It had been way too long since I’d seen them.
I arrived in Newton yesterday morning. Henry saw me first as I peeked in the screen door. His smile is so precious, his giggle. They both ran to me and greeted me. Henry usually hands something for me to see, like a car. Emmet asks me to play. Right away. “Let’s play, Grandma.” If I had a quarter for every time one of them said that these last two days, I’d be rich. I am rich. In love.
Shortly after I arrived, Leah brought out a long, hard cardboard tube. The boys set it up against the coffee table and started shooting cars through it. They did this tirelessly for hours on end. Later, they started peeking at each other through the tube and eventually talked through it. I even had them doing mountain calls through it like on the Riccola ad.
I also brought toys from Grandma’s house to play with, a light up guitar and a flat roll out keyboard. This prompted hours of “dance party” games, sometimes with the lights out and the third person on the play drums in the bedroom. There were lots of arguments about the guitar and lots of practice turn taking involving much adult intervention and lots of tears. They both did a great job, though.
We swung on the swing in the front yard and went for a walk in the stroller this morning, spotting butterflies, a grasshopper and a cardinal. We had a picnic with Happy Meals for dinner last night on the front lawn that Emmet didn’t make it through because of the bugs. Henry and I watched an ant carry off a sesame seed.
The boys are very different from one another. Henry is rough and tumble. Hugs and cuddles have to be his idea and earned. He uses lots of phrases and has a ready smile. Henry voraciously eats anything put in front of him with comments like “that’s so good!” Or “more.” Henry is 2 and three months old.
Emmet is a hugger and snuggles. He says the sweetest things unprompted, like, “I love you, Grandma”, or “I’m glad you came” or “I’m going to miss you.” Emmet narrates events in streams of commentary. Emmet eats very little and is super picky about textures and tastes. He is cautious and has strong likes and dislikes, like bugs, currently. Emmet is four and 4 months old.
The boys can be sweet to each other, helping each other up, checking on each other, even kissing boo boos. Or they can throw toys or knock each other over or grab toys and scream for their turn. Normal sibling stuff but intensified by being quarantined in the house together for so many months.
Bath time and after were a wild ride last night, as Leah and Dave grabbed some dinner alone away from the house. Water was everywhere in the bathroom and then they are supposed to quiet down after baths but they ran around the livingroom in circles naked and screaming and giggling. I literally had to catch them and wrestle to get their pull ups and pj’s on. But I could always count on TV to get them calm. They are into Daniel Tiger right now, a cartoon version spin off of Mister Rogers starring Daniel the tiger who teachers life lessons.
I love my babies and cherish our visits even though they exhaust me.
dianegclark 