Just in case

Hi Grandma and Grandpa Vruggink! We miss you and can't wait for you to come home. We are glad that you are having a good time and hope there are some fun animal stories to hear when you come home. When are you coming, home!?

Just in case you forgot what we look like....
(mouthful of apple smile)

(cheeser boy....with a mouthful of apple, too and a new haircut!)

First Day of Preschool--Take 2

Here is my big guy on his first day of preschool...again.

Doesn't he look so big and grown up.
So you might be asking...first day of preschool again?
To make a long and emotional story short, things were not going well for Cameron or for Tor and I where he started. It was not a good fit and he simply was not experiencing what school should be. Now we have peace and assurance beyond any doubt that he will now know what it's like to learn, play, explore and enjoy school. He is now attending Hudsonville Christian Preschool 2 days a week for 2 and a 1/2 hours. My heart and mind are so much more at peace and I can say I am now truly excited for him to be at school.
I have learned more about my first born and being a first time parent sending their child to school in the past month than I ever expected. Cameron has more insight into people than I gave him credit for; he knows more about himself than what I thought a little 4 and a half year old could; his desire to learn is greater than I expected and sometimes, yes at not even 5, he knows what he needs more than his mom and dad who thought they had it all planned out. Actually, God knew, too. And now I know His voice a little clearer and what that feels like. Like I said on my first post, Cameron is fine. He figured it out. I just had to listen.

Tough Guy

Both of my boys have always seemed to be quite tough in the area of owies and being sick. Well, on Saturday Haiden proved once again that yes he is a tough little guy when this got stuck in the side of his heel...

I should have put something next to it for size, but that is about an inch long piece of glass. How you might ask that got in his little foot? Well, it's kind of a mystery.
Saturday morning we were getting ready in the master bedroom. We have 2 sets of bi-fold doors for our closets with mirrors that have a brass border around them(yes, totally 80's) Haiden was walking over to my closet and, because I was right there watching the whole thing happen simply waiting to go over to him and tell him to put back whatever it was that he dragged out of the closet, scraped his foot on the sharp corner of the brass casing. I walked over to him to kiss it better when I saw blood and a big cut on his foot. I scooped him up and ran into the bathroom(after I could get the sticky door open and the clothes from back behind the door, hence the blood over the wall and of course the carpet). Torrey(dripping wet from the shower he bolted out of from the screams of a child) grabbed a towel and put it over the cut to stop it from bleeding. After a few minutes it was still bleeding so Tor looked at it again and finally saw the glass sticking out of his foot(that we were just pressing on to get the bleeding to stop!) I didn't believe him until I saw it. Remember, it simply looked like he scraped his foot! Finally after we got Haiden to calm down and Cameron to stop asking questions and covering his ears waiting for his brother to stop screaming, we could investigate. And honestly, we could not tell how in the world the glass got in there! There was no glass on the carpet, the casing was still around the glass and nothing else was broken. As usual when a big owie happens we call Nurse Tara(sister-in-law) and she took a look at it. We ended up bringing him into the ER to be sure there were no little pieces of glass left in there. So after 4 suckers, an x-ray and some nice bandages, we came home with this...

Isn't this just a pitiful little look on his face?!

X-ray of his precious little foot and chubby ankles.

It looks like he has something major under that bandage but trying to keep a 19 month old not to pick at a bandage requires some major covering!
He was a very big boy throughout the whole process and is finally walking on his foot more today.
Such a tough guy!

One Last Time

To make the summer complete, we ventured off to our summer adventure land of Cran-Hill one last time. And although it seemed as though it was the middle of fall, we didn't let the rain, wind, and cold stop us from one last time.....

cup of morning hot chocolate......


search for frogs and turtles......

s'mores(who said you can't roast a marshmallow in the rain?!)....


fishing adventure(who needs to cast when all the fish are trying to stay warm under the dock!)....

trip to the playground....

playtime in the camper to get warm and out of the wind and rain for a moment....

and a yummy treat(roasting takes way too long!)....

And despite the cold, we did have ice cream but I missed the photo on that. Our camping spot was quite the site as we had put up tarps to block some of the wind and rain. Both boys did great despite the elements, however, Haiden did think this way about it at times...

But in the end, it was a great little adventure to wrap up our summer, a happy camping family.

A Big Milestone

We hit a big milestone in our house yesterday, Cameron's first day of preschool. You hear it said all the time about how fast time goes and you're not sure how you got to this point, so one might think you would get used to it but I just don't think you can.

Cameron was so excited...can you tell?!
He was so ready to go and mostly excited about his brand new Sketchers.

He actually went today as well because we are leaving for one last camping adventure. He is so worn out and was in bed sleeping by 8:00, not even wanting an extra story.
Even though he is excited, it's been different than what I think his little mind expected. It's getting used to new people, new routines, new expectations, new experiences and new emotions. I have seen a side of my first born in face of this new adjustment. He has been brave in the face of uncertainty in his little world; a quietness in his observance of others rather than his usual live out loud self. He's not been one to sit on the sidelines and watch as life happens before him. It's only been 2 days and I am so proud of him. This is a whole new world that is opening up for him, and it's a transition for us all. And it's only preschool! And only 2 days!! I guess I don't think I was prepared for this to be such a big transition for Cameron as it has turned out to be(and for me, too).
When he was 6 months old and I had to let him go to daycare, he didn't really know any different. Now, when he can understand and wants me to rescue him, I have to let him go and figure this out. I, too have to be brave in the face of uncertainty and quiet in the moments where I want to fix it all and make it all better, but have to let this part of life happen. And he'll do just fine. That's a side of him I've always seen.