Now that Matthew is more engaged (and engaging) with the world around him, he and Meg just can't get enough of each other. At breakfast each morning, Matthew finishes his little bowl of fruit porridge and I clean him up and take him out of the high chair. Immediately, no matter how much she has or hasn't eaten, Meg begins to clamor that she too is "all done". She just can't wait to get down on the floor and play with her little brother.
One game that she loves to play with him is "Big Blanket". Big Blanket involves--you guessed it--a big blanket (which, on chilly mornings, may be found laying on the living room floor after Mommy's morning quiet time). Meg loves to drag this blanket over to Matthew and flip one corner of it up over his head. While he flounders to extract himself, she giggles and shrieks as if this is the most hilarious entertainment ever. And when Matthew's face finally emerges, he looks at her with a huge grin and laughs (sometimes it's more like a reverse sigh, a delighted inhaling) and rocks back and forth on his hands and knees as if to say, "Do it again, let's do it again, Sister!" And she does.
They also love to play a fairly simple game that I would call "Roll Around On the Floor Together And Squeal Until Mommy Comes To Make Sure That Meg's Not Rolling On Top Of Matthew." This one always produces prolonged bouts of giggling from both of them.
Sometimes from the kitchen I hear Meg cracking up but notice that Matthew seems silent. When I tiptoe into the living room, Meg is typically on the couch, bouncing and tumbling around. Matthew isn't anywhere near Meg and may not even be looking at her. I think that Meg is just so happy to have an audience--ahem, I mean company, that she gets giddy.
Meg is so affectionate with her brother lately. She gives him real kisses every time he heads off for a nap or bedtime. He's the first person she asks to see most mornings when I go in to get her out of bed: "See Buddy?" She calls him adorable, self-created names, like "Buggy-Oh" and "Big Man." And sometimes when I tell her that Matthew has to go to sleep, she shakes her head and says, "No? Play Mat-yew again?" We're usually able to avoid a scene only if I promise that she can play with Matthew again after his nap.
Matthew returns Meg's love with all of his heart. When I bring him downstairs after a nap and he lays eyes on Meg, his whole self lights up. He smiles so big that I can see it just from looking at the back of his head. And he makes the cutest little gasping and grunting noises to greet her. (I know, the word "grunt" just doesn't sound cute, but these grunts are. Trust me. I'm not biased, you know.)
They also love taking Saturday evening baths together. (We do bathe them more than once a week, but Saturday is the only time it's guaranteed to be both of them in the tub at one time.) Matthew, being a boy, came into the world understanding that bath time is all about splashing. It didn't take him long to win Meg over to this point of view. So they splash. And they laugh. Splash, splash, splash, splash. SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH, SPLASH! My shirt gets so wet!
And my heart gets so happy.
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