#3

Wouldn't we love to say that we treat all our children equally? It isn't even close to being true. Hayden got all the undivided attention of a first child. Is it any wonder he's such an early reader? We must have read to him 2 hours a day. Poor Trevor probably only knows 2 letters right now (T I'm sure of, maybe H). Hopefully he'll pick it all up in preschool.

And Miss J? She's on her own entirely. Still don't have any video of her crawling...but she's been at it for months. Now she's pulling herself up to stand...without an audience of clapping, adoring fans. She tried to pull herself up on my leg in the kitchen last night but only succeeded in pulling down my pants. She's a do-it-herself kind of gal, way ahead of where the boys were on gross motor development at the same age. But I think it's by necessity. As much as I absolutely and truly adore her, I can't lay on the floor to play with her for a minute without the wild boys clawing at us. So she gets to explore and try to stand, and fall, all on her own. No safety net of hands ready to catch her. I think she'll be our adventurous one--jumping out of planes and traveling the world with only a backpack.

Birth order isn't everything, but it sure seems to make a difference in our house.