birth order - youngest to oldest

I've done some reading about birth order and how it affects a child's IQ and personality among other things.  I don't think it's possible to completely generalize about a person based solely on whether they are the youngest, oldest or a middle child.  But I do think there is something to birth order affecting a person and how they see the world.

I was thinking about this recently as we are getting rid of the paper route.  Kyle started out with a small route in our neighbourhood and Jillian was happy to help.  When the route on our street became available we took it on, and since it was twice as many papers it became Kyle and Jillian's route equally.  It was fun for a little while, the kids did enjoy making some money, and I enjoyed showing them work = money...they have a much better understanding of what a dollar is worth after earning it themselves.  But the time commitment on Thursdays is just too much once school and extracurricular activities start up.  That and listening to Kyle and Jillian bicker and whine while putting the flyers and newspapers together was driving.me.in.sane.

It got me thinking about Leah and how unlikely it is we'll ever get another paper route.  That's an experience Kyle and Jillian had and Leah will miss out.  Same thing with soccer.  When Kyle was 3 years old I couldn't wait to get him into a preschool soccer group, it was adorable watching them shoot into those little nets.  Once he was 4 we put him in the local soccer league and he kept at it until about age 8.  It wasn't pretty some weeks, getting him to actually run after the ball was quite an effort and really didn't happen too often.  That didn't deter Jeff and I...once Jillian was old enough we signed her right up for the local soccer league and I ran out to buy pink cleats.  Forget getting her to run after the ball, we could hardly get her out onto the field!  The following summer soccer was off the list and we haven't looked back.  You can see where this is going...Leah was 4 this summer, alas, she was not signed up for soccer.  Poor third child, right?  I guess in some ways she is missing out. 
Then I look at the other side of the coin.  Leah is only 4 years old and she's been exposed to far more things in her short life than both Kyle and Jillian at this age.  I can't even count the number of times she's been to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Science Centre, McMichael Art Gallery, and the Toronto Zoo.  She's been to Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City and New York City.  She's been to Disney World, twice.  Leah's been to the movies more times than I can count, she's been to the drive-in and seen several live theatre productions on stage.  She does gymnastics at a real gymnastics club (both Kyle and Jillian did it at one of those kiddy gym places, not nearly as good).  And we have quite a few things around the house she's grown up having as a part of regular life whereas both Kyle and Jillian had to wait until they were older including the Wii, a pool in the backyard, fully stocked craft table (which comes with an artistic big sister to show her the ropes), and a very full playroom including all of Jillian's hand-me-down dressup clothes.

we have a pool in our backyard, fun!

summer 2010

And there's yet another side to having siblings 3.5 and 7 years older than you.  It makes for a precocious 4 year old!  Leah knows all the latest cool video games courtesy of Kyle, from Jillian she gets a great fashion sense (at 2.5 years old Leah insisted on having "skinny jeans") and she is into the latest music and can sing along to everything from J Lo to Katy Perry to Selena Gomez (and insists on calling her Alex as that is her character's name in Wizards of Wavery Place...something most 4 year olds don't know).

family skating time

winter 2010

experimenting at the science centre in Montreal

Leah is always willing to jump right in with the big kids no matter what they are doing

Because most of my friends were done having kids after #2 (crazy people), I've found a new mommy social network as Leah has joined activities.  And most of these moms have kids Leah's age or younger.  For the most part you really can't tell the difference between Leah and these other little 4 year old girls without older siblings.  She's just a regular sweet 4 year old.  Except when she starts belting out the latest song from the radio and quotes Phineus and Ferb.

Times Square in the big apple

summer 2012

While being the youngest has certainly helped shape Leah's life, it doesn't define her.  I'd say the most defining thing about Leah is she her amazing personality.  She loves to make us laugh.  She listens carefully to our dinner conversations and always has a question or comment to add (even when the topic is above her comprehension).  She makes friends easily and loves her friends dearly.  She jumps into whatever we are doing as a family and does not want to miss out on anything (her mantra is "me too, me too!").  And she never fails to make me smile.  She'll always be my baby.

Next up is Jillian...my middle child (I hate the term "middle child syndrome").