Naps and Letters

Showing off his muscles.

Jason tried to get Leif to come snuggle and nap with him one afternoon. But Leif refused.
So, I put Dumbo on for him, and shortly after the opening credits were done, I peeked in on him and this is what I saw: Asleep at the computer! He was so small and elfy! I picked him up and brought him to bed, where Jason was already sleeping, and I snuggled him in.

Mmm...doesn't that look snuggly sweet? Even Giraffe seems content!

This picture, I took today. It makes me laugh every time I see it because of his expression.

Yesterday, Leif and I went to Nana and Papa's house to visit. I packed up the car with a lot of my childhood things: dolls I had collected (Madame Alexander) and just little things - some of which I'd completely forgotten about, but was happy to find again. We ended up cleaning out the closet of my old room, which had become the toy closet for all of the grandbabies as soon as I left it! It was chock-a-block full of toys - all cluttered and jumbled together in a big mess. I found something I'd been looking for for a long time - my russian nesting dolls that I'd bought at a Russian Czars field trip in the early 90s. Only part of the doll was there, so I kept going through the laundry basket of little tiny toys hoping to find the rest. As I was doing that, I sorted out the Legos, Fisher-Price toys, matchbox cars, etc. in to little groups. Before I knew it, I was pulling everything out and sorting and decluttering. A few hours later, the whole closet was cleaned up.

One of the things Leif brought home, although I didn't want him to, was this giant set of magnetic numbers, letters, and shapes. We already have sets like this at home, so -sigh- more clutter.

But today, I was kind of glad we had them because he started gathering all the little pieces, and began to place them very strategically on the fridge. It took a good part of the morning, examining each piece, telling stories to himself as he put them up (I heard him talking about people and sidewalks, elephants and countertops, although I wasn't sure what he was saying about all of it together), and re-arranging them until he stood up and proudly announced, "Ta-da! I'm finished!"

I found the whole thing very interesting - how he'd put such careful thought in to each piece. The only thing I really understood was that the big set of shapes on the left (closet to him in the pic) was a picture of him (he kept saying his full name - first middle last - while he was building that part) complete with, as he told me, his "sandal shoes" :)

Personally, I think this little color "drawing" on the fridge is indicative of his comprehesion level stepping up a notch. I can't put my finger on it exactly right now, but I think in time, I'll understand it more. I've noticed lately that his behavior has changed (for the better) - finally, Bye-Bye Terrible Twos! (knock on wood) and that he listens more (if I say "Stop" there is a chance he might actually stop whereas before? No way!)

This change excites me because we're preparing to start homeschooling soon, so I feel like the time to strike is now - while the iron is hot. I think he is entering a sensitive phase (although for what exactly, I'm not sure) so I'm going to try to take every advantage of that.

And if nothing else, he's clearly not colorblind. ;)