Magnificent Memory

I know every parent thinks their child is some sort of genius.  But I'm telling you, Stuart Jameson Land is a GENIUS.  And no, I'm not biased at ALL ;)  This kid has the memory of an elephant!  I read the other day in Parents magazine that children at this age don't typically have such impressive memories.  In fact, there was an article listing some of the signs that your child may be "gifted."  What do you think was one of the items on that list?  Yep, you guessed it!  An unusually good memory!  I need to document some of these amazing acts he performs so I don't forget (because apparently, I wasn't blessed with such an outstanding memory) . . .

A couple weeks ago, my parents (bama and papa, as you'll hear Stuart call them) were in town visiting.  I had Wolfgang Orchestra Rehearsal and Randy was working a late shift at Home Depot.  So my mom and dad went to go pick him up at Dedra's (our day care provider).  My parents are not familiar with the neighborhood and used their GPS to get there.  When exiting the neighborhood after picking up Stuart, their GPS was stuck and wasn't refreshing the data.  Therefore, they weren't sure how to get back to my house.  My dad jokingly asked Stuart, "Okay, which way do we go?"  Stuart confidently pointed left, "that way."  My dad turned left.  Then my dad asked again, "Which way do we go now?"  Again, Stuart pointed, but this time to the right, "that way."  My dad turned right.  He did this for 3-4 turns until the GPS came back on and he was RIGHT!  Smarty pants.

I usually put Stuart to bed at night, but sometimes we switch it up and Randy will read to him/tuck him in.  Regardless of who puts him to bed, the next morning, he never fails to remember who put him to bed, and he'll call out, "Momma!" if it was me, "Daddy!" if it was Randy, and even "BAMA!" if Grandma happened to be in town and the one who put him down at night. 

If he is upset about something before bed, (usually it's along the lines of wanting "boo snacks," also known as fruit snacks.  Of course, he never gets fruit snacks before bed because we've already brushed his teeth) he inevitably is still talking about it in the morning.  If we discussed him not being allowed to eat fruit snacks the night before, I'll go in the next morning and he's giving me his puppy dog eyes saying, "boo snack?  Please?"  Goodness gracious.

Last week we went to CVS to take advantage of some of those crazy deals (thanks, Krazy Coupon Lady for always keeping me up to date on what deals CVS is putting out each week!).  They have those carts with the little car on the front in which your child can sit.  I am so grossed out by carts and germs and I'm sure that thing is filthier than I'd ever want to know.  I ignored the creepy crawly feeling I got from just looking at the thing, and let him climb inside (it was almost bath time anyway).  We had a blast shopping and he even was rewarded with a "cool bus" model toy (school bus) for his good behavior.  Yesterday, about a week after our first cart-car encounter in CVS, we pull up to the same CVS.  As I'm taking him out of the car seat he excitedly says, "CAR!"  I said, "yeah, we're taking you out of momma's car!"  He said, "no, CAR!"  We walked up to the sliding doors, stepped inside, and he ran straight to the car cart, hopped inside, and was ready to roll.  Furthermore, as we "drove" through the drugstore, he must have sensed the model car display up ahead (around the corner, not yet in sight).  He exclaimed, "BUS!"  And what do you know, we turn the corner and there is the display of cars, trucks and busses from which he chose his bus reward last week.

DINO!  Stuart loves dinosaurs.  Big dinosaurs, little dinosaurs, flying dinosaurs, and more than anything, roaring like a dinosaur.  In downtown Evansville, there is a large green dinosaur marking the entrance of the nearby Children's Museum.  He thinks this is the coolest thing ever.  Whenever we go downtown for anything, he knows that dinosaur is near.  Honestly, when we get within a mile or so of downtown Evansville, he starts to get excited and asks about the DINOSAUR!  Last week I took him to the zoo and on the way back we were on the Expressway, passing by downtown.  He pointed to downtown and said, "DINO!"  Of course, I detoured into downtown so he could have the satisfaction of seeing that big green dino staring down at him.  :)