The kids now have very distinct personalities. What's funny is that they each have bits of my and Niles' personalities. All of Owen's food preferences are more like mine: could eat half a chocolate Haupia pie before getting sick. Meanwhile, Anduin eats like my husband: craves salty snack foods like chips and loves pickles and cottage cheese. That being said, Owen's introvertism is more like Niles as a young child (or so I'm told because I've never known an introverted Niles) while Anduin's bossy, opinionated, talkative self is supposedly me as a young child. I think my mom cackles every time she tells me this.
That being said, the nicknames I have for the kids come from several very distinct habits. I haven't decided which to go with so at any point, so if you hear these below, you'll know who I'm talking about.
Owen: The Little Engineer. Always observing and trying to figure out how things work: door latches, car ignition, knives to properly dice an onion like Daddy.
Anduin: Condiment Baby. To her, toast is just a vehicle for the Nutella, pancakes are just a means to eat butter, and chicken nuggets convey sweet and sour sauce. The minute you turn your head, she will go for the condiments. straight. out of the container. So just be warned if you entertain her, you are going to want to hide your butter.
Owen: Baby GPS. For a now three year old, he has an uncanny sense of direction. He's clear to let you know if you're going the "wrong" way, like home instead of the playground. I am pretty sure he can navigate better than my Mom. (Love you, Mom! But really, Garmin and then Google Maps have been your best friends.)
Anduin: The Dowsing Baby. If there is any bit of water, especially a muddy or dirty puddle, anywhere in the vicinity, Anduin will not only locate it but manage to submerge as much of her body as possible in it. I'm thinking of sending her to drought stricken areas to locate possible sources of water, assuming that someone's fast enough to prevent her from contaminating it.
So if you've got a particular favorite, let me know. Maybe I'll try to get it to stick to them.
I'm not sure if you have posted this in a previous post, but have you been off on a sea duty after having your kids? If so how hard was it to be away from them for 6-10 months? I plan on going SWO after graduation, and I'm just trying to figure out how hard it is after you have kids.
ReplyDeleteI have just started sea duty since having the kids. I've been on board my ship for about five months now. Due to the way the ship schedule worked out, I actually am not scheduled to deploy while I am with this ship. So right now the longest I have been away from them has been the month I was in Korea while on shore duty. That being said, I think we have to remind ourselves that kids are generally very resilient. Leaving them for long periods of time is WAY harder on us than on them. It took a while but now when I go to the ship, they cry for approximately five seconds and then get over it. And they look forward to visiting me on duty days. My daughter keeps shouting, "Go mommy ship!" often times. So it's doable as long as you have a supportive cast at home. Let me know if you have any other questions. I am happy to help from my limited experience so far.
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