What's Your Last Name?

This summer I've been trying to teach Brogan random things he'll need to know sometime in the next year: recognizing how he feels in situations (was that scary or fun?), shapes, state and country flags, holding his crayons correctly, writing out his letters, telling me how many objects he has, his last name, ect.
The changes in him this summer have been fun to witness and be a part of. It's like I'm discovering a new Brogan every other week.
Just the other day we were at the pool and he asked if he could go down the "dark" slide (it's enclosed from top to bottom). I encouraged him to go for it and waited for him at the bottom. The first time I let Rhiannon go down the dark slide I could hear her screaming from about 2 feet into the tunnel all the way down. She has never gone on it again. So I was interested to see what he'd do. He's not scared of the dark, in fact, he often shuts himself into small, dark places with all his bedding and plays there for quite some time. But this situation is obviously different. So I see him head down, hear no screaming or thrashing and catch him as he swims over to me after he's thrust out the end. I look him over, he's slightly wide eyed, but no other expression graces his face. So I ask, "Was that scary or fun Brogan?" His immediate response? "Scary!" Me, curious, "So do you want to do it again?" Brogan, "Nnnnno!" Okay, so no enclosed water slides. Gotcha.
The funniest thing though, is trying to teach him his last name. I am not sure if he's messing with me or if he doesn't really get it. Cause when I just ask him his name, he'll say, "Brogan Wesley Crabb". But when I ask him what his last name is, he'll invariably say Lobster, Lizard, Tiger ... anything but Crabb. I get it. His last name is also a crustacean. So maybe he thinks they are interchangeable. Any animal will do.

Difficult to Say

This summer has been a mish mash of advancements, disappointments, laughter and frustration.
Brogan has advanced to being able to answer "yes" and "no" questions with deadly accuracy. You never have to wonder if Brogan wants to do things anymore. He VERY loudly announces his intentions either way.
He played well with his cousins on a one on one basis but became aggressive when placed in a group situation and the other child's attention was deviated from what they were doing. It was like he couldn't handle the distraction. Or didn't like sharing the attention of the person he had picked to play with.
Being around his 9 cousins this summer really helped his vocabulary and sentence structure. He rarely uses "canned" sentences anymore. As we approached Jasper National Park Brogan had his head out the window taking in the beautiful vistas, then all of the sudden he let out an audible gasp and exclaimed, "Oh Mommy, look at that mountains!" Later that evening as I was setting up camp he asked, "Go for a walk in the woods, Mommy?"
He has a remarkable memory for peoples names. People he'd met last year only once and only for a few hours, he remembered their names - and where they lived. It's a bit weird, in a good way.
He's started writing the alphabet, along with words. His favorite words to write to date are Blue and Clue. Obviously from Blue's Clues. You can give him any arrangement of letters and he'll put them in order.
Bad things ... he has become OBSESSED with coloring. On everything. Walls, toys, couch, tables, mattresses. Every time I catch him at it or find him doing it I sternly remind him that the only thing we write on is PAPER. That, however, had not been effective. At all. So not impressed.
Since we've been home he's become his old, aggressive self. At the library unless I am sitting there, reminding him every other minute not to hit/push/kick he's a little maniac. I don't know if it's because he's become bored since returning home, if I'm not feeding him often enough, or ... if he's just naturally a bully. I hate the last option. So we're going to pretend that's not even viable.

Canadian Summer