The downside...

I'm not going to lie, I quite often praise my own genius... I'm kidding.... I mean, it was really, really smart of me to space my kids out so far apart, they are four years and eleven days apart, to be exact. Okay wait, I can't really take credit for that, since they were both completely unplanned! But anyway, when I got pregnant with Sophia, Elijah was already three and a half. He was already fully potty trained and self sufficient in that area. He was sleeping wonderfully. Okay he did give up naps right around that time. He was already in preschool and followed orders well enough to pick up all the toys his very pregnant Mama couldn't reach. It was awesome!

And when Sophia was born he had just turned four, making him a perfect age for his big brother role, which he has always filled so nicely. So, really, it's been nice having kids so far apart in age, but still close enough to get along and play together.

The downside? Well, I've seemingly forgotten a lot of the stuff I should have remembered! Granted, I've always said having Elijah was no preparation for being a parent. He is seriously the easiest kid ever! Case in point, the boy was fully potty trained (no diapers or pull-ups at night even) at two and a half. He was READING at three and a half and now at six he can read anything and has a Latin vocabulary of over fifty words. Don't get me wrong, I'm not bragging...okay I am. But I totally can't take credit for this, it's all him. I swear! He's super independent.

Now to the downside...Sophia, well, she's not Elijah. And that's not to say she's my "bad" kid by any means. She's super sweet, hilarious...but so, so stubborn! One thing I've definitely learned is not to compare her to Elijah, they are like night and day. But still, sometimes I can't help it. I've been a mommy for six years now, but Sophia often makes me feel like a first-timer all over again.

Which brings me to my next point: potty training. Again, with Elijah it was SO EASY. I assumed (mistakenly) it would be easy with Sophia too. After all, she's a girl, supposedly girls are easier to train (lie!). She got a potty for Christmas, right around eighteen months, which was the same age Elijah started trying it out. Fast forward to today she has still never actually gone on the potty! I know I should lower my expectations, but still, I'm 100% certain this has nothing to do with her not being ready. But rather, her own stubbornness. She wants to wear undies every day now, so I let her. Yeah she's had a few accidents, but I figured that will only help her realize she's supposed to be going on the potty.

Nope, mommy is a sucker. This morning I even asked her, "Sophia, do you need to go pee pee on the potty?" Her response? "No, I unnies." Translation - No, I'm wearing undies. Umm, you're doing it wrong Sophia!

So I don't know. We're not taking it too seriously right now, she's still young, so I'm not bothered by it. I'm just preparing myself for a lifetime of butting heads with my stubborn daughter, because guess where she got that stubbornness from?