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!

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!