05/22/2009

Mom Jones had asked me (a while ago!) to write a post about the cloth diapers that we use. This is not that post. But, I wanted to acknowledge her request and say that a cloth diapering post will, indeed, be coming. Just not tonight.

Tonight I wanted to take some time to reflect on how each of my children are unique. Yea, they come from the same stock, but let me tell you, they are individuals! I'm just going to give a glimpse into each child as they are now, at this stage of the game. If their personality changes before I'm done typing this post (and my kids do seem to change rather suddenly) then I'll just add some sort of disclaimer at the bottom.*

Nathan: Nathan is curious, but in most instances would rather have a conversation about something than experience it firsthand. We had a lovely chat about june bugs this evening, but if one of them gets close to Nathan he takes off running! Nathan loves books, memorizes them, and is the type to know if I "accidentally" skipped a page or five, err, two. Nathan hates eating. He has almost no interest in solid food. If he could subsist on hot cocoa alone, he would do so. He's thin (like his Mommy), but his expressions are just like his Daddy. Nathan dislikes bath time but has an obsession with Johnson's Baby Wash. He loves to lather himself up while still fully clothed and then runs away screaming when I mention a rinse. Nathan is stubborn, smart, expressive, eccentric, and beguiling. He likes to put on his own sandals. He consistently gets them on the wrong feet. It's not just ironic. He has a system, and the system is wrong. Oh well. Nathan always, always, always sleeps with the light on in his room.

Nia: Nia lives to eat. If you give her a cookie, she will need one for her other hand. If you give her the second cookie and then proceed to get one for yourself, she will make it quite clear that she wants YOUR cookie, too. Nia will eat anything: Couscous, hummus, spinach, dried cranberries, wheat berries...you name it! Nia is more timid around animals than Nathan is. Honestly, I don't know if timid is the right word. She has less tolerance for animals than Nathan does. If Baldwin is in her way, that's a problem. And when the Queen has a problem, everyone has a problem! Nia is Daddy's girl and she knows it. The other day I caught Nick saying this to Nathan: "But Nathan, I'm carrying Nia right now. You know how to walk--you don't need to be carried." I didn't point out the rather large flaw in this logic, but I could envision that it wouldn't be long before Nathan himself would be saying something. Back to Nia. Nia is a tough cookie. She can fall on a tile floor, land on her nose, knock the wind right out of herself, and start bleeding from the ears and she might whimper. (Unless, of course, Daddy is around and she wants some extra lovin'.) Nia is constantly social, has disproportionally short legs, and has unintelligible conversations all day long. Nia always, always, always sleeps in a pitch black room.

Lottie: Lottie has her sister's appetite. Having started in on solid foods, Lottie has never met a puree that didn't agree with her. Lottie is the first child to prefer Mommy. She is demonstrating great intelligence and wisdom, don't you think? Lottie is at least as socially inclined as Nia, if not more, and would be happy to be held 24/7. Lottie doesn't like to sleep if she is on a completely flat surface. Her favorite place to sleep is in our hammock. Can you blame her? Lottie gets frustrated easily and, when frustrated, can get surprisingly angry! She has the stereotypical temperament of a redhead. Lottie would have loved being a first child: she likes constant attention, doting, etc. It is a thorn in her flesh to be in constant competition with N and N. Lottie always, always, always wakes up multiple times in the night.

It's bizarre how my three children are each so unique. And, of course, it's wonderful! I so much enjoy them--exhausting though they are--and I can't wait to watch them as they are shaped and molded into the people they will be. I love them all so much!

*Note: I'm really not going to wake each child up to assess if they are still the same as I remember them being at bedtime.