Hero worship
OK, that title might be a bit of a stretch. But the kids have now reached the ages where imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
Our 3 1/2-year-old has decided that he should be doing whatever his 7-year-old brother is doing. And by everything, I mean (almost) everything.
Big Brother just got a new (old) Nintendo 64 for his birthday. Little Brother insists on playing along -- but has no idea what to do on Mario Smash. (To be fair, I don't either, but we're all learning.)
Big Brother took his snowpants to school this week, as it finally got warm enough for outdoor recess. Little Brother had to take his snowpants to day care, too, even though I don't believe they had an outdoor event all week.
And Big Brother has finally gotten used to sleeping in the top bunk -- dare I say, he's actually enjoying it. Thus, Little Brother wants to snooze, and play, up there too.
It's even extended to reading. Big Brother is a couple of grades advanced on the literary front, so Little Brother is striving to keep up -- and can now read simple passages aloud on his own. Remarkable.
So far, though, the copycat trend hasn't extended to the potty training front. Too bad. That's one area where I'd like to see a bit more imitation.