So with a boy and 2 girls we have some interesting experiences.
First, Noora was always kind of a tomboy. Her closest friends were boys in daycare and school and she loved playing like them. Khaled always wanted her to play with all kinds of toys so she doesn't grow up thinking she can only play (or do) girly things like kitchens and dolls and stuff. I really liked that attitude - but it was funny when around 4 she started bringing home dolls from daycare (hey, my mom owned it, so she did whatever she wanted! LOL) since she didn't have any dolls at home. Well that changed really fast, and pretty soon it was all pink/purple and princesses.
With M&M it was really different. At first, when they were home with the nanny, it was amazing to see how DNA worked. For all those people who argue the whole nature vs. nurture argument - my kids were the closest to an experiment you could get. They were at home all week, with no other kids to influence them. They had the same toys to play with - and they used them in such different ways! For example, they each had little doll strollers...even at 1, as soon as she started walking, Mariam would put a doll in it gently and walk it around. Muhammad would take the same stroller, and race it around the room and crash it into the wall - then bust out laughing! Amazing!
As they've gotten a little older and more aware of their surroundings, things have changed a little. Mariam is becoming more and more of a girl, probably because she is learning from Noora - her life revolves around Disney Princesses, and has them all memorized (I can't believe it! Noora didn't even know what they were until she was practically 5) and is totally obsessed with makeup (well what she calls makeup is lipgloss)....Muhammad is totally conflicted between his desire to be a boy, and his desire to copy his sisters. So, while he loves to play like a boy, and is now totally into wrestling with his cousin - when he's alone with the girls, he wants his own makeup, fights with them over the princess slippers and, much to his dad's dismay, we've had to tell him over and over he is NOT a princess like Mariam, he is a PRINCE!! LOL Funny stuff, that I'm sure he'll hate me one day for sharing!!!
