that make you realize that they're not quite as smart as you had originally thought.

So, I swear, EVERY mother thinks their child is gifted. Super smart. Better than your average bear. EVERY mother, at one point or another, has said, "Wow, would you look at that! Other kids their age aren't doing that yet, s/he must be GIFTED." I have six children. I know not every child is gifted. Some children excel in one thing or another. Some excel in many things. Some are average, but have their moments. However, I can almost guarantee you that every mother has thought their child might be gifted at one point in another. Now, this is no slight to mothers who actually have gifted children, so don't fill my comment box (you know, all you millions of readers out there who diligently follow my blog) with comments about how your child really IS gifted. I'm sure they are! (That came out sounding a LOT more patronizing than I meant for it to...I'm actually being sincere.) I've met some very gifted children. I'm not talking about the moms of those kids. :) These are just some of my observations from interacting with a variety of different mothers everyday on the message board I help run, and out here in the "real world."

I try not to be one of those moms. You know the ones. They're the ones that, when they're child rolls over at 2 months, 29 days instead of 3 months, exclaim to anyone that can hear that their child is GIFTED! Gifted, I tell ya! However, I have found myself, more and more thinking like one of those moms. Allie is almost 2. She has been talking since she was about 5 months old. She's been talking in full sentences since before she turned 1. Those thoughts...those thoughts that I mock so much...those, "My child is GIFTED!!!! Gifted, I tell ya!!!" thoughts started creeping in. A few weeks ago, when she sang along to Miley Cyrus' "Hoedown Throw Down," they started creeping in a little bit more. A couple of days ago when she started going upstairs and I asked her where she was going and she responded, "I'm checking on Daddy," then when she came downstairs and exclaimed, "I couldn't find him!" those thoughts came creeping up.

Yesterday, my beautiful, spunky, wonderful, GIFTED Allie walked up to me, said, "My arm hurts!"...and grabbed her leg. Ahhhh, yes. Whenever I find myself becoming one of those moms I like to mock, my child brings me right back down to earth.