People, places and things

Cole has an amazing ability to recall people and places. And what makes me most proud is that this is a trait he most likely inherited from me because for as long as I can remember Keith cannot remember names as well as I can. I remember when we first started dating he had an entire conversation in the middle of Ames (remember that store?) with a woman whose name he could not remember.

Cole knows everyone's name at his school, he knows all of our friends' names and their kids' names, and he can usually put together the faces with the names. When I told him recently that Emma and Hailey were coming over, his gaze went immediately up to the refrigerator where a photo of them was located. He pointed, I took it down, and together we identified the members of the family. He remembers his doctor's name and he can easily name the waitress/ friend who works at the local cafe.

When Keith takes Cole to day care two days a week, he and Cole drive over bridges and across small rivers and creeks. After just a few identifications of the creeks and rivers, Cole now knows their names by sight, even when crossing in different directions. He knows the name of the town Keith works in and he knows the name of the hamlet we live in. When we ask him where he lives he gets it right usually on the second try.

As far as "things" go, that's a slightly different story. He can identify objects well. He knows where most things belong. But determining their color or how many there are is another story. His go-to number is 3, as in "One. Two. Freeeeeee!!!" His fall back color is red. So if you point out a yellow triangle and ask him what color it is, he'll usually say "Red!" If you ask him to count the five blocks, he'll say excitedly "One. Two. Freeeeeee!!!"

His newest answer for requests to do something is either:
"No way, Mama"
Or
"No way, Dada"
Or my personal favorite-
"No way, guys."

Some of his current love for things include:
The rocking horse that Grandma Fern got him
The radio flyer wagon Gamma got him
The sand and water table
The pool
Helping open the pool

I'll be posting some pics soon of Cole in the pool, since last weekend was the official opening of the pool after a week or so of the grunt work of owning a pool: getting the water off the cover, pulling the dang cover off and cleaning the inside-complete with vacuum and chemicals.

Below are some iPhone pics of the things Cole loves.

Riding in his radio flyer for the first time

The sand and water table is a permanent fixture in our backyard

Helping Dada clean out the leaves from the cover of the pool

Not helping Dada take the cover off the pool.