A week

It's been a very busy week so we haven't had much time for blogging. Here's a quick catch-up of this past 7 days. 

Sunday....

We 'enjoyed' yet another snowstorm last Sunday. Gah!! It was wet, heavy snow and we fully expected to lose power. Thankfully we didn't! It was just the right kind of snow for a snowman, though. So just before it got dark Raf, Rich, and I headed outside to build Raf's very first snowman. I know that must sound unbelievable given Raf is growing up in Maine, but we always seem to get the powdery stuff that doesn't work well for snowballs, etc. We had a lot of fun!

Sensible Charlie stayed in the warm with his Nana :)

Monday....

Monday is my very long day at work as I teach an evening class. The boys dropped me off at work and they then collect me and we have a very late dinner. I basically just get home in time to put Charlie to bed. Here he is.. happy boy!

Tuesday....

On Tuesday I took Rafi into my friend and colleague's Human Development class. The students were finishing up a unit of work on child development so Raf was invited in so they could see development in action! Frankly I didn't know how it would go. He is not the shyest kid but he's also not the most gregarious. When we first went in he was very shy but he soon became very comfortable. Nancy asked if he could draw his family on the chalkboard, which he did. he did such a nice job. He kept on starting with the body of the person and would say, 'oh no, I have to do a circle for the head'! He'd then rub out the body (i.e the line) and would start again. I was so proud of him!

He then showed the class how to play with trains and cars (and banged his head in the process), and showed them how to run like a horse and choo choo like a train. I was just so proud. He was so funny and sweet. The students really seemed to love him. 

He drew a brilliant picture for my office door!

Wednesday...

On Wednesday evening Raf had his first swim lesson (well, the first one in a long while). He really loves the water - and during the summer he was pretty fearless as he played in the sea. Since Raf does gym on a Saturday morning we've not been able to enroll him in a swim class as they're generally on a Saturday morning, too. But we decided to join the local Y and then have lessons throughout the week. 

Raf was really brave getting in the water and did really well getting his face and head wet. He was much more cautious during the swim parts and sort of clung to me the entire time. Jumping in the water at the end of the class, though, was super fun and he again showed little fear. I think it went well for a first class. He's really eager to return!!

Thursday...

I was a bit poorly on Thursday so I stayed at home and worked. It was lovely to have some extra Charlie cuddle time. Here he is sporting an old outfit of Rafi's gifted to us by some lovely friends Maggie and Greg. Rafi and Charlie really look so much alike!

I got to pick up Rafi on Thursday, too. One of his teachers was still there and told me that they'd been testing the kids on their numbers and letters. Dan, the teacher, said they were really excited by Raf's performance. He knew all his letters - and to make sure it wasn't just from memory, they mixed up the order and did a few other things. Dan said they'd all been really impressed. I have to admit that given Raf's speech issues it's been a relief to see him flourishing at preschool. He is doing so well with his drawing, letters, numbers, and imaginative play.. such a funny and smart little boy. 

Friday....

A busy day for me but I managed to snap a quick shot of Charlie sleeping.

Saturday...

We also had a busy Saturday. This morning me, Rafi and Charlie headed to Raf's gym class. Raf moved up to the big kids' class so I can no longer go in and watch him, but I could see through the window that he was having a super time. After a trip to the library with Rich, Raf was pretty tired but he had fun being wheeled around the house in his nana's suitcase!

Charlie was also pretty tired so he and I took a quick nap upstairs.

This evening Raf did a lot of racing around pretending he was a racing car. He ran nonstop for abot 20 minutes. Afterwards he helped Nana to wash-up. Aside from one broken plate and a flooded kitchen floor he did really well. He then spent a good long while pretending the pans were his trains. We could hear him re-creating some Thomas the Tank Engine stories from the living room... "Spencer, you're soaking wet! Get out of the water you're sinking, Thomas... oh dear, buff my buffers..." When he was finished he said to me and Nana, 'We'll leave the pans for Rich".