Personality

I am beginning to notice some personality differences between my little ones. Two events will illustrate:
1) We have two big toys in our living room: a swing, which obviously swings back and forth; and a exersaucer, which spins around on a disc and also teeters back and forth on that same center point. Yesterday, Isaac decided he was going to stand up while holding onto these two objects. First, the swing. The swing swings back and forth, with the speed and distance depending on how hard you push it, right? Well, his first attempt didn't work out quite the way he wanted. He fell, he cried (more because he was frustrated he didn't get his way than because he was hurt), I went and picked him up and hugged him and moved him away from the swing. He quickly and with an oh-so-determined glint in his eyes moved BACK to the swing and tried to stand up on it again. This time, he swung with the swing and went UNDER the swing, having the swing hit the top of his head as it continued to swing back and forth. Again, he cried. Again, I went over and helped him out and gave him a hug and moved him away from the swing. Again, he quickly and efficiently moved BACK to the swing and tried yet again to stand up. This time he was successful! You should have seen the look of victory on his face. Immediately he noticed the saucer next to the swing. He wanted to walk over and stand next to the saucer and play with the toys. Again, the swing began to swing as he moved. Again he paid attention to the motion and figured out when it was going to go backwards and when it was going to come forward. Carefully he grabbed onto the legs of the swing, one hand still on the moving chair. It worked! He didn't fall over. Then he moved his hand to the saucer. Again -- it worked! Slowly he watched the motion of the chair, and when it was on its way backward, he slowly moved his feet and inched over to the saucer, moving the hand from the chair to the saucer. VICTORY!!! He smiled so widely and was just SO PROUD of himself. That lasted just a minute before he realized he didn't know what to do next, where to go from there. He hesitated just long enough to push the saucer a bit, which made it turn on its disc, and it caught him off guard. He fell -- this time between the saucer and the chair, hitting the seat and causing it to rock, which means it hit his head again. Do you think that deterred him from trying again? Nope. I moved him back from the chair, I folded the chair up as much as it would fold (which I hadn't done earlier because I was afraid it would just topple over on him; but I decided it was sturdy enough folded that it would be better because the seat wouldn't swing and hit him in the head anymore), and I turned to watch him, determined glint and all, go RIGHT BACK FOR THE SWING. Amazing, right? That's Isaac. If he wants to do something, he just does it. If he gets hit while figuring out how to do it, he gets angry, turns that to determination to win, and goes right back to work to do what he set out to accomplish. That applies to everything he has ever done.

2) Abby watches Isaac this whole time. She played a bit with the toys in front of her. She turned and got stuck under the sofa. Then she just sat and watched him. Occasionally she looked at me to see how I reacted to it all; but for the most part, she just took it all in. Then she started to talk through it all. She screamed and cooed and got louder and louder, trying to get my attention, I imagine. I think she finally decided she was through being stuck under the sofa and was going to get out. So she turned and squirmed until she was out. Oh the look of victory on her face! She talked to me some more, played with her toys a little bit, and was really pretty content. Then I put Isaac down for his nap. Abby changed. She started rolling around -- went from the sofa to the swing to the door to the armoir. She tried to climb up the armoir, grabbing ahold of the drawer handles. She rolled over by the suitcase in front of the sliding glass doors. She was all over the place. She played with the empty popcorn box I gave them to play with and the empty oatmeal canister I gave them to play with. And when she got tired and was ready for a nap, she didn't want to stop playing. She yelled at me when I took her to bed. Even though she was exhausted, she was having so much fun playing that she didn't want to stop. That seems to be Abby in a nutshell. She is very observant. She watches and takes in everything. Though she is adventurous, she seems to save her most adventurous times for moments when Isaac isn't around. Sometimes, though, she'll scream to get attention or pitch in to help Isaac accomplish his tasks. And I know she is frustrated at times to see him do things she can't and can't quite figure out how to do yet.

They are both avid learners and observers. Abby sits back and takes her time watching people, watching actions, watching reactions, etc. She figures out all the variables THROUGH WATCHING and observing, not rushing in until she's ready, not wanting to compete for center stage, wanting to explore and experiment on her own timetable, in her own way. I think they call that visual learning. Isaac watches in order to move as soon as he has some idea about what might work (even if he doesn't have it all figured out). As soon as that thing doesn't work, he gets right back on it and tries to solve it again. He takes in all the variables and works his way through each one THROUGH MOVING. This is kinetic learning.

But don't be fooled by the fact that Abby doesn't ALWAYS move right away. You put something in her way that she wants badly enough, and she goes for it with the same die-hard determination you find in Isaac. For example, today she was getting a little tired. She was done playing by herself and wanted some Mommy time. Then she noticed Isaac's pacifier on the floor about three feet away. She worked her way over to it like a seal - rolling on her tummy, back to her toes, moving her hands in front to pull herself forward and reaching with each hand until she could twist and turn and finally get it! Nothing was stopping her! She got frustrated at moments and started to cry, but she knew she could get it and went for it.

And don't be fooled by Isaac's die-hard determination. When he falls and gets hurt, his first inclination is to push me away, looking at the "object" of his frustration and ready to go again. But then I pull him in and try to get his attention, give him a kiss that he isn't necessarily wanting, etc., and there have been moments when that die-hard determined boy actually forgot his goal for a moment to cuddle into Mommy and tell me all about his "hard time." It's very sweet!

I love my children! I'm so excited to watch them develop and grow!