Personalities and Love

I have always found child development very interesting. My first round through college I got a degree in Family Science with a minor in Psychology. The majority of my psychology classes emphasized in Child psychology. Before I met Jeff, my last semester, I was considering continuing my education and going for a doctorate in Child Psychology. I wanted to focus on research as opposed to being a practicing psychologist. My plans changed when I got married and worked to put Jeff through his Masters degree. And then when I had an opportunity to go back to school I decided on something entirely different, Graphic Design. Which has been such an asset in my life. Now that I have children of my own, watching them grow and develop has been so fascinating to me. They are my little research subjects and our home is my lab!

Lately I have been very interested in observing their different personalities and how they affect my individual relationships with them. My girls have many interests that are similar, but their personalities are quite different.

Aubrey came into this world very alert and full of life. She never had that sleepy newborn phase. She wanted to interact and observe from day one. She had eyes wide open and seemed to be watching and listening to what was going on around her even as a tiny infant. She began smiling at about a week old, and it wasn't gas, it was consistent from that point on. She analyzes everything and has an understanding of things beyond her age. She is concerned about others feelings and will do things for people just to make them happy. She has always loved to learn and experience everything. She is very passionate, she has her highs and she has her lows. She is so determined. If she wants to be able to do something she will work and work and work at it until she has it down. Along with that is her amazing attention span. I could read her long storybooks at a very young age. She will stay at a task for hours if it's something she is interested in. She is very creative. The things that girl comes up with are amazing. She's a little performer, she wants to be on a stage always. However, when she gets on the stage she is a little reserved. She is very cautious. If she senses any kind of physical danger she will shy away. At any given moment she is either my most favorite person in the whole world or the person who is driving me to the edge of insanity! If I were to write a description of me now and as a child, I would describe myself almost identical to the description above. Aubrey is so much like me.  It is our similarities that draw me to her. Most of the time I can understand where she is coming from and her motivation behind things. It's fun to see her doing things and saying things just like me now and in the past. My love for her in many ways stems from our similarities.

Brooke is my little sweetheart. It's hard to describe, but she came into this world with an aura of sweetness. There was just something so gentle about that little baby. I use sweet a lot to describe her because it is just part of who she is and I can't think of any other word that describes her better.  She certainly does have her two year old moments and is stubborn like the rest of us, but for the most part she is just sweet! She has inherited this trait from her father. She has always been interested in emotions. She points out the expressions of people and will tell me what emotion she thinks they are experiencing. She  has been doing this since she was very young,We can't get through a story until she has told me about every expression and emotion of all of the characters. Brooke is my little girly girl. She likes to dress up and do her hair and nails and makeup. She generally picks out skirts or dresses to wear and tells me how she wants me to do her hair. She does not like to get messy and is really quite clean. She is much less animated then her sister and mostly speaks in a very soft and sweet voice. Things seem to come very naturally for her. One day she woke up and could sing the ABC's without even having worked on them or me teaching her. She did the same with counting and speech in general. She has a natural good rhythm and a really pretty tone to her voice. I think she will be a natural dancer and singer. I have seen her be determined on occasion, but most of the time she doesn't have to be because things just come easily for her. She is certainly not a dare devil, but is much less cautious then her sister. She can keep up with Aubrey on most things and doesn't retreat in fear when trying something new. She is so pleasant and so easy to like. I think she will make friends very easily as she gets older. Brooke's personality is very different than mine. With Brooke it is her differences that attract me to her. She does things differently than I expect and I am fascinated by it and love it about her. All of the things she comes up with, that I never would have thought of draws me to her.

It has been so interesting to see how my love for both of my girls is equal in amount but for completely different reasons. My love for each of them even feels differently. With Aubrey it's a fun,exciting, up and down kind of emotion. With Brooke it's more of a gentle and a sweet feeling. With Aubrey I have enjoyed watching her grow and do new things. With Brooke I want to wrap her up and keep her my sweet little baby forever!  I know that's not possible, and am glad that she will keep her sweet nature even as she grows. I am really going to enjoy watching their personalities change and blossom and how my relationship with them will grow and change throughout the years. I am so grateful to be their mother and have this most amazing opportunity to watch them grow and also to guide them in their path. I hope I can always be in tune to their individual personalities and encourage them to be their best selves.