Rogue Alex

We knew from the beginning that Alex is something special. Now, I know that all parents think that their child is special, and they are. But Alex really is different. He is so curious and has such a light about him that he makes people want to be near him. He smiles and people cannot help but smile back. He has made me a better person because I see the happiness in his eyes. So, he is special. But beyond that, he is smart---smart to the point that he keeps his parents on their toes every second.

Recently, we put child locks on all our cabinets with the hopes that Alex would lose interest in finding out what is inside. We are finding, however, that the locks are only a temporary obstactle. Yesterday, while I was unloading the diswasher, Alex was following me around the kitchen like normal. He crawled up to a cabinet door and tried opening it, only to find that it had a pesky lock. He pulled again, and within seconds he had figured out how to keep the door open to the full length of the lock (about 3 inches). While propping the door open, he then went to work exploring what was keeping it from opening further. He ran his hand up and down the length of the inside of the cabinet door, stopping when he felt the lock toward the top. He then peered inside and up toward the lock, trying to figure out how to bend the lock to his will. He started pushing up on the lock (which is precisely how these "child-proof" locks becoming unlocked), at which point I decided to stop his investigation. I figure that Alan and I are only so far ahead of him at this point and we need all the lead we can get. He will surpass us quickly enough.