Boys will be Boys

The joys of boys...

If you've been reading my blog for awhile you may have remembered my series on "Bringing up Boys" by Dr. James Dobson.

It is very obvious that boys are different from the fairer gender.  I love having daughters and sons for different reasons. Mark and Micah are really different with their own boy personalities.

Mark is very verbal for a boy and extremely smart (he taught himself to read last year at the age of 4).  My in laws are always amazed at how bright and what a great communicator he is.  At the age of 1 he was talking in full sentences.  But he's very sensitive, and sometimes cries at the drop of the hat. He loves playing with his big sister Julia and is very competitive with her.  He really doesn't play by himself he loves having Julia tell him what to play and if she's out for the day he mopes around the house saying, "I'm bored."  Mark enjoys Taekwondo, sword playing, dressing up as super heroes and Legos! 

Micah on the other hand is one of the toughest little kids I know.  He can trip and fall on his head and get up and act like nothing happened.  He very rarely cries.  He is happy go lucky, and very independent.  Every one of my friends says that Micah is their favorite because he's always laughing (he has the best smile) and nothing bothers him (except losing his pacifier).  He's a riot.  

Micah can play for hours by himself in the dirt in the back yard or at the park in a sand box.  He doesn't need anyone to tell him how to play...he's been playing by himself since he could sit up at 5/6 months.  He reminds me a lot of Julia because as a baby she could keep her self occupied for hours with her toys.  Micah is the same.  He can play with a bucket of cars, make noises for each one, read books to himself, and be completely content.  

And Micah ADORES Mark.  Mark is the first name in our family he learned.  (Besides mommy and daddy of course).  I still remember the day he learned it.  We were sitting on the couch watching a show and Mark left to go upstairs and Micah yelled, "MARK!!!!!!!!" As  if to say...Dude, get back here, I need you!  He loves taking a bath with Mark, sharing a room with Mark, sitting at the table by Mark and playing outside with Mark.  Mark is his BOY.  But if Mark was out for the day...he would be completely fine.  Out of sight, out of mind.

Micah is not nearly as verbal as Mark was.  He's gotten a lot better recently because we've taken the pacifier away, but still Mark was a 15 month old genius!  Micah is 20 months old and just starting to put sentences together...although that still is good.  Micah is much more gross motor skilled.  Crawling at 4 months, climbing steps at 6 months, walking by 9 1/2 months.  I think he's going to be VERY athletic like my Dad who played baseball, soft ball, basketball and football competitively...

What I love about having sons is that they love being outside.  They love getting dirty, finding sticks, looking for worms, making forts.  What I sometimes struggle with having sons...is that they love getting dirty, love finding sticks, love looking for worms.  Every day with boys is a bath day.  Every minute is spent exploring, digging, and searching for the next adventure.  And they are always yelling and screaming, and shooting the bad guys.  No we don't let them watch violent shows or play violent video games. How is it that they know what guns and knives are and how is it that even if you never have weapons in the house they can make them out of sticks, rocks, tree bark, or their sister's batons?

Boys are loud, dirty, and dangerous!  I'm constantly saying: "Don't hit your brother with that! Be careful on the stairs! and "Stop, RUNNING!"  Why did I ever expect my third and fourth grade boys to keep their shirts tucked in and have clean desks and lockers?  What was I thinking???

But boys will be boys...loud, dirty, dangerous, and awesome!

I love both my boys...both sweet, both smart, both awesome.  But, who am I?  I'm just a very, very, biased mom.