I learned a lot about Tyler's developing personality as I watched him open presents. He is diligent. He had to remove every single piece of wrapping paper from the present before he even attempted to play with whatever he was unwrapping. This comes from his Dad, who is quite detail oriented. A book on Astrology described Shawn's attention to detail best saying he "Spends more time polishing door knobs than he does opening them." Tyler doesn't seem to have it quite as bad (or good!) as Shawn yet, but he showed signs of what some might call anal retentiveness.

Tyler was able to listen to direction, even while caught up in the delight of opening presents. I think he listened to me about 50% of the time--consistent with his behavior during non-holiday times.

Showing his leadership qualities, Tyler was able to assess and delegate while under pressure. As Tyler was barely making a dent in his pile of unopened presents (due to the diligence of removing all wrapping paper), he handed one to me saying "Here go, Mama," and handed another one to Aunt Kristin.

He is athletic. Uncle Mike and Aunt Kristin got him a basketball hoop which he is really good at. He is artistic. Grandma and Grandpa gave him an easel table. He picked up the magnetic shapes and placed them exactly where they needed to go to make perfectly formed triangles, circles and squares. He didn't need any direction from us on how to use his gifts, even the ones he had never seen before. As we watched Tyler keep himself entertained with these new toys, Shawn commented to me "It's like he has a secret life we don't know about where he's already played with every toy that exists." I mean, if someone handed you a chair, a magnetic shape, and a blank slate, would you know to sit in the chair and place the magnet on the blank slate to make pictures?