The difference between boys and girls

Boys like to throw things.  This I have learned is one of the most notable differences so far in my children - other than the obvious of course.  Only recently did Ally begin to master the art of throwing, and even now she could use a good deal of work.  And while she'll occasionally chuck something that isn't spherical, she seems to know to only throw the balls (though if her brother is the target that can be changed).  Aaron on the other hand will throw anything.  I find this rather amusing.  I do not recall Ally trying to throw things until she saw Micah do it and that was after her first birthday.  Even then she only tried when she saw other kids do it.  But, if Aaron can pick it up, he will try to throw it.  Today he repeatedly threw both a television remote and my cell phone.  I was so amused I kept giving them back to him to see how many times he'd throw them - he didn't stop until I did.  Needless to say, one of our favorite activities is tossing a beach ball back and forth.  He really hasn't mastered throwing the beach ball, but he does manager a little flick of his hands that sends it back my way.  I am quite impressed by it.  And I am also fairly certain that he has said 'ball.'  (Mike also has a strong case for 'Hi.')

One thing that Mike is probably hoping is a difference between boys and girls is the fascination with the marching band.  Ally loves the band.  She still talks about it daily.  She frequently tells me that she will play in the band one day and she will play the violin.  I recently found out that there is an electric violin, so that could be a really cool option for her.  Anyway, we found ourselves back at the football game Friday night for the halftime show.  There was quite a bit of excitement this week as it was homecoming week and Tallmadge played Highland who has an AWESOME marching band.  I will really consider moving to Highland if Ally's band obsession continues into her high school years.  The poor Tallmadge band was looking a bit sad when they marched onto the field after Highland.  Luckily they only had to play background music as the Homecoming court paraded on the field.

Highland's marching and dancing band

The Tallmadge band - I will say, Ally cheers for them a lot.  We show up at the game and she starts cheering 'Yeah Tallmadge Band!  Go Band!"

In other good news for Ally, we do not have to worry about a peanut allergy.  We had the final food challenge about a week and a half ago and it was determined she probably got the hives from a virus.  Poor Ally had to sit around the doctor's office for a long time once again.  She was very entertaining for all of the people in the waiting room and probably got us out of there quicker when she said to the nurse 'so... can I go home now?'

One of Aaron's newest achievements includes climbing the stairs.  We've had the gate up for a couple of weeks now since we found him on the second step a couple of times.  Friday night Nana followed him up almost to the top.  He was a pretty determined little guy.  Aside from throwing things I think climbing might be his favorite activity.  He has become really good at pulling himself up onto almost anything.  He especially enjoys climbing on me, or whoever else may be sitting on the floor.  I can't sit for more than a minute before he has crawled over and started to climb.  Sometimes though, he gets mad that he has pulled himself up and can't get down. 

His other accomplishment this week was going forward in the walker.  He has been very good at moving backward and getting stuck against the furniture or a wall, but over the past few days he has managed to move forward.  I think it is amusing to watch because he has to get up onto his toes and kid of throw his weight forward to get going.  I keep thinking he will walk early, but when I compare him to Ally he is about where she was.  He was much quicker to crawl though, she preferred rolling to get from here to there.  I guess that's another difference between boys and girls.