Introductions

Welcome.

I'm glad you could join us!  I've dabbled in blogging before but never been very serious about it.  I hope to change that with this new venture because it is about one of my favorite and challenging subjects... my kids and how to parent them.  It's a new year (2012) and a new project.  Great timing don't you think?

Before we go any further I want to let you know that I checked the spelling of the plural for genius and believe I have it right.  This is for all you who like to find other people's errors.  I'm sure you'll find others here but I wanted to start off on the right track.  LOL

A short introduction is in order... you'll get to know my family more and more as we go along.  My wife, Anne, and I are the proud parents of two boys.  Jeff is currently 15 and Sam is 11.  It's hard to believe they're that old and big (just bought new shoes for both of them yesterday) and as it is always said, "they grow up so fast".

Anne and I are "pretty average" and seem to have hit the "genetic jackpot" when it comes to our kids.  I was informed of this by a nephew of mine a few months back. It cracked me up.  Our sons are anything but average, however.

Short introductions are below.  You'll get to know them better with more entries.

Jeff has an IQ that has never been able to be truly measured but it has been officially determined to be in the top .1% of all children.  He has a voracious appetite for reading that is unparalleled - except for maybe his mother and brother.  He seemed to read when he was an infant because of his love for books and we did everything we did to foster this love.  Grandma Linda always bought him books for birthdays and Christmas presents and he seemed to devour them and retain the information of non-fiction books the first time they were read and he used to read many of his fiction books over and over.  Poor Harry Potter books have their covers worn out.  Currently in high school, Jeff seems to have a love for languages, history, computers and video games and is an excellent writer and an incredible vocabulary.  He always has the right answer... just ask him... and loves to debate and argue his point(s).  His personality is pretty aggressive and he is an handsome blue-eyed and blond haired young man.

Sam also is intellectually gifted and won his elementary school Math Olympiad despite the fact he only took four of the five tests.  We have not had his IQ officially tested but it is obviously very high.  He also loves to read - like his brother - and many times reads the same book over and over again.  We have some worn out books around our house.  Sam is also very good in visual arts and excels in all his classes in school including art and gym classes.  Then there is music.  This is where Sam is set apart from the rest.  Sam has had piano lessons since he was 6 and progressed at a very fast pace.  He wrote his first one line song when he was six and the complexity and intricacy of those songs just continues to blossom.  He has his own YouTube channel and was just featured in a nice news story on our local station.  He uses his keyboard and GarageBand to create both solo work and group arrangements that are special and we hope to create a CD soon to sell and raise funds for charity.  More details will follow...  Sam also plays the viola and saxophone quite well even though he doesn't practice much!

That's a quick introduction and hopefully enough to have you sign up and come back often as well as share your stories and comments.  I want to leave you with this... no kid is any better than any other kid.  They are all gifted in some way because of who made them.  Sometimes it's obvious to spot and sometimes you have to look harder but I know it is there.

One final comment...even though my kids seem to be really intelligent and have some obvious gifts it doesn't mean they are full of common sense.  Over the years they have both fallen down the stairs while reading a book and walking around the house.

Again, welcome to my family.  Looking forward to getting to know you better.