Doper 'rents: Tell me about the kiddies

[Stuffy]

Sometimes being a parent fascinates me. I love marveling at their growth in mind and body, their dependence and independence. So partially inspired by Shibb’s thread over in IMHO, tell me about your kids. I’ll start the ball rolling. I have three boys currently 13, 11 and 9.

The 13 y/o is huge, I mean huge. He’s the size I was when I graduated high school. He’s 5’8”, 174 lbs but not fat, just solid. Fortuitously, he’s lately become hugely interested in Football. He plays in a YMCA league Iron Man style as a DE on defense and FB on offense. He a gamer (he got through HALO 2 in 3 days) and A Harry Potter fan, and has recently started reading behind me, though he tends to only grab the sci-fi or military thrillers. He’s shy of girls, I suspect because high school age girls are always flirting with him.

The 11 y/o (and namesake) is more my clone than son. He’s also tall for his age (5’5”) but skinny. Recently when looking through a Photo album, we found a picture of me that easily could have been Stuffy 2. He’s into art and music, and all things Michael Jackson. He recently went through my Albums* and made a couple of CDs featuring Michael Jackson. If he had a soundtrack it would be heavy on Banjoes as that’s his personality, he’s always got a song on his tongue, and a smile on his face. Like me he’s also a huge fan of all things space related, loves roller coasters (you can’t get the 13 y/o near one) and draws very well. He’s asked for (and will receive on his birthday) a guitar.

The 9 y/o is as small as his brothers are tall. He’s the second to the shortest in his class. He’s also the ringleader. If the boys manage to collectively get into trouble, you can guarantee he thought up the plot, conversely he’s has big brown eyes, long eyelashes and an angelic face that fools everybody. He shares my sense of humor (up to anticipating my punch lines) and is a consummate practical joker. He’s also the most independent; he routinely tricks his brothers into playing outside so that he can return five minutes later and have the games/TV to himself. He’s also into Harry Potter and magic, he always checks out books on magic and card tricks at the library.

[mamakat]

I have two kids, a 5 year old girl and a 2 (next week) year old boy. I know everyone thinks this, but I swear to you, my kids are THE cutest kids ever!!! My daughter is in kindergarten, and she is so smart. Her vocabulary and her handle on language is amazing and just blows other kids out of the water. She’s a little drama queen. She can not react to anything “normally” it has to be with screeching and yelling if it’s bad, and hysterical laughter or screams of joy if it’s good. She has so much energy and she never walks, just bounces. She is a master manipulator, and knows just how to hit my buttons to make me feel like a sucky parent. But she’s also quick to tell me how much she loves me and that I’m a good mommy. My son is such a sweetie. He’s quite a challenge, especially lately. He has mild to moderate developmental delays, and he is just learning to talk. He gets so frustrated when he can’t communicate. He throws huge tantrums where he slams his poor little forehead into the nearest, hardest surface avavilble. But nothing feels better than when he runs up and throws his arms around my legs and screams “mommmmmmmyyyyyy!!” It’s amazing to watch him master a new skill and so touching to see how proud he is of himself. He loves animals, just like me, and he is so tender with all my critters - dogs, cat, bird, bearded dragon - it makes me tear up to see how gently and softly he shows his love for them. He can carry a tune perfectly. It’s so cute to hear him hum a bar of Metallica or Guns N Roses! He loves his sister more than anything in the world, and first thing when he wakes up in the morning or from nap is to yell “sissy!” while running around the house trying to find her. I could go on forever - I already have. I love my kids so much!