We were in the middle of our bedtime routine and had just finished brushing teeth. Ollie went into his closet and put on a red zip-up hoodie and told me that this was his invisibility cloak. Earlier that evening we had watched the part of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone when Harry gets the invisibility cloak as a Christmas Gift. Ethan then told Ollie that he wanted an invisibility cloak too.
Ollie went to his closet and took out a button-down shirt. He carefully put it on Ethan to his delight. Ethan started to try to button the shirt, but his little fingers failed him. Ollie noticed this, and told him that he would help him. Slowly and carefully Ollie buttoned Ethan’s shirt. He explained how the button hole eats the button and it comes out the end. Ethan was quiet, looking down and learning through the work of his brother.
When Ollie was done, Ethan was so excited and proudly stated that he had a cloak too.
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen them move that fast together on that scooter.
Ethan is still trying to figure out how to use his scooter. He can kick and move forward pretty well, but he has issues with steering and often veers over to one side or another and inevitably needs my help to straighten out. Ollie has developed good skills on his scooter and can move at a pretty fast pace comfortably.
I don’t remember the first time they shared a scoote, but I do remember the squeal of joy from Ethan when he rode on Ollie’s scooter with him down a ramp. It’s a really cute thing that they do. Ethan stands on the front part of the deck, and Ollie stands behind him on the back part of the deck, and they are off. Ethan sometimes kicks, but it’s Ollie who does most of the work, kicking, breaking and steering the scooter.
This is something that Ethan asks to do and it’s also something that Ollie wants Ethan to do.
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There are moments when Ollie and Ethan have disagreements. A lot of the time it’s because Ethan tries to play with a toy that Ollie doesn’t want him to touch. Ollie makes a castle with blocks, Ethan tries to play with it, and Ollie gets upset. In the moment of emotion, Ollie doesn’t use his words well enough, and Ethan doesn’t understand what is Ollie’s work as his impulses take over. These moments are challenging to use, and often we need to separate Ethan and Ollie apart, and facilitate reconciliation.
The noise and the stress of these moments can be exhausting that sometimes makes me miss the good moments between my sons which are far more than the tough ones.
Ollie is a great big brother, and he’s well on his journey of learning how to love and be loved in return. Sometimes the way he shows love to Ethan works, sometimes it doesn’t but he’s trying and that makes me proud beyond words.
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