One.Tough.Chick.

There are a lot of theories out there about how kids develop their own personalities. Some say birth order plays an important role, others look to gender stereotypes or parental involvement. I'm not sure what school of truth I buy into, but I can say that the end results - these unique, amazingly different personalities our kids have - is facinating.

Lindsey, for example, is one tough chick. If you follow the birth order theories, she's the baby of the family. This means she's likely to take risks, is highly competitive and can be equal parts charming and manipulative. Have you met her? Check, check and uh...yeah. Check. Taking these traits into consideration, it's no wonder she's already had several black eyes and has made a couple trips to the ER for nurse maids elbow.

Her and Ryan play rough (hence the two trips to the ER), but it's more than that. She's fearless. One could argue she's careless versus fearless, but she's also a smart little kid. You can see that brain working through a million scenarios at once and she picks the one that has the greatest risk, but greatest reward.

Right now, that risk/reward conflict may net her a black eye, but also earns her a prized toy.

It may net her a skinned knee, but earns her a ride on Ryan's big boy bike.

It may net her a dislocated ligament, but earns her bragging rights of being the first one down the slide and the first Bachman kid to rock a splint and sling (and when you're the baby of the family..."firsts" can be a pretty big deal).

Right now these risks and rewards are both minor, thankfully. I thought I had gray hairs now...wait until she's a teenager.