Bonding with the Boys

Luke had a well visit today, and the when the dr. asked "how is life with Luke?" all I could think of was, "It's a full time job to keep him from injuring himself." It would take several paragraphs to describe the close calls and near misses the kid has had this month, not to mention the blood smear on the garage door from last weekend's incident. The kid is wild, and I ask myself a thousand times a day, "Where's Luke?" So Luke and I, we spend a lot of time together.

(This is partially why the dr. isn't concerned that he is only 22 lbs 2 ounces - which is 5 %'ile for an 18 month old boy, even though he's 32.5 inches, 50 %'ile. I guess he's just moving so much he's burning it all off?)

And I get lots of time with Katy, mostly because she demands it and needs it. She has homework and likes crafts and games and just...she demands it.

But I've been thinking lately about my middle child. He doesn't demand my attention in the same way, and I've found that the attention I give him is too often negative. He's a 3 year old boy, so I am constantly correcting him for screaming, pushing, being too rough, too loud, etc. And fighting with him to do the things he needs to do (go potty, get dressed, brush his teeth) because he doesn't want to stop what he's doing.

So I'm making a strong attempt to have some bonding time with David every chance I get. If I find a few seconds of down time, I'll jump into whatever he's doing and try to cuddle with him a little extra. He often gets up from rest time before Luke, so I'm trying to put aside what I need to do and play with play-doh, Zingo, or Let's Go Fishin'.  And it makes me teary to realize how excited he gets, to play with Mommy all on his own. He's such a sweet, sweet boy and he deserves some attention in this busy household.

So I'll do my best.