I don't remember if I have mentioned this before or not
because truth be told, it sounds pretty awful to say. I'll go ahead and say it
now though.
Not quite two years ago, Bethany and I found ourselves in an
ultrasound room waiting to find out what gender Ethan would be. Finally, the
verdict came down that we were having a boy. Most people would be ecstatic to
find out that news since we already had a little girl in our family. We,
however, were pretty crestfallen.
In our minds there
were so many reasons that we wanted a girl. Chief among them were that we already
had all of the stuff and also that it would be awesome for Ellie to have a
sister to bond with. The fact that there was a boy growing inside Bethany just
seemed disappointing and wrong. Sad to say, those feelings continued off and on
throughout Bethany's pregnancy. However, if someone were to ask me today if I'm
happy Ethan is a boy, I would undoubtedly say "Yes!" for a multitude
of reasons.
For one thing, there's a really fun dynamic between the two
siblings. As the older sister, Ellie absolutely loves to embrace the
"mom" side of her personality when it comes to Ethan. She absolutely
loves to dote on him and cater to his needs. If she thinks he needs a diaper
change, she is more than willing to tell us. She also takes it upon herself to
provide him with food and snacks from her own plate whenever possible. Ethan,
for his part, shows his love for Ellie by following her around the house like a
lost puppy and by bestowing an enormous hug upon her whenever given the
opportunity.
I really also enjoy the stark difference in personalities.
Remembering Ellie at this age and seeing Ethan at the same age is quite the
exercise in opposites. Ellie, for her part, needed constant attention and
supervision to be happy whereas Ethan is quite the opposite. It's not uncommon
to see Ethan become engaged in a single activity for long periods of time while
being completely happy to do so. It's extremely strange when one considers
Ellie's status as an introvert and Ethan's as an extravert.
Ethan's penchant for engaging in a single activity really
needs to be expanded on for the sake of documentation. One of his favorite
things he has discovered as of late is magnetic building tiles. His fascination
with them is actually unbelievable given the fact that he doesn't so much build
with them as he does repetitively stack and unstack them. I've honestly seen
him spend close to an hour happily playing with those tiles before finally
wanting some attention from me.
There is another difference between Ellie and Ethan that
needs to be discussed and this one may be true for anyone who has had a boy and
a girl but Ethan definitely has a gift for getting into mischief that his
sister did not possess. I seriously spend a large part of my day taking loose
crayons out of his possession, recovering our car keys from whatever unusual
spot he left them in, and putting the child safety covers back on our
electrical outlets.
There is one more weird thing Ethan likes to do though. He
loves (and I mean loves) to remove the air registers from our floor. He doesn't
just remove them though. He'll take them off and run around the house with
them. Sometimes, if left to his own devices long enough, he'll actually begin
to collect the registers and put them together in a big pile somewhere in the
house.
I can't say that I understand the appeal. However, to Ethan,
an air register is something of great value. From the moment he grabs one, a
huge smile erupts across his face. Then, as he clutches his prize close, the
continuous giggles will burst forth from his tiny mouth. What really makes him
happy though is for someone to notice what he's done and give chase. That will
turn those giggles into full-out victorious cackles more akin to an evil genius
than a toddler.
 |
| I think this might be what Ethan is trying to tell me. |
The differences I've detailed out are only the tip of the
iceberg. However, I have to say that I absolutely love the stark contrasts
offered by Ellie and Ethan in terms of their little personalities. In fact, I
can't wait to see how those tiny personalities continue to develop and change
over the years. Who knows if the differences will be enormous or too tiny
to..."register."
Wow, that was an absolutely terrible joke. I'm so sorry you
had to experience that. My deepest apologies. I'll try to do better next time.
#DaddyWrite
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