Anyway, I have been amused lately to realize that my kids are learning how to easily push each others' buttons. I was particularly surprised to discover the other day that Daniel will intentionally do something that he knows Rebekah doesn't like - just to get a reaction out of her. A couple of months ago, Daniel randomly started saying "Happy Birthday!" He gets a big kick out of saying it, for some reason, and at first Rebekah would say it back to him and they would make a game of it. Recently though, if Daniel says "Happy Birthday!" Rebekah will reply with, "It's not Happy Birthday to me, Daniel!"They have been sharing a room for the past month, so most days the early morning sounds in our home (or whatever home we happen to be staying in at the moment!) are,
Daniel: "Happy Birthday!"
Rebekah: "It's not Happy Birthday to me, Daniel!"
Daniel: "Happy Birthday!"
Rebekah: "Not Happy Birthday!"
Daniel: "Happy Birthday!"
Rebekah: "Daniel! Stop saying Happy Birthday!"
Daniel: "Happy Birthday!"
And on it goes. It's rather humorous, actually...at least until Rebekah gets really agitated. It is funny though because Daniel knows that she doesn't like it - I can tell by the mischievous look he gives right before looking in his sister's direction and shouting, "Happy Birthday!" Ah, sibling love.
Daniel has also realized recently that he can get a reaction out of his sister by simply propping both of his feet up on her. I walk into the room after hearing, "Mom, Daniel has his feet on me!" and Daniel gives me a look that seems to say, "What? I'm not doing anything!" So begins the task of teaching little brother to be kind. That's a little more difficult than teaching Rebekah to be kind to him because he doesn't understand abstract concepts as well. But at the very least he is learning what is acceptable and what isn't. Even so, he has such a mischievous streak in him (he didn't get that from anyone I know!), and he loves to tease.
Rebekah does her fair share of irritating too though. She takes her job as "big sister" very seriously, mothering Daniel and bossing him around. She can also be a bit of a bully at times, grabbing what she wants from Daniel because he doesn't usually complain and she knows she can get away with it (as long as Mom and Dad aren't watching). We're working on asking for toys instead of grabbing them, or just waiting until Daniel gets tired of something and moves on to the next toy (which usually isn't very long).
But to be fair, Rebekah is often a big help with Daniel, and they love each other very much. They will often walk around hand in hand, and sometimes when they are sitting together listening to a story or watching a movie, they will sit close together holding hands. Sometimes Rebekah loves Daniel a little too much, smothering him with hugs or dragging him around the house with her. He adores her though, and she can bring out his hilarious belly laugh like no one else can!
This past month we were staying at a home with a great sound system and lots of exciting classical and Southern Gospel music. Daniel would often point to the sound system asking "Dance?" In other words, he wanted me to turn on the music so he and Rebekah could dance. Usually Rebekah would have to put on her "princess dress" before she could dance, and she would pretend that she and Daniel were getting married. For Daniel, the "dances" usually ended up in several rounds of "Ring around the Roses," as you can see in the photo below! Sometimes Rebekah joined in, and other times she got irritated with him because she was wanting to dance like a princess instead. =)We have a couple of nutty kiddos, but we love them, and are glad that they love each other (most of the time)!
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