Thursday Thirteen - Ways My Kids Differ

Sure, my kids have lots in common, in their features, build, and intellect.  But they are also different in remarkable ways.

1. Dova eats fruit, Adam doesn't.  Adam absolutely refuses to go near fruit.  At first I thought it was my fault, but when Dova came along loving just about every fruit imaginable, I realized it was a kid problem not a parenting one.
2. Dova loves all sorts of food, Adam has an extremely limited palate.  Adam's diet can be summed up with chicken nuggets, pizza, ramen noodles and Joe's O's.  Joe's O's is Trader Joe's brand of Cheerios, which is the only brand that he will eat, not even real Cheerios will do.  He eats them dry with his hands like he has since he was six months old and goes through two boxes a week.  Of course, Dova doesn't like them at all.  And yes, he's eating some in the picture above. 
   
3. Adam is extremely mechanical, Dova isn't.  I don't think this is a gender issue, as I am quite mechanical (enough to have a two mechanical engineering degrees).  When people ask me why I think Dova isn't mechanical, I just tell them how she couldn't open doors when she was two.  She would just jiggle jiggle jiggle the knob, but never understand that you need to twist, hold and pull.  She still can't put a cap on a bottle straight.
4. Dova loves to perform, Adam is too shy.  Both kids are shy around strangers, but when it comes to being the center of attention, Dova will stand up straight, smile, and lap it all in.  Adam tries his hardest to avoid attention.  He once won a ride on the Zamboni after a Triple A hockey game and just couldn't get on because he was too uncomfortable.
5. Dova isn't afraid of anything.  She is quite unfazed by scary movies and rides, where Adam easily gets spooked.
6. Adam is extremely sweet, Dova not so much so.  Sometimes I catch her saying mean things like, "Grandma, you're an old lady!"  Yikes, where did this monster come from?
7. Dova is cranky when she wakes up, Adam is fine.  Let's just say that Dova takes after Dad, and Adam after me.
8. Dova can't wait to grow up and Adam wants to stay a kid forever.  Dova is always talking about being a teenager and having boyfriends (yikes!) and even becoming a mom, where Adam just wants to stay young and carefree and play video games.
9. Dova is an old soul and Adam is a young soul.  You can tell that Dova has been here before and knows much more than her four short years.  Adam is much more naive and sometimes lacks empathy for others.
10. Adam is 100% boy and Dova is 100% girl.  Thankfully, they are secure in their own sex but manage to play together quite well.  Adam will join Dova for tea parties and Dova will crash cars with Adam.
    
11. Adam loves to watch sports and Dova couldn't be bothered.  Adam was fascinated by his first baseball game and Dova was lollygagging everywhere.  She's been lollygagging for years at all of Adam's soccer and hockey games as well.  This sounds like a stereotype, but in terms of Doug and myself, I'm the sports fan. I can't even get him to watch the Olympics with me!
12. Adam has lots of friends and Dova has a select few.  Adam makes friends easily and likes to play with just about anyone, where Dova can be quite selective, to the point of being elitist.  She went to birthday party of a girl she didn't really like, and only perked up when she saw that her best friend was also there.  I can only imagine what junior high will be like for her.
13. OK, I admit that I've run out of differences.  They are both fun, loving children who exhibit many traits of their parents.  We are so grateful that they love each other unconditionally despite their differences.