Putting the "smart" in smart aleck since at least 1984

It's no secret that all parents feel like their kids are brilliant or bound to be the next great something, whether it be a doctor, lawyer, or the researcher who cures cancer. No one wants to say "Hey, my kid is going to barely eke out an existence at or below the poverty line!" We all want to believe our kid is fantastic, and there is nothing wrong with it. Everyone needs that encouragement (pressure) and support (nagging).

I have honestly never expected anything out of Mason in terms of accomplishing things early. I just want him to be healthy, happy and normal. If things continue the way they are, I expect he would be happy to work on a garbage truck. As long as he can keep the job and be happy about it, it doesn't matter to me what he ends up doing (law-breaking and boozing aside).

With that being said, he has been learning and exploring at such a rapid pace it's been staggering to keep up with. The other amazing thing is his memory--it knows no bounds, and definitely makes us stop as we try to remember back to whatever event he brings up. Is it bad if the toddler is rapidly becoming more intelligent than his mother? (I like to throw the blame back to the intelligence deficit known as pregnancy. I've never had to pause more to think, laughed at more jokes I didn't get, or existed at such a generally tired pace in my life.) I feel compelled to post his recent accomplishments/discoveries/comments in list form because they have been coming so fast and furious.

1. "Help Daddy wash the leaves." Alan went out yesterday to start preparing our yard, and Mason confused the Round-Up used on our first self-starting group of dandelions with cleaning solution because it looked like bubbles.

2. Mason can now count to five, demonstrating with his fingers. Verbally, he can count to sixteen (the number of stairs in our house) if you can keep his attention on it long enough.

3. You may remember my previous surprise about Mason recognizing the letter "W" and "C"; he now knows "H", "B","P", and "F". He will ask for "L", but he can't quite say it so I'm not sure if it counts.

4. He distinguishes between bodily functions and will loudly announce (with complete delight, by the way) the proper one and who did it. "Daddy burped."

5. He has stopped mixing up the colors pink and purple.

6. Mason now names any animal we throw at him, and we try really hard to stump him. He can pick out a ferret, a kangaroo, a seal, a prarie dog, and a buffalo with the greatest of ease. He is also beyond seeing the turtles, bunnies at birds at the pet store. Now he wants to see horses. (Let's be clear about it--pictures are not good enough).

7. On a recent visit to Target, he picked out his own Thomas the Train movie, then asked dad to pay for it so he could go home and watch it. He was deserving of a reward, so we let it slide and brough the movie home. The bonus? It also contained an episode of Bob the Builder.

8. Our previous trip to the grocery store had to be sticker-free (despite his best efforts to charm the checker) because they were out of stickers. Our trip on Sunday was sticker free because he informed me they don't have stickers any more.

I hope all of your days are also filled with so much discovery and excitement about the world around you. I know I have benefitted greatly from the sweet example he sets of seeing the world through new eyes. I have also managed to persevere through the recent battles of "Just say please already and you can have it" and the disapproving toddler screams when he is told no, so at least being a parent has some balance to it.