Emil and Colin have always worked together well when the goal is TOTAL DESTRUCTION, but they've been less inclined to actually play together until lately. Now that Bridget is back at school, the boys and I have a nice routine. It's mostly the old routine only with less Bridget. I've added in Cooking with Mama because I noticed something exciting when I let go of my stress of having them crawling all over the place (the germs will cook off in the oven, yes?) and just let them do whatever I was doing. They watched me more closely. They took turns without me asking them. They danced to the music when it wasn't their turn to stir or use the rolling pin. It was like we were in a Mormon Ad! (This photo was taken with my phone. Proof that I didn't know this miracle was about to take place.)
The other thing I like to do with the boys is Park-n-Lunch Fridays. I set out a blanket in the shade and eat my Chik-fil-a or wood-fired pizza from the Farmer's Market while the boys play and run back and forth to the blanket for bites. Again, letting go of the stress of how much they're eating or not eating. The boys yell, "MA!" when they want me to see them go down a slide. Colin will even blow me a kiss if he sees me waving at him. (Again, camera phone photo.)
Emil and Colin will even play in the backyard without crying! (Every day in the summer when I'd send the kids outside to play, I'd shut the door and immediately someone was crying. BAH.) I had to take these pictures through the window because if they knew I was watching, they would probably start crying about something that happened 15 minutes earlier.
There is a nice dog next door. He comes over to the fence to say howdy-do about 25 times a day. I love looking out and seeing the boys on their bellies waiting for the dog to come over. In fact, I love seeing the boys doing almost everything. Not so much when I catch them with all the knives laid out on the floor ready for some kind of ninja fight or an open Sharpie marker a few inches away from the wall. Just the cute stuff. Most of the time I can figure out what they were trying to do and it's always meant to help me, which warms my cold heart. :)
2 comments:
Awwww. It's happening! They're doing it! YOU'RE doing it! Way to not sweat the small stuff, dude.
Looks like you're doing a great job of living in the moment with those boys. It's really the only way to survive!
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