Noise was born almost 4 years ago. When he came into my life, I was reborn– as a mom. Everything changed in an instant, and if you are a parent then you know exactly what I am talking about. I loved him fiercely from the start, and took so much pleasure in each and every new thing that he learned to do. (Sometimes this even the ridiculously small things! He’s eating PEAS for the FIRST TIME!!! Awwwww!) Indeed, every single first was a moment for me, because I was witnessing a person do something for the very first time.

Meconium! First poop EVER!

Spitting out peas! Hating peas for the first time EVER!

The opportunity to be witness to that– to be the person standing there, wide-eyed with anticipation as he gained a new skill or had a new experience– is overwhelming.

Some of the firsts came slowly. Noise didn’t roll over until he was 6 months old, and didn’t crawl until he was 9 months old. When he finally did crawl for the first time, he could only figure out how to go in reverse. He would get trapped, ass up against some furniture or a wall, and not be able to crawl forward. Other babies we knew were already walking, but Noise was in no hurry to get anywhere. We used to call him our “dopey-dough” kid. He was just never in a hurry to get anywhere– so he never got all that worked up about acquiring skills to get anywhere.

But while those gross motor skills lay languishing, his verbal skills were racing. He spoke early. He got his first word – “No!” really young. I would have to look it up, but I think it was around the same time he began to crawl. On New Year’s Eve 2005, when Noise was 18 months old, we counted up all of his words. (I know, party animals, I tell you!) He had 73 words at that time. Pretty impressive for his age. And then, there was a language explosion.

It seemed like overnight he began to pick up new words, and piece them together. This is very typical of kids at around that age– around 18-20 months there is a switch somewhere where they just get it and it’s like watching Hellen Keller run up to the water pump. Noise ate language up. He taught himself the ABC’s from a refrigerator magnet set and a video at 14 or 15 months. He knew what they looked like and what sound they made. He just couldn’t get enough of words, letters and sounds.

When he was a baby, you could never wear a shirt with letters on it, because he would grab your boobs and scream, “LETTERS!” (And he sounded just like Elizabeth Taylor when she yelled, “Gladiator!”) And then he would tell you what every single letter was.

I digress, but there’s a point.

Lately, here at Chez Pair, we have been witness to an awesome set of firsts.

Noise has begun to read.

And write.

And he’s mostly teaching himself.

We read to the kids every day, and Noise has always had a phenomenal memory. So when he first started calling out the words on the page, we really thought it was because he had memorized the book. Indeed, you only have to read something to Noise once, and he will correct you if you get it wrong the next time, or try to skip a page. But then I noticed him sitting, alone, actually sounding words out. Figuring it out.

Then he started writing his name. Then a kid at school started teaching him how to write other letters. Then he changed classrooms and everyone in there was almost a year older. So, everyone could write some. Noise quickly learned how to write the entire alphabet. He practiced, tongue hanging out of his mouth, for hours every day.

No one made him do this. He had plenty of other things to do, toys to play with, a sibling to distract him.

He just couldn’t wait to learn.

He couldn’t wait to be able to read.

And we can’t wait, either. The worlds that can open up to him as he learns to read are a phenomenal gift. It’s amazing to be witness, to see how reading and writing will change him as a person. All the things he will learn, and think about, and process, and love, and fear, because he read about them in a book. The nights he will spend, under the covers with a novel and a flashlight. It’s like watching someone fall in love. And it is spellbinding.

This weekend, Noise sat down to make himself a list. First, he wrote out all of our names (I took a picture, but I haven’t taught him their blog names yet, darnit, so I can’t post it here.) I didn’t even know he knew how to write Funk’s name. Then he started to make a list of all of the things we needed at the store. He sounded it out, and rarely asked for help (cereal is a tough one.)

I watched the entire scene, breathless. Seriously, I could not catch a breath with the wonder of it. It was like watching a planet be born. All of the build-up– the language acquisition, and the love of letters, the mimicking, the voracious hunger for more books, more stories, more hours of reading together– they are coming together in this fantastic, life-changing moment. And I have a front row seat. I feel differently than I felt about those clumsy first steps, or even those first words. I can’t put a finger on why. Maybe it’s because learning to read is difficult, and he’s working so hard at it, of his own volition. Maybe I’m living vicariously through him, since I love to read so much. Maybe I can’t understand it. But it is so very beautiful, I cannot take my eyes off it, and I can’t wait to see where he takes us next.