My boy

Today he graduates from his Waldorf play group where he has spent two years growing and learning. He was almost 4 when he started and oh what a difference these two years have made for him, now he is right in the middle of finding who he is in all of his boy-glory! Sometimes I still catch glimpses of the baby that he once was, but more often now I see pieces of the young man that he is growing into.

 These past few months have been full of milestones for him. He has learned how to ride his two wheeled bike...

Mastered the big monkey bars....

grown by leaps and bounds (almost 2 inches in 8 months), practiced his fearlessness in every direction...

and got his first pet, this little guy...

a small frog named "froggy" that we found during a walk in the New Jersey woods here....

While Jasper was learning to ride his bike a beautiful thing happened, we were over in the park and Jasper had just taken his first few unassisted rides on his bike. He was feeling so proud and delighted, and then a huge Hawk flew over head and landed in a tree close to us on a low branch. The Hawk quickly drew a crowd, and we all watched the magnificent bird for a while. Now when I think about Jasper learning to ride his bike, the Hawk appearing right afterwards is linked in my memory and there is something very meaningful there for me.

Like a talisman for my boy, a special protector and guide.