Happy Birthday Boo-Bear!

~*~*~

Today my Boo-Bear turns 14. It's been a rough year for him and my greatest hope is that this coming year, he'll have the opportunity to focus on being 14 and not have his mind and heart clouded by all of the nonsense he's had to deal with in the past.

In honor of Cam's birthday, I'd like to share with all of you 14 things you might not know about him.
*EDIT* Updates at 16 are in BOLD italics

1. Cam was a 9 lb-12 oz, 24 inch baby. Throughout his first two years his pediatrician kept telling me his growth would slow down. It never did. As of yesterday, Cam is 6'-2", 220 lbs ... and STILL growing.
*EDIT* At 16, he is 6'-4" and 270 lbs

2. At 3, Cam would walk through parking lots and name (correctly) the make and model of every car. This is still one of his favorite road trip games. It's not unusual to hear hours of "Toyota Carola, Ford Focus, Dodge Challenger ..." while in the car.

3. When Cam was 4, he rode his bike to a park 2 miles from our house ... alone. I was in a panic and called the police. When they found him at the park they explained that I was worried about him because he was lost. His response? "I'm not lost! I know exactly where I am!" This was a hint of things to come.

4. Cam has attended 5 different schools since kindergarten. He has been in his current school 3 years - the longest stretch he's ever been in any one school.
*EDIT* He is currently on his 7th (and hopefully last) school

5. Cam plays the oboe and has for 4 years. Oboe was his first choice in musical instruments when band was offered in fifth grade, but oboe was not the first instrument he learned to play. He started playing piano (by ear) at 4 and is also a self-taught guitar player.
*EDIT* Cam continues to play the oboe (6 years now), plays the bass drum in marching band and has a new musical love, the bass guitar

6. Cam has hundreds of Hot Wheels. Although he did it much more when he was younger, he will still spend hours lining the Hot Wheels up from end to end and from one end of the house to the other.

7. Cam always sticks up for the underdog and God help you if you say something - or do something - against one of his family members or "friends"

8. Cam's best subject in school is math, but his favorite subject is Social Studies.

9. Cam orders only one meal from each of the fast food restaurants we go to. A #1 (Big Mac) with extra onions, large fries and large Hi-C Orange if we are at McDonald's, or a Steak Grilled Stuff Burrito and a large Mountain Dew if we go to Taco Bell. He won't order anything but a drink if he is "forced" to go to any other fast food restaurant.

10. Cam's iPod contains every genre of music, from classical to hip-hop and everything in between.

11. Cam has spent more time in the Principal's office for being honest than he has for any other reason. It is not unusual for a teacher to ask him, "Would you like to read these pages, out loud, to the class?" only to have Cam respond, "No" (he doesn't have social filters). This then turns into a trip to the Principal's office for defiance/disobedience.

12. Cam's favorite color is orange and he prefers orange clothes, orange cars, and orange food.

13. Cam is still upset with me for lying about Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy ... very upset!

14. Cam is an amazing kid with amazing talents, unfortunately most people see his behaviors (autism) before they see him. My hope for him, and for other kids like him, is that this will not always be the case.

~*~*~