Fibe and Sis

It's official. My kid is a genius. I know every parent says that, but I'm really starting to think Patrick is hiding an extraordinary IQ. Although his vocabulary has exploded this week, he still only identifies objects he has a particular attachment to, like his parents and cheese and kitties. Even the phrases he picked up from Mommy and Daddy are associated with his favorite times of day, like going places or taking a nap (really...aren't I lucky?).

This is why it is astounding to identify several of his new words of the week. Yesterday he started saying "fibe" and "sis." If you say them right, they sound suspiciously like the numbers five and six. And he says them when someone is counting. Actually, he can often say them if you ask him what comes after four. He has filled in the numbers two and three ("do" and "ee") in their appropriate places when we've started counting as well, but he much prefers five and six. He also knows ten but thinks it should follow six for some reason.

Last night as he was reading his caterpillar book, he was making counting-like sounds as he turned the pages, just waiting until he could say five and six. He initiated the counting on his own. It is clear my son is fascinated with numbers.

While I suspect Patrick is hiding more knowledge from me, like that he really does know his colors and more animals than cats and ducks, I wonder how this fascination with numbers is going to shape his future. I doubt he grows into a famous artist or a Pulitzer Prize winner (he needs to learn a few more words first), but he might just grow into a math genius. It makes a mama proud!