Water Park

I took the boys to Lake Compounce (the country's oldest amusement park) yesterday with Sofie and her family. Luke adores Sofie, who is adorable, and the two of them crack me up. Sofie is four months older, a head taller, and acts like Luke's surrogate mom. One of their favorite games to play is that Luke is the baby and Sofie is the Mommy. The last time Sofie came over to the house for a playdate, Luke actually came downstairs holding a newborn diaper and asked Tina to put it on him. She was like, "First of all, that's never going to fit you." (I threw a bunch of newborn diapers into Luke's bin of baby dolls and their clothes so that he could "diaper" his babies when he plays. When Sofie comes over the babies are the first toys they take out.)

Yesterday at the park there was this area attached to the toddler play area that was a giant octopus that sprayed water out of it's top and had a baby swing hanging from each of its eight arms. The swings hung down into the water to various depths, so that you could sit the baby in the swing and have him be in a few inches of water. It was really nice, something I've never seen before, and enabled me to put Teo down and still be in the pool with Luke and Sofie. Anyway, Luke of course wanted to get in one of the baby swings as soon as he saw it, and Sofie of course wanted to push him. They did this several times while we were there, for ten minutes at a time (in adult time, ten minutes is HOURS). They also fought over pushing Teo, who as usual was delighted by their ministrations.

Luke and Sofie are perfect companions for an amusement park because they are both pretty cautious about new things (and let's face it, just about everything is a new thing when you're three). Together they can be slightly more brave than they would be alone, but also support each other in saying "No way!" to scary things their parents are trying to convince them to do. It's good chemistry. What I find really amusing is that both of them while they were on a ride had these very serious, concerned-looking faces. They looked like children who were alert and ready for the whole world to fall apart. The ride would start, and they'd both be holding on with both hands, faces still serious and completely unreadable. And you're thinking, "Are they hating this? Are they gritting their teeth until they can get off? Did I just pay a fortune to traumatize my child? Will this day be the focus of months worth of costly therapy when he's thirty?" Then the ride ends and they both run to you with smiling faces and say, "That was awesome! Can we do it again?"

Teo, who will be eight months old in two more days, is just starting to come into some stranger anxiety. When he couldn't see me, he would start to cry, and Leland would try to entertain him to cheer him up. Then he would bawl. He clearly thought Leland was an axe-murderer. Then, when I was holding Teo, he'd smile and flirt with Leland, as if to say, "I forgive you for being so scary." It's amazing how quickly Teo is changing lately. He is already starting to play Tina and I off each other. When Teen's ministering to his rash, which he loathes, he'll look at me with this face that clearly says, "Do you see what she's doing to me? Save me!" When I've had him for a while, and he catches sight of Tina and remembers how long it's been since she's nursed him, he'll look at her and cry like he's saying, "Where have you been! She's been sticking pins in me for hours! What kind of mother are you?" Then when she puts him on the breast, he'll drink a little bit, and then pull off so he can turn and look over at me with a grin, like he's lording it over me. "Sorry Mommy, she's got the good stuff." He's a riot.