Heavy Lifter

James went back to school today after a week off for spring break. He spent his break helping our mom and grandma with a backyard landscaping project. James was proud that he could do the heavy lifting. He likes to pull up his sleeves and show off his biceps, especially to cute girls at school. A typical response is, "Ohhh, very nice James."

James is anxiously anticipating the arrival of his niece and is frustrated that we can't tell him what date she will be born. We had this conversation last night:

James: When in April is my niece born?
Me: She has to decide when she is ready.
James: Show me on the calendar.
Me: I can't. It may be earlier in April or it may be later in April.
James: Earlier?

James showing off his landscaping project 

Are You Going to Die?

Like the rest of our family, James misses grandpa Jerry. Since we lost our grandpa in October, James has been trying to make sense of what death is. How do you explain something that you can never completely understand yourself? Yesterday our mom took James to the eye doctor. In the doctor's office James spotted a woman in a wheelchair on oxygen. Ignoring our mom's protests, James repeatedly asked the woman, "Are you going to die?" Our mom explained to the woman that James was autistic and was still upset about losing his grandpa who was also on oxygen. The woman said she recognized James as autistic as she had worked with autistic children in the past. The wait for James' appointment was painfully long.

I'm Like Michael Jordan

My favorite conversations are with James:

Me: James, have you been dressing out for gym?
James: Yes. We are practicing basketball. I'm like Michael Jordan.
Me: Okay, I will see you later.
James: What about Easter?
Me: I think the Easter Bunny got your stuff.
James: And Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs and Tootsie Rolls? (He does a Google search like I don't know what they are.)
Me: James, I know what they are.
James: Okay, you can leave now.

But it is so Good!

James was testing our mom's patience last week. First, our mom found out that he hadn't dressed out for gym a few classes in a row. Then James was caught with a half-eaten container of frosting. I said, "James, you can't eat frosting out of the container." James said, "But it is so good!" I told James he had to dress out for gym the rest of the week or I wouldn't take him to "The Lorax" on Friday night. It did the trick.