Bless his (nutty) little heart

Any of you who actually hang out with my family know that Spencer is the kid that refuses to be put in any sort of Ansari Box. Max and Cal look alike, talk alike, play alike and are closer to twins that the twins. Leo looks like another carbon copy of those two, and his disposition so far seems to be following suit - layed back, happy and go-with-the-flow.

Spencer refuses to be lumped into the anonymity. The current

 theories on his path in this life include actor, musician, artist... anything that includes passion for what you do and a refusal to compromise on the way you see the world. As you can imagine, these characteristics in a 3-year-old can be somewhat challenging at times. He colors with wild abandon... paper optional. Drawing on one's own chest is a personal favorite. He flies into your face for hug, with little regard for your nose. He weeps with true devastation when he can't find his blanket, tears pouring down his face (uh, spencer, your blanket is 1 foot behind you...).

He used to have minimal ability to take redirection (no really, you DO have to get dressed, really), but is now taking some pleasure in pleasing others. After a grim breakdown over putting on his own shoes (I CAN'T DO IT!!!!), he has proudly donned them independently for the last 3 days and is thrilled with his little self.

My favorite recent Spencer task showed that he is starting to get a sense for some degree of order in the world. It was more a "letter of the law" than spirit, but it still gave me a sense that if we say something 129485 times, he will get it:

We came home to our squeaky clean home, having emphasized to the kids that we really are trying to keep the house clean. He proudly tromped his muddy little shoes over to the boot tray that Omar had put in the entrance (~5 feet from the door), tromped a second path of muddy little prints back to the front door, put the tray down, then stood on it to take off his shoes. He was so proud of himself, having taken those shoes off RIGHT ON THE TRAY that daddy had set out.

I gave him a huge hug, thanked him for doing so well, and then went to find a mop...