4! 3! 2! 3! 4!

Xavier is learning to count. He can count up to eight in order but when he gets excited his numbers get mixed up. One of his new favorite things during the bedtime routine is standing on the bed yelling out numbers and then jumping up just enough to bend his legs and bounce down on the bed. Tonight the numbers were 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, jump!

We have finally found a goodnight routine that works for all of us. We all lie down in the bed after saying family prayer and ask Xavier about his day. He tells us things he did or people he played with and we prompt him to say as much as he can. Then we sing a few fun songs and finally, a calm song, I am a Child of God. Then we all get up and Xavier gets goodnight kisses as he settles into his little bed by the door. We kiss him good night, leave the door slightly open, and he goes to sleep on his own, comfortably knowing that we are there for him. It is a very welcome change! It's interesting how each new stage with a child brings at least some resolution of old challenges.

Xavier has now moved into a very imaginative stage of life, where he makes his cars have conversations, pretends to feed them, etc. We often have his extra "guests" at the dinner table. If you look carefully at the picture below, you can see that Xavier made sure his cars were each given some banana before he was ready to pray.