Family Night

We attended family night on Friday at Mecklenburg Community Church in North Charlotte. In the past this has been an activity geared toward Zach. Last night we took the whole family into the main auditorium rather than depositing the twins into child care. As you can see from the video, they all had a great time.



Something very interesting is occurring in the development of Zoe and Zane's social personality. When they are home, Zoe and Zane are rarely far from each other. Zoe will play with tools, guns, balls, and other traditional "boy" toys. And as much as it pains me to see sometimes, Zane with play with dolls, princess paraphernalia, tea sets and other traditional "girl" toys. (I did breathe a small sigh of relief watching Zane take a play drill and hammer to one of Zoe's dolls the other day; is that weird?) In contrast though, when we are out amongst other children you will rarely find them together.

After eating dinner at the church the kids of course all started to play. Zane immediately gravitated to the boys, looking for a ledge to jump from or a willing participant for a wrestling match. Zoe is the complete opposite though. She skirts the edge of the play area looking for an entry point that will give her the least amount of resistance. If you have ever seen a brawl during a baseball game, Zane would be the one who sprints from the bullpen and leaps head first directly into the center of the fighting mass. Zoe would be the one standing at second base chatting with the opposing teams shortstop, watching the melee. It is so interesting to watch two children that were born from the same parents, just minutes apart, who are forever linked together, start to diverge and become their own person.

I also witnessed something that just melted my heart. During the service Zoe made an attempt to dance with some girls that were probably about five years old. She hopped over to them, nudged one of the girls arms and started dancing. The girl gave Zoe a look that even Zoe's two year old intellect could deduce was one of exclusion. Zoe kind of moped back over closer to her brothers and had stopped dancing. Feeling bad that I may have just witnessed my little girls first social rejection, I reached out and gave her a little tickle. She turned around slow at first, with a bit of a pout, then a smile leapt to her face and she jumped up and tickled me and Zadie, who I was holding at the time. Everything was right with the world again for little Zoe. It did give me a small glimpse into what the future will hold for us. I am sure that we have not seen the last of snobbish girls. (and one day in will be mean little boys; does anyone have an emoticon for a shiver going down your spine.)