Cameron is walking! Bye-bye feeding pump, and hello horses! Plus new pics and videos!

Hi all!  Phew, it's been a whilrwind few weeks.  Cameron is now officially walking!  Plus, he started horseback therapy (which he loves), AND we stopped using the feeding pump this past week, finally!  A TON has been happening around here, and it seems we never can get a minute to catch our breath. 

I did want to update that I finally got our Picasa pics updated.  Looks like I hadn't updated it since September, yikes!  Please check out all the fun pics from our DC trip, Halloween, Christmas, and the beginning of 2011.  Some of my favorites are the Christmas cookie pics!  https://picasaweb.google.com/hughesfamilyaz

Also, a couple new youtube videos have been posted.  Like Cameron's big walking debut, his horseback riding, and Christmas cookie fun.  Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/user/bigeast007?feature=mhum

Fun Weekend!

So one of my New Year's resolutions is to get better about blogging. Cameron is growing so fast, and we have so much to talk about! I plan on catching up the past year, and posting links to his photo yearbook and all his videos. For the time being, here is a post about our exciting weekend.

This weekend was a blast! Saturday started with breakfast at Liberty Market, then we hopped over to the farmer's market and picked up some veggies. Then we headed down to the marathon expo in Phoenix, and Mike won a pizza on one of those wheel spin things. Cameron loved it! He also spun the wheel, won a slice of pizza, and enjoyed sampling some ziti.

Sunday was the big race day. We headed out at 6:15 and drove down to Tempe. Mike took the shuttle to the starting line, Cameron and I opted for the light rail. We were hoping to make it to the 1.5 mile point so we could cheer on our friend Sarah in the marathon, and also Daddy in the half marathon. The light rail took forever, and we just missed Sarah, but did catch a few marathoners. Since we had some time to kill before the half started, we grabbed breakfast and found a great spot near the 2 mile spot to cheer on Daddy from. Cameron loved ringing the cowbell and cheering for all the runners. Daddy came by and gave us high fives, then we jumped back on the light rail to the next stop. We got to see him again just before the 9 mile marker, and back to the train again. Cameron loved riding on the light rail and saying hi to all the people. We saw Daddy again right before he crossed the finish line, but it was so packed he didn't see us. He did awesome!! Finished with an amazing time of 1 hour, 55 minutes, and 58 seconds. We were so proud of him!!

We went to breakfast to celebrate, and then home for a much needed nap! After the nap, we did our usual grocery shopping AND squeezed in a trip to Freestone Park. We fed the ducks, played on the playground and watched the airplanes fly over. Dinner was a big treat too. Five Guys burgers and fries. Cameron loved the french fries, but he was so tired after our looooong day. He was so adorable, giving Mommy big hugs and almost trying to fall asleep on my arm. He was obviously ready for bed. We all crashed hard after the long weekend, but we look forward to Daddy's next big event, the half-Ironman in April!

Pics and more updates to come!!

January - March 2010

Slacker mom here, still trying to catch up! Cameron has made amazing progress in the past couple months and we are thrilled! We're pretty convinced that it's because all of his surgeries are behind us, and we're able to spend less time in doctors' offices and hospitals, and more time playing.

The only 'surgery' this year was his stent removal in January. That was placed back in November during his kidney surgery. The removal was fairly quick and easy, and we were back at home within a couple hours. We had a few scans last week to check on the progress of the kidneys (renal ultrasound, VCUG, and a Mag 3), and I'm relieved to say everything looks fantastic! Our only other medical obstacle at this point is getting rid of that dreaded G-tube, and I think we're making some great progress towards that goal.

So here's a quick recap of the first 3 months of 2010. As always, check out the photos and videos for a complete recap (March's photos aren't quite up yet, but hopefully they will be by the end of the week).

January 2010-
In addition to Cam's stent removal, we had follow up appointments with nearly every specialist he sees.  It was exhausting going from the pediatrician, to the developmental neurologist, to the plastic surgeon, to the regular surgeon, to the neurosurgeon, to the urologist, and to the synagis clinic for RSV shots.  We also arranged a new occupational therapist (the last one disappeared off the planet), and a new developmental therapist.  Whew, it's tiring even typing all that.

He definitely rocked in the new year. January's big accomplishments for Cam include learning to wave bye, signing more, and getting his 4th tooth!  He now has 4 very sharp bottom teeth to chomp our fingers with.  He loves waving bye and you can tell he's done with therapy when he starts waving bye to the therapists in the middle of a session.  haha.  We were shocked at how quickly he learned to sign more, picking it up in one session.  Oh, and I forgot to mention in December's report that he does 'so big' too.  You know, putting his hands up in the air to show you how big he is.  It's so cute.

From January 2010

February 2010-
Cam's progress in February was nothing short of amazing.  We went to Colorado to visit some friends, and we're not sure if it was just the change in environment, but he started doing all sorts of new tricks while we were there.  He began getting into sit on his own, crawling with his belly off the floor, and pulling himself up to stand!  It was like it all just clicked.  We also took him sledding while he was there, and I can't say he was too excited about it.  I'm sure it was just too cold.  He did look darn cute in the snowsuit though.  When we returned from our trip, he decided it was finally time to start clapping.  Yay!  I think the Elmo clapping book may have helped with that one too.   We took lots of photos while in Colorado, including some sledding action sequences.  Be sure to check them all out!

From Colorado Trip- February 2010

March 2010-
March has been a fun month so far (I'm writing this on the 24th).  I can't believe Cam is going to be 18 months on March 28th!  How the time flies.  This month we went to the Ostrich festival, explored some new parks, and enjoyed the wonderful 80 degree weather.  Cameron learned to stand up in his crib, and his new favorite thing to do is knock on the wall.  We had some cute video of it up on youtube but they took it down because a copywrited song is playing in the background.  I will try to re-post it, without the song.

Cam is so active now it's crazy.  I can barely keep up with him.  He is quite a climber, and will try to climb literally anything (his toy rack, a person, his rocking chair, the stairs, any piece of furniture, any toy that is more than a few inches off the ground).  It has made for a couple bumps and bruises, but he seems to be fearless.  He also loves dancing, conducting (his orchestra cube), playing the drum, and taking big boy baths in the tub.  His new 'too cute to stand' gesture is 'I don't know', where he puts his hands up and shrugs.  I love it.

He is also starting to really get chewing figured out, so we have FINALLY moved off of the purees and started adding in some veggie chunks, and apple puffs (his fave).  We even let him try some ice cream, which he wasn't too sure about at first, but then it became clear that he definitely inherited our sweet tooths.  He just kept wanting more and more and more.  haha.

Sorry, there are no March pics up yet, I hope to have them posted soon.  I will leave you with another one of my favorites from Colorado (Cam with our friend Chris) in lieu of the March pic.  Enjoy!

From Colorado Trip- February 2010

Catching Up....October - December 2009

Well, they say a picture's worth a thousand words, and a video is probably worth a hundred thousand, so since I've been so derelict at my duties as a blogger, I'll let them do most of the talking. We also made two photo books for Cameron. You can view the 2009 book here. The link for the Christmas book is below. We used Snapfish for the first book, and Shutterfly for the second. I would recommend Shutterfly for those of you wanting to make your own book.

Here's my SUPER brief summary of the end of 2009, please see the pictures and videos for the whole story. :)

October 2009-
What a fun month. No surgeries, Halloween, and Cameron's first big trip. We went to DC/Northern VA to visit family and friends. The leaves were changing, the weather was perfect, Cameron was an angel on the flights, and we had a wonderful time. We even helped Cameron's BFF Carlin celebrate his first birthday. Halloween was a blast. Cameron went as a lion, and we trick or treated with his girlfriend Lola.

From Halloween 2009

November 2009-
Cameron's hopefully last surgery! Kidney surgery to remove an obstruction, plus a hydroseal correction from his hernia surgery. Despite the huge scars, this was his easiest surgery. He really just bounced right back, hardly any pain meds at all! We had a fun Thanksgiving, celebrating with the neighbors, and we started to get ready for a crazy December.

From November 2009- Freestone Park Shoot

December 2009-
Crazy month with lots of fun. We love the holidays! Cameron got to visit Santa (he wasn't a huge fan), we went to the Gilbert tree lighting ceremony, saw some (fake) snow, decorated for Christmas, and went on lots of adventures. Grandma Hughes, Uncle Jack and Aunt April all came out to visit for Christmas, and we went to the Zoo, the botanical gardens, indoor rock climbing, and to Freestone park! Cameron got lots and lots of presents, and I'm pretty sure his favorite is his wagon. We use it all the time.

From Christmas 2009

Here's the photo book we made for Christmas 2009-

Click here to view this photo book larger

September 2009

Enjoying the pool on a hot Sept day.

Birthdays-
This was our super exciting birthday month! Mike's birthday was on the 4th, and Cam's first birthday was on the 28th! We had a huge blowout party for Cameron, the Hughes grandparents came out to attend, and overall I think we had about 30 people at the party! One of the many highlights of his party was that his NICU podmate was able to attend. Thijs was born a couple days after Cameron and left the NICU just a week after him. We hadn't seen him since the NICU. He looked so good! Overall, the party was super fun, I think Cam was a little overwhelmed, but he had a good time. He wasn't really interested in trying the cupcake, and didn't seem to want to open presents either, but he loved visiting with all his friends. What a great turnout we had to celebrate with our little man!



Hospital Stuff-
Poor Cam had his cleft palate surgery the day after his birthday! What a horrible 'present'. It took them 2 hours to get the IV in just to start the procedure! I even told them what a hard stick he is. Poor guy. He was in the hospital overnight and came home the next afternoon. Recovery was a little rough, his mouth was pretty cut up and we went through a lot of pain meds. After he healed up though, he started eating like a champ! And, no more food coming out of his nose! Just glad that surgery is done.

Also at the hospital in September, was the NICU reunion! We got to see Cam's main doctor, and almost all of his nurses and respiratory techs. It was so much fun to see everyone. We also got to decorate a butterfly that will be on display at the new children's hospital (where his Kidney surgery will be in Nov).

With Dr. Hamburg at the NICU reunion.

Waiting for his cleft surgery to start.

Exciting Developmental Progress-
During Sept, Cam made some great progress. He is finally tall enough to stand in his exersaucer without a pillow under his feet! He also started eating more great purees and increased his intake substantially. His balance is awesome, and he has no problem sitting on his new favorite toy, the Mickey Plane. He really enjoys hitting buttons, and making the cow sing 'Old McDonald' on his exersaucer. His 'talking' is coming along great and he is really starting to laugh pretty darn hard. He continues to be such a happy baby!

The Mickey Plane, his favorite new toy!

Where have we been?

Wow, so much has happened since my last blog post! I have found it increasingly difficult to keep this updated with all the goings on around here. We celebrated Cam's first birthday, had a couple surgeries, traveled to DC to see family and friends, enjoyed the Christmas holiday with Mike's family visiting, and had so many adventures! To go right to all the great pictures, you can check out our Picasa album. I'm going to try and do a summary for each month, starting with September. Thanks for stopping by!

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