There are days where the boys actually act the way that we really want them to behave towards each other.

So over the last two days, both boys have been home all day – you can thank Mother Nature for that.  Both times, the wife’s had the opportunity to take them outside to play, and they’ve done their own thing as is their want while playing – R wants to do what the Monster does, and the Monster does what he wants to do.

And sometimes, that ends up with the Monster trying to make R stop doing those things.  That’s the most frequent – if R gets his hands on the toy that the Monster wants at any moment, or if he’s grabbed the iPad, or if he’s being too insistent on doing the Exact Same Thing at the Exact Same Time…

On the other hand, there’s the occasional cuteness.

Like, last night when the Monster decided spontaneously that he wanted to go to his room and did so.  R followed him in there.  The Monster then climbed into his bed.  R climbed up for a moment… and then decided he didn’t want to go to sleep.  Which then entailed the Monster insisting that R go to sleep and tried to keep him in the bed…

And then there was this morning.

The Monster’s bus comes at 7:50 every morning, so we usually get him ready shortly before that and settle him down so he’ll finish his juice.  This morning, when I got him ready and had him on the steps, R came over as well and settled down beside him.  I couldn’t get R to go back into the living room, and the Monster seemed quite content to have his brother waiting with him…

Yes, I know.  It’s again not a big step, but it’s certainly ‘good’ in terms of his interacting with other children, even if it is his brother…