Truly a boy

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails and puppy dog tails

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice and all things nice


Remember that Mother Goose rhyme?

I'm not one of those parents that believe in gender neutral everything. I've given my children gender appropriate names. I don't dress my boys in pinks. Yes, Devlin plays hockey, but so does Aisling. In fact, she's better suited to Canada's national past time than flitting around at dance class. Her older sister is a natural at dance. While I don't think I actively encouraged my sons to play with traditional "boy" toys, and pushed princess stuff on my girls, I do think there's some merit to the nature versus nurture theory. That some characteristics are innate, and no amount of environmental factors will alter them.
For instance, despite the plethora of both boy and girl toys that have taken over house, Ceilidh has always gravitated to the dolls, even before she was exposed to the hype of Monster High and the like through her peers at school. She was the child that would cradle a stuffed bear with tenderness, rather than dragging it by its ear like her older brother. While Devlin will build forts and bunkers from the blocks, the girls construct "homes" for their stuffed animals.

Quinn, who has had the benefit of observing both his older brother and sisters playing, is all boy. It's not just that he LOVES hockey. He loves to cuddle his stuffed lamb too. But with Quinn, I'm learning that the fascination with bodily functions and the like is truly one borne from the XY chromosome.
He'll stick his little finger up his nose, and pull it out and proudly display the snot. Like a prized trophy.
The other evening at dinner, he looked up at me, and with eyes twinkling, he asked, "Mama, what's that smell?"
"What smell?" I asked, wondering if he was referring to dinner.
"What's that smell?" he again asked while sniffing the air.
Then, he looked directly at me, and announced, "I fart!"
And threw back his head and laughed uproariously. While his siblings fell over in their chairs giggling hysterically.
Yeah, all boy.