To each his own...

Oftentimes Rob and I talk about funny stories of the day as we lay in bed at night. They are mostly about cute little things that the kids did. Last Sunday night, there were 3 funny stories that were perfect examples of each child's personality and interest and so I thought I would share. They may not be all that funny or interesting to you, but they just seemed to define their little roles in our family right now.

Karsten- the do-er and talker: The kids had all spent the night with my parents the night before which was a wonderful mini-vacation for us. On Sunday morning, the kids all woke up at about 7am and Karsten went out with my dad to finish spreading some dirt on their yard before they went to church. Karsten loves to be with my dad and really seems to need that individual attention. He also loves to talk. And I mean non-stop. It can be quite maddening with the chaos of the house and his incessant dialogue. He was out there with my dad for almost an hour and a half. My dad said that he worked the whole time and talked the whole time. My dad definitely stressed the words "whole time" when he retold that story. I asked Karsten later if my dad had told him stories of when we were kids (he loves that too) and he said that Pa Pa didn't really talk much, he just did all the talking.

Peyton- intellectual, dependable, and the rule follower: Peyton read an entire chapter book at her rest time that afternoon. She loves to read and is usually very easy going. She is perfectly happy to sit on the couch and read a book while Rob watches football. She doesn't bother him or ask him questions and if she gets hungry, she just goes to the kitchen and gets herself a snack. She loves to read all kinds of books- Charlotte's Web, the Little House on the Prarie series, the Magic School Bus books, Junie B Jones, etc. You ask where I was while she was doing all this reading- I was taking a nap with Karsten- my favorite Sunday afternoon activity.

Cooper- the athlete, who never sits still: We usually spend the late afternoon outside playing everyday. It is a great way to burn off some energy before we need to slow down for dinner and bedtime. Rob was playing in the yard with the kids and calls me over. Cooper has a plastic golf club in his hand and Rob has put a foam golf ball on a golf tee and Cooper is consistently hitting the golf ball (left handed, with a right handed club) and actually getting some air on the ball. He instinctively drew it back the right way and then put some speed on it on the down swing. It made me think of those videos of Tiger Woods as a 3 year old playing golf.