Alden in January 2008

I really hate to brag, unless it is of course about my kids. I really think I have the most amazing kids alive! It is so much fun to watch all the things that they do and say. Alden has really amazed me since we got back from Utah. It seems like he has just taken a gigantic leap in his cognitive and fine motor abilities. When Alden started Kindergarten, he could read, but his writing was not that good. For example, he knew how to spell his name and the order the letters went in, but when it came to writing it on paper, he would put a huge A in the middle of the paper, and then the rest of his letters were written in a random order around the A. When we got back from Utah, I had him write a journal entry. It is as follows:
The amazing thing to me about this is for most of the words, he sounded them out himself and wrote this on his own. I should probably scan in one of his writings from even the beginning of December to really see the progress, but I am so proud of him for improving so much!


Also when we got back from Utah, we had a little Christmas celebration at with Grandpa Monday and Abuelita. We had such a fun time opening presents and sharing Christmas cheer. We actually ordered Alden and Thobe a big box of superheros that didn't get to us until after Christmas. We had them open that in Toledo. Alden was so, so, SO excited. He told Michael, "Oh Papi, esto es mi tesoro (Oh Papi, this is my treasure)." Whenever he refers to it, he calls it his treasure.




The other thing that is so amazing about Alden is his faith. On Tuesday, I went to Walmart in Findlay, and to make a long story short, somewhere between the checkout and my car, I lost my wallet and realized it when I was almost home. I was very distraught about losing my wallet and that afternoon was a little short with the kids. I realized that I was wrong and said, "I'm sorry guys, but I lost my wallet and am worried about it." Alden immediately said, "Maaaom, I know how you can find your wallet. You can ask Heavenly Father, and he'll find your wallet for you." I told him that I had already said a bunch of prayers, but maybe he needed to ask Heavenly Father too. Alden then offered the sweetest prayer, asking God to help us find my wallet. Within a few hours, my wallet all intact was returned to me. Alden and I offered a prayer of thanksgiving for help in finding my wallet. I often worry in situations like that, "What if we never find it," but I am reminded that with the faith of a child great things can happen. My wallet is proof of that.


This week (January 14-17, 2008) Alden has been student of the week at school. He has really loved being the special student. Yesterday, his teacher let him show and explain to the class all the pictures that he brought in and read his favorite Spanish book to the class. After he finished reading, she called the principal down and had him read it to him. He was so very excited. Mrs. Curl, his teacher, called me last night and told me how great he was at explaining his pictures. She also said that he told the class that he was wearing all blue today and that since his shirt is blue, his eyes were also blue that day. He said, "Now if I were wearing my green button-up shirt, my eyes would be green." She said it was so cute and that the class loved it when he read to them in Spanish. It was really great. He loves school so much and is doing so well!