looked dapper in my suit!  It was a fun day with family and some yummy Japanese food.  A busy month for me and my brother!


Love,
Cameron and Nathan


Some additional pictures of Cameron at play: