Photographic memory?

We cleaned out big kid's closet today, and found a pile of puzzles he had put up for the twins. They are 25 piece puzzles, marked 3yr and up. The twins were of course excited and wanted to take them downstairs and do them! Thing one started the cars and truck puzzle, and first try fit most of the pieces in. Thing two had no clue what he was doing, but slowly figured out the shapes and started fitting puzzle pieces together, with my help. Thing one came over and tried to help thing two with his puzzle, but had no luck. I think thing one has a photographic memory and could picture his puzzle while he was building it! Thing one uses letters in the bathtub to make words like cat, dog, and, the, too, but he can't read them. Thing two sits behind him sounding them out slowly! Their speech therapist is convinced thing one remembered the words from the books we read together, that he has a photographic memory. I have to say after today I agree! The twins no longer need speech therapy, they test out of the program. Yay! I am so thankful for the help, they are spouting out sentences left and right now. I love communicating with them! Don't get me wrong, I still want to be anyone but "Ma" when it's said six thousand times in a minute, I just love hearing "my car is under table" instead of crying and pointing! I love hearing "food pease mommy" instead of screaming at the pantry door! SUCCESS!

Big kid is still doing wonderfully at school, we took a five day weekend to take a break and are back on schedule now. He went to the History Museum this weekend with nahnah, and had a great time. Amazingly he remembered a lot about President Lincoln! He is having fun learning about the precolumbian civilizations in South America, watching some movies about them to help visualize what was going on back then. He can't get over the sacrificing of people to please the gods, that one eludes him still. I'm working on it, but maybe that's a good thing?

We ordered a copy of Journey to the Stars, a "free for educators" show about the solar system. We ordered it in June, and have received an email stating apologies and we'll have it in November. Thanks. In the meantime we received a complimentary copy of America: The History of Us, done by the History Channel. Wow is that an amazing series! We watched the first two segments, stopping at the revolutionary war, and even though we just spent two months learning about that I still sat there amazed at how much I learned! The series is captivating, and so well put together even big kid wants to watch the next episode on westward expansion. Now you know it must be amazing if an 11yr old boy is enthused! I wish everyone in America could watch this series, it makes you feel so patriotic. It evokes all sorts of feelings of pride, of amazement, and gives a true understanding of what was going on back then. I am a bit nervous to watch the segments on the world wars, I may watch them first before showing kiddo. He gets emotional about certain things that are scars on humanity's face, like genocide and that whole WW2 Hitler story may be too much for him now. In a few years maybe!