Wacky World of Multiples

As the kids get older, I notice new things every day. Having multiples is like a little experiment, and I love experiments! It's so fun to see similarities and differences and think about nature versus nurture. So much crazy stuff to consider!


First of all, there's birth order. I don't know how this could even apply in our situation, since they were born at the same time. However, they are following the scripts for their birth orders, even though we treat them all the same.

Everyone knows that the first born is typically smartest and bossiest. Well, Miss Abby sure fits that description. She constantly bosses around the other two, often shaking a finger at them and saying, "No, no, no!" She's also a child genius. Yesterday, she was playing with Alice's iPhone, and she would push the button to turn it on, slide the thingy on the screen to unlock it, and push the button on top to turn it off. She had it all figured out and would just go through the cycle over and over. At one point she stopped, held up the phone, and said, "Say cheese." She knows we sometimes even take pictures with our phone! That girl has got her momma's brains! :)


Then, there's little Marie, our middle child. Middle children tend to be the nurturers and people pleasers. Miss Marie fits the bill. She's always taking care of Abby and Will and making sure they are accounted for. When they aren't in the room with her, she calls for them. When I give her a snack, she requests one for "Woo" and another for "Ab-bee." She's not happy until they are happy.


Finally, we get to the baby. The last child is typically the wild child. They can act like spoiled brats and may use humor to get attention. Oh, Mr. Willers, you are the last child to a tee. Will is insane. It must be a combination of being a boy and being the last, but the child is straight up crazy. They also say the later born children are riskier, and oh boy, is he risky. That child will climb on anything, jump off anything, basically, do anything. Then, when he does something terrible that frightens me, he'll flash his goofy little grin, and it melts my heart, and I just can't get mad at him. That boy has me all figured out.


This is an interesting article on birth order from Time Magazine:

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1672715-1,00.html


They are also now understanding each other, which freaks me out. Will was going on and on saying something to me and getting frustrated that I was not getting it, and Marie ran up, they "talked" to eachother, and she turned to me and said, "Coo-coo," which is how she says cookie. I turned to Will and asked if he wanted a cookie, and he said "yeah." It took Marie to translate for him. Now, they are going to start talking about me, and I won't even know it. This is so dangerous.


I often watch them play together nicely. At times they share, and say "peas" and "gracias" to eachother and act like the best of friends. I think to myself how wonderful to love eachother and grow up together and experience major milestones together. Then, someone will punch, bite, and/or pull someone's hair, and I quickly realize they also have the potential to be the worst of enemies. They are constantly competing for attention and affection. If someone is on my lap, another child will come over and push that one off. Now that they understand me, if I ask one to sit in my lap, they all run over to try to beat each other there.

I hope they all turn out to be great friends that support each other. I know there will be rough patches along the way, but in the end, I'm hoping to help them create the kinds of relationships my sisters and I have. I take comfort in knowing that we punched, bit, kicked, pulled hair, and exchanged some harsh words as we grew up, but it's all good now.