Playing Baby Sisters

It was nap time and, as usual, he grabbed his King Babar, put his head down on his pillow. But we heard him playing, singing, and jabbering for quite some time. Finally, I decided to go in and take a look at what was going on. He was playing with his King Babar and Froggie with blankets around them. He was playing "babies."

By that time, I was also feeling tired and ready for a nap too. One of the things E and I have been enjoying since my bed-rest has been snuggling up together in bed and taking naps together. We have also begun playing "Name that Tune" which he thinks is hilarious. I'll hum a tune and he'll guess what song it is. He is really good at it! So, we did that for a bit and I was getting sleepier and sleepier.

But, E had lots of energy still and proceeded to play "baby sisters" lying next to me. He would hold both Froggie and King Babar on his chest and give them light kisses. Then, he would tell me, "Mommy, they are crying."
I asked, "What should we do?"
He proceeded to try to comfort them by saying, "Oh. It's okay..." with a big hug.
Spontaneously, he says to me, "Mommy, I love my baby sisters. I love them."
To which I respond, "They're so happy you love them. They love you too and they're so happy to have you as their big brother."

I don't remember what else we talked about, but he spent some time fussing with the blanket making sure that they were being kept warm and just showing lots of affection. A couple of minutes before falling asleep, he turns to me and asks, "Mommy, babies names?" I guess he was wondering what his sisters' names are. I explained to him that we are still working on the names but most likely they will be so and so. He seemed pretty satisfied with the answer. And we both fell asleep. Interestingly, in the evening, he randomly tells me, "Mommy, I like the name Rena" I had no idea he remembered but he did....

E is processing in his own way the impending transition of the new additions to our family. I am so thankful that he can articulate what he is thinking because it really helps me to know how to be a better mom. A lot of processing these days is coming out in play-acting or pretend playing. It's interesting and joy giving to watch and to be a part of his world....