Our wonderfully sweet and independent boy turned 2 years old today! I love celebrating Cam because he lights up with joy and gratitude. Sophie, Daddy and Mommy woke Cam up this morning singing him "Happy Birthday" and helping him open presents. He can say "I two" and "Happy Day" and I know he felt the birthday love today.
We threw a little party with some friends to celebrate the joy and energy he brings to our family. With Cameron, nothing really ever goes to plan (ex. his birth story....). For weeks, I had planned an outdoor, spring bbq birthday party with a rented bouncy castle. Instead, after weeks of temperatures above 75 degrees, we woke up to rain, wind, and pending thunderstorms! As guests arrived, the rain was pouring down, the bouncy castle couldn't be delivered because of the weather threats, and we had moved everything inside. After an hour of improvising and hosting a "glorified play-date,", just in time for lunch, the sun appeared, and we ended the party outside. It was a perfecly imperfect party, and Cameron had such a fun time with his friends. He had a huge grin on his face the entire celebration. Trucks, chocolate, cookies, friends, the outdoors... this boy had everything he could dream of!
Before the rain departed, we shoved the kids in the playroom and tried to distract them from the disappointment of no outdoor party... ultimately, I think that I was the most disappointed and the least flexible! The kids adapted like champions and the birthday boy didn't miss a beat!
As the kids slowly made their way outdoors to eat lunch, Cam skipped his birthday lunch in favor of driving trucks.
This boy... joyful and thankful and tender and strong and confident and handsome. May he always have these admirable attributes.
Sophie did an awesome job of celebrating her baby brother and letting him be the center of attention for 1 day out of 365...
Digging into his dessert head first....
What is with boys and their trucks?!! Cameron cannot leave the house without at least one car or truck in his hand. And just like Sophie with her stuffed animals, Cameron has names for each of his 50+ cars/trucks. (ex. Fire Truck, Black Car, Police Car, Purple Truck, New Car, Old Car....)
It makes me tear up to see Cam have his own friends, boys whom he calls by name (or at least, attempts to...) and boys whom he shares his favorite trucks with!
The evening before his birthday, we enjoyed the Great Outdoors festival in our neighborhood. It is one of our favorite events of the year as it kicks off a summer of fun. I love Cameron's confidence, his boldness, his sense of adventure and exploration, and yet his need for huge hugs and cuddles, his request to "hole han" (hold hand), and his unsolicited and unprompted gratitude ("ggnnk you mommy"). One can never be too tough for a hug from mommy.... He admires his "Gaga" and will follow her and take care of her until the ends of the world.
Happy Birthday to my little man! For two years, you have been shaking things up at the Whitfield household. You are determined, stubborn, fiercely independent, crazy, and coordinated. In the past 2 weeks, I have had 3 strangers comment on how sturdy you are, with 2 of them mentioning how they hope you will play football for BSU in 16 years. You are active, you love the outdoors, and you are a sneaky rascal at times. My favorite time of the day occurs when I'm putting you to sleep (and not just because it means mommy gets a break from you....). I love how you stroke my face, gently touch my earrings and identify different parts of my body ("mommy ear", "mommy hair", mommy arm"). You give massive kisses and hugs. You know that every time we go to Target, I'll give in and buy you a new car/truck, because #1. I'm scared of the tantrums that will ensue if I finally say no and #2. I love how many times you say "gnnk you mommy". You're appreciative, excited, enthusiastic, and joyful. You blow kisses to all your trucks before bedtime. You run into the house from the garage and ALWAYS yell "We're home Louie!" and run to tell the cat that you're back. You're tender and sweet, often saying "poor guy" when you see a dead bug or when you hear a story about somebody getting hurt. It melts my heart when you run into Sophie's preschool and yell "Gaga!!! Hi Gaga" when we pick her up. You seek eye contact and a verbal response from every greeting you give. I love this about you; I love how you light up when somebody makes eye contact and talks directly to you, and I appreciate how you expect and thrive from others directly responding to you.
I love you in ways I didn't think possible. You are my boy forever and ever, and everybody who comes in contact with you sees the joy and energy you bring into this world. Happy Birthday, Cam-man. May you always feel the love your friends and family have for you as you felt it today.
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