Little Personalities

It's been a while since I did a post talking about the kids' personalities and interests, so I thought I'd fill you in on the BIG little personalities developing in the Morrison house.

CC is three. That about sums it up! She's smart as a whip, both academically and inter-personally. This last skill, especially, can be used for either good or evil! She can be the sweetest child one minute, coming up with games or activities that her siblings enjoy, and in the blink of an eye can cut them to the quick with a comment or the theft of a particular toy. She know everyone's buttons around here, including mine!

Her favorite toys are dolls, the shopping cart (often used as a stroller), markers and crayons, and little wooden letters or puzzle pieces that she pretends are cookies she baked. She enjoys playing Mommy to her siblings, helping tuck them in for naps and fetching things they've dropped. I frequently overhear her saying things to them like, "If you eat just one more bite of broccoli, you can have a cookie." I remind her -- often -- that I'm the mommy, not her!

CC has been much less mommy-centric in the last few weeks, which is a relief for both me and MJ. She's become very interested in ballet, so I might enroll her in classes soon to see if she enjoys it. Her favorite foods are oranges, cucumber sticks, ham and cheese, and yogurt. When she grows up, she wants to be a teacher at her preschool -- and in the same classroom!

Little Man continues to be mercurial. He laughs and smiles constantly, and his favorite things are physical -- jumping, tumbling, rolling, climbing. Maybe it's because he's a boy, or maybe it's just his personality. He's picked up on the soccer skills CC learned last summer, and will often demonstrate them for me: "Yook, Mommy -- airpane move!" He loves to be tickled, to wrestle on the couch, or to "tackle-hug" me (without notice).

In general, Little Man is the least picky eater of our three kids. He even seems to like spicy foods. The only thing he doesn't like is fruit (except for bananas). His favorite food is macaroni and cheese, which he requests every day, for every single meal, even breakfast. His favorite toys are trains, a wooden pizza and birthday cake set, and the large foam chairs we push together to jump and climb on.

When he's confused or frustrated or angry, he screams hysterically and jumps up and down in place. We're teaching him to calm down and ask nicely if he wants something, but it's a work in progress. He seems to have an extreme case of selective hearing, which sometimes causes me to stand in front of him, hold his head so he's looking at me, and talk to him very slowly until he gives me an acknowledgement. Again -- maybe it's because he's male?

Sweet Pea mimics CC in many ways. When she talks, she's starting to make hand gestures that are very familiar to us. She's pretty good at sharing things, although whenever we remind her that it's not her turn to play with a certain toy, her response is always, "My turn two mins, okay?" (meaning the other person can play for two more minutes before it's her turn). I hope that this is not an early sign of a negotiator in training -- we are busy enough negotiating with her big sister!

Sweet Pea is very attached to me, but I think (hope?) she's become a little more flexible lately. She allows MJ to dress her and change her diaper sometimes without pitching a fit, and she doesn't always scream uncontrollably when I leave her with our babysitter.

She is turning into quite the giggly little girl, who yells, "watch me!" constantly during the day as she demonstrates dance moves or tumbling skills. She's hands-down the most affectionate of the three, even with MJ, who tells her every day that she's the best hugger and kisser. 

She's the most picky eater of the bunch, and there is no dessert on earth that will motivate her to eat something she doesn't like. Her favorite pair of pajamas is an old set of CC's, with cupcakes on it, and Sweet Pea wants to wear them every. single. night. She's even been known to pull them, dirty, out of the laundry basket and sneak them back into her drawer, so she can wear them again! Every time I do laundry, she runs up and asks, "Mommy wash my cupcakes today?"

CC is close with both her siblings, but in different ways. Little Man is a "joiner," so CC has learned that he's most likely to go along with her schemes and play with her. Sweet Pea is definitely not a joiner and will do what she wants to do, regardless of what everyone else is doing. However, CC insists on sitting next to Sweet Pea for all meals, helping her with getting dressed or playing (whether Sweet Pea wants help or not) and reading to her.

So there you have it -- a small glimpse into the personalities of our three munchkins!