Toddler sibling love

 

Playing at the canal and feeding ducks

    

Silvia has started hitting Leo several times a day.  She’s not really mad when she does it.  She just likes to go up to him, swing her arm back and whop him in the face a few times.  I immediately tell her no and she laughs.  I try to be more dramatic about it by plucking her up and plopping her back down several feet away from him and saying “NO! we don’t hit”.  Hoping she makes the connection sometime soon (doubt it) because she tends to protest when I move her away from him, but then she goes right back over to him and does it again.  Leo is so sweet though.  I guess it’s payback.  He used to hit her (still does some) and we would have him say sorry.  Since he can’t actually say “sorry”, he would give her a kiss.  Now, whenever she hits him and I tell her “no”,  Leo goes up to her and kisses her.  So we have Silvia who just hits poor Leo repeatedly, and then saintly Leo who turns the other cheek and plants a kiss on her.  I think he’s trying to say “sorry” for her since he knows that’s what she’s supposed to do.  

We’ve had a busy week.  We bought a pass to the children’s museum and went twice this week!  Last night the kids were “baby-sat” at a room in the church facilities while Joe and I went to a planning meeting for young married couples in our parish.  We were one room over having dinner with everyone and listening to Silvia serenade us with her screaming.  Finally, I gave up and let her crash the dinner meeting.  When is this stranger anxiety/separation anxiety going to end???  She’s had it from 3 months going on 12 months.  Having a baby-sitter is just stressful and sometimes not worth it with a child like this.