It's a heartwarming and familiar scene: a father and son snuggled up a rocking chair, reading a bedtime story together. But Jared and Adam aren't read Goodnight Moon or the Three Little Bears or even Where the Wild Things Are. No, every night before bed Jared makes his familiar request and the two pour over their favorite bedtime story: The Elements.
Complete with high-gloss pages and detailed photography, The Elements presents a visual exploration of every known element--from hydrogen to neptunium. I bought the book as a gift for Adam (chemistry PhD candidate) last Christmas. But ever since Jared saw the cover and noticed that iodine bears a striking resemblance to strawberry yogurt, he's been hooked. And Daddy couldn't be more pleased. So, for the time being, my little two-year-old is content to slip into dreamworld each night with images of nickle, zync, and barium dancing through his head. A scientist in the making? Only time will tell.
Not to be outdone, Allison has been working on some tricks of her own--in the language department (winks from Mommy). She seems to have a natural knack for repeating sounds and picking up on words we say. Over the past three days she's learned to say "ball," "please," and "bubble." Add that to Mommy, Daddy, more, uh-oh, thank you, touch, and cracker, and she can say ten words! She's also learned her first color: purple. I taught her to say the word, and the same night at bedtime she crawled over to a pile of colored blocks, grabbed a purple one, held it out to us, and said, "pur-ple!" A linguist in the making? Mommy hopes so!
