Nature or Nurture?

Typically, when someone arrives at my bedside before 6am, I usher them back into bed and re-tuck extra tight.  Let me tell you, this is a difficult skill I've had to learn as a mother.  There is just something so extra sweet about cuddles in the early morning, that is until it becomes "the habit," and the habit is what drags me out of bed to re-tuck. They say it only takes three occurrences for a child to develop a habit, but "they" are vastly wrong when it comes to crawling into a warm, safe, and cozy bed with a mommy (daddy is equally applicable.) 1.25 times... that is all it takes and they are HOOKED!  Before you know it, it's 3am and someones toe is shoved up your nose, a freakishly sharp elbow is piercing your shoulder blade, and a kids is cradling your head, just as the picture (and yes, I too wear lipstick and pearls to bed.)  Something had to change!  After three nights of tears (mine from having to get up 15 times a night!) and some withdrawal shakes from the boys, we had broken the habit!  I now understood the importance of hallway ushering.

On this morning at 5am, I heard the telltale *THUMP* of little man jumping out of bed.  His feet set out down the hallway like an Olympic sprinter crossing the finish line, but as soon as he hits the door to my room he stops and tip-toes in.  He climbs on to the wood frame of the bed, puts his nose next to mine and whispers "mommy, I come in?"  He reserves this voice solely for this moment so as not to overuse it, and trust me... it is sweet enough to give you a toothache!  "Come in baby, but you have to go back to sleep."  I know I'll regret this decision, but I just couldn't help myself today.  Guess which child likes to sleep as the above referenced picture??  As I lay there, still wide awake, with a 43 pound, 3 year-old snoozing on my head I wondered.... Is a love for cuddling precipitated by nature or nurture?  Are we born with a cuddle gene or does our babyhood cuddle status impact our love of cuddling, or lack thereof?  

Jackson is the least cuddly of the three.  He also got the least amount of time sleeping with mom as a baby since I was ultra-cautious and sure he'd do a double back flip off the bed.  As each new kid came along and sleep became more elusive, my thoughts on the topic quickly changed.  3 boys under 4... you do what you gotta do to survive... and that means sleep!  Joshi spent a good amount of time sleeping with me and is super cuddly, but only on his terms.  Jamison would only sleep with me, so off to bed we go kid.  He is by far the most cuddly!  So nature or nurture?  Our experiences lead me to believe it is nurture.  Whatever it is, I'll take all the cuddles I can get... after 6am!

Call it Writers Block...

Ok, I lied.  I have never had writers block or any shortage of crazy happenings to write about!  Life has been a bit crazy and unfortunately, CookBoyChronicles paid the price.  Sincere apologies to my loyal followers who seemingly think I fell off the earth.

So what's been happening with us?  

Mr. Jackson 

• You'll notice there has been a "son" added to my eldest kids name.  He has affectionately renamed himself Jackson and gets downright offended if you call him otherwise.  Jackson it is, sweet boy.
• He has developed an intense love for football and is convinced he is the best ball catcher to ever grace this earth!  But there is one massive obstacle threatening to squash his wide-receiver dreams - he's a BLONDIE!
• "Mommy?"
• "Yes, honey."
• "I need to make my hair brown."
• "Why, blond is beautiful?"
• "Because there are no blond NFL players, I've been watching carefully!"
• "There are lots of blond players... and anyway, different is good."
• "But they won't take me if I'm blond."
• "They will, because you are the best catcher!"
• "Well you have to be the best catcher AND have brown hair."
• I promptly grabbed the iPad and googled "blond NFL players." The search was unfruitful and resulted in one semi-blond player (we debated his blondness for a good two minutes.)  I'm afraid I proved his point further.
• "Sweetie, I promise you... football skills are based on talent, not hair color. I tell you what, when you're 18 you can make your hair brown if you still want to."
• "Ok..................................... well does that mean I can color it before college or before the NFL??" 
• "You'll be going to college when your 18."  
• "Ok, I can deal with that."
• He's doing great in school with Art, Gym and Recess being his favorite subjects (not in that order.)  And he seems to be a very popular dude.  After playing outside with neighborhood buddies, he came meandering back in, stripped off his outside gear and plopped himself on the couch with a big sigh.  I said "what's wrong honey?" "I'm just so tired of them fighting over which house I should go to!  Why can't we just all play together?"  And that pretty much sums up his state personality.  He's strong-willed and somewhat stubborn, but has this giant heart.
  

Mr. Joshua

• Oh our sweet, sweet angel-faced middle child.  He has earned the nickname of "chatty charlie." Holy cow this kid can talk - and I mean non-stop.  It is very charming and endearing, and we enjoy hearing all of the valuable information he has to share in that adorable voice.  Jack, on the other hand, is brought to tears on occasion because "joshi never stops talking." :)  It's a lesson in patience for Jackson.  I, on the other hand, love it and could eat him up.  Unless it involves an hour prior to 6am, which happens often with the notoriously early riser.
• This kid proves everyday that he has a heart of gold.  Don't get me wrong, he has a small percentage of naughty, but he is so ultra-caring.  Mrs. Kocher readily admits that he is her favorite!  Empathetic, helpful, caring, rally-er, includer, and always the first to console if a buddy is less than happy.  Those are her words, but there's no doubt I agree 180%.  He was also awarded with the highest honor of 'Student of the Month' amongst his Kindergarten peers.  So very proud!
• Joshi had lots of firsts this past year.  Of course, Kindergarten is a big first.  He also had his first camp, first banana boat ride, first convertible, first cowboy experience, and many more.  He takes on any new challenge with grace and bravery and rarely ever complains about anything. This kid is destined for greatness!
  

Mr. Jamison

• Jamison has really come into his own in the past year.  His hilarious personality has sprouted, grown and flourished.  He is wise beyond his years and has a great talent for cracking up a room.  He's also very charming and will woo you quickly with those big brown eyes.  The ladies love him, old and young!
• He had a major change this past year that proved to be harder on me than it was on him.  We moved him out of our beloved Best Buy New Horizon to a center closer to home.  He moved the same time the older two started school, so he too would feel like a big boy starting school.  He handled the change like a champ without a single tear.  Ms. Annica said "we needed someone just like him in our room - he has an electric personality and happily contagious personality!"  Guess it follows him wherever he goes.  And we've discovered a brand new talent - he is a Spanish whiz!  How many 3-year olds can count to 15 in Spanish and rail off 30 Spanish words?  Spanish teacher said she's never seen a preschooler retain words like he does.  Quite impressive!
• Since he is only three and a half, we are still fine-tuning some social skills like; lift BOTH toilet seats, do not decorate the wall with chapstick, peeing in the front yard is never ok, and wear underwear to school - everyday.  You know, the basics.  

We've had challenges, as any family does, but we seem to have really come into our own.  Dad and Mom are friends and awesome co-parents and I am so very grateful for that.  I feel blessed and am looking so forward to what the future brings!