Zach Lately

I cannot believe how quickly Zachary is growing. We celebrated his 3 and a half year birthday last month and now he tells everyone he is 3 1/2! He says and does the funnest things, as evidenced in this next video, where he is mimicking his daddy by "shaving" with a (clean, of course) tongue scraper. 

He is both sweet and spicy--I don't know who he gets each trait from, but I have heard horror stories of Corey's wild youth, and my mom swears I was an angel (how does it seems those roles are kind of reversed now?!)! He is smart and witty, reading and memorizing books after a few times through. If you miss or substitute words, he is quick to correct you. The most impressive thing about his reading skills to me is the expressive way he uses the words. He does not just sound words out and read them, but annunciates and puts the stresses exactly the way a grown person would. He blows my mind! (Grandparents, to view the videos, you have to click here and watch directly on the blog.)

This is his new favorite book. It is about how the superheroes save the town computer, The Brain, from Mr. Freeze. Yes, it is as action-packed as it sounds, at least with Zach reading it! :)

And lastly, Zach is now able to recognize all the states and their locations. We have been working on capitals lately, but that is a little bit longer process. He is very gifted with memorization. I am pretty sure he has a photographic memory. He learns thing very quickly and easily, but holding his interest to practice and review material is a challenge. I am grateful for fun websites like the one below that make games out of learning, but even that only hold his attention for a short time. (And yes, that is him putting the states where they go on the screen.:))

 Zach is also realizing Zoey is a fun playmate, and they spend lots of time jumping on the bed and playing with toys together. I hope they will be the best of friends! We absolutely adore this little firecracker!