Colors, originally uploaded by cheryl.
This photo made me smile. Xander actually looking (and smiling) for the camera. That's been a long time coming. He usually is too interested in the camera, or looking at the letters on the front of the camera, to allow for a decent shot. His nose is usually pressed up to the lens. But here he was, sitting at the computer, smiling and looking up at me with his big brown eyes. I LOVE it!
Of course, I also love that he has connectible toys on each of his fingers. That's imaginative play, right? You're supposed to connect them into long trains of cars, boats and ... well ... trains. He opted for something different. And he even attempted to play computer games with them on his fingers. And actually managed it quite well, considering. Seeing those fingers (and those toys) work the mouse was entertaining, to say the least.
With Sawyer and Xander, there are phases that they go through. Certain toys or certain behaviors that dominate their days. They change from time to time, sometimes weekly, sometimes daily, sometimes after a few months. Xander often spells. That's his thing. Lately, he's been picking up on some new things at school and those are carrying over at home.
He's a bit of a show off, actually.
He counts to 31, with a little help. Can you imagine why he does that? He LOVES calendar at school. We count the days of the month. He also knows the days of the week. And the months of the year. In order, of course.
He still spells. All the time.
He also sings. That's relatively new. He loves the songs from his favorite children's shows - Special Agent Oso and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse are two of his all-time favorites. He also sings a bunch that I don't know, which are probably from school. And he knows them all, word for word, and runs through them faster than even I could if I tried.
And last, but not least, he knows his colors. He is obsessed with colors lately. And that's what his connectible toys are to him - constantly changing and rearranging colors. He puts them on his fingers, then comes to you and tells you all the colors in order (and you must repeat each one back to him, or he will keep saying it until you do). And after he's gone through it, he quickly goes and gets more. And the process starts all over again.
So many new things lately, all coming one after the other. And so fun to watch as the world opens up for him. There are still obsessions, still struggles. But the words are multiplying, the speech (even though often scripted) is being used effectively and appropriately. Progress ... slowly but surely ... progress.