Lean on Me

As I handed each of the little boys one slice of pan de pascua (Chilean fruitcake) Alec tried to get my attention. "Two piece, Mommy?" he requested, pointing to the last slice on the plate. "No, just one for now!" I responded as I set the plate on the table.

I had just turned my back when I heard Alec say to his brother, "Ian, you say Mommy two piece for Alec?" This was code for "you give it a try, maybe she'll say yes to you!" Of course my answer was the same, but I couldn't help shaking my head and chuckling at these two little guys and their buddy system. Always looking out for each other!

Speaking of which, probably the epitome of looking out for each other was our recent visit to the lab for some bloodwork. As two nurses and I held Ian tightly to begin his blood draw, Alec went ballistic and began yanking angrily on the lab coat of the nurse with the needle. He desperately tried to pull her off his brother while screaming at the top of his lungs and blindly throwing punches in all directions. Fortunately these were good-natured nurses! and when it was all said and done, they even gave the boys stickers and hugs and kisses despite the theatrics.

Tonight I dressed the boys in their jammies and left the room for a couple of minutes to make "once" for the bigger kids. Ian now sleeps in the bottom bunk as his reward for potty training (and outgrowing his pack-n-play by sheer length!) Alec still gets tucked into his pack-n-play across the room. However, when I returned to the bedroom there were two "missing" boys and two very suspicious moving lumps under the sheets and covers of Ian's bed! I did my best imitation of a scary growling beast as shrieks of laughter erupted from beneath the quilt. For a minute I just stopped to look and listen at the hilarious energy of these two and the way they wrapped their arms around each other's necks in mock fear and cuddled together for "protection" from the monster Mommy. :)