So we were shopping at Target the other day, and Hannah said, "Mommy, you need to get me some more undershirts." (For some reason she has really been into wearing undershirts - last winter I bought her several tank-top undershirts, and she refused to wear them. Now, at the end of summer, she wants to wear them every day. Go figure.)
"Well, let's look for some. You already have three of them, so maybe we should buy you a couple more."
"Mom, how much is a couple?"
"Two."
"Then if you buy me two more, I'll have five undershirts!"
I let that pass for a minute as I looked around for the little girls department. Then I realized she had just added three plus two. THIS GIRL IS A MATH GENIUS!!!! OK, I'm kidding, but only a little.
Maybe it's not a big deal to some of you out there, to whom math is more than just a foreign language you never really understood and just went through life faking it. Those of you who know me well understand that math is not my strong suit. That's putting it mildly. OK, the last math class I took (besides Algebra I in high school) was a Statistics class I took when I was planning to get my MSW. I got a C in it; and I really studied hard. So I was stunned when my four year old added three plus two like it was no big deal. I'm not surprised that her verbal skills are so strong, because we use a large and varied vocabulary when we talk to her. (OK, we both talk a lot!) But Lindsey and I....well, let's just say that when we took the SAT, our math scores brought down our total SAT's a bit, and prevented us from being declared all-time SAT high scorers.
So maybe there is a lot to be said for genetics in the "nurture vs. nature" debate, and maybe she got her math skills from her bio parents. (OK, no cracks about, "Chinese people are really good at math!") Maybe that's also where she got her love of dancing and music, which she had even when she was with her foater parents in China. And her athletic skills, which are also slightly more developed than her dad's and mine. Or is it all just a part of wonderful Hannah, and has nothing to do with "nurture" or "nature"? It really makes me wish we knew more about her birth parents: their background, their history, their lives. It's not hugely important, because Lindsey and I are her parents in every way that matters, but I'm curious.
Here is a video I took of Hannah and her dance class yesterday. I took it through the viewing window (mirror on the inside, glass on the outside), so it's not great quality and you can't hear the music. But I thought you'd all want to see a gratuitous cute kid video.
On Sunday, after our Chinese classes, we went to a Moon Festival party held by the school. Hannah got to be a sun in the impromptu performance they put on, telling the story of the Moon Festival. I taped it, but it's too long to put on the blog and the quality isn't very good. Sorry! But take a look at Hannah at the cookout:
