Audrey could have sat in a dirty diaper all day long. Rivers can't stand to be wet, much less dirty. He demands to keep a clean diaper. No exceptions.
Audrey has been a social girl since infancy. She hates being alone. As a baby she would wake up anytime anyone came over (i'm talking, in the hospital, here) and then would resume sleeping the moment they left. Even now, she wakes up every morning crying out for us. If she isn't going to sleep, she does not want to be alone. Rivers loves his alone time. He will be awake for an hour just playing and cooing to himself before he is ready for me to come get him. At least once a day he acts fussy and irritable (like he is sleepy) so I'll lay him down in his bed...only to find that 10/15 min later...he is just playing all by himself. It's like he just wanted to be alone for a little bit. Not tired in the least, but he knows what to do to tell me to put him in bed.
Audrey lives to learn new things. She bored easily after trying something more than a few times. She ate rice cereal for about a week before she refused to touch it ever again. She had no problem with changes (from bottle to cup, from crib to bed). The moment she learned to crawl, she wanted to walk, the second she took a step, she tried running. She takes a really long time to do anything well, bc she is so concerned with moving on to the next thing. Rivers seems a lot more careful and purposeful. He takes his time when learning something, and doesn't move on to the next task until he is good and ready.
They are even different with their ticklish-ness. Audrey really isn't. She has a spot or two that are very specific. Sure, she giggles when you tickle her when she is in a good mood...but only b/c it's fun...not really b/c it tickles. Rivers's tickle spot...is everywhere. He is like me in that...knees, arms, belly, neck, feet...everywhere. No matter his mood, if you tickle him, he can't help but laugh (and sometimes fuss at the same time.)
I was afraid of this...of my kids being so different. Audrey was such a good baby. So well tempered and sweet. She never cried and really was the best baby a girl could ever ask for (if wanting to keep sane, anyway). In my mind, I just knew Rivers would make up for that. I braced myself for a little hellion. Isn't that how it works? A good friend of ours was blessed with a second child who made him extremely grateful for his first. When Rivers came, I just figured, different meant bad news. But he is also an amazing baby. He is happy and loving. He never fusses (without reason). He loves everyone.
My kids are different in almost every way....That is, except in the ones that count. It makes me think of how it is with everyone; good doesn't mean the same. We are all made differently and we should celebrate that. I remember as a youth, I felt like I was being pushed into this mormon mold. That my religion wanted me to be exactly like every other mormon girl in the world... NOT TRUE. Yes, we should all be GOOD, but that is so far from being the SAME. I love my children. I love that they are good, and I LOVE that they are different! I want to help them discover who they are and flourish in that. I'm sure God feels the same way. I don't see how he couldn't.
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| Audrey |
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| Audrey 2yrs, Rivers 3 mo |
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| Audrey 3 mo |
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| Rivers 5 mo |
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| Audrey 5 mo. |
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