Definitely a Boy

Yes, I will admit it. My 4-year-old boy sometimes gets labeled as a sissy. But it's not his fault. He has a dominating older sister, a younger sister, and spends all day around his mommy. His only brother is still drooling and saying "ga-ga," so poor Dallin really doesn't have much male influence. Brett does a great job of teaching Dallin the basics of rough-housing, belly-scratching, and so on, but lets face it, Brett is not around enough to offset the female influence. So, Dallin likes a few girly things. He doesn't bat an eye when his sisters want to play house, dress ups, or Barbie's. He joins right in. The kid loves to dance and was rather put out when we would not let him take dance classes with his sister. (We will not discuss which parent was in favor and which was not and the ensuing discussion on gender equality.) Dallin definitely has some impressive moves though. In fact the other day he was playing with another little boy. They were discussing how to fight an imaginary bad guy and the other boy said, "I'm gonna punch him," and Dallin said, "I'm gonna dance at him!"

But lest you believe that my son is doomed to sissyness forever, allow me to submit proof of the instinctual masculinity that comes through on a daily basis. Exhibit A: Weapons. All items, toys and otherwise, can and will be used as weapons. This includes kitchen spoons, writing utensils, and the aforementioned Barbies. Exhibit B: Sound effects. All toys require home-made sound effects. From the Geotrax pieces used as guns to the toy ironing board that is, of course, a Transformer named Hot Shot, Dallin accompanies all his playing with the appropriate vrooms and whooshes. Exhibit C: Boy toys. Dallin loves every boy toy out there. He loves trains, airplanes, Transformers, cars, airplanes, legos, and airplanes. Did I mention he loves airplanes? Exhibit D: Boy on the brain. Dallin always has boy stuff on his mind and says the funniest things. This evening, during FHE, we were discussing chores and giving out new assignments. At the end we were reviewing his assigned job doing dishes and I said, "Dallin, your job is to load the . . ." and Dallin, filling in the blank with the obvious answer said, "Cannons!!"

Although I'm sure the female influence will always play a part in Dallin's life, I'm certain that he will grow up to be every bit as manly as the next guy. I just hope he'll always be willing to jump up and dance a little when the mood calls for it!