Wheels on the bus

Like Marcus, this little baby loves anything with wheels.





As the first child, Marcus was a lot better "guarded" when it came to toys. I remember going through every single package and examining whether they are really age appropriate and educational enough before allowing his little fingers to come near them. He didn't get his first small little car till he was almost 2 since we were worried of the little wheels dropping off and ending up in his tummy, or worse, stuck in his throat. His first toy car was suitable for 1 y.o. and he got it as one of his presents from our neighbour R on 1st birthday. He pushed it around daily for about a year, so it is well worth the $19.99 price tag.

Now that Marcus has over 50 small vehicles of all sorts with tiny wheels the size of my eye ball, a box of Mosaic lego with pieces suitable for 4 y.o., his box of Colours & Shapes with pieces shorter than his thumb etc.. etc.. which he plays with daily, it is extremely tiring to keep them out of Nicholas' reach.

Whenever the baby is not sleeping, he wants to be near Marcus and his toys. He wants to be messing up everything that Marcus is building and playing with and basically, he wants to be right in the middle of Marcus' projects! He would grab Marcus' small cars and push them around the same way Marcus would and throw them wilfully on the floor in search of the next exciting toy if he sees Marcus moving onto something else. He wants to hold the hexagon if Marcus is holding one. Giving him another shape won't help. It is tough being an older sibling, though I don't force or expect Marcus to share. It is something he has to learnt, so I patiently teach him to and I am contented if Marcus would do a little exchange with Nicholas or even if he doesn't share, it is fine. Nicholas also needs to learn that he can't snatch, though it will take some time too.

One of my favourite moments is watching my 2 boys play and interact together. Even when they are snatching toys from each other, I still enjoy the moments since these are still healthy interactions from which they learn something, as long as they don't end up in tears and injuries.

This morning, Marcus was cuddling Piggy when Nicholas came to the living room. The baby said something in his baby language to Marcus, turned to look at me and happily crawled straight to Marcus. It was clear that he wanted Piggy, so we had a small tug of war - with each boy holding on to one ear of the cuddly pink Piggy. It was an amicable struggle though - no tears or screaming involved. Marcus was sweet enough to let his baby bro' have Piggy and the baby promptly bent over curled up his body on the floor with Piggy tucked nicely into his round belly and let out a soft moan. Marcus just looked on and smiled in amusement while I piled on praises of his generosity. Then surprise, surprise! Nicholas looked up and offered Piggy back to older brother. He held up the toy with a smile, as if waiting for Marcus to accept it. Marcus welcomed Piggy back into his arms gratefully and the boys went on to play something else separately.