Military mama: Children’s personalities need time to develop

I wonder if there are too many influences on our kids to emulate stereotypes, there’s just too much out there to hide your kiddos in a bubble for their whole lives.

My oldest is such a “boy’s boy.” He loves sports, cars, farts and action heroes. Quite frankly, he is a junior version of his father. The only difference is that he did manage to inherit a touch of my tenderheartedness. I can take a lot, but catch me on the wrong day and I may just spring a leak over a Lifetime movie. Kaleb takes things quite personally sometimes and he can turn on the waterworks in a flash.

Yet, when I ask if he is crying, he will respond, “No mom, I not! I got somefin’ in my eye.” He is already of the mind that boys don’t cry, unless there is blood or a lost championship game.

Every now and then the mask of manhood falls off of this little guy and he will sob uncontrollably. These events typically happen after being told to clean his room or getting in trouble. In these moments he becomes my baby again, and I quietly enjoy holding him on my lap, rocking and soothing him. Soon he will be too old for this, but despite all his efforts to be a big boy now there are still times when he comes to me with a broken heart that only his mommy can repair.

These moments pass too soon and he is quickly back to his boyish shenanigans. He’ll be off kicking his soccer ball, drumming on everything that potentially makes a sound or insisting that his given name is truly Optimus Prime and that he is in fact a Transformer “for real mom.”

The babies are still developing their personalities, but they haven’t veered much from exactly how they came out! It is apparent that Aidan has a lot more of his mama’s disposition than any of the others. He is sweet and easily pleased, until he gets feisty. Brooklyn, despite my love of shopping for all things girly and cutesy, is already a daddy’s girl and one tough little nut to crack. She is going to be an interesting character to watch develop because she is a bruiser but at the same time will always be our little princess.

I love watching these kids grow into their own, even with all of the attitude that is surfacing at far too early of an age! It warms my heart to watch them interact and develop in different social situations. Even when sometimes the behavior isn’t exactly what I’d hope.

I just sighed when I walked in on Kaleb hovering over a crying Aidan and hear his four-year-old mouth tell his baby brother, “man up and stop crying already.” Interestingly enough, Aidan stopped. Maybe the testosterone code is kicking in with this little dude already, too.