Summer break

Now that Cameron is on the go there is a parenting skill that is getting difficult to master. The chase. I will say my size is starting to become a problem, but you would think his belly would slow him down too. I understand not everyone loves a small child hobbling around like he owns the place, but sometimes my arms need a break. Taking him to Target, I realized my days of having a shopping buddy are just about done. If the store doesn't have a cart with a car attached to it, we shouldn't go. Within 8 minutes of pushing him around Target Cameron starts throwing himself around in the cart. I cave and pick him up only to put him down for the sake of my back. The chase is on. He takes off down the aisles as his personal walking track, and I am now chasing him pulling the shopping cart behind me with one arm. He U-turns like a mad man outrunning the cops, and the turning radius on my shopping cart is sub par. Do I really need the pack of hamburger buns in the cart? What about the diaper bag?

The spray parks around town are amazing... for running, which is an adrenaline rush for a pregnant lady. Cameron hates swimming pools but put a few sprinklers out with plenty of room to run, and he's good to go for at least an hour. The tricky part about spray parks? The chase. He's really good at running around and chasing the girls, but all that running makes a kid thirsty. What does my little one do? Get on all fours and lick the excess water off the ground. Awesome. What disease did he just contract? I hustle through the water buckets and fire hydrants pouring out full stream and pick him up. Now to resume my post on the outside. And he's off. He manages to find a lady texting, and his eyes light up at the potential of putting that cell phone in his mouth. I chase him down and redirect him elsewhere. (This lady by the way refused to put the phone away almost the entire time we were there. Eventually I gave up trying to get him away from her. ) His next target was ever too sneaky. He started walking around this table of moms watching their kids. I am not chasing him around and interrupting the conversation. All of a sudden his little hand reaches and SUCCESS - drinking from some other child's sippy cup. The chase is back on. This leads to questions from the other moms. How old is he? A year. How much does he weigh? 32 pounds. That's the same as my son. He's 4. There goes Cameron heading for the exits. Saved at last by the chase.