Boys and Girls

Yeah, so um, either boys and girls are just inherently, undeniably different, or my kids are really good at playing into stereotypes:).  It was not as obvious when it was just Luke, but we are reminded daily that little Anna is, in fact, a GIRL.

For one thing, she is way more nurturing than Luke.  Don't get me wrong--Luke is a sweetie, but Anna is a little mom!  She takes such good care of her dolls and keeps them very well fed.  At a toy store a couple weeks back, while Luke checked out the trains, Anna spent the whole time pushing around a stroller with a little baby doll in it.  At one point, the doll fell out, and Anna toddled around to pick it up and put it back.  She then resumed strolling, only to look down and realize that--gasp!--she had put the baby in upside down!  So she toddled back around and fixed the baby.  And then continued to take him for a walk. 

Also, whereas Luke rarely gets his feelings hurt, it is very clear that Anna is very sensitive.  If you walk by and not give her a hug or a big smile, she is likely to burst into tears.  If she accidentally gets pushed over, she bawls, even though it is clear that she is not at all physically hurt. 

Plus, she is much more, um, aware of danger than Luke ever was.  While Luke was bizarrely fearless at her age, Anna borders on being a scaredy-cat sometimes:).  She is terrified of the vacuum cleaner and any and every kind of dog, no matter how small or friendly.  Her reaction in these "dire" situations is comically tragic.  While Luke runs away at the hint of danger, Anna stops, drops, and rolls!  She literally throws herself on the ground, rolls away from the object of her terror, and stays laying down--facing the other way--and screams bloody murder!  It is so sad and yet funny at the same time.  Oh, and she is much, much more verbal than Luke was at that age and is always willing to talk your ear off.  I kid you not, though she is still speaking Anna-ese, she occasionally talks in complete sentences.  It just takes, um, a discerning ear to understand:).  For instance, she was on my bed this morning, and she said--undeniably--"I want to get down."  Now, to an untrained ear, it may have sounded like, "Ah-ba da ga dah-ow."  But I knew.  I said, "You want to get down?"  And she started grinning, grunting, and kicking her legs excitedly, meaning, that I had hit the nail on the head.  That's my girl!