The sibling dynamic in our house has been changing a bit. Brayden wants to be where Gavin is at most times and he is now capable of getting there. Pretty darn fast too! I don't know how many of you have tried to keep up with a kid while crawling, but it is impressive how they cruise, cuz, man that hurts your knees! But I digress. Brayden is usually following Gavin and generally playing destructor to anything Gavin is doing. I am not sure how to handle this sometimes. Most days I try to distract, make Gavin share, or just take Brayden away. But sometimes, I start to feel bad for poor little Brayden who is really just too little to play Thomas Trains with his brother.
It has come to a point where they really can not be left alone too long without intervention. I either hear loud yells from Gavin, "No baby, No No NO! Mine!" or I hear large cries from Brayden, only to find Gavin sitting on him, trying to find a way to block him from his target. (Gavin has a sneaky way of not pushing...he sets himself up stratigically to be in the way and just kinda leans into Brayden until he falls over. It's almost admirable how he tries to get out of the no pushing rule, if it weren't so deceptive.) It's frustrating and I just feel bad for Brayden. (I'll admit there are days I feel bad for Gavin too, having his things destroyed. But seriously, if he'd share one or two of the 29 blocks, he could easily avoid Brady taking the bottom block out of his tower.)
It has come to a point where they really can not be left alone too long without intervention. I either hear loud yells from Gavin, "No baby, No No NO! Mine!" or I hear large cries from Brayden, only to find Gavin sitting on him, trying to find a way to block him from his target. (Gavin has a sneaky way of not pushing...he sets himself up stratigically to be in the way and just kinda leans into Brayden until he falls over. It's almost admirable how he tries to get out of the no pushing rule, if it weren't so deceptive.) It's frustrating and I just feel bad for Brayden. (I'll admit there are days I feel bad for Gavin too, having his things destroyed. But seriously, if he'd share one or two of the 29 blocks, he could easily avoid Brady taking the bottom block out of his tower.)
It has come to my attention in the last few days that Brayden is beginning to fight back. I witnessed him stand in front of the big push dumptruck and refuse to move, even as Gavin tried to run him over. The look on Gavin's face was priceless as he turned to me with expectancy, "Mama? Baby move?" Like I should get Brayden out of the way because for the first time, merely running him over didn't produce the desired affect.
"Well, Gavin, that is Brayden's truck and he was there first." As Brayden whacks a perfectly timed button to honk the horn and emphasize my point, Gavin turned at looked at him, shocked. Then of course he had to cry about it.
The other day, when Gavin tried to sit on him in order to prevent him from crawling over to a favorite toy of theirs, Brayden wiggled out and in the process nailed Gavin with his foot. Of course this produced a beautiful rendition of the fake cry and feigned injury show Gavin has perfected. It's really quite breath-taking. (Literally, I have to take many deep breaths not just to say, "Knock it off already!") This time, I wanted to almost cheer for Brayden who had finally won the smackdown and sat playing happily with the toy in his hand as Gavin nursed his "wounded" elbow (by the way, Brayden nailed him in the leg).
All this to say, Brayden is moving up in the world. At times I am proud and excited for him, to coming into his own. Other times, I am nervous at this new found independance, because I see a child with a pretty strong will and quite a bit of stamina. His dedication to what he wants is far greater than Gavin's ever was. Gavin was truly a pretty easy child to teach to not touch, come to us, and listen. He didn't like the tone we used to tell him no and would cry if we used it. I knew it was too good to be true, because Brayden isn't headed down that road at all and I am not sure what to do. Brayden is a glutton for punishment and returns to the scene of his crimes more times than I am even willing to count. He can have his hand flicked, his body removed, or the object taken, but he goes after what he wants with a will and tenacity I am already concerned about. (Where he got this will is a question I choose not to ask.)
All this to say, Brayden is moving up in the world. At times I am proud and excited for him, to coming into his own. Other times, I am nervous at this new found independance, because I see a child with a pretty strong will and quite a bit of stamina. His dedication to what he wants is far greater than Gavin's ever was. Gavin was truly a pretty easy child to teach to not touch, come to us, and listen. He didn't like the tone we used to tell him no and would cry if we used it. I knew it was too good to be true, because Brayden isn't headed down that road at all and I am not sure what to do. Brayden is a glutton for punishment and returns to the scene of his crimes more times than I am even willing to count. He can have his hand flicked, his body removed, or the object taken, but he goes after what he wants with a will and tenacity I am already concerned about. (Where he got this will is a question I choose not to ask.)
So, I have a whole new personality to learn, new methods are going to have to be put in place and I can't believe I am going to have to figure it out all over again! Not only that, I get to add in learning how to teach two kids to listen to me and to get along with each other. I get tired just thinking about it.
On the bright side, we do have our moments where it seems, miraculously, Gavin wants his brother to play with him and Brayden happily joins in the activity, all ready to show off what his big boy self can do. It is chaotic harmony to say the least, but it sure sounds better than the other options. And so I choose to take joy in the ten minutes a day my boys ride the dump truck together and the car rides where they have each other in hysterics. Hopefully, those ten minutes will grow to an hour and the hour to multiple hours and someday my prayer will be answered that they grow to be best friends.
I guess this also means I should be thankful that they are in their room as we speak, talking to each other, laughing and avoiding bedtime together. That's it boys...work as a team. I guess you have to start somewhere!
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