Happy Birthday Cameron!!

With eleven children and five in-laws it seems that birthday post come around quite often at our house. Just as the gulf of Mexico is into their hurricane season we are beginnings our family's birthday bonanza. It started Sept 1, with Natalie. Today is Cameron's and then we go from there with birthdays (even several!) every month except Dec. until April. There are several more in May and June and then we have our summer break of two whole months without a celebration.

Today the youngest member of our family turns 13. I told him last night that as he is our last to enter the "terrible teens" that he needed to promise me he would avoid certain behavior (such as mouthiness and moodiness) that so often accompanies this stage of life. He laughed and promised he would stay the cheerful, happy, enthusiastic kid he has been since birth. I'll report back on that in about two years.

Cameron is Mr. Positive. I've always loved that trait in him. For him the cup isn't just half full, it's almost to the top if not overflowing. In fact, his positive mindset prompted his kindergarten teacher to tell my husband in parent teacher conference that he was almost "too confident." Being the mother of eleven I just laughed and said "there's no such thing as a too confident kid." School has a way of beating it out of them anyway so the more they start with the better. I love his laugh. It is infectious and makes you feel happy just to hear it.

Cameron is a giver and a sharer. If he comes home from school with some kind of candy stash the first thing he does is find me and give me my choice of what he has. He shares his money also and has always been enthusiastic about paying his tithing even doubling and tripling the usual 10 percent.

Cameron loves cats! He is always trying to adopt strays from around the neighborhood and they all love him. He went through a stage where if I couldn't find him I would go check the dog house and sure enough there would be Cameron taking a nap with the cat.

He's an A-1 soccer player and plays on a premier club team. He can throw a mean baseball pitch, run up the score in basketball and is begging to play football, snowboard etc. etc. etc. And I have to hide his current book if I'm going to get some work out of him. He is highly motivated by ANY kind of incentive. If there is an award or a reward he wants to earn it - and he does big time!

Eleventh of eleven is a unique position. I don't think there are any birth order books that take it quite that far. (In fact, most of them stop at four. I long ago quit using them as any kind of guide!) I have always been extremely grateful we made it that far because I wouldn't have missed out on Cameron for all the free time in China (as opposed to tea!). I felt his presence and personality for several years before he was born and once he arrived I knew he was the caboose for our family. Happy Birthday Cameron! I love you!

Mom

Picture: Cameron illegally jumping on the furniture at age 2. Good thing he's holding on to that towel.