It's Friday! The end of another week. I am trying to learn so much from H. This week over dinner one night we had a great talk about math, about how much a ton is and the weight limits on bridges and what they mean. It was wonderful to listen to his thoughts and how much he has thought about these things. Yesterday he called his grandma and pretty much read her the book we have about really big numbers, he just wanted to share them with her. I am really trying to listen to him and his needs and wants before my controlling instincts take over. I try not to control his food too much, but it's true I won't let him eat ice cream for breakfast, or cupcakes, but when I can I let him explore his limits. He has always been a good eater and if given a choice between candy and fruit he always chooses the fruit. I am a candy freak so we have always had candy. Soda, I am not real big on soda, so we don't typically have it around the house. When we go out I let him choose what kind he wants to get. I know I could be less controlling so that he could learn more, but I do tell him why I want to limit certain foods. I am just learning so much now that I have allowed myself to open up to him. It is amazing, when I slip into that teacher mode that we did for the last 2 years, he just disappears. He will do what I ask him to do, but we stop being authentic with each other and the trust disappears. The hardest part for me is that I watch a 16 month old little boy who takes up my time. But who knows maybe even if I didn't watch him, maybe I still wouldn't have the time that I feel I need to spend the time exploring and learning with H. I have so enjoyed the times so far that we have had learning and playing together. If only he just wanted to write down his ideas. I am still asking him to write a journal every evening. I am trying to model writing in a journal for him, and how much I enjoy it, but it is so hard to trust that he will want to do it too. I need to figure out what he would want to say if really given the chance to write something and how he would want to do it, what medium..... Ah well, it's been a really good year so far. I am trying to keep my worrying down to a minimum, because he really is learning, it's just not like in a school.