Happy (very belated) Birthday Cameron!

Cameron celebrated his 4th birthday at the beginning of July!

Cameron has grown and changed a lot in the last year, but the changes don't seem to be as extreme or noticeable as the years before. It's not like he's learning to walk, talk, or any other major developments like that. Instead, he's learning how to be more social, to properly interact with others, to be kind, to respond to situations with appropriate emotions (I am still working on that), and other things like that. I have so much enjoyed watching him grow, learn, and make friends at school this year. He is such a social person and had a great experience this year. He has been exposed to so many more things than I was ever exposed to as a young child, or adult for that matter, and has handled them like a pro for the most part. I have been impressed watching him take on things that were scary and challenging to him this past year and handling them well. 

Because of all the emotional growth, this year has been difficult in some ways. We've had to spend a lot of time teaching, correcting, and reminding. We dealt with a lot of new emotions and reactions to things and have had to learn how to best communicate with Cameron. Of course this will continue as long as we are parents, but this was the first year that we really encountered this much training in this area. I think I mentioned last year that one of the best and hardest things about Cameron is his energy and enthusiasm about almost everything. He goes a hundred miles a minute from the moment he wakes up in the morning until the moment he goes to bed. He jumps from activity to activity and is very passionate about what he loves. He's opinionated, like to be right (who doesn't), and is quick to share his thoughts about most any subject. He is developing such a funny sense of humor and loves to be the center of attention. He likes to tell stories and his imagination is starting to run wild. He's always had a great imagination, but now I'm starting to hear what he's thinking through stories and songs instead of just seeing how he's playing. As a side note, one of Cameron's favorite games to play right now is traveling through the airport and through passport control…apparently we have traveled a lot in his little life! :) Cameron loves music, soccer, frisbee, riding his bike, running around like crazy, jumping, climbing, being with friends, planes, trains, trams, and any other large moving things, and reading. Even though he is very upbeat, Cameron also has a very tender heart. He doesn't like to see others sad or hurting and usually tries to comfort those who are. We've discovered over this past year that he really enjoys quality one on one time with us as well as words of affirmation. Understanding that has really helped us understand why Cameron reacts to things like he does. 

One of my favorite developments this year has been watching him become a great big brother to Harrison. He has (almost) always been great with Harrison, but he has started really enjoying playing with Harrison and is very protective. Just the other day, they were in a fairly new situation and Harrison was upset that we were leaving. Cameron took his hand, told him it was ok, and then took him to play with some toys that he knew Harrison would like. Of course they have their moments and Cameron also likes to get under Harrison's skin sometimes, but I have loved watching their relationship develop. Another thing I have really enjoyed this past year is reading with Cameron. He loves books and has a great memory, so he now likes to "read" to us. I love hearing his sweet little voice relaying the stories to me and at the same time, learning new words and asking questions about the story. Last, his love of music and singing is just wonderful. We get our own personal concert almost every night after we put him to bed. He will sing for an hour sometimes before falling asleep. I love that he loves to sing and enjoy singing with him as well. He likes to sing duets with mommy and, of course, I am thrilled to be part of these special numbers. 

We were able to celebrate Cameron's birthday several times over the past month with many friends and family. He had a birthday celebration at school here in Gent and then a couple parties when we went home a few weeks ago!

Cameron was able to celebrate his birthday at school with several of his friends with birthdays close to his.

Cameron's birthday buddies, Sebastian and Rikuto

They ended the party with a rousing game of musical chairs.

We were in the U.S. the day of Cameron's actual birthday. Even though we arrived from Belgium late the night before, we still started the morning with our birthday pancakes.

My weak attempt at a #4 pancake

After breakfast, we headed out for Cameron's party with his friends. He was really excited to see his friends from home, so we planned a little pool party for him.

Getting ready for lunch and cake

Harrison was happy to help eat the cake

The gang

Presents

His last celebration came when we went to visit our parents.

Harrison got in on the celebration because we weren't in the U.S. for his birthday.

We continue to feel so lucky and thankful to have Cameron as a part of our family. He is such a joy and makes us smile and laugh so much. Happy birthday Cameron man…we love you to the moon and back!