J-A-C-O-B

For all those of you who may not be abreast of the latest Facebook headlines (and those who have simply blocked me), the big news to come out of this week is that Jacob is writing his name independently! Yes, it is true! His teacher called me early in the week and said that while one of her assistants was working with him on a whiteboard he just wrote his name. She wasn't expecting him to do it, so when she recognized what he had done, she called to Mrs. Wally to come see quickly. Mrs. Wally picked up the child she was working with and carried him with her to try to see, but Jacob dutifully erased the whiteboard like he has been taught to do when he is done using it. They gave him the marker, and he wrote his name again! Mrs. Wally screamed with excitement, which made Jacob cry. She quickly gave him some gummy worms to assure him that it was a good thing, and he was pacified. Of course I immediately got Jacob and gave him a marker and a whiteboard, and he did it! J-a-c-o-b! The 'J' was pretty good, but none of the other letters lined up with it, and the rest were a little shaky, so the untrained eye might have a bit of a hard time recognizing it for what it was, but it was definitely his name. I am thrilled! For some time now I could tell that when I helped him write his name that a lot of the motion came from him, but when I'd let go he'd just start scribbling. But this time he truly did it all by himself! I tried to get him to do it for Brigham and for my parents, but he wouldn't do it either time. Perhaps he's realized the marketability of his new skill and is holding out for more gummy worms. But I've seen it with my own eyes, and I'm so proud of my Jacob. It makes me wonder what other things he will surprise us with in the future!