Differences between Kid A and Kid B

It is funny how different two kids with your same DNA can turn out to be. They really do come into this world with their own agenda and personality to go with it!

Elijah was such an easy baby...too easy many people said. We got plenty of warnings that our second child was going to be a "little devil" since our first one was such a "little angel". But, we thought those people were kinda off kilter and that they didn't know our kids, or what they would be like so it wasn't fair to doom our second kiddo that way!

And, as if just to prove those people wrong, our second little baby boy was just as precious. He latched on even faster than Elijah did and was a great eater, slept through the night at 3 weeks old, only cried when he was hungry, tired, or poopy, and was the happiest baby you'd ever seen. He ALWAYS had a smile on his face! The only thing that Joaquin didn't quite live up to on my baby perfection list was his occasional spit up (which Elijah NEVER did.)

Now, Elijah's birthday is April, 26th--so he is a Taurus like his mommy...The Bull! Stories of my hard-headedness have been circling around in our family for years and so I kinda expected the same type of stubbornness from Elijah, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well he listened and followed directions. Ian and I were given the discipline book, How to Train Up a Child written by the Pearls, and we have been sticklers about it! Elijah took to it like a duck in water! After a training session on not pulling off daddy's glasses, he wouldn't do it again. It was the same way with the fireplace and the display cabinet and so on. Really, the system seemed to be working exactly like they described it in the book! Of course as a parent, you are so proud when you hear from strangers that "your kid is so behaved on an airplane!" or "I've never seen a kid at a restaurant act so well! i didn't even know there was a kid in the booth next to us!" We glowed and chalked it all up to the Pearl's book of wisdom and our consistency with his discipline.

However, after having kiddo numero dos, I will admit I think it had much more to do with Elijah's temperament than it did our discipline structure because I do the same exact thing with Joaquin and the results are NOT the same!

That little stinker should have been born under the Taurean stars, because he is more bull-headed than Elijah and I combined! When he wants to do something, NOTHING, I mean NOTHING, will deter him! It doesn't matter how many times he gets switched and told no, distracted with cool toys, taken away from that environment, or even given food instead...as soon as the tactic is done, he is crawling right back over to that "no no" area and into trouble again! Now, he isn't the kind that will scream and throw tantrums and bite other kids in the near vicinity, he is just stubborn! Incredibly stubborn!

Funny thing is, he still has that bright little sunshine of a personality even when he is going through some discipline training. It is like the switch (and yes, Ian and I switch our kids as a form of discipline...sorry it that offends anyone else--to each his own) doesn't even phase him. So maybe he is more Gemini then I am giving him credit for...2 sides to his character---the little stinker and the little sunshine combined!

Ok, enough of me talking about them. All this to say, Ian and I are having fun seeing our boys grow up and display different parts of their personalities. Elijah and Joaquin each have their own little interests and are already forming their own little beliefs! (like whether or not they believe the interest is worth the cost of the discipline they know is coming) Elijah usually considers the choice and picks the pacifist way, but Joaquin looks at the same choice and jumps in head first and smiles when the switch comes down to swat him! Makes me wonder how this pattern will look when they are teenagers! :)

Here are a few pics of Kid A and Kid B doing their thing:

So, suddenly it was 30 degrees again, when we were swimming in the baby pool the day before. Elijah has the cutest little pea-coat and riding cap that Gamma gave him last Christmas. This was the first time he got to wear it to school. Everyone thought he was the cutest little chap' around! :)

Elijah has also started joining me for my yoga stretches when Joaquin is napping. He uses daddy's mat (one we bought on one of those 2 days when Ian was going to Bikrim yoga with me and hasn't been used since). Here he is trying to fold his legs over like mommy. He LOVES it and it is soooo freaking hard for me to focus on my stretches because of how adorable he is when he does these poses! (He has also learned what it means to say "cheese" when I get the camera out, so now we get smiles in all the pictures! YEAH!)

And, here is Kid B. What did I tell you! :)

Elijah hasn't touched the fireplace in over a year (ever since we did the fireplace training session with him when he was about Joaquin's age). Well, the fireplace training only piqued Joaquin's interest in things! I walked into the living room the other day after going to the bathroom and this is what I found! Little stinker was covered in soot literally from head to toe!
(He was disciplined, I'll assure you, but I couldn't help but snap a picture of my little chimney sweep afterward.)

I tried to brush off the soot, but in the end I had to throw him in the tub! You can tell he looks really upset from getting in all that trouble, huh? Nope! Just as happy as a clam that he got to dig around in all that dirty stuff and the switch seemed like a good compromise for his 2 min. of fun, I guess!




Ohhh, but through it all, my heart still melts for my little boys!