Personality emerges very early in a child’s life. As the whipcurl of a new bean sprout will differ from that of a tomato or pumpkin seedling, so too will the temperament of a child be visible. For his part, Number Two has shown his personality to diverge quite drastically from his older sister. My wife and I could tell as much but suspected there was some projection and anthropomorphizing going on so we’ve been watching old video of Child Harbat when she was this age, just over a year old. She was broad in her gestures and expressions, laughed easily, smiled at strangers, and was overall a flare of sunshine and energy.
Now we have Number Two, The Boy. Right away he was more calm and thoughtful. How early could we sense this? By the fifth month we could see his caution, calm, and incredible patience. While CH will begin a loud and event-filled tumble down Blood Sugar Hill every morning and afternoon, Number Two can go hours past meals, snacks, and naps without much drama or complaining. Yesterday at a department store, as CH was capering around like a faun and bumping into people, Number Two sat in his stroller with such equanimity and calm that a clerk was prompted to say, “Oh, look at little junior sit so calm! He’s so zen!”
I suspect he has much more introversion and introspection than his sister. I enjoy both equally but find I can relate to him more, like finding someone from your hometown when you’re in a small jungle village halfway around the world. Number Two takes his time to appraise people, to look at the surrounding world, and think. Here’s a kid you can see is thoughtful. I can’t wait to find out what he’s thinking about.
Writer, architect, father, husband.
Most definitely like his Dad. That is one of the things that makes parenting so much fun. Soon enough, he’ll be letting you know what he’s thinking and it will absolutely astound you, just as CH has done. I’m pretty sure Ch skipped a generation and picked up that exuberance from …??? Enjoy!!
He is growing so fast.