kids like

The boy likes

• to walk.  He isn't very good at it.  In fact, he can't keep himself on his little legs.  When he manages to pull himself up to a low-lying sofa or his sister's Bobby car, he stands shakily, unsure of himself but mighty proud, and falls over before too long.  He has banged his head a few times this way.  But when mom or dad hold his hands, his feet make little steps in the general direction indicated by his guide.  There's a grin on his face as if he were on the finishing stretch of a successful marathon.  Dad knows this grin.
• pebbles.  Sit him down among them and he'll take a handful and swallow them one by one unless stopped by a responsible adult.  He has learned that sand is not tasty but pebbles haven't registered yet as something to be left alone.
• throwing things to the ground.  He's very good at it.  Sitting on his high chair, he can turn dinner in front of him into a mess on the floor in seconds.  Maybe that's revenge for the floor hurting his head when he falls over after pulling himself up to the sofa.  Sitting on his high chair outside mealtimes, he throws toys to the ground almost as soon as they are placed in front of him.  Then he cries because he has no toys.
• eating bread.  He east almost anything, including pebbles, but bread is his favorite. It tastes so good that he sometimes forgets to throw it to the ground.  The other day he discovered sweet corn and fell in love with it.  It had the shape and vague appearance of the pebbles outside but he was allowed to put it in his mouth.  What a blast!
• to laugh.  As a baby, his sister was grumpy like a caricature.  He laughs at anything, and sometimes cracks up as if watching an Adam Sandler movie for the first time.  His laughter is contagious, and he cheers up the family, even when they're busy cleaning the floor around his high chair.
• his sister.  He often stares at her with something between admiration and adoration.  Whatever she does, he likes to join.  Whatever she builds, from Duplos or wooden blocks, he likes to dismantle.  The girl doesn't like that.

The girl likes

• to read books.  At less then three years, she cannot yet read.  She recognizes a few letters and, on a good day, her name, but it's not enough for literature.  She has dad read picture books to her, and no day's a good day without a book read to her.  When she wants something really bad that it's not exactly the time for, offering to read a book always solves the impasse.
• to climb up things.  This can be contraptions on the playground or trees and rocks in the woods.  She's very good about not climbing up furniture and has fallen hard on the playground only once.
• animals.  It doesn't matter whether it's a snail outside the window or a wolf in the animal park.  They're all fascinating.  Stories about animals are her favorite read.  When she's big, she wants to be a veterinarian.
• to be a mom.  She takes her baby doll and changes the diaper, wiping the plastic butt clean and all.  She gives the baby doll the bottle and sometimes her non-existing breast, just as she has seen mom do it with her brother.  She puts baby doll asleep on a little pram, pulling a blanket over it to keep out the light.  Dad is worried about gender imprinting, but she just doesn't get the same kick out of Duplos or her wooden-track railroad.  Maybe she wants to become a midwife.
• it outside.  She's nimble on her push cycle and likes to walk through town to the grocery store.  All hikes into the hills have been successes so far.
• her brother.  She feeds him pieces of sweet corn or bread and pushes him around on her Bobby car, mom running alongside with her hands spread to soften the inevitable fall.  She also yanks her toys from him when he plays with them and wants to play with his.  The boy doesn't like this.

The boy and the girl are the best friends in the world.