Twice Sunday there were moments where I wished I had my camera to capture what the kids were doing, but it was too far away and Tom didn’t have his either. At the time I get so torn between kicking myself for not having my camera, and just enjoying it as it happens. So as a compromise to myself, I’ll save the memory here so I won’t forget how awesome it was.
There was nothing special about Sunday, which is to say it was a typical weekend day for us. Lately we’ve both mentioned that we have so much fun staying at home and playing with the kids, that we don’t feel the need to go anywhere or do anything. The added bonus that they both get to stay on their nap schedule definitely helps. We’re usually awake and showered before E&G wake up, just because it makes the morning go smoother. Lately E has been into helping me “do cooking!” and so I got up early and measured out ingredients so we could make a zucchini casserole with minimal effort and maximum toddler happiness.
The joy on his face when I let him dump something into a bowl or mix the contents is awesome. This week he was extra happy because we were cooking with carrots, which turned everything ORANGE. Then while it was cooking in the oven, (or waiting for “beeps!”) we ran laps around the house. Running makes him so happy, and long naps afterwards make me happy (okay so does his giggles), so it’s a win-win.
Later Tom mowed the lawn while E and I followed him from window to window. E doesn’t really like the noise of the lawnmower, but he’s also obsessed with any sort of machine, which just means he needs to be in my arms pretty much nonstop while he repeats the same few sentences over and over – “Dah walk loan-mower” “Where dah go?” and “It’s loo loud.” Tom was wearing a sox cap, so E needed to get his and put it on as we watched him. Later he noticed that Tom was also wearing sunglasses, so he pulled his out too.
However, those were all moments that I was able to at least partially capture on camera. It was later, after the baby had woken up when the real magic happened. All four of us were sitting in the playpen - G was sitting on the floor watching E jumping off the mats. At one point, E came over and sat down in front of his baby brother. Sitting down, facing each other, they were the exact same height. E’s legs are longer, and he’s less compact looking than the baby, but their heads were level and they were eye to eye. E learned recently that he is capable of making the baby laugh, and it’s one of his favorite things. He started blowing raspberries at the baby and got some giggles in return. The baby is getting better at grabbing things, so as he usually does, he reached out to grab E’s face, which made him laugh back. They sat there for a bit just foreheads pressed together, staring into each other’s eyes, laughing. At one point E grabbed the baby's arms and started flapping them up and down, making the baby dance. It was such a sweet moment, watching them interact. Of course it ended the way most things do lately, with tears. The baby grabbed E’s hair a bit too hard, and the moment was gone, but it was such a nice peek into what might be coming.
There was another moment later, after we’d let E do some painting. Painting is always followed by bath time, which was probably a good idea because I found pizza sauce from dinner EVERYWHERE. I gave E his bath, and towards the end Tom brought in the baby to watch. We were playing with some rubber duckies, so E decided to start quacking and flapping his arms while splashing the water. The baby thought it was hilarious and started laughing. Usually when Tom and I manage to get the baby laughing, he’ll grow tired of us and the laughs will get smaller and smaller, no matter how hard we work. However this was non stop escalating giggles. E would go crazy and splash and make noises, and then stop and look expectantly at the baby, and the baby would laugh his deep belly laughs. Over and over. Tom and I were crying with laughter it was so good.
The day also included a lot of putting away laundry, picking out clothes for the week, putting away toys, etc. It’s tiring for sure, but it’s also fun. I had E help me clean the baseboards while Tom was getting me coffee at one point, and he was totally in to it. It feels like we’re finally starting to settle into our new family configuration, and it feels great. We can breathe a bit, and I think everyone is happy and having fun.
