Bragging on my boy

Evan is such a sponge, it is amazing to watch his thirst for knowledge. He has moved beyond the more self centered physical pursuits of a baby and toddler (example: learning to walk) and is now extremely fascinated by the world around him. He needs to know the names of everything. Each truck or car that drives by must have a specific type. Numbers and letters surround him and he must point them out to me to share his joy in them. The deep dark things of the world fascinate him. We have to stop and look down drains and grates. He loves tunnels and caves.

With very little effort on my part Evan has learned his shapes, many of the colors, to recognize the numbers 0-9 (we are working on higher numbers now), he can recognize the entire alphabet, he knows all the names of the planets along with other celestial bodies, and on and on. I have lost count of all the different distinctions in moving vehicles that he can recognize and point out. He is starting to get interested in anatomy. We checked out a dinosaur book and he is fascinated by all the different kinds (I sense dino mania in my future). I am really beginning to think that my mother in law is right and that he will end up perusing a career in science of some sort.

I think the funnest part of all this is that I am allowing him to decide what he is interested in and what he wants to learn. I am not one of those parents that played music to my unborn child so that he would add a few extra IQ points to his score. I think that maybe I am just happy that he is not affected mentally from his low oxygen saturations early in life and the possible brain damage that can happen from being put on the bypass machine. I want him to want to learn and I hope to teach him to be able to think on his own so that even if I do not know something he can figure it out for himself. I think that this is one of the most exciting parts of being a parent, being able to shape and teach such an eager student.