Quite an adventure

Cameron is about to settle back into a normal pattern of school after a very exciting two weeks of Winter vacation. Along with the chance to play outside in the warm air of Florida, swim in pools (warm and cold), play in the waves of the ocean AND play at Disney... He pushed his comfort envelope in so many ways.

I am so proud.

But the moment I keep thinking about was while we were on the beach in South Florida. We were all enjoying the beautiful Christmas day. I was sitting on the sand and making sure Jordan stayed away from the dead jellyfish that were scattered here and there while watching Cam play in the waves. Randy was relaxing on a towel while my brother was reading a book. Suddenly I looked and watched Cameron start to run down the beach. I figured he wouldn't go far... but he did. He kept running and running and running. And I got nervous. The mommy in me was a little freaked about my not-so-great swimming son running away down the beach. He might get hit by a wave or start playing somewhere and I wouldn't be able to get there to him fast enough. You know, the mommy mind is kind of mean once you start to worry.

Anyway. He kept running.

He looked so free. So carefree. So happy.

In a tiny corner of my mind I wanted to just let him go. I know he must have felt an incredible freedom that you can only feel on a long and warm beach.

But the mommy in me couldn't let it continue. I ran after him as fast as I could. I screamed as loud as I could to get him to stop. And I must have looked scared because Cameron got upset once I reached him. He was sorry. He didn't mean to.

I understand. I really do. But he has a little more growing to do before he starts running the beach on his own. But when he can, I hope he can continue to run free like that. And it made me want to do that same. I wish I could escape and just run sometimes. I'm glad Cam got to... even if it was for a short time.

Bravery on levels we've never seen

The moment we got to South Florida, Cameron was a different kid -- A kid who jumps into the pool (a really cold pool):

After that, it got even more interesting. He rode his bike all over my parents' neighborhood... And then we went to Disney World.

Cam went down ALL kinds of rollercoasters. He can actually boast riding every roller coaster in the Magic Kingdom in one day. From the Goofy's Barnstormer to Space Mountain. Pretty awesome... And it seems like he's interested in riding many more in the future. I'm pretty excited!

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!

Super cool

I took Cam to the pool this afternoon to enjoy some real vacation time. He and I went to a local indoor pool since it was raining outside. This was the first time he and I have gone to a pool where we actually had fun!!

We floated around (he used a kick board a lot) and get this: HE EVEN WENT DOWN THE SUPER HUGE SLIDE! Not once. Not twice. He went down FOUR times! I'm so proud. He's still not a pro at swimming yet, but he's getting braver every moment. I'm really excited.

Plus, we had some fun Cam and Mom time. That's also pretty great!

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!