Surprise!

Reuben went through a growth spurt, and it was so fast that we didn't even notice it.

Earlier this week he told Justin he could spell his name. "R-E-U-What comes next? Oh! B-E-N." I'm sure someone else taught him that, and the field is narrowed because much like me, most people don't think that the biblical way is the only way to spell things. He doesn't do it consistently (hence no video) but he has done it a few time, he does it right only when it is not prompted by one of us.

I left Reuben coloring to go get my cereal, when I came back the picture to the right was laying on the floor. I asked Reuben if Daddy drew it, and Justin and Reuben said, "No." Reuben then told us that it was Mike Wazowski and Sulley. Sulley is on the right, and just a little taller (notice the spots, Reuben was very specific about the spots.)

I was talking to my friend Tara when her daughter started to pick up all the orange squares from Reuben's shape puzzle and gave them to her. She mentioned she loved it when kids did really left brained things out of the blue. And I thought for a second, and realized Reuben doesn't do those kind of things un-prompted. He can do them, but I have to say, "Give me all the white diamonds." He builds robots and rockets with those shapes (looks at wholes), he doesn't sort them (looks at parts). Reuben tells stories, and describes imagined movies, and is constantly running from monsters. He wants to hear the story, and understand why this one is sad, or what this one sounds like when he talks. Being mostly right brained myself I have always been jealous of those people who can do the left brained stuff, so while I am pleased Reuben is taking after his forefathers and mothers, I do worry about how hard it will be for him to do those things that don't come naturally (because really they seem to be what is valued most in the education system.)