piano lessons

Sebastian started taking piano lesson in February. He has been enjoying the lessons and is starting to get into a rhythm with practising. One aspect of the practising which I had not anticipated is the amount of "written" work to be done. Sebastian went through a time about one and a half to two years ago where he liked to do written work in different workbooks, etc. Since then, he has not sought out any structured book work and has not been interested when I suggest it. I've been OK with this, I figure he'll seek it out when he needs to. Now, I find that I am enjoying the bit of formal structure this brings to our day. He was resistant to the work at first. I let him know that it is his decision whether or not to complete it. He has been more eager to complete the work in the last few weeks. It helps that his teacher is a home-schooling mom and is willing to go at his pace.

He has also been mentioning that he is reading things at times. During the last year, he has not wanted to try to learn to read and has really withdrawn from any interaction in which he felt there was pressure to try it. Again, I felt fine with not pushing it. He seems to be feeling more confident recently and willing to share his learning process a bit more. He'll point out words to me in different locations and tell me that he is reading them. He knows what they say, I'm not sure if he is actually reading them or picking up other visual clues that help him figure out what the word says. Either way, I'm happy that he feels that he can include me a bit in the process.

Poor dog

Puck is so patient with Ayla. She likes to inspect his teeth (holding his mouth wide open with her hands of course), his white hair on his chin (holding his mouth shut tightly of course), try to jump on his back, walk him endlessly around the house on his leash...and now dress him up.

Weekend at College Royal

The kids and I spent much of the weekend at College Royal, an open house put on by the students at the University of Guelph. It's the third year in a row that we have gone. Sebastian has always loved going. Oscar had to work nights this weekend. I had been feeling a bit leery of taking the kids by myself as it is often very crowded and things are quite spread out over the campus. We ended up having a great time, so much that we went on both Saturday and Sunday for several hours each day. The kids built boats and raced them, built containers to try to protect an egg while dropping it from four stories up (not successful :) particularly Ayla's, whose egg was in an open cup), watched a science show, built hand catapults, played with "magic mud", petted animals, took "Crazy Rooster" to the teddy bear surgery, and lots more. One highlight was running into several different friends and joining them for different activities. I'm sorry that Oscar had to miss out. The kids and I are already looking forward to next year!

There has been much bickering between Ayla and Sebastian the last couple of months. Lately though, there seems to have been a bit of a shift towards more peaceful (and at times, loving) interactions. And happily, they are often eager for me to take pictures of these times!

Playing with Daddy

Ayla and Oscar playing "Dr. Orfey" (Ayla's version of Dr. Forte!) We're not sure of the meaning of the ball and having to spit it into the basket - it later lead to having to spit wooden puzzle pieces into rain boots!

Deep thoughts

I took Sebastian to see a show at the Riverrun today. Oscar was off work so Ayla stayed with him. Sebastian played with some friends after the show for a few minutes and then we began our walk home. We passed the war memorial on the way and, as always, Sebastian asked me to read the poem "In Flander's Fields" to him. We continued on our way. Sebastian then began a conversation that covered the following topics: the two world wars, a possible (in his mind) 3rd world war in Afghanistan, the questions "why am I me?" and "when is the world going to end?" and "because the world is round, if we were standing in Antarctica would we be upside down?"
He then shared that he had found a bit of the show that we had watched to be scary. I felt so grateful that we have all this time to spend together and that I get these opportunities to hear what he is thinking. Because he sure seems to have a lot on his mind.

snow day!

We got a bunch of snow last night. The kids were quite excited about it when they woke up. One of the boys in the neighbourhood stayed home for the day so he and Sebastian spent the day together. This gave Ayla and I plenty of time for cuddles and "ahh". The kids all played outside for the afternoon and then again in the evening. Ayla was very excited to see another "neighbour boy" who we haven't seen much of lately. I love how the kids in our neighbourhood play together. They have always included Sebastian in their play and now Ayla jumps right in. They watch out for her and are often quicker than me to remind her of various things (you know the important stuff like get off the road!) She loves the attention and rolls around and wrestles with them. Sebastian showed her how to use his snowboard tonight and she was riding down our little hill! We have all been getting rather tired of winter but today was wonderful. Many of the neighbours were out shovelling and visiting this evening. And of course, it's always nice when the kids come in and go straight to bed! Ayla actually told me that she was tired and that it was time to go up to bed. Let me tell you, Ayla does not usually say these kinds of things!

I did it!

A neighbour asked me last fall if I would be interested in doing a half-marathon running clinic with her throughout the winter. I agreed to as I thought it would be a good way to get to know her better while getting some exercise. I remember saying that I wasn't necessarily planning to run a half-marathon at the end of it. Well, throughout the clinic I actually began to realize that I could probably do one...and today I did!! Last year at this time, it was a good workout for me to run 2km! It's been a long time since I've had physical goals to achieve and damn, it feels good! I'm really looking forward to training for some triathlons this summer!

my girl

So, I was feeling a bit nervous about how Ayla would react when it was time for her to see Dr.Forte about her LM. She had been saying that she didn't like him (she hasn't seen him for a year!) and that she didn't want to go. I forgot just how confident Ayla is. She walked into the office, hopped into the big chair and started chatting away with him. She didn't flinch throughout the examination and had him charmed by the end of it. I find it so interesting to watch Ayla interact with people. She is so sure of herself and certain that people want to talk with her. (and thank goodness they usually do because she is quite persistent!) Sebastian is happy to step back and let her have the limelight while we are out in public. He actually seems to gain confidence in new situations after watching her interact. Ayla's LM has not caused her any problems this year. Dr. Forte said that he is not happy that it has come back to the extent that it has but that he is pleased with the lack of complications. I know it may cause her some problems in the future and I am grateful that she has such a strong, confident personality which I believe will help her cope well.