20 (billion) questions

Sometimes I wonder if the G-man thinks he's on Jeopardy. Or if we know how to form a sentence that isn't a question. Or if we really don't know which car is red. Because, on average, we ask him for a staggering amount of information in a day.

Is it too much? Is he on overload? Can I really not stop asking questions, even in this post?!

In an effort to be a "good" parent, I try to make his day a learning experience. Everything can be educational. Serve him lunch and ask him to find something round, or something orange or sign for what he wants. Read a book and quiz him on what the cow says, where the bus is or what is [that]. (Answers: moo; at the top of the page; and beach.)

But really, instead of helping the G-man, this quiz show could be putting so much pressure on him that he feels he can't enjoy himself. Perhaps I'm still a little hung up on doing the stay at home thing, thinking that he is missing some vital pieces of education by not being in day care all week. They are studying - albeit loosely - a letter of the week or a color of the day or have a nook with amazing interactive toys and puzzles I could never dream of finding. We, on the other hand, are studying...um...how many times a week I can serve him avocado (it's green! it's bumpy! it's soft!) before he totally rebels. 

At this point, I don't know if I can stop myself. There are so many things to show him, tell him, teach him. If I'm not engaging him, could his mind turn to mush? I don't want him to feel like he has to perform all the time, but when I think of it, he is put to the test on a continuous basis. Even a simple visit from a friend - Can you say hi? Where is Michelle's nose? What does a dinosaur sound like? - turns into the Spanish Inquisition.

Tomorrow I will try to keep it in check, but I guess all of this leads to the big question: Is our children learning?