Settling into Fall

Andrew and Evelyn have been having some ups and downs in their sibling relationship recently. Yesterday, I caught Andrew as he wrapped his arms around his sister and threw her off the couch. Granted, she landed on some pillows--but still! (And I'm pretty confident that he would have tried to deny it if I hadn't actually seen him do it). But not all of it is bad--there are long moments where the two of them play together quite happily (often while I'm fixing dinner). We recently read NurtureShock for our book group (and while the book wasn't quite so revolutionary as it touts itself to be, it was an interesting read). One of the things the book suggests is that sibling relationships as adults can be predicted in part by how well the kids play together. Since my own siblings are some of my best friends, I'd like to see the same for my kids. And while moments like yesterday seem ominous, they are countered by moments like this:

I'd been in the kitchen making dinner and could hear that they were playing together nicely so I peeked at them. Andrew was "reading" all of these books to her (and despite the expression on her face in this picture, I'm pretty sure she was enjoying it).

This week also saw Andrew's last soccer game for the season (although he's already talking about when he gets to play again). While his sense of sportsmanship needs some work--whenever he has to sit out, he cries, because he's convinced that he's one of the best players on his team and that they need him (and although this is true, that's hardly the point!)--he did have a lot of fun playing, and it was fun to watch him.

His game fell on one of those beautiful fall days--warm enough to ignore the signs of impending winter. However, by the time the game ended, it was getting dark--and as soon as the sunlight fled, so did the warmth.
One of the player's mothers is a self-confessed party fan, so she went all out helping the coach to organize a party for after the last game. (She made the cupcakes--and cake!--and ordered pizza). Each child got to take home a small trophy (which I have mixed feelings about--I keep thinking of the line from the Incredibles: "if everyone's special, that means no one is"). But the kids were generally ecstatic about the trophies and the party, even if the grown-ups were generally shivering.
Later this week, Sarah and her brood came to visit. We invited Lydia to come to Evelyn's dance class: it's hard to tell in this picture who was more excited. But they both had a great time (in fact, Lydia informed me on the way home that she wants to go again). It's been fun to see the two of them come into their own as playmates--I guess much of this is due to Evelyn, who's finally reached the developmental stage where she can actually play *with* another child, instead of just next to them.

Yesterday we all turned out for the Homecoming parade (and to cheer Poppy on). The parade was fun--but mostly notable for the numbers of students and the amount of candy given out. Of course, since we had a large group of children (all of whom were wearing school colors), we seemed to get plenty of sugary donations. The only downside (for me) was Andrew's rotten behavior at the start. One of the parade volunteers was giving out free balloons. I tied Evelyn's to her wrist and asked Andrew if he wanted me to do the same. He said no. I explained that he might lose his balloon that way--and not to come crying if he lost it. Of course, not thirty seconds later he had lost his balloon--unanchored, it sailed up over his head.

Andrew began to cry, inconsolably. Since I was more annoyed than sympathetic, I reminded him that I had told him this would happen, and then, since he appeared unable to stop crying, threatened to take him back to the car where he could spend the rest of the parade. This helped, a little, but he was still crying. Before I had to make good on my threat, one of my old students approached us and offered him her balloon. I was reluctant to take it (I wanted Andrew to feel the consequences of his actions), but she pressed it again and so we took it. This cheered Andrew up for most of the parade (this time he let me tie it on his wrist), until he managed to slip it off his wrist toward the end of the parade and lost it, once again . . . . I feel like I owe the universe an apology for the pollution (both the balloons and the noise); mostly, though, I wish I knew a more effective way to deal with four-year-old tantrums.

Luckily, the children were much more pleasant at dinner, which we enjoyed al fresco on our patio for probably the last time of the year. Dan barbecued some chicken and shrimp, and Sarah and Bubby provided some yummy salads (fruit, potato, and lettuce), along with macaroni and cheese for the kids.