Every kid is different

This photo perfectly fits the theme of this post and was taken by Jill Clayton Photography!

When kids have the same parents, I feel like there are only so many different physical and mental characteristics the kid can have. Remember in high school science class when you make those boxes to figure out blood types of people based on their parents’? It always seems like there would be one for personal characteristics too but that is the opposite of what I have found as a mom!

L is athletic. R likes drawing. E enjoys making people laugh. M likes all of the attention. When it comes to intellectual milestones they have also come at very different times. When R was 2 we started to notice a few autistic tendencies. We decided to have him evaluated and were fortunate to work with a great specialist who gave us some tips for helping with his sensory needs. What was most difficult was that we had never experienced this with L so we were overwhelmed with these new experiences.

One of the things R had a really good grasp on from early on was his vocabulary. When it was recommended he know 50 words, he knew 100. When we were told he needed to be making 2-3 word sentences, he was making 4-5 word sentences. And then it was E’s turn to start adding words to her vocabulary. Although she was consistent in making the same sounds for specific words, the words were for the most part completely unrecognizable. And even though we are still working on expanding her vocabulary, her facial expressions have always been much more animated than her other siblings.

L walked at 9 months, R at 11 months, E at 12 months and M took her good sweet time not walking until 14 months. While that allowed us to not have to worry as much about baby proofing things on most surfaces, it also had us concerned at times since all of our other kids walked so much earlier. When G continues to grow I am sure we will find other things she does or does not do compared to her siblings.

So even though it can be overwhelming when your expectations of development are not met in the same way, the thing I’ve learned: every kid is different and that is a good thing. How boring would it be to only attend one kind of sporting event for the rest of your parenthood journey? Don't get my wrong I love soccer, but watching 5+ games a week because all of my kids only liked the same thing would drive me nuts! This way I can go to L's soccer game, R's art exhibit, E's music concert (or perhaps lip sync battle cuz the girl is TALENTED), M's 4H event and G's cross country meet and get to share those special moments with each of them.

I’m going to add a second thing I’ve learned here: if you are worried about milestones your children are or are not reaching, your pediatrician and local AEA are great resources! More about our experiences in a later post!