I think boys and girls might be different.......

This photo was taken with my phone by William. He sits next to Jake in the car and faces him, as Jake is still rear facing in his carseat. I thought it was a great photo!

Since we've found out that our baby is a GIRL, I have been thinking a lot about what will be different about raising her. It's sort of a strange thought, as so much of my identity is wrapped up in being the mom to all these little boys. I know what to expect at various stages, what to ignore, what to correct, what to laugh at, and what to cry over. Of course my boys all have unique personalities, strengths and weaknesses, but there are some constants that I feel I can depend on.
One example: about the age of 5, we have worried with each of our boys that they need to get their hearing checked! Matt went from a very responsive 4 year old, to a 5 year old who seemed to not hear us a lot of the time! In retrospect, I think he was just discovering the world around him and was very able to tune out the rest of us! Will was the same way - and we actually did take him to get tested. Of course the test turned out perfectly. When my mom spent those days with my boys while we were in the hospital with Matt, she was very concerned and wondered if we have ever thought about getting Drew's hearing tested. We just laughed. Hopefully, he doesn't really have a hearing problem!

Another example, here is Jake with a little farmer doll my mom and dad got him for Christmas. He really loves the doll, but there is absolutely nothing nurturing about the way he plays with it!
Here he is holding the doll and reaching for something.


And here he is whacking the heck out of the doll with the stick to his stacking toy.


I'm worried about being patient and nurturing to a little girl. My parenting style is pretty militant, ("Boys, shoes, NOW!") which my boys respond very well to. They know we love them, we laugh and play a lot, but there isn't a lot of 'touchy-feely' that goes on. It's easier to get boys to open up over a video game, not a heart to heart sitting on their beds! There's lots of wrestling, lots of physical activity, lots of noise. I hope I haven't de-sensitized myself too much from girl stuff! I hope I can be sweet and loving to a little girl to help her feel secure.

On the upside, I think I've gotten over my weird feelings about shopping in the girl section! Yesterday I went to SLC for a doctor's appointment for Matt. We took Carolyn, and shopped a little bit.


I absolutely couldn't pass up this darling, fur trimmed coat ($12 - Nordstrom Rack), and fabulous shiny red Stride Rite Mary Janes ($8 - Ross dress for less). They should both fit her when she's about 18 months old, so Christmas 2010! Do you know how long I have wanted to buy shiny Mary Jane Shoes? (Oh, that and ruffle bum tights - I'm still working on that one!)