Today Sebastian finished his week of day camp. He went with a friend. It was his first all-day camp and he had a blast. The camp is a private one, run on a farm. He swam, canoed, saw the animals, sang lots of songs and did lots of hiking. They also have archery and mountain biking but due to the amount of rain this week, the younger group didn't fit those activities in. Sebastian was excited to ride the bus to and from camp and every meal he ate there was described as "the best ever!" He's already talking about next year.

Ayla got to spend time with her babysitter this week, in the mornings, while I got lots of cleaning and organizing done. She loved the attention of course. Today, it was just her and I. It's great to have that time with her, when things can be done at her pace, without her always feeling the need to keep up with Sebastian.

A new camera!!

Oscar and I went out (by ourselves!!) today and purchased a new camera. We've been without one for the last two months and I've been eager to get one to capture some of our summer pictures. Ayla was a willing model for me as I tried it out today. We also took some of Sebastian at soccer. Including one right before the goalie kicked the ball which him in the face and cut his lip. Last time he played, he hit heads with another player. Poor kid!

reading and math

I've been noticing in the past two months that Sebastian has been reading words here and there. Today he realized that he could read the words "play all" on a dvd. He then told me that he had been reading a book with Meredith (I had seen them on the couch at the cottage together - very sweet!). He said that once Meredith told him what some words said, he was able to remember them and that he could recognize the word go, whether written with an uppercase or lowercase g. He seemed excited by this so I asked him if he would like some readers like Meredith's and he quickly answered yes. I'm eager to see where this leads for him. He has been showing more and more signs of wanting to learn to read but never in such an obvious way.

He, Meredith and Nell were also really into doing chores to raise money for a dinghy. This lead to counting their money and tallying it up. Sebastian had spent much time with a math story book on this a few months ago which had lead to him learning to count by 5's, 10's and 100's. We had looked at the way you can add columns of numbers but he had never been interested in actually trying any on paper. He seemed interested in watching as I showed them how I was adding up the numbers and they both helped me. I've really been feeling that he might be ready to learn some more math concepts and more difficult operations. He has been practising adding into two digit numbers by himself. It can get confusing for him using his fingers so I think it might be time to pull out the cuisenaire rods. I got them late last fall but he was not interested at the time so I put them away for a bit. He really has seemed to be inspired by the nicer weather these last few weeks. He's moving away from technology (craving lots of video games and computer time) and remembering all of the many other things he loves to do.

balance

I've been having a very difficult time this spring finding the right balance between everyone's needs, housework, and really just life in general. I've often felt that we have been too busy, even as nothing seemed to be getting done. Today, finally, we had a day that just felt right. Our plans changed several times as the day went on, due to the weather, but that just made things easier. I've really been struggling with trying to figure out how much autonomy I want Sebastian to have and at the same time, being comfortable and supportive with his decisions.

Today I did a bit more of telling him what we were going to do (read stories, clean up, go outside for a snack, just basic stuff) and of course it lead to him spending more time with Ayla. I think what happened is Ayla then spent less time being pesky trying to get his attention. (although one time she attached a belt to a board he was hammering and kept on pulling it away from him - I had to giggle to myself at that one!)

Ayla didn't nap which was nice and I think led to even more housework getting done as I engaged her to keep her busy and happy. I think I'm going to try to encourage this type of routine more throughout the summer and see how it works for us.

my 3 year old

Ayla, you are three today. In so many ways I just can't believe you are three already and in so many ways, I just can't believe you're only three! You are such an incredible person of energy and charisma. Every day you amaze me and challenge me. Your opinions are strong, your will even stronger. You love people. I was talking with Sebastian yesterday and we both agreed that in your eyes, you've never met a stranger. You routinely stand on our sidewalk and talk to everyone who passes, whether on foot, bike or car. You are so sure that everyone wants to talk to you! I love the confidence that you have.

You've been going through a period lately, where you want me close to you most of the time. I've been really trying to embrace this and enjoy it, because I know it will be all too fleeting. Happy Birthday my crazy girl! I love you!!

LM

So I noticed last night that Ayla is showing signs of her LM (lymphatic malformation) in the left side of her mouth now. There are little bumps that look like frog eggs. I know from a support group on Yahoo that is the typical appearance. I didn't have a surge of anxiety when I discovered it (unlike when I first found that her cyst had grown back after her surgery). I have found my mind returning to it several times though so I guess I'm not as relaxed about it as I thought last night.

It doesn't change anything for her right now. It's not really noticeable (I have noticed some slight swelling around her mouth which I guess is related to that, but really, only I would notice I think). She's never had an infection in her LM, which is rare. It's been great because infections often mean lots of antibiotics and steroids. Now that she has it in her mouth, I'm worried that the infections will be much more likely (so many germs). A big fear for me is that she will end up with it in her tongue. The kids that have it in their tongue seem to suffer a lot (pain, swelling, bleeding, appearance). I've always felt reassured that it was just in her cheek, so far away from her tongue. The thing with LM is you never know where it might appear next. It doesn't spread. All the LM she has, she was born with. However, there is no way to tell where the malformed tissue is until it begins to fill with fluid. There is also no way to tell when the affected areas might begin to fill and swell.

If she does have problems with it, from what I've read, surgery isn't a great option. I think sometimes they can use lasers to temporarily help. Anyways, I need to not dwell on that. Hopefully, she will have no problems with it and now that I've written all these worries down, hopefully I can let go of them!

sick girl

I got home from a homeschool meeting last night to find that Ayla had a stomach bug. She had a wakeful night and was sick several times. Luckily Oscar was home and he took Sebastian to a concert that we had tickets for. Ayla and I stayed home and enjoyed lots of "ahh" and stories. As we were laying in bed, Ayla looked at me and said, "Me lucky". I said, "You are? Why are you lucky?" "Cause me here". Melted my heart!