Emotional guy

Cam has had a tough time rejoining the family since his trip to his grandparents house. He's been very emotional. VERY emotional.

I think I may be to blame. I've let him surf the web on kid sites while he spent time in the newsroom with me at work. So he's enjoyed a brainless, non-involved time on his own. So I've tried to get him out and about at least for a little while each day. That still didn't seem to be enough to improve the whining and complaining at home. On Friday I took him out for the morning to go on a bike ride on the local bike trail and go to a park with water sprayers and a playground. I packed a lunch and everything. I was excited. I really want to bike more and it's so cool to have Cam on his bike now... Until he had to pass a person on the trail. It freaked him out and he decided he didn't want to bike. Tantrum on the trail. It was rough. I ended up pulling his access to the work computer and he snapped out of it. THEN we had fun. We enjoyed lunch, water and running around. Biking back tot he car was even great. I just don't know how to deal with his moods.

I think some of it has to do with his teeth. Those molars are moving and his front teeth are wiggling. He's lost four bottom teeth and two have poked through. He isn't sleeping as well and he's cranky. It's kind of like Cameron is the six year old version of his 4 months teethingn self. I just want to hug him when I don't want to jump off the roof when he's crying and screaming.

I'm not going to dwell on this... But someone at the university mentioned that I should consider testing Cam for ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). I'm very uncomfortable even thinking about considering treating Cam with drugs. We see so many students who are medicated. I had a friend in college who went off his long-term ADD medication while we were in school. He was so messed up. Anyway, it does confound me at times when Cameron is so highly sensitive to the smallest things and he's six years old. It made sense when he was two or three, but I'm sure it's not right for his age.

All good things must come to an end

We're packed up and getting ready to leave Maine in the morning. I'm bummed that we're leaving, but I know we're all looking forward to getting back to our lives. Cameron had a really fantastic trip. He got to know his new friend Charlie... They had a blast and Cam really got to play hard with a friend without a lot of the drama that seems to happen with a couple of kids in our neighborhood. It was pure boy stuff. Cam and Charlie climbed and explored and rode their bikes and played soccer and MAN is Cam bruised up. He has scratches and cuts from his head to his feet. Some of those injuries included crying, but a bunch of them didn't. It was pure boy fun. They even created a spy club... Something Cam's been dying to do with a friend.

What made it even better was the fact that since we're on a really quiet street and on a really small island, we were able to just let the boys run around between the two houses. They could ride their bikes, run outside and have fun. It was very cool. The only bummer: Cam had to write Charlie a goodbye note since they weren't home on our last day in town. We left my email and Cam's email so hopefully that will help them stay in touch. We're going to be in Maine later next year, so it may be less likely they will get to hang out next year. I'll hope for the best!

By the way, the top picture is Cameron at L.L. Bean's newest extension to their main building in Freeport, ME. It's a cool dome inside a trout aquarium. Super cool. Both kids really thought it was exciting. Okay. I thought it was pretty exciting too. I'll admit, I went inside it too.

Cam and I also explored the Giant Stairs after biking along the island together. It was a bit scary for a mom: there are no sidewalks so we had to ride against the island traffic. That's a little scary, but Cameron did pretty well. He did skin his knee at one point when he slide from the side of the road into some sand, but he ended up surviving that experience. In the end, he got a new bandaid and a really HUGE popsicle, so I think he didn't mind. After that experience, we rode over to the Giant Stairs: HUGE boulders at the edge of the ocean that look like they are steps. Very cool. Cam got pretty brave and started climbing around. We ended up going the next day with both kids and with my friend Eryn and her boyfriend (who is my new friend) Rick. There are just so many beautiful things to see.

On our final day, the waves were rocking outside our view from the house. The water near the rocks at the edge of the harbor were crashing. It's rarely that active when we visit so it was a great show. I pointed it out to Cameron and mentioned how we wouldn't need TV ever if we could watch that view all the time. He watched for a while and told me: "It's even better than super heroes!" I thought that was pretty cool.

Some very big news

As of yesterday, Cameron can officially....

(drum roll please)

RIDE A BIKE!!!!

Check it out:



We took Cam and Jordan out along a bike path in Brunswick, Maine this afternoon. All of this exciting bike bravery came about because of our next door neighbor Charlie. He's five and started really riding his bike a week or two ago on the road behind our coastal houses here in Maine. With Charlie riding on a bike nearby and a push of Cameron's bike by Dad to get it all started, Cameron was rolling. In less than 24 hours, Cameron was getting the bike moving on his own. During our bike trip this afternoon, Cam even steered the bike around without stopping. It's been an amazing transformation.

HOORAY! I can't wait to get out on the bike trails at home with my boy!

Look at this bravery!

There's something about becoming an almost first grader that has inspired Cam to do brave things. To celebrate the summer, we bought a thing called a skim board run. It's like a slip and slide but it lets the water sit in a shallow pool and you have 26 feet of space to skim across the water on a small surfboard thing. Cameron spent a lot of time trying to do it himself. It was amazing to watch. He was okay with falling down and laughed even when you know it had to hurt! But the bravery didn't end there.

We took a really nice (yet steamy) bike ride down the Katy Trail. Cameron is enjoying our new bike extension and it's giving our family a chance to really enjoy biking together (although Jordan doesn't like just sitting in the trailer). Cam was adventurous during the trip. He was picking up baby frogs and climbing around on a fence. Randy and I just looked at each other and asked: "Who is this kid?" I'm a fan of the adventurous Cam but it's also reason for me to be more concerned for his safety!

Getting active as best we can

I have this newish rule - We have to go outside (the kids and I and Randy if he wants) once a weekend. To help with that "rule," I bought a bike extension for my new bike so Cam could ride on our local bike trails without screaming. So the whole family jumped on board the bikes (Jordan in the bike trailer) and took a really long trek. We ended up at a local park that has a really fun water spray area. To make it even more fun, a pre-school and now elementary school friend was there so they got to enjoy the water together.

Once we talked Cameron out of the water, the whole family went to a nearby restaurant and ate outside. We kind of pushed it... It was almost dark as we rode our bikes as quickly as possible back to the the parking lot where we started. Cam pedaled as hard as he could. It was awesome. The best part was as he and I pedaled down the trail and he said: "I'm the fastest biker ever! I love biking!" I can't wait for him to feel the same way on his own bike! Until then, we finally have the ability to enjoy bikes without feeling like we're bleeding him to get from here to there. HOORAY!!

Goodbye training wheels

...and hello a new level of bravery!

Not only did Cam work on riding a bike without training wheels, he also lost his second tooth.

STOP GROWING SO FAST!!!

Growing, learning... Testing

Mister Kindergarten has talents that he's never exposed before at home. Look at this picture! It's his self portrait. It's awesome.

Cam has been REALLY busy since Kindergarten started. He has a whole bunch of friends and he's been pretty darn positive about everything he talks about at school. And I finally got Cam interested in riding his bike! On Sunday, I finally reached him as he started screaming, "I can't! I can't!" That's when I announced to Cam that I won't bike ride with him unless he changes his attitude to "I can." It worked pretty well. Instead of driving to the nearby parking lot, I got him to walk his bike up the hill we live on and then ride it almost all the way to the parking lot. We rode like crazy and I almost got him to ride all the way home on the bike. The best part: He asked to go out biking after dinner. So we did. I hooked the bike trailer to the back of Randy's bike and had Jordan join us for the ride. Cam had very few "I can'ts" and Jordan even wore her helmet the whole time without protest. It was fantastic. I'm SO thrilled to have more excuses to enjoy outside time with the kids. The best part: As Cam and I were riding down our street he looked over to me while he pedaled and said: "I love being outside." It was awesome. Then we talked about our great camping trip. It makes me all warm and fuzzy.

Of course he's still testing me. Food continues to be a big challenge. But that testing is normal stuff... And the crying and craziness is not as crazy as it has been. The funniest stuff is Cam's complaining as we walk towards school. He is a bit more motivated each morning when we walk with our neighbors. That's been an added plus to the morning walks: Grown ups to talk to!!

So that's why we stay home most days

It was a holiday... The kids got to stay home but I had to work a bit in the morning and this evening. Either way, I had the middle of the day to play. Once the kids napped (Cameron kind of half-napped, half-threw a tantrum), we set out to take a bike ride. Cam and Randy had bikes, I pushed Jordan in a stroller. I have yet to set up the baby bike trailer, but that will happen soon.

Anyway. I crave getting out on our local trails more. So I was looking forward to it even though I was a bit cranky from the challenges with Cam and my long day. The start of the bike ride/walk didn't go so well. Cameron was instantly freaked out about falling down, losing control or anything else he could cry and scream about on his bike. I know he's a careful guy, but we really want to push him to trust in himself. Pedaling isn't a death sentence!

About a mile and a half, he calmed down, pedaled hard, whined less and even went down a hill fast enough to get back up the next hill. It was exhausting. I just wish I could come up with ways to skip the screaming and crying and go straight to relaxing and having fun. It's the same thing with food. When he gets past the screaming and belief that the foreign food is horrible, he often likes it. It's a pattern I can't seem to beat.

It's because he's a big brother

My boy is big. So big. Today he went out and kept working on his pedaling skills with his dad. Then he buckled himself in with the seat belt all by himself. I talked to him on the phone as I was about to drive home and I exclaimed how I was really impressed with how big he's getting. He told me "because I'm a big brother!"

Almost 15 months into the big brother thing and he's still proud about that. That just made my heart glow with pride.

Success!

After discussing pedaling the bike over the weekend, Randy was able to get Cam to really give it a try. They packed his bike into the car and took it to a nearby parking lot. And he finally did it: pedaled up and down the lot. He was so proud that when I got home, we all packed up and drove over to watch him bike up and down the parking lot again.

I'm thrilled! He's proud. He wasn't even traumatized after falling off the bike a couple of times. I'm proud. Then he even showed Jordan how to use the bike. It was very cute. It's so great to see him try to expand his boundaries and trying harder without just quitting before he even tried.

I'll be honest. I think I know why. We've made a conscious decision to change the way we praise Cam. I found an article called How Not to Talk to Your Kids; The inverse power of praise in February's New York Magazine. We're making a conscious effort to praise Cam for his hard work and focus on learning. I really think it's making a difference. Randy doesn't think it's possible to know that our praise change is the reason why Cam is willing to work harder and not crack sooner when he takes on new tasks. But I have to think that it's helping.

Risky guy

So Cam's taking a few more risks on his "balancing bike." It's a bike that doesn't have any pedals to help him learn how to balance first. He got a real bike for Christmas, but he hasn't been convinced that learning how to pedal is the way to go.

Anyway. My mom visited this weekend and caught this moment of Cam riding his bike. Notice how she got all freaked out and I cheered:


If you can't see it, go here.