David Weekly, #67

David's babysitter Jesse (who used to watch him every Saturday for me while I worked) has given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Angelina Mackenzie. I'm unsure of the spelling...but today we went for a visit. David wasn't overly interested in the sleeping baby. Maybe when she's a bit older and can move around a bit...

After a little bit of prompting from Amanda, I figured out why David didn't want to go to school. It's because he was being a bully, and kids were fighting back, hitting him in retaliation for him hitting them. I told him to stop doing that, and he said ok, he would...and he's better now. No problems with going to school at all. As part of going to school, David wants to bring his Diego bag, his "pack-pack," but at first I said no, since there's nothing to bring to school in it! So we talked to Ms. Naomi about it, and she said it just helps them feel like they're going to school. We put David's "buddy" in the pack-pack now, and he puts the Diego bag on his shoulders every day to go to school. He's getting to be a big boy!

David can read. He just doesn't know it yet. The other day in the car, he found a birthday card, and I asked him spell the words so I could tell him what they said, and instead he was sounding them out. So he knows the sounds, basic ones at least, but isn't quite able to put them together. It's just a matter of confidence now, and speeding up the sounds together to make words. I figure he'll get there in another month or two.

But he can read.

We practice reading in the books we read each night. I have David pick out a word or two in each bit of text. Sometimes he will, and other times he is unwilling. Since I don't want to make it a chore, I do what I can to make it fun for him.

Recently overheard: "I smell pizza!"

David had another wonderful night with his cousins on Tuesday night. They were taking turns riding his "car" down the driveway into the street (with me standing guard in the street, of course, to keep them from getting "squished" by cars, as David says). When it was Avery or Jared's turn, David would run down the driveway in front of them screaming at the top of his lungs. He had the best time just being as loud as possible. And he did a great job sharing, and taking turns. I was very proud of him. On Thursday night he went over to his cousins' house. He really loves to spend time with them. I do have to remind him, though, that he cannot just take whatever he sees Jared playing with. Some days that message gets through better than other days. This was a better day.

Rachel is impressed by the "grown up" language David uses, like, "You're killing me!" when he thinks something is funny. There's other things he says that are like that, very grown up sounding, very figurative language. David's sense of things is wonderful. He's very funny but doesn't realize it. He says things, and I laugh, and he wonders why I'm laughing. It's hard to think to write down those things when he says them...

And about the video games: he talks to himself (or someone) when he's playing them, or thinking about them out loud. He has begun to sing a little bit with Blue's Clues, and I may have said this before, but I watch him clap along or do whatever it is Steve says...like rest, clap - clap, rest, clap, rest...

Have a good week.