we're all enjoying the world cup at the moment, including xavier... i think he thinks it's a game unto itself - as in 'let's play world cup'... the key feature being the commentary and the numbers on the shirts...

but he does enjoy football, and we enjoy being out playing with him... we've watched some highlights and he is beginning to understand the concepts...

xavier has progressed well at school, with his drawings beginning to look like things... he's even got in trouble with the teacher for pushing, and had the courage to tell us about it... we're trying to get him moving on his number and letter recogntion skills - he's lagging a bit - i can understand how people eventually push their kids too far, in not wanting them to be behind others - is this the thin edge of the wedge?

he is developing some computer skills, thanks to his new computer (an old eMac) and some educational software... still loves thunderbirds, and has moved on completely from watching thomas, although he still loves playing with trains

xavier is growing up really fast, with an increasing vocubulary and improved hand eye coordination

he has started playing football on friday afternoons at nick corrigan's football school, and loves it, enjoying playing with the ball, learning skills and running around non-stop...

xavier is such a good biy with olivia, taking care of her, looking out for her, and trying not to get frustrated when we can't play with him, or when olivia interferes with his games

at scholl, he has made a few friends - kane, sean, ben, sam, ella, alex to name some - recently he went over for a playdate (by himself) at kane's house - at one point, kane went to his room for quiet time, but unperturbed, xavier just kept on playing with kane's mum, apparently with non-stop chatter, as is his way

xavier is very independent and is perfectly fine on his own for sleepovers whether at either grandparents or cousins

he is still very thin, with most of his pants falling off him at some point - and belts are a pain especially when toilets are involved!

he absolutely loves his lego - it's full sized stuff, but already he i s showing fine motor skills and excellent creativity

not sure how quickly he is developing at school, but he'll fins his own way to do things in his own time

xavier's capacity for conversation never ceases to amaze - he really picks up everything, to the extent that we will have stop watching telly in the living room after he goes to bed in case he hears something inappropriate...

meanwhile, although we don't get much feedback from xavier regarding his days at kindy (what did you do - nothing.... who did you play with? - can't remember etc), he has established a marvellous imitation of his teacher - she sometimes comments on a kid's shoes or haircut, by saying 'love the haircut, lovin' it' - now xavier says more or less the same thing - has to be heard to be appreciated...

last week was xavier's last day at daycare - it was emotional (mainly for us) but also for the carers, who have been like a second family for him over the past 3 years.

they did a great job, and xavier seemed so happy there - he also made lots of really good friends, and hopefuly he will still be able to catch up with some now and again.

next week is xavier's first week of kindy - in the leadup it's like he's transformed into the world's best kid - he is so polite, and is constantly telling us how much he loves us all.. very sincerly!... it's amazing to observe... he got a letter from his kindy teacher this week as well, saying she's looking forward to seeing him!

xavier is really into star wars these days, even though he has never seen any of the movies, he makes up stories with figures and insists i read him star wars books - all he knows is there are battles, and destruction and killing... nice