oh, how our children differ...

[lizajane]

Share a story of how your kids are opposites of one another. here is mine:

dylan: "i want you to put in the spiderman movie, in the basement, and then go away. i want to be alone. i want to have rest time by myself. so you leave." he tried to get me to DRIVE away. um, no. you don't get the house to yourself when you are not yet 4.

schuyler, on the other hand, requires constant attention and needs something every 5 minutes.

whatever. i will be up here doing WHATEVER I WANT!!! HA HA HA!! just you TRY to hurt MY feelings little boy!!!

[lisams]

Mine are complete opposites.

At 2, DD would greet complete strangers "Hi, my name is Emma and I'm two. I have two cats, Cassie and Chloe. Chloe is gray and Cassie is brown-ish...." I'd eventually have to stop her and tell her it's time to carry on with whatever we're doing.

At almost 2, DS is extremely shy. When anyone he doesn't know gets even kind of close, he hides behind my legs and if spoken to by said stranger he turns his head far away and clings even tighter to me. Forget about even getting a polite "Hi", he totally clams up!

It's fun to see how different they are!

[katerinasmom]

For DD1 we never locked a cabinet and could sleep in while she amused herself in her crib for 1/2-1 hour after waking up. She held our hand when out and about, rarely fussed about anything to eat, was talking in clear enunciated sentences by age 2, put very little in her mouth and never bit anyone. She never climbed the furniture and would stay put even at 1 years old when told. She was very gentle with her books and never ripped a single page. And she would takes 2-3 naps a day (still takes a nap at 4.5 years old about 3-4 times a week), still naps in the stroller and could and still does sleep through anything.

DD2 requires constant supervision. We had to buy locks for all of the cabinets, the oven and the refridgerator, and a superyard to keep her in a safe place whenever we need to look away for a second. She puts everything in her mouth and has bitten several people. She won't stand to stay in her crib for one minute upon waking each morning and will not sit still for more than 2 seconds. She wakes at the sound of pin dropping, barely takes one nap a day and hardly every sleeps in the stroller. She's 16 months now and her speech is no where near what DD1's was at this age. She will climb anything and everything and I can already see her working through how to unlock the gates (although she hasn't been successful yet). We affectionately call her "Trouble".

[lizajane]

For DD1 we never locked a cabinet and could sleep in while she amused herself in her crib for 1/2-1 hour after waking up. She held our hand when out and about, rarely fussed about anything to eat, was talking in clear enunciated sentences by age 2, put very little in her mouth and never bit anyone. She never climbed the furniture and would stay put even at 1 years old when told. She was very gentle with her books and never ripped a single page. And she would takes 2-3 naps a day (still takes a nap at 4.5 years old about 3-4 times a week), still naps in the stroller and could and still does sleep through anything.

DD2 requires constant supervision. We had to buy locks for all of the cabinets, the oven and the refridgerator, and a superyard to keep her in a safe place whenever we need to look away for a second. She puts everything in her mouth and has bitten several people. She won't stand to stay in her crib for one minute upon waking each morning and will not sit still for more than 2 seconds. She wakes at the sound of pin dropping, barely takes one nap a day and hardly every sleeps in the stroller. She's 16 months now and her speech is no where near what DD1's was at this age. She will climb anything and everything and I can already see her working through how to unlock the gates (although she hasn't been successful yet). We affectionately call her "Trouble".

i am so sorry, but i laughed!!! i have so many friends in your situation, and they ALL JUDGED ME. and now they have THEIR own little "trouble" for number two and they have to come back to me and apologize! because BOTH of mine are your number two!

[katerinasmom]

i am so sorry, but i laughed!!! i have so many friends in your situation, and they ALL JUDGED ME. and now they have THEIR own little "trouble" for number two and they have to come back to me and apologize! because BOTH of mine are your number two!

No need to apologize. We laugh too. DH secretly calls her "Birth Control". He originally wanted three kids but is now rethinking whether he'd have the energy if the third turns out remotely like DD2. She has the cutest smile though with chubby little cheeks. And she'll run over and hug and snuggle into your legs when she knows she's being bad. And oh yes - she gives the best greetings when we come home from work - loud running smiling arms up "Mommy"/"Daddy" (two of the few words she says clearly). So well keep her, despite all the "trouble".

[saschalicks]

I'll do this by this AM example:

DS1 refused to get out of bed or get dressed or wear the sweater I pulled out for him.

DS2 wasn't happy at first when I undressed him but by the time shoes were on he was ready to go.

They couldn't be more polar opposites. HOWEVER, DS2 is entering the nasty 3's and I just cannot believe that I'm finally seeing the end of it w/DS1 and now around the corner comes DS2. Even so, I can tell you his will not be as bad as DS1's.

[LarsMal]

For DD1 we never locked a cabinet and could sleep in while she amused herself in her crib for 1/2-1 hour after waking up. She held our hand when out and about, rarely fussed about anything to eat, was talking in clear enunciated sentences by age 2, put very little in her mouth and never bit anyone. She never climbed the furniture and would stay put even at 1 years old when told. She was very gentle with her books and never ripped a single page. And she would takes 2-3 naps a day (still takes a nap at 4.5 years old about 3-4 times a week), still naps in the stroller and could and still does sleep through anything.

DD2 requires constant supervision. We had to buy locks for all of the cabinets, the oven and the refridgerator, and a superyard to keep her in a safe place whenever we need to look away for a second. She puts everything in her mouth and has bitten several people. She won't stand to stay in her crib for one minute upon waking each morning and will not sit still for more than 2 seconds. She wakes at the sound of pin dropping, barely takes one nap a day and hardly every sleeps in the stroller. She's 16 months now and her speech is no where near what DD1's was at this age. She will climb anything and everything and I can already see her working through how to unlock the gates (although she hasn't been successful yet). We affectionately call her "Trouble".

This is us, too! We knew we were lucky with DS, but we had NO IDEA until DD came along! DS was sleeping through the night by 6 weeks (the midnight to 6am stretch, at least), so unbelievably easy, laid-back, etc. DD was high maintenance from the get-go. DS has learned all of his "bad behaviors" from DD, not the other way around!

You know it's bad when your own grandmother tells you she was trying to get a birthday card for DD and had to keep putting them down because they started with "To a sweet little girl". Poor DD!!! She is sweet, but man is she trouble!!! We always say it's a good thing she's so darn cute or she'd be hanging by her toes! We affectionately call her "Womanimal".

[lisams]

No need to apologize. We laugh too. DH secretly calls her "Birth Control". He originally wanted three kids but is now rethinking whether he'd have the energy if the third turns out remotely like DD2. She has the cutest smile though with chubby little cheeks. And she'll run over and hug and snuggle into your legs when she knows she's being bad. And oh yes - she gives the best greetings when we come home from work - loud running smiling arms up "Mommy"/"Daddy" (two of the few words she says clearly). So well keep her, despite all the "trouble".

Our first was our "trouble" which is part of why we waited longer than planned for our second! I needed some recovery time :)

[AngelaS]

Funny, I blogged about this very subject today.

We were in Hobby Lobby the other day and. I debated about buying more fabrics but knew I didn't really NEED them. But I wanted them and was taking a long time decided on if I should or not.

My 11 year old said, "Close your eyes and just walk away. Walk away....."

A few days later, I was in the same store with M, age 4, and she spent the time touching all the fabrics and begging me to "Buy something Mommy!"

[MichelleRC]

There are some days I find it hard to believe mine come from the same gene pool.

a recent example:
DS2 broke his arm on New Years Eve, did such a good job, it required surgery to put pins in his elbow. He has been an incredible trooper, not really complaining too much. He just started doing things with his left hand so he could get done what he needed to get done.
DS1 would have had to have been sedated.
When they took the splint off before they put the cast on, DS2 was like "cool, look at the pins sticking out". DS1, who was with us at the appointment, turned white as a sheet and went running from the room.

DS1 was an incredibly easy baby, we never needed cabinet locks & he slept through the night immediately. He is highly gifted, anxious, and prefers the company of adults.
DS2 is a PITA most of the time, but is way more street smart than his big brother, is a practical problem solver, crazy imaginative, and is like the mayor of his pre-k class. He is 4 1/2 and still doesnt sleep through the night, LOL!

[Cam&Clay]

DS1 slept like a champ. He was calm, laid-back, very reserved. Now that he is 10 and has a brother who is 12 months old, I tell him that it's a good thing that he came first. If DS2 had been first, there would have been no DS1!

They really couldn't be more opposite in everything...except eating. They both eat anything!

[happymomma]

DS and DD are opposite of each other. DS was always high maintenance and needed constant attention from birth till even now. Even at 5 1/2 he needs someone to play with him. DD is very easy going. Even at 2, she was playing by herself a lot and enjoyed it. DS was a picky eater and ate very little. DD loves to eat, especially sweets. To this day DS won't eat cake at birthday parties. He is just not into sweets. DD would beg for treats and will do anything for a treat.

[Drag0nflygirl]

Funny, I blogged about this very subject today.

We were in Hobby Lobby the other day and. I debated about buying more fabrics but knew I didn't really NEED them. But I wanted them and was taking a long time decided on if I should or not.

My 11 year old said, "Close your eyes and just walk away. Walk away....."

A few days later, I was in the same store with M, age 4, and she spent the time touching all the fabrics and begging me to "Buy something Mommy!"

LOL, wow! That's kind of like having an angel on one side, "Do the right thing..." and the Devil on the other side, "Excess is good..."

[bubbaray]

Well, I could post a novel. How about just one.

DD#1 hates having her picture taken, especially by "others" -- screams, cries, it makes professional photos SOOOO much fun.

DD#2 is the exact opposite. The devil himself could say "cheese" while holding a camera and she'd flash him her biggest, chipmunk grin. She's a totally ham in front of the camera. The professional photographer that does our Christmas photos every year says she's never seen another kid like her.

[vwh99]

I laugh when I read all these posts since every day since ds 2 was born, I pray "please, let you be my 'calm' child!" He's been a dream but now at 7 months and just starting to crawl, I'm not sure anymore.....

Val
dd 10/03...as 'spirited' as they come
ds 8/06...not as bad, but loves copying older sis
ds 6/08...how does he know anything else different when I've got the other 2 as examples (WHAT kids aren't supposed to be shouting as soon as they get up in the morning and what does it mean when people say 'quiet bedtime'??)