Sharks!

When Chase was 3 he was obsessed with trains. He memorized different train cars, all of the Thomas & Friends characters and knew way too much about diesel engines vs. steam engines. Four brought a desire to learn as much as possible about dinosaurs. He became an avid "reader" of any book dealing with dinosaurs. He can tell you almost every dinosaur's name and whether they are a carnivore, omnivore or herbivore. His latest passion is sharks. I think it all started with a trip to the Seattle Aquarium when we couldn't find any sharks, so we bought a little bag with 12 small toy sharks at the gift shop. Within a day he memorized all of the names of the sharks and wanted to find a book at the library so he could learn more...so off to the library we went. Kelly, Callan & I now spend our days hearing about how a tiger shark can bite through a sea turtles shell...or how whale sharks are actually friendly and let divers hitch rides on them.

As a mom I love to see him so excited about something. I love that he has this incredible desire to learn as much as he can about something. As tired as I am of reading books about sharks (and folding shark shirts, shark underwear, etc.) I am willing to expose him to as much information about sharks as his little head can handle. Sooooo...

...today I took the boys the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. It was the most amazing experience. The zoo is beautiful. The grounds are so lovely and you can see the Puget Sound just over the trees. But the best part is the sharks. The small aquarium there has a tank full of sharks and we just happened to go on shark feeding day. The boys got to watch sharks swim just inches from them as they gobbled up sardines. We saw a lemon shark, black tip reef sharks, a bamboo shark and a tiger sand shark named Bruce. Callan enjoyed it too, but Chase was IN HEAVEN!!! He could have spent the entire day in the shark room. Before heading home we visited the gift shop. I bought him a new shark book and he bought a toy mako shark with his allowance.

I hope that he continues to be so inquisitive about the world around him. As much as his 4-year-old questions (from sunup to sundown) get on my nerves, I adore his curiosity and excitement for learning.

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June2010