Trip to the Zoo

Not having the internet in the Valley has really thrown me for a loop. In case you've missed it, I just graduated...from medical school...well, it seems like it's been that long since my lazy dad has helped me get another post on here!! We finally did get the internet hooked up last night though, so you can expect more regular appearances from me. Daddy has a lot of weddings coming up, so be patient.

So we went to the zoo on Sunday after church. It was awesome! I got to see lions, zebras, giraffes, seals, wolves, tigers, monkeys and lots of other cool animals. I have been pointing these critters out in my books for months. I might have been more excited to see the skid loader that was parked by the polar bear exhibit which is under construction though. I love my machines!!


Speaking of tractors, I got to ride with Gma Deb last week in the tractor at the farm while they were planting. I wasn't a real farmer though because I fell asleep after one trip around the field. I am going to have toughen up a bit before Gpa Don lets me go on my own. He has been busy in the field and is finished with his corn and is now working on beans. This is a pretty busy time of the year for him!

We Moved!!

Okay...Where have I been!??!?! Amidst all kinds of busy-ness following my birthday including the State FFA Convention...we up and moved in the course of about 2 weeks! We have some friends renting our place in Farmington and moved to an old (1890) creamery in Sogn Valley between Cannon Falls and Kenyon. It is down the hill from where daddy lived for four years in the late 90's. This is the place that feels most like home for us and we are so grateful to be back "in the valley".

We are also much closer to school and both grandmas and grandpas!! Mommy still goes to the office in the cities once in a while.

Sogn is loving being back too. He can run in the wide open fields and lay in the sun all day long. We packed his leash somewhere and don't need it!

Speaking of packing...where is ___________(fill in the blank with almost anything)?? That's what we're asking each other as we are living amongst boxes stacked on boxes. That's okay and I am a big help in unpacking just as I was in packing the boxes!!

I am on the verge of walking as I can stand on my own for several seconds before I realize I am not touching anything and then sort of tip over softly. I like to walk with someone holding my hand or travel around the furniture with one hand recklessly holding onto something. My new from last night...PIZZA.

Finally Some Sun!!

Well here in Minnesota we've waited and waited and waited for spring...and this afternoon, we're not quite sure, but it might have shown up!! I got outside with my new Cabelas camo hat and played in the rocks. That's going to be one of my favorites! Then we got in the stroller and went for a long walk. Sogn had that "I've-been-waiting-six-months-for-this" kind of look on his face the whole time! It was so sunny and warm. I even got to put sunscreen on my cheeks.

Mommy and daddy have been really busy lately trying to figure out where to move to. We have some folks lined up to rent our house so we need to move. We all have our favorite places, but they might not be where we end up for the time being.

I am being a real chatterbox lately. I know exactly what people are talking about when they talk to me and I really, really want to talk back, but the words just don't come out quite right yet. Not too long though!!

My first trip to Cabela's

I can't believe that I am already one year old and my dad hasn't taken me to Cabela's!?!?! Well, maybe he has but we don't remember it. Needless to say,

IT WAS THE BEST!!!

I loved all the deer heads and that mountain was so cool with the bears and moose. I was even able to do my usual counting "One and...." - t-t-two. I am pretty good at that now. It was really cool to see all those fish in the tanks too. You can walk right through and see them all.

Pretty safe to say that I will be back over and over for many, many years to come!!

Gpa Gary's Birthday

We got together tonight for Gpa Gary's birthday at the House of Coates. I ate my usual french fries and even got to order a grilled cheese. Gpa got one of those cool music cards that played "The Gambler". I am getting pretty good at dancing now too. I really liked that card.

We all gave Gpa an iPod for his birthday and it had lots of music and pictures and videos of me already on it. There is a photo gallery for my two cousins who are coming in July and September and then one for my brother/sister who is coming in October.

My First Birthday

Where has the year gone!?! It is already my first birthday and no one seems to believe that I am a year old already! We had a great party today at the farm. Gma & Gpa Schliep, Gma & Gpa Addington, Jess & Joey, Linds, Josh & Wyatt, Great Gma Sylvia, Eric & Kecia, Great Gpa Clarence, Chris, Alice, Noah & Jacob Lodermeier all joined us for a great time. Mommy made a bunch of great food and I even got to dig into a cake all by myself...that means I also got to take a bath!!

I got a lot of nice new toys like tractors, trucks and a basketball hoop. I got a swimming pool for this summer and a lot of cool John Deere tractors! All of this action today has me pretty wired and I didn't take much of a nap today. I am sure that I will sleep good tonight!!

I also found out that I got something else for my birthday according to the doctor yesterday...an ear infection in both ears! I went a whole year without one, but now it's no big deal. I got some great pink medicine that I really like and I am feeling a lot better today!!

Thanks to everyone who joined me for my big day. It was so much fun to see you all. There is a whole gallery full of photos right here. I can't wait until next year!!!

My First Haircut

As you could probably see from some of my photos, my hair was getting a little out of control. I had some serious wings coming out on the side and was getting some "hockey hair" in the back. Mommy and daddy held out until close to my first birthday to get it done.

It actually went pretty well. I got it cut at the same place and the same barber that daddy gets his cut...our bathroom and my daddy!! Mommy held me on her knee and we read a couple books. The way I read these days, I am pretty actively looking around on the pages, so my head was moving quite a bit. That's going to be daddy's excuse on the bad spots anyway!! Daddy was lobbying to leave the back to grow long so I could have a mullet like he used to have, but mommy said "NO WAY!!". All in all, it turned out pretty well and makes me look like a little boy.

I am getting excited for my birthday party this weekend too. We're going to the farm on Sunday and it should be lots of fun. Mommy has been doing a lot of cooking, baking and cleaning getting ready. I am pretty excited.

Early Spring Snowman

Well a very unexpected April Fools joke occurred in the last 24 hours! We got a bunch of snow. So much snow that daddy got out of school early on Monday and didn't have school on Tuesday! We went to the farm early this morning to hang out with Wyatt while Gpa and Gma are gone in Las Vegas. And daddy got to stay all day with us. So we made a snowman! It was starting to melt really fast though, so we quick took a couple photos. I have a little bit of a cough coming on so we didn't stay outside too long...and because of that I cried when we went in! I just love being out there!

I was crawling around at Gma's house when mommy noticed that I got real quiet across the room. Mommy wondered what I was doing and she came to check it out. I had a ladybug in my hand and gently handed it to my mommy!

My First State Tournament

I spent most of the day yesterday with daddy at the Target Center for the State Basketball Tournament. Mommy had some meetings and joined us later in the afternoon, but I got to watch three straight games with daddy. It was great! There were lots of things to look at and listen to like the game, bands, cheerleaders, bright lights, banners and lots of people!! We sat for most of the day with our buddies Scott Axtell and Mark Kieffer. They are both guys that daddy coached with at Mayo High School. Mayo played and unfortunately lost to Henry Sibley in a good game. I had a pretzel, chicken sandwich and some fries for lunch! Daddy has been at the state tournament since he was my age and told lots of people that he visited with that he never thought he'd be pushing a stroller around the tournament. I'm glad he did though because I was having a great time.

This photo isn't related to the tournament, but was me at Gma Deb's the other day. Funky glasses!!!

Easter Weekend

Well I had a great weekend. Mommy, daddy and I went down to Winona to see Gma Rosemary. Great Aunt Cally stopped over too. We had a nice visit and had pizza too! Gma gave me my bottle and it was just great!

I got my easter basket at Gma and Gpa Addington's too. It had some colored eggs (which left my mouth blue) and lots of yellow grass. I got a great new tractor book too (grrrrrr). That's one of my favorite things to talk about!! I watched the bobcat plow snow outside the other day for quite a while and made my tractor noises the whole time. Mommy thought she was going to have to teach me those "boy" things, but she now realizes that they are inborn.

We went to chuch (another one of my new words) and then off to Aunt Sue's house in Zumbrota. It was great to see everyone there and we had a great time. I got some other cool little basket gift again too! One new backhoe tractor, a Twins shirt and some sunglasses!

Busy Boy

The end of daddy's spring break week is coming to a close. We had a great time playing with toys, watching NCAA basketball and walking around on anything I can get my hands on.

As you can see in the photo, I get to be really busy on my little projects. You have seen the corks make a blog appearance before. I love playing with them and spreading them all over. I am really into placing things into other things. I have recently liked to play by the sliding door and take the steel weights out of the blinds. I line them up, place then with the corks and move them around constantly. All the while, I am babbling on and on about my project to whoever will listen!!

Mommy and daddy put up a gate by the stairs now. They're really no fun! I fell down about three steps the other day and banged my head pretty good and I guess that was the deciding factor. I hit my head five times in one day at Gma's house on the coffee table too! I am a tough guy though and it didn't bother me too much.

I also got a little video of my visit in the barn at Gma and Gpa Schliep's. Of course, my favorite animal...cuh-cuh-cows were there!! Check it out here!!

Up the Stairs

It seems there are all kinds of new milestones for me and I am changing a whole bunch each day! Daddy is on spring break this week and stayed home with me all day yesterday until mommy got home from bells last night. We played, slept, ate, repeat! We went for a couple rides in the truck to the grocery store and to Home Depot. I got to ride around in the cart and play with bolts and things that daddy handed me.

Some of my new things:

I am clearly going up all the stairs on my own...and quickly, I might add.

I am adding parts of words to my vocabulary each day. Last night's new one...chuh-chuh-chuh-chers. That's CHEERIOS for those of you who weren't following me clearly.

I help to put my toys away in their boxes with some help.

I am trying to stand pretty much the whole time I am awake.

I am drinking pretty well from my sippy cups now.

I love to arrange and organize things. I put things into others and take them out over and over.

I love to help with the dishwasher...loading and unloading is right at my height!

Telling Jokes

"So did you hear the one about what the cow said to the bartender?"

I thought my cousin Wyatt would think that my jokes were more funny?? Oh well, we got some cute photos taken together. Both of us were kinda hungry though so the photo session didn't last too long! The rest of the photos are HERE.

Sorry I haven't been on the blog much lately. We have been staying at our friends the Marings house in Sogn Valley the past couple weeks and I am too busy watching the cuh-cuh-cuh-cows and duh-duh-duh-deer out the window. I even get out to help with chores a little bit now that it's warming up. We love staying here and hope that we can move down here soon so that I can grow up here.

And speaking of growing up here, I am looking forward to BEING A BIG BROTHER!!!! That's right, we are adding another one to family in mid-October. I am really excited about that as are mommy and daddy!!

Spaghetti

I LOVE SPAGHETTI!!! Had that for supper tonight and I really liked it a lot. So much so, that mommy and daddy took me right to take a bath afterwards! It tastes good in my mouth, but fun in my hair, on my neck, arms and lap too!!

We are staying at our friends, The Maring's house in Sogn Valley for a couple weeks while they are in Australia. It has been so great! My new "word" is c-c-c-cuh...which is what I say when I look out the window at the c-c-c-cows. Sogn is having a great time running around the farm and daddy loves the 10 minute drive to school and mommy loves feeding the calves in the morning! We hope Marings are having as much fun as we are staying at their place.

Cork Mouth

Mommy and daddy have a big Red Wing crock full of wine corks. I am now tall enough to pull myself over the rim of it and reach down in and grab corks out. One of my favorite new spots in our house! There is a hint of a certain flavor on them too...can't quite identify it, but I am certain "it was a good year".

My other new trick is to blow out the light. Daddy taught me how to do it. It's really fun, but it only seems to work when mommy or daddy are around. I tried it from my crib when I was supposed to be napping and it didn't work.

I am excited that we are moving tomorrow. Well, not permanently but for a few weeks to Sogn Valley. Our good friends, the Maring's are going to Australia and we are going to housesit for them. It will be nice to be closer to work for daddy and Sogn will love being back on the farm!

Me and Sogn

Seems like I get to this only on Sundays lately! I am doing well and add a few more things to my repertoire each week. I can't be standing up enough lately. I will pull myself up on anything and everything that is close. I kind of pull myself along if that fixed object (ie couch) offers me some walking room!! I am also starting to really mimic sounds and words I am hearing. Daddy had me started on "ch, ch, ch, church" this morning. I really study what people are saying to me and then try it myself. As we were getting ready to go outside yesterday, mommy had me saying "c, c, c, coooolllddd"

Yesterday, I spent part of the day at the gym with daddy, then to the farm with Gma and Great Aunt Sue, then to Gma Carol's in Rochester, then back to the farm and then daddy came and got me after basketball. It was a fun day with LOTS of playing!!

Sogn really likes being close to me now as you can see. It has taken him a while, but he's really warmed up to me. I think it's because when I eat, he gets lots of dropped morsels that hit the floor! He is always right there to clean up!!

Cold Weekend at Home

You may be laughing as hard as I am in this photo when you take a closer look at my hair! It's getting out of control!! I have the weird over-the-ears thing going on. I like to keep it combed back for the most part, but sometimes it gets a little wacky!!

You may also be able to see the bruise over my right eye...took the stair bannister square on the eyebrow yesterday while attempting to climb a technical 5.1 pitch on the first step. No big deal! You can also get a good peek at all my teeth. I have another one coming in right now too...that'll be #7.

It's been a cold, cold weekend here in Minnesota! The wind chills have been in the -40 range. Aunt Jessica came and hung out with me for a while last night while mommy and daddy went out for dinner. They had a good time and so did we! Other than that, I haven't gone outside too much!

Gma and Gpa Addington are in Hawaii right now...lucky!! It's probably pretty warm there! They get back Friday, so I will be anxious to see them!

I also put a couple new videos on MY VIDEO PAGE so feel free to check them out. I show off my quickness via the crawl pretty well!!

Super Bowl

I am so glad that my mommy is home! She was gone since Wednesday in Indianapolis. I spent my week with daddy and my grandparents some too. Daddy and I had a great time, but barely survived without mommy!

As I have mentioned before, I really love technology like my daddy. In an effort to keep learning on that front, I grabbed the TV remote and hit rewind on the Tivo'd Sesame Street. I am now one of the youngest users of DVR service in America. The other night while playing with daddy's phone, I hit the one-touch calling button to dial up Gpa Gary. He promptly answered and until daddy heard his voice, didn't know it was me calling. I just wanted to have a little visit with him.

Today was Super Bowl Sunday and we went over to our friends Kurt and Cindy's house. My one-year old friend Addie Perkins and her mommy & daddy Alisha and Glen were there too. We had a great time eating and playing with lots of Addie's toys. They have a big hardwood floor that was fun to slide around on too!! Oh yeah, the Giants beat the Patriots in a game I will probably hear about when I get older as one of the biggest upsets ever!!

Trip to the Mall

We had a big day around here. Went to church and then mom, dad and I went to the mall. Got out the stroller and everthing! I am pretty sure that it was mommy's idea, but we all had a good time. We kinda rolled around a lot, looked in a number of stores and ate lunch in the food court. I had a great breadstick from Sbarro!

When we got home, Gma and Gpa Addington stopped by on their way home from a little shopping extravaganza as well. It was nice to see them and like usual, I was REALLLLLLY excited. Sogn and I both wrestle for the most attention from Gma.

Tonight, in the spirit of newfound adventure, freedom and "you can't keep your eyes off me anymore"...I shut my fingers in the drawer on that same endtable I was stuck in yesterday. They hurt for a bit, but I am tough guy...I got through it. No real good nap today, so I was pretty tired tonight.

Crash #2

And here is installment #2 of the Cameron Crashes...I love to pull myself up on things now. Dressers, furniture and this end table is my favorite! Daddy was moving some of my toys so he could vacuum and over the table went. Ironically, I fit right through the hole in the table!! I actually sat and played right here for a couple minutes! It was the perfect little desk for me!

Crash #1

As you can see here, I had my first little crash. I went off the edge of mommy & daddy's bed and landed right on my nose! I cried for a minute, but it didn't hurt that bad. I am pretty sure it hurt mommy more than me! She had run downstairs really quick to grab the phone while I was sleeping! This is evidence of how quickly I can make things change these days!! haha...you better keep an eye on me!

Videos

I've got video!!!
Check out my new gallery HERE where daddy figured out a way to get my little videos on the website. I hope it works for you. There are some from even way back when I was just a month old! In the blog redo, daddy tried putting one right here in the post. Try it out!

We had a great day today going out to my god parents, Chris and Alice's house. It was my buddy Noah's birthday and the baptism for his new little brother Jacob. It was fun to spend some time out there. Sogn came too and ran around outside for quite a while. I was really glad I was inside though because it was -10 degrees outside...brrrrr.

Daddy took some photos of Jacob and Noah too. There are in a gallery HERE .

Funny Hair

We may have to substitute this photo out with another one from one of the animals from the zoo, but my hairdo here is supposed to represent some of the animals that I saw at THE ZOO yesterday with the Schwanke's!! They took me on a little field trip and it was awesome!! I loved the fish and the aquariums the best! I got a couple new animal books too. It was so nice of Lisa, Michael, Megan and Connor to take me along and spend the day with me. We all had a great time.

Toothbrush

I went to the doctor today for my 9 month check up. It went really well and Dr. Westlund was happy with how I was turning out. I weighed 18 pounds 4 oz which was only in the 10-25% range, but she considered my sickness I had this last week and wasn't too worried. I have moved up into the 50% range for height and was still in the 75-90% for head size!! I got a couple more shots too...cried for a couple seconds and that was it!!

With my mouth filling up with teeth now I get my teeth brushed once in a while. I have my own brush and it goes on the holder right next to mommy and daddy's big toothbrushes! I don't use any toothpaste yet though.

We had a couple showings at our house so mommy did a lot of work to get things cleaned up and looking good....and I was A BIG HELP!!

Not Happy!

Here is my latest discovery. If I stand up and cry in my crib at naptime, mommy will just come in and take my photo!! As you can see, I am not real happy about having to take a nap!! I am pulling myself up on most things that are about my size these days.

We had a game last night in Cannon Falls and they played some music during the game that I just had a great time with. I was dancing and laughing and really impressing everyone around me!