Another whole weekend for H, so less time to blog. I missed you all, I swear.
We've had a fabulous few days, so I feel pretty good about everything going on in our lives. Friday we went again to the Ambassador's house, and both her sons were there, a 5-year-old and a 3-year-old. The boys were charming and friendly, and another child, a 4-year-old girl, was delightful, too. It was so lovely, we ended up staying for four hours. I meant to leave after two, as I'm pretty sure I haven't been to a friend's house for that long in years, but the other mother said she'd give us a ride home, and the children were playing so well, that we just stayed.
The day began in the basement/playroom, but after about an hour, we all moved outside, to their giant yard, which I've mentioned before. For most of the time, the other three children played in a group, with J doing his own thing, occasionally checking in with the other children or one of the mothers. The older boy was very kind to J, making him a Lego train when we first got there, and encouraging him to play with them. The other children managed to get out a small pool and fill it with warm tap water, as it was too cold for the hose. They had a plastic slide and had water slide fun for about 30 minutes, while J collected leaves in a wheelbarrow.
He finally decided he wanted to slide too, but went once and proclaimed it too cold. I was shivering in a sweater, but the other three naked children seemed impervious to cold. After everyone dried off and dressed, we all ate lunch together. The children ate at a separate table, which was so nice, as the mothers got to eat with BOTH hands! Then the kids played an imprisonment game, with J, and they all 4 built a fire from the woodpile. No real flames of course.
The children went back downstairs and played by themselves for another hour after this, which was just amazing to me. No screaming, no fights, no yelling for mommy. We stayed in the kitchen and had coffee. The Ambassador's wife said sometimes it just takes a longer stretch of time for the kids to get used to each other, something I'm definitely going to pass on to my friends at home. Also, I think that there were 4 of them, all of slightly different ages, might have made a difference, too. All in all, a success.
The next day, Saturday, J and I went to the park at the bottom of the hill and played in the grass for four hours. About half of that he did his own thing while I laid down and read. I'm re-reading "Perfect Madness; Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety" which I'm really enjoying. She is kind of down on extended breastfeeding, but it's possible she just never met anyone who enjoyed nursing a child older than 3 months old. I think most of the women she met thought their child would be ruined for life if they didn't nurse them for at least a year. We just nursed until we didn’t need it anymore, but more on that some other time.
Anyway, very nice to see my boy entertained by other children, and by himself and some sticks. I love watching him become who he is.
Thanks for reading,
-Anne
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