My kids amaze me everyday. Whether it is little JJ smiling and lifting his arms in the air, or Elia wanting to be put to bed not with one of her many stuffed animals, but instead with a book, they never cease to put a smile on my face at the end of a long day. JJ is on the verge of rolling over, and for some reason he loves to have his face and cheeks wiped. He instantly lights up and smiles if you just stroke his cheek with a finger.

Elia did two incredible things yesterday for such a young little girl. We had taken the kids to go look at pumpkins and animals at a local farm, and there was a big sign set up on the grass with arrows and words pointing "Animals" this way and "Exit" that way. Elia walked up to the sign, pointed at the A in Animals and said "Letter A." It was really surprising as we have not talked to Elia at all about the alphabet, she just seems to pick things up when we aren't even looking. Another example occurred when I pulled into the driveway from the park. I reached in to unbuckle Elia and she was holding a stuffed cow covered in black spots. She carefully pointed at one spot at at time and said "thirty seven, thirty eight, thirty nine...forty!"

I wish I could still learn that quickly.