Oh, my little Asher Lev.

And no, my son’s name isn’t Asher, it’s just a reference to my favorite book in the entire world.

Considering that both his daddy and I are artists, we get really excited about watching our little boy display signs of creativity.  I hope to raise all of my children in a home where art is encouraged rather than stifled, because I know how precious unhindered creativity is to the soul.  Of course, we won’t force them to be artists, because that’s not the point either.

Our little boy is a collector, he gathers various things around the house and holds on to them all day long.  It’s not uncommon for him to store the most random things in his favorite places, like his little bus or the shoe box that holds his collection of matchbox cars.  On any given day, you would find some of the following: the letter T puzzle piece, the tiny little Santa that broke off a Christmas ornament (his fault), some random tag from his train pajamas, a few cars, a handful of animals, and a pencil.

He would carry a pencil  around all day long and  for a while we let him, until he discovered that a blank sheet of paper was very similar to a white wall, and suddenly the entire apartment had become his canvas. Naturally, this delights my creative soul, but we try to deter wall art, at this point.   So,  we gave him a white colored pencil and broke off the lead.  Tricky, tricky.  Point for us.

He prefers pencils to crayons. If given a choice, he will always choose the pencil.   He also prefers to draw with you, rather than to sit and draw alone.   At first, this annoyed me, because the very idea of letting him draw was so I could accomplish something else.  Yet, the more I think about it, I love that art is a special thing we do together and he really enjoys it. Quality time at its best.  I mean, daddy is better at playing cars or piggy back rides, but drawing with my son, I can do that.  He could sit on my lap for the longest time drawing and scribbling all over the page.

Two days ago, we  sat down and I drew all of his favorite things like: trains, dogs, cats, cars, monkeys, and birds.   I also spelled out each word because he’s picking up letters all the time.  Then we spent forever pointing at each item as he named them all, over and over.    He carried around the picture for the rest of the day. 

And just a while ago,  he scribbled on a paper, pointed and said, “choo-choo.”  He repeated himself until I acknowledged that his masterpiece was indeed a choo-choo.  After my praises, he did his little, “I’m so proud of myself” shrug.

My heart melted again. 

And since this blog is the place where I document and remember this beautiful life, I just had to share.

{Liv