Surprise! He Could Count to Ten

We didn't realize our almost-two-year-old could count, but it turns out he could and we didn't even know it!

About two months ago Shannon and Noah were at home waiting for toast in our new toaster. As they waited, Shannon would count out loud and Noah would repeat after her.

We had been doing this for a little while as he'd been learning new words, and his talking has been improving, and all...

Well, as Shannon and Noah were counting, Ansley spit up. So Shannon stops counting for a moment as she wipes up Ansley's mess. And Noah didn't wait on her - he went right on and counted to ten!

We didn't know he could do that! He'd never counted before (without us prompting him). The rest of the night, he walked around the house counting to ten, and counting to grandmothers on the phone. I don't know if he might have even been a little surprised by the new discovery.

I wonder how many times we might underestimate what all Noah DOES know and what he CAN do. I also wonder what all Noah doesn't realize he can do now and what he can do when given the chance.

This gets me thinking about how many times we might underestimate other people in our lives; what they know, what they can do, what they're capable of, their gifts and talents and potential... and how much of that they may not even be aware of yet... and how I can help them discover and use their giftedness.

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