All About Ethan at this Moment in Time:
1. Ethan loves everything Star Wars. Anyone who knows Scott, knows that he is a Star Wars fan too. But I can honestly say that Scott didn't push Star Wars on Ethan at all. Granted, some of the 80s cartoon Star Wars shows were introduced to Ethan at about 2 1/2 years old, but it seems that from there, Ethan just could not get enough. He was the one begging Scott to tell him more about the characters etc. etc. We have to limit his Star Wars toys and movies. He can only play with Star Wars toys for about an hour each night when Scott or I are home after work. And he can only watch the movies/shows/cartoons on the weekends.
2. Ethan is always thinking, always planning . . . he has a very active mind. Sometimes so active, that it appears he is not listening to what you are saying when you're talking to him. But he is always busy, busy, busy in his mind. This can be a good thing, if focused in the right way.
3. Ethan loves playing soccer and playing outside. He is an outdoor boy, and always has better days overall with behavior and attitude if he can get at least 30 minutes a day playing outside. We aim for even more, like an hour if we can!
4. Ethan is definitely a people person. Although quiet spoken, he seems to show characteristics of an extrovert. He draws his energy from being around people. After a long day, he wants to have friends over to play, or asks to play with Daddy or Mommy. He needs that interaction with people to recharge. This is an interesting thing to figure out, when I myself am an introvert and rely on time alone to recharge. After a long day, I want some quiet time to myself. But with kids, I guess that doesn't really happen until they go to bed! :-)
All About Caleb at this Moment in Time:
1. He gets so excited about yellow school buses. He wants to count how many he can see every day when we go to pick up Ethan from school, which usually ends up being about 10 - 12 total. He gets soooo excited when he sees one that he can hardly contain himself. On a recent trip to a school playground in VA in Stacy and Zach's neighborhood, he insisted that he got his picture taken with each school bus that was parked in the school parking lot. It was like the school buses were celebrities or something in his eyes.
2. I've said this previously, but he still loves dinosaurs from "The Land Before Time" movies and roars at strangers when we pass them in stores. You would think people would wonder what this weird kid was doing roaring at them, but instead they just laugh and think he's cute. This of course only encourages him more. I don't quite know how to handle this. I don't want to squash his creative energy, but it also isn't that polite to roar at people out of the blue on a regular basis. Hmmm?
3. He is very dramatic. When he sings songs, he stands up and sings the words very serious and loud. When he tells you a story, he draws out each word like, "And Theeeeeeeeen, Sharktoooooooooooth . . . " along with hand motions and facial expressions. It's very entertaining to watch.
4. As much as he is dramatic at home and in comfortable situations, he gets very overwhelmed and overstimulated easily in social situations with other kids. I am learning that he is an introvert in the fact that he draws his energy from alone time, and if he's been around too many people or social situations, he can easily have a meltdown. So, it's up to us as his parents not to overexpose him to where he feels uncomfortable and overwhelmed, thus hopefully preventing meltdowns before they happen. And making sure that he has his "alone time" to recharge. This can be a difficult job. I used to refer to Caleb as our "strong-willed" child, but I am now referring to him as our "spirited" child, thanks to a book I am currently reading called, "Raising Your Spirited Child." It is very insightful and helping me a lot to look at Caleb's strengths, and helping me to learn to deal with his personality better.
