Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Nature v. Nuture

The top comments we hear while out and about have evolved as the girls have become older. Here are the top five comments as of late:

  1. OHMYGOD! Are those triplets?
  2. They are so cute/beautiful/adorable.
  3. They are so well behaved.
  4. How old are they?
  5. Are they yours?

So let's focus on the behavior thing. Now, I'm going to compare my girls to other kids. They have never smeared poop on anything. They have never climbed over gates. They gained full access to the bathroom when we started potty training them and we have never had an incident. We have never had a public temper tantrum and any fits that we have witnessed at home have been so minor compared to what they could be.

nov12a

The girls could easily climb up onto the chairs for the kitchen counter but they never did. Until a few weekends ago, that is. It is funny because Rich and I have had conversations here and there about all the stuff that the girls could do but don't.

I had Emily sitting up in the chair next to me a few weekends ago. I've done this many, many, many times in the past. But for the rest of the weekend, whenever I turned around. She had climbed up into a chair and was sitting at the counter. Which isn't a huge deal but it now means that no one can leave any scissors or the like sitting unattended up there.

nov12b

And then Allie wanted some crackers. She brought the box over to me and I asked her if she could wait a little bit because dinner was going to be in a short bit.

nov12c

Well, she plopped down onto the floor and open the box herself. Finally, some independence.

Although, I keep seeing this.

nov12d

(And that nail polish remover never left my sight.)

nov12e

I try to focus on how the girls are so easy to care for when it comes to certain things. Like their behavior and the fact that what they "get into" now is more about their growing independence versus being naughty. I like to think that this makes up for the fact that they are horrible sleepers and still demand feed.

9 comments:

Alina said...

Hi Sarah!
I've been reading your blog for about a year now and it never fails to bring a smile to my face. Your girls are gorgeous and your writing is always real, witty and optimistic. And not to mention very cool photography (although you do tend to be pretty hard on yourself).
I've always been meaning to ask - what's the story behind the blog's name?

Ashley said...

Hi! I absolutely love your blog, as well; it makes me laugh every single day! I would love to know - how do you make the turkey craft that Emily is working on???

Katie said...

Hey! My husband and I have also often had conversations about what our 3 year old could get into and doesn't. He has also been demand fed and has night time issues. I wonder if they go hand in hand like you were suggesting.

He never throws public fits. He never climbs anything. He never goes for things he's told no about. He's never made messes with his food or in the bathroom. He has been recently trying to do some things that never before, but I also was thinking he was simply learning some independence.

I always kinda' thought it was because he was the youngest with a pretty large age gap between him and the next up so he didn't have anybody to be in cohorts with. Maybe not?

I am so thankful for his behavior, even in the tough times of no sleep!

Meg said...

Sarah~ Like yours, my children are very well behaved but have ridiculous sleeping habits. If they didn't grow in my belly, I'd sometimes wonder if they were really mine! :)

Hey Alina ~ Sarah had a post a long while back about the story behind the blog's name. She would know more about when it was posted. I can't remember.

pyjammy pam said...

Mine are the same way. They aren't climbers, they're not terribly curious (I mean this in a good way!), and they've never tried to smear poop anywhere. On the other hand, they're world-class whiners, so I guess that's where they got me. :P

Kayla said...

Hmm, mine climb everything, get into everything, have public tantrums. Must do everything for themselves and they are 2. But they are excellent sleepers. I think we might be onto something here.

Tracy said...

Nature vs Nuture???? Well, our triplets are great. They sit nicely in church each week, they are easy to take to restaurants, and don't give me much trouble at home. Our two year old is another story.... he is a HAND FULL... He has to go to the nursery at church. Has to be taken to the car during meals at restaurants to remind him how to behave and loves to throw tantrums at home. Fortunately, time out works well with him. While he is more work... he is also GREAT!!!

Nature vs. Nuture.... I just don't know.

Lease said...

Our triplets are well behaved out of the house. We used to joke about how they don't cry in public. They are great sleepers and not picky about eating. However they are climbers and curious about everything. They try everything to get over gates and will help each other to do so.

Cat said...

Oh crap. Mine are great sleepers and eat on a schedule. I was already beginning to think I'm screwed, but now it's been confirmed.