One of my favorite things about parenting, is watching my children interact with each other (when they aren’t fighting that is). It’s fascinating to me to see the differences in their bonds and relationships. One relationship which I have observed recently growing is that between my two girls.
With only 17 mths, and a few inches and pounds between them, they are in so many ways peers. They share much in common, and yet are so very different.
What were my kids doing on the quilt in that picture yesterday? Were they tracking an escaped ant from their ant farm? Were they studying the quilt pattern in preparation for making one of their own? Were they praying over their baby brother?
Not quite
Believe it or not, underneath that pile of circus cast members was our youngest child…
You kinda get a little glimpse of him here…
I think I’ve mentioned before that my oldest three all share a room. This week the kids have started taking turns sleeping with the baby. Sunday night the boys got to sleep together. My oldest was so excited about sharing a room with his little brother. I couldn’t help but snap a picture as I peeked in on them before going to bed.
When I went to look in on the girls I found them both cuddled up together on the floor… it appears they decided to have a sleep over of their ownThe next night my oldest daughter wanted to sleep with the baby.
Those of you with more than one kiddo know how insanely difficult it is to get a good picture of all your children together….if you don’t know what I am talking about, check out this post or this one, and you will get an idea of what I am referring to. You have aspirations of all three children sitting still, smiling, and looking at the camera. After about 30 clicks of the camera and at least 20 begs and pleas to “look at mommy” and “please sit down” you suddenly set your sights a bit lower and just hope for all of them smiling… who cares where they look and how they sit….
They say newborns don’t do much other than sleeping, eating, pooping, and crying. While that may be true, I gotta tell you the circus crew has not yet tired of watching their baby brother do these things. It’s been a week since we brought our little man home from the hospital. And every-single-time we have to change his diaper, one can hear a stampede of feet as the three of them race for a spot by the changing table to watch.
There is a huge pile of bamboo in our backyard waiting for a run to the dump on Saturday. Until then, it provided the perfect landscape for my son to build a fort and play war. He stayed out there for hours and was so proud of his camouflage.
Unfortunatly, his gun kinda gives him away.
When I showed this picture to my husband I said it should be called,
My oldest two have gotten into the habit of “e-mailing” each other at the beginning of nap time. And by e-mailing they really mean they are drawing pictures and writing messages back and forth to each other. We’ve worked out a system in which they are allowed to e-mail for the first 30 minutes of nap time. Then, they have to have quiet time in separate rooms for the remaining hour and a half.
Naptime is sacred at my house. At night all three kids share a room b/c it really doesn’t bother me if they stay up late talking and singing. But at nap time every one goes to a different room. My son no longer naps, but he still goes to his “nap room” for quiet time where he may look at books or draw or play quietly for an hour and a half.