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Bruce is currently keen on many things: Legos, Sweet Caroline, reading, biking, Mario Kart, teasing Annabel, loving Levi., etc.. But he is actually obsessed with drawing and writing. A large majority of the doors in our house have quick little sketches taped on them. Anything from Halloween scenes to Astro Boy characters (Zog, Trash Can the dog and Astro Boy himself are particularly well-represented), it matters not; it’s up there for all to enjoy. Most of these little gems are very quickly produced. Maybe he’s in a hurry or maybe his aim is high output, I’m not sure. But if his goal is numbers-driven, he is batting a thousand. He also likes to use Sharpies. This gives me a heart attack on many levels, not the least of which is having pictures of Zog and Astro Boy and Halloween all over the house forever. Sometimes during his free-play at school, he’ll draw pictures for us and put captions on them: “For Mom Love Bruce” ,“I Love You Dad From Bruce.” It’s like getting little love letters. He loves writing his name on everything (even our dirty car) as well as the names of his brother and sister. I must say, this is a fun stage. I’m thoroughly enjoying myself. :)

We had our first parent-teacher conference with Bruce’s teachers this week and it was great. I love this kind of thing; sitting down on the tiny chairs, seeing Bruce’s improvements so far, chatting with the teachers about shoes.... All the teachers had glowing reports of good behavior, enthusiasm, listening in class, enthusiasm, expressive facial features, enthusiasm and hard work to tell. And also enthusiasm. His reading/writing teacher said his reading has really taken off lately and he is improving everyday. His art teacher said he is beginning to take more care with his art, coloring in the lines and just generally slowing down and enjoying the journey, so to speak. His math teacher said he is doing well, remembers a lot and also that he likes to be first--I have NO idea where this trait originated. None, at all-- so that sometimes he makes a few mistakes in order to be the first one done. And that’s true. He does like to be at the head of the line. We’re trying to help him understand the concept of being right rather than being first. That’s a biggie. But overall, he’s a great little student and enjoying every second of life.

Random story of Bruce: last week Bruce was having an off morning. He was uncharacteristically weepy, so I should have known he didn’t feel good, but we decided to take him to school anyway. Just as soon as he walked in the door, his teacher reported, he threw up right on the floor. She called me on my cell, which I had left on the kitchen counter, so when I got home and heard the beeping of the answering machine, I knew exactly who it was. I turned back around to go pick up Bruce and there he was, sitting calmly on the chair in the front office/sitting area. He had thrown up once more, but was very collected. On the way home he said he felt like he needed to throw up again, so I pulled over and helped him lean over the concrete barrier. After the deed, he just put his little elbow up on the barrier and tucked his hand under his chin and, with a quizzical look on his face said, “Are we almost home?” That’s it. So calm. The only thing that upset him that day was the fact that he couldn’t touch Levi. I told him he had to keep a little distance so he didn’t pass a some illness to Levi and he was beside himself with grief, reaching out toward him and crying his eyes out. Oh, it was so cute. And also a little frustrating because he kept trying to sneak in a snuggle. :) Good news: Levi didn’t get sick, but he does still spit up a lot.