Mathematician

I don't really know for sure when it started, but Mikie is obsessed with numbers. The earliest memory I have of him learning a number was when we stayed in room number 8 at the hotel in La Push, WA when he was only 18 months old. After that, whenever he saw the number 8 he would point it out, so it's no surprise that it quickly became his favorite number and until recently remained his favorite number. Now, his favorite number changes daily...today it was 4. One day last month, it was a 5 digit number that I wish I would have written down because it was amazing that he remembered it all day long and told it to everyone we met. Most of the time the number of the day is triggered by a number that he has seen or heard that morning. Sometimes, it just a multiple digit number pulled out of that intricate brain of his.

Hotels are Mikie's idea of a number heaven! Not only do they have numbers on the doors, but also on the elevators. He is always standing right there with his Daddy when we're checking in so that he can find out what number our room will be and then goes running down the hallway until he locates it. He loves staying in hotels so much, that when we asked him what his favorite part of our vacation to Maine was he replied, "I got to stay in room number _, _, _, " and proceeded to list them all.

Most 3 year olds, when given a pencil/crayons and a piece of paper, draw pictures or scribble pretty colors...not Mikie...every paper from Sunday School, every place mat from a restaurant, and even coloring book pages have numbers written all over them. While at a MOMS club event, Mikie was suppose to make 5 fingerprint pumpkins sitting on a gate, which he did quite neatly...that is...until the moment I turned around to help Zachary make his project...next thing I know the pumpkins were accompanied by the digits 5-15...and there would have been more if I hadn't stopped him.

His love of numbers is both a blessing and a curse. We often use his addiction as a reward. For example, when he is well behaved in a store then he gets to choose the number of check-out lane we go to. It helps him have self control and be on his best behavior, but he always seems to choose the one with the longest line. Then there are the gas pumps...we've gotten more than one strange look from people in the car ahead of us while waiting for them to fill their tank at the chosen pump number. They have no idea why we just don't go to one of the other available pumps....it's simple really....a tantrum would ensue. There was a particular incident that is worth noting: After discovering our fuel gage was near empty and pulling into the closest gas station, Mikie requested pump number 8 and of course that was the only one with a vehicle at it and not just any vehicle...a vehicle with handicapped plates....so what did we do? We waited! We waited for about 10 minutes while a man in a wheelchair pumped his gas, got back in his van using his lift, and then took another 5 minutes to eat and drink before finally pulling away. I can only imagine the words he was mumbling under his breath at the psychos in the mini-van behind him.

What does a mom usually pull out of her diaper bag to entertain kids in a waiting room? Books, crayons, toys, snacks....well...if I want a guaranteed 20 minutes or more of uninterrupted conversation with someone all I have to do is pull out Mikie's pretty pink calculator. He loves to add and subtract numbers; but his favorite thing is to just add 1 over and over again to see how high he can get the number to go before I say it's time to leave.

On our trip to Maine, I pulled out an addition workbook and expected him to ask me how to do it. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when he started writing down answers and teaching himself how to add past 10. He is also very creative at showing higher double digit numerals...for example: He'll hold up 4 fingers on his left hand and 3 on his right and tell me it is the number 43.

He truly does have an amazing gift that I was able to capture in two videos. The one below is a short video of him completing a math packet that I used in my kindergarten class in Hawaii. The other video I had trouble uploading so you'll have to go to this link and view it on dropshots. It is about 7 minutes long but it certainly does capture his amazing talent and you'll get to see how he adds with his fingers. Mikie's Amazing Addition (click here)


We just might have a future Mathematician on our hands.