I felt twinges of annoyance when people have told me things like "just wait 'till you see how wild he's going to be" or "he will destroy your house" when referring to the fact my second child was going to be a boy. How different could boys and girls be?
There are things I've noticed Ari doing that Isabelle never did, such as, crawling on the shelf below the top of our coffee table and unloading all of the board books from bookshelves. I've chalked this stuff up to the fact that his physical development (i.e., his gross motor skills) is happening earlier than his sister. No big deal.
This morning, I was getting ready to for the day in my bedroom while the kids played together in Isabelle's bedroom. Suddenly, I heard Isabelle yell, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Ari destroyed something!" A second later she was standing in front of me.
"What happened?"
"We were playing and he grabbed the nightlight out of the wall."
So what? This is an every day occurrence.
"Okay…" I replied.
"And then this happened!" Isabelle produced the nightlight — in three parts — for me to see.
"Whoa! Were there any other parts on the floor?"
"No," Isabelle replied. "This was everything."
"You were wise to take this away from him and bring it to me. That shows me you're looking out for your brother. Thanks for being responsible."
"He broke my nightlight," Isabelle stated matter-of-factly.
"He didn't mean to do that," I said as I tried, unsuccessfully, to put it back together. "We have other nightlights."
"Okay," she said.
"C'mon, let's get the little destroyer and go to camp."
My take-away from today: This is the first of many things the boy-child will destroy.
Raising Literate Humans 
Boys and girls are different! And first and second children are different. I have thought for a long time that boys are more likely to investigate things physically. More grabbing, poking, squeezing, pushing, etc., means more broken stuff. 🙂
I think you have a good point about the physical investigations, Lisa.
Love this moment! I can hear the panic in Isabelle’s voice when she called for you! I think your son is a curious destroyer 😉 Thanks for sharing!
I’m thankful she had the good sense to pick up all of the pieces before she called for me!
Way to go Isabelle! Children certainly are curious, aren’t they? I think that was one of my favorite things to watch when my children were babies. Watch them explore an object in every way possible. Sometimes destroying it was just part of the process. I am sure more destruction is on the horizon. I remember hearing about all the things I “explored” as a baby. I did a lot more of this than my sister, according to my parents. I also was the frog hunter, caterpillar keeper, and Harriet the Spy wannabe, so who knows! 🙂
Frog hunter? Oh my, Betsy!
I think most boys/men like to take things apart to see how they work. Whether they can put them back together is another story. Sounds like Ari is an explorer. Good that Isabelle is there to keep an eye on him.
She’s such a caring big sister. We tell her constantly how proud we are of her.
Glad Isabelle discovered this, but I have to disagree a little. It was my daughter who was the big explorer, my son less so, more play & imagination. Every child is different for sure.
And those differences are what make us unique!
What is it about boys taking things apart? You are right that it certainly won’t be the last time. At least nobody was hurt, right? 🙂
So thankful!