Noticing, Conversations

This photo surprised me, it's rare to see him watching, and listening, to her.

Tonight I peered through the dog door into the garage to witness a pretty marvelous exchange between Aria and Roland. At first I thought they were about to settle into one of their typical fights, but then something crazy happened. Roland asked Aria where she would prefer him set the three-story garage toy (which looked destined for her head), and she - suddenly full of sentences - told him, "How 'bout right dere?" pointing to the wagon. He agreed and she offered to help him move it. He coached her on how to lift it up and assisted from atop the toy bin.

While this might seem common, it's not. It's incredible. Negotiating and communicating as siblings, successfully, is rare and difficult. (Speaking from experience, my sibs and I still struggle and we are all waaaaaay too old to have this issue).

Anyone who knows my kids will tell you they have never crushed on each other. Roland never swooned over Aria as a baby, Aria has never clung to her brother. They hug but usually at my request to say sorry and make-up. Only rarely - if separated - will they miss the other. I tell people, they were indifferent as kids, hopefully this means they'll adore each other in high school.

Aria's vocabulary and ability to compose sentences literally exploded over the weekend. Suddenly Roland's comprehension seems even more acute than yesterday. This combination of ability to communicate timed with ability to listen is giving way to great periods of successful sibling play. She can ask him for a book in the car, he can negotiate a trade for a toy. I noticed tonight his ankles and wrists seem more slender, his cheeks thinner, while Aria is plumping up, both are getting ready for, sigh, another growth spurt.

Not sure what this next month of development will hold, but my goal is to notice it. Each day they surprise me with the ability to cry for an entire bath all that they can learn just from our simple days and shadowed tasks. And, if I had to counter all this positive-gushing I would like to look forward to the following: from Aria, a little less relentless independence, coupled with a heart-felt desire to stay in her bed; from Roland, the understanding that we know he can put on his socks and shoes, please quit begging crying for help.