Category: Thing 4

Thinker, Feeler, Wildcard, Princess

Watching four kids develop, it’s interesting to see how, even though all four have the same environment, each develops into something very different. Their unique personalities emerged early on, and stay true even as they get older.

Thing 1 is The Thinker. He is reserved, and carefully considers his alternatives before acting. When you talk to him you can see the wheels turning. He is always thinking two steps ahead. He absolutely devours books and information like sports scores. His NCAA bracket entry is beating 99.6% of all entries on ESPN.com and you get the feeling it’s no accident.

Thing 2 is The Feeler. He is a people person. He loves being around his family and friends. He doesn’t ask where we’re going, but who will be there. He is sensitive and empathetic. When his brother and sister were crying as babies, he was very concerned and jumped to help them. Since his earliest years he has been a hugger, randomly walking up to me and giving a hug.

Thing 3 is without a doubt The Wildcard. You never know what you are going to get. At times he is sweet, sensitive, and follows instructions. At other times he is off doing his own thing, in his own world, running across a busy parking lot in chase of a bird. One minute he’s telling his sister her hair is so pretty, the next he’s grabbing her doll and throwing it down the stairs. He is a constant stream of consciousness, saying whatever pops into his head at the moment. His random questions have been well documented here. I defy you to spend 10 minutes in conversation with him and not break into laughter…that is, if he doesn’t drive you crazy first.

Thing 4 is The Princess. And not just because she is the youngest and only girl, so SuburbanDaddy can’t help but do whatever she asks. She is just such a girly-girl. You would think with 3 older brothers she would be rough and tumble, which she is to some degree. But she is all about pink, and purses, and dancing, and dolls, and pigtails, and we love every minute of it.

Human Alarm Clock

Kids don’t like to wake up especially for school. Luckily, we have Thing 4 the human alarm clock. If her racket starting at 5:30am doesn’t do the trick, she will climb all over your bed and sit on you. I take her from room to room to get the boys up for school.

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If you visit the Suburban Household, consider yourself warned. You may get one of these wakeup calls. Right, SuburbanUncles?

Try Anything

Thing 4 is a great sleeper. At two years old she actually asks to go to bed when she’s tired, usually just before 8pm, and the bedtime routine is literally 30 seconds. It’s a nice contrast with Thing 3 whose bedtime routine can take 30 minutes.

There is one slight problem, though, with Thing 4’s otherwise good sleeping habits. She wakes up at 5am. Every day. And she isn’t the type to snuggle in bed, watch a show, and wake up slowly. No, at 5 o’clock she is ready to go go go. And she is loud, which wakes her brothers up.

As I write this, it’s 8:30am on a Saturday and we’ve been up for three and a half hours. I’m all out of play ideas for the day.

And so, I’m ready for what could turn out to be a major mistake. I just brought up the big girl bed from the basement.

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With the boys, we waited as long as possible before letting them out of their cage crib. And then it was a long adjustment to get them to stay put at bedtime.

So this could turn out to be a huge mistake with Thing 4. But at this point I’m willing to try anything. What’s the worst that can happen?