Kasen's Personality/Temperament

As Kasen gets older, I'm finding it interesting to truly see his personality emerge. A lot of who he is was always there, but some of it took him becoming more independent for me to see. I would call him a spirited, independent, intelligent, sensitive, caring, energetic kid. I'm sure there are plenty more adjectives I could use, but those are the main ones. I searched a little & I found this info about 9 temperaments & read to see what I could learn about Kasen (as if I didn't already know).

Activity (physical energy): Kasen is VERY high energy. He does not sit still. Ever. Even when he's really tired. In fact, if he's really tired he gets MORE energetic. He will go crazy & start running in circles & yelling/singing & acting a bit like a mental patient. It's funny, but disturbing all at once.

Regularity/Rhythmicity (the level of predictability of biological functions): Kasen is all over the place as far as his own body. While we generally put him to bed at the same time, if we do the same routine it doesn't matter if we put him to bed an hour early or an hour late. He's not a big eater, so he doesn't have any kind of biological rhythm to that - he eats when he feels like it. So, I'd say there's really no predictability to him.

Initial Reaction/Approach or Withdrawal (response to new environments): Kasen is generally bold - he jumps right in & joins the fun. He is happy to talk to anyone that will listen & play with anyone/anything that interests him. He is rarely shy or overwhelmed by new things.

Adaptability (how long it takes to adjust over time): While new things are fairly easy for him to adapt to, a major change in his typical routine throws him off. Always has. He is a very routine-oriented person & needs things to be in their place & done a certain way. However, give him enough time & he will adapt to the new way of things.

Intensity (energy level of a positive or negative response): He's a pretty intense kid. If he's excited he runs around acting crazy & won't stop talking about whatever he's excited about. If he's upset, he flails around. He screams & kicks & hits & reacts as if the world will end.

Mood (tendency towards a happy or unhappy demeanor): This is a tough one. Kasen is generally happy, but hones in on negatives things more than positive things. I suppose he leans more pessimistic than optimistic. It's not that he's an unhappy child really, he just seems to spend a lot of time in a grumpier mood than a more laid-back child would. (Because he is DEFINITELY not a laid-back child.)

Distractibility (tendency to be sidetracked by other things going on): He is pretty easily distracted. It's hard for him to concentrate on one thing if other things are going on around him. If you try to talk to him & something on the tv catches his eye - forget it! If he is outside riding his scooter & he sees a cool looking rock, scooter time is over, etc..

Persistence & Attention Span (length of time spent on a task/ability to finish a task): Kasen obviously has the attention span of a 2.5 year old - which isn't much. I think he also leans towards a personality that doesn't provide much patience, which affects his attention span. If he gets frustrated with something, he's done. If he gets bored with something (which happens frequently), he's done. He usually won't sit & do just one thing for an extended amount of time, unless you can find a way to make it it an ever-changing activity.

Sensitivity/Sensory Threshold (how easily changes in the environment disturb): We've already established that Kasen has a short attention span & is easily distracted, so, yes, he's sensitive in that way. He's very in tune with his daily environment, he notices if a toy is in a different place & he's bothered by things not being put away in his room before he goes to sleep. He also notices if you drive a different way when going somewhere he goes to frequently. If he hears a noise he will usually stop & identify it or ask what it is. He has always liked having one particular blanket with him when he sleeps/wants comfort & he will play with the stings on it. When he was still sucking his thumb, he would have to hold a particular string of the blanket while he sucked his thumb. If he touches something with one hand, he likes to touch it with the other. Yes, he's a very sensitive person (which I didn't really realize until I wrote this out!).

I can't say all that without saying how smart he is (of course!). He speaks so well, in complete sentences. He absorbs EVERYTHING we teach him, he's a big ol' sponge. He's learning letters & knows a few by sight (F, W, K, O, & R I know for sure). He is always asking what things say when he sees words. He's very observant & notices things on street signs & little strings on the ground. Kasen is always concerned with other people's feelings & he gets upset when he hears babies or kids crying in public. He has been fully potty trained (well other than at night) for months now & gave up sucking his thumb with no fight - just because the dentist told him to. He wants so be all kinds of things when he grows up (in the Navy, a pilot, a Transformer...). He thinks he's much older than he is & gets upset if you tell him he's not old enough to do something yet.

Kasen loves Transformers, Lightning McQueen, Tow Mater, robots, Hot Wheels (or any kind of car!), puzzles, and he really loves playing pretend with little figures of all sorts. He recently started playing the Wii on his own & is loving it. He still likes to take apart anything he can get his hands on & is always searching the house for a screwdriver. He also loves painting, coloring, sticking stickers on things, & Play Doh. (He likes Moon Sand, but that's not allowed in our house. ;)) Kasen is a great story teller - he has a very vivid imagination. He also enjoys talking (ALL the time) about ghosts, fire, and poop right now. We're hoping at least the poop obsession will end soon - the fire one would also be nice.

Riding his scooter on one of the nicer days last week:

Riding a dinosaur! (Click on the pic to make it bigger & see his expression.)

Fishing with daddy:

Playing with leaves, while hunting for pecans:

In a daze, watching the ducks:

My current favorite pic: