Siblings without rivalry...for now

I am so happy when I see my children playing together. I imagine this is how most parents feel. What's not to love about your very own children playing together happily in the cocoon of your home? Bode and Gianna have always been a pair.  The fact that they were born close together helps. But things are changing, little by little. Bode will just grab things out of Gianna's hands. As a consequence, Gianna is a little more whiney than she used to be when they played.  Their play is sometimes punctuated with a shrill scream by Gianna or a growly command by Bode, followed by drumming footsteps as they hurry to me for mediation. I try to stay out of it and let them figure it out for themselves. But right now, I need to be the one to point out some ground rules to them. Ground rules like, "no hitting." Gianna tends to smack Bode when she doesn't like what he does or says.  I think this is a product of being 2 and not having the command of language that will help her later.

And then there is Bode and Nico.  Bode talks and entertains Nico.  He loves doing something to get a reaction from Nico.  I think this is a product of being 4.  Nico adores Bode, and watches his every move. I think this is a product of being a baby who can't move by himself.  (Gianna really has no interest in Nico right now.  I'm sure it's a bit of jealousy, and probably because she might find Nico "boring" because he doesn't do anything but eat and lie around!)

When I think about the future, I like to imagine Bode always being a loving big brother to Nico and Gianna, full of fun and advice...someone trusted to talk to who isn't a parent. He just seems to have this loving, happy personality that will be a huge perk to his other sibs. But really, I hope that they all are this to each other. 

When Gianna was born, I feared that I'd be witnessing constant power struggles between Bode and Gianna. RWF and I would talk strategies, books we'd heard about, what to do, etc. But that wasn't the case. They always seem to get along well.  So I stopped worrying about power struggles, hair pulling and broken toys. But I can see glimpses of things changing as they grow. Hopefully RWF and I are doing a good job as parents, laying the groundwork for these three to have wonderful relationships that will last a lifetime.

Happy Tuesday.

xo