Author: Jodi

Lately Xander is all about: buttoning (his favorite pajamas and shirts to wear are button-down); changing clothes (he changes clothes just for the fun of it several times a day); running naked around the house (as much as he’s into the mechanics of clothes with buttons and zippers and changing his look, he’s even more into stripping down and streaking the house); writing his name; working puzzles of the United States; doing jumping jacks (he gets a big smile on his face and says, “Mommy, can I show you this?” and launches into the most joyful set of jumping jacks you’ve ever seen); and measuring his fullness at each meal by placing his hand at varying heights on his body and saying, “I’m full up to here.”

Here are a few of his most recent sayings:

“What happens when you be with God? I want to be with God because I love God.”

Mommy: “Are you a free spirit?”
Xander: “No. I’m a naked spirit.”

“Georgia! That’s where (Curious) George lives!”

Xander has exploded onto the writing scene all of a sudden. On Thursday, when I picked him up from school, I saw the sweetest art display in the hallway outside of his classroom, where his teachers had written the names of all of the children in their class and the kids had tried to write their names above the teacher-written names. I was totally floored to see that Xander had written his name!!!

He’s been working on writing different letters here and there since this summer, but this was the first time I’d seen him write more than one letter in succession. I guess when it clicks…it clicks. (His preschool teachers started the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum this semester.) It’s funny how things go…I had just picked up a HWT workbook and flip crayons from our preschool director a few weeks ago and talked with her about Xander’s learning style. She had some brilliant suggestions for working with his personality including letting him try letter writing on cookie sheets filled with salt or shaving cream, chalkboards, dry erase boards, or magnetic boards because they’re not as committal and permanent and intimidating as pencil and paper. Amazingly enough…without having even talked with Tom about it…he brought home a combination chalkboard/dry erase board easel that afternoon that he found on free cycle for the boys. And they are all having a blast with it…Xander especially. Here he is with a few things he came up with this weekend:

After one visit with his godmother, Mrs. Lynne, who is a speech therapist, Xander said a handful of words beginning with the letter W for the very first time. Fast forward a few short months and he’s voluntarily saying his W’s every day all day long..it’s so exciting to hear and it’s so sweet to see the smile on his face when he realizes he’s made that sound connection.
He continually blesses us all with his precious heart and sweet spirit. I love this recent quote from him:
“The rain already washed off the chalkboard for us. Thank you, rain.”