Love My Kids' Love

They love each other. Still. Even though they are to the stage where they stake claim on toys and get mad when anyone else looks in the direction of said toy. Even though they feel entitled to take anything anyone else is playing with. Even though they like to do things to antagonize one another. They love love love each other.

Maddux is a sweetheart. She is crazy, rambunctious, and the opposite of prissy, but she has a mothering instinct stronger than I ever had until I actually became a mother. She gives sympathy cries sometimes when Eli gets hurt and almost always when he gets in trouble and has to sit in time out. Even better, when he gets hurt to the point where he comes to me for comfort, she immediately comes over and puts her arms around him. Then she pats his back. It is all I can do to not leave my child in pain while I grab the camera. (Trust me, I've been tempted!) And she loves to try and wash his hair, or his leg, or his back, while they take a bath each night too. She loves him.

Eli has a bit of a superior-big-brother feeling about him sometimes, but it doesn't stop him from loving his sister's company every second of every day. He misses her when he's at school, and he wants to be the one to wake her up from her nap any chance he gets. When the kids were listening to music today, Eli went to the toy box and got two dive sticks to use as drum sticks on the step-stool. He totally surprised me by immediately offering Maddux one to use while he played with the other. Eli also asks her to do things with him ALL of the time: "Maddie, wanna pway basketball wiff me?" "Maddie, wanna go outside wiff me?" "Maddie, let's chase!!" And when I tell the kids it's time for bed, Eli always goes to Maddux and hugs her, kissing her on top of the head at the same time. (She's shorter than him now, but that will not last long.)

My point in all of the sappy rambling today is to document one more time for future reference that Eli and Maddux enjoy each other and genuinely care about each others' feelings.