I thought for sure when we found out we were having a girl that we’d have a little lady who would be a balance to Enzo’s high energy, all-boy nature. Nope. Phoebe is definitely sweet-natured and more of a cuddler than Enzo, but she is just as rough and tumble as he is.

Before she was even walking, she was trying to climb up on everything and she has to follow her big brother wherever he goes. They also love climbing all over each other and wrestling and tumbling. We sometimes have to remind Enzo that he has to be gentle with her, but she’s pretty tough. If anything we have to sometimes tell her to be gentle with him.

In reality, I like that they’re both a healthy balance of… whatever you want to call it. Phoebe is kind of tomboyish like I was, and hopefully will stay that way because I won’t know what to do if she starts asking me to do something fancy with her hair in a few years. Now, give Enzo a mohawk? Done. Curls and symmetrical ponytails and braids? I get clammy hands just thinking about it. I also do a really bad job of painting fingernails and toes (my own included).

While we do sometimes tend to buy standard boy/girl gifts for the kids, we fully encourage them to both play with whatever toys are available. Phoebe often just wants to play with cars and trucks and Enzo can frequently be found having a tea party and has started requesting to watch Frozen again.  Sometimes I do find it annoying how so many toys are still geared towards boys or girls with lots of pinks/purples v. reds/blues, though. Why can’t there just be a mix of any and all these or rather why does there need to be a pink version of a garbage truck?

But then again, sometimes my son likes the purple or pink version and maybe it’s grownups who have it all wrong.  I mean, it’s not kids who are deciding what are boy toys or what are girl toys. I made the assumption that the pink garbage truck is for a girl when a little boy could easily like that color just as much, so the option should be available.

I do think there should be a better mix of colors with toys, though. A little blue/purple/red/pink/green mashup, and also that toy companies should stop ruining good classic designs.  That’s a topic for another day, though. 😉

When it comes to toddlers, sometimes you need an old priest and a young priest.  I have yet to capture one of Enzo’s spectacular examples of stereotypical toddler behavior on camera, and I don’t know that I ever will.  Usually we’re all too caught up in the moment and part of me feels horrible even thinking about pulling out the camera while he tries to navigate growing up and dealing with how frustrating life can be.  Would I want someone to snap photos of me while dealing with something distressing/confusing/aggravating?  Probably not. Instead, I’ll stealthily try and capture the moments that make us smile or laugh in the moment rather than later on when you laugh only so that you don’t cry. 😉

For some time now Enzo has been obsessed with big trucks and he really loves fire trucks and likes to copy the sounds the sirens make, “Wee yoo, wee yoo.” Thankfully when he spotted this fire station in Target it was on sale and I had a coupon as well. Score!  Because the boy doesn’t have enough toys already!

It’s always amusing to me to see what toy will grab his attention or become his favorite.  Some of his favorites will change week to week or month to month, while others never do.  He originally picked out a polar bear for Phoebe, but quickly grew to love it himself, so we got her something different and let him hang on to his “Puppy.”  We’ve told him it’s a bear, but he just looks at you sideways as though to say, “A bear? I think not,” so Puppy it is!