I have many friends (online and in real life) with kids the same age as my oldest. I continue to see things they make at school. A friend just posted some adorable valentines she made with her daughter, who is actually younger than my oldest (she's 4; my son is almost 5.5). She printed both her classmates' name as well as her own.
Andrew still can't do this.
My heart breaks for him, so much that it brings tears to my eyes. We don't make a big deal out of it, but it makes me so sad because he has dyspraxia and he can't help it, yet when I see age-appropriate handwriting from kids his age and younger, it's like a little punch to the gut. I see some progress in school with his ability to trace lines and shapes, and some with the letter tracing, too ... but he cannot outright make a letter. And he's too young to realize that it will become an issue if things can't be fixed.
The truth is, in his interdisciplinary team meeting we had in October, they seemed to give me little hope that he would be able to write.
It doesn't change my opinion of him, as I am SO proud of him for all that he is and everything he has accomoplished thus far and they have assured me that not only is he smart, but he's highly intelligent, but still . . . I think of all the things I did as a kid (writing and drawing were two of my favorite things) and I hope that he can someday do those things as well.
I don't want the other kids to treat him differently if he ends up having to use a laptop in school. I know some probably will. I know the kids in his class love him, but pre-schoolers are so innocent yet and untouched by society, almost. For example, Andrew wants to someday marry a girl in his class. She happens to be black. Kids don't see color or differences, and I love that about childhood.
To my Andrew, I love you, just as you are. I will always love you, forever.
Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Wisconsin. We actually broke the 60 degree mark for the first time since last fall (62 was the high, in fact). After work, I decided to take the kids for a walk. I put Elise on my back in the Boba carrier (I absolutely love that thing! Easiest carrier to use -- I have her on in less than 20 seconds, vs. all the fumbling I did with the ring sling). Andrew wanted to walk, or rather, run, as I quickly found out! He ran the entire three miles (3 miles! And he's 3!) without stopping. Wow. I was walking as fast as I could (and I go at a pace of about 4 miles an hour with her on my back) and he was still ahead of me the entire route. I had to yell when we would reach intersections -- I am still teaching him how to look for cars -- but he just kept his pace the whole time. When we got back to our block about 40 minutes later, he started crying because he wanted to keep going. When I say my kid has a lot of energy (and people don't generally understand HOW much energy), I mean my kid has a lot of freaking energy. I really am looking forward to getting him into sports because I think it would be a great outlet for him. Plus, Daddy is all proud because Andrew is a lefty (neither of us are, but DH's dad was) and that's apparently a good thing for baseball, especially pitchers. The Brewers could use some good players in about 20 years, eh? ;)
