Our Life Unedited

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Little Person{ality}

Marlee ripped her dress at Jace’s soccer practice on Friday. She got herself stuck under a chain-link-fence as she tried to make a quick soccer field get-a-way. Her dress was the only injury, thankfully. But I tell you what: that chicka is a monkey!

One of my absolute favorite of all of my favorite parts of mothering is watching my children’s personalities grow, develop and change. Each of them so different than the other, yet having bits and pieces of familiar traits that are shared among all three. In another life I am destined to be an anthropologist – but for now I study my children.

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Brynlee is our true-to-definition oldest child: responsible, dependable and a bit bossy. She’s organized, determined and catches on to things extremely quickly. There’s not much that girl can’t do. Although she is still soft spoken, she is a lot less timid than the younger version of herself. She loves school, doing crafts and eating treats. She’s goofy, laughs easily, and loves to be silly. Also a bit of an overachiever, that’s fed, I suppose, by a quiet competitive streak. She grew up so much this summer, becoming more independent. All summer long she would wake up, make her bed, get showered, dressed, and do her “homework” – all before Spencer and I would roll out of bed. She wants to do good, is an excellent student, and craves adventure.

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Jace is our peacemaker. He’s chocolate covered, dipped in sugar, covered in syrup, and anything else that is sweet. He’s the one that divides a stick of gum into five equal parts so we can all have a taste. He’s a natural sharer with a heart of gold. When comfortable he’s a joker, silly and thinks typical little boy humor is hilarious. When in social settings that he is unfamiliar with he is quiet, reserved and shy. He doesn’t like to be the center of attention, and freezes when put in the unexpected spotlight. He’s a listener more than a talker and an observer more than a participant. He doesn’t demand a lot of attention and seldom ever has a complaining word to say. He calls his dad, ‘Old Man’; Marlee, ‘baby’; and his best friend Kyle, ‘brotha’. This summer he mastered all his letters and sounds and can count all the way to 100 will a little help. He has a huge imagination, still loves all things superhero, and is the constant protector and defender of his sisters.

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And then Marlee. Marlee is our monkey. She makes us laugh, is a bit of a showoff and loves to be our families little center of attention. Although still a bit reserved when around people she doesn’t know – proving that she definitely belongs among our children – she tends to be more comfortable in larger groups that either of her siblings. She idolizes her big brother and sister, but is also fully aware that she has them wrapped around her little, baby finger. She loves babies, cars, books and coloring. She climbs anything and everything, jumps on the trampoline like a pro and can kick a soccer ball across the yard and into the net. I always find her dancing on the dining table or standing on the back of the couch or sitting all the way on top of the little play kitchen. She’s constantly bruised, banged and goose-egged, but rebounds quickly. She wrestles Jace like she’s just his size and squawks at ridiculous levels just because it’s funny. She’s got spice.