I have been blessed to have my children come in pairs by gender twice. It has been lovely. They don't always get along, but they are truly each others best friends.
I hope it will be the same for Simon and Sarajoy. I know if I reach back into the depths of my memory, I can remember a time when Nathan and Brandon fought quite a bit. And Ruby and Daisy used to constantly fight over me, which is incredibly exhausting.
So it is probably more related to age than gender, but either way it is a difficult phase.
Simon is an intense person. He takes offense VERY easily. He doesn't like to share. He needs a lot of personal space. (He is also incredibly adorable, loving, and fun.) He loves to tease his older sister, but he certainly can't take it from his younger sister.
Sarajoy is silent, but smart. She knows exactly what is going on around her. I don't know her exact motivation for tormenting Simon. She is, after all, only 15 months old. But she knows his buttons. They too like to fight over me, but it doesn't stop at that.
One day, she was toddling around when she noticed Simon's sippy cup on the table. She walked over, reached up, grabbed it, and walked over to the stairs to sit down for a drink. Simon was busy with fridge magnets, so he didn't see any of it. After a moment Sarajoy walked over to Simon, got his attention, "eh....eh...eh...", and held up his cup. Then she ran away.
Really? Did my baby just do that?
This one is even better:
Simon has been enjoying a fairy book of Ruby's that has little things to find on each page. One of them is a cute little teapot. One day, Simon "took" this little teapot from the page, and was carrying it around. It was imaginary. Invisible. He brought it over to show me, and I pretended along with him. He set it down on a bucket in the kitchen. Sarajoy walked over and grabbed it. There was quite a ruckus in the kitchen for several minutes until Ruby saved the day by taking the teapot from Sarajoy and giving it back to Simon.
Maybe I was the only one who couldn't see the teapot.
I'm pretty sure this is the first time this mom has had to break up a fight over an imaginary toy.
I'm getting some great ideas for inexpensive Christmas Presents...
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lol, i can see them opening an empty package now!
ReplyDeleteThe imaginary toy fight is definitely a first for me! But I'm totally sympathetic with having a more aggressive child who senses the inability of another child to resist a challenge. My two youngest both drive one of my older ones to distraction because she can't not fight back. She can't just "let it go" even though they're still babies. Every single day has me saying to her, "It's okay. They're just little. All you have to do is set the example. It's okay. You don't have to be mad or fight. You don't have to fight." But those babies both sense that quality in her and pick specifically on her!!!
ReplyDeleteCould it be that there are pheromones in the air for this sort of thing?
I wish an imaginary teapot kept my 2 year old busy. That is a fantastic story. Thanks for the hysterical laughter at this end of the keyboard.
ReplyDeleteEmperor's New Clothes with a awesome twist. You'll never regret posting this story. --Although they may some day. : )