Little boys

They are very different from girls, but delightful none the less. We were actually talking about this last night with Alyson, who just had her son a couple weeks ago. (He's adorable, by the way. New babies are the sweetest things ever.) She has two daughters already, so this boy thing is brand new to her. I can identify. I was there just two years ago myself!

I had gotten used to having a little girl, and then when I found out Orren was a boy, I was very happy because I knew how badly Thak wanted a son, but that quickly was tempered by reality when we went to set up our registry right after we left the birth center. For the first time in my then five years as a parent, I ventured to the boys' side of each rack and aisle. As a girl mommy, I had never had to pay attention to this part of the world, but now, having one of each, the entire world of children's and babies' stuff was mine! Yay! Or not. About five minutes in, I looked at Thak and said, "None of this is very cute. I can't really bring myself to even register for any of this stuff since I don't even like it." Thak said, "Well, that's just boy stuff for you. Look at men's stuff. Is it very exciting? No. So why would boys' stuff be any different?" He had a point.

After a few months, I came to find dinosaurs, and rock and roll guitars, and skulls absolutely adorable, and acclimated to the bland color palate of boy gear. I think it helps that I have a daughter, too, so I get to venture over to the exciting and fun side of the aisle as well. I'm not stuck shopping ONLY for boy stuff like some of my friends who have several sons, but no daughters.

Other than that, boys are so different from girls. I noticed it when Orren was very young that he was different from Erin. Not only was he a fussier baby (but still not what most people would actually consider fussy) but when he got fussy, it was different from Erin. Erin would just get sad, and you'd pick her up, love on her a little, maybe tickle her, and she was happy again. Orren didn't get sad, he got MAD, and it was harder to comfort him. You had to actually figure out what was wrong, and fix it to his satisfaction. This got a lot easier after we figured out that he hated being wrapped up (kind of hard to accomplish for a winter baby).

Erin never launched herself off of furniture (although she did fall off a few times, and if daddy was deployed, that was bound to end up with a trip to the ER for stitches. Murphy's Law of deployments.) , took much interest in ride-on toys, or had to be taught not to hit, kick, and bite. Orren, on the other hand, has done all of the above. In fact, launching himself off furniture is a favorite activity, and he is currently driving his plasmacar (which he is now better at operating than I am!) up and down the hallway. We did have to teach him not to hit, kick, and bite. We've been bite-free for about half a year, but he still has to be reminded that we don't hit or kick people or animals if he gets mad. He's super smart, and really fun, but so different from Erin. He's a boy.

Alyson was saying that for a while, she was nervous to have a boy since she was so used to how girls are, and knew that boys are so much more active and rough. I totally know that feeling. I knew Orren would be different from Erin because he's a boy. What I never banked on was how much fun it would be. It's also important to note that even though little boys are active and like to play rough, they can be really nice, too. Orren says please and thank you, and if he runs into you or knocks something over, he says "sorry". He picks up things he knocks over, and has learned to be gentle with animals. (He says "Nice!" and pets them softly.) There is still a lot we have to work on, like when he wants to be somewhere that someone else is, he currently says "move" and pushes them. That won't go over well when he hits school in a few years, so we're trying to nip it now. Again, stuff we never had to teach Erin, but Orren is Orren, and he is absolutely delightful.

I am really glad I have a little girl and a little boy. They are both perfect.