"Ditto"

  I read a parenting book over the summer (yes, I am admitting this publicly) with specific focus on sibling rivalry.  Or bickering. However you want to put it. I was driven to this by both children climbing all over me during their music class. The gist of the chapter is "don't intervene". Unless of course someone is going to get hurt, or they are just driving you bananas.  In that case, remove both of them from the offending situation.  For me, this has meant banishing said children to their rooms. Gavin has started taking great pride in needling his sister, and Annah has mastered the art of the tattling whine.  Amazingly however, after I have banished them, they seem to play together upstairs quite well.  Which brings up the awkward question - am I the offending situation? 

Taken on Cadillac Mountain this summer.

One thing that I think has led to their ability to get along better lately (after you take Mommy out of the equation) is Annah's imagination.  She really enjoys imaginary play now.  She had a whole tub of dinosaurs today, and they all went to a party, and then she put them all to bed.  We all had to be very quiet because dinosaurs are light sleepers. We were in the car today and Annah was engaging in a stream of conciousness about a story.  

Annah's story:  There was a princess, and her name was Ariel, and there was Jasmine, and they took a balloon, and they went up.  But then, there was a monster, and he ate everything. There were dandilions, and he ate the dandilions.  And the princesses were sad because they like to hold the dandilions.  And then the monster ate signs, and trees, and he ate everything up.  And that's the story.

Gavin meanwhile has learned the word "ditto". He heard it last night while reading his story, and he spent the remainder of the time trying to use it in a sentence.  "I love you, Gavin." "Ditto." "I liked that book." "Ditto." "The weather is going to be cool tomorrow." "Ditto." Well, we are working on it.  We are very busy starting soccer, and still in Karate, and he announced that he is going to want to play hockey (oi), and skiing will be going on this winter as well.  My goal is to keep them tired!  I think I may succeed.