My experience as a mother started over nine years ago, with the birth of my first daughter. I did not have a clue what I was doing, and yet I was going to be totally responsible for the well being of another person. There was no owner's manual, no how-to guide. Sure I had the experiences of my family and friends to build off of and learn from, but no one was going to be at home with me all day and all night. How would we survive?

Well, survive we did. We have since added three more kids to the mix, and with each one, life has become more interesting. Just as I thought I could almost do it all with my three girls, my last child was a boy! Now I have to, figuratively speaking, start all over. New clothes, new gear and new personalities, boys and girls REALLY are different.

I did not really start to notice differences until my son became more mobile, around the time he turned one. As toddlers, my girls were pretty mellow. They would go with the flow and enjoyed being in the house. My son on the other hand is much more fearless. He is always exploring, always on the go, always ready for adventure. He loves being outside.

In a house filled with mostly girl based toys, my son found a way to make them into boy themed toys. Now don't get me wrong, while he loves his cars and blocks, he also loves to play kitchen and play with dolls. In my opinion he is becoming a nice well rounded child. One of his most favorite toys is his Little Tikes Cozy Coupe. He will drive in it for hours. He will also take one of the many baby dolls we have in the house for a ride because he is such a good daddy. I would say that the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe is one of his most well loved toys.

Since he is my only son, I guess I can't really say that the differences I have noticed are do to the fact that he is a boy. The differences could be as easily explained as personality differences between all of my children. Certainly there are differences between all of my girls. I have a fashionista, a video gamer, a cuddler and now an adventurous boy, each is one is different from the next. Only time will tell who my children grow up to be and how they will change the world.