W00t! Go me!

Okay, I don't usually like to talk about money and I do try to avoid patting myself on the back. But...

( Paul makes some money )

(no subject)

Spent an hour or two this morning with my 3 1/2 year old nephew at the Museum of Natural History. That was fun. And he was impressive.

I'm used to thinking of him as this noisy rambunctious (hey, spelled that right on the first try!) bundle of energy. Fun, but... the phrase "little tornado" comes to mind. Cute happy little whirlwind of destruction.

Here, though, he went through the exhibits and asked questions and knew quite a bit. He recognized the pictures of the moon's craters for what they were. He told me about the big bang and the sun and stuff (while I was explaining to him about the supernova in the exhibit we were looking at). He understood most of what I was saying, asked for clarification when he didn't, and traded my information for tidbits of his own. It was actually hard to pull him away from that to see the rest of the museum.

We stopped at the ocean exhibit to watch the movie about how the oceans were formed. I explained things to him as they went on. Pointed out different creatures. Told him what I knew. He asked if whales breathed underwater, so I told him that they didn't. They're mammals, so they breathe air. They can just hold their breath for a very long time. He asked about mammals. "Are we mammals?" And told me that baby mammals drink milk from their mommies.

From there, we went on to the gems and minerals room. (Quickly and quietly making our way past the naked ape-people in the "Origin of Humans" room. That bit of fur doesn't really cover too much...)

Mom and I showed him the different minerals. Pointed out that the ones grouped together were made of the same stuff, but had been formed in different ways. He marveled with us at the variety, and seemed pretty interested when I was telling him about sand, quartz, and glass.

Along the way, we asked him which ones he liked. He was surprisingly fond of the bright yellow sulfer crystals (not usually his favorite color). Picked out a few of his other favorites. And then...

He's into "poop" jokes these days. He just says the word at random times and in various contexts and seems to think it's hilarious. I don't think I ever went through that, but it does seem like a typical 3-year-old boy thing to do. Mostly, when he does it, I ignore it. I figure the less reaction (positive or negative) he gets, the less he'll try to repeat it. Not that it seems to be working, but it's still better than encouragement.

Anyway... we were going through the mineral room. And he was pointing out his favorites. And, off to the side, there was a black and lumpy one. Somehow, out of all the displays around him, out of all the brighter, more colorful rocks (many of which were far closer to his height)... he picked it out. He points to it. "I like the poopite." Giggles, and then moves on.

Which left me wincing but impressed (and, despite everything, amused). He knew it was a mineral. Despite the fact that we'd been pointing out amethyst, quartz, sulfer, and others, he'd somehow picked up that -ite is a mineral suffix. He put it together. Not "poop." Not "poop rock." "Poopite."

All in all (not just the rock thing)... a lot more than I expected out of someone his age. I may make a nerd of him yet... *G*